From Tree Felling to Smart meters
Heads & Dovetails
Following an observation from Gill's husband on last week's episode she apologises to Jamie for talking so much at the start of the last episode. In her defence she says she was praising Jamie about his skills. Talking of skills Jamie is a bit 'miffed' as he was asked to become involved with a tree removal at a local church. He was asked to use his skills to make some things, stool, benches etc. from the wood of the tree being felled to help parishioners accept it had to come down. He was also promised some of the wood. It's another tale of mis-communication with a number of...
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From Mary Poppins Patio to charging for your expertise.
Heads & Dovetails
Gill has lost her voice with the dreaded lurgi that everyone seems to be getting but Jamie thinks it makes her sound sexy! Gill starts this episode by giving a shout out to Jamie and his expertise as she wanted a particular sign for a present - Mary Poppins Patio, and knew just the man to make it for her! She explains the reason behind it in the podcast and how people don't see the expertise and time that goes into making something. Jamie says how busy he has been with an elephant currently on his bench - which Gill jokes about. They discuss how when you are creating something,...
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From 'Pink-washing' to making a scorched owl.
Heads & Dovetails
With it being cancer awareness month Gill questions are companies simply doing, what she's calling, 'pink-washing' similar to 'green-washing' the public? Jamie and Gill discuss the irony of companies going pink, printing pink ribbons on their packaging to promote cancer awareness month when those same companies use known carcinogenic chemicals in their products! How can that be right? They chat about how they would prefer companies not spend part of the their marketing budget on going pink for a month but to do something to remove toxic chemicals from their products. Jamie talks about candles...
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Is Authenticity making a comeback to terry nappies?!
Heads & Dovetails
A cough from Gill at the start of the recording opens up a discussion about editing both this podcast and Jamie's videos. That discussion then leads into talking about being authentic and how people seem to be slowly returning to a need to see what is actually real rather than acted 'reels' on IG. Gill wants to talk about a particular topic to do with sustainability, which in part has come from the book she reading 'Less' by Patrick Grant, and the use of terry nappies! They chat about the pros and cons of terry nappies v. disposable ones not just on the environment but also on the child. Gill...
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From Agony Aunt to Starbars
Heads & Dovetails
It seems Gill's turned into an Agony Aunt for Jamie in this episode! Jamie had several things, problems he wanted to ask Gill about to see if she could help him work out what was going on in his brain! They talk about the possible reasons for Jamie's washing up obsession and how he's been training not only his brain but his family! His family are now expecting him to do certain tasks - Dad's jobs - like the washing up, emptying the bins etc. Whilst he doesn't mind he wants to know ho wto stop the family taking it for granted they are 'his' jobs! Gill explains, in very basic terms,...
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From Un-ironed pineapple shirts to plastic in compost!
Heads & Dovetails
Jamie has been pondering on the chat he and Gill had in episode 69 about ironing and had an 'Aha' moment about why he doesn't iron his shirts. He realises it goes back to his days of working on boats and having to be in meetings with management one minute whilst also working on boats the next. An unironed shirt seemed to cover both situations well - smart enough for a meeting but not too smart to have the Mickey taken out of him when woking on the boats. Gill goes on to talk about compost and her recent experience of finding a LOT of large, small, solid and thin bits of plastic as well...
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From Freud or Adler to 'updating' ourselves.
Heads & Dovetails
Jamie had sent Gill a link about Freud versus Adler and had society been following the wrong theory? They chat about the differences in approach to helping people - Freud looking back to childhood traumas and Adler looking forward. After chatting about the various types of therapy they both decide they're more in the Adler camp but recognise that what works for one person may not work for another. Gill talks about how she suddenly realised that she had an updated, better solution to carrying the bird food into the garden than she had been using for years as a result of learning to willow...
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From ironed bedding to an abundance of fruit.
Heads & Dovetails
Jamie and Gill wanted to start the episode by giving a big shout out and dedicate this episode to Alex Holden for no other reason than they found out he has listened to every single one of their episodes! If you are a maker, listened to our podcast and would like a mention let us know. Gill had a couple of big questions for Jamie as part of her 'research': Did Jamie use a top sheet on their bed? Did they iron their sheets? Gill explains why she likes a top sheet and why she likes ironed bedding. Jamie explains why he doesn iron although admits he does like sleeping in ironed sheets....
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From obituaries and eulogies to change your life?
Heads & Dovetails
This may sound like a dark episode but it really isn't, it's more about taking stock of your life and who you are. Gill and Jamie define the difference between an obituary (the written word usually in a newspaper announcing someones death with a bit about their life) and a eulogy (usually spoken at a funeral / memorial service about someone's life but can be written down). Jamie had read an article - link here: which got him thinking about how he wanted to be remembered and writing his own obituary! As Jamie explains he doesn't want someone to stand up as his funeral for example and say...
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From Hot, hot, hot to micro weddings.
Heads & Dovetails
Being British of course Jamie and Gill have to comment on the weather which has been hot in the south for quite a while. Luckily in the South West where Gill lives it's not been too bad whilst others, particulary in the South East have been melting! Jamie and Gill share various tips they learnt or heard of over the years to help keep cool from putting your feet in cold water to opening up your attic hatch at night. Jamie raises the topic of less is more and somehow this leads them to talking about weddings. They discuss the vast sums of money people spend, that they don't have, on a wedding...
info_outlineGill raises the topic of the pressure couples face over their decision to not have children having seen a post on IG where a young couple, in response to comments about the sound of tiny feet, told everyone that they didn't want children and asked people not to say they would change theri minds. Jamie and Gill talk about how something personal ends up involving more than just the couple making the decision including thier parents, family and friends.
Gill tells Jamie how she's already getting the comments from friends who are now grand-parents about 'I bet you can't wait to be a grand-mother' when actually she's not bothered either way and when she tells them that they say 'you'll feel differently...' Gill says if she has grand-children then great but she doesn't want her son to feel any 'unspoken' pressure from her for him to have them if he and any future partner decide otherwise.
In the second part of the podcsat Jamie talks about the patio he has been making and how it is actually a joy not to rush it but to take your time. Gill tells Jamie how she now leaves a piece of furniture for a while before up cycling it, taking her time to decide what she wants to do with it and what feels right. They both talk about how taking time to make decisions impacts on so many different areas of your life from designing your kitchen to choosing furniture.