The Good Listening To Show: Stories of Distinction & Genius

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Delighted to welcome Irish viral cello sensation Patrick Dexter to The Good Listening To Show 'Clearing' for a truly remarkable story of 'distinction & genius'. Also featuring in this very special episode, 3 of Patrick's original Cello tracks that "moved Eamonn Holmes to tears!"

This is the extraordinary and heart-warming story of a humble Irish Cello Teacher (to a small Gaelic class of 7 year olds) being told that "school was closed indefinitely for lockdown" one minute, to becoming a global Social Media sensation the next, by going home to play his Cello along Ireland's wild Atlantic West coast:   A story of going viral, just like the pandemic, as he played!

From https://patrickdexter.com/

"In 2020, as countries around the world began to lock down, Patrick began playing music from his cottage and sharing it online. Since then his performances have been viewed millions of times and his music became a needed comfort for countless numbers of people all over the world.

Patrick has performed on CNN, BBC, ITV, Sky News, Global News Canada, RTÉ, Virgin Media, TG4. In April 2022 his debut album Solace reached No. 15 in the Billboard US and Canada album charts for classical-crossover albums making Patrick the highest selling independent artist in the genre and asserting his place as one of the world’s top cello players.

"Patrick’s cello sings amongst the nature outside his old stone cottage. The wild Atlantic breeze takes the warm sound up into the hills and out to the ocean. Patrick’s diverse repertoire of Irish traditional, classical and modern pop music, is all played with passion and virtuosic intensity.

 Incredible, tender, powerful, raw, passionate, sensual, just perfect!”

-Oscar winning songwriter Markéta Irglová

Tune in next week for more stories of 'Distinction & Genius' from The Good Listening To Show 'Clearing'.  If you would like to be my Guest too then you can find out HOW via the different 'series strands' at 'The Good Listening To Show' website.

• Show Website: https://www.thegoodlisteningtoshow.com
• You can email  me about the Show: [email protected]
• Twitter thatchrisgrimes
• LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/chris-grimes-actor-broadcaster-facilitator-coach/
• FaceBook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/842056403204860

Don't forget to SUBSCRIBE & REVIEW wherever you get your Podcasts :)

Thanks for listening! 

Send us Fan Mail

"What you Dream is what you DO - so  Dream BIG!"

Delighted to welcome for the 1st of the ALL NEW for 2023 "The Good Listening To Show:  Stories of Distinction & Genius" the wonderful, wise and inspiring serial entrepreneur and polymath David Hieatt.

David writes wonderful copy on LinkedIn and Twitter and as co-founder of the global Community "The DO Lectures" - Curated gatherings that will inspire you to DO - he reaches an extremely large audience indeed:

"DO exists to help you get from where you are now to where you could be. Our talks will help you make that journey. There is gold here. Stories with heart, ideas and insight. These talks can be your mentor. Some have been watched over 150 million times.

The stories shared at DO always bear witness to what’s happening in the world at large. They are told by some of the most progressive DOers and disruptors of our times. But even so they don’t paint perfect pictures. They are raw, honest and vulnerable. Human. Like us all.

And they are free. No advertising, no sponsorships, no hidden agendas. Just incredible, inspiring talks.

The idea is a simple one. We gather together the world’s great DOers, disruptors and changemakers, have them share their hearts and stories, and encourage others to go and DO amazing things too.

It’s been an incredible journey, and over the years many great mavericks and masters have stepped foot on the DO stage to tell their tales. From craftsmen to technologists, digital entrepreneurs to food champions. All are challengers of thought. Provokers of debate. Firestarters, risk-takers and gamechangers.

But most of all they are human. And we challenge them as we challenge you. We ask them to give the talk of their lives. One they haven’t done before. One that makes them open up and be vulnerable. That shares pain as well as progress. Heart and hope, as well as ideas and insight.

So, not easy. But then, our speakers have never settled for easy"

More about David in his own words:

 Bankrupt at 16. Thrown out of college at 18. Joined Saatchi and Saatchi at 21. Had a ball. Left advertising to go back to Wales. Started howies in 1995. Sold it to Timberland. Left. Started The DO Lectures, which was voted one of the top 10 ideas festivals in the world by the Guardian. And in 2012 started a company making jeans called The Hiut Denim Co. in his hometown of Cardigan. A town that used to have Britain’s biggest jeans factory. Its purpose is to get 400 people their jobs back. As of today, it now employs 27 people.

Tune in next week for more stories of 'Distinction & Genius' from The Good Listening To Show 'Clearing'.  If you would like to be my Guest too then you can find out HOW via the different 'series strands' at 'The Good Listening To Show' website.

• Show Website: https://www.thegoodlisteningtoshow.com
• You can email  me about the Show: [email protected]
• Twitter thatchrisgrimes
• LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/chris-grimes-actor-broadcaster-facilitator-coach/
• FaceBook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/842056403204860

Don't forget to SUBSCRIBE & REVIEW wherever you get your Podcasts :)

Thanks for listening! 

Send us Fan Mail

Ladies n' Genminminmin (er, min...) please welcome Actor, TV Personality, Pantomime Dame, Celebrity &  Legend, Christopher Biggins aka "The Biggins" to the show!
An absolute delight & pleasure to welcome a real live "National Treasure" to the Good Listening To 'Clearing'!  

Biggins (as we well know!) is a British Actor, Media Celebrity,  Compere & 'Grand Dame' of Pantomime. He officially achieved 'National Treasure' status when he won, as the Nation's favourite, "I'm a Celebrity Get Me Out Of Here!" in 2007.

I refer to him here in this episode very affectionately as being a veritable 'sofa cushion' as Biggins has been a 'happy appendage' to all the sofas of all of our favourite TV programme that you'd care to mention over many many years - and long may that continue!

Listen with glee in true pantomime style, as Biggins explains how he has managed to get 54" in the bedroom ("Oh yes he has!) with his obsession with Television. "Is that a Plasma Screen you have in your bedroom?" Erm etc... 

There is nothing like a Dame and in the world of pantomime, there is no Dame quite like Christopher Biggins!  He has a Lifetime Achievement Award to prove it. "Oh yes he does!"  

Now in his early 70s, Christopher has been performing in pantomime for 50 years. 
When he first entered Dame land  in Darlington all those years ago, the ticket price was under two bob (less than 8p in today’s currency). However Biggins as the star of the show was rewarded more like a professional footballer!

Perhaps that’s why Christopher Biggins’ dream car and 'Clearing' is riding around in a Bentley Continental convertible! Indeed this podcast is conducted with Christopher Biggins in the back and with me Chris Grimes as his imaginary Chauffeur!

Biggins is inspired by the wit and wisdom of the late Oscar Wilde. One particular Wilde quote springs to mind after listening to this particular conversation: “I have the simplest of tastes. I am always satisfied with the best.” 

Christopher Biggins has had a truly fabulous life and he appreciates it wholeheartedly. His parents made sacrifices to send him to private school where Mrs Christian’s elocution lessons smoothed out his West Country burr and prepared him vocally for a travelling actor’s life. Whether in Birmingham or Barbados, our Christopher has worked virtually nonstop ever since. 

A potential petrolhead and pyromaniac, he played Nero in "I Claudius". He played the sex-crazed Vicar in Poldark. He played Lukewarm in Porridge, with Ronnie Barker and Richard Beckinsale. In Rep, in Salisbury and in Bristol, he played umpteen different characters - that was the beauty of Repertory theatre. 

For London Weekend Television, Biggins was co-compère with Cilla Black in ‘Surprise! Surprise!’ Over the years, he has worked with many of the greatest names in the theatre, TV and film - including Cameron Macintosh, John Gielgud, Ralph Richardson, Joan Collins, Judi Dench, David Hasselhoff, Morecambe and Wise, to name-drop but a few.  He was Best Man at Jeremy Irons’ first wedding and introduced him to Sinead Cusack, the woman who became his second wife, when that first marriage ended early. 

Christopher Biggins is a Bon Vivant par excellence. He loves laughing, travelling and eating out. Another quote from Oscar Wilde applies to him : “Everything in moderation, including moderation.” 

A dream guest! Charming, larger than life and exuding joie de vivre and good humour.

Listening to him could be just the tonic you need, right here, right now!

Tune in next week for more stories of 'Distinction & Genius' from The Good Listening To Show 'Clearing'.  If you would like to be my Guest too then you can find out HOW via the different 'series strands' at 'The Good Listening To Show' website.

• Show Website: https://www.thegoodlisteningtoshow.com
• You can email  me about the Show: [email protected]
• Twitter thatchrisgrimes
• LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/chris-grimes-actor-broadcaster-facilitator-coach/
• FaceBook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/842056403204860

Don't forget to SUBSCRIBE & REVIEW wherever you get your Podcasts :)

Thanks for listening! 

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What is the Talisker Whisky Challenge? How can we help?  And beware the perils of "Trenchfoot of the Arse!"

Tune in next week for more stories of 'Distinction & Genius' from The Good Listening To Show 'Clearing'.  If you would like to be my Guest too then you can find out HOW via the different 'series strands' at 'The Good Listening To Show' website.

• Show Website: https://www.thegoodlisteningtoshow.com
• You can email  me about the Show: [email protected]
• Twitter thatchrisgrimes
• LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/chris-grimes-actor-broadcaster-facilitator-coach/
• FaceBook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/842056403204860

Don't forget to SUBSCRIBE & REVIEW wherever you get your Podcasts :)

Thanks for listening! 

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Please welcome to the 'Clearing' Scottish BAFTA Award winning actress & “Queen of Scream” Shauna Macdonald. "If you Google me a lot of horror comes up!" partly because of her role as Sarah Carter in the iconic film "The Descent" circa 2005.

A rich and textured conversation indeed on handling grief after the loss of her mother just under a year ago ("all roads lead back to my mum"), inspiring the future of Scottish Film & TV as Director of the Edinburgh Youth Theatre.  And currently also supporting, (as "Queen of Digital Media"), the Atlantic Rowing Team "Atlantic Body & Soul" with her husband Cal Macaninch as one of a team of 5 at the oars, currently mid-row across the Atlantic as part of the Talisker Whisky Challenge. 

Do listen out for the postscript "Captain's Log Supplemental" extract just beyond  the outro, where Shauna tells us more about how we can support Cal and "Atlantic Body & Soul" in their Epic Quest and row across the Atlantic to raise money for young people that have experienced trauma.

More about Shauna: 

Born in Malaysia 40 odd years ago, Shauna Macdonald took advice from her mother early on and Shauna has lived by it ever since. Shauna’s mum’s health was compromised by spina bifida and polio but her spirit never was. Her advice to Shauna was straightforward: “You can do anything you want !”

It applied when Shauna wanted to be an actor and joined the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland. It applied when she fell in love in her twenties, with another actor, one somewhat older than her. It applied when she joined the Edinburgh Youth Theatre as a relief teacher and helped build it to over 200 souls strong in the last 7 years. 
Despite her only recently diagnosed dyslexia, Shauna is now a dab hand at applying for funds to benefit the future young talent of Scotland the brave. 

Her husband, Actor Cal Macaninch is a brave man. At the time of this recording, he is 10 days into an epic journey of 40+ days of rowing across the Atlantic as part of a crew of 5, helping to raise money for Charity as one of 43 boats competing in the flotilla of the Tulisker Whisky Challenge.

And yes, Cal is the actor Shauna fell in love with numerous years ago. Apart from the traditional vows they exchanged, Shauna and Cal committed to sharing new adventures on a regular basis. All being well, their next will be being reunited in Antigua in a few weeks’ time and in the past their adventure-loving spirit has taken them to countries as far away from Scotland as Australia, South Africa and Canada. On the way, they have added 3 children and two dogs to their family troupe. 

She now has a Scottish BAFTA award to her credit and has worked more or less non-stop since she left drama school. Her credits include the TV series ‘Spooks’ and on the big screen the genuinely spooky movie masterpiece ‘The Descent’. 

Shauna has always been active. Originally with badminton, basketball,  gymnastics, and running - and now also co-running (see what I did there?!) the Edinburgh Youth Theatre, to inspire and protect the future of Scottish Film & TV.  

She is a veritable 'centrifugal force' of energy and optimism, emanating warmth and positivity whatever she turns her attention to. You will often find her running or walking on the beach in Portobello with her two dogs as her 'Clearing'.  And wherever you meet her, you will always find her in good humour and in great voice, exuding joie de vivre, passion and optimism. What better tonic to gulp down at the start of 2023?

Tune in next week for more stories of 'Distinction & Genius' from The Good Listening To Show 'Clearing'.  If you would like to be my Guest too then you can find out HOW via the different 'series strands' at 'The Good Listening To Show' website.

• Show Website: https://www.thegoodlisteningtoshow.com
• You can email  me about the Show: [email protected]
• Twitter thatchrisgrimes
• LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/chris-grimes-actor-broadcaster-facilitator-coach/
• FaceBook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/842056403204860

Don't forget to SUBSCRIBE & REVIEW wherever you get your Podcasts :)

Thanks for listening! 

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Ladies n' Genminminmin' (er, min...) please welcome Chris White to "The Good Listening To Show" to talk all about "Navigating Gender Fluidity": All things identity & sexuality through the lens of both of his children and their gender choice experiences: Both originally born "female" but now both identifying differently as "non-binary" and "gender-fluid" respectively.

What does Gender Fluidity mean to and for you? What are YOUR preferred pronouns? What exactly is a "Dead Name"? And what can sometimes happen if you get any of all that wrong in the ears of the receiver?

Here to help us to navigate the subtlety, nuance and complexity of all of the above is outdoor running nut and extreme Marathon runner Chris White, who recently 'laughed in the face' (as his face and beard both froze!) of temperatures of -9, going 'full feral Wim Hof',  running here in the UK!

Here for background is what Chris told me about before we spoke:

"Have now discussed with both offspring & they are very much onboard.  So, some info on each of them below.  I've also discovered this article which explains well the differences between gender and sex (https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/232363#identity-and-expression)

Max (17 years old) - is of the female sex - but came out as non-binary in November 2020 & legally changed their name to Max in Dec 2021.  Their "dead name" is Sophie - though we learned to avoid using that name as part of their identity & it's now quite reassuring that I think of them as Max (and the hiking socks I'm currently wearing as I write this have literally "Cool Max" written on them 🙂).  Their preferred pronouns are they/them (which can get a little confusing when I say that they have gone to the shops - as could mean one or both of them! there are others that can be used - see https://www.them.us/story/gender-neutral-pronouns-101-they-them-xe-xem).  

They felt uncomfortable being seen as a woman & when they came out as non-binary it felt that everything had clicked into place for them.  They are not big on labels & just see themselves as "I am me".  Coming out was definitely positive for them & made them feel more comfortable.  Helps that the college they go to (UCB - University College Birmingham) has gender neutral changing rooms as well as male and female.  Max does struggle where there that isn't available & often plump for the gender-neutral disabled toilets (or unisex toilets if available).

Vi (19 years old) - is also of the female sex - but came out as gender fluid within the last year (encouraged by Max coming out I'd think as it made them reflect on their identity).  They sometimes have feminine feelings, sometimes masculine - but usually feels neither.  Their preferred pronouns are They/She/He - in that order as that is in the order of where they usually are feeling - it fluctuates.  Their name was Beth (Elizabeth) & they are not overly bothered if they are referred to as that - but they prefer Vi as is a more gender-neutral name.  Legally they are still Elizabeth.  They are quite happy to use female toilets.

Tune in next week for more stories of 'Distinction & Genius' from The Good Listening To Show 'Clearing'.  If you would like to be my Guest too then you can find out HOW via the different 'series strands' at 'The Good Listening To Show' website.

• Show Website: https://www.thegoodlisteningtoshow.com
• You can email  me about the Show: [email protected]
• Twitter thatchrisgrimes
• LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/chris-grimes-actor-broadcaster-facilitator-coach/
• FaceBook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/842056403204860

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Thanks for listening! 

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Ladies n' Genminminmin' (er, min...) absolutely thrilled & delighted to be welcoming Josette Bushell Mingo, Principal of The Royal Central School of Speech & Drama to the 'Clearing'.

In the 1st of a series of shows whereby I'll be using the vehicle of the podcast to help amplify the reputation of The Central School,  whilst also getting to meet and record some of its illustrious Alumni, with Josette agreeing to go first. I too trained there as a Drama Teacher circa 1982-86.

Here also to break new ground together, as our conversation is being simultaneously "signed" for the Film version of the programme, by the wonderful deaf-theatre signer Sherrie-Eugene Hart, praised by Director Sally Cookson as being "the best in the business".

Previously the Head of Acting at Stockholm University of the Arts, Sweden, Josette Bushell-Mingo is an award-winning actor and director whose career has included performances with the Royal Shakespeare Company, the National Theatre and the Manchester Royal Exchange.  She was nominated for an Olivier Award for Best Actress in a Musical for her role as Rafiki in the West End production of The Lion King and she starred in the internationally acclaimed production Nina: A Story about Me and Nina Simone.

As a director, Josette Bushell-Mingo was Founder and Artistic Director of PUSH, a Black-led theatre festival with the Young Vic Theatre.  

For 13 years, she was also the Artistic Director for The National Touring Swedish Deaf Theatre ensemble Tyst Teater, where her work focused on fostering the understanding, respect and potential of sign language arts and the artistic, linguistic and cultural rights of the deaf.

As a director and teacher, Josette travels internationally giving lectures and workshops in the creation of sign language theatre, cultural diversity challenges and inclusion.

More about Josette Bushell Mingo: 

An articulate Aquarian of African descent, Josette Bushell-Mingo is a genuine East Ender. Born in February years ago and brought up in Plaistow, Josette first made her mark as an elite athlete, training for the 100 metre sprint, moving on to the relay and then going from track to field, for shot put and discus. Josette learned discipline early in life, together with the power of purpose and the talent for dealing with disappointment. Later Josette applied the same disciplines in landing an Olivier award for her role as the shaman Rafiki in the West End production of the now global hit musical, "The Lion King:.

In time, Josette left London for Stockholm where she was Director of the National Deaf Theatre of Sweden for over 10 years. 

Sources of inspiration for Josette include Maya Angelou and Nina Simone and inclusion remains a central issue in Josette’s approach to her personal and professional life. She is only the second woman ever to become Principal of the Central School of Speech and Drama in London and the first ever of African descent. 

Josette relishes the challenge of successfully navigating complicated constellations this entails and is passionate about eliminating racism, sexism and class-related prejudice wherever she can. Josette sees the extraordinary world of the Arts as the single most important champion of civilisation - as a human right that should be defended fearlessly by everyone for everyone. 

Josette herself  remains powerfully optimistic but never complacent. “It’s all going to be ok - and if it’s not, we’ll sort it out.” Her language is plain yet elegant. This is a poet on roller skates, with a quietly beaming smile and a wealth of wisdom, experience, strength and hope to share with anyone lucky enough to come within range - anyone with ears to hear or eyes to read the sign language that Josette makes so readily available. 

Lucky you, you are within range of Josette Bushell-Mingo right here, right now.

Tune in next week for more stories of 'Distinction & Genius' from The Good Listening To Show 'Clearing'.  If you would like to be my Guest too then you can find out HOW via the different 'series strands' at 'The Good Listening To Show' website.

• Show Website: https://www.thegoodlisteningtoshow.com
• You can email  me about the Show: [email protected]
• Twitter thatchrisgrimes
• LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/chris-grimes-actor-broadcaster-facilitator-coach/
• FaceBook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/842056403204860

Don't forget to SUBSCRIBE & REVIEW wherever you get your Podcasts :)

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‘I’m Thomas Johnson, I live in the Cotswolds in the UK. I have composed hundreds of scores for all sorts of different kinds of theatre - tiny studios, mid-scale theatres, in parks, in schools, on Broadway, on the beach, from Minnesota to Moscow - ranging from solo harp to full orchestra.

 I greatly enjoy the collaborative process of theatre, and have a passion for working closely to text, believing that a musical underscore can be a proactive and exciting tool in shedding light on meaning; and music can of course be transcendent, travel beyond meaning, detonate a theatrical moment in a way that nothing else can.

 I’m also passionate about choral music. Human voices,  singing in harmony, thrill like nothing else. There’s something incredibly moving about the sound, and the commonality of it’.


You can hear Thomas Johnson's music at:

 soundcloud.com/thomasfjohnson

More about Tom:

Odd things happen to Tom Johnson. Aged 11, he was hired as a minstrel with his violin to entertain at replica mediaeval feasts every weekend, including copious amounts of mead and token wenches to add to the atmosphere! Young Tom acquired the taste early for a ‘good night out’ ! 

Aged 15, he discovered Punk music…
Then, after getting a degree in English Literature at Oxford, he went to Sheffield with his then girlfriend. One week later, the relationship ended. Soon after, a friend suggested he looked for new opportunities in the classified ads in The Stage newspaper, Although completely unfamiliar to him, Tom responded to a vacancy at Dr Foster’s Theatre Company. The principal there has remained a lifelong friend and colleague ever since. 

One Christmas where he now lives, a flash fire starting with a single candle quickly and completely destroyed his family living quarters - but, fortunately, it left his Egghouse Studio and musical instruments completely unscathed. Tom and his wife decided to stay on site and rebuild completely. This is very much in character as Tom has had in effect had only one job all his life, as a travelling musician, composer and choirmaster. 

If he has a regret, it is that he did not back up his primary creative talent with a reliable secondary ‘trade’ like carpentry. Having said that, Tom admits he has shown little talent or even interest in any area not related to music! 

He is happiest quietly composing in his Egghouse Studio or working with enthusiastic singers in a rehearsal room, ‘creating sounds that no one else thought was possible!’

A good guitar shop is his idea of window-shopping heaven and seeing a West Country sunset from a hillside pub, with a glass of good beer in his hand, is a spiritual experience. 

At a more fanciful level, Tom would like to be remembered as the musician who made a massive fortune late in his life and then died happily, missed and mourned by family and friends. And if he doesn’t make that fortune, my guess is that Tom will still die happy. He is an inspirational man who has been inspired - and continues to be inspired - by others. As you can hear here now, uninterrupted, for yourself.

Reg Starkey - Editor, UK Health Triangle Magazine

Tune in next week for more stories of 'Distinction & Genius' from The Good Listening To Show 'Clearing'.  If you would like to be my Guest too then you can find out HOW via the different 'series strands' at 'The Good Listening To Show' website.

• Show Website: https://www.thegoodlisteningtoshow.com
• You can email  me about the Show: [email protected]
• Twitter thatchrisgrimes
• LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/chris-grimes-actor-broadcaster-facilitator-coach/
• FaceBook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/842056403204860

Don't forget to SUBSCRIBE & REVIEW wherever you get your Podcasts :)

Thanks for listening! 

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Absolutely delighted to welcome the warm, witty and wonderful Jenny Stephens to The Good Listening To 'Clearing' as part of a happy experiment to help amplify the reputation of the Bristol Old Vic Theatre School, where I too trained as an Actor, using the happy vehicle of the Podcast.

Any minute now, Jenny Stephens is about to complete 10 glorious years as Artistic Director of the Bristol Old Vic Theatre School. Sounds quite highbrow? Jenny Stephens reveals herself here to be delightfully highbrow, middlebrow and lowbrow. One example illustrates this perfectly: she gives herself the Clearing choice of the Grand Canal in Venice or the Yorkshire Dales and Moors. On reflection, Jenny Stephens opts for the rural emptiness of Yorkshire. 

Her family of origin is based in Bradford. She wasn’t born with a silver spoon in her mouth. She never met anyone who’d been to Boarding School until she went to University in Birmingham. If Jenny’s rough and ready Yorkshire childhood was formative, her University education was transformative. It “filled her soul” and made her aware of the connectedness of everything. 

Jenny draws enthusiastically on sources from everywhere with her own personal brand of magnetic optimism. Born in the ‘Year of the Pig’ in Chinese astrology, Jenny Stephens manifests the typical characteristics of frank positivity and kindhearted openness. 

While she may feel she was born without a roadmap, she has navigated her life with shining sincerity and style. Her ‘long-suffering’ husband and now grownup children remain a primary source of joy. She can lose herself watching "Midsomer Murders" with them or playing "Tomb Raider"! 

She can find inspiration in one 19th century American orator or in all kinds of contemporary colleagues and students. 

Her hair may have gone from brown to grey but her heart still sings in the magic of the rehearsal room. She is looking forward to directing the Archers again in 2023, renewing old relationships and developing new ones in the BBC’s most famous radio series. 

Jenny Stephens is a diamond. If she was born a little rough around the edges, she now has many facets, all dazzling!

Tune in next week for more stories of 'Distinction & Genius' from The Good Listening To Show 'Clearing'.  If you would like to be my Guest too then you can find out HOW via the different 'series strands' at 'The Good Listening To Show' website.

• Show Website: https://www.thegoodlisteningtoshow.com
• You can email  me about the Show: [email protected]
• Twitter thatchrisgrimes
• LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/chris-grimes-actor-broadcaster-facilitator-coach/
• FaceBook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/842056403204860

Don't forget to SUBSCRIBE & REVIEW wherever you get your Podcasts :)

Thanks for listening! 

Send us Fan Mail

Ladies n Genminminminmin (er, min...) please welcome Blue Peter, Scouting & Online Panto Legend Peter Duncan to The Good Listening To Show!

Peter Duncan is a quintessential family entertainer, a veritable prolific-pants of creativity and versatility. He is an Actor, Presenter,  Adventurer, former Chief Scout, Pantomime King & Blue Peter Alumni.

My first ever Theatre job was understudying Peter in David Wood’s Whirligig Theatre show, “Dinosaurs and All That Rubbish” way back when, circa 1988!

A wonderfully rich and textured conversation indeed. One of the things I was intrigued to find out more about was a recent blog post in which Peter said: "Just after dying on a cross and ascending to heaven on a wet pensioner's matinee (whilst appearing in "The Mystery Plays") I sat in my car and was overwhelmed.  I felt as if I had walked through an ethereal portal where nothing was inexplicable. ‘I was a child of the universe, no less than the trees and stars, I had a right to be here’ I always long to feel again that deep flash of knowing calm.

More about Peter: 

Peter Duncan is a dreamer. And a thinker. And a daredevil. His life has never, ever been dull. His parents were in show business!They took him on their travels, all year long,  from summer seasons to winter pantomimes. 

Peter Duncan himself made his first public appearance as a teenager on stage at the Mermaid in London, playing Jim Hawkins in "Treasure Island". Then, at 16, he joined the Olivier Company at The National. It sounds as though he has either been working or travelling every day, ever since. 

On TV, in film on one side of the camera or the other, or on stage, in a play or in Panto. Or on the road with family or with a documentary camera  in Russia, USA, India or China. 

If Blue Peter made Peter Duncan famous, he has found more anonymous popular fame with new generations of children as a Pantomime Dame. The characters Peter Duncan has created  himself include Dame Trott, Billie Eyelash and most recently, Dame Dolly Donut! The anarchic humour of the Dame disguises the more serious side of Peter Duncan, who turns to Dahl for command of language, to Jung for a different view of dreams, to Gibran for poetic inspiration, to Goethe for a guide to bolder living, to Shakespeare for a gloomy summary of human existence, to Desiderata for a graceful exit. 

This is a man of mystery, yet who is distracted by the physicality of football or the presence of women. Who had a spiritual experience after playing Jesus in a matinee, on a wet afternoon in a car park in the provinces. Who, in his spare time, is a dystopian conceptual artist, with a dark view of the further future - yet a bright view of today! Someone who writes a blog - on an annual basis! 

A former wannabe hippie - who visits his barber even less frequently and had at the time of this interview, just renewed the ceiling lining of his summerhouse, on a whim, for the first time in 25 years. 

There is much more to Peter Duncan than meets the eye! For a small fee, you can see a trio of his latest pantomimes online, created during and after lockdown. They and this interview provide some fascinating inner glimpses of his personal complexity. Peter Duncan certainly deserves centre stage…

Tune in next week for more stories of 'Distinction & Genius' from The Good Listening To Show 'Clearing'.  If you would like to be my Guest too then you can find out HOW via the different 'series strands' at 'The Good Listening To Show' website.

• Show Website: https://www.thegoodlisteningtoshow.com
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