Podcasts about Fiji

Your weekly SNACK SIZED EPISODE is here, and it's ALL CASTING ANNOUNCEMENTS! WEEKLY reminder: the newest addition to the podcast feed is the SNACK SIZED EPISODE, where I give you a mini-episode about a topic of YOUR CHOOSING! Be sure that you're following me on Instagram and Threads, leaving comments on Spotify, etc. because I pull topics from EVERYWHERE! These episodes will drop on ANY day of the week (not on the same day as a full-sized episode though), and they will never be longer than half an hour… even that is pushing it! THIS WEEK: nothing but some amazing (slightly chaotic) reactions to casting announcements from two of my FAVORITE reality TV shows! You all know I COME ALIVE during Love Island season, and I can officially smell the Fiji water. We met the cast of season 7 of the HIT reality dating show, Love Island USA. PLUS: we know the cast of House of Villains season 3, and guess what?! TIFFANY “NEW YORK” POLLARD IS BACK, along with a few more surprises! DOWNLOAD AND LISTEN TODAY! Check out Ace's TikTok! See the Cast Announcement for House of Villains season 3! See the Cast Announcement for Love Island USA season 7! Watch me on Up and Adam Live on Friday, May 29, 2025! *** HEY! Some of you have asked how you can show your appreciation for all the content provided by your mama's favorite Black geek. How about you buy me a beer/coffee? CLICK HERE TO SUPPORT! *** New episodes of “I Ken Not with Kendrick Tucker” are released weekly! DON'T FORGET TO SUBSCRIBE, RATE, AND REVIEW! I LOVE 5 STARS! EMAIL ME AT IKENNOTPODCAST@GMAIL.COM! FOLLOW ME ON INSTAGRAM! FOLLOW ME ON THREADS! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week Greg The Divemaster and friends celebrate the wedding of Bubble Boy. Plus the Aqua Gypsy checks in from live from Fiji! Looking for HOUR2?

Ariana Madix heads back to Fiji for Love Island but not without a stern warning to Bravo, Lisa Vanderpump and others as she spills more tea than we ever expected, or asked for. Speaking of LVP, Kristen Doute laughs at her and shares some words of advice. Andy Cohen claps back at everyone. Sophia Umanksy walks out on Mo. Teddi Mellencamp and Edwin move forward with their divorce but all is not as it seems. Bethenny Frankel sets the record straight, again and new info emerges about the return of Shahs, Ladies of London and all of Bravo's other new shows. @behindvelvetrope @davidyontef BONUS & AD FREE EPISODES Available at - ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠www.patreon.com/behindthevelvetrope⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠  BROUGHT TO YOU BY: MINT MOBILE- ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠mintmobile.com/velvetrope ⁠⁠⁠ (Get Your Summer Savings & Shop Premium Wireless Plans) BOLL & BRANCH - ⁠⁠ bollandbranch.com/velvetrope⁠⁠⁠ (Get 15% Off Plus Free Shipping On Your First Set Of The Most Comfortable Sheets) WARBY PARKER - ⁠⁠⁠⁠www.warbyparker.com/velvet⁠⁠⁠⁠ (Try On Any Pair of Glasses Virtually of Visit One of Their Over 270 Locations) QUINCE - ⁠⁠⁠⁠quince.com/velvetrop⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠e⁠⁠⁠⁠ (Get Free Shipping and 365 Day Returns to As You Indulge In Affordable Luxury) PROMESCENT - ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠promescent.com/velvet ⁠⁠⁠(Or Use Code VELVET15 For 15% Off The Delay Spray To Help Guys “Last Longer”) MOOD - ⁠⁠⁠⁠www.mood.com/velvet ⁠⁠⁠⁠(20% Off With Code Velvet on Federally Legal THC Shipped Right To Your Door) DELETEME - (Get 20% Off By Texting VELVET to 64000 - To Take Control Of Your Data & Keep Your Private Life Private) WASHINGTON RED RASPBERRIES - ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Redrazz.org⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ (Find New Ways To Use American Frozen Red Raspberries & Get More Details On Where You Can Grab a Bag) HULU - (Watch The New Season of “The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives”, Streaming Now on Hulu) ADVERTISING INQUIRIES - Please contact ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠David@advertising-execs.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ MERCH Available at - ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.teepublic.com/stores/behind-the-velvet-rope?ref_id=13198 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Drop your buffs—it's time for an episode decades in the making. This week, we're joined by Bianca Maria Asumpte Immaculate Roses (yes, that's her full legal name, and no, it did not fit on her high school diploma). She's Jill's best friend of nearly 30 years, a major PR pro, and now… a freshly torched contestant from Season 48 of Survivor. In this week's episode, we talk all things Fiji, sleep deprivation, and what it's like to have to leave the island while the game is still being played. Whether you're a fan of the premiere reality series or not, this conversation has it all. Beyond the game, this episode is a celebration of chosen family, shared Survivor obsessions, and the Roses-Shakoor bond—one that Adam cherished deeply. The tribe may have spoken… but now it's Bianca's turn.Connect with Bianca on Insta Catch up on CBS' Survivor Connect with Holly in InstaConnect with Jill on Insta 

Send us a textIn this episode of Inspired by Ms Amber Red, Amber and Sasha are giving you permission to hit pause—and not feel guilty about it. If you've been running on empty, snapping at your staff, or staring at your calendar wondering how the heck you're supposed to keep up… this one's for you.We're talking all about the signs it's time to take a break, how burnout shows up in your business (and your body), and why stepping away can actually help you come back stronger, clearer, and ready to make more money—not less.From the beaches of Fiji and Bali to the sunsets in Hawaii and Venice, we're sharing how travel has re-inspired us both personally and professionally. Your business will not crumble while you rest. In fact, it might grow faster when you do.So take a breath, book the trip, and remember—if you're not at your best, your business won't be either.As always don't forget to like, comment, share, and subscribe!Support the showFollow Ms Amber Red on all social media platforms: IG: inspiredbymsamberred - https://www.instagram.com/inspiredbymsamberred/ TikTok: msamberred - https://www.tiktok.com/@msamberred?_t=8We7Q2Gtd0&_r=1 FB: msamberred permanent makeup - https://www.facebook.com/Msamberred Website: http://www.inspiredbymsamberred.comSupport our podcast here! - https://www.buzzsprout.com/2235069/support

The National Party and Liberal Party have not been able to reach a coalition agreement, ending a partnership between the two parties. Foreign Minister Penny Wong is in the Pacific to meet with the prime ministers and foreign ministers of Fiji, Tonga and Vanuatu. Residents of New South Wales Hunter and Mid-North Coast regions have been hit hard by severe weather in the past 24 hours, with no reprieve from enduring rain in the coming days. - 国民党と自由党が、保守連合としての79年にわたる関係に終止符を打ちます。オーストラリアのペニー・ウォン外相が、選挙後初となる外遊で太平洋諸島を訪れています。激しい天候に見舞われているニューサウスウェールズ州のハンター地方とミッドノースコーストでは、30校が休校となっています。午後１時から放送されたラジオ番組のニュース部分をお届けします。

In Pacific Waves today: Fiji abuse survivor calls on new pope to adopt zero-tolerance policy; PNG declares polio outbreak; The "Cinderella" children being held as slaves in Auckland and Wellington; "Poly flair" adds spark to Super Rugby Pacific competition. Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details

Episode SummaryIn this Faith Talks episode, Anna Faith sits down with Charity Shoultz to reflect on their unforgettable month together in Fiji. With warmth and authenticity, they share how God led them across the world to minister, grow, and surrender in ways they never imagined. Whether you're a teen girl or someone considering a mission trip, this episode will inspire you to trust God with your yes—no matter your age or qualifications.Topics DiscussedHow God opened the door for two teen girls to serve in FijiLearning to minister through singing, testimonies, and children's workFacing fears, spiritual attack, and feelings of inadequacyDiscovering God's voice through daily surrender and dependencePractical advice for young people considering missionsKey TakeawaysGod works through availability. You don't need to be perfect—just surrendered.Bold obedience opens doors. Saying yes to God leads to unexpected opportunities and divine provision.Ministry is for now. Teen girls can be powerful vessels for the gospel when they walk with God.Faith Talks is a monthly program on the Thee Generation podcast designed to help young ladies discover greater ways to nurture and exercise their faith in their day-to-day walk with Christ. To leave a question for the Faith Twins or our guest, send an email to faithtalks@theegeneration.org. If you've been encouraged by this podcast, please take the time to give us a five-star rating and write a brief review. That would help tremendously in getting the word out and raising the visibility of the Thee Generation for others. For more faith inspiring resources and information about joining Thee Generation, please visit theegeneration.org.

This week on Everything You Didn't Know About Herbalism, we are joined by our long-time beloved friends, farm partners, and stewards of the regenerative organic farming movement, Elise and Jeff Higley. Tune in with Tommy, Elise, and Jeff, as they explore what it means to be a Regenerative Organic Certified® farmer and how we must grow alongside the movement of regenerative agriculture for the preservation of our food systems and the future of our planet. Elise and Jeff also share about the upcoming Oshala Herb Camp, which is weekend campout hosted in the breathtaking landscape of Grants Pass, Oregon on July 27 – 29.  Filled with classes on medicine making, materia medica, botanical crafting, and hands-on experience for what life on an herb farm is like, Oshala Herb Camp weaves agriculture, herbalism, and sustainability into one to create a weekend of community building with plant-lovers from all walks of life. Be sure to check out the hyperlink above or detailed links included below to learn more about this invaluable opportunity!   Learn more about Oshala Farm and the farmers behind it below! ⬇️

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What was supposed to be a romantic honeymoon in paradise turned into a nightmare. In this episode, Kendall dives into the heartbreaking case of Christe Chen, a 36-year-old pharmacist from Memphis who was found brutally murdered in her luxury Fiji resort villa—just days after marrying her husband, Bradley Dawson. — This episode is sponsored by: ​​GetContact Nutrafol - Promo code: KENDALLRAE Factor - Promo code: TCKR50off Check out my foundation: Higher Hope Foundation: https://www.higherhope.org Watch my documentaries: 530 Days: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CjUWkmOjNLk  Apartment 801: https://bit.ly/2RJ9XXr  True Crime with Kendall Rae podcast:  Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/3rks84o  Spotify: https://spoti.fi/3jC66pr  Shop my Merch! https://kendallrae.shop  Check out my other podcasts:  Mile Higher (True Crime) @milehigherpod YouTube: https://bit.ly/2ROzJcw  Instagram: http://instagram.com/milehigherpod  The Sesh (Current events, a little true crime, pop culture, and commentary)  https://bit.ly/3Mtoz4X @the_seshpodcast  Instagram: https://bit.ly/3a9t6Xr  *Follow My Social!* @KendallRaeOnyt  Instagram: http://instagram.com/kendallraeonyt  Facebook: https://bit.ly/3kar4NK  True Crime TikTok: https://bit.ly/3VDbc77  Personal TikTok: https://bit.ly/41hmRKg  REQUESTS: General case suggestion form: https://zfrmz.com/yg9cuiWjUe2QY3hSC2V0  Form for people directly related/close to the victim: https://zfrmz.com/HGu2hZso42aHxARt1i67  Join my discord to chat with other viewers about this video, it's free! https://discord.com/invite/an4stY9BCN  C O N T A C T:  For Business Inquiries - kendallrae@night.co  Send me mail: Kendall Rae 8547 E Arapahoe Rd Ste J #233 Greenwood Village, CO 80112

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In Pacific Waves today: Fiji PM will ensure Bainimarama cannot contest - academic; Fiji garment makers reject union claims; Pacific NGO leaders share impacts of Trump aid cuts; Detector dog retires after decades of service. Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details

The latest news from Melanesia.

A new study has proven that ancient iguanas rafted over sea all the way from North America to Fiji, a staggering 8,000 km away. We discuss this epic voyage, and then turn our attention to a colourful new species of wolf snake from Myanmar.  Become a Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/herphighlights Merch: https://www.redbubble.com/people/herphighlights/shop Full reference list available here: http://www.herphighlights.podbean.com Main Paper References: Scarpetta SG, Fisher RN, Karin BR, Niukula JB, Corl A, Jackman TR, McGuire JA. 2025. Iguanas rafted more than 8,000 km from North America to Fiji. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 122:e2318622122. DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2318622122. Species of the Bi-Week: Van Nguyen T, Lee Jl, Jiang K, Ding L, Chit Mat, Poyarkov Na, Vogel G. 2025. A new species of wolf snake Lycodon Fitzinger, 1826 from China and Myanmar (Squamata: Colubridae), and new data on Lycodon gongshan Vogel & Luo, 2011. Zootaxa 5621:1–51. DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.5621.1.1. Other Links/Mentions: Bakar F. 2019.Frogs who married “to bring rain” to Indian village get divorced. Available at https://metro.co.uk/2019/09/15/frogs-who-married-to-bring-rain-to-indian-village-get-divorced-because-of-too-much-downpour-10745884/ (accessed April 30, 2025). Editing and Music: Intro/outro – Treehouse by Ed Nelson Species Bi-week theme – Michael Timothy Other Music – The Passion HiFi, https://www.thepassionhifi.com Intro visuals – Paul Snelling

In Pacific Waves today: Fiji commemorates 146th Girmit Day anniversary; Violence in West Papua most intense - researcher; Pasifika unemployment rate increases in NZ; Pasifika influencers slam kava business. Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details

Today we are chatting with Frances Helena (@fh.travel.diaries), a seasoned traveler and entrepreneur. Frances shares her lifelong passion for travel, beginning from her early childhood in the Philippines to her experiences living in multiple countries. She discusses the importance of building connections while traveling, safety tips for solo travelers, and the significance of cultural sensitivity. Frances also reflects on her first solo adventure in Fiji and offers insights on blending in with local cultures.  In this episode, you will learn:Traveling has been a way of life for Frances.Building connections is crucial for safe travel.Volunteering can enhance travel experiences.Safety tips include carrying cash and photocopies of documents.Cultural sensitivity is important when traveling.Learning a few phrases in the local language helps.Reading about a destination's culture is beneficial.Traveling can enhance job prospects and adaptability.Technology reliance can hinder authentic travel experiences....and more!You can find Frances ⁠⁠here⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠!⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠instagram.com/fh.travel.diariesYou can get your VIP ticket Goodybag for the April Bougie in a Backpack Virtual Travel Summit here⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ , where you can check our Frances's session!https://bougieinabackpack.thrivecart.com/vip-goody-bag-april-2025/You can find our FREE Travel Beginner's Blueprint ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Here⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠: dashboard.mailerlite.com/forms/457913/90732056966858389/shareWant to submit a question or comment to our Bougie Mailbag? You can do so here:⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠forms.gle/Hb3iAbCfsK5BWnii8⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Be sure to join our ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠facebook community⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠: facebook.com/groups/bougieinabackpackFind us on instagram:⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.instagram.com/bougieinabackpack/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.instagram.com/travelmack⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠enzie⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.instagram.com/pennywisetraveler⁠

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fWotD Episode 2929: Veiqia Welcome to Featured Wiki of the Day, your daily dose of knowledge from Wikipedia's finest articles.The featured article for Monday, 12 May 2025, is Veiqia.Veiqia (Fijian [βɛi̯.ᵑɡi.a]), or Weniqia, is a female tattooing practice in Fiji. The term refers to both the practice and to the tattoos themselves. Women or adolescent girls who have reached puberty may be tattooed in the groin and buttocks area by older female tattooing specialists called dauveiqia or daubati. The practice was common prior to the arrival in the 1830s of Christian missionaries who discouraged it. The practice declined in the late nineteenth century, so that by 1908 to 1910, there was a single remaining tattooist recorded as being active; she was called Rabali. The practice was revived in the twenty-first century, led by the work of a collective of artists known as The Veiqia Project. Museum collections of veiqia artefacts are found in several Western museum collections, as well as the Fiji Museum. In Fijian culture, the tattoos were considered to heighten a women's beauty. Veiqia were seen as attractive and could be an important factor that enabled a woman to marry. If she died without them, they would be painted on her body after death so her spirit could proceed into the afterlife. Receiving veiqia was highly ritualised, with many regional variations. Preparation for the process could include abstinence from food or from sexual relations, or inducing vomiting to purge the body. The process of tattooing was closely associated with the gift of a young woman's first liku (fringed skirt) to wear once their veiqia was complete. Special caves called qara ni veiqia were historically used for the ritual. Traditional medicines given to the young women varied from region to region and some were part of preparation for the ritual. To break the skin, some tools used included stingray spines, lemon thorns or shark teeth. Inks were made from Acacia richii or Kauri pine. Motifs for tattoos included: turtles and wandering tattlers, pottery and basketwork. The tattooists, known as dauveiqia (also daubati) exchanged the service for masi (barkcloth), tabua (polished sperm whale teeth) or liku.This recording reflects the Wikipedia text as of 00:58 UTC on Monday, 12 May 2025.For the full current version of the article, see Veiqia on Wikipedia.This podcast uses content from Wikipedia under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License.Visit our archives at wikioftheday.com and subscribe to stay updated on new episodes.Follow us on Mastodon at @wikioftheday@masto.ai.Also check out Curmudgeon's Corner, a current events podcast.Until next time, I'm neural Emma.

Welcome to Thursday's Rugby Daily with Cameron Hill.Coming up today, it's a Lions squad announcement special - we'll hear from head coach Andy Farrell, assistant coach Johnny Sexton, and The Irish Times' Gerry ThornleyThere's also team news for an interpro derby in the URC,and tragic news from France after the sudden death of Castres and Fiji winger Josaia Raisuqe

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This week on Full Time, hosts Tamerra Griffin and Meg Linehan sit down with Lisa Cole for a special feature interview. Cole has had an eclectic journey to now being the head of player pathways at the USWNT, and a backroom staff member under Emma Hayes. Over the past 20 years, her journey has gone from the college game to the fall of the WPS, the creation of the NWSL, to Papua New Guinea and Fiji, as well as a recent influential spell at the Zambian football federation. On the show, the trio also discuss the challenges women face as they try to become head coaches in the professional game. Why don't more pathways exist for female coaches? What has changed or not changed in the past 20 years? How can the industry change and start providing better opportunities? While Cole may not be a household name, she remains one of the most respect names in the industry. She is someone revered by her peers, the most influential coach you've never heard of. _______________Articles mentioned on the show: Only two NWSL teams have a woman as head coach. Could expansion exacerbate the issue?_______________HOSTS: Tamerra Griffin, Meg LinehanGUEST: Lisa ColePRODUCER: Theo Lloyd-HughesVIDEO PRODUCER: Lia GriffinEXECUTIVE PRODUCER: Emily Olsen_______________Get in touch: ⁠⁠fulltime@theathletic.com⁠⁠Follow on Instagram and TikTok: @tafulltimeSubscribe to the Full Time newsletter ⁠⁠here⁠⁠Visit the Yahoo Women's Sports hub ⁠⁠here Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode of The Agency Rocket Show, hosts Liz and Chelsea break down one of the most misunderstood—but most essential—parts of branding: strategy. Designers are taught how to make things look good. But when it comes to making brands mean something? That's where strategy comes in. We cover the core components of a brand strategy—mission, vision, values, audience, positioning, purpose, and even that sometimes-optional competitor analysis. From Discovery Workshops to target audience therapy, we talk about how strategy sets the foundation for every decision you make after—from logos to tone of voice to websites and truck wraps. You'll hear how strategy helps clients grow and helps agencies charge more, plus real-world examples of when strategy maintained clarity over chaos. What IS the difference between Liquid Death and Fiji water? Spoiler warning: it's not just taste. Whether you're a designer trying to level up or a business owner who's tired of blending in, this episode gives you the blueprint for doing brand strategy right.

Maya Stewart is the Wallaroos all time-leading try scorer - a special feat made all the more impressive considering she first picked up rugby union ball at eighteen years old. Maya is now a key member of the NSW Waratahs side who are the most successful team in Super W history and finished off her 2024 season being crowned Wallaroos player of the year.In this chat, Chlo and Maya chat all things Rugby Union and what it means to have such a quick rise in the sport after overcoming two ACL injuries along the way. We hope you enjoy this episode.*Just a quick note, Chloe caught up with Maya before the Wallaroos first test match of the year. But in that match against Fiji, Maya was injured so while she won't get to play this weekend against New Zealand we've got all our TFAP fingers and toes crossed for her return as soon as possible.Buy our kids book The A to Z of Who I Could Be, or book for adults GIRLS DON'T PLAY SPORT. www.thefemaleathleteproject.com/shopGet the wrap delivered into your inbox as a weekly newsletter! Subscribe here for the newsletter + don't miss a merch drop.Shop TFAP merch: https://www.thefemaleathleteproject.com/shopFind us on Instagram: @thefemaleathleteproject#womenssport

The latest news from Melanesia.

Hilda Wayne talks to Pacific Island women who are the eldest sister in their family about the challenges and rewards of this unique role.This week's episode of Sistas, Let's Talk is a repeat of the show broadcast on 21st June 2022

Millions of years ago, iguanas somehow got from North America to Fiji. Scientists think they made the trip on a raft of fallen vegetation. Also, the marine reptile's fossilized fetus is cluing paleontologists into the lives of ancient sea creatures.Ancient Iguanas Floated 5,000 Miles Across The PacificIf you picture iguanas, you might imagine them sunbathing on hot sand in the Caribbean or skittering around the Mojave Desert. But far, far away from where these iguanas are found is another group of iguanas living on the islands of Fiji and Tonga in the South Pacific—closer to New Zealand than the Americas. And it raises the question: How in the world did these iguanas end up all alone, on the other side of the ocean? In a study published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences in March, scientists suggest that millions of years ago, iguanas hitched a ride on a raft and accidentally sailed all the way across the ocean before washing ashore and starting a new life. Host Flora Lichtman discusses the iguanas' intrepid adventure with lead author Dr. Simon Scarpetta, evolutionary biologist and assistant professor at the University of San Francisco in California.Meet Fiona, The Pregnant Icthyosaur FossilIn the Patagonia region of Chile, Torres del Paine National Park is a graveyard of ichthyosaurs—ancient, dolphin-like reptiles that roamed the oceans when dinosaurs dominated the land. Nearly 90 of these giant reptiles' fossils have been found amongst the glaciers. But the standout in the bone heap is Fiona, an ichthyosaur that lived 131 million years ago. She's in pristine condition, the only fully preserved ichthyosaur in Chile. And, she died pregnant. She's teaching paleontologists about the evolution of her species. And some of those findings were recently published in the Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology. Host Flora Lichtman talks with lead author Dr. Judith Pardo-Pérez, paleontologist at the University of Magallanes in Chile.Transcripts for each segment will be available after the show airs on sciencefriday.com. Subscribe to this podcast. Plus, to stay updated on all things science, sign up for Science Friday's newsletters.

Thank God the Wallabies coaching saga is finally over - can we get back to the footy now?!Mitch and Lachie break down a massive weekend of code including the Brumbies' statement win over NSW, a costly Reds defeat in Fiji and how our Wallaroos and Sevens fared abroad.LINKSWallaby Shop - https://wallaby.sjv.io/WyRyVGInstagram - @scrumbagsrugbyTwitter/X - @scrumbagsrugbyJoin the chat via Discord - https://discord.gg/GMRPqyy7Keep the lights on - https://kofi.com/scrumbagsrugbypodcast Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Talofa lava! This week on Tagata o te Moana: There are calls in Tonga for a rethink of the Sabbath Observance Laws; Tinian Island, in the Northern Marianas, was a pivotal site for US Forces in WW2 and there is now a US military resurgence there; In Papua New Guinea women continue to face hardship in maternity hospitals, where giving birth on the floors is not uncommon; The former Fiji attorney general Aiyaz Sayed Khaiyum attacks the current government and we hear from a Bougainvillean carver who has been in New Zealand for the past month, showing his skills and learning from local artists.Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details

Fáilte ar ais chuig eagrán nua de Ar An Lá Seo ar an 2ú lá de mí Bealtaine, liomsa Lauren Ní Loingsigh. I 1975 d'éalaigh príosúnaigh as a phríosún ach ní raibh aon ádh acu ag Punchestown. I 1997 tháinig an nuacht amach go mbeadh méadú de 1% sna rátaí morgáiste de bharr go raibh méadú sna rátaí sna bainc. I 1975 tháinig Ambasadóir ón Astráil chuig an chontae I gcóir deireadh seachtain agus bhí siad sa tír ar feadh seachtain. I 1986 bhí níos mó daoine ag an Boirinn fiadhúlra siompóisiam an bhliain seo I gcomparáid leis an bhliain roimhe. Sin George Michael le A Different Corner – an t-amhrán is mó ar an lá seo I 1986. Ag lean ar aghaidh le nuacht cheoil ar an lá seo I 1981 chuaigh Sheena Easton chuig uimhir a haon I Meiriceá lena amhrán Morning Train (9 to 5). Bhí sí ann ar feadh dhá sheachtain agus d'athraigh sí an teideal den amhrán de bharr gur tháinig Dolly Parton amach leis a amhrán 9 to 5 sa bhliain chéanna. I 2006 tháinig Keith Richards ó The Rolling Stones amach as a ospidéal sa Nua-Shéalainn de bharr go bhfuair sé comhtholgadh beag nuair a thit sé amach as crann nuair a bhí sé I Fiji. Chuaigh sé chuig an ospidéal I héileacaptar agus fuair sé scanadh ar a inchinn. Agus ar deireadh breithlá daoine cáiliúla ar an lá seo rugadh aisteoir Dwayne Johnson I Meiriceá I 1972 agus rugadh amhránaí Lily Allen sa Bhreatain ar an lá seo I 1985 agus seo chuid de a amhrán. Beidh mé ar ais libh an tseachtain seo chugainn le heagrán nua de Ar An Lá Seo. Welcome back to another edition of Ar An Lá Seo on the 2nd of May, with me Lauren Ní Loingsigh 1975: an escaped prisoners luck ran out at punchestown races yesterday. 1997: an increase of one percent in bank and mortgage rates was threatened last night after a shock rise in central bank rates. 1975: The australian ambassador, vincent c gair and mrs gair toured co.clare over the weekend in the course of a week long visit to west and south of ireland. 1986: The third burren wildlife symposium attracted more interest than in other previous years. That was George Michael with A Different Corner – the biggest song on this day in 1986. Onto music news on this day In 1981 Scottish singer Sheena Easton started a two week run at No.1 on the US singles chart with 'Morning Train (9 to 5)'. The title of the song was changed to avoid any confusion with the Dolly Parton hit '9 to 5', in the same year. 2006 Rolling Stones guitarist Keith Richards was released from hospital in New Zealand after the 62 year-old suffered "mild concussion" when he fell out of a coconut tree while on holiday in Fiji. He was airlifted to Auckland's Ascot Hospital for observation, where he underwent a brain scan. And finally celebrity birthdays on this day – actor Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson was born in America in 1972 and singer Lily Allen was born in the UK on this day in 1983 and this is one of her songs. I'll be back with you next week with another edition of Ar An Lá Seo.

We are releasing our final Flags of the Moana tshirt drop! Listen in to see how you can win yourself a free tee

Guinevere Taylor didn't study finance. She didn't go to a top-tier uni. But she built a successful career in asset management and after several years as a director at a major sell-side bank, she now leads UK Capital Formation at Brightwood Capital.In this episode, she shares how she broke into the industry, built confidence in client-facing roles, and juggled early motherhood with a demanding career. If you're a student or young professional looking for real, relatable advice on thriving in finance, this conversation is for you.(00:00) Fiji to Finance(02:47) From Credit Cards to Asset Management(06:06) The Importance of Soft Skills in Client Relations(08:57) Balancing Work and Motherhood(11:57) Embracing Diversity and Inclusion(15:09) Why Building Relationships is Key Skill(17:59) Finding your Right Fit(21:06) Networking for Young Professionals(24:05) Advice for Future Generations Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Today, we make a broad but apt, I think, illustration from John 1:35-51. We see through this passage a simple conversation with Jesus and then perplexing words from The Word of God, Jesus. Finally, we see an enigmatic revelation from our Savior. Before we get to the content, we highlight, almost all (spoilers) the island nations in which we have listeners! Thank You, treasured ones (Psalm 83:3), from the Dominican Republic, Fiji, Jamaica, Japan, Madagascar, Mauritius, New Zealand, Trinidad and Tobago, Taiwan, Hong Kong, and Puerto Rico. The Lord has blessed us, knowing you are there. Simple: "Where are you staying?" John 1:38Perplexing: "He brought him to Jesus. Jesus looked at him, and said, "You are Simon the son of John; you shall be called Cephas" (which is translated Peter)." John 1:42Enigmatic: "You shall see greater things than these." John 1:50Our So What?We often don't put ourselves in the shoes of the disciples or Biblical characters; we should; even the fiery Elijah James tells us is a man with a nature like ours, so all the Biblical characters, we begin simply, basically, we often find the word of God and always the character of God inexplicably in human terms, but when we pursue Him, He opens our eyes, and then we pray for knowledge and wisdom and discernment.Pray, Pray, Pray, family of the Most High in faith continually. Brethren, let us pray for one another to overcome the weakness of the flesh through prayer. ""What a man is on his knees before God, that he is and nothing more."" Robert Murray M'CheyneeDonation link:https://www.paypal.com/donate/?hosted_button_id=G9JGGR5W97D64Or go to www.freerangepreacheronprayer.com and use the Donations tab.Assistant Editor: Seven Jefferson Gossard.www.freerangepreacheronprayer.comfreerangeprayer@gmail.comFacebook - Free Range Preacher MinistriesInstagram: freerangeministriesAll our Scripture quotes are drawn from the NASB 1977 edition.For access to the Voice Over services of Richard Durrington, please visit RichardDurrington.com or email him at Durringtonr@gmail.comOur podcast art was designed by @sammmmmmmmm23 InstagramSeason 007Episode 038

No hubo cremación en rancho de Jalisco; Ley de telecomunicaciones; Actividad económica por estados; Presentación del libro “¿Quièn manda aquí?;Estudiante se pierde dos veces en monte Fiji.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Author and liver of life absolutely describes our guest this episode, Pat Backley. As Pat says, she was an English woman until the age of 59 when she decided to become a Kiwi and moved full time to New Zealand. Pat grew up in a poor household, but she will tell you that she never regrets not having as much money as many of the people around her. However it happened, Pat grew up with a various curious oriented mind and a desire to explore the world.   During her life which today spans 73 years, Pat has held a number of jobs. She also has been married twice, but clearly really is not bitter over being divorced from both husbands, although the 2nd one simply wasn't ready to be as adventurous as Pat and live in New Zealand.   Pat wrote her first book at the age of 70. Over the past three years she has written eight books and has a number of future books inside her. As with other authors I have met over the years, Pat's characters essentially write their stories. Pat has plans and ideas, but the characters take over and create the stories.   I find Pat to be extremely articulate and personable to converse with. I think you too will enjoy her and what she has to say. So, sit back, or walk or do whatever you are doing, but get ready to hear a most enjoyable and thought-provoking conversation.       About the Guest:   Pat Backley is an English woman who, at the age of 59 , decided to become a Kiwi and she now lives in Auckland, New Zealand. Passionate about people and travelling the world, she has spent the last 73 years living a colourful and interesting life and her books reflect these passions.   She published her first book DAISY in late 2020, just before her 70th birthday, and now says that she intends to write till she dies!   She has published eight books and contributed to several anthologies, as well as writing articles and short stories for various magazines and has several more books in the pipeline.   Ways to connect Pat:   www.patbackley.com I am on Facebook and Instagram @patbackleyauthor. Also on X (Twitter) @Pat Backley Books. And LinkedIn @Pat Backley   About the Host:   Michael Hingson is a New York Times best-selling author, international lecturer, and Chief Vision Officer for accessiBe. Michael, blind since birth, survived the 9/11 attacks with the help of his guide dog Roselle. This story is the subject of his best-selling book, Thunder Dog.   Michael gives over 100 presentations around the world each year speaking to influential groups such as Exxon Mobile, AT&T, Federal Express, Scripps College, Rutgers University, Children's Hospital, and the American Red Cross just to name a few. He is Ambassador for the National Braille Literacy Campaign for the National Federation of the Blind and also serves as Ambassador for the American Humane Association's 2012 Hero Dog Awards.   https://michaelhingson.com https://www.facebook.com/michael.hingson.author.speaker/ https://twitter.com/mhingson https://www.youtube.com/user/mhingson https://www.linkedin.com/in/michaelhingson/   accessiBe Links https://accessibe.com/ https://www.youtube.com/c/accessiBe https://www.linkedin.com/company/accessibe/mycompany/   https://www.facebook.com/accessibe/       Thanks for listening!   Thanks so much for listening to our podcast! If you enjoyed this episode and think that others could benefit from listening, please share it using the social media buttons on this page. Do you have some feedback or questions about this episode? Leave a comment in the section below!   Subscribe to the podcast   If you would like to get automatic updates of new podcast episodes, you can subscribe to the podcast on Apple Podcasts or Stitcher. You can subscribe in your favorite podcast app. You can also support our podcast through our tip jar https://tips.pinecast.com/jar/unstoppable-mindset .   Leave us an Apple Podcasts review   Ratings and reviews from our listeners are extremely valuable to us and greatly appreciated. They help our podcast rank higher on Apple Podcasts, which exposes our show to more awesome listeners like you. If you have a minute, please leave an honest review on Apple Podcasts.       Transcription Notes:   ichael Hingson ** 00:00 Access Cast and accessiBe Initiative presents Unstoppable Mindset. The podcast where inclusion, diversity and the unexpected meet. Hi, I'm Michael Hingson, Chief Vision Officer for accessiBe and the author of the number one New York Times bestselling book, Thunder dog, the story of a blind man, his guide dog and the triumph of trust. Thanks for joining me on my podcast as we explore our own blinding fears of inclusion unacceptance and our resistance to change. We will discover the idea that no matter the situation, or the people we encounter, our own fears, and prejudices often are our strongest barriers to moving forward. The unstoppable mindset podcast is sponsored by accessiBe, that's a c c e s s i capital B e. Visit www.accessibe.com to learn how you can make your website accessible for persons with disabilities. And to help make the internet fully inclusive by the year 2025. Glad you dropped by we're happy to meet you and to have you here with us.   Michael Hingson ** 01:20 Well, hi everyone, and I want to welcome you to another edition of unstoppable mindset. And today we are going to chat with Pat Backley. Pat is a British woman, as she will tell you, but at the age of 59 which has now been some what, 1314, years ago, 13 years ago, she decided to become a kiwi and moved to New Zealand. We'll have to find out what brought that about. I've been to New Zealand. It's a fun place. I'd love to go back. But anyway, and of late, certainly much later in her life, Pat decided to become an author. She wrote her first book at the age of 70, and that is another fascinating story, I am sure. So we will delve into all of that, and we're going to grill Pat until she's tired of us. Pat, welcome to unstoppable mindset.   Pat Backley ** 02:20 Thank you so much, Michael, I can assure you, I won't be tired of being grilled by you. I'm I'm thrilled to be here. Thank you. Well,   Michael Hingson ** 02:29 we're really glad that you're here. What time is it in New Zealand right now? It's 10 o'clock   02:33 in the morning. Yeah, it's about what I thought.   Michael Hingson ** 02:38 So you're 21 hours ahead of us. Yeah, yes.   Pat Backley ** 02:42 And I have to say, I have to say that tomorrow is looking very good. You'll be glad to know, Oh, good.   Michael Hingson ** 02:49 Should be good. It Well, I'm glad to hear that it's going to look good, and it's actually going to warm up a little bit. Here. We're only getting up to about 65 Fahrenheit, so that's what about 17 Celsius or so. But tomorrow it's supposed to start getting a little bit warmer. We're approaching our winter as you approach your summer, which is kind of interesting.   Pat Backley ** 03:14 Yes, very interesting. When I first moved to New Zealand, that was one of the things I found very strange to have Christmas in the sunshine, because obviously I was, I was born with Christmas in the cook.   Michael Hingson ** 03:29 Yeah. Well, and you could have moved to Australia, where they use kangaroos to pull Santa slay.   Pat Backley ** 03:38 I could have done. I could have done. But Australia didn't have the same appeal for me as No, I   Michael Hingson ** 03:43 like New Zealand. I haven't been to Australia. I'd like to go, but I really enjoyed being in New Zealand. I've been to both the North and the South Island. I spent almost three weeks there, back in 2003 and gave something like 17 or 18 speaking opportunities in 15 days. And I only had one day that I had mostly off and that we spent. What is the the town on the South Island, the the tourist town, oh, Queenstown. Queenstown. Yeah, and so but that only lasted until about six that evening, and then I had to go off and speak again. But it was a lot of fun.   Pat Backley ** 04:28 You must have been exhausted because it's quite a lot of distance. I was I'm what I'm about to say is going to sound ridiculous now, because I've just been to America, and I know about your distances I was going to say, because you have a lot of driving distance between the towns you would have had to speak at. But then, as I was about to verbalize it, I thought, Pat, that's stupid. In America, the distances are far greater   Michael Hingson ** 04:51 well, and also a number of airplane flights between the North and the South Island to make it go faster as well.   Pat Backley ** 04:57 Yes, absolutely, yes. So. It was fun. Well,   Michael Hingson ** 05:01 why don't we start by you telling us a little bit kind of about the early Pat growing up and all that. We'll start with that. Okay,   Pat Backley ** 05:08 well, I, I was born in 1951 so it was just after the war, and England was still suffering from the effects of the war. You know, there was a lot of it was a bit of a gray place, so my parents couldn't afford to buy their own home, so I lived with my parent, my paternal grandparents, for the first three and a half years of my life. And of course, I had a lovely time because I had four adults doting on me. Then we moved out to the country. We were given a council house, which is like a state house. I'm not sure what they called in in the in America, you know, where the government provides them, right? Which, at that time was very acceptable, because there wasn't much housing, because it had all been bombed out, because we lived in London. So, so I grew up in the country. I didn't realize we were poor until I was 11, and went to secondary school, and suddenly I was the because I was quite bright, I was put in a grammar stream class, so I was suddenly with all these rich kids. One girl was driven to school in a chauffeur driven rolls, Royce and I lived in the little government house opposite the school, so everyone knew I was poor. So yeah, it was, it was tough. I would say it was tough my teenage years, but I   Michael Hingson ** 06:26 did, they teach you a lot about that. Oh, yeah,   Pat Backley ** 06:28 I got, I got, I mean, these days they would call it bullying, bullying. I just, I just, it was just, what my luck you know that I remember one time, and I actually did write about this in my memoirs, because it's still in my head after 60 odd years, one time I was the only kid in the class that went home for school lunches, and one because mum couldn't afford to pay for school lunches, so I used to go home because we lived just opposite. And I remember one day I came back to school and it was raining, so all the kids were back in the classroom early, and the teacher wasn't there yet. And there was this one girl whose name will live in my memory forever. She's etched on my soul, Angela Barrett. And she was standing at the front of the class, pretending to be the teacher, writing on the blackboard, and then wiping it off with this black cloth. And then she said, this is all this rag is fit for. And it was actually my school raincoat, which until then I'd been very proud of, but it was second hand, it'd be my cousins. And I can remember that afternoon thinking, I don't want to be here anymore. I hate it here. Everyone hates me. And I went home and I told mom, and I cried, and she said, Look, love, just because they've got more money than you doesn't make them any better people. And at 11, I could not see that at all like that. I just thought, why don't you just get more money? Why don't you buy me a nicer and go blah, blah, blah. But now in hindsight, I just think she that was the wisest thing she could say, because the time I rebelled, it made me realize that actually it's not an equal playing field in the world. You know, you're going to have people that are on this side and down at the bottom and up at the top, and you just have to grit your teeth and fight your way through it,   Michael Hingson ** 08:13 yeah, and, and the reality is, there are only so many things that you can truly control, and what you what you can control is how you dealt with that situation and situations like that. Yes, that's   Pat Backley ** 08:25 right. Um, and then I think I was a, I was definitely a product of the 60s. You know, we had all the lovely pop music and the short skirts and burning out bras and all that sort of stuff. But when I was just two weeks after my 20th birthday, I got married for the first time, which was ridiculous in hindsight, but at the time, you think you know everything when you're that age, don't you? My parents begged me not to marry him, but of course, I knew best, so that marriage lasted 14 years, and he wasn't always very kind. So then I left, then I was on my own for a beer. Then I had a living boyfriend, and I was desperate to have a child, Michael, but I'm not. I'm I'm old fashioned. I only would have a child if I had a husband. And so I didn't. I got married again when I was 41 and we had a child. I had a child when I was 43 my daughter, and that was that I thought life was going to be great. And then 26 years later, he decided he didn't love me anymore, didn't want to live in New Zealand anymore, and that was that so. So I kind of found myself living in New Zealand on my own, having we emigrated here together just before my 59th birthday. But anyway, I've picked up the pieces. It's been six years now, and because of COVID and because of him leaving me, that's how my life changed, really. And your daughter, my and my beloved daughter, my only child, yes, she's 30 now, and she is the love of my life. Yes, and I'm sorry. I've just realized I probably. Probably haven't answered your question very well. You must always pull me back, because I tend to get very excited and passionate and you know, don't necessarily toe the line with question answering. So forgive me, not   Michael Hingson ** 10:11 a problem. That's why this is a conversation and not a big deal. So is your daughter in New Zealand? She   Pat Backley ** 10:20 is now. When her dad she she was 16 when we came to New Zealand, so she did her last bit of school here, then she went to university in Auckland, and then she decided she wanted to do her master's degree back in London. So she went back to London, and then she got a job there, and she was away for five and a half years, which nearly broke my heart, but she's home now. She's been back four years, and she's got a lovely Kiwi boyfriend, and she's here to stay, so I'm   Michael Hingson ** 10:49 thrilled. What did she get? Her degree in art history. Ah, now, do you? Did you go to college? No, sadly,   Pat Backley ** 10:57 I because we were poor, I just had to leave school at 16, and so now I never went to college. I would have loved to, I would have liked to have been a teacher, but, you know, it wasn't to be and and I've had a great life, regardless of that.   Michael Hingson ** 11:13 So did you during all your married life and then the time in between and so on. What kind of work did you   Pat Backley ** 11:20 do? Well, I started work. I started work in the bank when I was 16. Barclays Bank was a really good place to work, so I spent 10 years working there. Then I lived for two years in the Fiji Islands and just did voluntary work back to the UK. My first husband and I started a furniture business, and then when I left him. Obviously I needed a job, because I didn't claim anything in the divorce. And so I got a job with bernardo's, the children's charity, as a general fundraiser. And that was great, because I just traveled all around the south of England supporting all the fundraising groups and things which I loved. And then I moved on to after a few years, I moved on to cancer research, um, again, as a fundraiser, but this time, setting up all their charity shops in the south, and that was a wonderful thing as well, because during the course of both those jobs, I met so many interesting people. You know, now that I'm an old gray haired lady, well, not actually Gray, because I color it, but now that I'm an old gray head lady. I feel very bad that the 35 year old me went to my new job with with Barnardos and sat there looking at these hundreds of gray head old ladies. And I thought, Oh, I'm too young to deal with all these old people. What on earth am I going to talk to them about? And of course, within a couple of days, I've realized that all these gray head old people were fabulous, that most of them had had really interesting, fascinating lives, and that I could learn an awful lot from them. So now the old gray head me looks back and feels very guilty at how I was at that age. But I guess that's what happens when you're young. You just think anyone over the age of 50 is is past it, don't you really well, but   Michael Hingson ** 13:03 you did learn a lot, I bet, from them, which is, oh, wow,   Pat Backley ** 13:07 oh, I learned so much, and I had so much fun, so much fun. Yeah, in fact, when I got married for the second time, a whole bunch of those ladies and a few of the men came to my, like, hen party the night before I got married, we went to the local, very smart hotel and had cocktails, and I just smiled to myself, thinking, oh, and I thought you were all so boring at the beginning, and actually, you're fabulous. So, yeah. So then, then my then I, then I stopped working, had my daughter, and I desperately didn't want to go back to my well paid job with cancer research. I wanted to be home with my baby because I was 43 I'd lost two children in the year before, with miscarriages, and so I stayed at home for four months, and then my husband said, oh, we need more money. You need to get a job. So I ended up doing having other people's children at my house, looking after them so doing like child minding. And that was when I look back. I don't know how I managed, because sometimes I had five under four year olds running around the house, which was quite a challenge. But we survived. I did that, I think, for seven years altogether, and oh, and in between that time, we came and lived in New Zealand for a year because my husband was a teacher, and he got a year's teaching exchange. So we basically swapped lives with a New Zealand teacher. He and his family moved into our house in England, and we moved into their house here in New Zealand. So for a whole year, we lived like a proper Kiwi family, which was wonderful. Lucy was only two, so it was the ideal time to do it. And I just, I just fell in love with New Zealand and desperately wanted to emigrate there. And then it took me 14 years to persuade him to get back here eventually. And in hindsight, I've probably pushed it too much, because. After he left, he said, I didn't like living in New Zealand. I didn't ever really settle there. So I have to hold up my hand and say, probably I persuaded him to do something that he really didn't want to do. But anyway, it's easy to be wise in hindsight, isn't it, as always, yeah. And then so we went back after our year here, we went back to the UK and we set up a business training and assessing construction workers, because the government realized, the UK government realized that, because they'd stopped formal apprenticeships some 20 odd years earlier, that there were now hundreds of 1000s of men working on construction sites who had all the necessary skills, but no paper qualifications. And so they wanted to redress that, but they realized that these men would not be willing to go back to college for three years to learn, learn their trade that they could already do. So they started this fast track program, and we used to go onto sites. We obviously, I had to get lots of qualifications and things to do it, trainers and assessors, qualifications. But then we used to go on two sites and watch the men working ask them loads of questions. We obviously had trade specific instructor assessors, and they could get that qualification that they would have taken three years to get going to college, they could then get in in a matter of six months or so, just by being observed doing their job. So it was a really, really good system, and it was very rewarding for me personally, because I used to go onto the sites and do the initial talks and whatever. And I've always liked men. I've always enjoyed their company, so I could cope with all the banter, you know, all the right, darling, what you're going to do after work, that kind of thing. I enjoyed all that. The bit I hated was wearing a hard hat, because they're very unflattering and they squash your hair do. But the most rewarding thing for me, we did that, that business for 20 years. The most rewarding thing was when a guy who I'd met on site who didn't even want to do it because he felt inadequate, which I later discovered was because he couldn't read or write, but he'd hidden it from all his colleagues. The most satisfying thing was once he'd passed, which obviously he sailed through. I sent him his certificate in the post, and the next day he phoned me, and he said, Pat. Thank you so much for that certificate. He said, it's the only thing I've ever had in my whole life that says I'm good at anything. He said, My wife is framing it and putting it on the living room wall. And that just made me cry, because I thought, this is, this is a man who's 45 who's gone through his whole life thinking he's stupid, and suddenly, just that one action can give him something to be proud of. So that was, I loved doing that, and we made that's how we made our money. For a few years, it was incredibly successful, and then it tailed off, and that's when we immigrated to New Zealand, and since I've been here, I've just basically been having a lovely time, doing a bit of voluntary work, lots of socializing and becoming an author. So   Michael Hingson ** 18:10 what, what attracted you to New Zealand? Why did you fall in love so much with New Zealand? Do you think   Pat Backley ** 18:19 it's a it's a hard question to answer. Michael, it was something deep inside me after I'd been here for a year, or when I'd been here probably only for a few weeks, I got this real feeling deep inside, inside me that I needed to be here. I just think sometimes places in the world draw you in for whatever reason. Who knows? You don't know if it's because perhaps you've got some association with it through an ancestor or I don't know, but I felt very, very drawn to New Zealand, and once we went back to the UK, we were back there for 14 years. Whenever I spoke to friends from New Zealand, whenever they'd phone me, I would end up in tears for hours. I want to go back to New Zealand. So it was a need rather than a desire, almost. And it's not something I've ever regretted. Even after he even after he abandoned me, we were back in England when he announced he didn't want to be married anymore, and he never came back to New Zealand. I just had to come back alone. Even then my friends in England were saying to me, oh, Pat, just stay in England. You know, we're all here. We'll, you know, we'll all be here for you. And I said, No, no, home is just New Zealand, even though I knew I was coming back all alone because Lucy was still living in London, I had, I've got no family here, so, but there was something that pulled me back.   Michael Hingson ** 19:45 I understand that I really enjoyed New Zealand a lot. And if there's when people ask me a place in the world that I regard as my favorite place to visit, New Zealand always comes out first, but I enjoy. Way wherever I go. I actually took my first trip to London in late October of this year. I was only there for a couple of days, but it was to do a speech. And, you know, it was pretty similar to being here. It just wasn't the same feeling as as being in New Zealand, which I had the opportunity to do, as I said before, for a little over three weeks. So it was really a lot of fun and and the the environment is just so different.   Pat Backley ** 20:28 Yes, I think New Zealand, I think one of the, I mean, obviously it's an incredibly beautiful country, but I think one of the main differences is that we, we've got a land mass pretty similar to the UK, but we we've only got like 5 million people, and the UK has got more than 70 million. And I think that's the thing. You know, the more people you try to cram into a small space, the more the social problems are, are enlarged, don't they? You know, we have exactly the same social problems here that are anywhere else in the world, but because our population is relatively small, it's not such a such such a huge feature of life, I think, yeah. Mm,   Michael Hingson ** 21:10 well, I haven't explained to everyone listening that Pat and I met through the RV Book Festival, virtual book festival, which both of us being authors, we spoke at and participated in, gosh, a little over a month ago now. Mm,   Pat Backley ** 21:28 yes, time flies, doesn't it does. It does.   Michael Hingson ** 21:32 And one of the things that I said, as I usually do when I get a chance to meet with people, is we'd love to have you all come on the podcast. And Pat is the second of the three people who were there. And so I'm glad that that that we got to do this. But let's talk about you being an author. So you started being an author. What, just three years ago or four years ago? Yes, yes. What? Yeah. Go ahead. Oh,   22:01 no, sorry, you carry on. Well, so   Michael Hingson ** 22:03 what just caused you to decide that you're going to try to write a book?   Pat Backley ** 22:09 Okay? Well, when I was a little girl, I had a massive list of things I wanted to be when I was growing up, I wanted to be a nurse, a missionary, a writer, a teacher, a ballerina. They were all my that was my list. So when I was about eight, I edited my first magazine. Is I have one limited copy of it. It was a limited, very limited edition. It only lasted one, one time. But so I guess probably I've always had that desire deep inside me, but because of circumstances, and not coming from, you know, a very privileged background, it meant that I didn't have the opportunity. But in the days when we used to write letters, I always love to write long, long letters to all my friends, my family. And when I lived in Fiji for two years, I wrote, there was no other way of communicating with my parents. They had no telephone. So for two years, I wrote them letters and when my when, when they died, and I had to clear out their house, I found this enormous pile of blue Air Mail, letters that I'd written to my parents over a two year period. They'd kept every single one. So I think I'd always loved writing, but it never occurred to me that I would ever have the chance to write a book. And then we get to COVID, and we, here in New Zealand, went into lockdown on the day of my 69th birthday. It was a beautifully sunny day, and I was all alone because Lucy was in England, and I made myself chocolate brownies, stuck a candle in it, sat in the garden and cried because my marriage was over. My daughter was gone. We had COVID. There were, you know, there were lots of things to cry about. And I then spent the next three weeks lying on my sofa watching rubbish on Netflix, eating too much chocolate, drinking too much red wine. And then I thought to myself, Pat, this is ridiculous. This could go on for a few more weeks, because at the time, we thought COVID was going to be quite short lived, didn't we, and I thought, why don't you do something practical? Why don't you write a book? So I just got out some paper and pen and started writing, and stayed up, probably mostly day and night, for two weeks, and then within two weeks, my first book, Daisy was done, and that was that really the rest is history. Since then I have so I published it self. Published it just before my 70th birthday, and in the three years since then, I've written and published eight more. Contributed to five anthologies, written a little Yes, so yeah, written articles for magazines and been interviewed by lovely people like you, and the rest is history. Are you alright? Have I sent you to sleep? Talking?   Michael Hingson ** 24:58 No, I. Well, I'm just listening. I didn't know whether you were done. You know, it's, it's fascinating to to listen to the story and to hear you talk about what, what brought you to it, what made you decide what kind of books to write. I   Pat Backley ** 25:18 don't think I really did decide, um, my daughter for my birth, for the previous Christmas, had sent me a very dry little textbook, which she knew I love, called, I can't think exactly what it's called, something like the history of architecture, of council houses in the UK, something very boring like that. And it was, it was basically a textbook, because I love architecture as well. It was basically a textbook with just a few pictures in so I'd kind of put it on my coffee table, but not but ignored it. You know how you do when there's books? You know, you should, you kind of don't get around to it. So at the beginning of COVID, I picked it up one day, or a couple of days before I started writing, I picked it up, and within five minutes, I was enthralled. I got out post it notes. I'd stuck those all over little bits and written quotes, and I think that was kind of an inspiration. So I expected the book to be more about, have more of a theme of architecture. And in fact, the book doesn't. There is one guy who becomes an architect in it towards the end. But I think that kind of just just pushed something in my head into gear, because I firmly believe Michael. I mean, they always say that everyone has a book inside them, and I, when I do my talks now, I'm often photographed at a very funny stage where I'm going like this, because I'm just saying how somebody's it feels as though somebody's taken off the top of my head, and 70 years worth of words are just flying out. Because I find writing incredibly easy. The first book Daisy wrote itself pretty much, you know, I just kind of had an idea and and I wrote down a few things about possible people, and then they just wrote their own story, really, which I'm, you know, I know, as an author, you will understand that. And I would say, for all my other books, I've had an idea, but they've kind of, they've kind of written themselves, themselves   Michael Hingson ** 27:17 as well. Yeah. Well, you know, you talk about textbooks. I've been an advocate for some time about the concept that people should rewrite textbooks or make textbooks different than they are, and technical manuals, the same way, as you said, they're very boring and and they don't need to be in textbooks could draw people in a lot more than they than they do. For example, my master's degree is in physics, and when you're looking at a physics textbook, there are lots of mathematical equations and so on, and that's fine, but think of how much more interesting the book might be, and think of how much more you might draw the interest of people to the science by including in the book some stories about the the author. Their their, I don't want to necessarily say adventures, but their experience is why they became a physicist, why they do what they do, and bringing some humanity to the textbook, I think would make a significant difference to textbooks in general, but we don't see that, because people just want to get the facts out there.   Pat Backley ** 28:32 I couldn't agree more. I absolutely, totally agree. When I was at school, I hated doing research because it was boring. You had to learn the names of all the kings of England, and King, you know, Henry, the eighth wives, and when their heads got chopped off and all that stuff. And apart from the really scandalous bits, I wasn't really interested. But now I absolutely adore research. I discovered that my first book, Daisy is is a historical fiction, and so I had to do lots of research to make sure it was accurate, because you you know, if you write something in a book and it's not right, people are going to pick holes in it. I mean, they're going to pick holes in your work anyway, so you don't want to give them extra ammunition, right? But I discovered that I absolutely loved doing research. And of course, these days it's so easy because you just click a button on your computer and you can find out what cold scuttles were used in 1871 whereas in my youth, we had to trudge to the library get out all the encyclopedias. And so because of I've discovered that love of research, all my all my novels, are now historical because it's almost it gives me an excuse to go researching and finding out stuff. So it's opened up a whole new world to me, Michael and I just realized now that that expression education is wasted on the young is so true, because now in my seven. Is I am so open to learning new things, whereas in my teens, I was bored to death and just wanted to go home and play.   Michael Hingson ** 30:09 So what was Daisy about? Oh, well,   Pat Backley ** 30:11 Daisy, I'll just, I'll just read you a little bit on the back to give you an idea. Um, Daisy is a gentle family saga spanning almost 100 years, from 1887 to 1974 It is set in Alabama, Harlem and London, and incorporate some of the evils of society, poverty, racism and snobbery, as well as some of the greatest that life has to offer, family, friendship and love and a couple of quotes, being born poor was a scar that never faded, and she had never experienced racial hatred first hand, so had no real idea of how it could erode a person's whole life. So basically, it's just a story of a young woman born in the slums of London and a young man born into an affluent lifestyle on an Alabama plantation in 1871 and how their lives interwove, they never got together, but, you know, or all their extended people did, so it's right, yeah,   Michael Hingson ** 31:14 right. Well, the thing about about that kind of a story is, again, it draws you in. I I would would say something slightly different. Being poor is a scar that that never fades. On the other hand, being poor also gave you, or would give Daisy the life that she had, which was, was so I would suspect so very invaluable to her overall life experiences.   Pat Backley ** 31:50 Yes, absolutely yes. And her life changes quite dramatically midway because of the people she meets. Yeah, it's I, it was in, it's interesting, because sometimes I reread it and I just think, Wow, this is quite a good story. And I then I feel bad for thinking that about my own writing, but I've written the second Daisy, which is obviously the follow up. And then I thought, actually I and then I wrote a little travel book and my life story and whatever. And then I thought, Oh, I really miss doing research. Perhaps I could write about my own family, my own ancestors. So I then wrote the ancestors series. I've done three in it, and wrote about my paternal grandparents, my maternal grandparents and my own parents. I've just published that book about them that was glorious, but very emotive, because obviously I knew certain bits about them. But delving back further and further into the family histories, you discover lots of things and very emotional to write, yeah, particularly one about my parents, because your parents are just your mom and dad, aren't they? You kind of don't think of them really, as people in their own right, but when you start writing their life story, you're living life through their shoes and and it, yeah, it made me very emotional. I cried every day writing my parents story, but now I'm really glad I did it, because it's kind of honored, honored their lives, and also it means they'll never die their even their photographs are on the cover. And my daughter said that she cried all the way reading it, and she said, Mom, it was wonderful, because I hardly knew them. You know, they died when she was quite young. Yeah, she's but now I understand, yeah, so because she's had, you know, she's had a reasonably nice upbringing. She hasn't had the upbringing that they had, or even I had. So, yeah, I think I try. I've become a bit I've become a bit of a pain now, because everyone I meet, I say, like last week, I did a talk at the local genealogy society, and I said to them, please write your story down or record it some way. Because once you die, your story dies with you, no one knows your life as well as you do. So, yeah, yeah. But I just love research. So now I'm thinking, oh, what else can I write about and do some research? I write about people. Michael, people are my passion. I love people and and ordinary people. I don't need to write about, you know, worthy things people, right?   Michael Hingson ** 34:24 But the other part about it is that you got, as you write about your parents, I'll bet you got to know them better, too, and it helps you understand the kind of life you had and they had. And I still bet overall, you could talk about wealth and all that, but you wouldn't trade your life for anything because it made you who you are today. Abs,   Pat Backley ** 34:49 you're absolutely right, and yes, you're right. Writing about their stories and all that they went through, it was Yeah. Just made me really, really realize that they were even. Special people than I knew they were. But no, I wouldn't trade anything. I mean, I had a wonderfully happy childhood, if you put aside that silly bit of bully in that, you know, I tend to know for the years. But, yeah, we I, I because I didn't know, really, that I got snippets of there being other kind of lives like, you know, I had rich friends who had lots of clothes, traveling all the time and stuff, but basically, my life was just my little nuclear family. In our little we had a little two bedroom house for six of us, and that was my life. We were very happy. There were very rarely raised voices, and that's why I didn't cope very well in my first marriage, when my husband, my first husband, suddenly showed me that he had a rather violent temper because I didn't know how to handle it, because I had never experienced that before in my whole life. So I in that way, I wasn't prepared. But yeah, I will always be grateful to my parents, because with very little, they gave us all a very happy childhood.   Michael Hingson ** 36:05 Well, so you started writing at the age of 70. Do you wish that you had started writing earlier? Or did you think about that? I   Pat Backley ** 36:17 think about it. I don't really, because I think I had to live through everything I've lived through get to the point now of being able to write in the way I do. And also, yeah, no, I don't really. I mean, the only thing I think is, oh, I hope I don't die before I before I get everything written, I want to write. That's my only thing. But no, I I've learned, Michael, not to regret anything in life, because if you do, the only person it hurts is yourself. Yeah,   Michael Hingson ** 36:47 because you are who you are, because of your life   Pat Backley ** 36:51 exactly, and you would understand that better than most. I mean, you cope so well with with being blind, which is absolutely remarkable, because most of us, if we suddenly can't see and need to wear a stronger pair of glasses, we just go down, you know, go down into a depressive state. So you're a wonderful beacon of hope. I think for an awful lot of people, of course,   Michael Hingson ** 37:15 the issue, and using that as an example, the issue is that you don't know anything about being blind or blindness, and people generally don't, and they make a lot of assumptions that are not necessarily true, but it is again, the lives that they live, and the reality is there's nothing wrong with being blind. We live in a world where most people are light dependent, that is, they can see. But the reality is, of course, in the perspective I try to oftentimes nowadays, to convey to people, is light dependence is just as much a disability as being light independent or blind, because as soon as the lights go out, you lose power, and if you don't have an immediate light source. You're in a world of hurt. And we really should think of disability as a characteristic that everyone has, except it manifests itself differently for different people. But unfortunately, people aren't ready to do that. And the reasons for bringing up the concept in that way is that I think that because disability is really a characteristic everyone has, it is also a way to help level the playing field. And that's something that is so hard to get people to do, because they really think, well, you're blind, you're not as good as I   Pat Backley ** 38:37 Oh, wow. Very profound. I love talking to you. Michael, this is fascinating stuff. Fascinating. I had, I had a little niece. Sadly, she died when she was 14. She had a dreadful genetic disease called battens, but she went blind for the last couple of years. It broke my heart. It broke my heart, but she seemed to just deal with it somehow. You know, it's, I guess we all get the strengths we need at the times we need them. Do you think   Michael Hingson ** 39:04 I think, I think that's true, or we can if, long as we accept it. But the reality is that, of course, she lost her her eyesight, but if she developed an attitude that I have other things that are available to me, so I'm going to be fine, then she would be fine. Yes,   Pat Backley ** 39:23 yeah, yeah. I mean, sadly, she lost all her faculties. She couldn't talk. She so everything went but, but it was when her eyes went and she was still able to understand, that was the hardest thing. So I remember years ago when I worked in Barclays Bank, when I was quite in my 20s, and we were, I worked in a big branch at the time, and we had a blind telephonist, because in those days, back in the 60s, I think it was kind of what they did. It was when there were all those great big telephonic boards, you know, press all the buttons. And we had a guy called Peter, and he had. His dog was called penny, and our branch was on the corner of this huge, wide road in a place called Kingston, just outside London. And to cross the road, there were like six lanes of traffic, and it was really, really dangerous. And we would come out of work in the afternoon, and we'd all be standing there hesitant to cross the road, and Peter would suddenly just march across the road with Penny, and we'd all be standing there in awe. And one day I crossed with I've got brave, and I crossed over with him, and we got to the other side, and I said, Peter, how can you do that? He said, Oh, well. He said, It's always useful being blind, because traffic feels sorry for you, so they all kind of slow down anyway. He said, But, but. He said, But Penny leads me. He said, she just, she just, she just knows it's fine, so she just the dog just, just takes me over. I was fascinated, but he had just recently married about two years earlier he'd been, he'd been fully sighted till he was 11, and then he and some friends were messing about on the railway lines, and he fell over and bashed his head, and he went blind. So he had been sighted and but now he he was married, he had a little baby, and I said, Oh, Peter, can you actually see your baby, or do you just kind of have to feel the outline? He said, Oh no. He said, I got a tiny, tiny bit of vision. He said, so I can see the shape of the baby. And I just always remember thinking you're so brave. That was, that was what I thought. I just felt he was so brave. Well, just remember   Michael Hingson ** 41:27 the dictionary, you know? Well, just remember the dictionary defines to see is to perceive. It doesn't necessarily need to be with the eyes and and there's so many other senses that give us this a lot of information as well. For me, I don't want my dog to decide when we cross the street in general, unless the dog refuses to go because there's a hybrid car or something coming that I don't hear. But it's my job to know when to go and and I know how to do that, and so I can listen for the traffic flow and and, and go accordingly. And at the same time, if I then tell the dog to go forward and the dog won't go my immediate assumption is there's a reason for that, and and, and usually there is because the dog and I have developed that kind of a relationship where the dog knows it's my job to tell the dog where to go, and it's the dog's job to make sure that we get there safely. It's a very close knit team. It's as close knit of a team as you can imagine, and it's what it's really all about. So the dog and I each do our jobs, and when we do them correctly together, what a wonderful world. It becomes   Pat Backley ** 42:47 fabulous. And it obviously works because you're still standing, you're still here,   Michael Hingson ** 42:54 and my and my dog is over here, breathing very deeply, asleep. Oh, so you you stick with historical fiction. Have you ever thought of writing other kinds of books, like adventures or novels or that are not historic in nature, fantasy or any of those? I   Pat Backley ** 43:17 don't think I've got the right brain set to do fantasy or horror or crime. I, I I'm writing historical because I've discovered a great love for it, but I've also, I also have a great love for travel. So I wrote a little travel book, and I've just done a big trip, so I'm going to write another travel book, because that's another great love I wrote. I wrote my memoirs, which was very satisfying, you know, to write my own story down so it's there forever, if you like. And I also wrote a little book called The abandoned wives handbook, which I didn't want to write. I just kept putting it off. And then one day, I woke up at three in the morning and this voice saying to me, Pat, you have to write this book to help other people. So I just wrote this. I cried all the time. Writing it, as you've probably deduced, I'm a great crier. I think crying is is the best way of getting stress out of your system, out of my system. So I wrote this book. It's just a tiny little book that you can pop into a handbag called the abandoned wives handbook. And I've just made it like a little dictionary. I call it a dictionary of distress, and it's just to I'll just just briefly read you the backseat and understand the pain of abandonment is huge. The partner you loved and cherished for so many years has decided you are no longer required past your sell by date of no use to them anymore, so tossed out like a piece of garbage, abandoned with barely a backward glance, in an attempt to keep this a gentle, light hearted read, each chapter is divided into letters of the alphabet, rather like a dictionary of distress, something you can dip into at any time. I am not an expert, merely someone who has survived one of life's great traumas and has come through. Is a stronger, more resilient person, so I didn't want to write it. I hated doing it. I've, I published it, and it's, ironically, one of my best selling books people buy   Michael Hingson ** 45:13 all the time. Do you publish your own books, or do you have a publisher? I   Pat Backley ** 45:17 have, I have done till this point, Michael, but simply because I'm feeling I'm too old to hang around waiting to get noticed. But I have just written, I have just finished another book, which I I just feel might be slightly more commercial, so I may try seeing if I can get an agent for that. But I will probably only try one or two, and then if they say no, I'll just give up and self publish. The only thing against self publishing for me now is that it because I want to do it properly. You know, I pay an editor, I pay a cover designer, I pay a formatter. It becomes quite expensive to pay people. So that's my that's my only downside. But I do like to be totally in control. You know, I can choose my own covers. I can choose when it's published. I can choose what the content is. And if you go with a traditional publisher, you often lose the ability to have the same control   Michael Hingson ** 46:11 well, or you you negotiate, but, but, yeah, I understand what you're saying. I also have to say I understand fully this whole concept of abandonment. When my seventh guide dog Africa retired, and she retired because she wasn't seeing well and she was slowing down, so I knew it was time to get a new guide dog. So it was February 9 of 2018, and we lived here, and her puppy raiser, the people who raised her, they call them, I think, in New Zealand, puppy walkers, but they live about 140 miles south, or about 120 miles in a town called Carlsbad. And they came and I, and I said that they could have Africa, and the only reason I gave her up was because we already had my wife's service dog and a cat, and I was going to get another dog, and Karen wasn't really going to be able to handle taking care of two dogs and a cat when I traveled to speak, so we agreed that Africa could go live with the bill And Peggy, and they came and picked her up, and she walked out the door without a backward glance. I was abandoned.   47:26 Oh, that's awful,   Michael Hingson ** 47:28 yeah. Well, we actually, we went. We went down and visited her several times. She was just excited. No, she's, she was a great dog. And, yes, yeah, you know. And they got to have her for two years before she passed. But she was, she was a good dog and and she had a good life. And I can't complain a bit, but it's fun to tease about how obviously we have abandoning issues here. Yes, yeah.   Pat Backley ** 47:53 And I think that's the secret in life, Michael, to always find something to be happy about and smile about, because life can be very tough, can't it? I mean, you know, it's, yeah, life is tough. And so I think if we don't find, try and seek a little joy, we might as well all give up, you know, yeah, yeah. And   Michael Hingson ** 48:14 there's no need to do that. I mean, God put us on this earth to live an adventure. And life is an adventure,   48:21 absolutely,   Michael Hingson ** 48:22 no matter what we do. Yes,   48:25 absolutely. Well, how do you   Michael Hingson ** 48:26 develop your characters? I mean, you're writing historical fiction, so you're you're using history and and periods of time as the the setting for your books, but you're creating your own characters primarily, I gather,   Pat Backley ** 48:39 yes, yes. To be honest, in my head, when I start writing, I almost have an exact picture of my characters. I know exactly what they look like. I mean, if I was to, if I was to suddenly get a film offer, I could easily say how these people should look, because I they're real for for example, a few months after I oh no, maybe a year or so after I published Daisy, I was talking to my daughter one day, and I just said, Oh, do you remember when Theo did whatever? And she looked me straight in the eye, and she said, Mum, I don't know your characters as well as you do. And I just, we both burst out laughing, because to me, they're real people. You know, I I can picture them. I know exactly what they look like. And I think even when I start a new book in my head, I already know what my characters look like. They may not as the plot goes on, behave in the way I want them to, but I know how I know who they are. I know how they how they look. Yeah, they're going   Michael Hingson ** 49:43 to write the book and they're going to tell you what you need to do. Yeah, totally. But you use, but you use, I assume, real places in your books. I always   Pat Backley ** 49:51 use real places, always Yeah, and always places I know, because I think you can write more authentically then, like in days. I wrote about Harlem and Alabama and New York and London, or not New York in that one, but London and because I know all those places, I've been there and you know, they're, they're familiar to me, yeah,   Michael Hingson ** 50:13 yeah. So you, you, you let them do what they do, and out comes the book.   Pat Backley ** 50:21 Absolutely, that's right, yes, yeah, have you   Michael Hingson ** 50:25 written any yet in New Zealand?   Pat Backley ** 50:29 You mean, based in New Zealand? The funny thing is, Michael, being an immigrant is and I have spoken to lots of other immigrants about this. In fact, I co authored a book in lockdown called the warrior women project, a sisterhood of immigrant women, which is based in the States. And all the other women are are living in the States, except me, and I caught up with them when I came over to the states. Couple of months ago, we had a reunion, met for the first time, which was wonderful, but we all said, once you are an immigrant, you never truly belong anywhere. You know, when I go, I always feel a little bit of an outsider here. I've been here 14 years now, and that's nobody's that's nothing anybody does. That's just my feeling deep inside. I go back to England, and I feel like an outsider. I used to live in Fiji when I was in my 20s, and then I had a house there. Until my divorce, I go back there, and I've got a lot of extended friend family there, I go back there, and I always feel like an a bit of an outsider. So I think that's the price you pay for wanting a life less ordinary. You know, you somehow become like a little bit of a floating person. And I don't to answer your question, I don't really feel qualified to write about New Zealand. Obviously, I talk about it in my travel book and I talk about different places, but to base the whole story here, I don't feel qualified. There are enough fabulous New Zealand authors who are doing that already, who've been born here, who understand the country, who, you know, who, yeah, they're   Michael Hingson ** 52:07 just at the same time you wrote Daisy, which took place in part in Alabama. How much time did you spend, you know? So it may be, it may be something in the future where a character will pop out and say, I want to be in New Zealand, but that's something to look at.   Pat Backley ** 52:23 Yes, I love it when somebody like you calls me out on my own, my own things, because you're absolutely right. I That's That was a silly argument to say. I don't know it enough. So thank you for that. You've made me rethink. That's good.   Michael Hingson ** 52:37 Well, so I gather that when you're writing, you think you have the plot planned out, or you you try to have the plot planned out, but it doesn't necessarily go the way you plan it. Does it?   Pat Backley ** 52:49 No, not at all. I mean, I know roughly what I want to say. I think what I'm definitely, definitely know what I want to do is get certain little messages across. And that doesn't matter what my characters do, because I can weave that in, like in Daisy. I wanted to get across that slavery was dreadful, and racism is dreadful, and the way black people were treated when they went to England in the 1950s was dreadful. So I managed to we, and that's and that's snobbishness and stuff is dreadful. So I managed to always weave those kind of themes into my books. And apparently, it has been said by reviewers that I do it so well that people it just makes people think about what that how they think how Yeah, so, so those main themes, if you like, I managed to weave into my stories, regardless of how badly my characters behave.   Michael Hingson ** 53:45 So when you're writing, are you pretty disciplined? Do you have certain times that you write, or do you just sit down and write till you're ready to stop for the day? Or what I   Pat Backley ** 53:56 am very non disciplined, undisciplined, whatever the term is supposed to be. I have great intentions. I think, right, I'm going to spend tomorrow writing. I'll be at my desk by eight o'clock, and I'll sit little five. And then at nine o'clock, I get up to go make a cup of coffee. And at 10 o'clock, 11 o'clock, 12 o'clock, I'm out weeding the garden, and then I might come back in and do a little bit, and then I go off and do something else. So I am dreadfully undisciplined, but I work really well to deadlines. Just before I went away on my big trip in September, I was part way through a book, probably a third way through writing a new book, and I woke up one day and I thought, right, I'm going to get that book finished before I go. I had three weeks left. In that three weeks, I had masses of appointments. I had to sort out my wardrobe, which, as a woman, is a huge problem, one that you've probably never had, but you know, you have to decide what goes with what and how many dresses you should take, and it's a huge issue for a lot of women. So I had a lot of jobs to do in that three. Weeks instead of which, I decided to set myself as self imposed time to get the book finished. Crazy. Just, I mean, why? Why? Why crazy?   Michael Hingson ** 55:09 And did you the day   Pat Backley ** 55:11 before? There you are. I was so proud of myself because I just that was it. I decided I and what I did to make myself accountable, I actually put a post on Facebook and Instagram saying, why, and all these little yellow post it notes, and I'd written on their pack suitcase, Do this, do this, do this. And so I just said to everyone that I'd given myself this self pointed deadline so I had made myself publicly accountable. If I hadn't done that, I probably wouldn't have finished it, but I find, for me, that's the best way of disciplining myself is to have a deadline with everything in life, really, yeah. But the   Michael Hingson ** 55:49 other part about it is, even when you're as you would put it, being undisciplined, your brain is still working on the book, and the characters are are mulling things over, so it does pop out. Oh, totally,   Pat Backley ** 56:00 totally. And I end up with lots of little scrappy notes all over the house, you know, where I've just grabbed a piece of paper and written down something. And then, of course, I have to gather them all together. And when I was in the States recently, I spent two months, and I've got scrap I was doing a lot of research, and I've got scrappy notes everywhere. So I've now got to try and pull those all together while my brain still remembers what they were meant to be, you know, like lady in red dress in New Orleans. Well, what does that really mean? So, right? I'm, I'm my own worst enemy in many ways, but,   Michael Hingson ** 56:37 but she thought, and so you went through it exactly, exactly, yeah, that's okay. Where did you travel in September?   Pat Backley ** 56:45 I went to Atlanta first to meet up with these warrior women, which was truly fabulous. Then I went to New Orleans, and my friend who lives in Alabama, picked me up, and we went to New Orleans, and then we drove back to Alabama. She lives in Huntsville. So I was there for a week and was doing lots of research, because Daisy is partly based right and then we then she drove me back to Nashville, and I flew to New York, where I was meeting some friends from New Zealand who lived there six months of the year. So I spent six days there and went to Harlem for more research and stuff like that, and then flew to Canada, to Toronto, where two friends, a lady I'd met when we had our daughters together, and her daughter, they now live in France. They flew from France, met me in Toronto, we hired the biggest SUV I've ever seen in my life, and we drove across Canada for three weeks, which was such fun, such fun. And then I came home. So I've got millions of scrappy notes that I need to pull together to write a travel book and to use as inspiration for my novels.   Michael Hingson ** 58:01 So you so you're going to write another travel book? I   58:05 am going to write another travel book. Yeah, yeah.   Michael Hingson ** 58:09 And the the abandoned wives handbook, that's kind of a self help book. That's a self help book, yes, yeah. Just you think you'll write another one of   Pat Backley ** 58:17 those? No, no, I'm done with that one's enough of those, huh? Yeah, that's right. I'm not an expert, Michael and the I just, I just, but the funny thing is, when I do talks, I always talk about all my books. And a few weeks ago, I was talking at this very smart meeting of ex business people, both ladies and gentlemen, and they were all over 60. Um, so quite a conservative audience. And at the end, or towards the end, I just mentioned this abandoned Wise Book, I tend to skim over it. I don't really, I don't really talk about it too much unless the audience is particularly relevant. But I just said to them, oh, and this is my little book. And someone said, Oh, could you read us an excerpt from it? So I said, Okay, I'll just open the book at random. And I opened the book and the title, what you won't be able to see here, the title of that chapter was K for kill. And I thought, no, no, I don't want to read about kill front of this audience. So I just made a joke of it and and I'll just read it to you, because it will make you laugh, as I have said previously under Section indecisive. You may, in your darkest moments, think about hurting him. This is not really a great idea, as you would undoubtedly be caught and end up in prison. Yeah, you so, you know, I and then I went on a bit more, but, you know, it's some yeah and no, I'm done with that book. I've, I've done my bit for humanity with that. It seems to be helping a lot of people. So that's that's enough.   Michael Hingson ** 59:45 Yeah, I would never make a good criminal, because I know I'd be caught and and I don't know how to keep from getting caught, and frankly, don't care about trying to get worry about getting caught or not getting caught. It's easier just not to be a criminal. So it works out fine. So. Yes,   1:00:00 exactly. Yeah, me too. Me too. So much   Michael Hingson ** 1:00:02 easier. So much easier. Absolutely, absolutely yes. Well, if people want to reach out to you and maybe learn a little bit more about you or meet you, how do they do that? Okay,   Pat Backley ** 1:00:12 well, my website is just patch back league com, so it's very easy. Um, I'm Can you spell that please? Yes, yes, of course, P, A, T, B, A, C, K, L, E, y.com.com, yeah, and I'm on all the channels, as you know, Facebook and Instagram and x and LinkedIn and stuff as Pat Backley author or pat Backley books. And my books are all available from Amazon, all the online retailers, Barnes and Noble stuff like that, as ebooks or paperbacks, or if someone desperately wanted a signed copy, I'm very happy to send them a signed copy, and you can get them from you can request them from libraries.   Michael Hingson ** 1:00:59 Have you? Have you thought about making any of them an audio format?   Pat Backley ** 1:01:05 I have someone's. A few people have suggested that this year, when I've been doing talks, they've come up to me afterwards, and yes, I think I'm going to, as long as it's not too costly, because at the moment, my budget is extremely limited, but I'm going to do them myself, because everyone feels that my books will be come come across better in my own voice so well,   Michael Hingson ** 1:01:25 and you read well. So I think that makes a lot of sense to consider.   Pat Backley ** 1:01:29 Thank you, Michael, that's very kind of you. Well, Pat,   Michael Hingson ** 1:01:33 this has been fun, and I've enjoyed it. I've learned a lot of things as well, and I'm and I'm glad that we've had this chance. We need to do it again. When are you going to start a podcast?   Pat Backley ** 1:01:47 Well, funny, you should say that I've decided I'm going to I'm going to just dip my toes in very gently. I'm going to start it in the new year, and I'm going to call it and this makes everyone who knows me laugh. I'm going to call it just 10 minutes with Pat Backley. And everyone has said, Oh, don't be ridiculous. Yeah,   Michael Hingson ** 1:02:05 I agree, 10   Pat Backley ** 1:02:06 minutes, but I thought it's a way of just gently edging in. And then if people enjoy listening to me, they might want to listen for longer after a while. But I thought initially, just 10 minutes, little snippets, if they like what they hear, they might come back.   Michael Hingson ** 1:02:21 They'll come back. Oh, I don't think there would be a problem. Well, if you, if you ever need a guest to come and spend at least 10 minutes, just let me know. I   Pat Backley ** 1:02:30 certainly shall. I have absolutely loved talking to you. Michael, thank you so much for inviting me as well. This is a very joyful morning. I've really loved it. Thank you. Well,   Michael Hingson ** 1:02:39 this has been fun, and I want to thank all of you for listening. I hope you've enjoyed it and reach out to Pat. I'm sure she would love to communicate with you, and maybe in some way, you'll end up in a book, which is always a nice, good thing to think about as well. I'd love to hear what you think about our podcast today. So please feel free to email me. Michael, h, i, m, I, C H, A, E, L, H i at accessibe, A, C, C, E, S, S, I b, e.com, or go to our podcast page, which is at w, w, w, dot Michael hingson.com/podcast, and Michael hingson is spelled M, I, C, H, A, E, L, H, I N, G, S O n.com/podcast, wherever You're listening. We would really appreciate it if you would give us a five star rating. And we we value that. We value your thoughts and input. Pat for you and all of you listening. If you know an

Full Text of ReadingsMonday of the Second Week of Easter Lectionary: 267The Saint of the day is Saint Peter ChanelSaint Peter Chanel's Story Anyone who has worked in loneliness, with great adaptation required and with little apparent success, will find a kindred spirit in Peter Chanel. Born in France, Peter's interest in the missions began in school, when he read letters missionaries to America sent back home. As a young priest, Peter revived a parish in a “bad” district by the simple method of showing great devotion to the sick. Wanting to be a missionary, he joined the Society of Mary, the Marists, at 28. Obediently, he taught in the seminary for five years. Then, as superior of seven Marists, he traveled to Western Oceania. The bishop accompanying the missionaries left Peter and a brother on Futuna Island northeast of Fiji, promising to return in six months. He was gone five years. Meanwhile, Peter struggled with this new language and mastered it, making the difficult adjustment to life with whalers, traders, and warring natives. Despite little apparent success and severe want, he maintained a serene and gentle spirit, plus endless patience and courage. A few natives had been baptized, a few more were being instructed. When the chieftain's son asked to be baptized, persecution by the chieftain reached a climax. Father Chanel was clubbed to death. Within two years after his death, the whole island became Catholic and has remained so. He was canonized by Pope Pius XII in 1954. Peter Chanel is the first martyr of Oceania and its patron. Reflection Suffering for Christ means suffering because we are like Christ. Very often the opposition we meet is the result of our own selfishness or imprudence. We are not martyrs when we are “persecuted” by those who merely treat us as we treat them. A Christian martyr is one who, like Christ, is simply a witness to God's love, and brings out of human hearts the good or evil that is already there. Saint Peter Chanel is the Patron Saint of: Oceania Saint of the Day, Copyright Franciscan Media

Monday in the Second Week of Easter Optional Memorial of St. Peter Chanel, 1803-1841; born in France; as a young priest, he revived a parish simply by showing great devotion to the sick; joined the Marists at the age of 28, and taught seminary for five years; he then traveled to West Oceana; on the island of Futuna, northeast of Fiji, the accompanying bishop said he would be back in six months, but didn't return for five years; Peter baptized a few natives, and instructed a few more; when the chieftain's son sought baptism, Peter was clubbed to death; in two years, the entire island had become Catholic, and remains so Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 4/28/25 Gospel: John 3:1-8

Your Daily Prayer

In Pacific Waves today: Rabuka's coalition is doomed - Fiji's former AG; Ocean conservation group condemns Trump's exec order; Health NZ to slash 22 jobs in Pacific health; 'I'm still emotional' - Samoan nun recalls meeting with Pope Francis. Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details

In my search of a new place to call home, I was led to Fiji. An invitation by a real estate agent who did not have my best interests in mind. My personal experience is now a teaching moment we can all learn from.I expect this podcast will hit some men hard.I expect new students to reach out to me due to the context.You know who you are. You know you want to learn a new way.You just didn't know there was a woman who could humble, guide or inspire you to transcend your ways.Ready to submit to the feminine divine?Take action: thecommandress.com#awareness #asmr #self-growth #realestate #behavior #trigger #habits #discipline #submission #divine #self-mastery #empathy #narcissism #ignorance #communication Keep an eye out for my patreon for a more intimate discussion about this and a direct connection with the #commandress.

Savage explores the significance of Passover, urging audiences to look beyond traditional customs to find contemporary relevance and personal meaning. He reflects on his childhood memories of the holiday and the necessity of rituals to foster personal growth and connection. He discusses his personal spiritual journey and what he learned living in remote islands such as Fiji. He recounts a conversation he had with a Jewish gangster about his path to redemption. He shares about being unexpectedly appointed as president of his Jewish community and receiving a heartfelt message from the Chief Rabbi of Israel. He weaves themes of liberation from modern "addictions," the importance of community in spiritual practices, and the transformative power of faith. He stresses that Passover serves as an opportunity for introspection and renewal, urging listeners to seek a deeper understanding of their faith.

Located in the South Pacific is the nation of Fiji.  Fiji is an archipelago of 330 islands located about 1,100 nautical miles north of New Zealand.  It is a unique mix of Pacific cultures with both Melanesian and Polynesian influences, with a dash of Indian influence as well.  Given its size and population, it is also one of the most important countries in the region.  Learn more about Fiji, its history, and its culture on this episode of Everything Everywhere Daily. Sponsors Mint Mobile Cut your wireless bill to 15 bucks a month at mintmobile.com/eed Quince Go to quince.com/daily for 365-day returns, plus free shipping on your order! Stitch Fix Go to stitchfix.com/everywhere to have a stylist help you look your best Tourist Office of Spain Plan your next adventure at Spain.info  Stash Go to get.stash.com/EVERYTHING to see how you can receive $25 towards your first stock purchase and to view important disclosures. Subscribe to the podcast!  https://everything-everywhere.com/everything-everywhere-daily-podcast/ -------------------------------- Executive Producer: Charles Daniel Associate Producers: Austin Oetken & Cameron Kieffer   Become a supporter on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/everythingeverywhere Update your podcast app at newpodcastapps.com Discord Server: https://discord.gg/UkRUJFh Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/everythingeverywhere/ Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/everythingeverywheredaily Twitter: https://twitter.com/everywheretrip Website: https://everything-everywhere.com/  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

There are more people alive and living for longer - but with that comes more people experiencing failing health. While some of this is inevitable, some can be reversible through rehabilitation.The WHO says 2.6 billion people could benefit from rehabilitation services but in low and middle income countries fewer than half receive these services. We've found three projects which help promote independence and a better quality of life.We hear how training doctors and nurses in basic rehabilitation skills is changing lives and communities in rural areas in countries as diverse as Uganda, China and Fiji.We find out about the bracelets which look set to reverse some effects of Stroke and open the door to recovery. And we meet the online community of physiotherapists who are helping mentor new physios around the world.People Fixing The World from the BBC is about brilliant solutions to the world's problems. We'd love you to let us know what you think and to hear about your own solutions. You can contact us on WhatsApp by messaging +44 8000 321721 or email peoplefixingtheworld@bbc.co.uk. And please leave us a review on your chosen podcast provider.Presenter: Myra Anubi Producer/reporter: Claire Bowes Editor: Jon Bithrey Sound mix: Andrew Mills(Image: Azizova Mizhgona is given advice by physiotherapist Parvona Sheraeva,WHO/Tajikstan)

After a month-long sabbatical that took him across Australia, New Zealand, and Fiji, Chris Walker returns to Revenue Vitals with a life-changing announcement. In this deeply personal episode, Chris reveals a profound shift in his perspective and purpose that has led him to hand over hosting duties to Carolyn Dilks (Co-Founder and Managing Partner @ Passetto) who will be rebranding the show to “GTM Live”, while he embarks on a new mission. Sharing intimate details about his personal transformation through self-reflection and experiencing "operating system upgrades," Chris outlines his new mission for helping others unlock their innate human potential. This is the start of a new chapter for Revenue Vitals, which will now become “GTM Live” hosted by Carolyn Dilks.And it is a new chapter for Chris, who will be announcing his new podcast and mission in even more details soon.Stay tuned for more.

Microgrids are essential to the clean energy future—but they're still too complex, slow, and unbankable. That's the problem Adib Naslé set out to solve. With Xendee, he's built a platform that makes distributed energy systems faster to plan, easier to finance, and smarter to operate.Nico digs into how Adib and his team turned 20 years of national lab research into a commercial product now used by governments, fleet operators, developers and data centers. If you want to understand where AI, microgrids, and electrification converge—this is the episode for you.

In this episode, Johnny Jet shares his deeply personal story of overcoming a debilitating fear of flying before becoming a travel expert. A dream trip to Australia in high school was derailed when, at the airport, he had a panic attack and refused to board the plane, devastating his family and himself. He spent the next three years struggling with anxiety and fear—not just of flying, but even of leaving home. Learn what triggered this and how Johnny dealt with it. Johnny created a travel newsletter and website in 1995 that he has been publishing ever since. ✅ Tips for Overcoming Fear of Flying Visualize flying—even simulate it at home. Speak with pilots or flight attendants to understand the safety and mechanics of flight. Start small—book shorter flights on larger planes for a smoother experience. Break up long-haul trips with stopovers (e.g., Hawaii or Fiji en route to Australia). Distract yourself with music, reading, or a hobby during takeoff. Avoid alcohol and drugs, which can worsen anxiety and behavior. Consider fear of flying courses, including airline programs with simulators and pilots. Practice gratitude and perspective—remember that flying opens the world. https://amateurtraveler.com/fear-of-flying/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Most iguanas are indigenous to the Americas. So how did the Fijian species end up on the island, nearly 5000 miles away in the South Pacific? According to a new study in the journal PNAS, it was probably via raft ... that is, on clump of floating trees. And this rafting hypothesis isn't entirely unprecedented. After hurricanes Luis and Marilyn hit the Caribbean in the 1990s, researchers found that a group of iguanas had floated over 180 miles away from Guadeloupe to the territory of Anguilla. Want to hear more about iguanas? Or rafts? Or evolutionary biology? Email us at shortwave@npr.org.Listen to every episode of Short Wave sponsor-free and support our work at NPR by signing up for Short Wave+ at plus.npr.org/shortwave.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Tamra Judge returns to RHOC, discusses her breakdown and depression and hopes that Gretchen and Shannon lighten up, go soft and reconcile with her as more leaks from RHOC filming are leaked. RHOSLC Season 6 begins filming as Lisa Barlow takes RHOSLC off her bio. Dorit Kemsley comes for Kathy Hilton again as Tracey Tutor and Jeff Lewis clap and clap back at her. Denise Richards' new show continues to thrive. Ariana Madix reveals she was never going to return to Vanderpump Rules For Season 12, that it just did not feel right and is preparing to return to Fiji for another new season of Love Island. Tom Sandoval asks if the world is ready to forgive him. Wendy Williams drops a note out the window, aces her psych exam, does a series of interviews and gets her niece sued by her Assisted Living Facility after she takes her out for a lovely dinner in NYC. All this plus The Valley prepares for Season 2.  @amiryassofficial @davidyontef @behindvelvetrope BONUS & AD FREE EPISODES Available at - www.patreon.com/behindthevelvetrope  BROUGHT TO YOU BY: SPOT & TANGO - spotandtango.com/velvetrope (Use Code Velvetrope To Get 50% Off Your First Order of UnKibble For Your Dog) ONESKIN- oneskin.co (Use Code Velvet For 15% Off The Skin Care Which Targets The Root Causes Of Aging)  QUINCE - quince.com/velvetrope (Get Free Shipping and 365 Day Returns to As You Indulge In Affordable Luxury) CORNBREAD - cornbreadhemp.com/velvet (30% Off With Code Velvet on Cornbread's Gummies) JUNE'S JOURNEY (Download This Hidden Object Interactive Mobile Game Now on Android or iOS) AIR DOCTOR - airdoctorpro.com (Use Code Velvet For Up To $300 Off Today The Best Air Purifier Voted By Newsweek) ADVERTISING INQUIRIES - Please contact David@advertising-execs.com MERCH Available at - https://www.teepublic.com/stores/behind-the-velvet-rope?ref_id=13198 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices