Today I’m talking to John Flinders, who is a classically-trained pianist who graduated from York University and then the Guildhall School of Music and Drama in London. He was drawn to the idea of being on stage with other musicians, working together, more so than playing as a solo concert pianist. That took him down the path of becoming an accompanist, which means he plays for soloists such as clarinet players or singers who are performing at a concert or for a music competition or exam.

His life as an accompanist sounds very rewarding because he is always working side by side with another musician and, as John says, he can work on a piece of music with one musician, then work on the same piece with someone else a week later and it will be an entirely different experience.

John is a great example of what happens when as you leave school, you give yourself the time and space to acknowledge what you are really drawn to doing and you let your career evolve from there.

Today I'm talking to Rebecca Roger Cruz, a Venezuelan singer, songwriter, and vocal coach. Rebecca lives in France and I saw her perform in December as part of the group Aa'in (Rebecca plus a Venezuelan guitarist and a Colombian musician, who switched effortlessly between instruments including the double bass). 

I knew nothing about the concert beforehand - someone had recommended it to me - but it ended up being one of the best concerts I’ve seen in years. Rebecca has an incredible presence on stage. She seems to be able to sing as if nobody is watching, even though she's standing on stage in front of a crowd.

I got in touch after the concert on the off chance that she would agree to an interview, and she did! I finally got to ask questions I have wanted to ask so many live performers -  how it feels to walk on stage, what day-to-day life as a musician is like, and about the hard work that goes on behind the scenes.

Rebecca Roger Cruz
https://www.instagram.com/beccarogercruz
AA'IN
https://www.facebook.com/aainmusica
https://www.youtube.com/@aainmusica
Parranda La Cruz
https://www.instagram.com/parrandalacruz
https://www.youtube.com/@parrandalacruz

Today I’m talking to Stan Medved.

Stan has quite an unusual job. He works for a large global company that has its own three business jets to fly the company’s executives around the world. Stan is not only one of the pilots, he's also in charge of the three-jet operation, which he runs essentially like a small airline within the company.

When I met Stan cycling last year, he immediately came across as very friendly, kind and easy to chat to. What I love about doing these interviews is that they show a whole other side of people’s lives that you would never otherwise know about from only meeting them socially. And yet what people like Stan do for a living often seems to very much reflect their personality and their career choices seem to have been driven by what is important to them personally and what satisfies them in life.

Today I'm talking to Adam Turner, who started playing squash when he was six years old and basically hasn’t stopped since. He was clearly a talented and motivated young player because he reached no. 1 in England for under 13s and then again for under 15s.

In the interview, Adam talks about the choices you face between turning professional as a sports person and, alternatively, continuing to play at a high level but as a semi-professional. He seems to have found the right balance for him personally, where he still plays squash semi-professionally, while also working as the head squash coach at the Hallamshire Tennis & Squash Club in Sheffield, one of the UK’s largest private sports clubs.

You can hear the love of the game in Adam’s voice and how much satisfaction it gives him to watch the people he coaches enjoy a sport that’s given him so much personally. 

I met Orissa in July when I rode a few stages of the Tour de France (which I talk about in the episode Something a Little Different). Orissa was one of the physios looking after us as cyclists and she did that work to take a quick breather from her full-time job at Great Ormond Street, considered to be the UK’s leading children’s hospital.

Before the interview, I had no idea of the breadth of work that physios do, well beyond sporting injuries. With all that Orissa has achieved, it's hard to believe that she is only 27. She seems to have really found her niche with the work that she does.

Scott lives in one of the most stunning parts of the world - Chamonix, France. He works for himself as a physiotherapist and bike fitter and has done some very impressive long-distance, self-supported bike races and solo bike adventures around the world. But it hasn't come easily and his is one of those stories (like most of us, I think) where it would be all too easy to assume from his Instagram account that he has the perfect life.

https://www.bodyandbikeworks.com

https://www.thebraincharity.org.uk

Meet Pierre, who talks in this interview about how laughing can be an escape from the difficulties of life and how, as he said, love is joy. Pierre's clown character is Anatol, someone who Pierre says has a big heart. But I think it is Pierre who has the big heart. He has a wonderful and irresistible take on life and he does a great job of describing what motivated him to become a clown and how vital that job is to his own happiness.

https://www.leriremedecin.org
https://www.leriremedecin.org/nous-connaitre/equipe/les-clowns/nancy.html?i=clown-anatole

I first met a therapeutic clown a couple of years ago and I was captivated as he described what his work was about - walking into a hospital room in clown character, with his heart on his sleeve, and inviting the child in front of him to put aside for a moment all the difficulties and worries connected to their stay in hospital.

Then my path crossed a few months ago with Suzie and Diane, and I was delighted when they agreed to tell their story about what it means to be a therapeutic clown.

https://tenterhooks.org
www.suzieferguson.com/blog
www.heartsminds.org.uk/diane-thornton-shares-the-rewards-of-being-a-hospital-clowndoctor

Tim built the company Innovatise from scratch with his business partner and today the apps the company has developed attract 2.1 million users per month. He started his career with IBM and went on to work for Intel in Silicon Valley. Once back in the UK, he got involved with some IT startups that he went on to sell. He has clearly struck the right balance between his technical background and his ability to build and run a successful business.

https://www.myfitapp.com

You might have noticed that there haven't been any new episodes for a while ... I have been distracted in July in the best possible way as I put normal life on hold and cycled seven stages of the 2022 Tour de France with a group of other amateur cyclists. It's a well-worn phrase, but it really was the experience of a lifetime. A few days after I got home, I realised that I was already forgetting some of the smaller (and most interesting) moments that took place, so I decided to create an audio diary of the experience, and to include it in my podcast. I hope you enjoy it.

Le Loop is the organisation that made the ride possible. They allow amateur cyclists to ride each year's Tour de France stages one week ahead of the pros.
https://rideleloop.org