The Goldster Inside Story Podcast

Jessica Fellowes is the author of the crime series, The Mitford Murders, which has been published in eighteen territories worldwide and nominated for awards in England, Germany, Italy and France. Her first standalone novel, The Best Friend, was published this year in the UK and US.  Jessica started her career in journalism, working as the deputy editor of Country Life magazine and as a columnist on the Mail on Sunday. Her first books were the five official companion books to the TV series Downton Abbey, several of which have appeared in the New York Times and Sunday Times bestseller lists. Jessica has also written short stories for Vogue Italia and contributed to a number of shows on radio and television, from Woman’s Hour to Lorraine Kelly’s show, as well as having given lectures across the US and UK.  To watch the original recording of this podcast, please click here.

The Male Gaze, Joe Treasure’s first novel, was inspired by his experiences in Los Angeles during the early years of George W Bush's "war on terror". In his second novel, Besotted he drew on his memories of growing up in a large, eccentric family and his close bond with a troubled but brilliant brother. This is a theme on which Joe is now working more directly, as he is currently writing a memoir.  Joe’s most recent novel, The Book of Air, envisaged a deadly airborne virus that destroyed society and gave rise to a community of survivors, whose rules and rituals were based on a close reading of Charlotte Brontë’s Jane Eyre.  During the 2020 lockdown, Joe wrote a series of poems about famous paintings. He turned this into a performance in which the readings are richly illustrated by slides – art from six centuries brought dramatically to life through the imagined voices of the artists and the figures in their paintings. Designed initially for Zoom audiences, Out of the Frame: poems on paintings has now been delivered live in the mountains of Colorado and in Monmouth’s medieval Priory. With an actor reading the female-voiced poems (about half of them), Joe will also be presenting Out of the Frame on the 21st of June as part of the Wandsworth Arts Fringe. To watch the recording of this podcast please click here

Natalie Jenner is the internationally bestselling author of The Jane Austen Society and Bloomsbury Girls, which were both instant national bestsellers, Amazon Best Books of the Month, and People Magazine Books of the Week.  The Jane Austen Society has now been published in more than twenty languages and has been optioned for film and television. Natalie's third novel, Every Time We Say Goodbye, is scheduled for release in early 2024. Natalie was born in England and raised in Canada. She has been a corporate lawyer and career coach, and once owned an independent bookstore in Oakville, Ontario, where she lives with her family and two rescue dogs. To watch the recording of this episode please click here  

Last October we interviewed our own PPG Presenter, the world-renowned explorer Rosie Stancer, as she introduced her plans to cross the Sinai desert to gather scientific evidence on the depredation of climate change on the lives  of the Bedu nomads of the Sinai Peninsula  and her intention to report to the COP 26 Conference at the end of their 160 mile journey. (see map below of their proposed camel trek). Unfortunate security concerns in Egypt prevented the expedition from going at their chosen time – but the good news is that the wait is over, the trip is on again, and Rosie and her formidable team will be setting off on 15th Feb for their adventure. Besides Rosie Stancer , herself  a veteran of record breaking journeys to both the North and South Poles, , her latest expedition a crossing of the dried up Aral Sea, brings experience and leadership, the team also consists of  her deputy, Pom Oliver, a veteran herself of many Arctic and Antarctic journeys, and another member of the Aral Sea expedition importantly gathering physiological data on human destruction of water systems.. Arabella Dorman, a war artist. will be recording another conflict now facing humanity  – the dangers and effects of climate change.  In her paintings she will record not only landscape but also the effects on the lives of those nomads coming to terms with a changing environment, and, last but very much not least,  the redoubtable Lee Watts whose title on the expedition, Communications and Medic, belies the serious all round responsibility for the safety of his companions and the effectualness of the expedition. A former paratrooper, he is a veteran of war, a trainer and instructor and a bible of first aid. On retirement from the armed forces he established his own Gym, where he has been exercising his fellow travellers. Goldster will be monitoring the expedition throughout, keeping daily track of the journey and – put it in your diaries – on 28th February Humphrey Hawksley will interview the team at the isolated St Catherine’s Monastery in the middle of the desert., a third of the way through their desert crossing. On Tuesday 14th February, a day before Rosie leaves for Egypt, Lucinda will interview her on PPG.  As the adventure begins she will ask how Rosie is feeling, how has she overcome the disappointment and delays, what is she is looking forward to now, and what does she fear …

Laura Payne began her career as a journalist and has a background in international media and marketing. She has advised and mentored some of the world’s leading businesses and organisations – and then, in her 50s, she decided to change her life and career. She made the decision to go back into academia and train as a psychotherapist.  Her book Nine Steps to a Mindful Life (Without Meditating) grew out of her new way of life. The book contains simple exercises with which Laura believes you can turn your life around. It is for anyone looking for a fresh approach, and for all those seeking a sense of calm and empowerment. Whether you are tired, anxious, stressed or just looking to explore a new ‘you’, Nine Steps to a Mindful Life (Without Meditating) will give you insights into how to achieve personal transformation. Join Lucinda Hawksley on 2 February, as she talks to Laura about mindfulness, dream therapy and how Goldster members can enrich their life with her strategies.  http://www.laurapayne.co.uk/ To watch the recording of this episode, please click here  

Henrietta Heald is the author of Magician of the North, a biography of William Armstrong, the dazzling Victorian inventor, engineer and industrialist who created Cragside in Northumberland, the first house in the world to be lit by hydroelectricity. The book was shortlisted for two literary prizes and, since first publication in 2010, has generated huge interest in Armstrong, with Henrietta making many appearances on TV and radio and in various publications to elucidate his life and work. Earlier this year, she appeared in ‘Diggers’, an episode of BBC2’s Inside the Factory, when she was interviewed about Armstrong’s invention of the hydraulic crane. Henrietta’s most recent book is Magnificent Women and Their Revolutionary Machines, about the extraordinary and inspiring individuals who set up the Women’s Engineering Society a century ago. She argues that the achievements of the women engineers amounts to a vibrant ‘wave’ of feminism that until now has eluded the attention of historians. Before taking up the pen herself, Henrietta had a long and successful career in book publishing. She was chief editor of Chronicle of Britain and Ireland and the Reader’s Digest Illustrated Guide to Britain’s Coast. Her other books include Coastal Living, La Vie est Belle, Blue & White At Home and a National Trust guide to Cragside. A graduate in English from Durham University, she has become a campaigner on behalf of women engineers and the regeneration of local heritage in northeast England. Join Henrietta as she chats to Lucinda Hawksley, at 12pm on 5th May, on the Goldster Inside Story. To watch the original video recording, please click here 

Damian Le Bas was brought up by Romany Traveller parents, who had lived a life of hardship and adventure on the road. Because his family had largely settled down by the time he was born, Damian always felt that he had missed out on a vital part of his culture. While he was working as a journalist defending Romany people and other Travellers, he realised that few people really saw ‘Gypsies’ as belonging on the cultural and geographical maps of Britain. So he decided to spend a year living in a Ford Transit van, staying in places with an historical attachment to Britain's nomadic peoples – the stopping places – and writing about his experiences alongside the history of ethnic Travellers and snippets of his own family story. The result was his first book, The Stopping Places: a Journey Through Gypsy Britain. It mixes aspects of travel writing, memoir, folk history and nature writing and, in addition to winning several awards, was a BBC Radio 4 Book of the Week. Damian Le Bas is a former editor of Travellers’ Times magazine. In 2019 he presented the documentary A Very British History: Romany Gypsies on BBC4 and has been a consultant on various TV programmes, mostly translating into the Romani language. When he is not writing Damian is a keen hill walker, scuba diver, outdoor swimmer and sitter in coffee shops. His next book is due to be published by Chatto & Windus in 2023. To watch the recording of this episode please click here

Join Lucinda Hawksley as she chats with Adele Parks about her amazing writing career. Adele Parks MBE was born in North Yorkshire and has become one of Britain’s best-loved novelists. She is the author of 22 bestselling novels, including the Sunday Times and eBook Number One bestseller, Both Of You.  Over four and a half million UK editions of Adele’s work have been sold, and her books have been translated into 31 different languages. Her recent Sunday Times Number One bestsellers, Lies Lies Lies and Just My Luck were shortlisted for the British Book Awards and have been optioned for development for TV.  Adele is an ambassador of the National Literacy Trust and the Reading Agency: two charities that promote literacy in the UK. She has lived in Botswana, in Italy and in London and is now settled in Guildford, Surrey. In 2022 she was awarded an MBE for services to literature. To watch the filming of the recording, please click here