Serious Leisure

In this episode two people with very serious jobs explain the importance of playfulness and a space to be silly in maintaining personal and professional wellbeing.  Judith Ritchie, Faculty Director for Quality Enhancement and Standards, and Dr Petia Petrova, Associate Director of Academic Practice are both based at UWE Bristol. They discuss the joy and freedom of being allowed to be funny and mischievous as part of their leisure activities! This episode is recorded with a live audience.

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Reflecting on ways to balance work and wellbeing via leisure and hobbies.

Produced at UWE Bristol.

Social Prescribing projects are now being used across the UK to respond innovatively and holistically to our mental health needs through activities typically associated with leisure. We speak to the social prescribing programme co-ordinator at UWE Bristol, Marie Pring, along with Senior Lecturers in Psychology Dr Liz Jenkinson and Dr Nicola Holt who also run a crafting group as part of the UWE social prescribing programme 'Living Well'. They share their personal and professional stories of how leisure activities can directly impact mental health.

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Reflecting on ways to balance work and wellbeing via leisure and hobbies.

Produced at UWE Bristol.

In this episode we hear from Dr Richard Waller, Associate Professor of the Sociology of Education, and Jon Dovey, Professor of Screen Media at UWE Bristol. They talk to us about their mutual love of fly fishing. Through our guests' intriguing, lyrical stories we enter the hidden world of a fascinating, niche leisure activity whilst hearing familiar tales of the restoration gained from escaping to nature and the joy of losing yourself in the moment.

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Reflecting on ways to balance work and wellbeing via leisure and hobbies.

Produced at UWE Bristol.

What happens when your leisure time involves stubborn personalities (horses!), stormy weather and midnight births (sheep!)? In this episode we hear from UWE Bristol Student Caseworker Amanda Headley-White and Senior Lecturer Dr Alison Miles who share moving stories about the challenges and triumphs of spending time away from work with those with four legs.

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Reflecting on ways to balance work and wellbeing via leisure and hobbies.

Produced at UWE Bristol.

After a hiatus we return with Season 2 of the podcast. We start with a live episode recorded during the UWE Bristol Festival of Learning, featuring lively discussions with Dr Fiona Jordan, Associate Dean – Strategic Partnerships, and the audience about why the leisure conversation is central to our collective wellbeing. Plus we share strategies for protecting leisure time working in Higher Education. This is a great place to start if you’ve never listened to the podcast before and will recap the concept of Serious Leisure and our mission to help each other towards a healthy, sustainable work-life balance.

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Reflecting on ways to balance work and wellbeing via leisure and hobbies.

Produced at UWE Bristol.

In Episode 8 ‘Bringing Things to Life’ we meet Dr Matt Wood (Lecturer in Social Psychology at UWE Bristol) who alongside his lecturing career is also a puppeteer. We delve into the wonder and magic of the art of bringing inanimate objects to life and the intense focus and skill of this rare art form. Matt also helps us understand the tensions around having a side career that crosses into leisure and how ensuing personal and professional identities can be negotiated to everyone’s benefit.

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Reflecting on ways to balance work and wellbeing via leisure and hobbies.

Produced at UWE Bristol.

In this episode we hear from Justin Iriajen about the euphoria and relaxation of spending time on the decks. Whether connecting with a crowd or recharging alone, Justin explains why this unique art form is an essential part of his work/life balance. Not sure how to pronounce the title of this episode? It’s DJ -ing like ‘chick-sent-me-high’, the name of Hungarian-American psychologist who developed the concept of ‘flow’ – the blissful state of being totally absorbed in an activity where worries, stress and even the passing of time fade to the background. 

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Reflecting on ways to balance work and wellbeing via leisure and hobbies.

Produced at UWE Bristol.

In Episode 9 ‘Ultra Leisure’, Teesside University’s Sharon Gayter (Lecturer at Teesside University Business School), and UWE Bristol’s Jaroslaw Turif (Senior Lecturer - Learning Disabilities Nursing) introduce us to the elite world of ultra-running where races last for days and cross some of the world’s most hostile landscapes. Find out what draws people to these extreme sports, how can they be navigated alongside working life and what are the unique gains that make such a punishing leisure activity so addictive. 

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Reflecting on ways to balance work and wellbeing via leisure and hobbies.

Produced at UWE Bristol.

How did two Marketing and Management experts end up as jazz musicians on the side? In this unusual episode we hear how Noel Dennis kept up a lifelong passion for jazz trumpet together with his academic career in marketing and management, importing improvisation skills from music into management training, whilst also running a jazz band. Tim Hughes shares how the journey into retirement has made more space for his lifelong love for blues guitar to blossom, reminding us that it’s never too late to spend more time doing what we love.

Keep listening for a jazz recital by each guest.

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Reflecting on ways to balance work and wellbeing via leisure and hobbies.

Produced at UWE Bristol.

‘Do what makes you happy – possibility or pipe dream?’ We investigate the elusive reality of combining work and leisure interests into a single meaningful approach to life through the life story of social entrepreneur, writer and lecturer Roger Griffith MBE. As a black British man Roger shares his extraordinary story from dropping out of school in Bristol, establishing a successful, traditional career before embarking on a different approach combining his passions, interests and talents into a portfolio of activity that could also be called ‘work’. We discover what it takes to try this approach and how the risks compare to the rewards! You can read more about Roger, his unusual career and inspiring writings here: www.rogergriffith.co.uk/

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Reflecting on ways to balance work and wellbeing via leisure and hobbies.

Produced at UWE Bristol.