Middling Along

What do you do when life throws you two cataclysmic curve balls in a short period of time that fracture your whole identity? My guest today is Lucy Melville. Lucy is a widow, and mother of three young people. Her husband Brian died of stage IV lung cancer in July 2023 just 6 weeks after diagnosis whilst her youngest child was still at school. Just one year after losing her husband, Lucy was unexpectedly made redundant from the job ...

My guest today is Lauren Currie OBE, the Founder of UPFRONT, an organisation on a mission to change confidence, visibility, and power for 10 million women. 

I start by asking Lauren what does confidence means to her personally and how she has learned to cultivate it?

Lauren describes confidence, not as a lack of doubt or feeling ready, but learning to show up and speak up even when full of doubt. She is, she says, still on a confid...

My guest this time is Elizabeth Dalziel - a photographer with an illustrious string of assignments under her belt. She’s lived and worked in more countries than most of us will visit in our lifetimes! She has won awards for her work covering the Iraq war, the 2004 Tsunami in Asia, and - closer to home - documenting the homeschooling of her children during the pandemic.

After being diagnosed with breast cancer aged 48, she was put ...

My guest today is Christine Armstrong, a keynote speaker, researcher, and author focused on the world of work. Over the past four and a half years, she has produced more than 200 videos in her weekly vlog, addressing major work-related topics such as hybrid working models and the role of AI in productivity. Each Friday morning, over 6,000 viewers from more than 20 countries...

My guest this time is Dr Nicky Keay: Nicky is a medical doctor with expertise in the field of exercise endocrinology and a lecturer at University College London. Her clinical and research work is focused on women experiencing peri/menopause and with exercisers, dancers and athletes.

Her book Myths of Menopause was published at the end of 2024 and Nicky has taken a novel approach to the subject, using the theme of Greek mythology, ...

This week I delve into ‘the Big O’ - aka Overwhelm, with Carla Miller.  Carla is a leadership coach and best-selling author of ‘Closing The Influence Gap: A practical guide for women leaders who want to be heard’ which reached #1 in the Amazon charts for Business Leadership Skills and was a finalist in the 2023 Business Book Awards.  Carla was CEO of Tiny Tickers and then Managing Director of Charity People, a leading charity recru...

My guest this time is Lyndsey Simpson: founder & CEO of 55/Redefined. Recognising a gap in the market for a brand that answers the call of the ‘bet-your-ass-I-can’ over-50s, Lyndsey set up 55/Redefined to fly the flag for those who may be getting older but have no intention of slowing down (inspired - not retired!). 

Just five years ago, Lyndsey was planning to retire early from her role as CEO of an HR firm when a special as...

This is the 100th episode of the Middling Along podcast! 

In a week of overwhelming world political developments, this podcast feels particularly timely...

This time I welcome Nahid de Belgeonne: Nahid has had a varied career having previously worked fashion, publishing, technology and wellness.  During her perimenopause, she swapped bricks and mortar studios in central London for her online clinic and now lives by the sea.

Her So...

My guest this time is Victoria Tomlinson - chief executive and founder of Next-Up - the company she launched in 2018 (at the age of 63), to help businesses and their employees use the skills and talent of the 50+ generation in new ways, before and after retirement.  [Note that our chat was recorded on the eve of the 2024 general election so before the current government was elected!] 

A former director at EY, Victoria is a bestse...

In this extra podcast episode, we dive into the recent BBC Panorama documentary’s portrayal of the menopause industry.

Our guest, Dr Beth Thomas, GP, British Menopause Society accredited specialist at Everything Menopause, and clinical lead at Managing the Menopause, shares her expert insights on the complexities of menopause treatment, the importance of individualized care, and the implications of the documentary on both healthcar...

My guest today is Dr Stella Duffy OBE - she is an existential psychotherapist, has recently completed her PhD, has written 17 novels, 15 plays, and 70 short stories, and in previous incarnations has been an actor, theatre-director, comedian and much much more…including being on the steering committee that started the Women’s Equality Party!

Having previously survived two encounters with cancer, last year, with no warning, she suffe...

This time on the podcast we welcome back Kate Codrington, author of Second Spring, to talk about her new book The Perimenopause Journal, which was published this week.. 

Kate’s new book is a lovingly created year-long journal which can be started at any point in your perimenopause journey and builds on her writing around the different seasons of pre/peri- and post-menopause in Second Spring (although you certainly don’t need to h...

This time I’m joined by author Cathy Kelly - Cathy is a former journalist whose debut novel, Woman To Woman, became an instant number one bestseller. Since then, she has published 22 novels, which have sold millions of copies globally. She has been a Goodwill Ambassador for UNICEF Ireland since 2005 and has visited many countries to report on UNICEF's work. When not writing with a small dog nestled at her back, she reads voraciousl...

My guest this time is Cindy Gallop - consultant, coach, keynote speaker, and founder of MakeLoveNotPorn. I’ve been a fan of Cindy’s since I first watched the interview on the Style Like U channel that saw her become an older female role model not just to me, but to thousands of women of all ages (and apparently a few men too!). I was also lucky enough to finally meet her in person at the Upfront conference earlier this year where s...

This time on the podcast my guest is Tina Backhouse, General Manager at Theramex. Tina joined Theramex in 2020 to lead the UK Women’s Health business, helping to establish them as the largest supplier of HRT & Menopause Products in the UK. She is passionate about ensuring equality of care for all women regarding their health in the UK, and that women have choice in their healthcare options.

She joins us to discuss the recent ...