Other Lives Are Available

There's quite a lot of leaf chat in this conversation, interspersed with working through big decisions, becoming British and being honest with yourself. "I'm at a place where I've kinda accepted certain things about myself, and how I want to live, and how I want to perceive, and now I'm trying to do things that make me feel nourished." #otherlivesareavailable #podcast #ea...

Getting out in nature each day, helping sick children keep cheerful and supporting family are all part of this chat. "I think now I'm focussing on the quality of time I have with friends, before I used to party a lot... lately I realised the importance of having quiet times with your friends... you're whole life you've been looking after people, but sometimes you need to just slow...

Teaching kids art, going to an unusual school and being 21 are all chatted about beside the Thames as dusk falls. "We had so much fun... in the summer we had water fights and would paint with our hands... it was all about play, children need to keep playing... that was just beautiful to see." #otherlivesareavailable #podcast #eastlondon #21

I found George in a thoughtful frame of mind, mulling over a book he was reading about Carl Jung, and we chatted about the role Jungian psychology has played in his life along with the acting course he was over in London to do. "I realised I needed healing and not success... you're struggling with your existence... and it showed me it was OK to live... a point of navigation." #otherl...

This chat is mainly about swans, as we stand beside the Thames surrounded by a flock of them, as Paula feeds them. We also hear about some of her other passions including advising local schools using her business background. "I retired a few years ago... you keep your mind open to things you don't yet know you're going to be passionate about... I've found a whole different purpose...

Spraying letters on the wall of a busy canal path, Lewis chats about the graffiti scene in London versus where he grew up, what it means to him, and why he does it. "It’s for me, straight up thats why I do it… I’ve been doing it since I was 13, always found some sort of enjoyment in it, gets me outside, fresh air, gets me in trouble…”#otherlivesreavailable #podcast #eastlondon #graffiti

The secret to a long marriage, the benefits of Tai chi, free music gigs, and keeping busy are all part of this chat in a sunny park. "I've done lots of things, but I used to do up our houses - so I'm the painter, decorator, plasterer... we started with nothing and I've worked my way up... you just have to get on with things don't you". #otherlivesareavailable #eastlondon #podcast #taichi

This is a chat on a street in Bethnal Green with people sorting and packing food for organisations across the borough who provide food for those in need. "I've had times when I needed it in the past, and I'd heard of food banks, but I would never go... too proud, didn't want to go there... people need to talk about it more so they understand, it's not shameful." #otherliv...

This conversation starts looking at the sunshine bouncing off the River Thames on a warm autumnal evening, and quickly develops into a chat about dealing with an emotional car crash, the life of a creative, imposter syndrome and the love of friends. "I feel like the expression of art is so much pain of not getting what you think you want... and framing that journey of pain into something that...

Working in a pub aged 15, the power of smell, and knowing what you want to do with your life are all covered in this chat with someone initially reluctant to talk about their work. "Acting is problem solving, really. The problem is you've got a scene to deliver or a play to deliver, and that's the problem. Solve it." #otherlivesareavailable #podcast #eastlondon #actor

This conversation is about seeing the positives in life, maintaining balance in the family, slug wars and using AI for empathy. "The way our house is, is the three of us... are very much supporting each other's freedom of what we need to become what we want to become... so we don't impose on each other... we all have boundaries". #otherlivesareavailable #eastlondon #podcast #posi...

This chat started with a book and then went on to getting through a crisis, finding your identity in your early 20s, living life in the slipstream, and giving love to your friends. "Some of my best relationships with my friends are all down to the fact that we can be emotionally honest with one another." #otherlivesareavailable #eastlondon #podcast #23 #friendship

What happens when we die, how to avoid work, and taking part in a creative discussion group are all talked about as we sit in the sun on a park bench. "I had the experience of fainting a lot when I was younger... of losing consciousness, my soul leaving my body... one of the last times when I really fainted hard I just didn't want to come back here, it was just a feeling of massive expansion". #ot...

In a park in West Ham after he's just finished a workout, TJ talks about keeping healthy, being a parent, and keeping a moment to reflect on life at the end of the day. "The biggest thing I've learnt from life is keep learning, you're never a finished product, keep learning, keep opening up yourself to different experiences because that can also build you in ways you cannot have imagined." #otherl...

This chat starts with a book, and then develops into a conversation about how an author thinks and works, the battles with editors, and why finding dinosaurs is important. "I'm totally ready for the opinions of people I don't know, but I'm frightened of the opinions of people I know ... it's like being naked in front of an audience in a way, and it's much easier if I don&#...

How DJing with his brothers grew to a bigger musical project, risk-taking versus playing it safe, and doing a paid job to allow freedom to enjoy your life are all chatted about with Sean, as we sit on a wall by a market. "It was a fork in the road, I could play it safe in Australia... or I could go to London where you're going to lose a lot of money on rent and doing the things you want t...

Reaching a place of calm after a break-up, trying therapy, love for family and appreciating the good things in life are mulled over in this chat as the sun sets. "I'm quite an out-going person, I'm quite sociable, I love doing new things, I just think in every situation I'm in, I have a tendency to be over-negative internally". Other Lives Are Available is on Spotify / Apple / Youtube pods. #other...

The balance of home and life in another country, the family values that form a foundation, the link between corporate strategy and farmland in India are all in this chat beside a coffee shop in Shoreditch. "Growing up, fortunately mental health has been a dinner table conversation... especially for Indian parents from the backgrounds they're from it's very unusual, but they're open to it." #otherl...

Waiting for a fashion shoot Neema (@sunshinescrewface) talks about being an artist, how she became a model and growing up with three different cultures. "I've always been a person who likes to explore - so whether it's editorial, runways, or portraits or short films, I like to try out just to see how good I am with things... take risks and prosper, that's how I look at things.&quo...

This chat is about working hard to earn a living, bringing up kids with the right approach to life, and not complaining about a changing world. "My old man had a salvage yard just down the road and he gave us a good work ethic when we was kids... we'd go to work with him in the 6 weeks holiday when other kids were out playing, we'd be in the back of the lorry going to work with him, s...

This chat is about the challenge of keeping @hearthbakeryhw running as a not-for-profit bakery in Hackney Wick, starting out aged 11 gutting fish in a fishmongers, losing all your life savings and keeping going, and the joy of providing food for others. "I'm from a big family and I used to like cooking for them from a young age... I struggled with communicating quite a lot as a kid so this was my...

Sitting in an alcove on Blackfriars Bridge with a strong wind blowing, we chat about books, why grandmothers are great, and how you learn to be a trader on the financial markets. "Loads of people have potential and then they just don't end up fulfilling that potential for whatever reason... they just put some barrier on themselves, ' I can't do that, or I'm too old, or if I wa...

How you feel as an older person, dealing with grief, faith, and the University of the Third Age are all discussed while waiting for church on a park bench. "Your identity ebbs away as you get older... it means, unattractively, that sometimes you think I'm not really important any more". #otherlivesareavailable #podcast #eastlondon #aging

A chance meeting on a rainy day at a tea shop in Whitechapel leads to a chat about the historical connection between Sylhet and Britain, the business side of immigration and how to make a proper cuppa. "50% of the Bangladeshi community are taking our services, and 50% Indian, Chinese, Japanese, Nigerian, Turkish... even from the British community... and contribute to the community, contribute...

Anarchy, learning how to fix things and what the boating life brings are all chatted about, as trains pass noisily nearby. "It's empowering to learn how to do DIY, as long you're in a good flow and you're calm and you go slowly... I've come at it at a different angle to when I was younger". #otherlivesareavailable #eastlondon #podcast #diy