Global News Podcast - The Happy Pod: Meeting a princess while climbing a mountain

Episode Date: July 4, 2026

Pete Haslam was carrying his paraplegic son Ted up a mountain, helped by friends and family, when they bumped into Catherine, Princess of Wales. She was doing the same climbing challenge, known as the Three Peaks, and stopped to chat to them three times. Pete says he almost didn't recognise Catherine in her walking gear but, when they got talking, she was very kind and motherly to Ted.Also: in a story suggested by a listener, we hear from the US man who crossed Africa on a skateboard. Jason Vanporppal was raising money for a skatepark in Uganda which he hopes will inspire young people.The unusual object that saved a man's life after an accident at sea. He survived by clinging to a cool box for four hours.Plus the twins who married twins, the Nigerian chef awarded 'icon status'.And the surprise school trip to a star studded movie premiere. Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson arranged for the pupils to see his latest film, Moana, after they'd tagged him in a socials video.Our weekly collection of inspiring, uplifting and happy news from around the world.(Photo: Pete Haslam talking to Catherine, Princess of Wales, on Ben Nevis. Credit: Pete Haslam)Presenter: Holly Gibbs. Music composed by Iona Hampson

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How has America shaped the world? I'm Asma Khalid, host of the Global Story podcast from the BBC. As the United States marks its 250 year anniversary, we've been exploring the surprising and often hidden ways the U.S. has shaped the modern world. And today on the show, we answer your questions about this moment and what to expect in the years to come. From the BBC, it's The United States at 250. Listen to the global story on BBC.com or wherever you get your podcasts. This is the happy pod from the BBC World Service. I'm Holly Gibbs and in this edition, a chance encounter with royalty.

I was just dumbfounded, to be honest. Because she had all the walking gear on, I think I might have just walked past her, to be honest. But yeah, she was lovely. She was being very motherly to TED, seeing if it was warm enough. How a family met the UK's future queen while climbing a mountain. Also, why a man from the US decided to skateboard across Africa. I want them to feel inspired knowing that that skate park was built off of this like chasing a dream, you know. And I want people to skate that knowing they could do way more than what they believe they can do.

Plus how an unusual object saved a man's life at sea. He had a cool box and he was able to hold on to that. And was in the water for about four hours, just surviving that. is pretty remarkable. Double the love as twins marry twins in Nigeria. And the children who went on a school trip to a star-studded movie premiere. I'm with the coolest kids in the world.

St. Greg's primary. Here they are. Look! We just met the rock. It's not often you stumble across royalty, but one family did so while climbing the highest mountain in the UK. Pete Haslam was carrying his paraplegic son, Ted, in his wheelchair to the top of Ben Nevis, when they met Catherine, Princess of Wales.

And it wasn't just a one-off encounter. They passed each other twice the next day too. Congratulations. Yeah, well-time. Thanks for all. How are you doing, Ted? You're not too cold. It's a not great bad thing.

You're spectacular. So are only people just put in their t-shirts? And have you been up here? No, I've been up here? Catherine was doing the same challenge, known as the Three Peaks, in aid of the hospital where she was treated for cancer. Lots of people have asked me why I'm doing this challenge, and partly it's personal.

I'm so grateful to be here, to be strong enough to walk these hills. But more importantly, it's to give something back and acknowledge really all the incredible work going on up and down this country. I've met some incredible people, those people who are living with and beyond cancer. And I know personally how difficult that journey is. And I really wanted to use this opportunity as my way of contributing to all the wonderful work that's going on. And in particular, to support the Royal Mars and Cancer Charity, an organisation very dear to me, but who do extraordinary work, supporting those living with and beyond the disease.

Pete, Ted and 15 of their friends and family trekked around 37 kilometres to raise money for a children's charity which donated play equipment to Ted. Ted was left paralysed at the age of three after he was diagnosed with an aggressive spinal tumour. Princess Catherine has made a donation to the calls saying the people, she met were inspiring. Ted and Pete spoke to the BBC's Sarah Julian. So when we were walking down from Ben Lewis, we met her at like a place where, like, it was like a perfect place to stop and talk.

So it was a really good place where we stopped. And then we met her there. And then on Scarborough Pike, we were ahead of her. And then she got us in 20. minute and then when we were walking up and she was coming down we stopped together we had like a one-minute chat and in ben nervous it was about a five-minute chat so yeah yeah that was lovely what was she like tad what was it like to talk to her uh it was very fully because it was like she was the princess of wows and i just realized it but

when I did realise it, I thought it was just like amazing and incredible at the same time. Well, it is. Yeah. So you were chatting for you, Pete, without quite realizing who she was? To be honest, the first time that we ran into her, I was at the back of the group, and I obviously knew that we'd stopped to speak to someone, but I didn't know who they were speaking to. And a good 30 seconds must have passed before they called me forward. And I was just dumbfounded, to be honest. Because she had all the walking gear on, you're not necessarily. necessarily looking at for people that you recognise.

And I think I might have just walked past her, to be honest. But I think she initiated the conversation with our group because obviously for her again, seeing a little lad in a wheelchair being carried around the mountain by 16 burly blokes. She's going to want to see what's going on. And luckily she did. And it sounds like she had a good chat with you, Pete. Yeah, she was lovely.

She was being very motherly to Ted asking all the questions. and I would ask if it was warm enough, seeing if we got some sleep after the first mountain. And yeah, it was lovely. Did she remember you then when she saw it? Well, I guess you're quite distinctive, but did she remember your names and things? Yeah.

Shockingly, when she went past us on the second morning, on the second mountain, she said, hi, Ted, and we were all like, you know, double-taking that she'd remembered his name. Oh, friends with the princess, Ted. Friends with the princess, hey? Yeah. It's brilliant.

And how did you go with your target then? I know you were setting a target to raise lots of money for a charity that grants wishes. Remember the target that we set initially? I think it was like... 5,000? 5,000. Yeah.

So we're up to about 13,000 now. Wow! And it's just going crazy. Because we've bumped into Her Royal Highness, and it's got a load of media retention. We're getting so many more donations, which is absolutely incredible. And some of the messages people are leaving,

really inspiring, really lovely. Just like saying what a family, you're an inspiration to us all, and just stuff like this. And hopefully this kind of thing will inspire other kids in similar situations to Ted to just think of it outside the box and see what they're capable of. Ted and Pete Haslam. Here on the Happy Pod, we love hearing from our listeners

and getting sent stories that make you all smile. So thank you to Ben for saying. sending us this next one. A 26-year-old skateboarder from the United States has just completed a skate across Africa, raising money for a skate park in Uganda. Jason Van Porpole went from Uganda to Cape Town and I caught up with him about the journey.

I started skating when I was nine years old and yeah, the skateboarding has always been a part of my life. I always felt like other things, like other passions and hobbies, like weren't really for me. Like, I think skateboarding just felt different for me and I always just wanted to do something that was a part of it. But yeah, all these like adventures that I've been doing, they just came like sporadically.

Like I was never like planning to do anything like this at all. I just wanted to skate and then these ideas this came about. So you did an almost 6,000 kilometer journey from Uganda to Cape Town. How did that come about? So this would be, this was my third journey that I've done. After I skated across America and Japan. So I was sitting on home, just trying to figure out what I wanted to do.

And if I wanted to do another country, if I wanted to give it up, because my last journey, I was just like in the really, like, I just fell into a really deep depression. It was a very weird moment in my life. And then these guys, and I get like hundreds of people reaching out to me saying, oh, come across, come over here, and I'll skate with you across this country. You come over here. You know what I mean?

I'm getting hundreds of messages like that. But these guys, one guy named Isaac, he reached out to me saying, hey, if you ever think about skating across Africa, I would do it with you. I found out that he had this NGO called Kapala Skateboard Initiative. And he mentors kids with a bunch of other people. And it's like a whole thing out there in Uganda and Kampala. And I saw he did that with his kids. And he had a decent following.

I had friends that follow him as well, his page. And I was like, oh, wow, like, you're actually like, you know, pretty legit. He's like, yeah, I really like what you're doing. I would love to raise money for kids. Yeah, I just kind of like seized a moment. How did it go? How was skating across Africa? It was crazy.

It was insane. Like everything you could think of, the happy, the sad, the mad, every emotion has popped up while skating across Africa. And it's something I always cherish forever. Like going across Africa has changed my life. It's changed my life in so many ways. And if I could do it again, I would. And I wish I could go back and do it all over again. But it was so joyful.

Everything was. It was a humbling experience. How long did it actually take you to get across? From pushing, we left on February 8th, and I finished on May 25th. Wow. Yeah, 106 days. So what is next for the skate park? So right now we're focusing on getting land.

That was like one of the main things we wanted to get because, like I said, these kids are literally getting kicked out of their own spots to go skate because there's literally 100 kids. So you can imagine how much ruckus they make and how loud they are. So all the neighbors always kicking them out and everything. But yeah, get land. And then I'm going to fly back to Uganda. And we're going to be working with the professional builders. They're going to help us out with the money we have right now. They're going to give us guidance what we could do with it. And we're going to be documenting all this. So, you know,

people still follow along, you know, for the people that helped donate into this cause. Like, we want to keep them involved as well. What was the reaction of the people that you met along the way to you doing this? As soon as I enter some, South Africa, this is when everything was like, it just changed. Like, everything changed. Like, the views, the people supporting, people running besides me. And as I got closer to Cape Town, it just became huge. It became like a whole parade every single day.

And even until the day, I can't believe that happened. Like, I'm like, dude, like, why me? You know, like, I'm just a skater. But I asked so many people after I finished and they just said that it was more just about skateboarding. It was just how they're just really excited to see how their country. could come together and do something like this for one person. And everyone was connected like that. And so this was an incredible feeling. What do you hope people who use this future skate park?

What do you hope that they get out of it? I just hope they have the same experience like I did, you know, when I first started it. Like I didn't, I didn't know what I wanted to do with skateboarding. I was just doing it for fun. And even to the day I do for fun, but you find something in that. And I want these kids to, you know, skate it. And I want them to feel inspired. knowing that that skate park was built off of this like chasing a dream, you know, and that skate park was just fueled by people saying you couldn't do this. Because a lot of people didn't believe, like, I can be raised $10,000 for a skate park. And I want people to skate that knowing they could do way more than what they believe they can do.

That was Jason Van Porple. And if you've seen a story that you think we should cover, please let us know. Our email address is Global Podcast at bbc.com.com. to Nigeria next and a wedding with a twist. It involved twin brothers, marrying twin sisters in a part of a country where twins are seen as bringing good luck. Crystal Ratri-Calo reports. In the southwest Nigerian city of Ibadan, twins Taywo and Kahinde Ogentoye married identical twins, Taywo and Kahinde at Adirin in a joyous joint ceremony. But their love story has not always been simple.

Ten years ago, when the four of them were studying at the same university, a lecturer did try to set them up. But there was no spark of romance, though they did remain friends. Years passed before the brothers reached out again, as life took before in different directions into far-away countries. But Tayo says, when they did meet up again, friendship soon grew into love. We've been in relationships with twins before, but sometimes it could be that our characters varied

or we weren't compatible, so we couldn't get married. Other twins are also interested in us, but these are who God ordained as our wives. Yadai Dair and sisters are identical, but Jihindi Ogintoye is confident that that won't be a problem. If you see our wives, they are very identical. Sometimes their relatives mistake them. But as part of our profession, we have mingled with a lot of twins for so many years.

And when we talk about it, we know how to identify our spouses. In Europe culture, twins are considered a blessing. Their names are also predestined. The oldest is called Tewo, meaning the one that tastes the world first. Well, the younger is called Cahinde, meaning the one that came up. after. Kehinde Ogintoye says that the brothers had always dreamed of marrying twin girls. We love twins culture so much. This will be a higher pedestal, because wherever we went before as Taiwa and Kehinde Ogentoy, we will now go as twin couples. Wherever we went, people saw us as twins.

But now that will be doubled. That means quadruple, which implies good things, and it will open doors to more blessings, more jobs, more good things. Both couples say that they are looking forward to their lives together and are hoping to have twins themselves. That was Crystal Ratchrikello reporting. Coming up on the happy part. It also tells young people like me, young women like me, that if I'm able to do this, if I'm able to push myself in any and every field

that you find yourself, your dreams are valid and you can't. can certainly do whatever you set your mind to as well. The Nigerian chef hoping to inspire others with her new icon status. Who has America shaped the world? I'm Asma Khalid, host of the Global Story podcast from the BBC. As the United States marks its 250 year anniversary, we've been exploring the surprising and often hidden ways the U.S. has shaped the modern world.

And today on the show, we answer your questions about this moment and what to expect in the years to come. From the BBC, it's the United States at 250. Listen to the global story on BBC.com or wherever you get your podcasts. The 26 World Cup started with 48 teams, and we've now reached the knockout stage. Records have been broken. The way that Messi has been able to score all these goals late in his career.

He's happy to play football and broken records is the consequence for him. And new heroes have emerged. This country's caught the fever. Casual fans are now die-hard fans. And The More Than the Score podcast is bringing you the stories beyond the score lines. More than The Score from the BBC World Service. Listen now, wherever you get your BBC podcasts. Is the American Dream still possible?

I'm Asma Khalid, one of the hosts of the Global Story Podcast from the BBC. One of the most successful exports to the United States has ever sold the world is the American dream, that tantalizing promise of a better, freer, richer life. But is it still attainable? I feel like the American dream is alive but not well. For more, listen to The Global Story on BBC.com or wherever you get your podcasts. You're listening to The Happy Pod. A fisherman has survived an accident at sea by clinging for hours to a cool box to stay afloat.

It's thought his boat had overturned off the coast of North Wales. The man was eventually found by rescue crews and taken to hospital where he's now recovering. Evo Gwynn from the Lifeboat Service told the BBC's Megan Davis that the family had raised the alarm when he failed to return home. We started the search up and down the estuary, but as we were starting our search, one of our off-duty crew members found the overturned fishing vessel on the beach. So obviously the nature of the call quickly turned from looking for an overdue vessel with its skipper

to being one of searching for a person in the water. So obviously far, far more serious. How does that change the search? What then happens? What does that trigger? Well, that triggered for HM Coast Guard to launch their helicopter. Other units, Coast Guard units were also searching with us. And it just kind of really focuses what way.

doing. It changes the nature of where we're looking. So, you know, a vessel will move in a certain way and so it clearly becomes a lot more serious, but also becomes a lot more difficult because we're looking for a smaller object in the sea. On this occasion, thankfully, and we're not sure how the vessel overturned, but the fisherman landed in the sea and he had a cool box with him that was used for storing fish. And he was able to hold on to that. cool box and was in the water for about four hours in all, which is surviving that, even though it's been relatively warm, the sea, it's still pretty cold. Just surviving that is pretty remarkable. But mercifully, the tides, instead of taking him out into the open sea,

took him onto Harlech Beach. This must be quite unusual. Obviously, when you hear through the radio that somebody's potentially been in the water for hours, it becomes a very emotionally, a difficult task because you've got to prepare for something that might not have such a positive outcome. But thankfully, as I say, the individual washed up on what got themselves ashore at Harlech Beach. There was a Coast Guard unit on the beach who were then able to guide the helicopter in. They provided kind of front-line paramedic care there to get his core temperature up a little before the helicopter transferred him then to a Spitigwinnev. Yvore Gwynne. Every year, Guinness World Records award some of its entrance with icon status for their multiple achievements and long-term dedication.

One of this year's winners is the Nigerian chef Hilda Bassi. My colleague James Menendez caught up with Hilda and started by asking her what inspired her cooking records. It's probably watching too much cartoons, especially for my second Guinness World Record, because I literally walked into my office one day. I said, I would like to see what, like, a pot of joll off rice that is as big as my office would look like. So I think that's probably on one hand, but it has always been my dream to push boundaries and see how far I can, you know, I can go. Yeah, I mean, it is quite an achievement doing some of these things. I mean, the marathon cooking spell, that was what, more than 90 hours, cooking this huge pot of joll off rice, which I think was, what, something like more than eight tons. but food isn't just about these sort of extremes for you, is it?

I mean, there's more to it than that. Oh, no, it's not just about extremes. It's also about telling a good story about Nigerians, about Africans and about our food. I think for my second Guinness World Record, which was the largest port of Nigerian Joloff, I honestly just felt like, you know, we are the giants of Africa,

as we would refer to ourselves, and as I believe that we are. I believe that Nigeria makes the best joll of rice in the world. And I thought it would only make sense that Nigeria, being the country that makes the best joll of rice in the world, also makes the largest pot of joll of rice in the world. So it was a lot of things. And it also tells young people like me, young women like me, that if I'm able to do this, if I'm able to push myself in any and every field that you find yourself, your dreams are valid,

and you can certainly do whatever you set your mind to as well. As you know, Hilda, there will be people listening to this at lunchtime who will be choking on their lunch when you say that Nigeria makes the best joll off, especially people in Ghana and other countries in West Africa. What makes Nigerian joll off better? They will be saying, no, no, no, there's no way it's the best. They all have their unique taste and they bring their unique flavors, but I believe as a Nigerian chef that ours is the best.

On a more serious note, do you worry that, you know, as in many countries, and especially people living in cities, that people's diets are getting worse, people are eating too much processed food, they perhaps don't have time to cook proper, fresh, healthy food? Yes, one thing that I am known for as a chef is I am actually a very fast cook. So I teach people how to do that. It's not as cumbersome as how our mothers used to teach us. You know, that's one of the anchors of the Hill-Dabasi Academy.

And I hate to say it, I mean, too much joll off. frice can be bad, can't it? You know how they would always say, sometimes it is not what you're eating. It's also the quantity, the portion, you know, makes a difference. Are you going to, if you've got another record in mind or are those days behind you now? I'm not saying I'm not going to break any records. But if I do, it might not be the most intentional process. You talked about fast cooking.

Maybe that's it. Maybe you can cook a thousand dishes of something in the, At least amount of time, maybe that's the way to go. If you're going to be my sous chef, just maybe I would consider. I could do some chopping for you, no problem. Fantastic. That was Hilda Bassi speaking to James Menendez. And finally, we end this edition with a tale of a red carpet film premiere,

a global megastar, and some very surprised schoolchildren. Stephanie Prentice has this report. For one group of kids turning up to school, excited for the annual trip to a museum or a farm. But who's really excited for the trip? Things were about to get better. Who has no idea where we're going? The seven to nine-year-olds from Suffolk in England were told they were off to London for

some sightseeing. Who's ready for an adventure? But head teacher Daniel Woodrow had a secret plan. Oh my God. And within an hour, the kids came face to face with an A-lister at. a red carpet premiere. Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, please make some noise for the man,

the myth, the Maui, Dway Johnson! Back in January, the children had recorded a video for the school's Instagram account, begging The Rock, the Hollywood actor, to comment on it. Saying if he did,

their teacher had promised them a trip to the cinema to see his new film, The Live Action Moana. They waited, and waited, And a few months later, Daniel called an assembly. That video has been seen millions of times.

And one person who saw it liked it so much that they wanted to send you a video of error. Would you like to see that video? I saw a video that just blew me away and the request was, oh, maybe the rock can comment on our video. Well, I'm going to find a theater. I'm going to rent it out

and as a gift from me to you because you guys have been just such awesome fans you guys are going to see live action Moana on me but far from the usual trip to the cinema Daniel and the Rock himself had been scheming to go one better the pupils ended up not just at the cinema

but a one day Moana immersive experience inside a Pacific inspired village filled with singing dancing games pig petting farm, a karaoke booth and unlimited food and drinks, as well as the whole cast of the film, including, of course, the rock himself. All right, world, I'm with the coolest kids in the world. St. Greg's primary. Here they are. Look.

We just met the rock. Complete surprise. Yeah, we didn't know. We did not know. All of us was really excited. And some of us got high-fives from him. He made sure we all enjoyed the time. And they weren't the only ones.

The Rock told us he felt the same. It was awesome. I'm here in London, this big event, I meet all of them. They're going crazy. And, you know, we have this awesome event plan for them with their own theater. And I reminded them again in front of their teachers and their parents, like, hey, it's all the candy and soda and all the sugar for free. I'll apologize to your parents later. And one of the kids was like, you don't have to apologize.

So potentially a bad day to be a parent, a great day to be a child with unlimited sugar resources, and the best day for St. Gregory's head teacher. For the biggest movie star on the planet to spend so much time with the children, and you can see how excited they were. He said, happy birthday, someone whose birthday was, took a video with them, the children have all been in a movie with Dwayne Johnson now,

which is incredible. It's been an amazing day. And at the start of the day, the children had no idea it was even going to happen, so it makes it even more special. All right, what's up guys? All my students from St. Gregory's or St. Greg's Primary School. It's DJ here, also known as Uncle Maui.

I am so excited for you guys to watch the movie. I love seeing all your happy faces. So I want you guys to have the best time watching Moana. And, of course, I got to end it the only way I know how. What can I say except? You're welcome. All right, enjoy. Bye.

The Rock and the Children of St. Gregory Primary School, ending that report by Stephanie Prentice. And that's all from the Happy Pod for now. We'd love to hear from you. As ever, the address is global podcast at BBC.co.uk. This edition was mixed and produced by Rachel Bulkley. The editor is Karen Martin. I'm Holly Gibbs. Until next time, goodbye. How has America shaped the world? I'm Asma Khalid, host of the Global Story Podcast.

from the BBC. As the United States marks its 250 year anniversary, we've been exploring the surprising and often hidden ways the U.S. has shaped the modern world. And today on the show, we answer your questions about this moment and what to expect in the years to come. From the BBC, it's the United States at 250. Listen to the global story on BBC.com or wherever you get your podcasts.