This week Kaye and Karen are joined by Donna Ashworth. Bestselling poet, wellbeing advocate, and author of Loss: The New Collection.

Donna talks about the family diagnosis that rewired everything. Dropping the perfectionism. Saying what she actually thinks. Building a life that's calmer and more honest, even when it's messy.

They get into grief beyond bereavement. Outgrowing identities, letting go of roles that no longer fit, and why walking away from something takes more courage than anyone tells you.

A conversation about permission, getting older, and why the best bit might still be ahead.

Get in touch at podcast@htb60.com.

Donna's new book Loss: The New Collection is available now in hardcover, featuring nearly 150 poems including previously unpublished work.

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On this week's Midweek Catchup, we're recording across borders — Kaye at home, Karen on a sunny balcony in Seville, and honestly, it's never felt more deserved. Because behind the coral sandals and the cold red wine is a week that nearly didn't happen.

Karen shares the full story of her three-day hospital stay, the scans, the scares, and the moment she ran out the door with the cannula still in. We talk about why "you've finished chemo" doesn't mean you feel finished, why therapy in real time might be smarter than toughing it out, and why nobody warns you that turning a corner still feels like looking over your shoulder. On the lighter side, Kaye reveals Ian's new tap dancing obsession (performed in a t-shirt that wasn't quite long enough), a mango-related betrayal at breakfast, and the news that a portaloo has appeared in the driveway.

Plus, a heads-up that this Friday's guest is the brilliant Donna Ashworth. Whether you're mid-treatment, post-treatment, or just trying to steal five minutes of sunshine for yourself — this one's for you.

Get in touch with your thoughts at podcast@htb60.com.

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On this week’s episode, we’re joined by Rosie O’Donnell, who opens up about building a life that finally feels like her own - from leaving America for Ireland, to raising a teenager in her 60s, and redefining what really matters.

It’s never just about getting older, it’s about what you carry with you. Rosie reflects on losing her mother at a young age, how that shaped her drive, and why every birthday now feels like “extended play.” There’s honesty, humour, and a refreshing refusal to pretend that life or fame has all the answers.

Whether you’re questioning what success looks like now, juggling family in a different season of life, or quietly wondering if you’re allowed to want something simpler, this one hits home. Because no one tells you that peace can sometimes mean stepping away, not pushing harder.

Get in touch with your thoughts at podcast@htb60.com

Rosie brings her acclaimed show Common Knowledge to the Glasgow Comedy Festival, appearing at the King’s Theatre for her Glasgow debut on 26 March

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On this week’s Midweek Catchup, we’re coming to you from a Glasgow hospital waiting area — because life doesn’t pause neatly for podcasts, does it? Between tests, tetchy staff, smuggled snacks and rearranged furniture, we chat Mother’s Day highs, birthday surprises (including tap-dancing ambitions), and the strange domestic dilemmas that somehow follow you even into hospital — from rogue garden branches to whether a beloved scooter or baby grand piano defines your legacy.

Whether you’re juggling health worries, family chaos, or simply wondering how your life became a series of oddly specific decisions no one prepared you for, this one’s a reminder that it’s never just about the big things — it’s the absurd, funny, human bits in between that keep you going. Because no one tells you that later life can feel both deeply serious and utterly ridiculous at the same time.

Get in touch with your thoughts at podcast@htb60.com.

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On this week’s episode, we’re joined by Sheila Nollert, who decided that turning 65 was exactly the moment to do something many people said she shouldn’t.

After retiring from her job with the Ontario government, Sheila found herself searching for purpose and wondering who she was without work. Then a chance sighting of a woman paddling alone into the Canadian wilderness sparked an idea she couldn’t shake: could she do that too?

Four years later, she pushed off in a canoe and spent four days navigating remote lakes completely alone, carrying her own gear, setting up camp in bear country and confronting both the physical challenge and the mental battle of being out there by herself.

We talk about the quiet ways ageism shows up once you reach your sixties, the doubts other people project onto you, and the bigger question beneath it all: when did we start telling ourselves it’s too late to try something new?

Because no one tells you that some of the most meaningful moments of your life might still be ahead - if you’re brave enough to go looking for them.

Get in touch with your thoughts at podcast@htb60.com

You can find Sheila on Instagram at @sheilanollert and read more about her book No Expiry: A Woman Fights Fear and Ageism and Takes on the Wilderness.

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On this week’s Midweek Catchup, Kaye and Karen chat about the things that creep up on you in midlife — from unstoppable snacking (hello oatcakes and popcorn) to the strange habits we develop when the afternoons get a bit too quiet.

But it’s never just about food. Kaye also talks about navigating an unexpected change with the BBC, the wave of support she’s received, and why she’s turned to journaling to make sense of it all. Because sometimes writing things down is the only way to clear your head when life throws something completely off-script.

There are also coughing husbands, mysterious nose-whistling, and a slightly chaotic hunt for logs for the fire — just another normal week.

Get in touch with your thoughts at podcast@htb60.com

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On this week’s episode, we’re joined by Daisy Goodwin, novelist, screenwriter and creator of Victoria, who joins Kaye and Karen for a candid conversation about anxiety, ambition and what life really feels like in your 60s.

Daisy has spent decades creating powerful stories about women, but in this conversation she turns the lens on herself. From a childhood shaped by her mother leaving when she was five to building a prolific creative career, she explains how what’s now called “high-functioning anxiety” became both her challenge and her driving force.

The three discuss the strange mismatch between outward success and inner self-doubt, why many women never feel quite as confident as they appear, and how getting older can bring a surprising kind of freedom. Daisy describes this stage of life as a “second adolescence”, a time when children have grown up, routines loosen and curiosity returns.

They also talk honestly about breast cancer, creative insecurity, the pressure success can place on children, and the relief of learning to be a little less hard on yourself.

Whether you’re rediscovering independence, questioning the stories you tell yourself, or simply wondering if anyone else still feels like a teenager inside, this episode is a reminder that reinvention doesn’t stop at 60.

Get in touch with your thoughts at podcast@htb60.com.

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On this week’s Midweek Catchup, we unpick the drama that gripped absolutely no one but us… Loggate. Yes, the missing firewood, the woodyard showdown, and why sometimes it’s never just about the logs.

But alongside the axe-wielding determination (don’t ask), things take a more tender turn. A bruised neck after a thyroid biopsy. That familiar spiral when you’re waiting on results. The strange competitiveness of “who’s got the better medical story” when you’re both trying to stay upbeat.

We talk regrowth — hair, eyebrows, underarms — and the small, defiant joys of spring. A two-year-old’s birthday party with dumper trucks instead of pink plastic. Teenage daughters who quietly prop you up when life wobbles. An ageing dog who can’t hear you calling but still makes you laugh.

Whether you’re juggling health scares, family shifts, or just the price of gas, this one’s about holding it together — badly, bravely and with humour.

Get in touch with your thoughts at podcast@htb60.com.

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