Show Us Your Bits

It's Christmas approaching and Alice and Josie are in a festive mood as they discuss their family traditions, including the tat that goes into stockings for the kids, Christmas wreath making (Alice only does it for the free fizz) and come up with a podcast festive ditty. Josie talks about her appearance on Woman's Hour this week and the announcement of her new book deal and the buzz around You & Me & You & Me & You & Me, whilst Alice talks about the Posh Totty Designs pop-up in Westfield and the trends in personalised jewellery for Christmas. Along the way they give lots of recommendations and inspiration for presents from the guests on this series - including Freya North's Book Lovers Journal, the gorgeous La Pochette bags, Mama Shrooms, Gilly Smiths cookery book retreats and the fabulous spiced mead from local bee-inspired restaurant and bar, Apiary. Wishing all the listeners a very jolly festive season.

Get ready for a truly sweet episode of Show Us Your Bits! This week, we’re joined by Noemi and Alistair Bell, the brilliant minds behind The Apiary, Brighton’s honey-inspired restaurant that’s creating quite the buzz. What began as a lockdown passion for beekeeping has transformed into a thriving business, complete with honey-infused cocktails, delectable dishes, and mead that’s gone from medieval to marvelous—think posh bottles and modern flair! In this episode, we’ll explore their incredible journey from hive to table, uncover the art of beekeeping, and learn fascinating bee facts, including the secrets of royal jelly and the antics of fiery Italian queen bees. Oh, and of course, we’ll be sampling their glorious mead and local honey along the way! Whether you’re a die-hard bee fan or just curious about how honey can work its magic in food and drinks, this episode is bound to delight and inspire. Tune in now for a sticky-sweet adventure! and Join the Hive apiary.co.uk #apiary_uk

Today’s guest is a true advocate for the healing power of food and community. We’re joined by Gemma Ogston, a Brighton-based plant-based chef, author, and the creator of Gem’s Wholesome Kitchen. Her journey is remarkable, from her beginnings as an addiction counselor to becoming a voice for health and healing through food. Gemma has penned two game-changing cookbooks—The Self-Care Cookbook and The Healing Cookbook—one of which was used by Queen-to-be Kate on her own path to wellness. She’s also a familiar face on Saturday Kitchen, where she shares her passion for vibrant, plant-based cooking with the nation. As if that weren’t enough, Gemma has recently launched Mama Shrooms, a new venture celebrating the healing properties of mushrooms. From her work with Soho House to her community workshops, Gemma’s dedication to nourishing the mind and body is unparalleled. So, let’s jump into this inspiring conversation about life, food, and the magic of mushrooms! Find her on Instagram @gemma.ogston and @mamashrooms_ and at linktr.ee/gemswholesomekitchen

We’re thrilled to welcome journalist, author, and an award-winning podcaster Gilly Smith, who brings us deep into the world of food, culture, and tells us about how she’s carved out a unique position in the world of food media. From interviews with top chefs to uncovering the ethical and cultural sides of cuisine in her podcast ‘Cooking The Books’, Gilly has an unmatched knack for connecting people through the power of food. Wearing many hats, including working for the food foundation, she’s passionate about fixing the broken food system and educating people about eating ethically. Today, she’s here to share some of her most personal keepsakes including her beautiful rune ring that her husband gave her, along with her mother’s glamorous pearls.  Filled with industry gossip, anecdotes, insider tips, Gilly reveals how she’d overcome imposter syndrome and how to live with purpose and fulfilment. Do check out her brilliant podcast and find out more at www.gillysmith.com

Our guest this week is entrepreneur Justine Rouch, who has worked for some of the world’s most recognised and luxurious brands. With a love of fashion and sports, Justine has traveled all over the world, but found she was always in need of a bag to put her gym kit in, or her wet swimming costume after a swim. With a break between jobs for her and her husband, Mike, in 2016, they decided to set up a business making the sports bag Justine knew was missing. But tragically, five days later, Mike died. With her world turned upside-down, she threw herself into the business, focussing on something happy and with potential, as she navigated her grief. In 2019 she launched ‘her baby’ La Pochette and talks through the journey of bringing her eco-friendly, sustainable sports bag to market. She says she’s not afraid of making a fool of herself and says that resilience is key to her success, along with leaning into her fear and trusting her gut instinct.  Justine shows us her treasured charm bracelet of her late mother’s, and tells the gorgeous story of her silver jigsaw proposal puzzle and the ring she designed to celebrate her own success.  Do check out the fabulous bags at www.lapochette.co and look out for them at boutique gyms in London and five star luxury hotels across the world. 

It’s all about costumes this week as Josie heads to New York and is getting a costume together for The Rocky Horror Picture Show. Talking of costume jewellery, their guest this week is Sophie Adler Mckean who tells us the story of her great aunt Mimi, who came to the UK via Greece as a refugee escaping Austria before the war. Mimi’s father set up a factory making the metal parts of bailey bridges, which later became a factory making parts for jewellery called Jewelcraft. When it was taken over by Corocraft, Mimi became the head jewellery designer, relocating the factory to Crawley. Mimi was often in the press and was called ‘One of London’s most glamorous business women.’  Sophie shows us lots of Mimi’s incredible necklaces, earrings and brooches and talks about how her family donated some of the spectacular pieces to the V&A. Do look at the pictures on our Instagram page. Inheriting Mimi’s creative and entrepreneurial streak, Sophie is a performer as well as having a wonderful catering business. Find out more at www.superdoux.com

Hot on the back of the book launch, Josie and Alice chat about Josie’s new cosy crime novel, ‘Miss Beeton’s Murder Agency’ which is published this week. Along the way, they talk about their love of Rivals on the TV and Alice’s crush on the original Rupert Campbell-Black and plan their Rivals party. Josie talks about her inspiration for the book - her mother’s copy of Mrs Beeton’s Book of Household Management and what she discovered about the iconic and progressive Victorian writer Isabella Beeton. Josie is delighted with the personalised gold spinner necklace that Alice made to accompany Miss Beeton. Do enter the competition which we'll post on the @showusyourbits instagram page to win one and a signed copy of the book. https://linktr.ee/missbeeton

Join us for an inspiring and uplifting chat with our guest, best-selling author Freya North to kick off the new season. After taking her son to University, Freya was reminded of her own experience of leaving home for the first time and wrote her sixteenth novel, ‘The Unfinished Business of Edie Browne’. She describes it as a love letter to youth and also a love letter to a time and a place. Set in Manchester in the late 80’s in the golden age of clubbing, Freya talks candidly about that time and how it inspired her to write her moving tale about friendship. After back surgery in 2016, Freya took up cycling and talks about the joy of discovering a new hobby and the very special community that has come into her life as a result. A country girl at heart, she shows us the little silver horse that her father gave her as a child. Not a jewellery wearer as she now lives on a farm, she shows us her very special tanzanite ring - the rarest gem stone in the world and how she came to design it. She also describes how things have come a full circle and how her vintage watch has recently started working again. As well as her hugely successful Instagram chats with other authors, #wednesdaywriters, Freya is also raising money for the Book Trust with The Book Lovers Journal - which she has created as the perfect gift for anyone who loves books.  freyanorth.com

Join us for some seaside fun as Alice and Josie wrap up Season 4 and look back on our inspirational guests and the nuggets of wisdom they’ve shared from ‘being more sloth’ to ‘never listening to the no’s’.  In a series where we’ve been talking bout re-invention, we’ve heard about the ingenious ways in which our guests have used their circumstances to take a different path to success - all of them flying the flag for women. Along the way, we discuss the post exam holiday mayhem, Love Supreme festival, Alice’s jaunt to Bergerac for a wedding as well as her tips for keeping your jewellery shiny.  And at the end of it all, we take a much needed plunge in the sea.  Happy summer! See you for Season 5 soon.