Po, Kan, Lambert, Dai-Sensei & Zhong Ming Fashi - Simon 1960

mentors/student

When I sat down with Simon, he told me that everything began with one evening in childhood, three TV channels, and a single kung fu programme. That moment set him on a 52‑year martial arts journey that carried him from the Isle of Wight to Asia, and now to a quieter life in the Philippines, where he still trains every day and runs his school from afar.

In our conversation, we explore what he learned under his first sensei, why travel became part of his curriculum, and how training with so many teachers and traditions shaped his ideas about destiny, discipline, and self‑direction. We wander through monastery life in Thailand, Okinawan roots, research trips to China, and the belief that martial arts are ultimately less about winning fights and more about learning how not to fight.

A big part of our chat centres on San Shan Gong, Simon’s moving meditation built around the three battles of mind, body, and spirit. We also get wonderfully practical — posture, breath, and why something as simple as “standing” can teach you lessons that stay with you for years, even on a packed tube train. And yes, we talk about martial arts in films and TV: what Hollywood gets wrong, and what still rings true if you look past the myth.

If you’re drawn to kung fu philosophy, karate history, meditation, self‑defence mindset, or simply the idea of living with a bit more calm strength, this one’s for you. Subscribe, share it with someone who trains (or wants to), and tell me the biggest takeaway you’re carrying into your week.

Bits & Bobs

• A caulkhead is a colloquial nickname for a native-born resident of the Isle of Wight
• Master Po and Master Kan from the 1970s Kung Fu TV series, whose philosophy, depth of skill, and spirituality deeply impacted him.
• Mike Lambert, his first sensei, was instrumental in his journey and whom he modelled himself after.
• Higaonna Morio Dai-Sensei, a grandmaster from Okinawa, was his inspiration for five years in America and helped him take karate back to its roots.
• Zhong Ming Fashi was his Chan Zen meditation master and spiritual leader in China.
• TV Show Kung Fu
• The Champions is a British sci-fi, espionage, and adventure TV series
• The Isle of Wight man who devoted his life to KungFu: Simon Lailey’s decades of martial arts mastery

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Memory is Fragile

"In a world where you can be anything, be kind."

John 1958

father/son

“The Longtime-Ago-Person is Probably Me”

When I sit down with John, I’m taken straight into a childhood that feels almost impossible now. He grew up in a vicarage on the edge of Dartmoor, the kind of place where a boy could walk out after breakfast, vanish for the entire day, and nobody thought to worry — partly because there wasn’t a phone to reach for. As we talk through his own mind map of longtime ago people, the memories return with astonishing clarity: the huge lawn and orchard, ponies on the moor, bikes as transport, and the absolute normality of knocking on a stranger’s door for water and maybe an apple.

Being a vicar’s son in a small Devon village gives the story a unique texture. Sundays meant church, whether he liked it or not, sitting among older parishioners while his dad — the most recognisable man in the community — did the work of keeping people connected. John reflects on faith, on the tension between everyday humanity and spiritual authority, and on how those early years shaped his sense of community, care and responsibility.

Then come the stories that make rural 1960s Britain feel wonderfully alive: open fires that smoked out the room, ice on the inside of the windows, hot water bottles, the post office that doubled as a sweet shop, returnable bottles swapped for treats, and the pub hatch where children bought sweets — or sometimes just knocked and ran. John talks about camping with his younger siblings in a farmer’s field, a whole day spent wandering in search of an osprey that never appeared, and a perfect culture clash when teenage him played Black Sabbath’s Paranoid to his vicar father just to see the reaction.

If you love British nostalgia, Dartmoor history, village life, or the bigger question of what childhood freedom does to a person, this episode will speak to you. Hit play, share it with someone who grew up pre‑mobile, and leave a review telling us what you miss most about the analogue days.

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Memory is Fragile

"In a world where you can be anything, be kind."

Rhys 1963

son/father/count/dj/islander

When I catch up with Rhys — or “The Count”, as he’s known on air — I’m taken straight back to 1976, when two twelve‑year‑olds (we are the two twelve-year-olds) walked into a school classroom and realised they were the entire class. From that moment, a friendship was built on shared trouble, fast laughs, and the kind of music discovery that rewires your brain for life.

I trace the soundtrack that shaped him: early punk, the Sex Pistols, The Jam, and those late‑night sessions with Radio Luxembourg under the pillow. We talk about the ritual of taping the Sunday chart, praying the DJ wouldn’t talk over the intro, and the thrill of buying your first record with pocket money. There are stories of Sid Vicious, chapel rebellion, and the gigs that still live in your chest decades later — from the emotional punch of Live Aid to festival moments that turn grown adults into emotional wrecks.

Then the conversation widens into real life: leaving school, scraping together work, joining the Merchant Navy, even getting deported from the US, before eventually building a long career in a trade that somehow keeps brushing up against pop culture. The biggest pivot is Monster Radio Lanzarote, where Rhys explains how a modern community station really works: no playlists, real presenters, giveaways, listener interactivity, and a commitment to local charities. It’s a brilliant reminder that radio is far from dead — it’s simply evolved.

If you love music podcasts, radio stories, 1970s and 1980s nostalgia, or honest conversations about how songs help us carry joy and loss, you’ll feel right at home here.

And if you’re listening, share it with someone who still remembers their first Walkman, and leave us a review with the one song you’d play to your younger self.

Bits & Bobs

• Sex Pistols
• Pistol - TV Mini Series
• The Jam
• Listen to The Count on Monster Radio as he counts down all the number ones from his birthday in April 1963 to the present day.
• George Thorogood - Get A Haircut
• https://monsterradio.tv
• Monster Radio App
• My Isle of Wight Festival 2013 Boomtown Rats

Send us Fan Mail

“Follow Longtime Ago People wherever you get your podcasts.”

Everyone has a story, what's yours?

Copy this RSS feed and paste it into your podcast app.

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Instagram: @longtimeagopeople

Blog: longtimeagopeople.com

Have a story echoing through time? I’m listening—300 words or fewer.

Memory is Fragile

"In a world where you can be anything, be kind."