Show Us Your Bits

Our guest, journalist, radio and TV presenter Daisy McAndrew is a Royal Commentator for NBC the big American network, so her work is cut out with their obsession with our royal family. Daisy shares some of her stories from her fascinating career, including what it was like to report on the late Queen’s death. But politics is her first love she shares how, at the age of 13 she wanted to be a spy and that led to her working in the Houses of Parliament at 19, then her career took her to the BBC and ITV. Now, a broadcaster of over 20 years, Daisy has interviewed nearly every prime minister and has her own politics show on Talk TV.  She describes what it’s like to be on screen and the harsh public scrutiny that comes with that, but how she’s got more confident as she’s got older with her fashion choices. A committed shopaholic, Daisy says her wardrobe, jewellery and accessories collection is embarrassingly large, but that she’s a ‘more is more’ kind of girl.  However, she’s very practical and buys and sells everything on eBay and Vinted.  Having been the victim of several burglaries, she buys costume jewellery and, following in the footsteps of her father, believes that antiques are the way forward. She tells us the story of her treasured antique diamond  ring that her friends clubbed together to buy her for her fiftieth. She also shows us the round pendant with pearls and rubies gifted from her mum to her dad. Her every day jewellery includes three rings, she never takes off, including her wedding ring, a ring from her late cousin,Janey, plus a gift from her daughter, a gold and silver ring with an amethyst.  She showed us her many perspex colour-co-ordinated jewellery boxes full of drawers filled with necklaces, rings and earrings in every colour.  With so much choice at her fingertips, Daisy loves a bold statement necklace for her TV show, which she says often raises a few eyebrows and cause a problem with the sound engineer who has to get the microphone just below her chin. Savvy, funny, down-to-earth and full of common-sense advice, Daisy shares her fashion top tips as well as her life hacks to find confidence in what you do, and to stop caring what others think. You can find Daisy on Vinted @DMCA1234 Insta @daisymac1 and on X @daisymcandrew.

There are 27 armed conflicts in the world going on right now and this week we’re talking to Sara Bowcutt, the Managing Director of Women For Women UK, an incredible charity that invests in the power and potential of women affected by war. The charity enrols women into a twelve month programme and helps them by supporting their health and well-being, teaching them about their rights, gives them practical skills and business training so that they can start to earn and save money. Sara describes how these women, often in the most war-torn, poverty-stricken places in the world, find hope and strength in the sisterhood the programme helps create. Sara’s awe-inspiring life involves travelling to far off countries to meet and support these displaced women and their families, then a few days later organise and attend glamorous events and meet high-end brands and individuals in order to raise much needed funds to support the charity. This is how I became involved and was invited to Kosovo to pass on my skills and meet these incredible women affected by war, whose stories inspired me to make the @W4WI 'share a hug' collection. The proceeds of which help support the charity.Sara talked very movingly about her work and then shared the stories behind her dainty and chunky pieces that mean the most to her, including some of the 'She Dares' beaded bracelets each made by a woman in one of the programmes, as well as the beautiful vintage diamond ring which she bought for herself, when she achieved her dream. Someone who firmly believes in the sisterhood, Sara says that all of her most meaningful jewellery pieces were gifted to her by the special women in her life. This is an enlightening episode and well worth a visit. 

A podcast full of sunshine with photographer, director and videographer Jerome Maas, who talks to us from Cape Town. He’s living his dream life, shooting campaigns for International travel and lifestyle brands. Born in the US, but growing up in the UK, Jerome describes how his childhood was inspired by his parents’ monthly subscription to National Geographic magazine and says he was always the kid with a camera. A business entrepreneur, Jerome found his future path was shattered when Covid hit and he had to fold his agency and lay off all his staff. But always seeing a silver lining, in 2022 he took the brave decision to pursue his childhood dream of becoming a photographer, getting his first gig in Brazil. And he’s never looked back.  He believes in a flow state and that the trick to life is to find that thing that comes most naturally to you and that when you’re in it, time just disappears. Always on the move, Jerome describes how he’s cut down on having lots of stuff, but jewellery is his non-essential item that he wears everywhere, and he describes the stories behind his treasured silver rings.  Find out more at www.jeromemaas.com Insta: @jeromemaas

Join Alice and Josie as they debrief about Mother's Day and the Oscars. They're also talking about puppy training with Pickle, and Alice learning to interpret tail signals in the park. Plus, Josie gives her verdict on her cultural weekend which included Dune II and The Duchess Of Malfi. And, with a sixteenth birthday on the horizon Alice and Josie discuss the etiquette of shooting people in Laser Zone. 

Alice and Josie are looking back at the inspirational women they’ve interviewed in this series so far, and are talking about International Women’s Day.  With it being awards season and the Oscars coming up, they’re discussing their love of movies and Alice’s continued love affair with the Barbie movie and her Oscar favourite, Poor Things. Our guest, Denise Parkinson is no stranger to the red carpet and, in fact, often gets to watch a movie a day. A marketing guru in the Film Industry, Denise is a Bafta voter and regularly rubs shoulders with the likes of Christopher Nolan and Julianne Moore. She shares her Oscars gossip, plus her red carpet routine, from shopping for her glamorous dresses in charity shops and TK Max, to her daily yoga classes. Denise who is often too busy to think about jewellery is never without her precious old-school Omega watch and her diamond studs. Her special keepsakes include her lanyards from the Apollo 11 anniversary at Nasa and the gorgeous brooches she wears with her handbags on the red carpet. One of life’s survivors, Denise is living life to the fullest and doing some extreme travelling whilst her knees are good, from Machu Pichu to Everest basecamp to trecking in Bhutan. She says her life hack is to adopt an ‘I Tonya’ like mentality and to stay hungry.  And also 'to keep on keeping on'. Check out Denise on Insta @denparkinson @deniseparkinson on FB.

Meet the delightful Adele Parks, author of 24 internationally bestselling novels, from family dramas, historical sagas to psychological thrillers.  Her latest, Just Between Us, out in paperback at the end of March is an unputdownable page-turner about a missing female bigamist and the two devastated families she has left behind.Having always had a vivid imagination as a child and being fascinated by people, Adele is a born writer. She shares her creative process, from her discipline of daily word count to her tips for character development.  Plus, she shares her secret hack for getting young people to read.  In 2022, she thought it was a prank at first when she was offered an MBE and deleted the email. When she realised it was real, she went to the palace and met the King, receiving her medal for her services to literacy through her charitable work.Very close to her grandparents and great grandparents, Adele tells us the touching story of collecting charms for the precious bracelet they gave her. They also inspired her love of crockery and her hobby of taking vintage plates and adorning them with feminist pictures and slogans. Inspiring, funny and down to earth, Adele says life is not about being happy so much as finding your purpose. Find her on instagram @adele_parks and on X and Facebook