My guest on this weeks episode is Matt McGowan from the Save Ardrossan Harbour campaign group. He gives us a bit of background on why the community group had to be setup. We then move on to discuss why this campaign is non political and delve into the importance of getting the harbour upgraded for the new CalMac ferries. There's also a bit of a deep dive on why this should be a national issue and what are some of the things that have went wrong since 2016/17 with regards to getting an agreement in place to get some boots and machinery on the ground in Ardrossan to upgrade what is at the moment a privately owned asset by Peel Group/ Peel Ports. In the week of recording Transport Scotland and the Scottish Government issued a press release to say they were pursuing the potential purchase of the harbour, we chat about some of the implications of that and what the future holds for SAH, the three towns and Arran.

Why Ardrossan Harbour Matters 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿 ‘Busiest’ Ferry ⛴️ Route

Ajmal talks us through his life and his business philosophy. We discuss a range of subjects from working in hospitality, why he doesn't like crypto and how he transformed his Indian restaurant business from a Mom &amp; Pap shop to one of the biggest commercially successful takeaway operations in the country. Listen first hand to Ajmal as you've never heard him before on how he personally achieved success in business here for free. We also have a lively debate on the future of remote working. You can let is know your thoughts on this. As Ajmal himself states at the start of the podcast, no topic is off limits, so we chat about immigration, who's funding right wing propaganda, Boss Pizza, Politics, TikTok being banned and so forth. Finally, Ajmal opens up about his family, you can hear first hand if they would like to work for him and if he's happy with his lot in life.

Ajmal Mushtaq CEO Of Boss Pizza Gives Us The Secrets To His Success In Business

My guest on this episode is Karina Molloy who served with the Irish military for over thirty years. Karina is a women of many firsts, she was part of the first swathe of female recruits to be enlisted officially in the Irish army as well as the first to attempt to pass selection for the Irish special forces. Unfortunately, her time in the army was plagued by sexual harassment and even more with sexual assaults. Karina talks openly about her career there are even a couple of light hearted moments shared throughout. You'll hear first hand what the logistics were of females first steps in the Irish army alongside subjects such as isolation, mindset &amp; psychology etc. Karina is campaigning to make military's across the world safe places for women to work at without fear of assault. so, that does take up the bulk of this discussion. She's also written a very good book about her life titled the same as this podcast. You can grab the book here if you'd be interested https://www.amazon.co.uk/Woman-Defence-Story-Enemy-Within/dp/1399712306 The audio is slightly distorted at the start so, apologies for that but, it's still good enough to hear Karina's story and does improve as the recording progresses.

A Woman in Defence: Karina Molloy Talks About The Enemy Within The Irish Army

This podcast sees me chatting with David Walsh who's a Professor of Health Inequalities at Glasgow University. He's also co authored a book with the same title as the podcast.
We talk about the shocking impact of austerity policies on life expectancy and what kind of political decisions have triggered this and some policies that could be changed to improve things. Austerity on its own sounds like any other noun but, when you break down what austerity actually does, the human impact of austerity policies and ideology then, the data and the figures revealed in the book is pretty horrific. We delve into that here, please help to spread the word about this by listening or purchasing the book which whilst a heavy subject matter is a fascinating read.

Social Murder? With David Walsh From Glasgow University

From Binman to SAS: Who Dares Wins Champion In this episode, I sit down with Grant Flynn, the "ninja binman" turned SAS: Who Dares Wins Champ. Grant is a fitness fanatic with an incredible story that takes him from working on the bins to competing and succeeding in one of the toughest reality TV challenges. We kick things off by discussing what it’s really like to work on the bins and the misconceptions people have about the job. Grant shares what he wishes more people knew about the hard work and dedication it takes. From there, we dive into his experiences on reality TV, including his time alongside ex-special forces members from around the world. As one of the winners of the hugely popular SAS: Who Dares Wins, Grant takes us behind the scenes of the show, revealing what it was like to endure grueling challenges, the mindset needed to push through, and some hilarious and inspiring stories from his journey. 
 
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Binman to SAS Who Dares Wins Champion: Grant Flynn The Muscle Hamster

Hugh was a Professor of Applied Philosophy at Glasgow Caledonian University. He taught, classical sociological theory and medical ethics. The latter of which takes up the bulk of today's discussion as we chat about the assisted dying bill or, assisted suicide as Hugh termed it that is currently making it's way through the Scottish parliament. We also talk a bit about Scottish witchcraft towards the end of the chat. Hughs authored a few books as well as some short stories as part of Battlefield writers that you can check out here https://battlefieldwriters.com/

Assisted Dying & Scottish Witchcraft With Hugh McLachlan Retired Professor of Philosophy & Sociological Theory

My guest on this episode is Jeanette Findlay. Jeanette is a Professor of Economics at University of Glasgow. She is also a committed Trade Unionist as the head of UCU Scotland 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿 and activist on various issues. She is also the chairwoman and founder of Call It Out which campaigns against anti catholic bigotry and anti Irish racism. We talk about what economics actually is and some of the research that Jeanette is interested in. After that we delve into some of Jeanettes trade union work and some of her activism which includes helping to coordinate Fans against criminalisation which was a working class led campaign to repeal some poorly implemented laws drafted by the SNP government. There’s a theme of working class issues throughout the chat.

Jeanette Findlay - Professor Of Economics Glasgow University - Chair of Call It Out & Trade Unionist

My Guest on this episode is Nicola Mantalios who hails from South Shields. She starts off by discussing some activities that she got up to as part of bucket list of 30 things to do before she turned 30. We then discuss the benefits and natural high you get from some low level crime (sorry local supermarkets) Nicola was brought up as a Jehovah’s Witness and she explains what that was like. From there, she takes us on a journey to how she started stand up comedy and how that pursuit led to her being shunned and ex communicated from her family and congregation. There is humour shared throughout despite the tough subject matter. Nicola is a proper 'Jarra lass' in her own words and she has got an incredible and inspiring story, listen in to find out what she is all about. If you enjoy the podcast please do consider following and leaving a rating as it costs nothing and means allot. 
Alternatively you can head over to Patreon.com/CaleyCorner if you're still reading this (well done) and you can help contribute towards the production costs incurred thus far if you can afford it.

Growing Up In A Cult To The Light Of Stand Up Comedy With Nicola Mantalios

Joining me on today's episode is Alan Knight a film maker and documentarian. Alans films included him directing a documentary called London Calling which shone a light on BBC editorial bias during the Scottish Independence referendum so, we chat a bit about that and some of the stories that were covered in both the documentary and a book about the same subject. Alan also talks about some of his other work, including some animations that he directed that were voiced over by Succession star Brian Cox and other films he recommends.

BBC Bias During the 2014 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿 Referendum? With Alan Knight London Calling Documentary Director

Join Paul and various guests for some entertainment, laughs and maybe the odd bit of insightful life advice along the way.

Caley Corner

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