July 21, 2024 • 49 mins
Jo Moseley is a 59 year old single Mum of two grown up sons, living on the edge of the Yorkshire Dales. She’s a paddleboarder, wild swimmer, hiker and beach cleaner. She is also the author of two bestselling books about beautiful places to paddleboard, a speaker and podcast host. Jo started paddleboarding aged 51 simply to heal her knee and help her menopausal insomnia and anxiety.
In 2019 she became the first woman to paddleboard 162 miles coast to coast from Liverpool to Goole, fundraising and picking up litter. A film about her adventure called Brave Enough - A Journey Home to Joy has been screened to sell out audiences online and at prestigious film festivals. In 2022, her first bestselling book Stand Up Paddleboarding in Great Britain was published followed by Stand Up Paddleboarding in the Lake District in 2024.
Jo believes you’re not too old and it’s never too late to have an adventure! She does a headstand a day and has recently taken up skateboarding.
Tune in to learn about the “sit to stand” test, the importance of fitness and mobility for healthy aging, and how Jo's passion for outdoor adventures continues to inspire and uplift those around her.
Map of England
You can find Jo's website here: Jo Moseley
And her Instagram here: https://www.instagram.com/jomoseley/
And her book here: Stand Up Paddleboarding in Great Britain - Beautiful Places to Paddleboard in England, Scotland and Wales
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Hosts
Carol Springer: https://www.instagram.com/carol.work.life
Kristen: https://www.instagram.com/team_wake/
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:15):
Hi, welcome to our podcast when Next Travel with
Kristen and Carol.
I am Kristen and I am Carol,and we're two long-term friends
with a passion for travel andadventure.
Each episode, we interviewpeople around the globe to help
us decide where to go next.
Thanks, joanna, for joining ustoday.
(00:35):
And where are you calling infrom the north of England?
In Yorkshire, yorkshire okay,very nice.
I always think of likeYorkshire pudding when I hear
that, yeah, very good, that'swhat you're famous for.
Okay, very nice.
I always think of likeYorkshire pudding when I hear
that, yeah, very good, thatyou're famous for, okay.
So our understanding is you dida paddleboard via canals across
England and so love to hear,like, what inspired you to do
(00:58):
this, and we'll let people know,like what are the resources to
look at for additional details,but sounds very amazing.
So if you want to, yeah, sure,thank you and thank you for
having me on.
Speaker 2 (01:11):
It's very exciting.
So, um, I was 54, I'm 59 now andin july 2019, I became the
first woman to paddleboard coastto coast across northern
england, so from a place calledcalled Liverpool on the west
coast so, if you've heard of theBeatles over to the east coast
in a place called Gould, andit's kind of as close to coast
(01:33):
to coast as you can get.
So that is 162 miles, about 91no, about 101 lops and about 200
swing bridges, and I was thefirst woman to paddleboard this
distance.
One man had done it in theFebruary and I picked up litter
and I fundraised for a mentalhealth charity that's around
(01:55):
surf therapy, and so I hadactually had the idea three
years prior, when I was 51 andhad just started paddleboarding,
but a few people had told methat it was too difficult for a
woman of my age and a bitlogistically boring and very.
Instead of saying oh yes, youknow that's your opinion and
(02:16):
kind of moving on, I let thattheir opinion of it and their
opinion of me stop me, and so ittook me three years to rebuild
the confidence and the courageto do it.
And so, yeah, I did it and wemade a film about it and I wrote
it about it in my first book.
So yeah, that's what I did.
First book I love it.
Speaker 1 (02:34):
So Liverpool to what was the other town, greer?
No.
Speaker 2 (02:37):
Google, so it's not well known um it's g, double o,
l, e and it's on the humberestuary and so estuaries are
very tricky to paddleboard on,and particularly that one.
So um it's on inland um it's onthe it's like the most inland
port um on the east coast ofengland.
Speaker 1 (02:55):
So it looks very similar to uh northern
california we have called it'scalled the delta, oh, yeah, I
surf, so interesting ohfantastic um.
I got first in two of mycompetitions this year that's
amazing.
Speaker 2 (03:11):
Oh, I tried surfing, but every time I surfed I
injured myself, so I stuck topaddleboarding I actually um
it's wake surfing so it's behindboats.
Speaker 1 (03:22):
So so in the delta and you know it's inland kind of
where all the farm areas are,in california there's a canal
that goes all the way through.
We call it the delta and wesurf on the delta oh, that's
amazing.
Speaker 2 (03:35):
Oh, I'm gonna have a look.
Do people?
Speaker 1 (03:37):
um paddleboard on the delta.
Much, kristin?
I don't think.
No, there's some inlets thathave like little housing areas
and everyone in quiet spots doit.
But the main delta, I seefishing boats, our surf boats,
like you know, big, huge boats,you know.
It's more of that, oh okay,because it's narrow and there's
(03:57):
big boats, so there's not paddleboards out there.
Okay, so, jo, you went west toeast.
Then, yes, yes, okay.
So, jo, you went west to east.
Then, yes, okay, all right.
And so that's what?
The way the water flows, Iguess, right.
Speaker 2 (04:11):
It was just the locks .
The bridges started inLiverpool.
It just seemed like the.
Because I don't know why I didit that way.
It just seemed that that wasjust the right way to do it.
Some people had said that thewind would be slightly behind me
, but the wind didn't make anydifference in that respect, it
was always against me.
So, um, it just felt the, thecanal.
(04:31):
Actually, actually, I supposethe logic is the canal starts in
the west, like it actuallystarts on a housing estate just
outside liverpool.
So it's where the canal starts.
So that's just the most obviouspoint to start it and then go
sort of off east.
So, yeah, okay.
Speaker 1 (04:50):
Very cool and I thought it was so fascinating.
So you mentioned there's thebridges, and then I saw in your
video that there was like somecaves One was a mile long and
the tunnels yeah, tunnels, butwhat normally goes through these
canals, like, are theregood-sized boats?
Speaker 2 (05:08):
Not anymore.
So the canals were built.
This canal was built over 200and something years ago, part of
the Industrial Revolution.
So in the past the tunnels werebuilt to go through the land
and what would happen would bethe narrow boats would go
through.
Now some tunnels in um withinthe canal network have a tow
(05:28):
path along them so that a horsecould tow the narrow boat.
But in the tunnel, the the milelong tunnel, uh, what they
would do is the men would lie,if you can imagine.
They would lie on the boat withtheir legs on the wall and they
would leg it's called leggingit and they would leg the boat
through.
(05:48):
So they would, kind of by humanendeavor, get the boat through
the canal.
Now, obviously, now the narrowboats are motorized, so people
just use them for leisure.
I don't think there's reallyany major commercial use of them
.
Speaker 1 (06:05):
Oh, because they didn't have.
They couldn't paddle because itwas too low or something, or
they didn't have motors, so theyjust didn't have motors, so the
men would like what was calledlegging it for leisure One of
the places.
Speaker 2 (06:16):
So, for example, in my first book I went to the
middle of London for one of thepaddles on Regent's Canal, which
is near Regent's Zoo, and thereyou would see the towpath where
in the past the horses wouldpull the narrow boats.
But in this canal tunnel therewas no towpath, so it had to be
(06:37):
by human endeavor.
Speaker 1 (06:38):
So how did you like I see like you blew up your.
You had to pump up yourpaddleboard each day, so did you
know where you were going tostay each night?
Speaker 2 (06:48):
so yeah, so I had a friend who, um, was the
filmmaker, so we stayed in sortof like pubs with rooms and then
in.
If you can imagine, I live inthe middle, in the middle bit
between Liverpool and Gould,right, right, sort of in the
central bit of of northernEngland.
So the canal went through myhometown.
(07:09):
Oh nice, on those days, uh, westayed at home and and my
friends, uh, a daughter of afriend of mine collected me from
the canal, took me to my house,then collected me in the
morning, and we did it that wayfor about four nights.
What would take my friend'sdaughter, um lauren, half an
hour to drive me had taken meeight hours to paddleboard along
(07:30):
, you know, along the samedistance.
So wait, wait, say how long todrive so it would take like half
an hour, half hour, eight hoursof paddleboard.
It had taken me eight, you knoweight hours to paddle that
distance.
So, and then we stayed in alittle bed and breakfast and so
(07:52):
I didn't want to camp, becausethere's not really any campsites
along the route and also at thetime I was very, very
perimenopausal and I wasn'tsleeping and I knew that I
wouldn't sleep and then I wouldgo out and have fun.
So we stayed in, you know, inproper beds would yeah and have
fun.
Speaker 1 (08:08):
So we stayed, you know, in proper beds, oh, wow,
okay.
So I guess let's just back up alittle bit.
The reason you did this one,just to be like, hey, I just you
talked about it was just, youknow, you love the challenge of
it and you were raising somemoney, was there?
Speaker 2 (08:18):
one was one main motivation um, I think, when I
first had the idea in 2016, itwas kind of like, wow, you know
I could be.
Nobody had done it at thatpoint.
Um, you know, maybe I could bethe first and show people, you
know, what I can do.
And then, as time went on it itchanged because, um, I don't
(08:40):
know if this has happened to you, but a number of my friends, my
girlfriends, died and only oneof them had reached 50.
So, yeah, quite, you know,about five or six friends in a
very short time, and it was alsocancer and one had a heart
problem.
And it was also the time thatmy youngest son was going off to
university.
(09:01):
And I just think I realized thatlife is just very short and
precious and and if you have,like, the spark of a dream, you
should try and fulfill it.
So, even if I only ever got tothe start line, at least I put
myself in a place where I couldtry and fulfill that dream.
I think I think you get that,you know, and and with my sons,
(09:23):
my eldest son was already atuniversity, my youngest son was
going off to university.
You know, I just wanted them toknow, and I'm a single mom, I
wanted them to know that I wasgoing to be okay.
You know that I had stuff goingon in my life so it was a big
dream to pull me to that future.
So yeah, there was very personalreasons to do it.
I couldn't obviously bring myfriends lives back, but I could
(09:45):
honor their creativity and joyand they were all just really
lovely women that if you metthem in the street you'd be like
, oh, I'm really glad I, youknow, I'm glad I bumped into her
.
Today I just feel that bitbetter.
And some I had known since Iwas, you know, 14, 15, some were
school gate mums, you knowschool run mums and but they
(10:05):
were all just wonderful and Ijust thought, yeah, I can, I can
make a difference and and andkind of honor them really their
lives.
Speaker 1 (10:12):
Okay, and how many?
How much did you paddleboardLike was?
Speaker 2 (10:16):
it, your hobby, the road before, right yeah.
Yeah, I'd done the rowing.
Yeah, I'd been on.
So, yeah, in 2014, I'd done abig indoor rowing challenge in
memory of my mum who had died,so I rode a million meters,
which is basically like fromParis to Edinburgh.
So that's 10,000 meters everyother night for eight months and
(10:37):
I'd rode a marathon and twohalf marathons and that was all
fundraising in memory of my momwho had died of lymphoma.
But then I'd actually startedpaddleboarding in 2016, had the
idea about two months later andthen three years later I
actually did it.
So in that three years I gainedmy confidence, and
(10:58):
paddleboarding at the time wasstill quite new in Britain.
It wasn't as well known in 2000.
I think I'd been in the countryfor about 10 years but it was
still quite niche, like sort ofracing and things like that,
Whereas I was just very muchrecreational and adventure
paddling.
Speaker 1 (11:14):
And this fundraising were they part of some organized
fundraising that you justjumped on for the rowing thing?
Is it just kind of came up withthis on your own?
Yeah, yeah, no, it was just myown.
Speaker 2 (11:26):
it was my own, oh, because at the time, um, as I
said, you know, I was veryperimenopausal and I'd started
indoor rowing in order to helpme sleep, and so it did.
And then, when mum died, Ithought, right, I need to do
something that will honor hermemory and I need to raise some
money for a charity calledMacmillan Cancer Support, which
(11:49):
helps people who have cancer,not in a medical way, but in
other ways.
They support them and you knowthey're not doctors, but they
support them in different, indifferent ways, and I didn't
have any idea.
What I could do is like well,what, what is there of interest
that I do in my life?
And genuinely, there wasnothing.
It was like I go to, I take mychildren to school, I go to work
(12:12):
, I look after my dad, I have myfriends, and then I go to bed
at night.
You know, it's like that's allI.
You know, I didn't have muchself-esteem or much
self-confidence at the time, andso I thought, right, all I can
do is this indoor rowing.
And um, and it was amazing, weraised over 10,000 pounds, so
that's quite a lot of money,because all I did was go to a
(12:33):
rowing machine in a gym.
You know, I didn't go anywhere,I didn't climb a mountain, I
didn't do anything kind ofspectacular, but people really
engaged in it and we raised alot of money that's like almost
13,000, that's six, yeah, yeahand that was.
that was 10 years ago now.
So, um, and that was whentwitter was like really nice and
(12:55):
people were just like, wow,that's amazing, we can sponsor
you and and I would sort of showhow much I'd run a road if you
you imagine, on a row machinethere's a little sort of screen
that tells you how many strokesyou've done, the distance you've
done.
So I would put that up everynight and then I had, like
Olympic rowers say, I think youneed to get your stroke a bit
(13:17):
better, or, you know, maybe youshouldn't be doing it so fast,
just slow down.
And you know, as I said,twitter was really nice at that
point and people were sosupportive, it was amazing it
was amazing fundraise.
Speaker 1 (13:31):
Where was the like, the outlet?
Where did they put the moneyinto?
Like a page?
Speaker 2 (13:36):
yeah, we had a thing called just giving.
So they literally I would justput it on my social media.
I mean, I, I did a tiny bit ofFacebook.
Facebook's always slightlyconfused me maybe one or two
pictures on Instagram, but itreally came from Twitter and
then local newspapers kind ofpicked up on the story and then
(13:57):
they would put my just giving.
It was amazing, you know, itwas really amazing and I think I
was just so focused that Ididn't think of anything else
because it was really helpingand I think I was just so
focused that I didn't think ofanything else because it was
really helping me with my grief.
You know, I was just like I'mgonna do this for my mom,
whatever anyone tells me.
Speaker 1 (14:12):
So I liked seeing the newspaper that you have on your
documentary.
That was you, just you knowjust, uh, what you were saying.
You didn't have anything andthen look, look where it brought
you to.
Yeah, yeah, yeah, it wasamazing, really inspiring for
others to think about.
Like you know, you may notthink you have anything going on
(14:34):
, but you know, findingsomething that's a passion for
you, yeah, it was amazing.
I was curious who did the film,the documentary?
It was really.
Speaker 2 (14:44):
That was a filmmaker called Frit Tam and they came up
and it was just another socialmedia thing.
Frit just said, would you likea filmmaker?
And I was like, well, I'm amiddle-aged woman, I'm quite
emotional, you know.
They'll stay for about a dayand then get really bored of me
(15:07):
and that's all I thought wasgoing to happen.
And we made this film and andit's been shown at like really
prestigious film festivals inthe UK and online and yeah,
because we sort of delved intothe backstory, you know, about
grief and loss and miscarriagesand menopause and all these
things in life, and I guess thatwas quite unusual really.
(15:30):
So, yeah, something I neverexpected.
I thought people would just getreally bored of me.
Speaker 1 (15:36):
Yeah, no, it's really .
I watched.
I was only able to watch halfof it, so I'll watch the other
half soon and I really wanted towatch the rest.
So I'll watch the other halfsoon and I really wanted to
watch the rest.
Oh, thank you.
So, yeah, it's, you know.
Just, it's engaging, it'sinspiring, thank you.
Yeah, there's so many layersthere.
So you're doing it, for youhave a cause, but both for the
(15:58):
rowing and this you raise money.
But it wasn't like organizedwhere you got a bunch of
sponsors before you actually didit.
Then, right, it's just as youwere doing.
People like, wow, cool, here'sthe money.
Speaker 2 (16:09):
Yeah, yeah, I realized that's kind of the way
I do things.
I just sort of go right, I'mgoing to have this idea and it's
massive.
I think what I do is I havereally big ideas that I chip
(16:29):
away at.
So I'm not really like thefastest at anything.
I'm not the best.
I'm just a really good Capricornthat just chips away at stuff,
you know, big, big idea thatother people haven't necessarily
thought of, not organized, andthen I just chip away day by day
, day by day, and and I guessthat just shows that if you just
keep on going, you know you canmake a difference.
So, yeah, and people wouldsponsor me.
(16:51):
You know one man, he had somecoins on his boat, like a glass
jar of just change from hispocket, and he said here, you
know, add this to yourfundraising.
So I had a bit of a bucket onas we went along and um, but
yeah, people just were reallynice and and a lot of people on
the canal didn't know what apaddleboard it was at that time
(17:12):
or they'd say what is that?
What are you doing, you know?
And then I'd say I'mfundraising.
And then they'd you know, findmy link.
And um, yeah, it was amazing,amazing, I was very, very, very
especially.
Speaker 1 (17:24):
But you know social media.
I feel like it's such a bad rapbecause people are just so
addicted to it.
But then you're like no, it'sactually can be used for good,
and that's like yeah, yeah, itcan, it can definitely.
Speaker 2 (17:36):
And I write a column for a paddleboarding magazine
now where I talk about how tomake paddleboarding more
inclusive, talk aboutenvironmental projects, talk
about mental health projects,and you know, and I find stories
via Instagram and then I like Imessaged someone yesterday and
she's diabetic and I said, couldyou talk about your story?
(17:57):
Because if it just helps oneperson to feel like, oh, I could
go for a paddleboardingadventure, to feel like, oh, I
could go for a paddleboardingadventure.
Or I did a story about deafpeople who paddleboard and how
they teach them with signlanguage.
And then I did a story aboutwomen in their 80s who went for
lessons.
And so it's just like I justtry and use social media in a
(18:20):
positive way.
I still scroll way too much oh,yes, you know, oh, that
person's dancing, but I alsothink it can be very positive as
well.
Speaker 1 (18:34):
Didn't you say or didn't they say something like
you?
Speaker 2 (18:37):
you said it because it was your documentary that you
were.
Speaker 1 (18:41):
You were having health challenges.
I don't know if it was yourheart as well, but your health
weight.
So there was something that youalso.
You were having healthchallenges.
I don't know if it was yourheart as well, but your, your
health weight.
So there was something that youalso started not only grieving
your mom.
Speaker 2 (18:51):
I don't know if that was also perimenopause yeah, um,
so mainly it was just theperimenopause.
It was anxiety and insomnia.
And then just before I uh,before I announced that I was
about to do the paddleboarding,so in about the March, I told
people that I was doing thepaddleboarding challenge in July
, just to kind of prime them.
(19:12):
Um, I still had a frozenshoulder.
I've had two frozen shouldersand so I couldn't actually move
my arms.
Yeah, I couldn't move my arms atall.
I had one and then that sorteditself and then I had another
and that was still problematicand so and I think I've kind of
read that that is part of likethe muscular skeletal things
(19:33):
that happen when you go through,you know, all your estrogen,
sort of going on a rollercoaster.
So I don't think I had, I don'tthink I had any other plantar
fasciitis and things, so ittraining wasn't easy but in the
end it worked out.
Speaker 1 (19:47):
Oh yeah, that's a good sport for plantar fasciitis
, probably not a lot of highimpact on your feet.
Speaker 2 (19:52):
Yeah, yeah, and then the standing, though I could
kneel and kind of curve my foot,if you can imagine, and then
that would like give stretch it.
So, oh, so it actually helped.
Yeah, so when you're frozen,when my frozen shoulder started
easing, the paddleboardingreally helped, um, and I know
women who have had breast cancerthat they say that
(20:13):
paddleboarding can help um,after they've had their maybe
they've had a mastectomy that itcan ease and help them as well.
Speaker 1 (20:20):
So, um, yeah, wow okay, and you mentioned your
first book, so how many bookshave you written?
Speaker 2 (20:27):
two, oh, okay and what's the topics?
Um, so they're bothpaddleboarding books, um, one is
called standard paddleboardingin great britain beautiful
places to paddleboard in england, scotland and wales.
Um, it's got a nifty title um,all the algorithm for amazon, um
, and then.
But that book came out in june2022 and the second book came
(20:50):
out three weeks ago today, soit's my three-week anniversary.
Oh, congrats.
Um, and that is just aboutpaddleboarding in the lake
district.
Okay, it's in the northwest umof the country and it's very,
very special because it has alot of lakes, so it's very well
known part of the country.
So I just specialized on the 10lakes that were allowed to
(21:11):
paddleboard there.
So, um, yeah, do you know thelake district at all?
No, it's really, it's reallyfamous.
It's like a massively famouspart of the country.
It's very beautiful.
What's it called?
How do you spell it?
Lake L-A-K-E District?
Oh, d-i-s-t-r-i-k.
Okay, got it Lake District.
(21:32):
So William and DorothyWordsworth lived there,
coleridge, a lot of authors andwriters and sort of painters
came and it's just very, veryfamous, very beautiful.
Sort of painters came um andit's just very, very famous.
Very beautiful.
Amazing mountains, beautifulscenery, a lot of sheep, a lot
of sort of wild places and thenthese stunning lakes.
(21:53):
So it's got the the biggestlake in the country, it's got
the deepest lake in the countryway up there, huh yeah, yeah,
right up northwest and thenbasically a little bit further
north.
You, you come to Scotland, um,okay, yeah, really beautiful.
It's one of the places a lot ofpeople come to when they come
to the UK and visit, you know,maybe outside London or maybe
(22:17):
outside if they want to go toStratford-upon-Avon to, you know
, to see Shakespeare or um, thatsort of thing.
So it's a really beautiful,beautiful part of the country.
So that's my second book.
Yeah, congratulations.
Speaker 1 (22:30):
I'm looking actually at the map.
I'm always, we're alwayslooking at you know locations
and stuff and it's.
I don't know if I it'sembarrassing, I didn't really
look at this, but I know Englandand then on top of it, right at
Lake District, and then aboveis Scotland.
So yeah part of the samelandmass.
Yeah then, I don't see adistinct line across the two,
which I'm sure there is.
(22:51):
It's just yes, but we don'thave the.
Speaker 2 (22:55):
You can just drive from England to Scotland.
There's no border checks oranything.
Speaker 1 (22:59):
Yeah, yeah, but it's.
I'm sure that there's some sortof line.
I'm like where's the line?
I don't see it because I seeIreland as its island and you
guys are right.
Next, what's that of man?
Speaker 2 (23:15):
um, the isle of man is a.
I I've never been to the isleof man, but the isle of man is
another island, um, to the west.
I'm just getting my geographyright but I've never been.
So I have seen pictures ontwitter and it does look really
amazing.
They have a very famous umchichi race motorbike race where
(23:35):
they close the roads and um,the riders go incredible speeds.
I've never been there for that,but I have friends who have.
But I didn't include that in mybook because the first book I
wrote I wrote it just as we cameout of COVID in the UK, so I
was a little bit limited withtime and I didn't include that
(23:57):
for my first book, but maybe Icould for another one.
Speaker 1 (24:01):
I kind of think that there's there's a gosh hopefully
I'm not planting a deadly seed,but that you can paddleboard
there.
I don't know how.
Speaker 2 (24:09):
I would imagine the sea is quite rough there.
Yeah, I have had friends who'vepaddled the length of England
from Land's End down on thesouthwest coast and Coral up to
John O'Groats up in Scotland andthey've gone along the
coastline, but I don't know ifthey've gone across.
I will have to have a look.
(24:29):
Actually now I don't know ifI'll be brave enough, but I will
have a look.
Speaker 1 (24:36):
I would think so, but the Lake District district much
safer yes, much safer.
Speaker 2 (24:42):
If something goes wrong, at least you hit land at
some point exactly back rightand the pictures.
I'm looking at the picture, yeah, the lake district is really
beautiful and you have so manydifferent.
You have, you know, really longbig lakes with really sort of
mountainous scenery, and thenyou have much smaller lakes with
(25:03):
sort of more wooded scenery.
Some are right in the middle ofthe Lake District where it's
museums, and some are sort of alittle bit more out where it's
just very much more rural.
So there's every lake has likeits own personality and I really
tried to share that.
So in the book.
What I do in each book is Ipaddleboard with somebody and
(25:24):
they talk about why that lakemeans a lot to them, and so I
share their story and I share myown story of the experience of
the lake.
So it's not just you know, parkhere, buy cake here, launch
here, this is a safety stuff.
I have all that.
But then I have these storiesabout these amazing people.
So, like on Windermere, whichis the longest lake, the largest
(25:45):
lake, I paddleboarded with afriend of mine, debbie, who uses
a wheelchair, and you know wespent the weekend paddleboarding
this massive lake.
I spent it with sort offamilies, yeah, so each one has
a story to it, because that'swhat I'm best at is storytelling
, I guess.
Speaker 1 (26:05):
Did you say she paddleboarded like on or she was
?
She's in a wheelchair.
Speaker 2 (26:10):
She uses a wheelchair .
Now there are some paddleboardswhich are designed for people
who wheelchair the whole time,but doesn't she is able to get
out of her wheelchair and getonto her paddleboard.
Yeah, she's an amazing woman.
She has a degenerative diseasethat means that she can no
(26:30):
longer walk, and she used to bea lovely.
She used to love hiking.
So I like telling people storiesabout what makes something
special to them and and thenmore people can find out about
the amazing work that you knowshe does.
She's a wonderful, she was ahead teacher.
She's a wonderful, wonderfulwoman.
So really special stories thatI that I share in the in the
(26:54):
book.
So, yeah, very fortunate thatmy publisher took that leap of
faith and I said, look, this isthe only way I can write books
is to um, share stories as welland and have amazing photography
.
And they were like, yeah,that's okay.
Who did the photography?
So the first book, I did mostof the photography just standing
(27:17):
on my paddleboard saying please, please, wave, don't knock me
off.
And then, with the second book,we had a professional
photographer called James whojust took some amazing shots,
like blow your mind kind ofshots I'll send you a couple
where literally all you see isthis massive landscape, and then
(27:39):
you see this tiny little dot ofyellow.
And that's me.
You know it's like whoa James.
You know I would not have gotthat on my iPhone.
Yeah, just amazing, amazingshots that are just breathtaking
actually.
Speaker 1 (27:55):
Oh yeah, we would love that we could use them for
if he gives us permission topost on the instagram when we
mention this, yeah, yeah, no,I'll send that.
Speaker 2 (28:03):
Um, yeah, he's just amazing.
So, uh, we had, we had greatfun um doing those.
So the ones on the water Igenerally took, and then the
ones on land, these juststunning photos that you know we
we got some.
We took photos from March tothe end of November, so we got
summer photos, we've got rainyphotos, we got wintry photos,
(28:26):
with snow on the mountains andjust this really crisp blue
winter light.
I mean, yeah, it was amazing.
Speaker 1 (28:35):
Sounds beautiful.
Yeah, I was curious also whenyou did your documentary.
So that was five years ago yousaid that you did it.
Speaker 2 (28:44):
We did the trip five years ago.
I did the trip and then thefilm we worked on were taking
time off for work, so you had atime constraint to do it within
(29:04):
that time period, rain or shine,so it was awesome rain first
couple days and it gave probablymore publicity, which it
sounded like it did.
Speaker 1 (29:12):
And now are you still working full-time or have you
transitioned to doing more ofthis instead of?
Speaker 2 (29:19):
time, or have you transitioned to doing more of
this instead of working?
Yeah, no good question.
So I work part-time.
I actually work for a church.
I'm a parish administrator.
So a few minutes before I cameonto this call, I was just
checking about somebody'sfuneral.
It's a very different life.
Speaker 1 (29:36):
Did you do that professionally before with it,
or this?
No?
Speaker 2 (29:39):
no, just completely.
Yeah, professionally, um.
So before I used to work for um, I worked in construction, so I
was like a practice manager foran architect and for a and then
for an engineers, and then whenI wrote the first book, I had
to kind of give up my jobbecause I needed to be all over
the country in about five monthsbecause we'd been in lockdown
(30:03):
for seven of the months that Ihad the commission to write the
book.
And then when the book was done, I went and got a job and I
wanted a job that was quitepeople facing.
I work with volunteers who arein their 70s and 80s.
So that's really interesting andit's very good, because I do
spend a lot of my time, you know, promoting my work and on
social media, as I said, youknow, scrolling and chatting,
(30:24):
and I don't need to be on socialmedia for my job at all.
You know I just deal with realpeople who are getting married
or having their child baptizedor, you know, a relative's
funeral and I'm working with,you know, older adults that are
really inspiring.
So it's a really lovely balanceto have the two things like
this sort of world of marketingand research and writing and and
(30:47):
all that which has lots of bitsin it, and then this world of
you know, people's real lives.
Speaker 1 (30:54):
I guess you'd say did um, and also just as curious
financially, when you wereworking that and then this has
it been I mean, before it wasjust 100% from corporate job,
that kind of thing and has itsplit to where you make, oh gosh
, I don't know.
Speaker 2 (31:18):
I think the thing is that your job is regular.
Regular, you know.
You know that it's gonna, aslong as you don't lose your job,
it's regular.
Whereas the other bit is youmight get your royalties twice a
year or you get a commission orI do a little bit of sort of um
influencer kind of contentcreation, but that doesn't come
(31:39):
up all the time.
You know you might get that joband then in six to eight weeks
you might get another one.
I still need to do my taxreturn.
I mean, it's not due till tillJanuary, so I'm still got loads
of time.
But I think the day job is alittle bit less, but it is solid
, but it's only part time.
(32:00):
And then the other is a littlebit more but it's not regular,
and I like the regularity ofknowing that my bills can get
paid.
Yeah exactly.
Speaker 1 (32:10):
Thanks for sharing, because I think it's just a.
You know, I do hear of lots ofdifferent things and my kids
also are watching social mediathings and a lot of their people
they follow aren't workinganymore and do full time, so
yeah.
Speaker 2 (32:27):
I think you probably would have to spend even more
time on social.
You know, I don't.
I'm not, I don't go viral.
Yeah, you know, and I think youknow maybe sort of companies
want someone who will beprepared to go.
You know who can go viral moreoften?
But I think I think the peoplethat follow me are genuinely
engaged in the kind of things Ido.
(32:49):
So, for example, they will say,oh, I've done work with a
holiday company, for example,and they'll say, oh, I just
booked a holiday with thatcompany that you recommended,
but they maybe then their socialmedia profile doesn't even have
a photograph of them.
You know, they're just one ofthose little eggs that are just
(33:09):
watching and not posting, andyet they go and actually do the
thing, whereas I think somepeople they're always, oh, I'm
going to do that, but they neverdo it.
But the people that follow meare sort of very genuine and
very engaged and very kind.
I'm really lucky.
I have some lovely, lovelypeople that you know, and I I'm
(33:29):
always trying to engage withthem back, you know, I I do try
and treat it like real people.
Speaker 1 (33:35):
You know, nice, yeah, you got back to me pretty quick
, that was and the funny storyhow we connected.
I got a magazine from a womanthat sells medicare insurance
the salesperson and so it's oneof these kind of generic you
know, for people 50 get thesemagazines and it has stories
(33:56):
about inspirational and likeliving life to your fullest.
And this inspirational umspread for joe about how she
went across.
I'm like, oh my gosh, thissounds so cool.
Speaker 2 (34:07):
And then you saw your little instagram and then, yeah
, it was amazing and I must tellthe lady that interviewed me
actually that that you got intouch because I think she'd like
to know um and we.
She was lovely, we had such alovely friendship, a lovely chat
, because I studied in Americamany years ago.
Speaker 1 (34:23):
Oh, okay, like 1980 oh yeah, do you mean know what
medicare is, when I say that,yeah, I know?
Speaker 2 (34:30):
what medicare is.
Yeah, they have it in the UK?
Yeah, no, we don't know it'sdifferent here, but I studied, I
went to university, to collegein in Virginia in 1986.
So we were like chatting, sheand I were like chatting about
that.
Speaker 1 (34:46):
So, yeah, that's so funny, alrighty.
Oh, and then you also mentionedthis wonderful wild women.
What's your affiliation?
Are you just someone you knowand has like an Instagram or
Facebook?
Yeah, no, they're like anInstagram or.
Speaker 2 (34:58):
Facebook?
Yeah, no, they're just a face,an Instagram and Facebook group.
They were just um, they wereone of the first sort of
communities.
When I took my very firstpaddleboarding lesson in the
Lake District back in 2016, theysaw me post on my Instagram
when I had like five followers,you know, and they sort of said,
you know, keep going, jo.
That's amazing and they'vealways been so.
(35:20):
You know, having someone saythat's great that you did that
little, that you know you tookthat lesson.
Yeah, I had injured my kneethinking, but when you talked
about earlier about, um,injuries, I had injured my knee
prior to taking my firstpaddleboard lesson, so I'd
slipped and so I took.
I slipped in the january and Itook my first lesson in the
September as a way to heal myknee, because I'd heard about
(35:43):
all the good things thatpaddleboarding can do for you.
So I had put this up and youknow I'd said, oh, my dream is
to paddleboard one day.
And people were like, oh,that's so great.
And then I did it and thewonderful wild women Sarah just
said, oh, well done, and just atiny bit of encouragement just
really was so amazing, it justmade all the difference.
(36:06):
So I just kept putting picturesup saying I went paddleboarding
you know, more and more peoplewould say you know, oh, wow, and
, and you know, today I do stillget less messages from people
saying I took a paddleboardinglesson because of you.
And what they say is thatbecause I'm 59 and I'm very
(36:29):
ordinary you know, I I'm notlike super athletic, I'm not
sort of super special, I'm justvery ordinary they feel
confident that they can take apaddleboarding lesson and you
know, I'm not sort of out theresaying look at me, I'm just
saying, look, this was reallyfun and I feel better for it.
And you know, if I do like myInstagram, I do this sort of sit
(36:51):
to stand, which is really agood test of longevity and
healthy aging.
And I did one in my wetsuitrecently and they, they, and you
know, I just think it's thatkind of very normalness of who I
am that I just try andencourage people rather than say
, look how great I am.
I'm like this is fun, I thinkyou'd enjoy it.
Speaker 1 (37:12):
So right, yeah, and it's just exercise.
I'm like Chris and I both arevery much into exercise, you
know.
It's just like for mentalhealth, yeah, and you can't
sleep, you're having anxiety andpeople want to like, especially
in America, let's take a pill.
Let's take a pill, you know,like exercise and changing your
diet, and yeah, boom, that's thepill Cut out alcohol cut out
(37:35):
caffeine a lot of the basicstuff that people.
Speaker 2 (37:39):
Yeah, exactly, Exactly, and so yeah.
So I just think Instagram canbe really positive.
Speaker 1 (37:46):
I have a question what is sit to stand?
What is that?
So sit to stand.
Speaker 2 (37:51):
So there's, if you there's a test I don't know the
actual details, but it's a testabout sort of your strength,
your lower body strength, yourglutes, and a predictor of
healthy aging and longevity.
Okay, and there's a couple thatif you follow them, they've
written a book called they'recalled the Ready State, juliet
(38:13):
Starrett, and they've got a bookI can't remember if it's called
Ready to Move or Move.
Anyway, I'll send you the link.
It's a really good book andthere's all these ways that they
advise you Shirley Ryan, noStarrett or Starrett.
Okay, they do these thingsabout like balance and strength,
(38:33):
and if you can stand and thensit and then from a sitting
position stand, it's a good testof of healthy aging, I think,
with like no hands right, yeah,with no hands at all, yeah, yeah
.
So yeah, she's called JulietStarrett and the book is called
(38:53):
Built to Move.
Built to Move, and she and herhusband, kelly, are founders of
an organization called the readystate.
They're american, uh, and it'sa best sunday times and new york
times bestseller, um, and it'sthe sit to, or sit to run.
I call it sit to stand, but Ithink it's called the sit and
(39:14):
rise test or the old man balancetest, and it's all about about
you know your stability and yourstrength and that will help you
with aging and with yourindependence as women, so that
you know.
Speaker 1 (39:27):
Yeah, it's really interesting.
Yeah, I see here it's ontodaycom or today's show here.
Speaker 2 (39:32):
Yeah, they're really well known and they're really
nice.
They seem really nice peoplebecause if I ever tag her, she
always goes oh well done, welldone, you're well.
They have, you know, thousandsand thousands of followers.
So, yeah, I really like whatthey do, um and and what they
share, because, you know, I'mnot sure how old they are, maybe
in their 40s or 50s but theyspeak to an audience that, like
(39:56):
me, that's listening, ratherthan, you know, like they don't
look.
They speak and say look, theseare the things you need to do
now to look after yourself inthe future yeah, they look
pretty young and it's really, uh, yeah, built to move kelly and
juliet star it.
Speaker 1 (40:12):
Yeah, I'll have to look more into this because this
is really yeah it's a reallygood thing and it's it's just a
fun.
Exactly, oh, thanks for sharing.
Speaker 2 (40:28):
I just assume everybody in America knows about
them.
Speaker 1 (40:32):
Not at all.
Again, social media, but you'regoing to watch it, all right.
So we're moving to some of myrapid fire questions.
I didn't prepare you.
Joanna.
Ok, so what did you have forbreakfast every day?
Speaker 2 (40:44):
So I have.
This is very Instagraminfluenced.
I have Greek yogurt, I haveberries, I have fresh ginger, I
have a few oats and then I have,like my chia seeds and my
pumpkin seeds and sesame seedsand stuff.
Speaker 1 (40:59):
So yeah, that's totally Instagram.
That's the anti-aging breakfast, awesome those seeds Totally
Instagram.
Speaker 2 (41:05):
Sometimes I take photos, but mainly I don't.
But yeah, that's what I love.
Speaker 1 (41:11):
Okay, and how many, like you, were picking up trash.
This is more about your thing,like I think.
How much trash did you pick updaily?
Was it a lot because youcouldn't?
I mean, how much space did youhave?
Speaker 2 (41:22):
I didn't have that much space, but what I was
really.
People would say why have yougot all that trash on your
motherboard, what's all that?
And then they would go and takeit away and put it in bins for
me, because there is bins alongthe canal route.
If I picked up everything, Iwould have been there the whole
year.
But I have had friends who'vedone the same route afterwards,
like a few years after, and theysaid that where it was really
(41:44):
bad, it wasn't as bad.
So I think people are much moreaware now and people are
picking up, which is really good.
Speaker 1 (41:53):
Yeah single use plastic yeah, how many hours a
day did you paddle?
Speaker 2 (41:59):
um, mostly about eight hours, but one day I
paddled about 12 hours.
Speaker 1 (42:05):
Yeah, my goodness, what was the 12 hours?
How come you had to paddle 12?
It was just a longer, I thinkthat was yeah.
Speaker 2 (42:12):
So I was very, very behind and I wanted to sleep in
my own bed that night.
So I thought, right, I need toget to the town where my my
house is just like a few milesaway.
So I set off about 10 o'clockand I got into the town about 10
o'clock that night, but Itraveled 24 miles but I was
still filming along the way andpicking up later, so other
(42:35):
people could have done it in amuch shorter time, but I had all
these other like things Ineeded to do at the same time.
Speaker 1 (42:39):
So did you have your lunch and stuff on the
paddleboard, or did you?
Speaker 2 (42:43):
A company called Papa Nutty, which is a UK based
company that make peanut butter.
They gave me this massive tinof peanut butter so every
morning I would make peanutbutter sandwiches and I also
made my own bliss, like proteinballs, like bliss balls I called
them, and I made them beforethe trip and then I took them
(43:05):
with me so and so, yeah, I wasjust eating kind of really, you
know, nuts and seeds and peanutbutter and bread and just oh,
okay, anything people gave me.
Speaker 1 (43:15):
It was great all right and uh, since you're from
the UK, uh, coffee or tea.
Speaker 2 (43:21):
Tea, that's obvious yeah, there's a very famous tea
called Yorkshire tea.
That's, that's what I had.
Speaker 1 (43:30):
Yeah speaking of that , do people still have like, is
you know?
They say afternoon tea, likeit's like kind of like, it's
like a like a big lunch.
Is that something?
Speaker 2 (43:42):
no, no, no, it's not really lunch, it's like
sandwiches and cakes and sconesand clotted cream.
And how often people do that?
Oh, not like every day.
Oh, okay, I mean we, you knowit's a treat, it's absolutely a.
There's a place um near where Ilive, called betty's, which is
very famous.
I'll send you a link, because Ihave friends in america and
(44:05):
australia who love that betty'sb-e-t-t-y hyphen s.
They call it high t.
Most people it's like a high t.
Most people it's a treat or acelebration.
Okay, you wouldn't have itevery day yeah, it's like here
okay all right.
Speaker 1 (44:23):
and then I guess, the final question um, are you
going to expand outside the uk?
And your little, you're notlittle, your your big
paddleboard adventure, and oh,I'd love to?
Speaker 2 (44:31):
Yeah, I would, but I don't know where I have to.
I'll have to think about that.
But yeah, I have.
There are a lot more places Iwould like to go to and and I've
just started skateboarding, soagain I'd like to go someplace
sort of sunny to goskateboarding, Skateboarding.
Speaker 1 (44:48):
I skateboard.
Someplace sort of sunny to goskateboarding, skateboarding, I
skateboard, I've skated, as injunior high, oh my gosh, yeah,
and my son skateboards and yeah,do you have like a longer
skateboard I have a popsicle, soit's only quite little, but I
think my dream would be to havea longboard.
Speaker 2 (45:04):
I have this dream that I'll be on a longboard in
the sunshine.
That's like my dream,california, yeah come see me
wake surf.
Speaker 1 (45:15):
Oh, we can meet in San Diego.
I could have you like Marco, myfriend, he teaches wake surfing
, and then you have the strandand you can like skateboard
beach and that's that's my dream, so I learned.
Speaker 2 (45:26):
I only started just before Christmas, so I'm on a
popsicle, so it's really quitelittle, but it was where I could
go for lessons and I knew thatI needed lessons.
But then I I'm thinking ofgoing on like a longboard camp
as well, just because that wouldbe.
I just have this.
I just want, when I watchpeople longboard it's just so
(45:48):
elegant, women long.
Do you longboard then as askate on skateboard, or is it
quite little?
Speaker 1 (45:54):
It's just a regular skateboard.
I don't skateboard all the time, but I have.
I mean, I, I still can, I stilldo it.
I used to do 360s and fun stuffwith my son, or well, with my
son.
He really got into it and so Iwas all excited.
So then I bought my dreamskateboard that.
I did in junior high and then Ikind of gave it.
(46:14):
I sort of gave it to mydaughter, but she doesn't use it
, so I got it.
Yeah, it's a Powell Peraltalittle skateboard with a skull
and something.
It's like a rainbow.
And I wanted that one in juniorhigh because I was the only
girl on my box.
All the girls moved away andthey all skateboarded.
(46:35):
And I started skateboardingbecause I wanted to hang out
with them.
Speaker 2 (46:39):
So oh amazing, yeah, so when I went to buy my
skateboard and I was like soI've got my birthday money, so
it's like my 59th birthday, andI'm like so I've got my birthday
money from my dad, do you haveany skateboards that don't have
skulls on them?
And a helmet and wrist guards Iwant all the padding, but could
(47:01):
I have like a skateboard thatdoesn't have like rude words on
it?
And then I had these stickersfrom when I was in little, from
the 1970s.
I had these Snoopy stickersthat I just kept for years.
So I've got my Snoopy stickersunderneath my skateboard.
Speaker 1 (47:17):
Oh nice, oh my gosh, I want to see a picture.
I'm going to send you my phonenumber and we'll have to.
Speaker 2 (47:24):
Yeah, that would be great.
So I'm really not good atskateboarding, but I really want
to devote part of my when I'm60 next year.
I really want to.
I'm 60 at the end of this year,but in my 60th year next year I
kind of want to devote moretime to my skateboarding because
I just think that I wouldreally love it if I just devoted
(47:44):
a bit more time to it.
Speaker 1 (47:47):
So, wow, Fantastic, that is awesome.
I would have never expected youto say that that's great, I
love it.
Okay, well, thank you so much.
So, joanna, it was really niceto meet you.
I get to hear more of yourstory and thank you.
Okay, and then we'll yeah, thenwe'll send a note just to get
(48:10):
like links to how to buy yourbooks.
Speaker 2 (48:12):
And thank you.
Well, have a lovely day.
I'm going to go take the dogfor a walk before it gets too
dark.
Speaker 1 (48:18):
All right, thank you so much.
Bye.
Thanks for listening.
If you enjoyed the podcast, canyou please take a second and do
a quick follow of the show andrate us in your podcast app.
Can you please take a secondand do a quick follow of the
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.
Following and rating is thebest way to support us.
If you're on Instagram, let'sconnect.
(48:38):
We're at where next podcast.
Thanks again, you.
Hi, welcome to our podcast when Next Travel with
Kristen and Carol.
I am Kristen and I am Carol,and we're two long-term friends
with a passion for travel andadventure.
Each episode, we interviewpeople around the globe to help
us decide where to go next.
Thanks, joanna, for joining ustoday.
(00:35):
And where are you calling infrom the north of England?
In Yorkshire, yorkshire okay,very nice.
I always think of likeYorkshire pudding when I hear
that, yeah, very good, that'swhat you're famous for.
Okay, very nice.
I always think of likeYorkshire pudding when I hear
that, yeah, very good, thatyou're famous for, okay.
So our understanding is you dida paddleboard via canals across
England and so love to hear,like, what inspired you to do
(00:58):
this, and we'll let people know,like what are the resources to
look at for additional details,but sounds very amazing.
So if you want to, yeah, sure,thank you and thank you for
having me on.
Speaker 2 (01:11):
It's very exciting.
So, um, I was 54, I'm 59 now andin july 2019, I became the
first woman to paddleboard coastto coast across northern
england, so from a place calledcalled Liverpool on the west
coast so, if you've heard of theBeatles over to the east coast
in a place called Gould, andit's kind of as close to coast
(01:33):
to coast as you can get.
So that is 162 miles, about 91no, about 101 lops and about 200
swing bridges, and I was thefirst woman to paddleboard this
distance.
One man had done it in theFebruary and I picked up litter
and I fundraised for a mentalhealth charity that's around
(01:55):
surf therapy, and so I hadactually had the idea three
years prior, when I was 51 andhad just started paddleboarding,
but a few people had told methat it was too difficult for a
woman of my age and a bitlogistically boring and very.
Instead of saying oh yes, youknow that's your opinion and
(02:16):
kind of moving on, I let thattheir opinion of it and their
opinion of me stop me, and so ittook me three years to rebuild
the confidence and the courageto do it.
And so, yeah, I did it and wemade a film about it and I wrote
it about it in my first book.
So yeah, that's what I did.
First book I love it.
Speaker 1 (02:34):
So Liverpool to what was the other town, greer?
No.
Speaker 2 (02:37):
Google, so it's not well known um it's g, double o,
l, e and it's on the humberestuary and so estuaries are
very tricky to paddleboard on,and particularly that one.
So um it's on inland um it's onthe it's like the most inland
port um on the east coast ofengland.
Speaker 1 (02:55):
So it looks very similar to uh northern
california we have called it'scalled the delta, oh, yeah, I
surf, so interesting ohfantastic um.
I got first in two of mycompetitions this year that's
amazing.
Speaker 2 (03:11):
Oh, I tried surfing, but every time I surfed I
injured myself, so I stuck topaddleboarding I actually um
it's wake surfing so it's behindboats.
Speaker 1 (03:22):
So so in the delta and you know it's inland kind of
where all the farm areas are,in california there's a canal
that goes all the way through.
We call it the delta and wesurf on the delta oh, that's
amazing.
Speaker 2 (03:35):
Oh, I'm gonna have a look.
Do people?
Speaker 1 (03:37):
um paddleboard on the delta.
Much, kristin?
I don't think.
No, there's some inlets thathave like little housing areas
and everyone in quiet spots doit.
But the main delta, I seefishing boats, our surf boats,
like you know, big, huge boats,you know.
It's more of that, oh okay,because it's narrow and there's
(03:57):
big boats, so there's not paddleboards out there.
Okay, so, jo, you went west toeast.
Then, yes, yes, okay.
So, jo, you went west to east.
Then, yes, okay, all right.
And so that's what?
The way the water flows, Iguess, right.
Speaker 2 (04:11):
It was just the locks .
The bridges started inLiverpool.
It just seemed like the.
Because I don't know why I didit that way.
It just seemed that that wasjust the right way to do it.
Some people had said that thewind would be slightly behind me
, but the wind didn't make anydifference in that respect, it
was always against me.
So, um, it just felt the, thecanal.
(04:31):
Actually, actually, I supposethe logic is the canal starts in
the west, like it actuallystarts on a housing estate just
outside liverpool.
So it's where the canal starts.
So that's just the most obviouspoint to start it and then go
sort of off east.
So, yeah, okay.
Speaker 1 (04:50):
Very cool and I thought it was so fascinating.
So you mentioned there's thebridges, and then I saw in your
video that there was like somecaves One was a mile long and
the tunnels yeah, tunnels, butwhat normally goes through these
canals, like, are theregood-sized boats?
Speaker 2 (05:08):
Not anymore.
So the canals were built.
This canal was built over 200and something years ago, part of
the Industrial Revolution.
So in the past the tunnels werebuilt to go through the land
and what would happen would bethe narrow boats would go
through.
Now some tunnels in um withinthe canal network have a tow
(05:28):
path along them so that a horsecould tow the narrow boat.
But in the tunnel, the the milelong tunnel, uh, what they
would do is the men would lie,if you can imagine.
They would lie on the boat withtheir legs on the wall and they
would leg it's called leggingit and they would leg the boat
through.
(05:48):
So they would, kind of by humanendeavor, get the boat through
the canal.
Now, obviously, now the narrowboats are motorized, so people
just use them for leisure.
I don't think there's reallyany major commercial use of them
.
Speaker 1 (06:05):
Oh, because they didn't have.
They couldn't paddle because itwas too low or something, or
they didn't have motors, so theyjust didn't have motors, so the
men would like what was calledlegging it for leisure One of
the places.
Speaker 2 (06:16):
So, for example, in my first book I went to the
middle of London for one of thepaddles on Regent's Canal, which
is near Regent's Zoo, and thereyou would see the towpath where
in the past the horses wouldpull the narrow boats.
But in this canal tunnel therewas no towpath, so it had to be
(06:37):
by human endeavor.
Speaker 1 (06:38):
So how did you like I see like you blew up your.
You had to pump up yourpaddleboard each day, so did you
know where you were going tostay each night?
Speaker 2 (06:48):
so yeah, so I had a friend who, um, was the
filmmaker, so we stayed in sortof like pubs with rooms and then
in.
If you can imagine, I live inthe middle, in the middle bit
between Liverpool and Gould,right, right, sort of in the
central bit of of northernEngland.
So the canal went through myhometown.
(07:09):
Oh nice, on those days, uh, westayed at home and and my
friends, uh, a daughter of afriend of mine collected me from
the canal, took me to my house,then collected me in the
morning, and we did it that wayfor about four nights.
What would take my friend'sdaughter, um lauren, half an
hour to drive me had taken meeight hours to paddleboard along
(07:30):
, you know, along the samedistance.
So wait, wait, say how long todrive so it would take like half
an hour, half hour, eight hoursof paddleboard.
It had taken me eight, you knoweight hours to paddle that
distance.
So, and then we stayed in alittle bed and breakfast and so
(07:52):
I didn't want to camp, becausethere's not really any campsites
along the route and also at thetime I was very, very
perimenopausal and I wasn'tsleeping and I knew that I
wouldn't sleep and then I wouldgo out and have fun.
So we stayed in, you know, inproper beds would yeah and have
fun.
Speaker 1 (08:08):
So we stayed, you know, in proper beds, oh, wow,
okay.
So I guess let's just back up alittle bit.
The reason you did this one,just to be like, hey, I just you
talked about it was just, youknow, you love the challenge of
it and you were raising somemoney, was there?
Speaker 2 (08:18):
one was one main motivation um, I think, when I
first had the idea in 2016, itwas kind of like, wow, you know
I could be.
Nobody had done it at thatpoint.
Um, you know, maybe I could bethe first and show people, you
know, what I can do.
And then, as time went on it itchanged because, um, I don't
(08:40):
know if this has happened to you, but a number of my friends, my
girlfriends, died and only oneof them had reached 50.
So, yeah, quite, you know,about five or six friends in a
very short time, and it was alsocancer and one had a heart
problem.
And it was also the time thatmy youngest son was going off to
university.
(09:01):
And I just think I realized thatlife is just very short and
precious and and if you have,like, the spark of a dream, you
should try and fulfill it.
So, even if I only ever got tothe start line, at least I put
myself in a place where I couldtry and fulfill that dream.
I think I think you get that,you know, and and with my sons,
(09:23):
my eldest son was already atuniversity, my youngest son was
going off to university.
You know, I just wanted them toknow, and I'm a single mom, I
wanted them to know that I wasgoing to be okay.
You know that I had stuff goingon in my life so it was a big
dream to pull me to that future.
So yeah, there was very personalreasons to do it.
I couldn't obviously bring myfriends lives back, but I could
(09:45):
honor their creativity and joyand they were all just really
lovely women that if you metthem in the street you'd be like
, oh, I'm really glad I, youknow, I'm glad I bumped into her
.
Today I just feel that bitbetter.
And some I had known since Iwas, you know, 14, 15, some were
school gate mums, you knowschool run mums and but they
(10:05):
were all just wonderful and Ijust thought, yeah, I can, I can
make a difference and and andkind of honor them really their
lives.
Speaker 1 (10:12):
Okay, and how many?
How much did you paddleboardLike was?
Speaker 2 (10:16):
it, your hobby, the road before, right yeah.
Yeah, I'd done the rowing.
Yeah, I'd been on.
So, yeah, in 2014, I'd done abig indoor rowing challenge in
memory of my mum who had died,so I rode a million meters,
which is basically like fromParis to Edinburgh.
So that's 10,000 meters everyother night for eight months and
(10:37):
I'd rode a marathon and twohalf marathons and that was all
fundraising in memory of my momwho had died of lymphoma.
But then I'd actually startedpaddleboarding in 2016, had the
idea about two months later andthen three years later I
actually did it.
So in that three years I gainedmy confidence, and
(10:58):
paddleboarding at the time wasstill quite new in Britain.
It wasn't as well known in 2000.
I think I'd been in the countryfor about 10 years but it was
still quite niche, like sort ofracing and things like that,
Whereas I was just very muchrecreational and adventure
paddling.
Speaker 1 (11:14):
And this fundraising were they part of some organized
fundraising that you justjumped on for the rowing thing?
Is it just kind of came up withthis on your own?
Yeah, yeah, no, it was just myown.
Speaker 2 (11:26):
it was my own, oh, because at the time, um, as I
said, you know, I was veryperimenopausal and I'd started
indoor rowing in order to helpme sleep, and so it did.
And then, when mum died, Ithought, right, I need to do
something that will honor hermemory and I need to raise some
money for a charity calledMacmillan Cancer Support, which
(11:49):
helps people who have cancer,not in a medical way, but in
other ways.
They support them and you knowthey're not doctors, but they
support them in different, indifferent ways, and I didn't
have any idea.
What I could do is like well,what, what is there of interest
that I do in my life?
And genuinely, there wasnothing.
It was like I go to, I take mychildren to school, I go to work
(12:12):
, I look after my dad, I have myfriends, and then I go to bed
at night.
You know, it's like that's allI.
You know, I didn't have muchself-esteem or much
self-confidence at the time, andso I thought, right, all I can
do is this indoor rowing.
And um, and it was amazing, weraised over 10,000 pounds, so
that's quite a lot of money,because all I did was go to a
(12:33):
rowing machine in a gym.
You know, I didn't go anywhere,I didn't climb a mountain, I
didn't do anything kind ofspectacular, but people really
engaged in it and we raised alot of money that's like almost
13,000, that's six, yeah, yeahand that was.
that was 10 years ago now.
So, um, and that was whentwitter was like really nice and
(12:55):
people were just like, wow,that's amazing, we can sponsor
you and and I would sort of showhow much I'd run a road if you
you imagine, on a row machinethere's a little sort of screen
that tells you how many strokesyou've done, the distance you've
done.
So I would put that up everynight and then I had, like
Olympic rowers say, I think youneed to get your stroke a bit
(13:17):
better, or, you know, maybe youshouldn't be doing it so fast,
just slow down.
And you know, as I said,twitter was really nice at that
point and people were sosupportive, it was amazing it
was amazing fundraise.
Speaker 1 (13:31):
Where was the like, the outlet?
Where did they put the moneyinto?
Like a page?
Speaker 2 (13:36):
yeah, we had a thing called just giving.
So they literally I would justput it on my social media.
I mean, I, I did a tiny bit ofFacebook.
Facebook's always slightlyconfused me maybe one or two
pictures on Instagram, but itreally came from Twitter and
then local newspapers kind ofpicked up on the story and then
(13:57):
they would put my just giving.
It was amazing, you know, itwas really amazing and I think I
was just so focused that Ididn't think of anything else
because it was really helpingand I think I was just so
focused that I didn't think ofanything else because it was
really helping me with my grief.
You know, I was just like I'mgonna do this for my mom,
whatever anyone tells me.
Speaker 1 (14:12):
So I liked seeing the newspaper that you have on your
documentary.
That was you, just you knowjust, uh, what you were saying.
You didn't have anything andthen look, look where it brought
you to.
Yeah, yeah, yeah, it wasamazing, really inspiring for
others to think about.
Like you know, you may notthink you have anything going on
(14:34):
, but you know, findingsomething that's a passion for
you, yeah, it was amazing.
I was curious who did the film,the documentary?
It was really.
Speaker 2 (14:44):
That was a filmmaker called Frit Tam and they came up
and it was just another socialmedia thing.
Frit just said, would you likea filmmaker?
And I was like, well, I'm amiddle-aged woman, I'm quite
emotional, you know.
They'll stay for about a dayand then get really bored of me
(15:07):
and that's all I thought wasgoing to happen.
And we made this film and andit's been shown at like really
prestigious film festivals inthe UK and online and yeah,
because we sort of delved intothe backstory, you know, about
grief and loss and miscarriagesand menopause and all these
things in life, and I guess thatwas quite unusual really.
(15:30):
So, yeah, something I neverexpected.
I thought people would just getreally bored of me.
Speaker 1 (15:36):
Yeah, no, it's really .
I watched.
I was only able to watch halfof it, so I'll watch the other
half soon and I really wanted towatch the rest.
So I'll watch the other halfsoon and I really wanted to
watch the rest.
Oh, thank you.
So, yeah, it's, you know.
Just, it's engaging, it'sinspiring, thank you.
Yeah, there's so many layersthere.
So you're doing it, for youhave a cause, but both for the
(15:58):
rowing and this you raise money.
But it wasn't like organizedwhere you got a bunch of
sponsors before you actually didit.
Then, right, it's just as youwere doing.
People like, wow, cool, here'sthe money.
Speaker 2 (16:09):
Yeah, yeah, I realized that's kind of the way
I do things.
I just sort of go right, I'mgoing to have this idea and it's
massive.
I think what I do is I havereally big ideas that I chip
(16:29):
away at.
So I'm not really like thefastest at anything.
I'm not the best.
I'm just a really good Capricornthat just chips away at stuff,
you know, big, big idea thatother people haven't necessarily
thought of, not organized, andthen I just chip away day by day
, day by day, and and I guessthat just shows that if you just
keep on going, you know you canmake a difference.
So, yeah, and people wouldsponsor me.
(16:51):
You know one man, he had somecoins on his boat, like a glass
jar of just change from hispocket, and he said here, you
know, add this to yourfundraising.
So I had a bit of a bucket onas we went along and um, but
yeah, people just were reallynice and and a lot of people on
the canal didn't know what apaddleboard it was at that time
(17:12):
or they'd say what is that?
What are you doing, you know?
And then I'd say I'mfundraising.
And then they'd you know, findmy link.
And um, yeah, it was amazing,amazing, I was very, very, very
especially.
Speaker 1 (17:24):
But you know social media.
I feel like it's such a bad rapbecause people are just so
addicted to it.
But then you're like no, it'sactually can be used for good,
and that's like yeah, yeah, itcan, it can definitely.
Speaker 2 (17:36):
And I write a column for a paddleboarding magazine
now where I talk about how tomake paddleboarding more
inclusive, talk aboutenvironmental projects, talk
about mental health projects,and you know, and I find stories
via Instagram and then I like Imessaged someone yesterday and
she's diabetic and I said, couldyou talk about your story?
(17:57):
Because if it just helps oneperson to feel like, oh, I could
go for a paddleboardingadventure, to feel like, oh, I
could go for a paddleboardingadventure.
Or I did a story about deafpeople who paddleboard and how
they teach them with signlanguage.
And then I did a story aboutwomen in their 80s who went for
lessons.
And so it's just like I justtry and use social media in a
(18:20):
positive way.
I still scroll way too much oh,yes, you know, oh, that
person's dancing, but I alsothink it can be very positive as
well.
Speaker 1 (18:34):
Didn't you say or didn't they say something like
you?
Speaker 2 (18:37):
you said it because it was your documentary that you
were.
Speaker 1 (18:41):
You were having health challenges.
I don't know if it was yourheart as well, but your health
weight.
So there was something that youalso.
You were having healthchallenges.
I don't know if it was yourheart as well, but your, your
health weight.
So there was something that youalso started not only grieving
your mom.
Speaker 2 (18:51):
I don't know if that was also perimenopause yeah, um,
so mainly it was just theperimenopause.
It was anxiety and insomnia.
And then just before I uh,before I announced that I was
about to do the paddleboarding,so in about the March, I told
people that I was doing thepaddleboarding challenge in July
, just to kind of prime them.
(19:12):
Um, I still had a frozenshoulder.
I've had two frozen shouldersand so I couldn't actually move
my arms.
Yeah, I couldn't move my arms atall.
I had one and then that sorteditself and then I had another
and that was still problematicand so and I think I've kind of
read that that is part of likethe muscular skeletal things
(19:33):
that happen when you go through,you know, all your estrogen,
sort of going on a rollercoaster.
So I don't think I had, I don'tthink I had any other plantar
fasciitis and things, so ittraining wasn't easy but in the
end it worked out.
Speaker 1 (19:47):
Oh yeah, that's a good sport for plantar fasciitis
, probably not a lot of highimpact on your feet.
Speaker 2 (19:52):
Yeah, yeah, and then the standing, though I could
kneel and kind of curve my foot,if you can imagine, and then
that would like give stretch it.
So, oh, so it actually helped.
Yeah, so when you're frozen,when my frozen shoulder started
easing, the paddleboardingreally helped, um, and I know
women who have had breast cancerthat they say that
(20:13):
paddleboarding can help um,after they've had their maybe
they've had a mastectomy that itcan ease and help them as well.
Speaker 1 (20:20):
So, um, yeah, wow okay, and you mentioned your
first book, so how many bookshave you written?
Speaker 2 (20:27):
two, oh, okay and what's the topics?
Um, so they're bothpaddleboarding books, um, one is
called standard paddleboardingin great britain beautiful
places to paddleboard in england, scotland and wales.
Um, it's got a nifty title um,all the algorithm for amazon, um
, and then.
But that book came out in june2022 and the second book came
(20:50):
out three weeks ago today, soit's my three-week anniversary.
Oh, congrats.
Um, and that is just aboutpaddleboarding in the lake
district.
Okay, it's in the northwest umof the country and it's very,
very special because it has alot of lakes, so it's very well
known part of the country.
So I just specialized on the 10lakes that were allowed to
(21:11):
paddleboard there.
So, um, yeah, do you know thelake district at all?
No, it's really, it's reallyfamous.
It's like a massively famouspart of the country.
It's very beautiful.
What's it called?
How do you spell it?
Lake L-A-K-E District?
Oh, d-i-s-t-r-i-k.
Okay, got it Lake District.
(21:32):
So William and DorothyWordsworth lived there,
coleridge, a lot of authors andwriters and sort of painters
came and it's just very, veryfamous, very beautiful.
Sort of painters came um andit's just very, very famous.
Very beautiful.
Amazing mountains, beautifulscenery, a lot of sheep, a lot
of sort of wild places and thenthese stunning lakes.
(21:53):
So it's got the the biggestlake in the country, it's got
the deepest lake in the countryway up there, huh yeah, yeah,
right up northwest and thenbasically a little bit further
north.
You, you come to Scotland, um,okay, yeah, really beautiful.
It's one of the places a lot ofpeople come to when they come
to the UK and visit, you know,maybe outside London or maybe
(22:17):
outside if they want to go toStratford-upon-Avon to, you know
, to see Shakespeare or um, thatsort of thing.
So it's a really beautiful,beautiful part of the country.
So that's my second book.
Yeah, congratulations.
Speaker 1 (22:30):
I'm looking actually at the map.
I'm always, we're alwayslooking at you know locations
and stuff and it's.
I don't know if I it'sembarrassing, I didn't really
look at this, but I know Englandand then on top of it, right at
Lake District, and then aboveis Scotland.
So yeah part of the samelandmass.
Yeah then, I don't see adistinct line across the two,
which I'm sure there is.
(22:51):
It's just yes, but we don'thave the.
Speaker 2 (22:55):
You can just drive from England to Scotland.
There's no border checks oranything.
Speaker 1 (22:59):
Yeah, yeah, but it's.
I'm sure that there's some sortof line.
I'm like where's the line?
I don't see it because I seeIreland as its island and you
guys are right.
Next, what's that of man?
Speaker 2 (23:15):
um, the isle of man is a.
I I've never been to the isleof man, but the isle of man is
another island, um, to the west.
I'm just getting my geographyright but I've never been.
So I have seen pictures ontwitter and it does look really
amazing.
They have a very famous umchichi race motorbike race where
(23:35):
they close the roads and um,the riders go incredible speeds.
I've never been there for that,but I have friends who have.
But I didn't include that in mybook because the first book I
wrote I wrote it just as we cameout of COVID in the UK, so I
was a little bit limited withtime and I didn't include that
(23:57):
for my first book, but maybe Icould for another one.
Speaker 1 (24:01):
I kind of think that there's there's a gosh hopefully
I'm not planting a deadly seed,but that you can paddleboard
there.
I don't know how.
Speaker 2 (24:09):
I would imagine the sea is quite rough there.
Yeah, I have had friends who'vepaddled the length of England
from Land's End down on thesouthwest coast and Coral up to
John O'Groats up in Scotland andthey've gone along the
coastline, but I don't know ifthey've gone across.
I will have to have a look.
(24:29):
Actually now I don't know ifI'll be brave enough, but I will
have a look.
Speaker 1 (24:36):
I would think so, but the Lake District district much
safer yes, much safer.
Speaker 2 (24:42):
If something goes wrong, at least you hit land at
some point exactly back rightand the pictures.
I'm looking at the picture, yeah, the lake district is really
beautiful and you have so manydifferent.
You have, you know, really longbig lakes with really sort of
mountainous scenery, and thenyou have much smaller lakes with
(25:03):
sort of more wooded scenery.
Some are right in the middle ofthe Lake District where it's
museums, and some are sort of alittle bit more out where it's
just very much more rural.
So there's every lake has likeits own personality and I really
tried to share that.
So in the book.
What I do in each book is Ipaddleboard with somebody and
(25:24):
they talk about why that lakemeans a lot to them, and so I
share their story and I share myown story of the experience of
the lake.
So it's not just you know, parkhere, buy cake here, launch
here, this is a safety stuff.
I have all that.
But then I have these storiesabout these amazing people.
So, like on Windermere, whichis the longest lake, the largest
(25:45):
lake, I paddleboarded with afriend of mine, debbie, who uses
a wheelchair, and you know wespent the weekend paddleboarding
this massive lake.
I spent it with sort offamilies, yeah, so each one has
a story to it, because that'swhat I'm best at is storytelling
, I guess.
Speaker 1 (26:05):
Did you say she paddleboarded like on or she was
?
She's in a wheelchair.
Speaker 2 (26:10):
She uses a wheelchair .
Now there are some paddleboardswhich are designed for people
who wheelchair the whole time,but doesn't she is able to get
out of her wheelchair and getonto her paddleboard.
Yeah, she's an amazing woman.
She has a degenerative diseasethat means that she can no
(26:30):
longer walk, and she used to bea lovely.
She used to love hiking.
So I like telling people storiesabout what makes something
special to them and and thenmore people can find out about
the amazing work that you knowshe does.
She's a wonderful, she was ahead teacher.
She's a wonderful, wonderfulwoman.
So really special stories thatI that I share in the in the
(26:54):
book.
So, yeah, very fortunate thatmy publisher took that leap of
faith and I said, look, this isthe only way I can write books
is to um, share stories as welland and have amazing photography
.
And they were like, yeah,that's okay.
Who did the photography?
So the first book, I did mostof the photography just standing
(27:17):
on my paddleboard saying please, please, wave, don't knock me
off.
And then, with the second book,we had a professional
photographer called James whojust took some amazing shots,
like blow your mind kind ofshots I'll send you a couple
where literally all you see isthis massive landscape, and then
(27:39):
you see this tiny little dot ofyellow.
And that's me.
You know it's like whoa James.
You know I would not have gotthat on my iPhone.
Yeah, just amazing, amazingshots that are just breathtaking
actually.
Speaker 1 (27:55):
Oh yeah, we would love that we could use them for
if he gives us permission topost on the instagram when we
mention this, yeah, yeah, no,I'll send that.
Speaker 2 (28:03):
Um, yeah, he's just amazing.
So, uh, we had, we had greatfun um doing those.
So the ones on the water Igenerally took, and then the
ones on land, these juststunning photos that you know we
we got some.
We took photos from March tothe end of November, so we got
summer photos, we've got rainyphotos, we got wintry photos,
(28:26):
with snow on the mountains andjust this really crisp blue
winter light.
I mean, yeah, it was amazing.
Speaker 1 (28:35):
Sounds beautiful.
Yeah, I was curious also whenyou did your documentary.
So that was five years ago yousaid that you did it.
Speaker 2 (28:44):
We did the trip five years ago.
I did the trip and then thefilm we worked on were taking
time off for work, so you had atime constraint to do it within
(29:04):
that time period, rain or shine,so it was awesome rain first
couple days and it gave probablymore publicity, which it
sounded like it did.
Speaker 1 (29:12):
And now are you still working full-time or have you
transitioned to doing more ofthis instead of?
Speaker 2 (29:19):
time, or have you transitioned to doing more of
this instead of working?
Yeah, no good question.
So I work part-time.
I actually work for a church.
I'm a parish administrator.
So a few minutes before I cameonto this call, I was just
checking about somebody'sfuneral.
It's a very different life.
Speaker 1 (29:36):
Did you do that professionally before with it,
or this?
No?
Speaker 2 (29:39):
no, just completely.
Yeah, professionally, um.
So before I used to work for um, I worked in construction, so I
was like a practice manager foran architect and for a and then
for an engineers, and then whenI wrote the first book, I had
to kind of give up my jobbecause I needed to be all over
the country in about five monthsbecause we'd been in lockdown
(30:03):
for seven of the months that Ihad the commission to write the
book.
And then when the book was done, I went and got a job and I
wanted a job that was quitepeople facing.
I work with volunteers who arein their 70s and 80s.
So that's really interesting andit's very good, because I do
spend a lot of my time, you know, promoting my work and on
social media, as I said, youknow, scrolling and chatting,
(30:24):
and I don't need to be on socialmedia for my job at all.
You know I just deal with realpeople who are getting married
or having their child baptizedor, you know, a relative's
funeral and I'm working with,you know, older adults that are
really inspiring.
So it's a really lovely balanceto have the two things like
this sort of world of marketingand research and writing and and
(30:47):
all that which has lots of bitsin it, and then this world of
you know, people's real lives.
Speaker 1 (30:54):
I guess you'd say did um, and also just as curious
financially, when you wereworking that and then this has
it been I mean, before it wasjust 100% from corporate job,
that kind of thing and has itsplit to where you make, oh gosh
, I don't know.
Speaker 2 (31:18):
I think the thing is that your job is regular.
Regular, you know.
You know that it's gonna, aslong as you don't lose your job,
it's regular.
Whereas the other bit is youmight get your royalties twice a
year or you get a commission orI do a little bit of sort of um
influencer kind of contentcreation, but that doesn't come
(31:39):
up all the time.
You know you might get that joband then in six to eight weeks
you might get another one.
I still need to do my taxreturn.
I mean, it's not due till tillJanuary, so I'm still got loads
of time.
But I think the day job is alittle bit less, but it is solid
, but it's only part time.
(32:00):
And then the other is a littlebit more but it's not regular,
and I like the regularity ofknowing that my bills can get
paid.
Yeah exactly.
Speaker 1 (32:10):
Thanks for sharing, because I think it's just a.
You know, I do hear of lots ofdifferent things and my kids
also are watching social mediathings and a lot of their people
they follow aren't workinganymore and do full time, so
yeah.
Speaker 2 (32:27):
I think you probably would have to spend even more
time on social.
You know, I don't.
I'm not, I don't go viral.
Yeah, you know, and I think youknow maybe sort of companies
want someone who will beprepared to go.
You know who can go viral moreoften?
But I think I think the peoplethat follow me are genuinely
engaged in the kind of things Ido.
(32:49):
So, for example, they will say,oh, I've done work with a
holiday company, for example,and they'll say, oh, I just
booked a holiday with thatcompany that you recommended,
but they maybe then their socialmedia profile doesn't even have
a photograph of them.
You know, they're just one ofthose little eggs that are just
(33:09):
watching and not posting, andyet they go and actually do the
thing, whereas I think somepeople they're always, oh, I'm
going to do that, but they neverdo it.
But the people that follow meare sort of very genuine and
very engaged and very kind.
I'm really lucky.
I have some lovely, lovelypeople that you know, and I I'm
(33:29):
always trying to engage withthem back, you know, I I do try
and treat it like real people.
Speaker 1 (33:35):
You know, nice, yeah, you got back to me pretty quick
, that was and the funny storyhow we connected.
I got a magazine from a womanthat sells medicare insurance
the salesperson and so it's oneof these kind of generic you
know, for people 50 get thesemagazines and it has stories
(33:56):
about inspirational and likeliving life to your fullest.
And this inspirational umspread for joe about how she
went across.
I'm like, oh my gosh, thissounds so cool.
Speaker 2 (34:07):
And then you saw your little instagram and then, yeah
, it was amazing and I must tellthe lady that interviewed me
actually that that you got intouch because I think she'd like
to know um and we.
She was lovely, we had such alovely friendship, a lovely chat
, because I studied in Americamany years ago.
Speaker 1 (34:23):
Oh, okay, like 1980 oh yeah, do you mean know what
medicare is, when I say that,yeah, I know?
Speaker 2 (34:30):
what medicare is.
Yeah, they have it in the UK?
Yeah, no, we don't know it'sdifferent here, but I studied, I
went to university, to collegein in Virginia in 1986.
So we were like chatting, sheand I were like chatting about
that.
Speaker 1 (34:46):
So, yeah, that's so funny, alrighty.
Oh, and then you also mentionedthis wonderful wild women.
What's your affiliation?
Are you just someone you knowand has like an Instagram or
Facebook?
Yeah, no, they're like anInstagram or.
Speaker 2 (34:58):
Facebook?
Yeah, no, they're just a face,an Instagram and Facebook group.
They were just um, they wereone of the first sort of
communities.
When I took my very firstpaddleboarding lesson in the
Lake District back in 2016, theysaw me post on my Instagram
when I had like five followers,you know, and they sort of said,
you know, keep going, jo.
That's amazing and they'vealways been so.
(35:20):
You know, having someone saythat's great that you did that
little, that you know you tookthat lesson.
Yeah, I had injured my kneethinking, but when you talked
about earlier about, um,injuries, I had injured my knee
prior to taking my firstpaddleboard lesson, so I'd
slipped and so I took.
I slipped in the january and Itook my first lesson in the
September as a way to heal myknee, because I'd heard about
(35:43):
all the good things thatpaddleboarding can do for you.
So I had put this up and youknow I'd said, oh, my dream is
to paddleboard one day.
And people were like, oh,that's so great.
And then I did it and thewonderful wild women Sarah just
said, oh, well done, and just atiny bit of encouragement just
really was so amazing, it justmade all the difference.
(36:06):
So I just kept putting picturesup saying I went paddleboarding
you know, more and more peoplewould say you know, oh, wow, and
, and you know, today I do stillget less messages from people
saying I took a paddleboardinglesson because of you.
And what they say is thatbecause I'm 59 and I'm very
(36:29):
ordinary you know, I I'm notlike super athletic, I'm not
sort of super special, I'm justvery ordinary they feel
confident that they can take apaddleboarding lesson and you
know, I'm not sort of out theresaying look at me, I'm just
saying, look, this was reallyfun and I feel better for it.
And you know, if I do like myInstagram, I do this sort of sit
(36:51):
to stand, which is really agood test of longevity and
healthy aging.
And I did one in my wetsuitrecently and they, they, and you
know, I just think it's thatkind of very normalness of who I
am that I just try andencourage people rather than say
, look how great I am.
I'm like this is fun, I thinkyou'd enjoy it.
Speaker 1 (37:12):
So right, yeah, and it's just exercise.
I'm like Chris and I both arevery much into exercise, you
know.
It's just like for mentalhealth, yeah, and you can't
sleep, you're having anxiety andpeople want to like, especially
in America, let's take a pill.
Let's take a pill, you know,like exercise and changing your
diet, and yeah, boom, that's thepill Cut out alcohol cut out
(37:35):
caffeine a lot of the basicstuff that people.
Speaker 2 (37:39):
Yeah, exactly, Exactly, and so yeah.
So I just think Instagram canbe really positive.
Speaker 1 (37:46):
I have a question what is sit to stand?
What is that?
So sit to stand.
Speaker 2 (37:51):
So there's, if you there's a test I don't know the
actual details, but it's a testabout sort of your strength,
your lower body strength, yourglutes, and a predictor of
healthy aging and longevity.
Okay, and there's a couple thatif you follow them, they've
written a book called they'recalled the Ready State, juliet
(38:13):
Starrett, and they've got a bookI can't remember if it's called
Ready to Move or Move.
Anyway, I'll send you the link.
It's a really good book andthere's all these ways that they
advise you Shirley Ryan, noStarrett or Starrett.
Okay, they do these thingsabout like balance and strength,
(38:33):
and if you can stand and thensit and then from a sitting
position stand, it's a good testof of healthy aging, I think,
with like no hands right, yeah,with no hands at all, yeah, yeah
.
So yeah, she's called JulietStarrett and the book is called
(38:53):
Built to Move.
Built to Move, and she and herhusband, kelly, are founders of
an organization called the readystate.
They're american, uh, and it'sa best sunday times and new york
times bestseller, um, and it'sthe sit to, or sit to run.
I call it sit to stand, but Ithink it's called the sit and
(39:14):
rise test or the old man balancetest, and it's all about about
you know your stability and yourstrength and that will help you
with aging and with yourindependence as women, so that
you know.
Speaker 1 (39:27):
Yeah, it's really interesting.
Yeah, I see here it's ontodaycom or today's show here.
Speaker 2 (39:32):
Yeah, they're really well known and they're really
nice.
They seem really nice peoplebecause if I ever tag her, she
always goes oh well done, welldone, you're well.
They have, you know, thousandsand thousands of followers.
So, yeah, I really like whatthey do, um and and what they
share, because, you know, I'mnot sure how old they are, maybe
in their 40s or 50s but theyspeak to an audience that, like
(39:56):
me, that's listening, ratherthan, you know, like they don't
look.
They speak and say look, theseare the things you need to do
now to look after yourself inthe future yeah, they look
pretty young and it's really, uh, yeah, built to move kelly and
juliet star it.
Speaker 1 (40:12):
Yeah, I'll have to look more into this because this
is really yeah it's a reallygood thing and it's it's just a
fun.
Exactly, oh, thanks for sharing.
Speaker 2 (40:28):
I just assume everybody in America knows about
them.
Speaker 1 (40:32):
Not at all.
Again, social media, but you'regoing to watch it, all right.
So we're moving to some of myrapid fire questions.
I didn't prepare you.
Joanna.
Ok, so what did you have forbreakfast every day?
Speaker 2 (40:44):
So I have.
This is very Instagraminfluenced.
I have Greek yogurt, I haveberries, I have fresh ginger, I
have a few oats and then I have,like my chia seeds and my
pumpkin seeds and sesame seedsand stuff.
Speaker 1 (40:59):
So yeah, that's totally Instagram.
That's the anti-aging breakfast, awesome those seeds Totally
Instagram.
Speaker 2 (41:05):
Sometimes I take photos, but mainly I don't.
But yeah, that's what I love.
Speaker 1 (41:11):
Okay, and how many, like you, were picking up trash.
This is more about your thing,like I think.
How much trash did you pick updaily?
Was it a lot because youcouldn't?
I mean, how much space did youhave?
Speaker 2 (41:22):
I didn't have that much space, but what I was
really.
People would say why have yougot all that trash on your
motherboard, what's all that?
And then they would go and takeit away and put it in bins for
me, because there is bins alongthe canal route.
If I picked up everything, Iwould have been there the whole
year.
But I have had friends who'vedone the same route afterwards,
like a few years after, and theysaid that where it was really
(41:44):
bad, it wasn't as bad.
So I think people are much moreaware now and people are
picking up, which is really good.
Speaker 1 (41:53):
Yeah single use plastic yeah, how many hours a
day did you paddle?
Speaker 2 (41:59):
um, mostly about eight hours, but one day I
paddled about 12 hours.
Speaker 1 (42:05):
Yeah, my goodness, what was the 12 hours?
How come you had to paddle 12?
It was just a longer, I thinkthat was yeah.
Speaker 2 (42:12):
So I was very, very behind and I wanted to sleep in
my own bed that night.
So I thought, right, I need toget to the town where my my
house is just like a few milesaway.
So I set off about 10 o'clockand I got into the town about 10
o'clock that night, but Itraveled 24 miles but I was
still filming along the way andpicking up later, so other
(42:35):
people could have done it in amuch shorter time, but I had all
these other like things Ineeded to do at the same time.
Speaker 1 (42:39):
So did you have your lunch and stuff on the
paddleboard, or did you?
Speaker 2 (42:43):
A company called Papa Nutty, which is a UK based
company that make peanut butter.
They gave me this massive tinof peanut butter so every
morning I would make peanutbutter sandwiches and I also
made my own bliss, like proteinballs, like bliss balls I called
them, and I made them beforethe trip and then I took them
(43:05):
with me so and so, yeah, I wasjust eating kind of really, you
know, nuts and seeds and peanutbutter and bread and just oh,
okay, anything people gave me.
Speaker 1 (43:15):
It was great all right and uh, since you're from
the UK, uh, coffee or tea.
Speaker 2 (43:21):
Tea, that's obvious yeah, there's a very famous tea
called Yorkshire tea.
That's, that's what I had.
Speaker 1 (43:30):
Yeah speaking of that , do people still have like, is
you know?
They say afternoon tea, likeit's like kind of like, it's
like a like a big lunch.
Is that something?
Speaker 2 (43:42):
no, no, no, it's not really lunch, it's like
sandwiches and cakes and sconesand clotted cream.
And how often people do that?
Oh, not like every day.
Oh, okay, I mean we, you knowit's a treat, it's absolutely a.
There's a place um near where Ilive, called betty's, which is
very famous.
I'll send you a link, because Ihave friends in america and
(44:05):
australia who love that betty'sb-e-t-t-y hyphen s.
They call it high t.
Most people it's like a high t.
Most people it's a treat or acelebration.
Okay, you wouldn't have itevery day yeah, it's like here
okay all right.
Speaker 1 (44:23):
and then I guess, the final question um, are you
going to expand outside the uk?
And your little, you're notlittle, your your big
paddleboard adventure, and oh,I'd love to?
Speaker 2 (44:31):
Yeah, I would, but I don't know where I have to.
I'll have to think about that.
But yeah, I have.
There are a lot more places Iwould like to go to and and I've
just started skateboarding, soagain I'd like to go someplace
sort of sunny to goskateboarding, Skateboarding.
Speaker 1 (44:48):
I skateboard.
Someplace sort of sunny to goskateboarding, skateboarding, I
skateboard, I've skated, as injunior high, oh my gosh, yeah,
and my son skateboards and yeah,do you have like a longer
skateboard I have a popsicle, soit's only quite little, but I
think my dream would be to havea longboard.
Speaker 2 (45:04):
I have this dream that I'll be on a longboard in
the sunshine.
That's like my dream,california, yeah come see me
wake surf.
Speaker 1 (45:15):
Oh, we can meet in San Diego.
I could have you like Marco, myfriend, he teaches wake surfing
, and then you have the strandand you can like skateboard
beach and that's that's my dream, so I learned.
Speaker 2 (45:26):
I only started just before Christmas, so I'm on a
popsicle, so it's really quitelittle, but it was where I could
go for lessons and I knew thatI needed lessons.
But then I I'm thinking ofgoing on like a longboard camp
as well, just because that wouldbe.
I just have this.
I just want, when I watchpeople longboard it's just so
(45:48):
elegant, women long.
Do you longboard then as askate on skateboard, or is it
quite little?
Speaker 1 (45:54):
It's just a regular skateboard.
I don't skateboard all the time, but I have.
I mean, I, I still can, I stilldo it.
I used to do 360s and fun stuffwith my son, or well, with my
son.
He really got into it and so Iwas all excited.
So then I bought my dreamskateboard that.
I did in junior high and then Ikind of gave it.
(46:14):
I sort of gave it to mydaughter, but she doesn't use it
, so I got it.
Yeah, it's a Powell Peraltalittle skateboard with a skull
and something.
It's like a rainbow.
And I wanted that one in juniorhigh because I was the only
girl on my box.
All the girls moved away andthey all skateboarded.
(46:35):
And I started skateboardingbecause I wanted to hang out
with them.
Speaker 2 (46:39):
So oh amazing, yeah, so when I went to buy my
skateboard and I was like soI've got my birthday money, so
it's like my 59th birthday, andI'm like so I've got my birthday
money from my dad, do you haveany skateboards that don't have
skulls on them?
And a helmet and wrist guards Iwant all the padding, but could
(47:01):
I have like a skateboard thatdoesn't have like rude words on
it?
And then I had these stickersfrom when I was in little, from
the 1970s.
I had these Snoopy stickersthat I just kept for years.
So I've got my Snoopy stickersunderneath my skateboard.
Speaker 1 (47:17):
Oh nice, oh my gosh, I want to see a picture.
I'm going to send you my phonenumber and we'll have to.
Speaker 2 (47:24):
Yeah, that would be great.
So I'm really not good atskateboarding, but I really want
to devote part of my when I'm60 next year.
I really want to.
I'm 60 at the end of this year,but in my 60th year next year I
kind of want to devote moretime to my skateboarding because
I just think that I wouldreally love it if I just devoted
(47:44):
a bit more time to it.
Speaker 1 (47:47):
So, wow, Fantastic, that is awesome.
I would have never expected youto say that that's great, I
love it.
Okay, well, thank you so much.
So, joanna, it was really niceto meet you.
I get to hear more of yourstory and thank you.
Okay, and then we'll yeah, thenwe'll send a note just to get
(48:10):
like links to how to buy yourbooks.
Speaker 2 (48:12):
And thank you.
Well, have a lovely day.
I'm going to go take the dogfor a walk before it gets too
dark.
Speaker 1 (48:18):
All right, thank you so much.
Bye.
Thanks for listening.
If you enjoyed the podcast, canyou please take a second and do
a quick follow of the show andrate us in your podcast app.
Can you please take a secondand do a quick follow of the
show and rate us in your podcastapp?
And if you have a minute, wewould really appreciate a review
.
Following and rating is thebest way to support us.
If you're on Instagram, let'sconnect.
(48:38):
We're at where next podcast.
Thanks again, you.
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