SHED TALKS (Jeremy Thomas)

Tim Lott talks about taking a train journey with David Bowie, severe depression, the ups and downs of growing up in a working class family, medication, bad trips, how ADHD made sense of some of his past actions,  tennis, the music of Gillian Welch, being a father to four daughters, why he thought Mike Leigh was faking it, and his passion for cheesy musicals. How the tragedy surrounding his Mother was instrumental in him becoming an award winning writer and more recently hosting a writer's boot camp: timlott.substack.com

A successful playwright, broadcaster, stand up, Guardian blogger, A. L. Kennedy is best known for her dark, emotionally intelligent award winning novels, She is famous for not suffering fools,  However, in person, wearing her bright yellow lifejacket, Alison Kennedy is less frightening to meet than you might think. She kindly paddled from Essex to Somerset and moored her beloved Kayak outside the Shed not for so much as a Shed Talk than a wee shed chat.

Nathan Horrocks has jumped many fences in his life, both literal and metaphorical. Raised in Yorkshire and Kenya, he talks candidly about traumatic events including being separated from his mother while a small child and then reconciling with her 25 years later. He lifts the lid on what it is really like to be a professional jockey. How he loves the movie 'Good Will Hunting' and ended up living in California, happily married, and making award-winning documentary films about horses.

Ian Rankin spills the beans about his mental health and allows us to see behind the creator of those 23 Inspector Rebus crime novels. Born on the tough side of Fife, he came up the hard way but credits his elder sister for encouraging him to write his thoughts into diaries. To understand him, you need to know that Edinburgh is his capital, and since 1986 he has had the same bride. That he was a member of two punk rock bands called The Dancing Pigs and the New Germs. Proud father of two sons, His rise to fame has not been an easy ride. His seriously ill son and financial insecurity triggered many terrifying dark nights of the soul. Now a wealthy man, he sticks to his mates, still supports old musical guns such as The Who but also much lesser-known unfashionable acts like Alex Harvey and Jackie Leven. His choice of lifejackets is loyal and eclectic. From Blackadder to Brian Eno's Music for Airports. Which book has Ian Rankin read over 20 times? Special outtake :-  https://youtu.be/Bd5WH0EvOZM

Gordon a multilingual journalist talks about being an only child, Autism, Withnail & I, Scotland, the great Hiroshi Murakami, loneliness, James Joyce, meeting the Dutch love of his life aged 18, getting married, Stress, Bladerunner,  having two kids diagnosed with autism, the healing power of running, Breaking Bad, Our Friends in the North, New Order. What happened when his wife, aged 36 years, received a diagnosis of terminal cancer. How the hell did he cope?

Dick Moore hated school so badly, he faked appendicitis. At odds with a sadistic headteacher, his depression and anxiety were very real. An immense ability n the rugby field kept him afloat. Fast forward to university, Dick became a teacher. He then married and within 5 years was the youngest prep school headmaster in the country. He occupied that position for 22 years and had four children. In 2011, his third son Barney took his own life. This episode is about that, and much more.

Shed Talks’ very own psychologist Karen Cowan, switches to the hot seat and bears all for this extended edition. She talks candidly about growing up with aristocratic heroin and alcohol addicted parents, amidst great wealth but amidst fear, anxiety and bad asthma- never feeling safe. How protecting her younger sister helped her deal with her father’s imprisonment and her mother's many hospitalisations due to alcoholism and bipolar not forgetting the consequences of forbidden love. Ultimately how Karen's marriage to film producer Paul Cowan – Crying Game, The Krays and Dance with a Stranger saved her life.

Mike Fisher, the brains behind BAAM and one of the leading experts in anger management. Mike talks about growing up under the Apartheid system in South Africa. rage, cats, imploding, heartbreak and betrayal, supporting Arsenal and Barcelona FC simultaneously.

Charming as her famous great aunt, Audrey Hepburn, Roma Hooper has spent her life helping others. A tragedy in her childhood had a lasting effect on her mental health. She has used this experience to support many others and, in particular, young offenders in prison. Which led her to set up the highly successful Prison Radio Service. She received the OBE in 2017.

This poem helped Tim Clark and David Enthoven decide to offer Robbie Williams a serious management contract. It's written by Robbie Williams about a former schoolteacher of Robbie's and is definetely not complementary. Check out what Tim Clark has to say about the scene that unfolded the first time they visited Robbie's flat.