The Rise and Hive

This week we’re talking about the spaces we choose to be part of and the people we meet in them. Melissa debriefs from her yoga retreat in Ibiza, and we both reflect on the Breath & Bloom day retreat we recently attended closer to home. Different spaces, same reminder of the power of connection and community, and of how every person has a story you know nothing about. Experiences like these always get us thinking about the spaces we want to join, the spaces we want to create and the kind of hive we want to build. 

Then, in Glory of the Ordinary, Liane becomes the victim of peer pressure and is now sporting a darker red nail colour than her usual shade. She is not happy about it. At all. And we have a full-on Braggers Corner bonanza, celebrating loads of brilliant people doing brilliant things and, as always, finish with gratitude.

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This week’s Question of the Week is a very serious matter: thick or thin? We’re talking gravy, obviously, and we are firmly, unapologetically in the THICK camp. We’re taking a punt that the majority of you are too, because… who wants thin gravy?

We revisit last week’s inside or outside debate and Melissa has been giving it far more thought than anyone reasonably should. If you’ve chosen outdoor living for the rest of your life, how exactly are you styling your hair, having a bath and making a Yorkshire pudding? Melissa has somehow covered all the bases and, in the process, appears to have convinced herself she could start a cult. Stay safe out there, folks. 😂

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This week we’re talking about one of the unexpected gifts of our daily podcast: having the space to properly finish a thought. No interruptions, no reading into facial expressions, no second-guessing what the other person might be thinking and no censoring ourselves halfway through saying what we actually mean. And for anyone who hates a voice note, we need to clear something up. This isn’t a form of communication. It’s journaling with a friend who listens, reflects, challenges and offers another perspective.

We also go back to where Glory of the Ordinary began, with one very important question: what is the optimum temperature for a beverage?

Melissa is still poorly and pining for Christopher, we celebrate some brilliant Braggers Corner moments and, as always, finish with gratitude.

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This week’s Question of the Week is a serious one… if you could live inside or outside for the rest of your life, which would you choose?

Melissa, a fully fledged fresh-air lover, is all about outdoor living. Obviously, she’s already started trying to bend the rules because apparently living outside comes with terms and conditions. Call the police!

Liane, meanwhile, is veering firmly towards indoors because COLD. Unless hot weather can be guaranteed, in which case the negotiations are open.

We also revisit last week’s very important shower debate: which way do you face? Turns out, it very much depends on whether you’re washing your hair.

And then things take a slightly more criminal turn when Nicola calls the Hive Hotline with a BIG confession involving a £300 wool coat from M&S.

Hopefully this episode won’t lead to any arrests. 🐝🚔

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This week we’re pulling back the curtain on what happens when the person who is usually holding everyone else up suddenly doesn’t have the capacity to hold herself up. After a tough Great North Run, Melissa found herself unwell, struggling and unable to be the motivator, energiser and cheerleader she’s always been. For the first time in 11 Great North Runs, it really knocked her confidence and brought up that familiar “I’m not good enough” feeling, which followed her through the week and even made her question the podcast. We talk about the ripple effect of what we’re creating and how we’ll never truly know how far a conversation, a voice note or a daily podcast can travel or the waves it might make. We reflect on how our daily podcast gives us space to journal, process and make sense of the stuff going on in our heads.

We also found out we weren’t shortlisted for the Independent Podcast Awards (this time!), but we’re putting ourselves firmly in Braggers Corner for being big, bold and brave enough to go for it anyway.

Glory of the Ordinary brings us hugs and kisses on text messages and a fellow supporter of Melissa’s legendary Toast Tower. And, as always, we finish with gratitude.

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This week’s Question of the Week is a shower-based dilemma: do you face towards the shower or away from it? And, as it turns out, it very much depends on whether there’s a hair wash involved. Liane and Melissa are both firmly in the hybrid camp, with plenty of switching around. We revisit last week’s icks and uncover some unexpected disclosures involving vapes, Crocs, Lycra and noise… plus, because apparently we can’t help ourselves, we continue to give ourselves the ick. Just another perfectly normal conversation in the Hive.

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This week we’re talking about how we can be same same, but different. Rooted together, growing in different directions. We share the same core values, but our lives have taken very different paths, and that’s exactly where some of the magic happens. Our daily podcast gives us a chance to stop, reflect and see things from a different perspective, and we’re realising more and more how much that matters. The magic is in the mix. 

Liane is back from a week in Skiathos and, unsurprisingly, we’re a little rusty. It may not be our finest work, but it’s very much us. There are driving abroad sagas, an update to the Universal Hotel Scoring System, and a brand new scoring system for hire cars. Plus Braggers Corner and gratitude, as always.

We’re moving on from last week’s Ick List and getting into the real deal… actual icks. Those little moments, habits or behaviours that can instantly change how you see someone. Including the slightly more painful category of all: giving yourself the ick. We confess to a few restaurant faux pas that have made us question our own behaviour, while poor Liam finds himself firmly in the spotlight for some questionable holiday outfit choices. 👀

We also revisit last week’s irrational dislikes, with the Hive Hotline bringing plenty of input from you lot. Because apparently velvet, cotton wool and egg whites were only the beginning.

So, what’s your actual ick? We want to know. 😂

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This week is a proper Rise and Hive love-in as we’re joined by the brilliant Kylie Dixon, MBE! 💛

Liane shares how Kylie played a pivotal role in the development of The Rise and Hive Podcast following a coaching session that helped set some pretty significant wheels in motion.

We talk about Kylie’s own evolution, peeling back the layers, discovering the environments where she truly shines and giving herself permission to lean into her weird and wonderful. We pull back the curtain on the anchors that keep Kylie grounded and safe, before Kylie fully embraces the Rise and Hive craic and joins us for discussions involving maggots, strap-ons, bonk-ons and wide-ons.

A big conversation about becoming more yourself, wrapped up in a lot of laughter, connection and some very questionable pit yacker vocabulary.

We revisit last week’s superstition debate and discover that Melissa may actually be the fourth emergency service. Whenever she sees an emergency services vehicle, she performs a cross and sends her best wishes. Lives saved? Possibly. Scientific evidence? Absolutely not.

We hear more of your wonderfully specific superstitions and quirks, from refusing to cut nails on a Sunday, to odd numbers apparently causing fires, and mysterious sequences that must be followed to keep you on an even keel.

Then onto this week’s question: what’s your irrational dislike?

We’re talking textures, tastes and sounds that make your whole body say NO. Velvet? Cotton wool? Chalk on a board? Egg whites? There’s no logic required and absolutely no judgement. Well… maybe a little.

Send us your irrational dislikes and let us know what makes you go full-body ick. 😂