Kirsten set up the personal and business advisory service The Next Half in March 2021 after she saw a need that she knew she had the expertise to fill. ‘This one person had a great business model, but she didn’t have the confidence to present it and she started to cry… that’s when I had my epiphany that my business experience can help women who are my age that might not have had my business expertise but have fantastic ideas’. There is no doubt Kirsten has the business expertise with 30 years of experience working in the business sector most recently advising business leaders on investment viability. But, she says, ‘I had this nagging sensation that I wasn’t quite doing what I wanted to do in my life, or I needed to do or hoped to do’. 

Fast forward to her ‘bang’ moment during the lockdown and The Next Half was born to help primarily women aged 45 plus to work out their next path. ‘I passionately believe that we all can refocus, re-spark and reach for our dreams. And, I think we all deserve to be excited about our futures, but sometimes we just need starter fluid to figure out that next path. That’s where I come in.’ There is no doubt she speaks from the heart and totally gets the issues facing women about their future, ‘I get it when you don’t know what the path is but you know there is some path out there. And, I get that so let me help you.’

 The Next Half has made quantum leaps since the launch and recently Kirsten was approached by Darling magazine to do an interview where they labelled her ‘inspiring and inspiring women’. Kirsten says, ‘I couldn’t be more fulfilled or more happy and I’m chuffed to bits that the business is resonating with lots.’ As for the future Kirsten says, ‘I want to focus on really doing the business advisory in equal portion of my week as the personal coaching’. Either way, she is clearly in her element helping women to achieve their dreams, ‘I just get such pleasure and fulfilment out of supporting other midlife women to thrive both personally and professionally’. The interview was recorded on Wednesday 15th September at 12 pm BST.

 www.the-next-half.org/

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Pauline is an editor and historian, part-time tour guide and single mother of three young children who is based in Reims France. I wanted to talk to her about what the past 18 months have been like. France has had much stricter restrictions than the UK so what was it like juggling a busy freelance editor job and looking after three children of 14, 11 and 3 ½ years old. 

Pauline says, ‘the last 18 months has been very tough but also very interesting in terms of organisation’. Having a routine was key but the suddenness of schools closing was a shock. ‘And then suddenly I happened to be shut in my own flat with my three kids, no more school and still work to do because as a freelancer I need to work there is no other solution’. That said, you can’t help but chuckle when you hear of her 11-year-old son not being very cooperative and how ‘I had to keep an eye on the little one because she was tempted, very seriously, to paint the whole flat with these pens’. 

Pauline’s humorous anecdotal stories of her children demanding ‘sushi’ and ‘real pizza’ show how incredibly demanding but also rewarding this time was. Looking back, she feels this whole experience has been very positive for herself and her children. ‘This adventure has been hard but for me it’s been very positive because I had to do something that I would never have thought I was able to do so - it was a big challenge actually.’ The interview was recorded on Thursday 1st September at 1 pm CEST.

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Sam is a textile artist and designer who has been working in the creative industry for 25 years. Three years ago, she decided to start ‘Child Of Project’. Sam says, ‘It was born from grief, from the death of my father, but it’s kind of turned into the most beautiful creative project which is all about resilience and human strength’. I’ll let her explain more, ‘The project… is all about opening up the conversation around addiction and recovery but in a really creative and contemporary way’. 

In fact, just a few weeks ago Sam had a meeting with the head of education and learning department at Saatchi Gallery who invited Child Of to do workshops and host an exhibition in December. Sam reveals, ‘it is an art project but it something we see long-term as a creative platform that’s going change the way we look at addiction and also feed people with great information about creativity, art and technique and introduce them to different artists who are from all over, from all disciplines’.

The exhibition will include ‘an ever-growing tapestry’ which everyone can get involved with. All you need to do is join the crowdfund and as your reward you can send in a word or phrase to remember someone, a song lyric, or a secret you are ready to tell which will be made into ‘small pieces of art’ and added to the tapestry. The exhibition will also include work Sam is doing with kids from the London East Alternative Provision School where they will produce designs which will be embroidered by @handandlocklondon. Plus, visual art she has been working on over the past few years based on conversations with people who have experienced addiction like ‘I was present for the first time’. The last piece of the exhibition is a film explaining all about the project. The interview was recorded on Monday 6th September at 9 am BST.

www.crowdfunder.co.uk/child-of
www.samdcruze.com/blog/child-of 

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Tom is Head Coach and founder of Be Fearsome an outdoor fitness company based in central London with an online arm developed over the last 18 months helping those who live further afield. BFO, as it is known by those that go regularly, offers all types of outdoor fitness: boot camps, personal training and team building you name it. There are around 20 trainers who use vans as mobile gyms which are stuffed with all the equipment you might need. 

The story behind how he decided on the company name Be Fearsome is interesting. Often, Tom would have his surname ‘Frearson’ mistaken for ‘fearsome’ – even when going through passport control! So, when he was setting up the business his brother-in-law suggested ‘fearsome’ would be a great name because not only was it similar to his surname but also means ‘empowerment and sort of ownership and just not being scared of anything’. There is no doubt the brand slogan ‘Be Fearsome in fitness and in life’ is what people are looking for now more than ever before.  

Tom is also lucky enough to witness some amazing achievements from members and his coaches. One member recently completing his first triathlon and one of the BFO female coaches is a GB athlete who regularly smashes it. But he says, ‘it’s best when I see the underdog story’ and he says it ‘really touches my heart when I see… people actually using what they’ve learnt from us to help other people.’ To hear lots of interesting insights into how he adapted the business during the pandemic and how important his team are then don’t miss this episode. The interview was recorded on Thursday 19th August at 2 pm BST. 

www.befearsome.com/

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In July 2019 Bethan walked out of her job wanting a new challenge. Fast forward one month later and she is on holiday sat in her Mum’s favourite bar Erics in Marbella surrounded by beautiful displays of bottles and colour plus lots of macarons. Suddenly the sparks of creativity started to go off fuelled by her background as an artist and her determination and discipline honed as an athlete. 

‘We don’t have this in the UK there’s nowhere that you go to that has this sophistication, and colour and absolutely heavenly taste. It tickles every sense - I love going there. So, I said to Mum this is what I’m going to do. I’m going to learn to bake macarons and I’m going to do this in Ascot.’ And as the story goes that’s exactly what she did as soon as they returned to the UK @siixteen.macarons was born. ‘Everybody thought I was joking and I was like right that’s it - I set up my business there and then!’. 

What’s even more amazing is that she had never baked one macaron in her life. Whilst the reality of baking these ‘tantalising little pillows of sweet-tasting deliciousness’ was harder than she thought. ‘It took me every single day – blood sweat and tears failure after failure after failure’ she finally succeeded and the rest, as they say, is history. Things have gone from strength to strength since then and by adapting production during the quieter months of the pandemic she ensured the brand stayed alive. Watch this space Siixteen.macarons is stronger than ever. This interview was recorded on Thursday 19th August at 11 am BST.

www.siixteen.co.uk

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Maria decided to change her life in 2019. She says, ‘I felt that I really need profound change in my life. I felt like my soul was screaming for change’. Initially, she had no idea what she wanted to do so turned to astrology because she wanted to find out what her mission in life was. After sharing some of the things she had learnt from astrology with friends and getting positive responses she realised she was destined to be an astrologer to help people find their mission in life.

Maria talks about how astrology helped her understand what was happening in 2020. She explains that this apocalypse is a good thing, ‘every soul needs this deep change’ without it ‘your life goes sterile’. In fact, she says: ‘In this time of crisis … many people discovered I actually have this talent I can do something else. Why didn’t I do this 10 years ago?’ Well, 10 years ago the planets weren’t in the right place to allow this change.

Maria explains ‘we live in a very important time of history… and we need to be brave and just be bold because that’s why we are here.’ Embracing life and not being afraid of change is very important as she thinks the level of fear last year caused more disasters: earthquakes, fires and floods. She says, ‘trust and believe in the universe’ and when we all start to embrace change we will start to notice a positive shift. This interview was recorded on Friday 6th August at 12 pm BST.

www.astromaria.co.uk

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Javier is a firefighter in the London Fire Brigade and a personal trainer specialising in outdoor training. I wanted to talk to him about training to be a firefighter during the pandemic. When he first applied to be a firefighter, it was 2019 and we had no idea about what was going to happen. Jump to 8th June 2020 when he started the training course, and the world had changed. 

One of the first implications was that his cohort couldn’t go in to get measured for their uniforms… Yes, you guessed it the first day of training was quite amusing with people wearing shirts far too long and massive trousers. Laughing aside, Javier talks about how demanding the training was. He says, ‘I am almost 40 years old, and I’ve done many different things in my life, and some of them I consider were quite tough or difficult. None of it was as difficult and challenging like this’. 

After completing the training course, he started at Ealing Fire Station as a firefighter underdevelopment or for those in the know ‘a sprog’! He says ‘nothing prepares you for station life’ as there was so much to learn, and it is very important to show you can do the job and not do anything stupid. Working as part of a team is vital he says, ‘we are all little cogs, and if any of the little cogs don’t spin properly you are going to have problems’. The interview is full of insights into what it’s like being a firefighter, plus how important it is to look at the positives even when the situation looks grim. This interview was recorded on Thursday 5th August - 7pm BST.

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Charlotte @funkymakers is a multi-crafter and has crafted since she was knee-high. She comes from an Irish family of crafters who taught her to knit and crochet. Charlotte recently coordinated the family to create a heritage blanket as a wedding gift for her cousin. It was made up of '70 squares of Irish Aran knitting and crochet contributed by members of our family’ and she even managed to include some squares from a cardigan that had been knitted by her grandmother. This was a huge achievement and one she feels especially proud of. She wanted them to feel ‘wrapped in the love and support of a large Irish family’.

Charlotte launched @funkymakers after she was asked to run after school crafts clubs where she teaches children knitting, crochet and many other crafts. Sadly, since the pandemic, Funkymakers hasn’t been back into schools. The impact of this on young children is something Charlotte is acutely aware of, ‘when you look at the benefits of crafting… for young children fine motor skills, dexterity, problem-solving… the whole ideas that crafting generates they’ve lost all of that’.

The benefits of crafting are also clear for adults, not only to help with mental health but also to highlight how we can upcycle and recycle clothing to help do our bit to reduce climate change. Charlotte recently attended #stitchitdontditchit Street Stitching organised by Suzi from @twistedtwee in Bromley Town Centre. Looking after the planet is top of Charlotte’s agenda and you can even find instructions on how to make crochet make-up remover pads on her Instagram page. This interview was recorded on Monday 5th July at 2 pm BST.

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Huia lives with her partner Sander, their two children and a dog in Marlborough where 75% of New Zealand’s wine is produced. She’s busy working as a naturopath specialising in herbal medicine as well as doing several forms of massage and being a yoga and Zumba teacher. Oh, and that’s on top of being a mum and helping her partner Sander run Karaka Kitchen. 

I wanted to talk to Huia to find out what happened in NZ at the beginning of the global Covid-19 pandemic in February 2020. She says, ‘I remember the country stood still – there’s a person in that hospital and covid is here in New Zealand’. The speed with which it spread was ‘ferocious’ and she describes how ‘events started being cancelled just one by one by one like dominoes’. This directly impacted her and Sander’s business Karaka Kitchen. Keeping on top of last-minute cancellations was difficult as it happened just as they were starting to prep the food. Huia also talks about how her Zumba classes were ‘freakily gaining ridiculous popularity which once upon a time would have been really fun... but it was petrifying!’. 

When the lockdown was announced Huia says, ‘we all sat on the edge of our seats… it’s something like I’ve never known in New Zealand’. The speed with which NZ went from level 2 lockdown to an emergency level 4 lockdown sent shockwaves through everyone. She describes her kids being sent home from school and how she couldn’t get back as there had been a bad accident on the main highway. ‘People were running around like headless chooks (chickens) not understanding in 48 hours it’s a crime to meet up with your friend or to leave your house even’.

By huge coincidence this was also the time for picking the grape harvest and ‘fruit was sitting there plump and ripe and with the best-tasting fruit profiles that we’ve known’. Vineyards went into lockdown with fruit pickers staying on-site in RV’s. Meanwhile, Huia was making sure they had covered all the bases and Karaka Kitchen would be allowed to stay open and continue catering. This was vital for the business as ‘our chillers were rammed with food which would go off’. Whilst life is now almost back to normal when the covid alert system goes off everyone still freaks out. This interview was recorded on Monday 6th July @ 7 am NZST time.

https://karakakitchen.co.nz/
https://huiaholistic.co.nz/ 

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Tanvir lives in Corsham, Wiltshire and is an author, researcher and disability activist. She currently works as an associate research fellow for D4D (http://d4d.org.uk/), which is a project exploring disability and how disabled people experience community. Tanvir feels especially passionate about this as she started to lose her sight at 21 years old and has experienced first-hand how differently society treats disabled people She talks about ‘coming out’ as a blind person when she got her first guide dog Grace in 20 09. Grace sadly died a few months ago. They had the most incredible bond and she was by Tanvir’s side when her father died and whilst she was studying for her MA and PHD – in fact Grace is a doctor too!

Since starting to lose her sight, the discrimination against the disabled community has shocked Tanvir to the core so to try and ‘reach across the divide’ she decided to write a book ‘Cull’ (https://bit.ly/3hQAOdg). After all, she says, ‘1 in 4 people has a disability that they talk about … and every single group of people… every tribe will have disabled people’ so how come they are treated differently and often made to feel repugnant. ‘Cull’ is about a visually impaired journalist Alex and her guide dog, Chris (based on Grace). Alex starts to investigate a link between missing homeless people and the government’s new Care and Protect Act. You might think ‘Cull’ will be a heavy read think again! It is one of my favourite books, empowering for women, full of superheroes, an amazing guide dog and many twists and turns. I couldn’t put it down!

When the Covid-19 pandemic hit our shores, Tanvir describes how scary it was for the disabled community. Herd immunity was terrifying for them and left them feeling very vulnerable. She also talks about how, if she had contracted Covid-19 at the beginning of the pandemic and been taken to hospital unconscious she may well have had a DNR (do not resuscitate) placed on her because of her disability. In her own words that is ‘utterly terrifying’. In fact, whilst I don’t want to give too much away about her book ‘Cull’ the similarities between fiction and ‘real’ life are clear.

Now that the worst of this pandemic is over (fingers crossed) Tanvir talks about having to ‘gird her loins and go back out into the world’. This will take time as she’ll have to re-train her guide dog Mitzie to tackle buses, trains and travel again. Another difficulty for Tanvir will be noise as she has hyperacusis (noise sensitivity) and finds loud noises very stressful and disorientating. This episode is a must for everyone. Tanvir talks passionately and to the point about the difficulties and disparities the disabled community struggle through on a daily basis as she says, ‘what is key is a common humanity, respect for everyone’. This interview was recorded on Wednesday 16th June at 2pm BST. 

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