What do Florence Pugh, Monica Dolan, Toby Jones, Patricia Clarkson and James Caan all have in common? Answer Carol Morley. Brought up  in Stockport, Manchester,  youngest of three.... .....devastated by the  tragic loss of her Dad. Carol picked up books and alcohol aged 11, while becoming her eccentric mother's carer, and exploring her sexuality in every  way, Eventually finding sanctuary in Tony Wilson's infamous Hacienda Club aged 16,. Desperate to belong, to be valued, to fit in  she continued to self-medicate on booze, drugs and promiscuous sex for four years at the the club, Close to losing her mind and indeed her life, something drove her to flee to London.

The courageous journey of winning a First-Class degree at St Martin’s School of Art and her steady ascent into award winning filmmaking career will have you cheering in the aisles. Look at some of her work  https://www.campfilms.co.uk/ 

Simon Woodroffe. OBE is an original Dragon on Dagon's Den and founder of the Yo Sushi restaurant chain. He believes in people doing things that are outside of their comfort zone. He talks about abandonment, being sent to boarding school aged seven, and being bullied and abused by the the Headmaster. The subsequent fear,  low self esteem and anger he experienced into his thirties' were masked by bravado and drink, sex and drugs. The latter resulting in a short spell in prison.. He then took hold of his life , immersed himself in 12 Step Recovery and self help. Acting as stage designer to Rod Stewart. Fleetwood Mac and  George Michael took him to another level.  TV fame came next with Dragon's Deb. Eventually, founding Yo! Sushi and other successful companies. Generous, courageous, shooting straight from his practical hip...inspirational.

Rachel Jones is the editor of Toes in the Water: Stories of lives changed by wild swimming 

talks about the good and the bad times and how swimming in cold wild water has transformed her and other people's lives for the better. https://bit.ly/4bLFpbn

She highlights a sense of community, trauma, divorce, self-discipline, self-regulation, resilience, coeliac disease/autoimmune disease, happiness, kindness, autism and ADHD. Discusses being an SEN teacher at King Edward's School Southampton.

Rachel Jones is the editor of Toes in the Water: Stories of lives changed by wild swimming. In this Shed Chat she talks about resilience, having the love of fellow swimmers, the challenge of being a single parent with celiac disease, faith, humour,, learning good habits  and her time teaching at King Edward School, Southampton.  

Paul Unwin is the co-creator of huge hit TV show 'Casualty' with best friend Jeremy Brock, was the artistic director of the Bristol Old Vic, and collaborator and good friend of playwright Arthur Miller, to name a few accolades. He talks about the traumatic turning point of his life at the young age of 19, therapy and later EMDR, survivor's guilt. His ethos is "Don't live with regret, don't live with fear".

Paul also talks about his recent West End play 'The Enfield Haunting', as well as his new play, ‘The Promise’, about the birth of the NHS.

Paul has two children and a wife called Kate who he thinks of as his ‘very best friend’. Both his parents were in the diplomatic service, his father was an ambassador, his mother, interestingly, was a German Jew who managed to escape to England in 1938 from the Nazis. Paul’s other best friend is his dog, who he refuses to call a pet.

New to 2024: SHED CHATS

Shed Chats are briefer conversations with interesting people - not specifically to do with mental health, but fascinating topics nonetheless.

Self-effacing Harvey Lisberg talks about making his own luck, His wild life in the music business, meeting Elvis, Colonel Parker, playing on the same bill as the Stones. What it was like to be in the fast lane in Manchester and the North, London and New York. and on being a self confessed gambler.  Graham Gouldman, Peter Noone, Herman's Hermits and 10CC How he met his wife, Carol  and how she changed his life for the steadier and much better. His time  with Danny Batesh at Kennedy Street .  The importance of family then and now.

Music biographer, reviewer, and co-founder of elvinyl.com Richard Morton Jack joins host Jeremy Thomas to discuss 'Nick Drake: The Life' and much more.

Many people thought that Nick Drake was going to be hugely successful in the 1970s. His three albums were all critically acclaimed, yet did not sell. Tragically, he took his own life when he was 26. However, ever since his death, his popularity has continually increased throughout the world. This episode sets the record straight on unanswered questions about Nick Drake’s private life and his demise. Was it possible he had severe depression or schizophrenia? Was it possible he was going to marry someone? What would have happened to his mental health had he been alive today?

Thanks to the unfettered access to private correspondence, tapes, university friends, family friends, and female acquaintances, Richard Morton Jack sympathetically but objectively unveils Nick Drake's private life, medical history and much more.

Jan Ravens did not enjoy her childhood, did not like being teased about her father . Did not like feeling such a powerless child. Jan talks about how being ill, causing a serious weight loss and his made her the most popular gal down at the disco. How this and impersonating teachers to her fellow pupils gave her some much needed power. She talks of some good times laughing at comedy TV with her father and trying to be sympathetic about her angry mother. How her father was baffled and defeated by life. She describes many poignant and awkward aspects of the effects on the family that her father's illness trig How local Glenda Jackson was a major inspiration. Ferociously bright, Jan got to Cambridge University, took a deep breath and dived into the world of the Footlights. Her achievements include winning the big Award at the Edinburgh Festival. Going on to work in Spitting Image, the RSC, Strictly, she felt the fear and did it anyway. What drove her on and what keeps her afloat?