Liberté - Free to Be

Those that have followed me for a while will know that I’m a big fan of wearing vintage and preloved clothes, before modelling I used to have my own vintage clothing business called All About Eve and I loved it. What better way to remind everyone about #secondhandseptember than talking with sustainable stylist Sara Ibrahim. Sara is the Founder and Lead Stylist of SIMA. As an experienced sustainabl...

This weeks guest is joining me from her home in the South of France. Living the dream life with some curve balls along the way.  Honor Marks is an instagram Coach and gîte owner in the South of France. Honor shares her journey on social media with honesty, good humour and a good dose of reality. She is passionate about supporting other women in midlife and helping them refine their mojo....

Baroness Helen Newlove has been on my guest wish list for several years so I was so delighted to finally have the opportunity to talk with her and I wasn't disappointed, we had so much to talk about. Helen has so many strings to her bow including broadcaster, public speaker, Author of 'It Could Happen To You' , Pro Vice Chancellor University of Bolton and not forgetting the current Deputy Speaker...

Rachel Lankester is no stranger to the show, in fact this is her second visit since our first interview back on Ep.20 , in 2019 but she's been a busy woman since then so I couldn't wait for round 2!  Rachel is the founder of Magnificent Midlife , an online hub inspiring woman in midlife and beyond. Magnificent Midlife exists to challenge negative stereotypes of older women, change perceptions...

*Trigger warning- This episode discusses healing and recovering from disordered eating and poor body image  I'll be honest after years of yoyo dieting and disordered food habits I've been avoiding this subject on the podcast because I still see so much pressure on women to be a certain size and body shape pushed by the media and advertising. I've been following this weeks guest for awhile now...

I first interviewed Carron Cummings in 2020 and was blown away by her drive and determination, she really is a woman with mission.  Carron's personal story and life experiences have taken her on a journey that she could never have anticipated. She's the founder of SimplyLadies.com , which is one of the UK's fastest growing women's lifestyle networking group in the country and her passion for...

This weeks guest is someone I have followed on Twitter for a while now, we have a very similar approach to midlife and both love sharing and inspiring other women.  Wendy Battles is a pro-age influencer, speaker and host of the "Rebellious Rebels"  podcast which is all about sharing women's stories of reinvention later in life and on paper I would guess you'd say she's one of my podcast...

I talk to lots of women over 40 who tell me they feel disconnected from their bodies as they reach midlife, especially when they enter the peri-menopause and menopause. I know from my own experience that I started to struggle with the changes my body is going through in the menopause and that body confidence is never a done deal so it was great to talk to Sophie Cleere who is as passionate about h...

To celebrate my 52nd birthday I thought it would be a good idea to go solo this week,  reflecting on the last year and sharing some of my own midlife journey. I've learnt so much from the 103 women I've interviewed so far and each story brings me so much inspiration and reminds me how fabulous women are.  Here's the top 3 things I'm constantly reminded of 1. Women over 40 are bloody amaz...

It's time we talked more openly about money and began being more honest about our financial goals, dreams and aspirations. When it comes to money women still find it difficult to talk about, I know it's not something my friends and I don't regularly talk about. I'm sure I'm not the only one that grew up in the 70's hearing phrases like " money doesn't grow on trees" or "money should be saved for a...

I'm going to let you in to a little secret! I love the art behind Burlesque dancing and learning to burlesque dance and perform live once in my life is at the top of my bucket list. So you can imagine how excited I was when I recently came across Judith Vandepeer otherwise known as "Pupin Devert".  Judith started burlesque 3 years ago at the age of 55, and absolutely loved it.  She...

It's good to be back after the Easter break and I have a bumper season of women to share with you.  If you are enjoying listening to my interviews and I leave you feeling inspired then please feel free to Buy Me A Coffee. Your support is much appreciated. https://www.buymeacoffee.com/RachelPeru1 Starting with this weeks guest, Stephanie Raffelock. Stephanie is an award winning, Amazon best se...

* Adult content of a sexual nature discussed  What better way to celebrate my 100th episode than with humorous erotic fiction author Stephanie Oram.  Self published author of the Amazon best selling Wax Whips and my Hairy Bits series of books. A midlife, menopausal northerner with a propensity for using rude words. It's time to find out why this 51 year old, menopausal Mother of three pi...

 *trigger warning, this episode contains conversation about loss and grieving.  The conversation around death and losing loved ones is still something we find difficult to talk about.  Karen Sutton , is the UK’s first grief and loss coach to specialise in supporting those widowed early in life. Karen provides emotional and practical support to anyone dealing with the loss of a loved...

Dr. Mairi Macleod is an evolutionary biologist, speaker, science writer and expert on human behaviour. She's pioneering the use of an understanding of our evolved preferences and motivations to inform how we can change our behaviour to better suit our needs in the modern world. She applies this in relationships and in the workplace, and she has a special interest in helping single, midlife women f...

 Minreet Kaur is an award winning broadcast journalist and now she's retrained to become a swimming instructor. She is the daughter of the famous Skipping Sikh MBE and won report of the year in 2020. Minreet has now retrained and is following a very different career path becoming a swimming instructor. She is on a mission to help women, particularly from the Sikh community, to learn to swim a...

I first met this weeks guest last year at the Yorkshire Blogger Awards and knew I had to ask her on the show. Claire Kenny describes herself as a writer, mother and greyhound owner living in Yorkshire and is the woman behind My 40 Plus Life . Claire has used her blog to share with honesty and humour what life after 40 has looked like for her. Claire opens up the conversation from divorce to dating...

It's time to meet a powerhouse of a woman who really is going all out to empower women in midlife to become the best versions of themselves. Catherine Grace O'Connell is an ageism positivist, an empowerment cat-alyst and the founder of Forever Fierce:Midlife Matters Facebook global Facebook community. If that's not enough she also hosts her Modern Midlife Talk show and podcast and is regularly inv...

I recently had the pleasure of meeting this weeks guest as we both modelled for the latest Ambrose Wilson Jeans campaign, which if you haven't seen yet I definitely recommend you check it out! Love that brands are really starting to champion older models in their campaigns and Ambrose Wilson are helping to fly that flag.  (You can watch it here- https://www.instagram.com/p/CZtvlmyAqdF/ ) How...

No one goes in to a marriage thinking they'll get divorced but the reality is that around 1/3 of marriages in the UK since 1964 end there and it will be interesting to see the effects of the last two years caused by the pandemic. You might be surprised to her that the over 45's age group are 3 and half more times likely to get divorced than the younger 25-35 yr olds.  With this in mind perhap...

Jessica Buchanan is a New York Times Bestselling author of 'Impossible Odds : The Kidnapping of Jessica Buchanan and her Dramatic Rescue by SEAL Team VI' and is the co-host of "We Should Talk About That" , a podcast dedicated to unpacking the uncomfortable topics that nobody is talking about, but definitely should, which is where we first met as I was invited as a guest on their podcast in 2021. J...

I've been wanting to have this weeks guest on the podcast for awhile so I'm delighted she managed to join me. This week I'm joined by Emma Parker , the founder of Playful Promises . If you haven't heard about this brand then you're in for a treat. Playful Promises is a lingerie and swimwear brand that is ground breaking it's wide range of sizes (+90) and use of diverse models. Featuring in their A...

Give me an opportunity to talk about fashion and I'm happy! This week I'm talking with Aleksandra Olenska. Having worked as a Stylist, Consultant and Creative Director for brands including Chanel, Celine and Tom Ford, Gucci, Vogue and Harpers for over 20 years, Aleksandra brings her expertise and European heritage to private clients as the style-whisperer, helping modern mid-life women to evolve t...

Happy New Year! I'm excited to be back sharing all these fabulous women for another year of inspiring stories. I first connected with Monika towards the end of 2021 and after such an interesting conversation I knew she needed to come on the podcast. Dr Monika Singh Gangotra is a children's author of T he Sunflower Sisters . A beautiful story both in it’s message and it’s illustration. Tackling col...

I’m so grateful to all my guests that have generously shared their stories on the podcast this year. All 26 women brought a different story to the show and offered inspiration, some midlife food for thought and have kept me feeling motivated during this difficult year. Reflecting on the year I wanted to share some of those conversations that have stayed with me throughout the year. ·   Ep.62...