MIDLIFE MUSINGS AND MAYHEM Podcast

Autumn is here—and the trees are all getting bare. I guess I have to get used to the dark mornings again. Coupled with the ongoing craziness in the world, it’s set to be another winter of discontent. Or is it? Look, I’m Gen X—we invented ironic detachment as a survival mechanism—but even I have to admit this year has kicked my ass. My personal annus horribilis , if we’re being fancy about it. The...

In an age where everyone’s got a “take,” being decent is starting to feel… radical. So let’s talk about virtue — that quiet, untrendy little thing that refuses to die, even in a world addicted to outrage. MIDLIFE MUSINGS AND MAYHEM is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. OF COURSEEE!! there are so many things to be o...

MMM40. Can you believe it? We actually made it to 40 musings. 🎉 When I started this, I thought I’d maybe squeeze out 10 before running out of steam (or out of patience). Yet here we are — 40 newsletters later, still laughing at the madness, raging at the nonsense, and dancing through the mayhem in sensible shoes. But let me start with a confession. I get paid to market other people’s brilliance,...

Shoot the People: Hope, Truth & the Weight of Our Silence Autumn lurks at the moment. The days are officially shorter, darkness creeping in before 8pm. Only a few weeks ago it was still light. I don’t mind the chillier mornings though — they feel honest somehow. In the these crazy times, honesty matters. I choose to be on the side of REAL TRUTH.Not the curated kind. Not the spin-doctored “both sid...

At this stage in my life, some jobs are just jobs — pay check in hand and we're good. Others are cultural pilgrimages in disguise, the kind where you're lugging garment bags through train stations and cobbled streets, answering WhatsApps at 2 a.m., and trying to draft a convincing email to an all-European team how an African brand deep in ancestral technologies and practices needs to be regarded a...

“We don't care for what they say – that’s my superpower.” – Obongjayar + Little Simz, “LOTUS” (2025) June 6th, 2025: I’m at Heathrow, boarding yet another flight back to Malmö after two weeks of grafting in London. Hustling. Networking. Smiling through rejections and lukewarm “keep in touches.” A trip that, if I’m honest, didn’t quite work out the way I hoped it would. The energy felt off. Maybe i...

This week felt unreal… Gaza continues to be erased with clinical precision. The term "asylum" is now a branding strategy. Climate denial is being greenwashed with yacht fuel. And somewhere between Diddy’s trial, TikTok farmers, and billionaires trying to trademark culture, I caught myself looking up plots of land somewhere HOT wondering if it’s time to raise pot bellied ,goats and lean all the way...

Zagging is for the masses—this is for the ones who see through the noise. There’s so much freedom in not doing what everyone else is doing—especially in midlife, when society politely suggests you fade away respectfully. MIDLIFE MUSINGS AND MAYHEM is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. I f*****g can’t. NOPE. Even wh...

Outgrowing Old Realities & Whispering New Truths It’s wild, isn’t it? When your favourite piece of clothing—the one that once made you feel unstoppable— still fits, technically… but it just doesn’t feel right anymore. It pinches in places you didn’t notice before. It clings where you now crave softness.  You suddenly realise: maybe it’s not the fabric that changed, maybe it’s you who’s changed. Th...

With the Met Gala looming (prepare your feeds for chaos), American Vogue has dropped its May 2025 covers. The spotlight? The co-chairs of this year’s exhibit, Superfine: Tailoring Black Style —a celebration of Black dandyism in all its unapologetic, swagger-filled glory. Pharrell Williams, A$AP Rocky, Lewis Hamilton, and Colman Domingo all bringing their own delicious flavours to the table. Pharre...

You ever find yourself at a dinner party, rooftop thing, or some kind of “cool” gathering—and suddenly, a song comes on that everyone else is belting out like it’s their national anthem? But You’re standing there with the confidence of a girl who thought she was cool and just stood there  mouthing along like a malfunctioning animatronic, praying nobody notices. MIDLIFE MUSINGS AND MAYHEM is a read...

I Don’t Sleep Well in Strange Places ...and no, it’s not just because my back has beef with anything that isn’t memory foam. Chimamanda said something the other day that hit me right in the sleep-deprived feels. I’ve been away from home the past three weeks, living out of suitcases, hopping between spare rooms and guest beds. Every place I laid my head? Technically lovely — crisp sheets, memory fo...

Hello, Spring has a way of ripping us out of our fog and daring us to feel something again, doesn’t it? One minute, you’re ravaged by doubts, and the occasional existential crisis. The next, you’re standing outside, letting the sun flirt with your skin at a polite 18 degrees, and something inside you beginning to click. MIDLIFE MUSINGS AND MAYHEM is a reader-supported publication. To receive new p...

Music. The healer. The time machine. The therapist I never paid but always showed up. Lately, I’ve been leaning all the way in to the healing power of music. Not the trendy stuff that clogs up your algorithm, but the real stuff—the kind that moves through your bones and gently reminds you who you used to be, who you are now, and sometimes, who you’re still becoming. MIDLIFE MUSINGS AND MAYHEM is a...

Ever had one of those moments where you realise the way you see yourself is wildly different from how others see you? Like, you think you're exuding "boss energy," but the office whisper network has you down as "a bit scary"? Or you see yourself as a friendly, approachable leader, yet your team secretly describes you as "efficient but terrifying"? I recently took one of those cognitive assessment...

You know that moment when you see something so ridiculous, so absurd, that you have to pause and wonder if you’ve finally crossed the line from peri-menopausal brain fog into full-blown hallucination? That was me the other day — staring at old clips of Trump in court, looking like a malfunctioning Sims character whose user left the game running too long. Then I realised that episode, though early...

Ring, ring, ring—that’s my phone doing its thing, and guess what? I’m not picking up. There’s something incredibly satisfying about letting it ring. After a lifetime of feeling like I had to be available 24/7, I now just glance at the screen, see who it is, and let it slide into voicemail oblivion. I’ve learned that not every call needs an immediate answer and not every text demands a quick reply....

Every Sunday for the last few months, my husband and I have taken long walks—sometimes two or three hours—through parks, nature reserves, or just around our little town. We talk about everything and nothing: life, work, the household, how we feel, what we’re reading, our plans for the week ahead. We’ve named it ‘Promenade Therapy,’ though it turns out we didn’t invent the concept. Walking and talk...

In time for Valentine’s Day, I’m sending big LOVE and support to everyone who LOVES love but, for some reason, doesn’t have it right now. Though I’m married and in LOVE—I FEEL YOU, and I’m with you. Don’t give up hope… maybe just switch it up a little? This is my first podcast on this platform so be gentle with me. xoxo This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers...