Smashing The Ceiling

My guest today is a woman I met a couple of years ago whilst wearing a delicious pair of sequinned dungarees and accepting an award at the International Women's Podcast Awards. Her name is Annabelle Buckland, and she's an radio host, podcast producer and general audio whizzo. She also has ADHD. We've discussed a lot of things on this podcast over the last 5 years, but the impact of an adult diagnosis of ADHD on career and working life is one that so far we haven't touched on, so I'm pleased that we're diving into that today. If you need more information or are affected by anything you've heard today, I've popped plenty of links in the show notes with information and support. Above all though, Buckers is hilarious and thoughtful, and an amazing interviewee. We talked about her early obsession with dental hygiene, why going touni isn't always a dream choice and about the progression of women in audio. Enjoy this one. Useful linksBuckers' websiteFollow her and Decibelle Creative on Instagram Listen to Buckers' podcast with Fleur Emery on ADHD, The Spin OffThe ADHD UK website is here which has lots of useful links and resourcesOctober is ADHD Awareness Month and there's more info on that hereMusicProvided by ZakharValaha, AleXZavesa, Coma-Media SergeQuadrado JuliusH, Lesfm and lemonmusicstudio from

My guest today has gone from shy wallflower to recipient of international film awards and a column in Forbes. Jia Wertz is a filmmaker, entrepreneur, podcaster, activist and writer, who, like many of our guests, has had a working life with some unexpected twists and turns.Jia had a super successful career in the fashion industry when she first heard the podcast Serial back in 2014. She was moved to do what she could to help Adnan Syed, the protagonist of the series, who was sentenced at the age of 17 for the murder of Hae Min Lee, a crime he always denied. Jia became actively involved in Adnan's case, and at the same time, made the decision to quit her career in fashion and go to film school at the age of 40 having recently given birth to her son. Jia was subsequently inspired to make her first documentary film, Conviction, about the wrongful conviction of Jeffrey Deskovic, which won multiple awards and opened Jia's career up in ways she never expected. Since we recorded this podcast, Adnan Syed has been released from prison and the charges against him dropped. You can read more about the case here.Useful linksJia's websiteFollow Jia on Instagram Follow Jia on Twitter Watch the trailer for Conviction on YouTube Watch Conviction on Amazon Prime MusicProvided by ZakharValaha, AleXZavesa, Coma-Media SergeQuadrado

This is Part Two of my chat with Sam Baines, my first guest for Season 6 of the podcast, and a woman that I've know for a few years after she was shortlisted at the inaugural International Women's Podcast Awards back in 2021. It's fitting that she's first this season, because she's been the first woman to do a few other things too. Sam is an award-winning comedian, podcaster, author, actor, broadcaster and general legend. In 2014 she won the Funny Women Awards, and subsequently went on to scoop of the 2015 ‘What the Frock' Best Newcomer Award. But that's not all. As an adult, Sam experienced hearing loss, and is now a deaf activist, hearing aid wearer, and an ambassador for the RNID.She's written two children's books, Harriet Versus The Galaxy and The Night The Moon Went Out, and she tells me in this conversation about how she got her first book deal (spoiler alert: she wrote it without an official offer). Her new book, Living With Hearing Loss and Deafness, is available to pre-order now. As well as all this, she's got an award-winning podcast, The Divorce Social, discussing, surprise, surprise, divorce, and her acting credits include The Crown, Call the Midwife, and Magic Mike Live in the West End. There is nothing this woman can't do.We covered SO much ground in this chat, which was recorded aaaages ago live at The Podcast Show - basically I had to give myself a good kick up the arse to get the podcast moving again in 2023, so that's entirely on me. There was so much good stuff that I cut it in two. This is part two. Enjoy. Useful linksSam's websiteFollow Sam on Instagram Follow Sam on Twitter Follow Sam on YouTubeMusicProvided by ZakharValaha, AleXZavesa,

We're back for Season 6!My first guest is a woman that I've know for a few years after she was shortlisted at the inaugural International Women's Podcast Awards back in 2021. Her name is Samantha Baines, and it's fitting that she's first this season, because she's been the first woman to do a few other things too. Sam is an award-winning comedian, podcaster, author, actor, broadcaster and general legend. In 2014 she won the Funny Women Awards, and subsequently went on to scoop of the 2015 ‘What the Frock' Best Newcomer Award. Sam was the first ever woman to reach the finals of the UK Pun Championships, and we speak extensively in this interview about being a woman in comedy, and her experiences in the early days.But that's not all. As an adult, Sam experienced hearing loss, and is now a deaf activist, hearing aid wearer, and an ambassador for the RNID.She's written two children's books, Harriet Versus The Galaxy and The Night The Moon Went Out, and her new book, Living With Hearing Loss and Deafness, is available to pre-order now. As well as all this, she's got an award-winning podcast, The Divorce Social, discussing, surprise, surprise, divorce, and her acting credits include The Crown, Call the Midwife, and Magic Mike Live in the West End. There is nothing this woman can't do.We covered SO much ground in this chat, which was recorded aaaages ago live at The Podcast Show - basically I had to give myself a good kick up the arse to get the podcast moving again in 2023, so that's entirely on me. There was so much good stuff that I cut it in two. This is part one. Enjoy. Useful linksSam's websiteFollow Sam on Instagram Follow Sam on Twitter Follow Sam on YouTubeMusicProvided by ZakharValaha, AleXZavesa,

We've been away for a little while, but we are back! I'm Naomi Mellor, and I'm delighted to let you know that there's a new season of Smashing The Ceiling just around the corner, with all sorts of delights awaiting you. In this podcast we chat to women with unusual, interesting and inspiring careers, and we're kicking off Season 6 with comedian, author, actor, podcaster and deaf activist Samantha Baines, one of the funniest women I have ever met. My chat with Sam ranged from meeting Channing Tatum whilst working in an art gallery at Heathrow Airport, to becoming a writer of children's books with a hearing-aid-wearing protagonist, with a lot of twists, and laughs along the way. Later in the series there'll be conversations around major career changes, building a career as a documentary maker, how a diagnosis of ADHD affects your working life, and more. Follow us now for more, and if you've ever enjoyed an episode of Smashing The Ceiling previously, why not leave us a review. You know you want to. Check us out at Everybody MediaDon't forget there's also the International Women's Podcast Awards!

If you're into meditation and healing, you may know what a Tibetan sound bowl is. If not, you've got a treat in store, as we'll be digging deep into the world of holistic health in this episode. My guest today is https://aurorafacets.com/about-me/ (Justine Nagaur), a spiritual healer, teacher, mentor, and creator of bespoke crystal malas. I met Justine a couple of years ago, and she's one of those rare people with a degree of warmth, insight, intuition and care for others that is incredibly striking. But like many of my guests, Justine's career is multi-layered, with twists and turns along the way. She went to finishing school, and we chat about that, she ran a very successful company in private members' clubs and she's worked in social media along the way, before starting her current business, https://aurorafacets.com (Aurora Facets Transformational Healing) after a long period of chronic illness. She is the queen of the pivot you might say. Useful links Justine's website: https://aurorafacets.com Justine's LinkedIn profile: https://www.instagram.com/justinenagaur/ Follow Justine on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/justinenagaur/ Follow Justine on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/aurorafacets Music Provided by https://pixabay.com/users/zakharvalaha-22836301/?tab=audio&utm_source=link-attribution&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=audio&utm_content=8642 (ZakharValaha), https://pixabay.com/users/alexzavesa-24262182/?tab=audio&utm_source=link-attribution&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=audio&utm_content=11301 (AleXZavesa), https://pixabay.com/users/coma-media-24399569/?tab=audio&utm_source=link-attribution&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=audio&utm_content=12217 (Coma-Media) https://pixabay.com/users/sergequadrado-24990007/?tab=audio&utm_source=link-attribution&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=audio&utm_content=13004 (SergeQuadrado) https://pixabay.com/users/juliush-3921568/?tab=audio&utm_source=link-attribution&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=audio&utm_content=3945 (JuliusH), https://pixabay.com/users/lesfm-22579021/?tab=audio&utm_source=link-attribution&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=audio&utm_content=5642 (Lesfm) and https://pixabay.com/users/lemonmusicstudio-14942887/?tab=audio&utm_source=link-attribution&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=audio&utm_content=15602 (lemonmusicstudio) from https://pixabay.com/music/?utm_source=link-attribution&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=music&utm_content=8642 (Pixabay)

How often do you think about your own breathing? I bet you are right now. How fast do you breathe? How deeply?  Most of the time it's completely unconscious. We just do it, and we rarely consider how we breathe unless we're exercising and out of breath, or ill and out of breath, as many of us have been during the pandemic.It's only when our capacity to breathe is reduced that we ever consider - without stating the absolute obvious - how important it is  My guest today helps people to breathe better. She helps people to feel better. She reduces their pain and helps them with many other conditions besides. Her name is Caroline Kremer, and she's the owner of Pulborough Natural Health, a clinic in a beautiful part of England, West Sussex. Caroline is a Bowen therapist, and a practitioner of Evans Alignment and her own Kremer Method to stimulate the vagus nerve, which is known as the “rest, digest and repair nerve”.  Her business and interest in health and wellbeing is one of the reasons that Caroline is on the podcast this week. The other is her remarkable capacity for career reinvention. From being kicked out of school to becoming a chef and working in restaurants, to running a ski company with her husband before being widowed at 34 with 3 small children, Caroline has an incredible sense of resourcefulness and a can-do attitude that I really admire. She is full of stories and in this episode we barely had time to scratch the surface of the people she's met in life and how colourful her career has been. We recorded this episode deep in the Covid lockdown and the sound isn't the best on Caroline's line at the beginning, but bear with it - she's worth it. Useful links Caroline's website at Pulborough Natural Health: https://www.pulboroughnaturalhealth.co.uk Caroline's LinkedIn profile: https://www.linkedin.com/in/caroline-kremer-69b644a/ Follow Caroline on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kremermethod/ Follow Caroline on Twitter: https://twitter.com/CarolineKremer Music Provided by https://pixabay.com/users/zakharvalaha-22836301/?tab=audio&utm_source=link-attribution&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=audio&utm_content=8642 (ZakharValaha), https://pixabay.com/users/alexzavesa-24262182/?tab=audio&utm_source=link-attribution&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=audio&utm_content=11301 (AleXZavesa), https://pixabay.com/users/coma-media-24399569/?tab=audio&utm_source=link-attribution&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=audio&utm_content=12217 (Coma-Media) https://pixabay.com/users/sergequadrado-24990007/?tab=audio&utm_source=link-attribution&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=audio&utm_content=13004 (SergeQuadrado) https://pixabay.com/users/juliush-3921568/?tab=audio&utm_source=link-attribution&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=audio&utm_content=3945 (JuliusH), https://pixabay.com/users/lesfm-22579021/?tab=audio&utm_source=link-attribution&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=audio&utm_content=5642 (Lesfm) and https://pixabay.com/users/lemonmusicstudio-14942887/?tab=audio&utm_source=link-attribution&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=audio&utm_content=15602 (lemonmusicstudio) from https://pixabay.com/music/?utm_source=link-attribution&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=music&utm_content=8642 (Pixabay)

This week, we're talking, amongst other things, about sleep. My guest today is https://www.linkedin.com/in/dotzacharias/?originalSubdomain=fr (Dot Zacharias), COO and co-founder of https://www.thenourishapp.com (Nourish), a wellbeing app designed for busy mums to find a little calm in their lives, which aims to protect maternal mental health and provide support. But that description doesn'tquite cover Dot's career. After starting her working life in Russia, she's worked as a management consultant, qualified as a sleep coach, been a part of multiple start ups and successfully exited her own previous company, Sleepability. She describes herself as rebellious and adventurous, which basically means she's a woman after my own heart. We recorded this episode a little while ago, and given the current events in Ukraine, I debated whether I ought to release this episode this week with its discussion about Russia and Dot's work there. The actions of the Russian government and the unspeakable horror they are unleashing on the citizens of the Ukraine is appalling, and cannot be condoned, but our conversation was on the world of work, and Dot's experiences with the people of Russia that she met, most of which was wonderfully positive as you'll hear. On balance, I felt the insights she offered warranted leaving this section of the interview in, and I hope you agree. You can donate to the Red Cross appeal for Ukraine here: https://donate.redcross.org.uk/appeal/ukraine-crisis-appeal Today's podcast is supported by https://www.fem-foundry.com/ (Fem Foundry), a one-of-a-kind global community for womankind to discover, learn, connect and thrive. One of the key components that sets Fem Foundry apart is their focus on the multi-faceted aspects of a woman's life, from her career to her wellness, from her spirituality to her mental health. This, along with their founding team and Fem Foudnry's global partners, mean they are uniquely positioned as a media powerhouse for women's empowerment on a large scale.  With a new improved 2.0 version of the app just launched, Fem Foundry has huge global ambitions, with a mission to become the Bumble of humanised female networking, learning and support. So https://apps.apple.com/gb/app/fem-foundry/id1594765546 (download Fem Foundry) today and have a look. Useful links Rebel Ideas by Matthew Syed - https://www.waterstones.com/book/rebel-ideas/matthew-syed/matthew-syed-consulting-ltd/9781529348408 Why We Sleep by Matthew Walker - https://www.waterstones.com/book/why-we-sleep/matthew-walker/9780141983769 Kim Cattrall's highly personal monologue on insomnia - https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/b0783lq9 FemTechLab's Accelerator Programme - https://femtechlab.com Dot's LinkedIn profile: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dotzacharias/?originalSubdomain=fr Follow Dot on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/rest_fully/ Follow Nourish App on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thenourishapp/ Music Provided by https://pixabay.com/users/zakharvalaha-22836301/?tab=audio&utm_source=link-attribution&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=audio&utm_content=8642 (ZakharValaha), https://pixabay.com/users/alexzavesa-24262182/?tab=audio&utm_source=link-attribution&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=audio&utm_content=11301 (AleXZavesa), https://pixabay.com/users/coma-media-24399569/?tab=audio&utm_source=link-attribution&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=audio&utm_content=12217 (Coma-Media) https://pixabay.com/users/sergequadrado-24990007/?tab=audio&utm_source=link-attribution&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=audio&utm_content=13004 (SergeQuadrado) https://pixabay.com/users/juliush-3921568/?tab=audio&utm_source=link-attribution&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=audio&utm_content=3945 (JuliusH),...

My guest this week is endometriosis advocate, golf influencer and brilliant lawyer https://www.linkedin.com/in/sinéad-mcgrath-b6a15b93/ (Sinéad McGrath) - as you might imagine, the subjects we covered in this conversation are many and varied. Sinéad sits on thehttps://www.lawsociety.org.uk/topics/junior-lawyers/jld-committee-members#sinead-mcgrath ( Executive Committee of the Junior Lawyers' Division) athttps://www.lawsociety.org.uk/ ( The Law Society), and after saying ‘no' for many years, she started https://www.instagram.com/sineademgolf/ (playing golf) a couple of years ago. There she discovered a community of women that are passionate about the sport and both keen to change the image of golf as an old white man's game, and to tap into the opportunities that golf provides for women. She's amassed a large Instagram following in the golf world, and writes brilliantly about her journey into, and love of, the game. Sinéad has alsohttps://www.lawgazette.co.uk/commentary-and-opinion/living-with-endometriosis-in-the-law/5107671.article ( written openly) in the Law Gazette about her experiences and struggles with endometriosis, and is now an active supporter of increased awareness, conversation and help for women and girls in her position. Endometriosis affects 1.5 million women in the UK, about the same number that suffer from diabetes, but on average, it takes 8 years to get a diagnosis. Sinéad had her first surgery for endometriosis when she was just 13 years old, and it has impacted every part of her life and career so far. Today's podcast is supported by https://www.fem-foundry.com/ (Fem Foundry), a one-of-a-kind global community for womankind to discover, learn, connect and thrive. One of the key components that sets Fem Foundry apart is their focus on the multi-faceted aspects of a woman's life, from her career to her wellness, from her spirituality to her mental health. This, along with their founding team and Fem Foudnry's global partners, mean they are uniquely positioned as a media powerhouse for women's empowerment on a large scale.  With a new improved 2.0 version of the app just launched, Fem Foundry has huge global ambitions, with a mission to become the Bumble of humanised female networking, learning and support. So https://apps.apple.com/gb/app/fem-foundry/id1594765546 (download Fem Foundry) today and have a look. Useful links Sinéad's LinkedIn profile: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sinéad-mcgrath-b6a15b93/ Follow Sinéad on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sineademgolf/ Sinead's article in the Law Gazette on endometriosis: https://www.lawgazette.co.uk/commentary-and-opinion/living-with-endometriosis-in-the-law/5107671.article Endometriosis UK: https://www.endometriosis-uk.org NHS website on endometriosis: https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/endometriosis/ Tiffany Mack Fitzgerald and Black Girls Golf: https://blackgirlsgolf.net/about-us/ Music Provided by https://pixabay.com/users/zakharvalaha-22836301/?tab=audio&utm_source=link-attribution&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=audio&utm_content=8642 (ZakharValaha), https://pixabay.com/users/alexzavesa-24262182/?tab=audio&utm_source=link-attribution&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=audio&utm_content=11301 (AleXZavesa), https://pixabay.com/users/coma-media-24399569/?tab=audio&utm_source=link-attribution&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=audio&utm_content=12217 (Coma-Media) https://pixabay.com/users/sergequadrado-24990007/?tab=audio&utm_source=link-attribution&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=audio&utm_content=13004 (SergeQuadrado) https://pixabay.com/users/juliush-3921568/?tab=audio&utm_source=link-attribution&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=audio&utm_content=3945 (JuliusH), and https://pixabay.com/users/lemonmusicstudio-14942887/?tab=audio&utm_source=link-attribution&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=audio&utm_content=15602 (lemonmusicstudio)...

My first guest of 2022 is Catie Friend, who says of her adventures that she “will always be a completer rather than a competer”. Given the challenges she's completed, which includehttps://www.pdg.ch/ ( the world's toughest ski mountaineering race) and the https://www.halfmarathondessables.com/ (half Marathon des Sables), and the things she's done in her career, completing any of them would be considered a strong achievement as far as I'm concerned.  Catie grew up in south west Scotland, and after travelling solo round the world, she embarked on a career in events management, found her way into radio, and is now a https://www.instagram.com/ismf_skimo/ (multi-lingual sports commentator), presenter, https://www.instagram.com/chattingtoafriend/ (podcaster) and coach. She lives in Verbier, in the Swiss Alps, with her family. In this conversation we discuss (amongst other things) solo travel as a woman, surviving a difficult boss and a nightmare job, the difference between a ‘job' and a ‘career', the paradox of age vs. wisdom, and why sometimes it's best not to overthink it. Today's podcast is supported by https://www.fem-foundry.com (Fem Foundry), a one-of-a-kind global community for womankind to discover, learn, connect and thrive. One of the key components that sets Fem Foundry apart is their focus on the multi-faceted aspects of a woman's life, from her career to her wellness, from her spirituality to her mental health. This, along with their founding team and Fem Foudnry's global partners, mean they are uniquely positioned as a media powerhouse for women's empowerment on a large scale.  With a new improved 2.0 version of the app just launched, Fem Foundry has huge global ambitions, with a mission to become the Bumble of humanised female networking, learning and support. So https://apps.apple.com/gb/app/fem-foundry/id1594765546 (download Fem Foundry) today and have a look.   Useful links  Catie's website: https://www.catiefriend.com Listen to her podcast, Chatting To A Friend: https://pod.link/chattingtoafriend Follow Catie on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/catiefriend/ Music The Show Must Be Go by Kevin MacLeod Link: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/4509-the-show-must-be-go License: https://filmmusic.io/standard-license https://www.bensound.com/ (Royalty Free Music from Bensound)

Siobhan Daniels grew up in a care home as one of eight children amongst the elderly people her family looked after. She's subsequently had an incredibly varied and colourful life, first working as a nurse in the NHS before joining the BBC as a trainee in broadcast journalism. Siobhan spent 30 years as a presenter, reporter and producer at the BBC, before selling her property and setting off on a new round of adventures in her camper van! She's now a freelance broadcaster and journalist, and a pro-age campaigner. Since the age of 50 she's run two marathons, and is currently writing a book. Siobhan is a huge advocate of supporting women through the menopause in the workplace, and talks about all this and more in this chat. She's a total delight, and great fun. Enjoy. Trigger warning: This episode contains references to parental abuse Useful Links Siobhan's website: https://www.shuvonshuvoff.co.uk Siobhan in the news: https://www.shuvonshuvoff.co.uk/features Follow Siobhan on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/shuvonshuvoff/ And Twitter! https://twitter.com/SiobhanDaniels

When you think about human rights, what's the first thing that comes to mind? Maybe it's the treatment of prisoners overseas, or working conditions and pay in a place of employment, or freedom of speech, or the right of an individual to live freely and safely in whatever manner they choose? Maybe it's a multitude of other things, because the subject of human rights is broad and deep. It's also vitally important. My guest today is Vicki Prais, a human rights lawyer and consultant, podcaster and writer. We love women with adventurous and challenging careers on this podcast, and Vicki has that in spades. She's worked for the UN in Kosovo, Amnesty International, Penal Reform International and the British Government. She's worked in Ukraine, Russia and Armenia, and consulted on cases involving Guantanamo Bay. "We are all experts in our own little niches" she says. Vicki Prais, welcome to Smashing The Ceiling. Useful Links Vicki's Website: https://vickiprais.com Connect with Vicki on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/vicki-prais-5862151/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/vickiprais?lang=en

To open Season 4, I've got two guests with me with this week, and if you're looking for inspiring women in your life, then these two are it.  Kirsten and Aiyven Mbawa are sisters from Northampton, England and they're 13 and 12 years old respectively. Nothing unusual there. What is unusual is that both Kirsten and Aiyven are published authors and business owners. Their love of reading has driven everything they've done so far, and you'll hear in this chat the effect on their lives that they both attribute to books. Their company, Mbawa Books, produces monthly subscription boxes for teens containing diverse titles with relatable, representative heroes from a wide range of authors, as well as stories written by Kirsten and Aiyven themselves. Their output is prolific, and having tasted success with their first books, which they self-published but subsequently got onto the shelves of Waterstones through their hard work and tenacity, they are well on their way with their next novels.  Kirsten and Aiyven are the face of their brand. They have help from their mum, Ndah, but have themselves appeared on Steph's Packed Lunch on Channel 4 and in various local and national press. Kirsten confidently told me she wants to be prime minister, and I just wouldn't put anything past these two. Useful Links Mbawa Books Website: https://www.mbawabooks.co.uk Subscribe to Kirsten and Aiyven's YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC1-zobH5aogUrGF02gIW3lw Follow Mbawa Books on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mbawabooks/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/mbawabooks Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/mbawabooks/

To many people, the world of burlesque may seem distant, mysterious and unknown. You might have heard of https://www.instagram.com/ditavonteese/?hl=en (Dita von Teese), but how much do you know about the art of it, the glamour, and the people, who are, by all accounts, a brilliant bunch of welcoming human beings? My guest today is https://www.tigzrice.com (Tigz Rice), who combines her career as a burlesque and boudoir photographer with an ambition to leave her mark on the world creatively. She has shot for Cosmopolitan, and produced work that the HuffPost described as the 'most diverse lingerie shoot of its time'. But like many of my guests, she didn't expect to end up where she is. Tigz harboured a strong desire to be a forensic pathologist, and it was circumstances that led her to art college, then into photography. She's an amazing advocate for people celebrating their bodies, taking pride and joy in what society may view as physical flaws, but often actually are a sign of strength and resilience. She is storyteller of the highest order, and I hope you enjoy this conversation about her life and career. Useful Links Tigz's websites: https://www.tigzrice.com and https://brandingbytigz.com Follow Tigz on Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/tigzrice/ (@tigzrice) and https://www.instagram.com/brandingbytigz/ (@brandingbytigz) Our website, with details of the International Women's Podcast Awards - http://www.skylarkcollective.co.uk/ (www.skylarkcollective.co.uk) Follow us on Instagram - http://www.instagram.com/theskylarkcollective.co.uk (www.instagram.com/theskylarkcollective.co.uk)

https://www.thefemalecreative.co.uk (Hannah Roper) is an incredible woman with a varied career forged out of a combination of inspiration and necessity. Not many people can say that they've worked as a teacher, a policeman, a country music singer and an entrepreneur. Hannah has worked in both primary and secondary education, founded a country music festival, been on the beat and with suspects, and released several successful albums. In the midst of all of that, she's also survived domestic abuse and harassment at the hands of her ex-husband, also a police officer. Her life and career are quite extraordinary. It has certainly not always been an easy ride for Hannah, and as a survivor of domestic abuse there was a time where confidence and self-esteem were not the norm. She spent many years rediscovering herself, in the process finding her love for entrepreneurship and developing skills in business, branding, marketing and web design. After launching her company The Female Creative in 2020, she was named in Yahoo Finance as one of their Top Ten Business Start up Coaches in 2021. Hannah also recently launched her podcast, https://www.instagram.com/tfctalkspodcast/ (The Female Creative Talks) earlier this year, which is well worth a listen! Please note this podcast contains references to domestic abuse and coercive control. If you need further help or advice, https://www.womensaid.org.uk (Women's Aid) and https://www.nationaldahelpline.org.uk (Refuge) are always available. Useful Links The Female Creative website: https://www.thefemalecreative.co.uk Find Hannah on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/thefemalecreative/ Follow Hannah on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/the_femalecreative/ Listen to Hannah's podcast: https://www.thefemalecreative.co.uk/podcast Our website, with details of the International Women's Podcast Awards - http://www.skylarkcollective.co.uk/ (www.skylarkcollective.co.uk) Follow us on Instagram - http://www.instagram.com/theskylarkcollective.co.uk (www.instagram.com/theskylarkcollective.co.uk)

We hear so much about side hustles and entrepreneurship and it seems that every second person on social media is starting a successful new business and scaling it to 7 figures from their kitchen table. But if you've had an idea, how do you get started? How do you balance your day job and the need to earn a living with launching a new venture? What's the best way to go about that, and why does it seem so damn easy for other people when you're finding it pretty hard? If these questions have ever popped into your head, then this episode is for you. https://www.linkedin.com/in/lizogabi/?originalSubdomain=uk (Elizabeth Ogabi) has balanced life in the corporate world with founding and progressing multiple businesses, both in London and Lagos, Nigeria. She's worked in communications for some of the world's most successful companies, whilst also being an inspirational entrepreneur. Liz is a huge supporter of women in business, and always knew she wanted to make a positive change in the world. In 2016 she founded https://forworkingladies.com (For Working Ladies), a digital media platform focused on equipping women with the information and tools they need to start a successful business. Most recently, she co-founded Leicour.com a community network focused on accelerating women within organisations into leadership roles. Whether it's starting a side hustle, breaking through the corporate glass ceiling or pursuing full-time entrepreneurship, her ultimate goal is focused on the advancement and economic empowerment of women. Her new book, https://harpercollins.co.uk/products/side-hustle-in-progress-a-practical-guide-to-kickstarting-your-business-elizabeth-ogabi?variant=32751318794318 (Side Hustle in Progress), is a brilliant practical guide to kickstarting your business, and is well worth a read if you're starting something new this year. She also has a successful podcast, https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/how-i-made-it-happen/id1487346016 (How I Made It Happen), and we chatted a little about podcasting later in the interview. This conversation is packed full of entrepreneurial and business wisdom. Enjoy. Useful Links Order Liz's book Side Hustle in Progress from Waterstones: https://www.waterstones.com/book/side-hustle-in-progress/elizabeth-ogabi//9780008455002 For Working Ladies website: https://forworkingladies.com Find Liz on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lizogabi/?originalSubdomain=uk Follow Liz on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/elizabethogabi/ Our website, with details of the International Women's Podcast Awards - http://www.skylarkcollective.co.uk/ (www.skylarkcollective.co.uk) Follow us on Instagram - http://www.instagram.com/theskylarkcollective.co.uk (www.instagram.com/theskylarkcollective.co.uk)

Have you ever had a moment when you met someone for the first time, but you felt like you'd known them your entire life? It's a weird and rare but wonderful thing. I had that feeling when I chatted to Nikki Trott prior to this interview, and I knew I had to have her on the show. Nikki is an entrepreneur, podcaster and coach on a mission with her company, Conscious Accelerator. That mission is to help entrepreneurs with a real purpose in their business to thrive. She believes that purpose and profit don't have to be mutually exclusive (something I wholeheartedly agree with) and that business can be ethical, meaningful and financially successful all at the same time. But she started her working life singing in a choir and working in Topshop during her teenage years, before beginning her career post-university at a tech startup. She's had huge experience in business development, branding and the tech sector, and has done a variety of different and roles that have led her to where she is today. We talked in this interview about how experience in retail and service early in Nikki's career shaped her attitudes going forwards, why 'success' isn't always what it seems, and how the realisation that her personal values and professional life were poles apart led to some pretty significant changes. Useful Links Nikki's website: https://www.nikkitrott.com Find Nikki on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nikkitrott/ Follow Nikki on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nikkitrott/ Our website, with details of the International Women's Podcast Awards - http://www.skylarkcollective.co.uk/ (www.skylarkcollective.co.uk) Follow us on Instagram - http://www.instagram.com/theskylarkcollective.co.uk (www.instagram.com/theskylarkcollective.co.uk)

My guest this week is an incredible woman, whose life and career were turned upside down by circumstances. We talk often on this podcast about how circumstances shape the careers of women, but in the case of Victoria Jenkins, the circumstances were becoming disabled in her mid twenties. Before becoming ill, Victoria was forging a successful career as a garment technologist, working for the likes of Sweaty Betty, Jack Wills and Victoria Beckham no less. She was doing well, and that's an understatement. But at the age of 26, her life turned upside down - I'll let her tell you her story in the podcast, but suffice to say, she ended up founding her own fashion company, Unhidden, to cater to people requiring adaptive clothing that's stylish, beautifully made and affordable.  Victoria is now an entrepreneur, business owner, disability advocate and brand ambassador for Models of Disability. She's a tour de force, and I'd urge you pop out and buy her book The Little Book of Ableism. We started, as ever, talking about her early life as one of six kids.   Useful Links Victoria's Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/victoria_is_unhidden/ Unhidden Clothing Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/unhidden_clothing/ Find Victoria on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/victoria-jenkins-812b7027/ Victoria's website: https://www.victoriaann.online Unhidden Clothing website: https://unhiddenclothing.com Our website, with details of the International Women's Podcast Awards - http://www.skylarkcollective.co.uk/ (www.skylarkcollective.co.uk) Check us out on Instagram - http://www.instagram.com/theskylarkcollective.co.uk (www.instagram.com/theskylarkcollective.co.uk)  

We've often talked on this podcast about how our upbringing shapes our attitudes to work, ambition and success. Mira Patel's parents ran a newsagent, and she started working in the shop at an early age, before forging a successful career in HR. She understands the value of hard work and determination in building a business. She stepped away the HR world to train in neurolinguistic programming, and she founded her company, Prana Coaching in 2019. She now specialises in coaching young people through their teenage years, equipping them with the tools and skills they need to navigate the modern world. Mira is one of the most accomplished women I know, seamlessly managing her business, motherhood, a house build, fundraising challenges galore and organising huge events for the Gujarati Cultural Society in Brighton. She's quite the tour de force, and one of the kindest people you could hope to meet. Useful Links Mira's Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/prana_coaching/ Mira's website: https://www.pranacoaching.co.uk  Our website, with details of the International Women's Podcast Awards - www.skylarkcollective.co.uk Check us out on Instagram - www.instagram.com/theskylarkcollective.co.uk  

When you're in a box career-wise, it can be hard to get out of it. Sometimes it's pressure from others, or from society that keeps you in that box, or sometimes it's your own internal monologue telling you that you can't do anything else. Sometimes, life events send you on a different path. Imogen Tinkler is a total inspiration in this area. After an adventurous childhood in Pakistan, and studying Russian with politics at uni, Imogen thought she was going to be a lawyer. After losing her mother, she re-considered her priorities, and subsequently forged a successful career in the charities and non-for-profit sector, becoming a director at the age of 31 and working with David Cameron and Gordon Brown. After her dad became ill, Imogen re-invented herself again though, quitting her job and starting a food  business Bangers and Balls with her husband Duncan. Imogen and Duncan are aiming to start a revolution from your kitchen table. They began with pop-up restaurants, but now take foraging expeditions, telling the tales of food surrounding you in the natural world and have written a new book, Foraging Fairytales, which has just gone straight into the Amazon Top 10. As well as being a successful businesswoman and master marketeer, Imogen is also a keen wild swimmer with a love of the ocean and being in water, and she tells me about how swimming saved her after the loss of her 8 week old baby daughter in the midst of the pandemic last year. Her positivity and infectious enthusiasm despite everything she's encountered made me just want to be her friend and move to Kent immediately to join her gang of swimmers. As a trigger warning, we do discuss grief and loss in this podcast, but listen in if you can for warmth, energy and lots of great advice from Imogen.    Useful links: Bangers and Balls website: https://bangersandballs.co  Bangers and Balls Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bangersandballs/  Imogen's Girls Gone Wild swimming page: https://www.instagram.com/girlsgonewildswimming/ The Government's Kickstart Scheme that Imogen mentioned: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/kickstart-scheme 

I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again, but I love meeting women who’ve done something unexpected, who bucked the career trend and taken a path that others might not expect. Today's guest, Caroline Knight, very much falls into that category. After a biochemistry degree and multiple different careers including being a naked yoga instructor, and working in the wine industry, she went to Peru last year, fell in love and unexpectedly stayed to set up a business selling cacao direct from the Peruvian jungle into the UK.  Caroline is a fascinating woman. We talked in this chat about being in tune with your body, and why so many people aren’t, why it’s ok to have more than one job, even when the world tells you it isn’t, and why the power of curiosity in your career can be super beneficial. As a trigger warning, this podcast does contain a brief reference to eating disorders. Useful Links Sign up for Breaking The Bonds of Shame: https://zw3rse68.pages.infusionsoft.net  Jungle Cacao Peru Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/junglecacaoperu/  Buy Jungle Cacao here: https://www.junglecacaoperu.com  Caroline's Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thebodylovebabe/ Our website, with details of the International Women's Podcast Awards - www.skylarkcollective.co.uk Check us out on Instagram - www.instagram.com/theskylarkcollective.co.uk  

Here’s a question for you. Would you describe your mum as sex positive? My guest today, Anita Whittaker, garnered the term “the sex positive mum you all wish you had” after appearing in  Channel 4 show ‘Mums Make Porn’. This happened after a television company read her original blog, Only Boys and A Tomboy, describing her family life in Harlesden in London with her 4 sons and husband Johann.  Anita is an award-winning mentor, speaker, journalist and community liason. She’s run children’s nurseries, been a DJ on pirate radio, had a super successful blog and Instagram account, and worked in education for 17 years, including stints on the board of charities and other organisations. Anita is a raconteur in the truest sense of the word, and it’s no great surprise that she now has her own successful podcast, Anita Whittaker and Friends. This podcast is all about women with unusual and interesting careers and lives, and she certainly fits that bill. This interview is full of rich stories, laughter and vivid descriptions of both London and the Caribbean, and I LOVED it. Useful Links Only Boys And A Tomboy Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/onlyboysandatomboy/  Anita's Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/_anitawhittaker/  Listen to 'Anita Whittaker and Friends' on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/1Lv1Ou2EP4rvnjN5CskX9f  Our website, with details of the International Women's Podcast Awards - www.skylarkcollective.co.uk Check us out on Instagram - www.instagram.com/theskylarkcollective.co.uk  

Sometimes you meet someone whose energy, creativity, and drive just blows you away, and Monique Hodgson is one of those people. Monique is a Latin American trailblazer, on a mission to redefine motherhood through her company, Mumble Forum. Monique established in 2019 as a platform to unite women through motherhood with the objective of creating social change, collectively and individually. She says that mothers are underestimated, undervalued and under-utilised, and that the world is suffering both metaphorically and economically because of this.  Monique is from Panama, and after moving alone to Milan at the age of 18 to study in the fashion capital of the world, she found herself in London working in the ambassadorial service at the Panamanian embassy. Her work has stretched from fashion, to international politics and commerce to luxury branding and events. We talked a lot in this interview about strong women - being them, raising them and inspiring them, and how Monique’s ambition to change the perception of motherhood drives everything she does at Mumble.  Useful Links Mumble Forum Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mumbleforum/  Monique's Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/monique_vega/  Listen to 'Ladies of Mumble' on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/3gN2YcLrO0QgF5hE6aZs5M v Our website, with details of the International Women's Podcast Awards - www.skylarkcollective.co.uk Check us out on Instagram - www.instagram.com/theskylarkcollective.co.uk  

If like me, you had a misspent youth watching as much Friends, Sex and the City and The O.C. as you could, you’ll probably love today’s guest, Amanda Ogen. Amanda was obsessed with film and TV from a young age and despite being from New Jersey, couldn’t wait to move to Hollywood. After interning at Nickelodeon, she is now a freelance casting agent, and has worked on shows with Netflix, Fox, Facebook and Buzzfeed.  Amanda also hosts a hit podcast, ‘How Did I Get This Far?’, which takes a lighthearted look at some of basic life skills that you might regret never acquiring. Her show charted on the Apple podcast charts earlier this year, and has featured guests talking about everything from changing a tyre, to doing your taxes, to defending yourself with MMA skills. Amanda is, quite frankly, hilarious. In this conversation we talked about sororities in American university, the phrase ‘the dog’s bollocks’, why it pays to be persistent, and the value of speaking up, even if you’re not sure you really should.   Oh, and in case you're wondering, here's a video of the cha cha slide: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wZv62ShoStY Useful Links Amanda's Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/amandaogen/ Listen to 'How Did I Get This Far?' on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/7xuqBvUoqQdnqr1N59SqwM  Our website, with details of the International Women's Podcast Awards - www.skylarkcollective.co.uk Check us out on Instagram - www.instagram.com/theskylarkcollective.co.uk  

Some people take half a lifetime to discover their passion, but others know their calling from an early age. Iffat Gill was only 25 when she was first invited to speak at a UN Conference, after founding her first not-for-profit in Pakistan at the age of 22.  Iffat grew up in Libya and received her education there with the strong encouragement of her family, but when she returned back to her home nation of Pakistan, she realised the need for community education in the effort to empower women. Iffat began with a local skills centre, teaching women the practical aspects of running a small business, but soon realised that her future lay in tech. She has gone on to found Code To Change, a diversity non-profit to upskill and re-skill under-represented groups, and Digital Starling, a new AI enabled female talent marketplace supporting digital freelancers and founders. In 2020, Iffat was nominated for the UNESCO Prize for her work in women and girls’ education, and she is world-renowned for her expertise in digital skills advocacy and internet governance.  Useful Links Iffat's Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/irgill2021/ Connect with Iffat on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/iffatgill/  Medium article about Digital Starling: https://medium.com/@womeninai_nl/the-story-of-digital-starling-c738ba23b486 Our website, with details of the International Women's Podcast Awards - www.skylarkcollective.co.uk Check us out on Instagram - www.instagram.com/theskylarkcollective.co.uk

They say you should never meet your heroes, but what if you do, and it turns out to be amazing? In the case of Kristine Kilty, she met her style icon, Gwen Stefani, whilst working at Vivienne Westwood in London, and her career trajectory altered irrevocably from there.  Kristine is a fashion stylist and creative director, co-ordinating shoots for some of the world's biggest fashion magazines. She trained at Central St. Martins College before working for the likes of Alexander McQueen during her illustrious career to this point. Her fashion consultancy business, The Fierce Group, was founded in 2020 in the height of the pandemic, and she was featured in Vogue last year discussing novel ways of working in the fashion industry during Covid.  If you're into fashion, or you know anyone that is, this is the episode for you! Useful links https://www.kristinekilty.co.uk https://www.fierce-group.com/home/services  https://www.voguebusiness.com/fashion/fashion-photographers-and-creatives-face-uncertain-futures  Our website, with details of the International Women's Podcast Awards - www.skylarkcollective.co.uk Check us out on Instagram - www.instagram.com/theskylarkcollective.co.uk

We are BACK! Season 3 is here, and my first guest this season is Veronica Bolton Smith who, spoiler alert, is a dear friend and a total inspiration. Ronnie is a powerhouse, and her career has been so varied and interesting that I can’t wait for you to hear her story. She started work in the House of Commons at the age of 22, working for various MPs including Theresa May and John Bercow, before heading out to Kenya to become the managing director of a company of 300 people at the age of 25. She has subsequently worked in both the public and private sectors, and has huge experience in international development, investment and renewable energy. She is now the COO of Invest Africa, and sits on the board of Akojo Marketplace, a fashion and homewares company. Most of all, Ronnie is fantastic fun and really knows how to tell a story. She’s also a fabulous singer but I couldn’t quite work that into the podcast recording this time around. Next time! Useful links Our website, with details of the International Women's Podcast Awards - www.skylarkcollective.co.uk Check us out on Instagram - www.instagram.com/theskylarkcollective.co.uk Find Ronnie on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/veronicaboltonsmith/  Akojo Marketplace - https://akojomarket.com   

We've been away for a while, but we are back! This week marks the start of Season 3! We’ve been on a long hiatus since Season 2 as I moved house (again), contemplated what I was doing with my life (again) and well, there was a global pandemic.  Who would have thought that was going to happen. I was furloughed for a while last year and had a long time then to think about where I wanted to take the podcast and my career, and since we last spoke, I’ve founded a new business, the Skylark Collective, to champion women in podcasting. But if I’ve got a podcasting-focused business, I also need a podcast right? And I’m so fortunate to have had such lovely feedback about our previous guests and the stories we’ve told here on Smashing The Ceiling that I just felt there’s a lot of life in this show. A lot of podcast don’t continue after one or two seasons - they call it pod fade apparently - but that’s not us. We’re going to be bringing you the stories of more amazing women over the next few months and I can’t wait. I've got some fantastic guests lined up and we are starting this week with Veronica Bolton Smith, one of my favourite people in the world right now, and an absolutely business inspiration. Episode drops on Thursday!  www.skylarkcollective.co.uk www.instagram.com/theskylarkcollective 

Hello hello hello! I realise it’s been a while since you’ve heard from me, so I thought I’d slide into your ears with a little update. First things first. If you’re from the vet world and you’ve been listening to Borborygmi here - good news! It turns out mixing your genres isn’t a smart idea, so Borborygmi has now moved to its very own channel and we’ve got a new season starting next week. Just search Borborygmi: Noises From The Veterinary World wherever you get your podcasts, and you’ll find us.  And what of Smashing The Ceiling I hear you ask? When do we get to hear the stories of more amazing women with inspiring and unusual careers? Well, Season 3 will be back in 2021 - yes, I know that’s aaaaages since Season 2 finished but despite the global circumstances, it’s been a busy year with exciting consequences. Drumroll please... I’m on the verge of launching a new venture for women in podcasting, which is called The Skylark Collective. The Collective will be a membership organisation for all women in the podcasting industry, whether you’re a host, producer, editor, writer or anything in between. We’re aiming to lift the voices of our members through connection, collaboration and celebration. We’ll have monthly events based around the themes of Success, featuring conversations with women who’ve been there, done it and got the millions of downloads, Skills, allowing your to uplevel your offering and take your podcast to the next level, and Social, because if there’s one thing we’ve realised in 2020, it’s that we all need each other more than we thought. Community is queen. There’ll also be a bursary fund offered to women with great ideas that need a hand to get going, and an annual awards ceremony kicking off in September 2021 to celebrate the achievements of women in podcasting worldwide. Our website is in progress, but the socials are up and running on Insta and Twitter so do give us a follow and look out for content there! Smashing The Ceiling will now become the official podcast of The Skylark Collective, and we’ll be showcasing more amazing women with fabulous careers...and a podcast too. So watch this space - we’ll let you know when we’re ready to roll!

Today’s episode is a special collaboration for Smashing The Ceiling, as I’ve produced this conversation in partnership with Veterinary Woman, a platform to help and inspire women to develop the confidence to overcome challenges and follow their passions. They want to encourage women to be at the forefront of clinical practice, specialisation, professional bodies, corporates, education, research, industry, government - to have female leaders in every area of veterinary influence. And so my special guest today is a women who embodies all the qualities that both Veterinary Woman and Smashing The Ceiling love to share with others. Kerrie Hedley is now the chief operating officer of XL Vets, reaching executive level after only 4 years at the company. Kerrie graduated from the RVC in 2011 and started in equine practice in the North East. As you’ll hear, she developed a love of business quite early and has since completed both a certificate in Veterinary Business Management and an MBA during her career so far. Her MBA dissertation was on women in veterinary leadership, and we talk quite a lot about this later in the episode, particularly the facilitators and barriers to women progressing in the profession. It was such a joy to talk to Kerrie - she is very humble about her progress but the reality she is that she has a big job and she is now using her position to lift up others women in the profession, which is really what it’s all about. 

Today is the final episode of Borborygmi for this season and we’re ending with a conversation on diversity and racism in the veterinary profession. This may be uncomfortable listening for some of you. You may roll your eyes and say ‘This is pointless. I’m not a racist. I’m tired of hearing about Black Lives Matter. It isn’t relevant to me”. Imagine how tired people of colour are at this point in time, having to constantly justify themselves and their place in Great Britain. To deny the existence of racism  in the veterinary world is to deny the lived experience of the all-too-few people of colour that work alongside us. My guests today discussing this are Navaratnam Partheeban and Libby Kemkaren-Thompson and I want to thank them both sincerely for their patience in this chat. This is a challenging issue, but those of us who have the privilege of being white must challenge ourselves, educate ourselves, and work alongside people of colour to create real and meaningful change.  Useful links: BVEDS Website: https://bveds.com  BVEDS Twitter: https://twitter.com/bveds2016  BVEDS Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/BritishVEDS/  Books and podcasts: https://dauntbooks.co.uk/shop/books/why-im-no-longer-talking-to-white-people-about-race/  https://dauntbooks.co.uk/shop/books/the-good-immigrant/  https://dauntbooks.co.uk/shop/books/small-island/  https://dauntbooks.co.uk/shop/books/natives-race-and-class-in-the-ruins-of-empire/  https://www.aboutracepodcast.com   

This is the last of our episodes recorded at last year's London Vet Show (sad!) but before the Show closed its doors and they brought our podcast booth down around our ears, Sophie managed to drag her pal James Greenwood into the podcave for a debrief about diversification. You’ll mostly be hearing the distracted garblings of two excitable friends fresh from picking up free pens in the breaks between lectures, but hopefully - amid the chatter - for those feeling as though they would like to explore other avenues, particularly in media, this may help to reassure you that your vet degree can be useful in a wide range of work environments.  Borborygmi is a collaboration between the London Vet Show, Vet Times, Vets:Stay Go Diversify and Smashing The Ceiling. Thank you to everyone involved for your help and support, it has been much appreciated. Tickets for this year's London Vet Show are now on sale and if you'd like to attend, you can get a generous little discount from our friends at the Vet Show by using the link https://london.vetshow.com/borborygmi-booking with the code LVS20. See you there! Music: "Carefree" by Kevin MacLeod Link: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/3476-carefree  License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ 

I absolutely loved these two! This was a delight of a conversation with a lot of laughs and I'm so pleased that we made it happen - I should probably add that Liz was 39 weeks pregnant at the time of recording... Liz Bode is a veterinary cardiology specialist - our second one featured in the COVID specials, who’d have thought it - who works at ChesterGates Veterinary Specialists in Cheshire. Scott Kilpatrick is a specialist in small animal internal medicine and was recently appointed head of medicine at Wear Referrals in the north east. In tandem with with their other halves, Andy and Sean, Liz and Scott are also both co-directors of the Veterinary Thought Exchange, a new CPD company that they recently founded. Here they discuss running a startup, how the business came about and the impact of the Coronavirus pandemic on their professional and personal lives.    VTX are most active on Instagram and you can find them here. Borborygmi is a collaboration between the London Vet Show, Vet Times, Vets:Stay Go Diversify and Smashing The Ceiling. Thank you to everyone involved for your help and support, it has been much appreciated. Tickets for this year's London Vet Show are now on sale and the plan is still very much for it to go ahead. Book tickets using the link https://london.vetshow.com/borborygmi-booking with the code LVS20 for a 10% discount.  Music: "Carefree" by Kevin MacLeod Link: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/3476-carefree  License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/     

This week we are talking side hustles, and today's conversation on Borborygmi features two friends, Jessi Benn and Nat Scroggie, who discussed a little about what it’s like to take risks in your career as a vet. They’ve both been in practice for a few years, and are now exploring what avenues they’d like to pursue within the veterinary profession and beyond, and are both combining locuming with side hustles and other projects. Nat loves running and is combining blogging with her clinical career, whilst Jessi talks about how career coaching has encouraged her no end! Borborygmi is a collaboration between the London Vet Show, Vet Times, Vets:Stay Go Diversify and Smashing The Ceiling. Thank you to everyone involved for your help and support, it has been much appreciated! Tickets for this year's London Vet Show are now on sale and if you'd like to attend, you can get a generous little discount from our friends at the Vet Show by using the link https://london.vetshow.com/borborygmi-booking with the code LVS20. See you there! Music: "Carefree" by Kevin MacLeod Link: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/3476-carefree  License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/  

We are so thrilled that today we’ve got our first international guests on Borborygmi! A little milestone for the pod. Naomi’s guests today are Jessia Kania and Dawn Garvey, both veterinarians in small animal practice in Illinois, outside of Chicago. Jessica graduated in 2017 and Dawn in 2009, and they are former colleagues and good friends. In this chat they talk about life in the USA with the shelter in place order, and some of the financial pressures that COVID has brought to their practices. Borborygmi is a collaboration between the London Vet Show, Vet Times, Vets:Stay Go Diversify and Smashing The Ceiling. Thank you to everyone involved for your help and support, it has been much appreciated. Tickets for this year's London Vet Show are now on sale and the plan is still very much for it to go ahead. Book tickets using the link https://london.vetshow.com/borborygmi-booking with the code LVS20 for a 10% discount.  Music: "Carefree" by Kevin MacLeod Link: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/3476-carefree  License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/     

Between them, Brian Faulkner and Stephanie Writer-Davis have a wealth of experience in clinical practice. Brian has been a vet for almost 25 years and has made a career out of diversifying within the profession, from setting up practice on his own to completing masters degrees in both business and psychology. Steph is a general practitioner with 35 years of experience under her belt, and both are past-presidents of SPVS, which is how they met. But in a world of increasing specialisation and diversification, it is often easy to lose sight of the importance of the basics and both Steph and Brian remain vocal champions of the basic but vital skills that make you an excellent general practitioner. In this conversation, we hear them talking about the power of the clinical consultation.    Borborygmi is a collaboration between the London Vet Show, Vet Times, Vets:Stay Go Diversify and Smashing The Ceiling. Thank you to everyone involved for your help and support, it has been much appreciated. Tickets for this year's London Vet Show are now on sale and if you'd like to attend, you can get a generous little discount from our friends at the Vet Show by using the link https://london.vetshow.com/borborygmi-booking with the code LVS20. See you there! Music: "Carefree" by Kevin MacLeod Link: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/3476-carefree  License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ 

As final year vet students at Bristol and Surrey respectively, both Hannah FItzsimmonds and Holly Sutton know the myriad stresses that vet students face each year and are both dedicated to doing something to tackle it. Hannah is the Welfare Representative for the AVS, and Holly is one third of the start up VetFit- a research driven veterinary service dedicated to reducing the impact of stress through sport, exercise and social support. We join their conversation talking about their own experiences as final year students and get their failsafe tips for managing stress in the process.  Borborygmi is a collaboration between the London Vet Show, Vet Times, Vets:Stay Go Diversify and Smashing The Ceiling. Thank you to everyone involved for your help and support, it has been much appreciated. Tickets for this year's London Vet Show are now on sale and if you'd like to attend, you can get a generous little discount from our friends at the Vet Show by using the link https://london.vetshow.com/borborygmi-booking with the code LVS20. See you there! Music: "Carefree" by Kevin MacLeod Link: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/3476-carefree  License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ 

You’ll quickly realise from listening to the gentle ribbings doled out in this episode of Borborygmi that today's guests are two people that Naomi knows very well. Louise Turley is a small animal vet and a Director of Mulberry House Vets, an independent practice that she co-founded with two other vets and their practice manager in January 2019. Matt Yarnall joined Boehringer Ingelheim as a cattle veterinary advisor 8 years ago, and now works exclusively in a marketing role. They all went to college together many moons ago, plus the three of them live near each other and are VERY good friends, although as you’ll hear in this chat, Matt and Louise’s differing jobs have produced different challenges during the Coronavirus pandemic, including the joys of working from home with children.  Borborygmi is a collaboration between the London Vet Show, Vet Times, Vets:Stay Go Diversify and Smashing The Ceiling. Thank you to everyone involved for your help and support, it has been much appreciated. Tickets for this year's London Vet Show are now on sale and the plan is still very much for it to go ahead. Book tickets using the link https://london.vetshow.com/borborygmi-booking with the code LVS20 for a 10% discount.  Music: "Carefree" by Kevin MacLeod Link: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/3476-carefree  License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/   

This week is Mental Health Awareness Week in the UK, and this conversation features Adrian Nelson-Pratt, and Sean McCormack talking openly on that subject. You’ll probably quickly realise that the two of them are great friends. having known one another well for some years now since Sean was the student rep for Hills pet foods at Dublin University, and Adrian was the Hills Veterinary Affairs Manager. Sean is now the head vet for tails.com, a bespoke online pet food company, and following many years in veterinary industry, Adrian is now an independent  business consultant and personal performance coach. Here they touch on their career journeys, mental health and why a life in industry has worked for them.  Borborygmi is a collaboration between the London Vet Show, Vet Times, Vets:Stay Go Diversify and Smashing The Ceiling. Thank you to everyone involved for your help and support, it has been much appreciated. Tickets for this year's London Vet Show are now on sale and if you'd like to attend, you can get a generous little discount from our friends at the Vet Show by using the link https://london.vetshow.com/borborygmi-booking with the code LVS20. See you there! Music: "Carefree" by Kevin MacLeod Link: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/3476-carefree  License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ 

Today’s guests on Borborygmi are Liv Bass and Zara Abas. Liv and Zara are final year vet students at the University of Nottingham; Zara is from North Wales, and Liv is from the north east, and they are both currently locked down with their families. They are in the process of revising for their finals, which are due to take place very soon. Clearly the Coronavirus pandemic has played havoc with university education in ways we might not have dreamed possible, particularly for vet students when you consider EMS and rotations as well as the usual forms of student study. Here the two of them chat about the changes to their final term, their upcoming exams, and their job prospects in the near future.  Borborygmi is a collaboration between the London Vet Show, Vet Times, Vets:Stay Go Diversify and Smashing The Ceiling. Thank you to everyone involved for your help and support, it has been much appreciated. Tickets for this year's London Vet Show are now on sale and the plan is still very much for it to go ahead. Book tickets using the link https://london.vetshow.com/borborygmi-booking with the code LVS20 for a 10% discount.  Music: "Carefree" by Kevin MacLeod Link: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/3476-carefree  License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ 

This week on Borborygmi, we drop in on a conversation between Aubrey Kumm and Timokleia Kousi. Aubrey is a vet who got bitten by the technology bug while completing a masters in neuroscience. He has spent the last 3 years developing a veterinary platform and app called Guava Vet, which tackles a big issue facing our profession today - recruitment. Here, he talks to Timokleia, founder of Vet Futurist and one of a growing number of professionals helping vets to make the most of technology by creating content about digital innovation and spreading the word about the benefits of tech. They discuss how steady changes in tech uptake are changing the veterinary industry for the better. Borborygmi is a collaboration between the London Vet Show, Vet Times, Vets:Stay Go Diversify and Smashing The Ceiling. Thank you to everyone involved for your help and support, it has been much appreciated. Tickets for this year's London Vet Show are now on sale and if you'd like to attend, you can get a generous little discount from our friends at the Vet Show by using the link https://london.vetshow.com/borborygmi-booking with the code LVS20. See you there! Music: "Carefree" by Kevin MacLeod Link: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/3476-carefree  License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ 

On today's Borborygmi Zoom call, Naomi caught up with Kieran Borgeat, clinical lead in veterinary cardiology at Langford Vets at the University of Bristol, and his great friend Shaun Taylor, a the founder and director of Yatton Vets in Somerset, an independent first-opinion practice. These two have been friends since their uni days at Bristol and here discuss their contrasting experiences of employment during Coronavirus - Kieran is now on furlough, whilst Shaun is running his practice single-handedly with his nurses, and - awkwardly - had to furlough his mum!   Borborygmi is a collaboration between the London Vet Show, Vet Times, Vets:Stay Go Diversify and Smashing The Ceiling. Thank you to everyone involved for your help and support, it has been much appreciated. Tickets for this year's London Vet Show are now on sale and the plan is still very much for it to go ahead. Book tickets using the link https://london.vetshow.com/borborygmi-booking with the code LVS20 for a 10% discount.  Music: "Carefree" by Kevin MacLeod Link: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/3476-carefree  License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ 

In this episode of Borborygmi, we’re talking about money. Hannah Fitzsimmonds is a final year vet student at Bristol University and until recently, was the AVS Welfare rep. Matt Dobbs qualified from the University of Edinburgh in 1999 and was a farm vet for many years, progressing to be the managing director of Westpoint Farm Vets. He is also a trustee of the Animal Welfare Foundation and a co-founder of VetYou, which aims to get vets thinking about their finances and financial future.   Borborygmi is a collaboration between the London Vet Show, Vet Times, Vets:Stay Go Diversify and Smashing The Ceiling. Thank you to everyone involved for your help and support, it has been much appreciated. Tickets for this year's London Vet Show are now on sale and if you'd like something to look forward to once lockdown is over, you can get a 10% discount by using the link https://london.vetshow.com/borborygmi-booking with the code LVS20.    Music: "Carefree" by Kevin MacLeod Link: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/3476-carefree  License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ 

Today, on the second Corona special of Borborygmi, I’m joined by Holly Norman and Jenny Bowen-Smith. Holly is a joint venture partner with Vets4Pets, and is in charge two practices in Peterborough with her business partner Laura. Jenny is a small animal vet in the first opinion practice at one of the vet schools, so whilst she primarily sees cases, she is also involved in teaching and lecturing. These two met at the RVC, from where they graduated in 2011. They were in the same rotation group at university and according to Jenny, have been great friends, drinking buddies and a strong support for each other ever since.  Borborygmi is a collaboration between the London Vet Show, Vet Times, Vets:Stay Go Diversify and Smashing The Ceiling. Thank you to everyone involved for your help and support, it has been much appreciated. Tickets for this year's London Vet Show are now on sale and the plan is still very much for it to go ahead. Book tickets using the link https://london.vetshow.com/borborygmi-booking with the code LVS20 for a 10% discount.  Music: "Carefree" by Kevin MacLeod Link: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/3476-carefree  License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ 

Today on Borborygmi, Sophie is chatting with Fiona Andrew. Fiona has been a qualified vet nurse for almost 20 years and has spent much of her career looking at what it means to be a nurse in modern veterinary practice. Currently working as a Business Support Manager for the Vet Partners Group, Fiona is also Chair of the BVA advisory board. This conversation covers the relationship between vets, vet nurses and owners in practice and also discusses Fiona’s work as leader of an important new Vet Nurse task force - a joint BVA and BVNA initiative that looks at the development of veterinary nurses and how we as a profession, can best recognise the role today and give due credit to what is an indispensable cog in the veterinary machine.  Borborygmi is a collaboration between the London Vet Show, Vet Times, Vets:Stay Go Diversify and Smashing The Ceiling. Thank you to everyone involved for your help and support, it has been much appreciated. Tickets for this year's London Vet Show are now on sale and if you'd like to attend, you can get a 10% discount by using the link https://london.vetshow.com/borborygmi-booking with the code LVS20.  Music: "Carefree" by Kevin MacLeod Link: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/3476-carefree  License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ 

Today's podcast marks the start of a special set of extra Borborygmi episodes we have recently recorded to capture the changes to life in the veterinary profession since the onset of the Coronavirus pandemic. We'll be featuring vets, nurses and students from across the industry over the next few weeks, with conversations interspersed amongst the original Borborygmi collection recorded at last year's London Vet Show.  Our first guests on the 'Covid Special' version of Borborygmi are Ami Sawran, a practice principal at Westpoint Vets, with an interest in small ruminants and camelids, and Fi Boothby, a predominantly dairy vet at Vale Vet Group. These two met at vet school, qualifying from Liverpool in 2011 and as you'll hear here, are VERY good fun. In this chat you'll hear them discussing the changes that have happened on farm with social distancing, and what it's meant so far for their clients.   Borborygmi is a collaboration between the London Vet Show, Vet Times, Vets:Stay Go Diversify and Smashing The Ceiling. Thank you to everyone involved for your help and support, it has been much appreciated. Tickets for this year's London Vet Show are now on sale and if you'd like to attend, you can get a generous little discount from our friends at the Vet Show by using the link https://london.vetshow.com/borborygmi-booking with the code LVS20. See you there! Music: "Carefree" by Kevin MacLeod Link: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/3476-carefree  License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ 

Cat Henstridge - better known as Cat the Vet - is a small animal practitioner, writer, blogger and frequent contributor to social media including video and written content. She describes herself as a ‘pretty normal vet really, who just happens to rant about things online every so often’. Katie Roberts is a vet student at Cambridge University, and the current president of the Association of Veterinary Students. They’re talking social media and our relationship to it in the veterinary profession.  Borborygmi is a collaboration between the London Vet Show, Vet Times, Vets:Stay Go Diversify and Smashing The Ceiling. Thank you to everyone involved for your help and support, it has been much appreciated. Tickets for this year's London Vet Show are now on sale and if you'd like to attend, you can get a generous little discount from our friends at the Vet Show by using the link https://london.vetshow.com/borborygmi-booking with the code LVS20. See you there! Music: "Carefree" by Kevin MacLeod Link: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/3476-carefree  License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ 

In uncertain times, creativity can provide a great deal of solace, and creativity is the theme of today's discussion in the Borborygmi booth. Taimur Alavi and Rebecca de Stacpoole met at vet school in Bristol. Bex works as a small animal vet in West London and is also an artist, spending much of the free time she has painting and and selling her artwork. Taimur left clinical practice to found his company IVALA, a tech company that creates interactive 3D learning content for the veterinary community, that he sold to the Veterinary Information Network and continues to develop. Here, they talk about what exploring their creativity has meant for their professional lives and explain the value that it can bring to a scientific profession.  Borborygmi is a collaboration between the London Vet Show, Vet Times, Vets:Stay Go Diversify and Smashing The Ceiling. Thank you to everyone involved for your help and support, it has been much appreciated. Tickets for this year's London Vet Show are now on sale and if you'd like to attend, you can get a generous little discount from our friends at the Vet Show by using the link https://london.vetshow.com/borborygmi-booking with the code LVS20. See you there! Music: "Carefree" by Kevin MacLeod Link: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/3476-carefree  License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ 

Today’s guests on Borborygmi are Cat Auden and Lawrence Brown, two friends who met at Edinburgh University, from where they graduated as veterinary surgeons in 2010. Cat previously worked in small animal practice and is now Head of Collaborations for VetLED, a company that looks at enhancing team performance and improving patient safety in veterinary practices. Lawrence initially worked in mixed practice, but is best now described as an entrepreneur. He has multiple projects on the go, including consultancy for the Department for International Trade on animal sciences and aquaculture. Under the banner of VetLED, Lawrence and Cat have set up Vet Mentors, a series of interviews with veterinary professionals to provide inspiration and encouragement to others. You can find the Vet Mentors webpage here: https://www.vetled.co.uk/vet-mentors  Borborygmi is a collaboration between the London Vet Show, Vet Times, Vets:Stay Go Diversify and Smashing The Ceiling. Thank you to everyone involved for your help and support, it has been much appreciated. Tickets for this year's London Vet Show are now on sale and if you'd like to attend, you can get a generous little discount from our friends at the Vet Show by using the link https://london.vetshow.com/borborygmi-booking with the code LVS20. See you there! Music: "Carefree" by Kevin MacLeod Link: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/3476-carefree  License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ 

Today we are hearing from Alice Wilkinson and Eleanor Livingstone, two farm vets who work at Friars Moor Veterinary Clinic in Dorset. Friars Moor has recently become a Best Practice Representative as part of the Parliamentary Review and is at the forefront of farm practice in the UK. We hear Alice and Eleanor chat about what it means to be a farm vet today including the challenges and rewards that come with working in their field (no pun intended). Borborygmi is a collaboration between the London Vet Show, Vet Times, Vets:Stay Go Diversify and Smashing The Ceiling. Thank you to everyone involved for your help and support, it has been much appreciated. Tickets for this year's London Vet Show are now on sale and if you'd like to attend, you can get a generous little discount from our friends at the Vet Show by using the link https://london.vetshow.com/borborygmi-booking with the code LVS20. See you there! Music: "Carefree" by Kevin MacLeod Link: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/3476-carefree  License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ 

As a new-ish faculty, the veterinary department at The University of Surrey is a little different to the more traditional older vet schools in the way their final year works, as students travel to partner practices all round the country for their rotations, rather than being in a teaching hospital on the university campus. This novel approach carries both its joys and its challenges, which are discussed here by Emma Robertson, a Veterinary Clinical Teaching Fellow at the University of Surrey with responsibility for final year students, and Alexia Yiannouli herself currently a final year student at the university. Borborygmi is a collaboration between the London Vet Show, Vet Times, Vets:Stay Go Diversify and Smashing The Ceiling. Thank you to everyone involved for your help and support, it has been much appreciated. Tickets for this year's London Vet Show are now on sale and if you'd like to attend, you can get a generous little discount from our friends at the Vet Show by using the link https://london.vetshow.com/borborygmi-booking with the code LVS20. See you there! Music: "Carefree" by Kevin MacLeod Link: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/3476-carefree  License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/