Kincraig Cares

Life has been busy lately so I haven’t had time to do my wee community podcast Kincraig Cares. But I was recently reminded at my friend Helen Ekerot’s funeral in January how important it is we make time for the things, and people, that matter in our lives.  I know Helena’s passing hit a lot of people in our community hard because her death seemed so untimely and so unfair. I’ve thought about her a...

Alice Fogg is only 28 but already has landed a job she was dreaming of having later on in her career: Chief Officer of 'VABS', which stands for voluntary action in Badenoch & Strathspey. VABS supports local community and voluntary groups to realise their ambitions, and Alice is well placed to lead as her entire adult life has been about community and grassroots change. We talk about wh...

I'm calling today's guest, Nicol Sinclair, a 'philosopher' because I was struck, more than anything else, by how much this man absorbs information, thinks about it & then forms his own opinions on it. Exactly what we need in the age of AI! This is true on SO MANY subjects - life, love, relationships, community, technology, feminism, marriage, kids, gender... which meant this ch...

Today’s guest is the lovely Lorna Bray and I loved this chat because it just shows how, as neighbours, we can live so near each other.... and yet not know how much we have in common, until we sit down and have a proper, meaty conversation.  Turns out we are both big fans of being honest and keeping it real in a world of insta-perfect grids; even though Lorna is actually an expert in curating these...

Today’s guest is the perfect person to have on this Men’s Health Week (9-16th June) because he is doing so much in our community to improve the lives of local men.  Even if you’re not based in the Cairngorms, or don’t have links with it, what he says about supporting men’s health in a community is SO valuable and he’s full of inspiring, transformative ideas. One I’m particularly excited about is h...

Today’s episode is a special one-off to mark National Cancer Survivors Day (1st June), and is actually with someone from my previous community - Rachel Westwood. Rachel has been very open about her experiences going through cancer treatment in order to improve understanding of what it’s like, and how others can best help. She has a particularly interesting insight, being a pharmacist, a wife, a mo...

I (Suzy!) co-run a group called Women Support Women locally - at our last hike I was asked about the idea behind the group, and why I feel so strongly about putting my time and energy into it. I answered that SO BADLY. In fact I went off on a rant about the brilliant polymath nun Hildegard von Bingen and female orgasms (they are, actually related... she was basically the Beyonce of the Middle Ages...

Today’s guest is the gutsy, globe trotting Tamasina Cassidy, who runs the Rowan Tree Hotel and Restaurant with her husband Jonny. In this episode, she tells us why she downed tools in London – after 9 ski seasons and with 2 kids in tow – and headed for the hills. Specifically the Cairngorm Mountains to take over the Rowan Tree, which is situated just outside Kincraig between here and Aviemore and...

Today’s guest is no ordinary 88 year old. It’s the formidable Gertie Hera Barton, whose name appropriately translates as ‘indestructible strength’. Here she talks about her rich, varied and (sometimes) going-against-convention life. We cover so many topics in this episode: Losing friends and what you learn about yourself from this How to find joy, gratitude and beauty all around you Anger and soci...

Well, the moment is finally here - the one the villagers of Kincraig have been asking for - community stalwart Ian Ash is on the pod! He’s been nominated by practically every guest before him. So integral to the running of the village is Ian that some people even believe he’s actually our Mayor. This is because wherever there is a community event, Ian is there, popping up with a smile like a (nice...

Today’s guest is Tony Brown, an army veteran who runs the not for profit self catering facility in Kincraig Forces Manor - called as such because it’s primarily aimed at those who have been in the Forces, though anyone is welcome to stay there. This majestic building in the centre of the village was formerly the celebrity and royalty attracting Hotel and Restaurant of its day, The Ossian. His back...

*Please note this episode contains adult themes so it’s not for little ears (or big ears that get offended easily!)* I only have one house next to mine in my wee Scottish Highland village of Kincraig and today’s guest, Heather Hadden, has the mixed blessing of living in it. As an empath who loves people and caring for them, but also gets exhausted by them, Heather has taught me a lot about how dif...

Today’s guest is Merryn Glover, who is an award-winning writer, a poet, a creative teacher, the cocreator of Kincraig's open mic 'Storylands Sessions' and - most importantly, of course - my lovely neighbour! This podcast is for anyone who loves to think deeply about life and what hurtling through space on a rock all means. Also brilliant for any creatives for her thoughts on how we create works of...

Today’s guest is Ali Crompton, who I really wanted on the podcast to ask her how she has so much energy, as well as patience (especially with kids), and to get inspiration on how NOT to grow older grumpily. She’s my next door neighbour and I refer to her affectionately as ‘Supergran’ as I can see how loved she is by the many kids she has in her life - her own grandchildren as well as others she en...

Shula Bayton will hate the title of this podcast and being described as a 'hero' because she's deeply uncomfortable with people making a fuss of her (you will be able to feel her discomfort after the intro!!). However, as discussed in this podcast, I am like exposure therapy to emotions for her, and she is like the best grounding sheet in the world for me. And I am determined - regardless of how u...

Today's guests are the dynamo duo Phil and Fiona Hawkins who are the people behind local legendary initiatives such as the iconic Kincraig 'Post Box Topper' and 'Flapjack Fridays' at Loch Insh. This episode is recorded in their 'posh room' while we are all knitting post dinner. We cover all manner of topics, like where they get their desire to not only get involved in community get togethers, but...

Today's guest is Lenka Nagle. Lenka is Faculty Head of the Mathematics, Numeracy and Computing department at Kingussie High School, as well as being a good friend and my son's maths teacher. Some people hate the idea of a small community where everyone knows everyone - and I wasn't sure how I'd feel. But I've found a real comfort in this. Especially in knowing that there are teachers seeing my kid...

My guest today is Sarah Wylie. One of the many things I love about Sarah is that her ethos in life is to treat every interaction as an opportunity to brighten and bring joy to someone else’s day. And she has certainly done that for me, making me smile on even my darkest days. She has that rare mix of light and dark, which makes her so good at connecting with her fellow humans however they are feel...

This episode explains why I set up this podcast about my wee village in the Scottish Highlands, Kincraig, and why I'm going to be interviewing various community characters in forthcoming episodes. It tells the story of how my neighbours helped, and continue to help, me through a really, really tricky time. It does this with honesty and a desire to break down stigmas around taboo topics like mental...