Heads & Dovetails

Jamie and Gill welcome in 2023 and chat about crocodiles on Christmas Day and people working through the festive season. Jamie mentions more mature people being recruited as cabin crew and Gill explains how they were the first airline to lift the age at which you could apply and the benefits that brought. They also chat about trials of being a creative following an email Gill received and she shar...

Gill warns of the dangers of younger generations not being used to different forms of heating after a  friend had a close shave with teenagers and a halogen heater! Jamie and Gill talk about the stress buying Christmas presents can create and how they've both scaled back on who they buy for and how they still recycle cards into labels. Jamie shares how doing these podcasts has helped him and Gill...

With it getting colder Jamie chats about the impact on his arthritis and taking control of looking after yourself. In today's world self care is so important and being able to recognise the signs early enough to stop burn out from happening. As energy prices soar Gill has dug out the Smart meter display they were given a few years ago and finally plugged it in out of interest to watch the usage. I...

Jamie is back in the kitchen cooking again, or should that be experimenting, with some free veg from an allotment. Gill chats about a post she has seen from a farmer concerning the eggs supermarkets reject. Being an 'ideas' person who hates waste, she shares her vision for helping farmers and preventing waste and Jamie makes added suggestions. As is normal for Gill and Jamie, somehow their chat le...

Jamie talks very honestly about his struggles with mental health and how the dark times he has experienced in the past have actually shaped how he works today. He and Gill discuss how he has created a space within his classes and workshop that is as much about people being comfortable to share their feelings as it is about learning woodworking. They chat about how important it is these days to be...

Both Jamie and Gill share how proud they are with what their children have achieved as adults and the battles they faced on the way to get their dream jobs. They discuss the steps you need to take to turn a dream into reality and there are many ways to achieve a goal. Gill and Jamie talk about their frustration at people knowing about climate change but actually not really do anything if it affect...

Jamie wants to know more about Gill's up-cycling projects and how she achieves the finish, particularly her 'car-ffee' table range that she has started to make in collaboration with her son. They discuss their various views on up cycling and why saving things from landfill is so important to them. Jamie shares his story about how he sought help when he was at a really low point in his life and why...

Gill and Jamie chat about what living through a piece of history means to them and the changes they'll have to get used to! Gill tells how the felling of their field maple tree lead to an encounter with a snake and this leads into a talking about bug hotels and reusing the wood. Jamie tells of the race between his tomato and sunflower plants and the mistake he made when cooking his tomato chutney...

Jamie describes the Festival of Glass and how well it went with lots of people coming into his workshop but how quiet the centre then felt on the Monday. This leads Gill and Jamie to discuss the underlying stress that people now live with. Having watched his wife chatting with her friends Jamie believes women have got it right and wishes men could open up more without their egos getting in the way...

Having literally just finished refurbishing their new home Gill and her husband started noticing doors not closing and large cracks appearing in walls! They have discovered, that due to the extremely hot summer and large oak tree in a neighbour's garden, they now have subsidence! She tells Jamie the saga of what has happened so far and why it will take until Oct 2024 to sort out!!! Jamie explains...

Jamie has a rant to Gill about: social media, men, corporates and not being able to get in the shower! Gill talks about a couple of books she's read over the years: 'The Purple Cow' by Seth Godin on how to be different and standing out from the crowd and one that looks at anger from a very different perspective, 'Anger Management. Understanding. Healing. Freedom' by John Crawford - not that she th...

Jamie and Gill chat about the trials and tribulations about being self employed. When you work on your own you have no other departments like: sales, IT, design, PR or customer service to support you - you are all those things! They discuss the benefits of starting your new business alongside your current role. This leads on to Gill telling Jamie that when she saw a photo of his new recycled 'mini...

Gill explains how she is at fault for the current heat wave and lack of water due to her new water butts! This opens the discussion about how house builders could be made to do more to help climate change when building new homes. Jamie tells of the old oak chest he's had for years and why he turned a table into some sought after chopping boards. From 'wu wei' moments, to learning new skills, drivi...

Jamie talks about how he starts his day with a walk in the woods, and they chat about the benefits of being in nature, books they are reading and Gill becoming a trustee of Cultivating Change a new charity. Gill then finds out about Jamie's jeans, his 7 reasons for wearing odd socks, Gill explains one is similar to a well known technique for reducing anxiety. Jamie finding an old Corona bottle lea...

Gill starts by talking about her new solar panels and Jamie finishes the podcast talking about tea bags. Somewhere in between they chat about: electric cars, dealing with customers expectations and the knock on effect to other work, how to make those calls you don't want to make, the difference between training and coaching, beetles, tomatoes, horse manure and finally tea bags! 

Jamie has been battling with technology this week, including being able to record this podcast and that's where this episode starts. Only Gill and Jamie could link the woes of technology: to The Hay Festival, weeding the garden as a form of meditation, the impact of social media giants, Jamie's experiences with YouTube, talking about extremes of wealth, caring for the planet, collecting items and....

Gill and Jamie give a flavour of what their new podcast will be about.  They talk about how the podcast came about and what you can expect in future episodes - from chatting about socks to what's going on in the world! Plus they will be inviting guests to join them.  You never know what you're going to learn!