The Next Chapter by Ellie Barker

Caroline says she was a perfectionist as a child and she continued living life like this way into adulthood. A straight-A student, she worked as an airline stewardess travelling with British Airways as part as Tony Blair’s cabin crew. But when her marriage fell apart Caroline says she found herself at rock bottom. A single mum and 80 thousands pounds in debt she says she was suffering from anxiety...

Tony Anderson had no idea a random job he got at a job centre would lead him to create a life bigger than he could ever imagine. He loved sport and in his own words, was 'rubbish with money’ but today he owns Anderson Financial Management, helping all different people make their financial ambitions and dreams come true. In this episode we discuss: Why it’s natural to have fears around money and ea...

It was when Nicola worked with her dad at the Liverpool fish markets as a teenager, she learned all about grit, hard work and having the courage to speak up for herself. She had no idea then these lessons would be the foundation of an extraordinary career. Nicola started out in journalism and went on to work at places like ITN and GMTV. But when her working life wasn’t suiting her personal life –...

Nancy, whose real name is Amanda (she writes under a pseudonym) claims she was a little annoying at school. But it was this curiosity and spirit that took her into the world of tabloid journalism where she worked on huge investigations for papers like the News of the World. But then life took Amanda along a path she didn’t expect. Her husband was diagnosed with a head and neck cancer and at the sa...

Claire Davis is a Coach, Personal Trainer and Nutritional Advisor. She’s also one half of the award-winning Midlife Mentors who help people transform their lives through their retreats, workshops and podcast. She’s back by popular demand on The Next Chapter , this time answering your Christmas questions about the not-so-perfect parts of this magical time of year. In the conversation we discuss: *...

Monty Saul says she had an idyllic childhood – she describes her roots as ‘working class and filled with love.’ Then one night, a drink in a nearby pub in Cookham, Berkshire changed everything. Monty was spotted by a photographer, and not just any photographer, a world-famous fashion photographer. Before she knew it, she found herself being whisked away to the world of Vogue and Dior. I’ll let Mon...

(I know, I know it’s me again but this is the last of the special series…) This is the 3rd of 3 different recordings to mark reaching 100 episodes of The Next Chapter podcasts. It’s just me and around 18 minutes long. But I thought it might help if I shared what I’ve learned. I’ve listened to all these conversations more than once and I pick up something new every time which really helps me with m...

As I type this I am cringing, going red, wanting to watch 10 Hallmark films back-to-back and pretend I haven’t done this - but then, well that’s hardly the essence of Next Chapter living, now it it? As part of our week of special recordings at Flowerpot HQ to mark our 100th episode of The Next Chapter - for one week only - today’s guest is well… me. I battled with this idea for a long time, but th...

As The Next Chapter by Ellie Barker reaches its 100th episode, I wanted to share with you just a few short words about it: * Why I started The Next Chapter podcast * Why I think you’ll love it * What I’ve learnt from the podcast episodes * The potentially devastating effect on our mental health when we don’t live lives we love * How these conversations can at the very least help with your first st...

Will Chase grew up on a small family farm in Herefordshire called Tyrrells Court. He says it was idyllic but describes himself as a bit of a ‘brute’ at school. All he wanted was to be a farmer and in his 20s he secured a huge loan to buy his family farm. But then he went bankrupt. He ran away, but then he returned and thank goodness he did because it was while he was back selling potatoes to super...

Miranda always loved books and stories as a child. But what Miranda didn’t know then was this love of books would help her create her very own empire. Miranda worked in publishing for 20 years and ended up at Penguin Random House with the huge job of Editorial Director and then Senior Commissioning Editor too. But when a change came in Miranda’s home life, she left the corporate world. It was when...

Susan Lewis has written 56 books. She’s written in different genres and her novels are enjoyed by readers all over the world. You can listen to her whole story in S9: Ep 4. But what does it take to be so creative? Now Susan is back to answer your questions. In this episode we go deep into the ins and outs of Next Chapter living. We discuss: * The importance of setting boundaries * The real reason...

William Hanson had no idea when his granny gave him a book on etiquette as a young boy that it would, as he says, ‘launch a thousand ships.’ He became Britain’s youngest Etiquette Expert and he began travelling all over the world teaching. He also had no idea when he visited the BBC in Manchester, that the person on work experience who showed him the way to the studio would become one of his best...

Mel Fenton says she was a bit of a tomboy growing up, she didn’t particularly love school and she just wanted to be outside. But when she decided to go into hairdressing like her mum, her whole life changed. She worked on cruise ships, had her own business and taught hairdressing. She loved beauty products too. But it was only later when she was diagnosed with breast cancer, she thought about star...

Dr Zara Nanu MBE grew up in Moldova and she thought she’d work in education - however her path took her more towards social justice. But then she discovered something she knew she had to change.   She learned that while predictions show we’ll be driving driverless cars in just a few decades, it will take more than 217 years to close the Gender Pay Gap.   Zara knew she had to do something about thi...

Amanda Prowse loved reading as a child. She was very shy and used to escape with her ‘friends’ in her books. She loved the idea of writing her own stories, but when a teacher told her at the age of 7, she’d never make it as an author - she believed her. But fast forward to today and well, if that teacher could see her now. Amanda has written 35 novels as well as novellas, non-fiction books and a c...

The small fact that Jane Steen is named after Jane Eyre - may explain her lifelong fascination with historical fiction. But despite this, Jane says, for many years she couldn’t find her own path. She lived in different countries like Belgium and Chicago, she studied law and she worked in real estate in America too. Then, in her fifties she became a black belt in karate. Jane loves a challenge and...

(I’m going to make a small bet - you’ve never met anyone quite like Angela.) Angela started off her career in the rag trade. She learned from the best and she had a wonderful time in fashion in Fulham in the 80s, living a wonderful life. But then she started to think she wanted to make a change . Deep-down Angela wanted to design gardens. She’d talk about it, tell her friends about it, but never a...

Firstly, thank you, thank you for all your  brilliant  questions - with a capital B. We covered such a lot and not what I expected at all. And if you didn’t ask a question, fear not as I think we covered a lot which will help you too. In this episode Claire tackles: What do we do when we don’t have enough time? How do we carry on when we keep getting setbacks? Why are our knees and joints starting...

Claire Davis is one half of the Midlife Mentors – the other is her husband James. They are multi-award winning coaches who’ve helped thousands of people have a complete reset, midlife. Whether it’s weight, fitness, career, relationships, self-esteem or all of these and more,  Claire and James want to help us all thrive. They’ve worked with celebrities like Melanie Sykes and Ashley Roberts. They ru...

When Sarah received a lower grade at A level – she describes it now as a ‘brilliant thing.’ It was thanks to this she studied PR instead of English at university and it opened up a whole world she loved. It’s taken her to Harrods and other big brands in the UK and then all the way to Hong Kong, when a trip to visit friends ended up in a 7 year stay and her own business. When she returned to Englan...

Sam has always loved both Sport and psychology. It’s his passion to bring the best out of everyone he works with – and where better to test psychology, he says, than in sport? Because if it fails - well, the results are clear. Since he made a phone call to Colchester United after leaving university – he’s worked with all different footballers over the years, he even wrote a book and Cristiano Rona...

What is it really like in the world of celebrity? Lisa has always loved learning about people  - she has been, in her own words ‘nosy’ since she was a child. It was this curiosity which took her to journalism and eventually to be the Editor-in-Chief at OK magazine for ten years. She has partied with the Beckhams, she was also with Katie Price when she married Peter Andre. She’s been on a boat with...

Graham had what he describes as a ‘casual relationship’ with university, but then again, Graham has always done things ‘slightly differently.’ His jobs have included organising snowboarding events while living in the French Alps, working on the  Boomtown Festival  in Winchester and  being co-founder and Managing director of  Wake The Tiger  – the world’s first amazement park, based in Bristol whic...

Joanna Toye grew up as an only child surrounded by adults - and she wonders if this is what gave her her love for stories. She’s spent her whole career telling them. She worked for decades as a scriptwriter & producer for Radio 4’s  The Archers , as well as other treasures like  Crossroads  and  EastEnders . But then there was a twist in her own story, and Joanna decided it was time to create...