Global News Podcast - The Happy Pod: Finding love at 89 years old

Episode Date: August 17, 2024

Meet the newlyweds with a twist; 87-year old Bev says it was love at first sight when 89-year-old Mark moved into the same care home as her. Also, the Olympic marathon runner who is celebrating coming last. Presenter: Oliver Conway. Music composed by Iona Hampson.

Hello, this is the Global News Podcast from the BBC World Service, with reports and analysis from across the world. The latest news seven days a week. BBC World Service podcasts are supported by advertising. If you're hearing this, you're probably already listening to BBC's award-winning news podcasts. But did you know that you can listen to them without ads? Get current affairs podcasts like Thank you. Amazon Music with a Prime membership. Spend less time on ads and more time with BBC Podcasts. You're listening to The Happy Pod from the BBC World Service. Hello, I'm Oliver Conway and in this edition, uploaded on Saturday 17th August,

newlyweds at nearly 90, how it's never too late to find love. I think I loved him from the first time I saw him. I couldn't see myself with anyone else, but when I saw Mark, that was quite a different story. Yes, I fell for him hook, line and sinker. The marathon runner from Bhutan, who's celebrating despite coming last in the Olympics.

I was so grateful and happy that I'm not alone. Marathon runner from Bhutan who's celebrating despite coming last in the Olympics. I was so grateful and happy that I'm not alone. The world is cheering on me and I should try harder. And the vlogging grandfather who's found a huge new following on YouTube. Also in the podcast, how Rwanda's first official cheerleading squad is hoping to empower women, plus an amazing act of kindness to try to repair a community hit by riots in the UK. Now, of course, love can strike anywhere, but our first interview is with a pair of newlyweds who met in a care home in Australia. Bev Martin, who is 87, fell for 89-year-old Mark Catlin when he moved in.

In fact, she knew he was the one the moment she set eyes on him. I spoke to them both about that initial spark and how they came to be married in their nursing home in Tasmania. We met in the nursing home. I'd been here seven years, but Mark's only been here five months. But when the day I saw he came in, I thought, geez, a nice-looking guy, you know. I don't know, things just escalated from there,

and we just fell in love with each other, as simple as that. We were both lonely people. Like, I'd been married before for 56 years. Mark's been on his own for quite a few years too. So he caught your eye the moment he walked in? Oh, he sure did. And Mark, did you feel her eyes on you? Well, I thought something was happening

because I was either up across the room while we were in the dining room and I thought, that lady, I reckon she'd be a nice lady I mean it was just instantly the more we saw each other the more we fell in love I plucked up the courage to ask her where her room was and I said could I come and see her she said oh yeah so that it started off from there never stopped I think I loved him from the first time I saw him. And did you have the courage to talk to him straight away? No, I didn't have the courage at all.

That came a bit later, a couple of weeks probably. I just can't believe it, you know, for two people our age. But then we thought, we're old people and we don't know how much longer we've got left on earth. So why can't we be romantic and, you know, make the most of what we've got left? Interesting to hear how you behaved, though. Almost like teenagers with that hesitation. Yeah, I can agree with that.

I feel like a teenager some day. And tell us about the wedding. The first time in a care home, I understand. It's the first wedding they've had here. And we had a beautiful day and we had a beautiful reception, thanks to them. Never cost us a cent. You know, they'd done a whole lot. And it was absolutely beautiful.

Fantastic. She was walking down the carpet. She was fantastic. Reduced me to tears. That's how much I love her. And what was the reaction of your families when you told them that you guys were getting married? Shock.

But they're all good now. They've all got used to you. They're really happy for us. I suppose a lot of people see love as a young person's game. Yes, that's right, they do. But you've proved them wrong. that's right, they do. But you've proved them wrong. That's right, yeah. Well, it might be a little different with two old people,

but it's still love. And what tips would you have for those who think they're just never going to find love? Just keep looking. And, you know, it just happens. You'll know when it happens. Talk about it. If you've got feelings for someone, it just happens. You'll know when it happens. Talk about it. If you've got feelings for someone, talk about it.

You know, let the person know how you feel. Now, as you say, you were married for many years. You both lost your partners. Did you think you would ever find love again? No, I didn't. I didn't want love again. I couldn't see myself with anyone else. But when I saw Mark, that was quite a different story.

Yes, I fell for him hook, line and sinker. Yeah, it was the same with me. I never thought I'd ever get married again or, you know. And the partners that I had before, she'd been passed away over five years. And I never thought, you know, I'd find another partner like that just like that well he's a good looking best looking guy here that tells you a lot yeah well I'm I'm 89 they don't think I am they say 89 you're kidding me so I must have something newlyweds Mark Catlin and Bev Martin.

The 38 million channels currently on YouTube are watched by more than 2 billion people every month. One of those channels, with a rather smaller audience, belongs to an American grandfather and travel vlogger called Eric Clark. For the past 10 years, he's been sharing his global adventures with a very small number of subscribers, mainly his grandchildren. Last week on his travels, he had a chance encounter at a dentist in Albania that changed all that. He got talking to a social media influencer in the waiting room

and she found his story so charming, she shared it on X. That post has had nearly 12 million views and now Eric has tens of thousands of new YouTube followers. He spoke to Siobhan Leahy. I always call my grandkids once a week and stuff, and my son and my mom. You know, and when you try to convey where you're at, you know, you just can't express it enough. You can't share enough words to express how incredible it is and how gorgeous it is and the scenery and the sounds and the smells. And I realized that after a while of trying to do this, I should try to do

some videos. And so I tried to do some videos with my iPhone and that was a pretty rough one. My grandkids gave me a lot of grief. And so the feedback became really critical for me and my videos. And so I started to look for a different type of camera. And so I started filming. And then we'd really talk about things. They'd be like, Grandpa, look at the waterfalls on that. And you could really share the image and the experience. And they could hear the joy in my voice. And they could hear me talking about it. And I really see it like I'm taking them with me. You know, my mom passed on that travel bug.

Maybe I can pass on the travel bug too. You had a somewhat modest number of followers for a number of years. Did you ever set about to kind of try and increase that or was it always just for your grandkids? I just film. It wasn't an effort to go out and get subscribers. You know, and it's funny because, you know, I started with 10 and I think they were all family. And then after a while, that 10 became 20 and then the 20 became 100. And then I got to 500. And then I really realised that

there were other people watching my videos. Tell me about when you realized that a chance encounter you had at a dentist had gone quite massively viral. Correct. Yeah, I ran into Mo. She asked me, you know, why I did the videos. And I told her that it was really, I started it just to share with my grandkids. And she loved the videos. And so she started posting, you know, that information about the videos on her site. And so she has so many followers and it really started a cascade event. And there were so many people, I think I got like four or 5,000 emails from all the people subscribing to the YouTube channel. And even people coming back and saying that they didn't really have contact with their grandparents and stuff, and that they'd like to be part of my

grandkids' family. And that's another thing I've learned is that a lot of these people feel like they are part of the family. That sense of community that you describe, how does that feel, all those messages that you're getting from people? It's amazing. And you know what? I love it. It's funny because I'm kind of ADHD and so finding the right words is really hard for me. And so if you watch any of my videos, you'll see that the word I come up with most of the time is wow. It's just amazing to me. And I'm not thinking about my words. I'm thinking about what I'm looking at. Wow. Wow it is. How have your family reacted to your kind of newfound fame? I think the kids are really excited. The grandkids are

really excited. I know my son was really excited and he said, wow. And I think they're proud of it. And, you know, that just warms my heart and their joy is my joy. What would you say to others who are a little bit afraid of what other people might think in terms of embarking on a sort of job or pastime like yours? Don't be afraid. You know, we didn't know how to ride a bike before we rode the bike. And so, yeah, it's a learning process, you know, step up. It's going to be uncomfortable. You're going to make mistakes. It's not going to be perfect. But that's how we learn. That's how we grow. That's how we move forward. YouTuber Eric Clark talking to Siobhan Leahy for the Happy Pod.

Last Sunday, Paris said au revoir to the Olympics. One of the final events was the women's marathon. It was a thriller, one in a sprint in an Olympic record of just under two hours, 23 minutes. But 90 minutes after that gold medal was won, Kinzang Lamo from Bhutan was still on the course, slowing to a walk a long way behind the rest of the field. She kept going, though, cheered on by a crowd of spectators, many walking alongside her on the other side of the barriers. It was an amazing sight, and although the 26-year-old finished last in a time

of three hours, 52 minutes, 59 seconds, she showed that achievement isn't always about winning a medal. Kinzang Lamo told the BBC World Service she'd been realistic about her chances in the marathon and couldn't have done it without the crowds. First Olympic marathon, I have no intention to giving up, no matter what course, I knew that I cannot win the medal. But I have to compete in my race for my country and for myself. That is the only thing on my mind. So I have tried.

The feeling I have me when I hear the voice of people cheering on me is like I was so grateful and happy that I am not alone. The world is cheering on me and I should try harder. I am thrilled to receive a lot of support and encouragement from you all through I am the last runner. Thank you guys. You have helped me to complete this race by cheering me on. Thank you so much. Kinzang Lamo from Bhutan. And Bhutan, incidentally, is one of the happiest countries in the world. Now to some good news that has emerged from tragedy. After violent unrest broke out in the UK earlier this month, communities have been coming together to clear up the damage.

There have been some amazing acts of kindness as people try to repair breakages and heal the hurt. One of those helping restore some joy is Alex McCormick. She's from the English city of Liverpool and began fundraising after her local library was torched by rioters. Hundreds of books were destroyed and classes and group activities had to be cancelled as the building was boarded up. Alex's original fundraising target was the equivalent of $650, but she's exceeded that by a long way. So what is the current total? We are currently at £248,311. Right, that's about $320,000.

What made you start this campaign in the first place? It was just a case of feeling a little bit helpless after seeing the unrest. And seeing a library and a community hub destroyed, it's hard not to be affected by that, knowing that the people who are going to miss out the most are children and older people. I thought maybe we could just fundraise a couple of hundred pounds, replace some of the books that were burnt,

and that would be that. I never imagined that it would get to the point that it's got to. Yeah, why do you think it has resonated so much with the community and even around the world? Everyone's got a bit of a special place in their hearts for a good book and for the way that libraries and reading in general brings us together. I do think that just touches people's hearts in a way that makes them feel they can relate to the situation, even if they've never been near the library that it's happened to. I had never stepped foot in that library until after the fundraising started, but you don't

need to have been in a place to feel sadness for the destruction that's happened. And just describe your feeling as you saw that number going up and up. I don't think that there's a word that I could really put on how incredible that felt. Just to know that people were so generous, just a little bit overwhelmed is the best way to describe how I felt. Yeah, you've raised a huge amount of money. What will the library be able to do with it? Obviously, we will be replacing the books that were lost in the fire. But the hope now is to really be able to engage more in the community. So the plan is to put on more community outreach events, more things for kids, baby classes. We really want to be able to engage in the community on another level now.

So something better might actually come out of what was a terrible event? Absolutely. Sometimes the most positive things come from something that begins quite sad. Sometimes it takes something like this to happen to be a reminder for us to engage more with other people around us and to not have so many negative feelings with everything negative that goes on in the world. Fundraiser Alex McCormick. And still to come on The Happy Pod, the Bosnian businessman who turned a park into his favourite

painting. If you're hearing this, you're probably already listening to BBC's award-winning news podcasts. But did you know that you can listen to them without ads? Get current affairs podcasts like Global News, AmeriCast and The Global Story,

plus other great BBC podcasts from history to comedy to true crime, all ad-free. Simply subscribe to BBC Podcast Premium on Apple Podcasts or listen to Amazon Music with a Prime membership. Spend less time on ads and more time with BBC Podcasts. Gaelic football is hugely popular in Ireland. Its biggest stars are well known across the country. But as amateurs, they're not paid a salary. Contrast that to the richest sport in the world, the NFL, the top American football league,

with players who earn many millions and are household names. One 22-year-old Gaelic footballer from Northern Ireland has now switched codes and gone to kicking field goals for the New Orleans Saints. In fact, Charlie Smith secured a pre-season victory for his team with his first ever kick in an NFL match. Charlie's dad, Leo Smith, spoke to Joel Taggart about the achievement. Fantastic, really, really proud moment for the whole family and extended family.

It was really unbelievable, as I say, myself and my wife Julie and my daughter Caitlin were sitting up watching Charlie just before he came onto the pitch to take that last kick. The feeling was just surreal. It was just, we were watching him prancing up and down and we were really nervous and there was butterflies in the stomach but to nail the kick like he did

was unbelievable and the buzz that it created was unreal Were there butterflies in the stomach and the nerves in the room whenever you realised how close this was

to the finish it might be the match defining moment Yes there sure was and I say with 8 seconds to go to take to be in the position

to take that kick, I have to say, we were nearly sick, you know, just watching it and same nail it. Unbelievable, you know, you can't describe that. So Charlie's ended up here. He's part of this international player pathway programme and he started in Gaelic Games. He was a former down under-20 goalkeeper.

So when he came in the door at some point, Leo, and said to you, you know what it is, Dad? I'm thinking of American football. I might go and play for one of these NFL teams. What was your initial reaction? Well, to be honest with you, when he took the initial step last August, believe it or not, he didn't tell us for the first three weeks

that he'd even gone to a practice session. Right. It was literally after about three to four weeks, you know, he'd taken one or two sessions with the gay-type leader who conducted the program, you know, the kicking program for anyone that had potential, you know, in either rugby, soccer, Gaelic, whatever, who could kick a ball, literally. Now, we always knew that Charlie had the talent. You know, he had a long kick, and he also had the passion for the NFL. And again, you know, we just thought he was watching Red Zone on a Sunday afternoon just as a pastime, you know,

but we didn't realize his passion was as strong for the game as what it was. And for that opportunity to arise last year, it just went from strength to strength. And we're just letting him live the journey, you know, that he's on at the moment. And we'll continue to support him. And as I say, we just wish him all the best. And wherever it takes him, so be it.

So were you a fan? Would you have been sitting watching all these matches with him? Or are you now having to brush up because, you know, you're going to have to be watching Charlie now every week? To be honest, I would have watched the odd game, but I wouldn't have much to clue on the rules now, to be honest. He was keeping you right. He's not there to keep you right anymore. He's not there, but now since he's gone over to Limerick, I've been sort of following it religiously and following the Saints YouTube channels just to see, does he get a mention during the day at practice? Are you going to get across to see a match?

Yes, so really looking forward to it. And my daughter, Molly, who's over in America, she's going to fly down and meet up with us so the whole family will be there. Charlie Smith's proud dad, Leo. Moving on from the NFL to another popular American sport, one that's made its way to Rwanda. Cheerleading, popularised in films like Bring It On and High School Musical,

is a physically testing activity which consists of gymnastics, dancing and acrobatic stunts. But in Rwanda, it's being used to help empower women. The nation has introduced its first official cheerleading squad and they even performed at one of Rwanda's biggest sporting events. Isabella Jewell has the story. A cheerleading team with a twist. And no, I'm not talking about a dance move, although they can do that too. This is the sound of Rwanda's first and only official cheerleading squad. They're in Kigali, practising their routine, dressed all in black, shaking gold and silver pom-poms.

We want to develop cheerleading here and make it valuable. We want it to become productive to those who love it. The squad was formed last year by Rwandan dance agency. Kesi Garambe works there. It's helping to give a platform to these girls. The girls who are part of the squad are eager to develop themselves and improve their lives for them and their family. Sports like basketball are becoming more and more popular in Rwanda. So naturally, it was time to train up some cheerleaders.

And the dancers say the sport has had a big impact on their self-esteem, like 16-year-old Benita Atete. First of all, cheerleading has given me confidence because before I could not go in front of a camera. But now I can and I see people posting me everywhere on social media. Their first paid gig was a tall order to perform at this year's Basketball Africa League final in Kigali. And for the young dancers, nerves were high. This is something my colleagues and I have prepared for a long time and now we've

done it. The night before I did not sleep. I was just wondering is it morning yet? It felt very good. I just felt taken away by emotions. It was my first time in front of such a big audience and we did everything perfectly and we are all happy. Kessie Garambe from the dance agency was proud to watch from the sidelines. We are all happy because of how well it went and how Rwandans were cheering us on. We had fears on different things, but nothing went wrong. That report by Isabella Jewell and thanks to Yvette Kabatasi from the BBC's Rwanda Bureau, who interviewed the cheerleaders. The ocean floor is something

that marine biologists want to study pretty closely, But a team at the University of Adelaide has found a way to improve their view of what goes on underwater by turning sea lions into camera crews. As part of a study, the animals were safely fitted with small cameras that, once recovered, allowed scientists to see exactly what they'd been up to. Nathan Angelakis, who was part of the research, spoke to Roland Pease on the podcast Science in Action. Each sea lion gets equipped with an underwater camera that's custom built for our purpose, and then they also get a GPS tracker which goes just behind the camera that we use to get data on their movements, and then they also get a little device on the crown of their head.

Sea lions, they're pretty big animals. Presumably doing this is a pretty delicate business. It is, yeah. And we obviously have to be really safe and careful and the welfare of the animals always first and foremost. I mean, having done that, you are getting, are you a sort of very different, a much better view of the seabed? Yeah, I guess it's completely different from other ways

that researchers traditionally survey the seabed. So I guess it's completely different from other ways that researchers traditionally survey the seabed so this is amazing having the perspective from the animal themselves as they move through in their environment. You've put the kit on the head what do you see after that? When we put a device out we don't really know what we're going to get back until we recapture the animal and recover the instruments that's always amazing when you click on that first video file and you, the animal dives down to the bottom and then you finally see what it's been doing. I suppose what I'm wondering is the scientific payback from this. Yeah, I mean, there's lots of things you get from this.

So mapping the habitats that the sea lions use, but also mapping habitats across southern Australia. But we can also get really important data on their foraging strategies so the different strategies they use to target different prey. This is all possible because of the miniaturization of things like cameras do you think there's a particular advantage using an animal? Yeah definitely I mean I guess when we're talking about comparing it with more traditional surveys more traditional surveys are using really specialised boats and camera, which require specialised crew and quite a few people to man. And you need a lot of things to line up.

That makes it a little bit difficult at times to map large parts of the marine environment. So that's one of the real advantages of having sea lions. We were mapping parts of the ocean that haven't been explored or observed before so the sea lions are giving us critical information. Also we're able to assess how these habitats might be driven or impacted by different oceanographic and environmental conditions. So I was just wondering about you know how stable these pictures are there must be times when they're just going round and round in circles not doing very much. I mean we're quite lucky that the cameras we have

are really, really good quality, and the video quality is amazing, even at depths of, you know, 100, 110 metres. But there is obviously a lot of thrashing about, and you have this animal just darting in and around rocks and reefs, and there are some moments that are very, very fast-paced. Nathan Angelakis talking to Roland Pease. Now, I don't know much about art, but I was very impressed a few years ago when I visited an immersive exhibition inside a former

gasworks. The walls, floors and ceilings had all been transformed into a canvas for moving images of the artist's work. Well, a man from Bosnia has taken that idea one step further, as Wendy Urquhart explains. Halim Zukić was a businessman in Bosnia, but his dream was to recreate an iconic piece of art in a natural park. So he started buying up patches of land, but he hadn't really decided how he would pull off such a feat across nearly 25 acres. He says it was only when he saw a farmer working in the fields that an idea really started to take shape. The tractor went over the meadows, leaving wheel tracks that reminded me of a spiral. In that moment, I no longer had any doubt about the direction I would take. It was the spiral from Van Gogh's painting. It was the moment that would

define the rest of my life. He's talking about Vincent van Gogh's masterpiece The Starry Night, famous for its heavy brushstrokes, coloured swirls and shining stars in a deep blue night sky. The moon and Venus sit above a village framed by rolling hills and a cypress tree dominates the foreground. Halim decided to turn his park into a giant version of the Starry Night painting and he's very proud of how his version turned out. This work is done with a palette of aromatic plants and herbs. I've got about 130,000 lavender bushes and the artwork itself covers around 10 hectares, making it perhaps the largest piece of art in the world. It's a complete replica of Van Gogh's celebrated work and was a labour of love for Halim, who did all the landscaping himself.

He planted trees and created 13 lakes using existing natural streams, and the park is now open to the public. The original of The Starry Night is on show at the Museum of Modern Art, or MoMA, in New York City. But now, art lovers can also stroll through Halim's version of Van Gogh's masterpiece in the hills of central Bosnia. And that was Wendy Urquhart. That's all from the Happy Pod for now. If you have any stories that will make us smile, our email address is globalpodcast at bbc.co.uk. This edition was mixed by Jancis Haycox and produced by Holly Gibbs and Siobhan Leahy. Our editor is Karen Martin.

I'm Oliver Conway. Until next time, goodbye. Thank you. and The Global Story, plus other great BBC podcasts from history to comedy to true crime, all ad-free. Simply subscribe to BBC Podcast Premium on Apple Podcasts or listen to Amazon Music with a Prime membership. Spend less time on ads and more time with BBC Podcasts.