Episodes

  • Hang-gliding and hypnotism

    Hang-gliding and hypnotism
    Feb 13 2021
    In this episode of Gone Workabout, practical philosopher Paul Baker shares some of the highlights of his life to date, spanning Ceramics at Eton, to attempting to teach Richard Branson to fly, to the Alexander technique and beyond.Paul has a matter of factness about him that is both refreshing and charming. As his story unfolds, it becomes clear that it is all heading in one direction - a better understanding of people and how to support both individuals and groups to live life more lightly.About the show:Gone Workabout is a show where host Oliver Happy talks to people who move about the things that matter most. Each conversation starts with childhood origins, and evolves organically as we explore wide-ranging topics.About my guest:Paul Baker is a practical philosopher who started life as an awarded Ceramicist, who then opened the UK's first hang gliding school and later to explore hypnotism and therapy on his lifelong journey to help people live more lightly. Paul is a therapist, coach and trainer. He lives in the South East of England.Email: Contact Paul BakerShow mentions:Life as a bit of an outsider and that feeling of never really quite fitting in, then realising I didn't really want toEton as a high school that has is very old, and has originated a large number of british prime ministers03:00 Eton as a high school leading to Sandhurst as a military academy for officers04:00 Eton hierarchy by age group and pupil / servants vs the Christian ideals underpinning the education.Dyslexia as a barrier to higher education and university.08:15 Hang gliding as a business venture and obviously the most sensible thing you could doStalling a glider as a means to surviving an almost 1000 ft drop on the first flight09:45 The high school of hang gliding as a business venture10:30 Learning to be an instructor being based on information in digestible chunks11:20 Hang gliding as a way to empower people.12:30 the best air is near the cliff and needs you to run off a cliff as fast as you canWhat feels dangerous can actually be really safe and what feels safe can be very dangerousYou can feel safe but it doesn't mean you necessarily are. And while heading to the edge of the cliff you can actually be very safe and on the right pathHow do our feelings and our thinking relate to the world around us?16:00 hang gliding moving to towing, moving to microlightsDesign principles as a source for designing hang gliding harnesses18:20 the emergence of powered hang glidersMy brother helped invent bungee jumping and the second bungy jump ever being off the golden gate bridge in san franciscoEnding up on the evening news as being in a light aeroplane (microlights) leading to an influx in people wanting to learnThe fundamentals of teaching people to fly light aeroplanes - understanding the risks and learning how to control themTeaching the marquis of Bath to fly (he wasn't a great pupil)Teaching Mike Oldfield and Richard Branson to flyRichard Branson as someone who was completely able to follow instructions, yet who is brilliant at creating businessesGoing bust after 10 years of flight schools and taking a moment to look at what I'd learned26:30 going green and doing something natural with gardening as a way to learn from mistakesGardening as fighting nature and leading to an interest in Permaculture (Permanent agriculture)Permaculture as a methodology that looks at mimicing nature in a way that leads to growing things that are useful to usRelated episode: From little things big things growRecognising that you can't separate agriculture from people looking after land31:00 Realising that everything is not linear, but is actually systemic.31:30, 34:00 The Alexander technique - a study of thinking in relation to movementFrederick Matthias Alexander as a young Australian actor over 100 years ago, who was losing his voice, who came up with this method to study his movements when talking when reciting as a way to healBook - Frederick Alexander: Man's supreme inheritanceBook - Frederick Alexander: The use of the selfInhibition - the concept of receiving an experience and not doing anything immediately as a responseWhich is more important? to solve the problem or to not create the circumstances that caused the problem?Let's tackle problems by identifying the cause and not causing the problem in the first place.37:00 mediation and conflict resolution advice - if someone says something that upsets you, only react if you think there is an advantage in doing so.Learning about people and how about how we can not get in each other's way40:45 NLP Neuro Linguistic ProgrammingVirginia Satir family therapistNLP growing out of an inability of great practitioners to teach others what they did. Based on an idea of people not knowing what they are doing. Leading to a modelling of their behaviour to via elimination to identifying the elements that worksMilton Ericcson as an extraordinary therapist they studiedJohn McWhorter as a Glaswegian Social Worker who...
    Show More Show Less
    1 hr and 13 mins
  • Music and kindness

    Music and kindness
    Sep 27 2020
    Music executive, entreprenuer and humanitarian Inma Grass provides Gone Workabout with a window into a music industry that has changed so much since the advent of downloading, iTunes and now Spotify.Through sharing her story spanning southern Spain, to Ibiza, to America and back again, Inma shows how music has both driven her and has provided both meaning and an opportunity to give back via the Altafonte foundation.It is rare to meet someone who has rubbed shoulders with such greats as Manu Chau, Manuel Garcia (and many others), yet remains true to the spirit of helping artists share their music beyond their borders - while getting paid fairly for it. From being credited with breaking Salsa in the 90s through to being at one point the fastest growing Spanish Hip Hop label, Inma has certainly seen it all.From discovering a newly-arrived Seydu busking on the streets of Madrid, to helping him to a high-flying career as a percussionist and finally to supporting his Diamond Child School in his homeland Sierra Leone, Inma paints a humanist picture of the music industry and leaves you wanting to support your local indie artists.Show mentions:Altafonte: https://altafonte.comAlmashala yoga retreat, Portugal: https://almashala.com/Artist - Seydu: https://seydu.netDiamond Child Shool, Sierra Leone: https://pjhap.wordpress.com/tag/diamond-child-school/Artist - Kiko Veneno: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kiko_VenenoArtist - Nano Stern: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nano_SternArtist - Manuel Garcia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manuel_Garc%C3%ADa_(tenor)Artist - Craig Armstrong: https://www.qwant.com/music/artist/craig-armstrong.About my guest:Inma Grass is a Spanish-born music executive, entreprenuer and humanitarian who co-founded Altefonte - a heavyweight in the Latin music world. Interesting parents, a career in music, a lifelong practive of yoga and a husband who shares her fair share approach ensures that Inma's story to date has something for everyone.Altafonte: https://altafonte.comLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/inma-grass-420013b/.Support the show on Patreon:You can support Gone Workabout here: https://donate.goneworkabout.comBook a yoga retreat at Almashala Portugal:I highly recommend a long weekend or a week at the beautiful Almashala (https://almashala.com/) yoga retreat in an authentic Portuguese village on the coast near Lisbon. In our case, the week including delicious Italian-inspired vegan food, a wide range of yoga classes, meditations, a relaxing gong class, singalongs in the evenings, walking to the wild surf beaches nearby and a day trip to picturesque Ereceira 15 mins away. They are doing something special here and it's well worth considering as a way to rebalance and recharge your batteries.Logo concept by Dan Mazig.This podcast uses the following third-party services for analysis: Podtrac - https://analytics.podtrac.com/privacy-policy-gdrp
    Show More Show Less
    1 hr and 24 mins
  • From little things big things grow

    From little things big things grow
    Sep 4 2020

    Recorded on location in beautiful Portugal, this episode of Gone Workabout features Permaculture expert Peppi Gauci. Peppi shares his story starting in Malta as a teen with wanderlust, to Australia and finally to Portugal.

    He shares most importantly how following your nose can lead you to exactly the places you need to be.

    In his case, to turning a plot of stony desert into a lush example of reforestation in Malta and to teaching Permaculture to help others regenerate what they find around them.

    This episode is named in honour of Australian musician Paul Kelly (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul_Kelly_(Australian_musician)) whose song by the same name inspired so many towards reconciliation with the Aboriginal people of Australia.

    Topics covered:

    • What is Permaculture and how does it work?
    • How the concepts of Permaculture apply to all relationships in our lives
    • Learn to grow sprouts at home: www.peppizenglifestyle.com
    • Bahrija farm in Malta: www.bahrijaoasis.com
    • An extended working holiday in Australia
    • Surfing
    • Yoga
    • Song: Paul Kelly - From little things big things grow

    .

    Contacting my guest:

    • Peppi's Permaculture training: www.peppizenglifestyle.com
    • Bahrija farm in Malta: www.bahrijaoasis.com

    .

    Book a yoga retreat at Almashala Portugal:

    I highly recommend a long weekend or a week at the beautiful Almashala (https://almashala.com/) yoga retreat in an authentic Portuguese village on the coast near Lisbon. In our case, the week including delicious Italian-inspired vegan food, a wide range of yoga classes, meditations, a relaxing gong class, singalongs in the evenings, walking to the wild surf beaches nearby and a day trip to picturesque Ereceira 15 mins away. They are doing something special here and it's well worth considering as a way to rebalance and recharge your batteries.

    Social promo photo by Markus Spiske on Unsplash



    This podcast uses the following third-party services for analysis:

    Podtrac - https://analytics.podtrac.com/privacy-policy-gdrp
    Show More Show Less
    1 hr
  • And then the lava came

    And then the lava came
    Jun 18 2020

    Adam from Give Kefir shares a tale of global wanderings, packing up and living in a motorhome, thoughts on Consumerism and most importantly, how he and his family found themselves giving away Kefir in Siem Reap Cambodia.

    The pre-Covid tale stretches from Montana to Hawaii, includes sleeping under the stars and living in up and up U.S. suburbs and covers so many of the dilemmas inherent in modern life.

    About my guest:

    Adam Close is a Social Entrepreneur and with his wife, is co-founder of Give Kefir. Give Kefir is a probiotic brewery and tasting room in Siem Reap, Cambodia offering probiotic teas,water kefir, kombucha and jun.

    • Give Kefir on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/GIVEKefir/
    • Adam on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/adam-close-6464386/

    Show mentions:

    • Angkor Wat
    • Siem Reap
    • Art with Hannah



    This podcast uses the following third-party services for analysis:

    Podtrac - https://analytics.podtrac.com/privacy-policy-gdrp
    Show More Show Less
    1 hr and 7 mins
  • How Team Jacinda handled Covid-19

    How Team Jacinda handled Covid-19
    May 26 2020

    Continuing the life during lockdown series, Podiatrist and Small business owner Susan Kingi of Aotearoa (New Zealand) shares just what made the Kiwi response to Covid-19 so remarkable. Specifically, the way "Team Jacinda" communicated, what the rest of us can learn from this and most importantly, that there is a Jacinda Ardern in every country if we would only elect them.

    Show mentions:

    1. Jacinda Ardern
    2. Tangis and the Maori approach to mourning



    This podcast uses the following third-party services for analysis:

    Podtrac - https://analytics.podtrac.com/privacy-policy-gdrp
    Show More Show Less
    1 hr and 4 mins
  • It began in the 90s

    It began in the 90s
    May 19 2020

    In a life during lockdown episode, Jonathan Goodwin describes growing up in London, moving to France, the origins of RnB and of course, the English experience of lock down.

    Contacting Jonathan:

    • Jonathan's LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jonathangoodwin1/
    • Jonathan's Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jonnygoodz07/

    Show mentions:

    • Book - The meditations of Marcus Aurelius
    • Music - Bob Marley, Sean Paul
    • Music: Davinia Goodwin
    • Inspired by Music records
    • Choice radio London




    This podcast uses the following third-party services for analysis:

    Podtrac - https://analytics.podtrac.com/privacy-policy-gdrp
    Show More Show Less
    1 hr and 33 mins
  • Grab a camera and get started

    Grab a camera and get started
    May 13 2020

    Continuing the life during lockdown series, this Gone Workabout episode features Matt and Karla Bailey from Must Do Canada. They share the Canadian experience and why they are pretty happy with how their Government have handled the pandemic. How has lockdown affected their Canada-wide travel show and what have they learned from indoor life? They share how they are flexing their plans and give advice from others as we emerge from lockdown and explore the new normal.

    About our guests:

    Matt and Karla embody the spirit of global travel. As bloggers they have shared the experience of years spent on the road particularly in South East Asia and now as YouTubers they have shot to success with their channel Must Do Canada reaching over 400,000 views on a single video. They are wandering spirits who know the value of working hard and have a lot of experiences worth sharing.

    Contacting our guests:

    • Website - Must Do Canada: https://www.mustdocanada.com/
    • YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M078XrAjBJQ

    Show mentions:

    • Canada Free Flyers: https://www.canadianfreeflyers.com/
    • Matt's blog Live Limitless: https://www.livelimitless.net/
    • Art with Hannah: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCe0qlF7tDn2nwhBZw0XpTGg
    • Curiosity Incorporated YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCgclKg8oaVlkuCurCxo2hOw
    • Audiobook: 10 habits for happiness: https://www.audible.co.uk/pd/Habits-for-Happiness-Audiobook/B082FJQYX2
    • Book Trevor Noah - Born a Crime: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Born-Crime-Stories-African-Childhood/dp/1473635306



    This podcast uses the following third-party services for analysis:

    Podtrac - https://analytics.podtrac.com/privacy-policy-gdrp
    Show More Show Less
    57 mins
  • Letting go of control

    Letting go of control
    May 10 2020

    In the third in the Gone Workabout life during lockdown series, Actress, Comedian and Writer Marsha of Roma gives us an insight into the biggest covid-19 story of all - the Italian experience. From the progression of the virus south to the capital, to the lessons improv comedy teaches us about life, this episode will have you stopped dead in your tracks, laughing and smiling.

    Contacting Marsha:

    • Via her website: http://www.marshadesalvatore.com/
    • On LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/marsha-de-salvatore-6a27791b/

    Show mentions:

    • Rome's Comedy Club: https://www.facebook.com/RomesComedyClub/



    This podcast uses the following third-party services for analysis:

    Podtrac - https://analytics.podtrac.com/privacy-policy-gdrp
    Show More Show Less
    57 mins