Dig It with Jo Whiley and Zoe Ball - 39: DIG IN: Insomnia, Huge Nipples & Invisible Eyebrows

Episode Date: November 24, 2025

Jo and Zoe investigate the mysteries of sleepless nights, magnesium baths and the age-old question — does one armpit smell more than the other? There’s a hunt for invisible eyebrows, as well as teenage independence and a lively debate about when it’s actually acceptable to deck the halls. SUBSCRIBE TO OUR FREE NEWSLETTER Stay up to date with Dig It — new updates every Friday straight to your inbox. 👉 https://digitpod.substack.com/subscribe GET IN TOUCH 📧 Email us: [e-mail] 📱 Text or Voice Note: 07477 038795 💬 Or tap here to send a voice note or message on WhatsApp:⁠ ⁠https://wa.me/447477038795⁠⁠ SPECIAL THANKS TO OUR SPONSORS This episode is brought to you by AG1, QVC & Visit Scotland  ✨ AG1 - Sign up at https://drinkAG1.com/digit to get a strictly limited AG1 Gym Bag, Travel Packs and a Welcome Kit (worth £79) free with your monthly subscription. ✨QVC - Click below to discover QVC’s range of menopause products and support. And don’t forget to use the code QDIG10 for £10 off your first purchase (minimum spends apply, see QVC website for full terms and conditions) -   https://www.qvcuk.com/content/menopause-your-way.html?cid=PR-PR-Digit&e22=Digit ✨Visit Scotland – Ready for your next great escape? Discover breathtaking beaches, ancient castles, whisky trails, and some of the most spectacular scenery in the world. Start planning your adventure with TripAdvisor’s travel guides, hidden gems and must-see spots across Scotland’s stunning landscapes – https://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/Scotland CREDITS Exec Producer: Jonathan O’Sullivan Assistant Producer: Eve Jones Technical Producers: Oliver Geraghty Video Editors: Danny Pape and Jack Whiteside Dig It is a Persephonica production 

Coming up on diggits. My thing is because you can't see anymore, the armpits, I often let them go. I'm sort of quite Julia Roberts style. I can't grow armpit hair anymore. Wow. And then we have like huge arguments about which baubles go on, which tree and which one. It just descends into chaos. My two black and white Frenches suddenly developed huge nipples.

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I've got a few on my self-gift list, like the Aveda Rosemary Mint Shampoo, for sure, smells heavenly. And also, I'm loving the neon magnesium body butter, which is just pure bliss. Remember, with QVC's extended money back guarantee, you've got until the 31st of January, to decide if it's right for you. To explore more, search menopause at QVC UK.com. And don't forget to use the code, Q-Dig-10 for 10 pounds of your first purchase over 30 pounds. That's Q-Dig-10, Q-D-I-G-10 for 10 pounds off your first order over 30 pounds. For full terms, visit the QVC website. Give the gift of calm to someone you love or yourself. Morning, Zoe, from me and Nemo.

Hello, Nemo. Hello, Joe. Happy week. Happy Monday. Oh, hi. Okay, he'll be off. He only stays still for two seconds. We'll let him go.

It's just, it just makes this podcast. Can I say, Joe, I love you dearly. But when he appears and all our hearts turn completely to porridge, he is so cute, but he is growing fast. Oh, he is growing fast. And you can see, if you are watching this, you can see him destroying. I've kind of tried to. to cobbling together a bit of a set and there's our dolls of you and me and he just keeps knocking them over on the floor all the time. He's like, yes. I hope you had a really great

birthday. This is not the place to talk about your birthday party. We can do that on Wednesday because this is obviously dig in where we talk to our gorgeous listeners and hear from them. So can we have a debrief on Wednesday? Yes, definitely. I will tell you all the sordid tales. Excellent. Good, good, good. Yes. Well, I hope you had a goodie. It was a goodie. We have a question from Alison to kick us off. Hi, Joe and Zoe, loving your podcast. I usually listen to it at 3 a.m. in the morning. Wow.

Yes, I wake every night at the witching hour. My question to you and the listeners is, do you wake in the night or suffer from insomnia? My sleep has deteriorated the older I get, and at times it can be so frustrating and even exhausting. I've tried medication, both prescription and herbal, good sleep hygiene, sleeping alone, meditation apps, the lot to no avail any tips on how to get a good night's sleep from Alison, Alison, darling girl, I feel your pain that is so frustrating.

I used to really struggle to sleep and yeah, I used to take a lot of sleeping tablets and again, you shouldn't really take those for a long period of time because, you know, they can add to your risk of dementia and but then the worry of not being able to sleep makes you not be able to sleep. So, Alison, from me, something which you possibly have tried, because it does sound like you might have exhausted all the avenues. Once I started taking magnesium at night, I found that really helped. And I now take two of my progesterone tablets at night. The amount of estrogen I was taking, I needed to up my pregesterone tablets.

progesterone. So I take two of my little capsules. So I take two of those and a magnesium tablet in the evenings. And I tell you what, Alison, my sleep is so much better now. And I also had been recommended by quite a few people to take baths in magnesium salts. I don't know how magnesium helps us sleep, but it definitely has made a difference to me. Joe, do you struggle to sleep? No, I, well, progesterone is amazing, like, for helping you sleep. I remember when I was first prescribed it and the doctor said, but one of the benefits is that you'll get good night's sleep and I was very cynical about it. But God, it really does give me a deeper, more satisfying, less restless sleep.

So that is really helpful, but that's all part of the HRT package. And magnesium, I take that sometimes, if I get restless legs and I quite often get restless legs and I take the magnesium in whichever way, ancient de braved, you're really, good one. And I find that really helps. I am such a cynic when it comes to these things, but magnesium is the one thing that I genuinely find helps, particularly with restless legs. And sleeping, it's not been a mega problem of mine because I think I work so late at night that when I get home, I'm really tired. And I always have to go to sleep with the TV on. It's a big debate in the household about who listens to podcasts, who likes nothing on at all, who listens to music. And

I just always want TV. I want Monty Don or Kevin McLeod on the screen and then I can fall off to sleep and then at some point I'll turn everything off. I don't know when that happens. There's something about you falling asleep with Monty Don or Kevin McLeod that sort of tickle me. I know. But on occasions when I haven't been able to sleep and it's normally because I'm just so worried about something and my brain is ticking over and the anxiety levels are really high. And I tend to get up and I'll tidy the house or clean the house or do those jobs that I've been putting off or I've not. time to do. And then I exhaust myself and then by time I go back to bed, then I'm able to sleep. So I think not fighting it would be my advice. Just get up, make yourself a herbal tea, pot around, do something. And then hopefully 20 minutes down the line, you will be able to go back to sleep. But it's never been a major issue. Yeah. And I think you have to sort of incorporate all those things. It's like not having the television on, it is quite good for some people, not having your, don't read your phone late at night because all that blue light, all that stimulation to your brain. So, you know, if you're listening to a podcast as you fall in

sleep, you know, sounds might be better. I mean, I've tried listening to sort of sleep stories and stuff like that, but sometimes I find that they just stimulate my brain and I can't sleep. Reading helps for me, reading a book, because reading a book really can send me off to sleep. And I find if you wake in the night, even if you're, you know, if you want to get out, out of your bed because it sounds like you've tried sleeping alone and you've obviously got a partner, Alison, but if you go and find yourself a little cozy spot and take a book with you, have you tried that? You probably have, Alison, because reading is so calming and it takes your brain out of your own brain. So hopefully we'll stop that anxiety. It just take you to a

different place or a world that you're reading about in the book. And then maybe you might fall to sleep there. I don't know. Or getting up and doing, yeah, doing something useful. I honestly, works for me all the time. I love getting up and just, and then you wake up in the morning with this enormous sense of satisfaction. And you're like, oh my God, I've got no jobs to do today because I did it all at three in the morning. And because there's nobody around. No one to get under your feet. You can think more clearly because your brain is obviously quite hyper at that time. And, you know, you can work for half an hour. That's all it takes. But it really does tie you out sometimes. And then that feeling of satisfaction and exhaustion would all help you

to fall back to sleep. Weighted blankets are supposed to help a little bit as well. So they kind of pin you to the bed. Pin you to the bed. Yeah, they're supposed to be really good for anxiety. Like you're being swaddled like a baby. I guess so. I mean, things like that would be too hot for me because I fall asleep in bed socks, t-shirt.

And then as the night goes on, everything starts to come off. Be careful you're not falling asleep in a room that's too hot. You know, having an airflow through, having a window, a little bit of jars. So, you know, if you have layers, you can take them off, as you fall asleep because I don't know about you, but by the middle of the night, my body is so hot. I don't know whether it is the old hot mess scenario of a menopausal thing. But I do think, you know, sleep does change, doesn't it? So dramatically in older years. And I know that you need less and less. My mum used to talk about how she would always be awake at four or five in the

morning and she would just have a book to read. And she'd stop giving herself a hard time about the fact that she just did not sleep as much as other people. And I think, yeah, getting yourself... Alison, you must have got yourself in a right state about it. Because just trying to get through the next day is tough, you know, when you've not had enough. My mum listens to Desert Island Discs. I know she has a little headphone just so she doesn't wait at my dad. And she listens to a lot of Desert Island Discs on...

So BBC Sounds is her friend. She goes there and has her iPad just by the side. And there's something so unbelievably relaxing about Desert Island Discs, isn't it? Just the calm voice. and the story, you can kind of get invested in, but then you can also just drift off to sleep. And Lauren's voice is very calming, actually, in the music of Desert Island Yes.

I had this recently, and I ended up, I think I listened to about four, because if you put them on on the app, they just automatically go onto another one, and then another one. I find Adam Fleming of Newscast really calming, because I listen to Newscast as I'm falling asleep, especially when I'm on my own.

And there's something, if it's not Adam hosting, If it's someone else hosting, I'm like, oh, no, hang on, this doesn't work. And then I'll listen to another one. There's something about Adam's voice that I find really calming to fall asleep. But, yeah, I do feel for you, Alison. It's really frustrating. If anyone else has any really good tips, if they've suffered like Alison with their sleep, and if you found things that have helped, do get in touch.

But, yeah, keep the room nice and cool, maybe a weighted blanket. Definitely magnesium. You might talk to your doctor about possibly upping your progesterone intake. you are on HART, because that's definitely helped me. So there's a few suggestions from Joe and I. Or just get up and do something useful and, yeah, have that time to yourself. Let's know how you get on, Alison. By the way, if you're enjoying hanging out with us every single week, being part of our gang, part of our digging community, then make sure that you are subscribed on YouTube. So subscribe on YouTube or hit follow on Apple or Spotify. It's very, very

easy, but sometimes you need these things pointing out. So it's subscribe on YouTube, hit follow on Apple or Spotify. And then the latest episodes will simply pop up as they appear every week. Next up, we have a question from Laura. Hi, Laura. Hi, Jo. Hi, Zoe. Loving the podcast, big part of my life now and very invested, so much so that I was putting my deodorant on this morning. And I thought, oh, I wonder what deodorant, Joe and Zoe use. I haven't got an aluminium-free deodorant at the moment, although I would really like to do this because I know it is meant to be much better. But in the past when I've used these, I just find they just make me feel still wet, even though I don't

smell. I just wondered if you had any advice on deodorants for a sort of 44-year-old woman who is maybe a little perimenopausal and getting a little bit hotter these days, a bit sweatier maybe. What advice you might have. Anyway, love everything about the podcast, love all of your stories, love all of the advice. Just love taking you around the house with me when I'm pottering about at home, doing ironing, cleaning, various things. It's a great listen. So thank you so much, ladies. Lots of love.

Oh, Laura. Do you know, I feel like we're privileged. Joe to have featured in Laura's thoughts as she was putting her deodorant on the smile. I love that. Laura, welcome to our lovely clan. So I just use a creamy dove under the armpit, the old blue lid. I don't even know if aluminium is in the creamy dove. I feel like I need to look now.

The one that I use is this, it's biontson and it's a pale blue spray. I've always liked sprays rather than roll-ons because of that wet feeling. And this is aluminium-free, and it doesn't particularly smell. It's got a faintly nice smell to it. But it works for me so well. I'm not mega-sweety, I will say. I'm really not. I never have been.

If I occasionally am in a stressy situation, if I'm really anxious about something, I will sweat quite a lot and be really smelly in my right armpit. Oh, wow, just the one. I don't know whether other people do this, if they sweat more from one armpit than the other. I smell more on the right than I do on the left. I think my daughters have said the same thing, so I don't think I'm a freak. But this, for me, I love it. It really, really works. It's aluminium-free. It's by onsen. I've used it for years and years and years. The girls perspire a little bit more than me and they use either Mitchum. In fact, the boys use Mitchum as well. So Mitchum sprays are really popular in the household. And Steve Ware uses a roll on which is salt of the earth. So that is very healthy aluminium free. And India also uses that one too. And as said, it's brilliant. So if you're looking for a healthier option, it's called salt of the earth. It's, yeah, it's a roll on small little thing, very kind of natural looking package.

Can you get these in the supermarket? It's always convenience, yeah? Yeah, Mitchum and Bionton definitely sort of the earth. Maybe you have to send off for it. I think it's probably an Amazon job. I might check those out. But yeah, he swears by that. I swear by Bionton or the rest of the people swear by Mitchum.

That's our deodorant roll call for you, Lauren. Hopefully that will help. I need to go aluminium free. Right. I'm putting that on the shopping list this week. producer Jonathan has just informed me that Dove do do an aluminium free so I shall look out for that Laura thanks pointing that out by the way thank you so I can wear my one but yeah yeah I prefer not to wear anything if I haven't got an interview I haven't got to go or I'm not going to be with people I just won't wear deodorant I think maybe that's an advantage of being a little bit older as well you just don't sweat so much don't smell so much don't smell so much my thing is because you can't see anymore the armpits I often let them let them go I'm sort of quite like Julia Roberts style at the moment, they are. Occasionally, I'm like, oh my gosh, if I get close up to it, I stuck on my normal mirror in the bathroom. I have one of those little, you know,

magnifying ones. And occasionally I'll sort of zoom in and that's when I see the hairs on my face like, why didn't know one told me? But occasionally I see my armpits. I'm like, oh my lord, I really need to have a shave. No one seems to be that bothered. And I always think, you know, grow your hair in the winter, it keeps you warm. So again, armpit hair, that stops growing too. If you've had a lifetime of waxing. Yeah, it does. I can't grow armpit hair anymore. Wow. This is too much information for the not for the world to know or care about. But no, no, nothing particularly grows at all. So yeah, that's obviously why I don't. Is that just armpits or is that in other places? I don't think I should be sharing this on a podcast really. Everywhere. I mean, eyebrow hair is a, is a

nightment, if you're my age and you grew up when waxing was everything, waxing and tweezing and beating, you didn't want any hair on your body, then it's just given up the ghost by the time you get to, you know, your 50s, then it just stops bothering. So I'm, I mean, eyebrow hair is really annoying because I would love to have bigger, busier eyebrows, but I can't get those to grow back, which is very annoying. I would prefer to be less busier, but we won't go into that right now. Can I point out, I've made this discovery, brow aid, they are so brilliant. Their products are so good they do like little ones

they do these pens where you can sort of draw your eyebrows back in they're a new discovery for me and I love them there you go just in case anyone has no eyebrows left because they pluck them too much

in the 90s it feels very unfair though that your eyebrow hair stops you know going and then your moustache hair and your chin hair is just you know huge

we're going to take a quick break for some ads, then we'll be back. If you'd prefer these episodes ad-free, why not become a subscriber to the potting shed? You'll get longer episodes, you'll get bonus content and early access to our live shows when they happen. But most importantly, you'll be supporting this show. To subscribe, head to digipod.com.com.com. Or tap the link in the show notes. You've been in touch, gang. We love hearing from you. First up is Kay. She says, hi, Joe and Zoe. On the subject of tool belts, I work for that large Swedish home furniture store and wear a tool belt all day, one full of screwdrivers, Allen keys, scissors, tape measure, etc. On the other side is the important one, lipstick, gum and mince. Love the show. Listen on the bus on my way to work. Makes me laugh out loud. Look at that tool belt, Kay. I love it. You see. I would wear that out.

That's so good. You get your lippy, your lip balm, your mince, all the important bits. I'd probably have my reading glasses in there as well, possibly a pair of tweezers and a magnifying mirror. And you've got your screwdriver and your Alan Keys. Oh, yeah. She looks fabulous, by the way. That was a gorgeous jumper too. Also, on the subject of tool belts, we got this from Trisha, who says, a couple of years ago, I was asked to make a cake for my brother-in-law, so I thought long and hard about which sort of cake to. make for him. Take into consideration he's a carpenter builder. I came up with this idea. A tool belt. Great. But I thought I couldn't just be a tool belt. So I've enclosed a picture of the said tool belt. Love listening to dig it. You brighten up my week. Let me see. Let's see. Oh my. Oh, my. Oh, it is a cake as a tool kit as cake. That's very good. With a bit of bum crevice. With bum cleavage as well. Bum cleavage. That is so good. Where you can always store a screwdriver anytime. I love it. Look at it. Is that the t-shirt at the top? But obviously there's always a little bit of a gap, isn't it? Where, you know, clearly trousers weighted down with, you know, heavy screws and all sorts.

So you always get a little bit of bumble. Oh, that's a great cake. Now, on our menopause episode, which went down so well with everybody, thank you to Dr. Naomi for joining us. Debs has been in touch. H.R.T. Does it affect men? No. Dogs? Apparently, yes. My two black and white Frenchies. suddenly developed huge nipples a few years back. What? Cut to my vet in Hove, scratching her head until she asked if I was on HRT. I was using the gel at night and a bit must have been getting on the bedclothes. What? Turns out the dogs were absorbing it.

And yes, I know they shouldn't be in my bed from Debs. And these are Porky and Zippy who are very. very adorable and very cute. My goodness me, they were getting extra nipples from HRT. That shows the potency of the HRT, doesn't it? I really didn't take that into account that it could be that powerful, that strong. So when I sometimes just wipe my hat, if I have any excess, I'll just, I put it on my arm, I'll wipe it onto my thigh. But occasionally I will wipe it on the towel. Maybe I should watch it because the lodger might start developing an extra nipple. Oh gosh. Which reminds me of you.

scaramanga. Wiley. Thank you. If you want to share a story or ask us a question, drop us a voice note or a text on WhatsApp. You'll find the number in the show notes, simple as. This comes from Lizzie. Hi, Joe and Zoe. Following on from your Scott Mills, Amanda Holden, early Christmas tree chat last week, we need your help to settle the age-old debate in our household about when is too early to start decorating for Christmas. My wife, Sarah, loves decorating the house for the holiday. days, it seems to get earlier every single year. We've had Halloween decorations up since the 1st of October and now she's already coming back from the shops with Christmas decorations. Last night, she said she wants to put them up next week in November. For me, that's just

way too early and will make things feel less festive when it's actually Christmas. She says it's just spreading out the joy for longer and a bit of fun. Is there a perfect or at least a normal date, decorations go up and down, please. We had a tree until Valentine's one year. Please settle this for us from Lizzie. Well, Lizzie and Sarah, I see in our household, it's normally sort of beginning of December. I like to have them up for when Wu's birthday, his birthday is the 15th. But I have to say, I'm going earlier and earlier. And I've noticed around Brighton, loads of lights are going up, little decorations above the door. So I'm thinking I might put a few up this weekend.

What? This weekend? Just not the tree, not the tree. Month before Christmas. Wow. Yeah, but it's nearly December. And they make you so happy the Christmas decorations. And I hate it when we have to take them down.

Although by that point you're probably done with, yeah, with all the festivities. And you're like, right, come on. And then it always feels so bare, doesn't it in January? And you're like, something to look forward to. You have to make yourself take them down because I would keep feeling. fairy lights up like the entire year round. And I did once. And then I got to Christmas. And I literally had very little else to add to the house because the fairy lights were up still. So then I was very, very strict with myself the past couple of years. I'm like, no, strip it all down,

take it all away just so that it will feel special when they eventually go up again. So you're doing it a month in advance. Well, I think I might do it like as a slow process, as in put up a couple of little bits. I'm not going to do the full above the fireplace sort of wreath and I'm not going to do the tree yet. I'll do the tree more into December. I actually have a fake tree in the lounge because then I can put it up earlier because if you get a real tree, all the needles come off, don't they? And they die and then it looks really, really sad. And then I put a real little tree in the hallway. But I am kind of with your girl, Lizzie, in that I don't mind doing it a little bit early. I mean, I haven't got my door decoration up in

November, like the fabulous amount of Holden or Scott Mills, but I have noticed more and more people are putting them up and it's making me quite excited and it's making me really happy because Christmas generally is, I really love Christmas. So I'm, yeah, what about you, Joe? When do they start going up? Well, Christmas is a big debate in the family. June's birthday, Lightwood, is mid-December, so 17th of December. So he's always very torn about we can't celebrate Christmas until he's had his birthday. But also he loves Christmas more than anything in the world. So we have the WhatsApp group, the family WhatsApp group, and there's a lot of debate. And because they're young adults now, they have lives and they have busy stuff and they

have parties to go to and things to do. But it's always really, really crucial. It's such a big special day when we put the trees up and we decorate them. So we have to have this like, we had a meeting the other day about when are we going to put the tree up. So I think India's busy the weekend before the fifth, six. So we're going to do it on the 12th. So that's Christmas tree decorating day. And everyone will come home for it. And we go to the same place, it's called Thriftwood Christmas Farm and we go there and we've, I've already got my order in for the hall Christmas tree because that's a monster. We go for a really, really big one in the hall. And it's just so much fun every single year, like the whole gang and

their partners all carrying the tree in. And we have Christmas music going on and then we get all the boxes out in advance. So then we open up all the boxes and all the memories come flooding out of all the baubles about, you know, oh, God, you remember you had this then and you were five years old and you made this. And then we have like huge arguments about which bobbles go on, which tree and which one. It just descends into chaos. Yeah, yeah. There's an advert out at the moment. I can't remember who it's for, but John Bishop's doing the voiceover. And it's all about the things that Christmas comes with, like all the tensions and the arguments that happen. And I was watching it. I think it's for Tesco. It's the honest, it's the honest side of Christmas, which is all

the rouse that happen around the table. It's really funny. June night always fall. out about the Christmas tree, about which one goes where and what colour ones go on which tree, because we have one in the kitchen and we have one in the hallway. And inevitably, we will fall out at some point. And then everyone else loses interest and I'm just there on my own on the Monday doing up the rest of the decorations. Oh, I do. But I look forward to it so much. It's one of my favourite days of the year. And it is for the kids as well. And we then watch, tends to be a Muppets Christmas Carol while we're putting up the decorations. And then we'll move on to Elf. So it's very much a traditional day. And everyone feels very, very passionate about

what we do when. I came home and found Nelly watching the holiday the other day and I was like, it's too soon for the holiday. What did I do? I sat down and I watched it. I loved it. Oh, in November. Yeah, because there are so many films. I do get that. There are so many films to watch and inevitably, you kind of start speed watching them as Christmas comes closer and closer and closer and you're like, oh God, I'm never going to fit them all in. So I think it's fine to watch the films now. There's always an argument as well about what goes at the top of the tree. We've got a David Bowie Christmas Angel, which I really love, and that's Jude's, and that goes on the big Christmas tree. And then India and Coco always have a bit of a dispute about whether it's

an angel at the top of the tree or whether it's Freddie Mercury at the top of the tree. So I'm looking forward to that fallout as well. It will happen. It's funny, isn't it? How all these, yeah, I think I've said before, I'm a bit of a control freak. So I'm like, yeah, everyone help with the decorations. And then when everyone's gone, I'm like, sort of rearrange it. No, I like that here and I like that there. I am so, I once spent a small fortune. I can't remember what the company's called. Is it Balsam Hill? And I bought one of their fake trees, but I also bought their garlands that go down staircases and go on mantel pieces. And they have little lights in and they're so good. Joe, actually, I've got to tell you. Do you remember,

I need to tell you, because I'm wondering if you would like to come to this. I'm so excited about this. So I was talking about making a wreath because my mom would always make the wreath for the door. Yeah. And so I thought this year, I was like, I need to take on that role now. in her memory as well. I thought she'd be proud of me for doing that. Yeah. And we'd obviously been talking about it. And then Aritt, Anderson, our lovely friend Arrett, Fabulous Garden Design and host of Gardner's World got in touch and she said she is doing a wreath-making course at Rachel de Tame's house. Oh, would we like to go? Oh, God, yeah. So I'm going to let you know the day if you fancy getting into a bit of competitive. No, it's not competitive. Oh, no, you've, you

said the C word. No, because I have no artistry at all. I'm only joking. Because I was immediately like, Joe's is going to be so good and mine's going to be. But I thought what a lovely thing to do. Oh, I'd love to do that. Yeah. And I was doing some filming a Christmasy thing the other day in Windsor Great Park and I'd like to shout out Julie, who had done the most amazing decorations for the Christmas thing that I was doing. That's a secret I can't tell you about. Julie was doing amazing wreaths and tree decorations and she's quite inspired me actually Julie so if you ever get to see my door wreath Julie you may see

that I might have pinched some of your great ideas so if you fancy that Joe I'll let you know the date and fingers crossed you'll be able to come I wonder if other people listening right now are feeling stressed about Christmas because I really am just about who because I think it goes back to just wanting the children all to be together and have the same Christmas when they were like six seven years old and we all did the same things together

and now that they've got their own lives and they have other things. It's all about scheduling when we can do stuff. And so I panic that we're not going to do enough Christmassy things together. And when are we going to make this happen? And what's going to happen with my parents at Christmas and just all the logistics that go into having Christmas and making it a good Christmas. I feel this kind of tidal wave of panic creeping up inside me. And I bet lots of other people are feeling exactly the same kind of way. I think trying to get it, yeah, in the diary of, right, we're going to do that then. And then this might happen then and yeah i've managed to sort of mainly pin down my kids and extended family

about when things are happening fingers crossed because you feel much calmer when you know i used to be like my parents had asked i'd be like well you're asking now there's so many other things to do but now i understand that thing of am i going to get some time with you it doesn't matter how much but will i just get a bit of time with you it's so important isn't it and i know also lots of people dreading christmas and we we've talked a lot about that um So, you know, some people are like, oh, I might just skip it this year, which is also okay to do if it's, you know, going to be too tough for you. It is just another day. I've got December quite clear because normally I have gigs and stuff's going on every weekend and everything is there.

But it's quite a nice feeling to think, well, I've got a whole weekend. And I really want to do as many Christmas shows as possible or as many Christmas movies as possible. And I want to sing carols. Last year, I didn't sing carols at all. And I felt so sad on Christmas Eve because we haven't been to a big Carol concert. But because when your kids grow up, that kind of goes away. You have to seek them out, don't you? Yeah. The school performances, you don't get that as much, do you?

No. You need to find what, I'm sure people are getting touch to and let you know where a really good local one is. Yeah, no, I that you can go to. Absolutely want to do all those things. There's something wonderful, isn't there, about being with people and singing Christmas carols. It's magic. Yeah. So, no, bring it on. I want to do the pantomime. I want to do Christmas shows.

We always go and see Christmas Carol every single year. And I haven't booked for that this year. Yeah, the old Vic. Brilliant. Yeah. one of the most amazing performances, productions that you'll ever see. But yeah, I'm getting the Christmas tingle. I'm quite excited. I'm going to decorate this at some point. You'll come in and it'll be like, the minute it's December, this will all be done. I know. Well, this is why I got the

fairy lights out in honor and I got an Elvis Christmas album in the background, but the cat has systematically destroyed the whole background. But I was thinking, oh, it's going to be so much fun at Christmas time. Christmas has already begun. And that's it for today's episode. But if you want even more questions and answers, become a member of the potting shed and get longer episodes. Remember, if you have any questions or comments, we would love to hear from you.

Details on how to subscribe to the potting shed and how to get in touch are in the show notes. We will see you on Wednesday. See you Wednesday. Love you.