The Goldster Inside Story Podcast

Julie Summers is a bestselling writer, researcher and historian. Her books include Fearless on Everest: The Quest for Sandy Irvine; a biography of her grandfather, the man who built the 'real' bridge over the River Kwai, The Colonel of Tamarkan, Stranger in the House and When the Children Came Home, a social history of servicemen returning to their families from the Second World War. On 3 February, Julie returns to Goldster to talk about Jambusters, the story of the Women’s Institute in WW2.  This was the W.I.’s finest hour. The whole of its previous history – two decades of educating, entertaining and supporting women and campaigning on women's issues – culminated in the enormous collective responsibility felt by the members to 'do their bit' for Britain. With all the vigour, energy and enthusiasm at their disposal, a third of a million country women set out to make their lives and the lives of those around them more bearable in what they described as 'a period of insanity'.  Jambusters also inspired the hit TV series Home Fires. Join Julie as she chats to Lucinda Hawksley about her writing and about what it was like to have her book turned into a TV series. To watch to the original recording of this episode please click here.

Jarod Chapman is a breath work and meditation teacher, a fitness coach, sports masseur, and co author of The power of Yoga For Men. He was Tina Turner’s Personal Wellness Coach on her final world tour in 2008-09. His passion passion for writing about all things health, wellness, and living a positive life began after working as the Media Ambassador for Slendertone. The Power of Yoga For Men came about because Bloomsbury publishing recognised that men were seeking to find alternative and holistic approaches towards their health – in body, mind and spirit.  Jarod works as a coach and masseur to CEOs, teachers, journalists, entrepeneurs, performance artists, students; ranging in ages between 10 and 87. He works on the principle that exercise, yoga, healthy relationships, meditation, and nutritious food planning are all important to treat with a sense of responsibility, lightheartedness, discipline and commitment. The Power of Yoga For Men is an appeal to men. We’ve been gifted the ancient yoga teachings for centuries – and they are now, ever more important, to explore and practice. Jarod’s philosophy is a multi-disciplined approach to life and wellbeing guided by Hippocrates, the grandfather of modern medicine, who said “ let medicine be thy food, and food thy medicine’.  To watch the original recording of this episode, please click here.

Our lives are intrinsically linked to those of animals – whether that’s the animals we farm for food, those living in the wild, those we use for sport or the ones we choose to keep as pets. We all have a responsibility to consider our impact, and even small changes in our own lives could significantly improve the quality of theirs. Dr Sean Wensley is an award-winning vet, lifelong naturalist and a former President of the British Veterinary Association, advocating animal wellbeing around the world. Fusing keen scientific insight with tender meditations on the natural world, his new book, Through A Vet’s Eyes: How to care for animals and treat them better, reveals the injustices which animals experience every day and raises an important question: how can we choose a better life for animals? Compelling and compassionate, Through a Vet’s Eyes helps us to see things from the animals’ perspectives, and illuminates the ways we can better care for our fellow creatures. It was one of the Financial Times’ Best Summer Books of 2022. On 11 August, Sean will be talking to Lucinda Hawksley for the Goldster Inside Story. To watch he recording of this episode please click here.

Katharine has written non-fiction, short stories and books for children. The Low Road is her first novel. Her non-fiction works include Scapegoat: Why We Are Failing Disabled People and No Place to Call Home: Inside The Real Lives Of Gypsies And Travellers. Katharine also works as an investigative journalist and editor, with particular interests in disability, the environment, race and ethnicity and the care system. The Low Road is set in rural England, London and Australia in the early nineteenth century. It is based on a true story Katharine found whilst visiting her parents in the Waveney Valley of a Norfolk woman, Mary Tyrell, who was staked through the heart after death in 1813. She had been questioned repeatedly about suspected infanticide. Katharine traced her surviving daughter to a Refuge in London, where she forged a friendship which deepened into love with another young woman. Both were then transported separately to Australia, and the novel is based on their story.  This novel is about uncovering lost histories: the stories of poor women from rural areas, the stories of the imprisoned, the stories of convicts sent to penal colonies, and the stories of people who often left no records as a result of illiteracy and hardship. It also contains an important strand of narrative that explores experiences left out of the history books – in this case, a same-sex romance. To watch the recording of this episode, please click here.

James Clarke specialises in writing about cinema. He has worked with Iconic Images in London on a series of books about movie stars and their collaborations with particular photographers. The latest in this series of books is entitled Being Bardot and has just been published in the UK and the US. James also teaches screenwriting and works for the BFI as a Script Reader. James’s other books include: The Virgin Books Film Guide: War Films and Bond: Photographed by Terry O’Neill. James studied Film and Literature at the University of Warwick.  Brigitte Bardot stepped out of French films onto the global stage and remains recognised the world over for her work as an actress, a singer, and an animal rights activist. The photographers Douglas Kirkland and Terry O’Neill both worked with Brigitte Bardot at the peak of her fame in the 1960s and early 1970s, photographing the star on set and behind the scenes. Being Bardot looks at the life and work one of the most-loved faces in 20th-century cinema. Join James Clarke as he talks to Lucinda Hawksley about those images and what it is like to write about an icon of cinema history. To watch the recording of this episode please click here.

The Tennis Champion Who Escaped The Nazis is a family memoir. Felice Hardy’s grandparents fled to London with their daughter, escaping from Nazi-occupied Vienna. This book explores their new lives in England, as well as the terrible fate of those loved ones they were forced to leave behind in the Holocaust. Felice’s grandmother, Liesl Herbst, was the 1930 Tennis Champion of Austria and later beat Tim Henman’s grandmother at Wimbledon. She and her daughter also played doubles at Wimbledon – the only mother and daughter ever to do so. Woven throughout this book is the search for the author’s own identity. She was raised in an emotionally-ravaged family who suffered from survivor’s guilt and buried their pre-war existence beneath a blanket of denial. Felice is a journalist who has covered diverse subjects ranging from travel and food to sports and fashion. Her first job was at Vogue magazine and this was followed by a period as deputy editor of a ski magazine. She has also co-written more than 20 travel guidebooks.    Join Felice Hardy and Lucinda Hawksley on 29 June, 12pm. Felice will be talking about her writing career, her ancestors and why, as the descendant of two Wimbledon players, she never ceases to wonder why she can barely hit a ball over the net! To watch to the recording of this podcast please click here.

Gerald Dickens is a great great grandson of the author, Charles Dickens. He has been working as an actor, director and producer for many years.  In 1993 he created his first one-man show, a theatrical performance of A Christmas Carolinspired by Charles’ own energetic readings of the 1860s. A fascination in the life and works of his subject led him to write and direct further one-man shows including Mr Dickens is Coming!, Nicholas Nickleby, Great Expectations and A Tale of Two Cities, as well as some of the short stories, including the supernatural tale ‘The Signalman’. It was while researching the background to the latter performance that Gerald became fascinated in the circumstances behind the great Staplehurst rail disaster which took place on the 9th June 1865. In the resulting book, Dickens and Staplehurst. A Biography of a Rail Crash, Gerald investigates the circumstances that led to the accident, both from Charles’ point of view, as well as a technical one. From a study of Charles Dickens’ life to the conclusions of the various official reports, Gerald’s book is a comprehensive study of the tragedy at Staplehurst.  Join them for a truly Dickensian Goldster event. Twitch the recording of this episode please click here.

Sareeta Domingo is the author of The Three of Us (previously published as The Nearness of You), and the editor and contributing writer of the romantic fiction anthology Who's Loving You. Her novel If I Don't Have You was shortlisted for the Diverse Book Awards 2021. She has also written books for Young Adults, published under the name S.A. Domingo; these include Love on the Main Stage, which was shortlisted for the Lancashire Book of the Year 2021. Sareeta is also the Fiction Editorial Director at Trapeze Books. Sareeta was born in London but spent her formative years in Bahrain, when her family moved there with her father’s job. After getting a job as a book editor, she continued to work on her own writing on evenings and at the weekends. Having been commissioned to write erotic short stories published in compilations for Agent Provocateur, and then an erotic novella for Pavilion Books, she turned her hand to pursuing a story that had been on her mind “for as long as I can remember”. This became her first full-length novel, now published as The Three of Us. Sareeta also writes a blog about books, entitled The Palate Cleanser. To watch the recording of this episode please click here. 

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