In this episode of Tell me more I talk to Joyia Fitch.

Joyia works in TV, film, theatre and events, as an actress, casting assistant and hostess. She won the Breakthrough Scholarship for Memoir Writers with Curtis Brown Creative in 2024 and received a London Writers Award with Spread the Word for Narrative Non-Fiction in 2021. 

Working with Clare Mackintosh, she wrote Of Sound Mind. Mostly. which is included in the anthology Will You Read This, Please? edited by Joanna Cannon (Borough Press, May 2023).

We discuss Joiya’s time in a cult, how she got in and more importantly how she got out. She gives me a very honest account of what it was like at every stage and the work that is ongoing in her life to come to terms with what happened. 

There is also mention of self harm and suicide so please bear that in mind 

Joyia is currently in the process of writing a book about her experience and I can’t wait to read it.

Will you read this, please? The book can be found on the link below.

https://www.boroughpress.co.uk/products/will-you-read-this-please-9780008520007/

Quick check regarding cults

https://www.psychotherapy.net/article/cult-members

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Creating a community is something that is becoming ever more important to me and in this episode I talk to David Allwood who accidentally founded Homoparody by deciding to recreate a Lady Gaga video in Lockdown. It's now grown to be a creative company that performs far and wide while also providing a weekly dance class to give people a safe space to express themselves physically and finding their tribe.

We also discuss what it's like to compete in the Mr Gay Great Britain competition and how it's a lot more than a beauty pageant. David also told me about the new shows he has just choreographed at the Pleasance Theatre in London

https://www.tht.org.uk/

https://londonfriend.org.uk

https://www.instagram.com/homoparody/?hl=en

https://www.instagram.com/david_allwood/?hl=en

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/52580373-all-the-young-men?ac=1&from_search=true&qid=sCGUA6lRmm&rank=1

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A doctor, a stand up comic and a preacher all walk in to a bar, mostly because it's the same person, Marc Isaac.

Marc grew up in Scotland but is currently based in Melbourne which is were we had our conversation.

We delve in to what it was like to be working in medicine during the covid pandemic across two continents and also what is means to have Faith and how that works in the modern day.

My favourite quote from this episode is "The confidence to accept acceptance when you know you’re not acceptable"

We also discuss suicide and drug use so please bear that in mind if that’s something you’re not up to hearing right now.

If you have enjoyed this episode I would love it if you could forward it on to someone, or share it on your instagram story to help other people find the show.

If you want to check out any of the things we discuss the links are below.

https://www.instagram.com/marcisaaccomedy/

Troy perry autobiography

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/493321.The_Lord_is_my_shepherd_and_he_knows_I_m_gay?ac=1&from_search=true&qid=MRQEad1FFu&rank=1

Metropolitan Community church

https://www.mccchurch.org/landing.html

https://www.britannica.com/biography/Karl-Barth

https://www.britannica.com/biography/Paul-Tillich

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/175141.The_Courage_to_Be?from_search=true&from_srp=true&qid=g2GBBIueCU&rank=4

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In this episode I talk to Isabela who I met at my gym and I found out she is training to be a pilot. My initial response was, 'wow, that's so cool to be a female pilot" rather than, "that's so cool".

We discuss what it takes to become a pilot, the hazards of unexpected weather, hot girl walking, and how much our dogs love fireworks.

So buckle up, there may be turbulence.

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In this episode I talk to Alex Nelms and Charlie Edgely about running a family farm for the last 70 years. I got a really amazing insight in to the day to day of running a farm and the impact of the war in Ukraine on the basic foods that we take for granted.

We also remembered what happened during the petrol crisis in the early 2000's and the covid pandemic when we didn't have fully stocked shelves in the supermarkets and I will definitely be looking for the Red Tractor in future.

If you want to check out Kensham farms their website is linked below

https://www.kenshamfarms.com/

This link will take you to a youtube video showing what they are about

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Q51sx63mrQ&t=4s

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In this episode of Also I catch up with Amy Young who now teaches children with autism through sensory dance, we laugh about how much of our friendship I've forgotten. Her son is also with us in the background as real life is the best. We also discuss how numbers are so important to her son's development, how she handles autism when meeting new people and the new career path she has found since she left showbiz.

I hope you enjoy our catch up conversation.

Link below for the course mentioned in the episode.

Understanding autism Open University

https://www.open.edu/openlearn/science-maths-technology/understanding-autism/content-section-overview?active-tab=description-tab

Also... Amy did not get back to me with a joke.

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In this episode I talk to Mistress Sandy Star about the highs and lows of the adult industry. From lap dancing to being a dominatrix she shares some interesting moments which show that the oldest profession in the world isn't what I thought it would be.

Sandy has her two dogs with us so you'll hear them in the background and you can see them in action over on the instagram and TikTok (@thatalsopodcast)

The book I reference is "Call me Elizabeth"

https://www.google.co.uk/books/edition/Call_Me_Elizabeth/nufuOQAACAAJ?hl=en

Sandy's episode of Adults Only! on Channel 5

https://www.channel5.com/show/adults-only/season-1-63665092-6d73-4a9f-a117-591a9aca9a8a/hurts-so-good

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In this episode I talk to my long standing friend Pete about his experience of setting up a queer book shop, the aids crisis advert and the convenience of home testing for STIs.

If you would like to have a look at some of the great things you can get at Gayberystwith Books you can click the link below.

https://gayberystwyth-books.square.site

Their online shopping is great, delivery was fast and pretty.

Thanks for listening.

A youtube video discussing the former Batchelorette contestant Josh Seiter faking being a trans woman.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8y8P44ydPaY

"All the young men" by Ruth Coker Brooks

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/52580373-all-the-young-men?ac=1&from_search=true&qid=IsoQAm9qmg&rank=1

"Gay Bar:Why we went out" Jeremy Atherton Lin

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/53915332-gay-bar?ref=nav_sb_ss_1_7

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In this episode I talk to Jack Strange about his debut novel "Look up, handsome" A charming rom-com set in Wales, with a queer love story. This book was a beautiful read and definitely deserves to be televised as a Hallmark film.

It's available through all the usual stockists, but as the book's central character is an independent book shop owner, it would be great to buy it from an independent retailer.

Full disclosure-I read it on my kindle and then bought the paperback to get Jack to sign it.

Also... I bought my paperback from https://gayberystwyth-books.square.site/product/look-up-handsome-by-jack-strange/192?cp=true&sa=false&sbp=false&q=true

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I mean, they were only sprint triathlons (wink)

In this episode Ciaran tells me how doing 30 triathlons in 30 days, with no day off, helped him raise money for an incredible cause and how incredible it was to have people show up to help him on his way.

If you want to check Ciaran out to see the face that matches the laugh, his instagram handle is @ciaranphoward

His just giving page is linked here in case you want to donate.

https://www.justgiving.com/page/ciaran-howard-1717237780535?utm_medium=fundraising&utm_content=page%2Fciaran-howard-1717237780535&utm_source=copyLink&utm_campaign=pfp-share

The charity insta page is @agh_foundation

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