Hello :)

In a recent podcast episode, I talked about aesthetics a lot, and I occasionally touched on the idea of 'senses'. I figured it made sense therefore to do a full podcast on it, on how you, I, everyone uses their senses while travelling, and whether our senses affect how we travel, and the experiences we gain through them. Consider, too, how our memories of a place, of a trip, live in the senses, and we can easily be reminded of them if the same senses are activated in the same way after the event.

So here's an episode on how senses affect us while travelling, and how we use them to experience our trips.

Topics discussed in this episode are:
Parts One and Two: Housekeeping and Introduction

Part Three: Sight and Vision
* Travel is very visual
* What makes a good 'sight'
* Photography
* Being Blind (Part One)

Part Four: Sound and Hearing
* Loud v Quiet sleep spots
* Changes in sound intensity - eg cathedrals in busy cites
* Is what you hear what you'd expect to hear
* The difference in sounds between home and abroad
* Diversity

Part Five: Smell
* People don't think about smell until it hits them
* Spices and food
* Out of place aromas
* Underground railways
* Personal hygiene and busy hostel dorms

Part Six: Taste
* The cultural aspects of food
* Coffee
* Cuisines around the world
* People have different tastes
* The textures of food

Part Seven: Touch and Texture
* The feel of buildings and trees
* Things you touch in everyday living
* Home décor
* The weather
* Being Blind (Part Two)
* Barefoot Backpacking

Part Eight: Proprioception, Movement, and Spatial Awareness
* The sense of balance
* Travel-sickness
* Ways to walk through a city
* Getting lost
* Alcohol

Part Nine: Timing
* Judging how long a journey will take
* Being angsty if you don't know when or where you are
* Liminal spaces
* Jet-lag
* Relativistic effects of busy days
* Being driven blindfolded

Part Ten: Conclusion

A PDF transcript of this podcast is available.

As always, if you have anything to say about the topics, or indeed about my podcasting in general, leave a comment or let me know. I also have a Patreon - if you like what you hear, and want to access exclusive content (or just to show your appreciation), then head on over.

There are no contributions in this pod, but V provides the introduction. Singing, no less. Sort of!

Until next time, bye for now. :)

Hello :)

So this podcast is mostly concerned with my recent introduction to, and experience of, stand-up comedy, and includes the audio recording of my actual performance.

Topics discussed in this episode are:
Part One: Overview and an Interview with V
* Who came to watch me perform
* The difference between spoken word and stand-up comedy
* The difference between practice and performing live
* What the comedy course consisted of
* Comedian etiquette and callbacks
* Practice makes perfect
* The other performers
* How I was on stage
* The Future

Part Two: My routine
* What is asexuality
* That bloody flag
* Why is an asexual on a gay hookup site?
* Hookup profiles
* Some people find Matt Hancock sexy

Part Three: Queer Diary
* People knew who I was before I did
* Is it better to have loved and lost than to be lonely?
* I have no idea how to flirt Part One
* Teenage Emos
* I have no idea how to flirt Part Two
* My mother never understood me
* I have always been asexual

A PDF transcript of this podcast is available.

As always, if you have anything to say about the topics, or indeed about my podcasting in general, leave a comment or let me know. I have a newsletter with extra content, and where I'll be mentioning future podcast episodes if you want to make your own contribution.

I also have a Patreon - if you like what you hear, and want to access exclusive content (or just to show your appreciation), then head on over.

There are no contributions, aside from my friend V at the start of the pod, because she's still my default option. Here she's quoting a line from 80s pop band Fatal Charm's song "King of Comedy", which might refer to the film of the same name. It's hard to tell.

Until next time, bye for now. :)

Hello :)

Another really obvious podcast episode, and one I'm surprised I hadn't yet done, though it did, of course, require finally reading the novel. I live about 6 miles south of Wuthering Heights, over the wily, windy moors, and the recent movie adaptation, the thousandth of many, has brought it all back into the public eye, so it made sense to talk about the moorland setting, the location and inspiration for the houses, and why it's not the romantic location (or indeed storyline) that certain elements of pop-culture have made it sound.

Topics discussed in this episode are:
Parts One and Two: Housekeeping and a brief plotline to the novel 'Wuthering Heights'
* What Stand-Up Comedy might lead me to
* My 'A'-Level History course
* Heathcliff/Catherine/Hindley are not nice people
* Who is Heathcliff anyway
* Revenge is a dish best served with an awful lot of money
* Everyone dies of exposure
* Same story, same names, different generation
* Memes

Part Three: Out on the wily, windy moors
* Bleak, muddy, grey, damp, and needs walking boots
* What is a moor anyway
* Saddleworth Moor, a place of death
* Midgley Moor, a place of death
* "On Ilkla Moor Baht 'at", a place of ... you get the idea

Part Four: Where is Wuthering Heights anyway?
* Top Withens is not it
* Ponden Hall might be it
* High Sunderland Hall might have been it
* Shibden Hall could be Thurcross Grange
* Ponden Kirk is definitely in the novel

A PDF transcript of this podcast is available.

As always, if you have anything to say about the topics, or indeed about my podcasting in general, leave a comment or let me know. I have a newsletter with extra content, and where I'll be mentioning future podcast episodes if you want to make your own contribution.

I also have a Patreon - if you like what you hear, and want to access exclusive content (or just to show your appreciation), then head on over.

There are no contributions, aside from my friend V at the start of the pod doing what V does best, which is helping me out with last-minute short contributions!

Until next time, bye for now. :)

Hello :)

Well, this isn't going to be the most cheerful episode I've ever produced, but we are where we are. Oh, not me, I mean the topic. This episode talks about the German Occupation of the Channel Islands in World War II, a couple of museums that go into detail about it, and how a combination of unexpected effects led accidentally to creating a story which became a really obvious episode to record.

Topics discussed in this episode are:
Parts One and Two: Housekeeping and the History of the Occupation
* How it feels to be on ADHD medication
* Where and what are the Channel Islands?
* The easiest invasion imaginable
* Life under occupation
* The lack of a large resistance movement
* How the Allies ignored them until the last moment
* You might find the truths swept under the rug

Part Three: Museums
* The German fortification tunnels and the Jersey War Museum
* Interactions between Germans and locals
* Resistance and collaboration
* The transition to liberation as depicted by ceiling lights
* The Jersey Museum and its building's dubious past
* Liberation Day and the lack of discussion about the occupation
* The Occupation Tapestry
* Should I stay or should I go?

Part Four: The Ballad of Lucie Schwob
* I don't know what you are but you're obviously Queer
* Is this what lesbian looks like?
* No
* French artistic types are always interesting people
* Resistance because and despite who you are
* We are stronger together

A PDF transcript of this podcast is available.

As always, if you have anything to say about the topics, or indeed about my podcasting in general, leave a comment or let me know. I have a newsletter with extra content, and where I'll be mentioning future podcast episodes if you want to make your own contribution.

I also have a Patreon - if you like what you hear, and want to access exclusive content (or just to show your appreciation), then head on over.

There are no contributions, aside from my friend Kira at the start of the pod doing what Kira does best. They have a WhatsApp voicenote for almost every situation.

Until next time, bye for now. :)

Hello :)

Yeh, it's been a while. There's reasons for that. So here's a brief overview of what I've been up to. I talk about places I've been, things I've done, medication I haven't taken, and people I haven't snogged.

Topics discussed in this episode are:
Part One: Housekeeping
* WTM and Traverse Creator Awards
* Premier Inns are how much?!?
* Trips to Freiburg, Nottingham, and Jersey
* An introduction to Elvanse, my given ADHD medication

Part Two: King of Comedy
* Making People Laugh: Primary School Edition
* My Comedy Inspirations
* What I've done after two lessons in stand-up comedy
* Queer Humour and being a stereotype
* But People Like Me Anyway

A PDF transcript of this podcast is available.

As always, if you have anything to say about the topics, or indeed about my podcasting in general, leave a comment or let me know. I have a newsletter with extra content, and where I'll be mentioning future podcast episodes if you want to make your own contribution.

I also have a Patreon - if you like what you hear, and want to access exclusive content (or just to show your appreciation), then head on over.

There are no contributions, aside from my friend Kira at the start of the pod telling me how Kirkby-in-Ashfield has changed over recent years.

Until next time, bye for now. :)

Hello :)

Here's another episode where I run with three ideas and make a small to-microphone editorial. This one's all about Travel Blogging - the ethics, aesthetics, and social culture of it. It was inspired partly by a trip to WTM London, and partly by a post on Instagram.

Topics discussed in this episode are:
Part One: The Politics of Travel Blogging
* The layout of WTM
* The stalls that went big ...
* ... the stalls that went small, or not at all
* Can we be ethical and still speak to certain tourist boards ...
* ... and does anyone really care if we are or not?

Part Two: The Aesthetics of Travel Blogging
* Selfies rule
* People like people, and people like to see people
* Am I authentically The Barefoot Backpacker?
* How authentic is anyone when they create their aesthetic?
* The Instagram Husband
* Every Picture Tells A Story
* Why I take so many photos

Part Three: The Social Culture of Travel Blogging
* The Pre-Social Media Times
* Twitter Travel Chats
* Online Forums
* Engagement Pods
* Who is a Travel Blogger's Audience and what if it's Other Travel Bloggers?
* Accidental Audiences and Communities - do they matter?

A PDF transcript of this podcast is available.

As always, if you have anything to say about the topics, or indeed about my podcasting in general, leave a comment or let me know. I have a newsletter with extra content, and where I'll be mentioning future podcast episodes if you want to make your own contribution.

I also have a Patreon - if you like what you hear, and want to access exclusive content (or just to show your appreciation), then head on over.

The two Instagram accounts I refer to are Paulina_on_the_Road and GeorgiaRoseHardy.

Until next time, bye for now. :)

Hello :)

Back in June 2025 I travelled to the Caribbean for the first time, along with my regular travel companion Laura. Now, one might ask, why is a non-swimming easily-bored less-than-aesthetic enby with Celtic skin (and all the sun resistance *that* doesn't entail) spending two weeks in the Caribbean? Wasn't four days in Maldives enough to satisfy the tropical beach itch?

Well, apparently not.

Apart from getting to 100 Countries in 50 Years, we were interested to see if it were even possible to travel independently, slowly, and locally, through the region they way most holidaymakers don't. Because we're trend-setters, and on a budget. Just like we attempted in Maldives, but with more islands and more countries involved.

As it turns out, I had a lot to talk about so this trip is spread over two consecutive podcast episodes. Otherwise you'd be listening to me talk for two hours. If that's what you want me to do, hire me, damnit!

Topics discussed in this episode are:
* Laura is leaving me!
* Upcoming London trips
* Dominica is green and full of hills
* Roseau is not very big
* Walking and visiting another sulphur spring
* Barbados Airport Is Lacking One Key Feature And It Surprised Me
* A quite touristy end to the trip
* Impressions of all the islands
* Can you visit the Caribbean on a budget?

A PDF transcript of this podcast is available.

As always, if you have anything to say about the topics, or indeed about my podcasting in general, leave a comment or let me know. I have a newsletter with extra content, and where I'll be mentioning future podcast episodes if you want to make your own contribution.

I also have a Patreon - if you like what you hear, and want to access exclusive content (or just to show your appreciation), then head on over.

Until next time, bye for now. :)

Hello :)

Back in June 2025 I travelled to the Caribbean for the first time, along with my regular travel companion Laura. Now, one might ask, why is a non-swimming easily-bored less-than-aesthetic enby with Celtic skin (and all the sun resistance *that* doesn't entail) spending two weeks in the Caribbean? Wasn't four days in Maldives enough to satisfy the tropical beach itch?

Well, apparently not.

Apart from getting to 100 Countries in 50 Years, we were interested to see if it were even possible to travel independently, slowly, and locally, through the region they way most holidaymakers don't. Because we're trend-setters, and on a budget. Just like we attempted in Maldives, but with more islands and more countries involved.

As it turns out, I had a lot to talk about so this trip is spread over two consecutive podcast episodes. Otherwise you'd be listening to me talk for two hours. If that's what you want me to do, hire me, damnit!

Topics discussed in this episode are:
* It's getting dark
* Why did we choose the Caribbean
* Issues with inter-island travel
* An underwhelming arrival in Saint Lucia
* Fort Vieux and Laborie
* Three days in Soufriere - beaches and sulphur springs
* Castries isn't a pretty city
* Two very dour days in Martinique

A PDF transcript of this podcast is available.

As always, if you have anything to say about the topics, or indeed about my podcasting in general, leave a comment or let me know. I have a newsletter with extra content, and where I'll be mentioning future podcast episodes if you want to make your own contribution.

I also have a Patreon - if you like what you hear, and want to access exclusive content (or just to show your appreciation), then head on over.

Until next time, bye for now. :)