Strong Tea

Trigger Warning: This episode contains details of death, the moments of death, cancer, and grief.

For some, the thought of losing a parent is unimaginable, even though it is considered the order of life. But what happens when we do? How does it feel? What if we are there when they die?

Death. It comes to all of us yet so many of us shy away from talking about it. The inevitability and finality of end of life can be scary and daunting but why do stick our heads in the sand? 

This episode sees us meet with Jane Grayer, celebrant and end of life doula, who talks about those scary yet all important conversations we should be having.

Listen to us discuss all aspects of death and dying including how opening up the conversation can help those with a terminal diagnosis and those close to them.

Fibromyalgia. Never heard of it? This is a condition which affects the central nervous system and causes chronic pain. It's estimated that it affects up to 2 million people in the UK.

After years of struggling with various diagnosis’ and ongoing issues, Katie became increasingly frustrated, the impact on mental health was becoming significant and that in itself was making the issues worse. So what was going on? After a very long winded medical intervention, Katie’s doctor diagnosed her with Fibromyalgia.

In this episode, we explore what exactly it is, the symptoms, and the stats behind this bizarre medical condition. Katie talks about her personal experiences and how getting a diagnosis changed her life.

If like further information about Fibromyalgia, please check out the links below:

https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/fibromyalgia/ 

https://www.fmauk.org 

Instagram:

@fibromyalgia_warriors_uk

@fibromyalgia.support

@ukfibromyalgiamag

It has been a fantastic Strong Tea Pride series and we are ending with a Quick Brew finale.

Vikki and Katie talk through their LGBT+ role models which proved very difficult to short list.

An incredible mix of historical and current legends that have both changed history and currently making history for the LGBT+ community.

There may be some legends you have heard of and some you have not, but the folk in this episode have journeys and life stories that are heroic, tragic, empowering, uplifting and inspiring - it is not one to miss.

We welcome back the inspiringly wonderful Suzanne Doyle who talks to us about her journey from personal discovery and coming out, to her incredible work and achievements for the LGBT+ community.

This episode is everything from emotional, funny, interesting and thought provoking.

Suzanne is Winner of the UK's Most Inspiring Individual of the Year 2017, Winner of the Bristol Diversity Awards (Business Award) for LGBT+ 2019, Winner of several Shout Out Awards for her role as Director of Indigo Network, she was shortlisted for UK Lead EDI of the Year and shortlisted for Community Champion of the Year amongst many, many others.

This is a fantastic final Strong Tea episode for our Pride series, we hope you find it as powerful as we did!

Welcoming back the wonderful Dylan Holloway to his second podcast with us.

Dylan joined us earlier in our Pride series to discuss his transition journey with us in what was a truly uplifting and warming episode.

This time, Dylan talks about navigating his music career whilst battling gender dysmorphia, how his journey with testosterone has changed his singing voice and why he’s prouder than ever to be playing at London Pride this year.  

Don’t miss this fantastic episode which encompasses all things pride!

So super excited about this episode! We were so privileged to have Dylan Holloway on our show to talk about his transition journey.

Dylan was born in the early 90s and always felt like he was born into the wrong body, always desperate to be the Disney prince and not the princess, his journey began from day dot. Fast forward 28 years and Dylan is living as a trans man and living his absolute best life. 

This podcast is emotional, insightful and wonderfully honest, Dylan talks about his journey of self discovery, physical dysphoria and coming out to his friends and family.

As part of our pride series, this episode teaches us about love and acceptance of all those around us and how we can be better allies.

It’s certainly one to get your lugholes around as soon as possible!

To kick off our Strong Tea Pride mini-series, we are beyond excited to bring you a very special guest, Sab Samuel.

Also known as Aida H Dee, Sab is the founder of Drag Queen Story Hour UK and is a proud advocate for autistic, ADHD and LGBTQ+ people everywhere.

This episode covers his humble beginnings in drag, his incredible work and the discusses the continuing need for more LGBTQ+ content in education.

It's one heck of a fabulous listen!