Gill starts the episode by sharing a piece that her friend Justin Buckthorp posted on how our fitness regimes change as we age and for good reason. What we could do at 25 and get away with we can no longer do at 45 and for good reason.

Jamie and Gill chat about how health, for them, has become the number one driver as they age. They very much think about and are far more aware of what they do, how they do it and why, from exercise to eating. Gill no longer goes to a gym but gets her exercise out in her large garden or moving around on the floor when she is willow weaving. Jamie says he does similar in that he no longer syas he'll spend hours in the garden but just go do a bit when he can and not push it beyond what he knows will impact him in a negative way physically later on.

The conversation naturally leads onto what they both eat adn actually when they now eat. Gill tells of her experiences whenever she is questions around her eating and drinking habits by asked by a doctor or nurse and the looks of disbelief she gets. Jamie has been medicine free for 6 years now and how he's doing things differently but wants to do more.

Finally shock of shocks - Jamie shares he ate a Starbar recently, they been his favourite chocolate bar for years and years, but discovered he no longer likes them and apparently it's all Gill fault!

Jamie and Gill thought they'd see if they could have 2 random topics to talk about and if they could somehow get from one topic to the other linking them together.

They both agreed that being typically British they had to talk about the weather and Jamie had said he wanted to talk about smoking - well giving up. The challenge was set!

They started, as agreed, with the amount of rain everyone has been experiencing and how that was impacting their ability to get out in the garden. This lead very nicely into talking about potholes and cars.

Cars allowed Gill to bring up the subject of parking lights, the old ones you used to clip on the driver's window and plug into the cigarette lighter. Jamie admitted he'd never heard of them until he saw one for sale and wondered what this egg-shaped thing was with a lead hanging out of it.

The mention of the cigarette lighter in the car (what's one of those younger listeners will ask?) of course meant they could talk about cigarette machines. Which gave Jamie the opportuntiy to talk about his smoking habit and how he gave up smoking at 19 having started at 12 years old.

They somehow acheived the challenge but being Jamie and Gill there was a lot of digressing along the way into freezers, bodies and even being a 'little bit Polish'!

Back to talking about AI again.

Jamie tells Gill about his use of ChatGPT and what he sees as the positives to for a one man business. It's helped him with his YouTube videos and to be more eloquent when messaging an ill friend when he didn't know what to say in his message.

Whilst Gill can absolutely see the benefits of AI in lots of areas she share her concerns around AI, including environmental ones that people can't see, vast buidlings to house the servers, and huge amounts of water being used.

Gill also asks is AI actually dumbing us down, removing our personalities from interactions / social media even more because we no longer have to think things through? She shares her own little theory about the impact it's having on people with neurodiverse conditions. Is it along with social media actually making them more prominent now particularly in the rise of adults that have been diagnosed? People's attentoin spans are reducing and life is moving fast and does this just mean it'll move even faster?

On another topic Jamie has re-organised his week, changed his routine and it's really helping. Gill shares that people forget how the basic little things that used to do really helped them like starting the day a bit earlier but a lot slower. When people return to the easy and quick habits they used to do how it really impacts their day.

A new year and episode 80 of our podcast!

Gill wishes Jame Happy New Year but wants to know when do we stop saying Happy New Year to people?!

They chat about family adaptability over the festive season and how that changes over the years esepcially as the family grow up. Somehow this leads to Jamie saying he has had to contend with snow and ice going up a hill. He tells of how he managed to get around a taxi that was having real problems and his thoughts on why electric cars also struggle and younger drivers. Many 'younger than us' who drive will rarely have had an opportunity to do so and have no idea how to drive in snow.

Jamie then asks Gill if she sets new year resolutions. They tell each other why they don't set new year's resolutions as it applies too much pressure. Instead Gill says she likes to think about what she wants to focus more on during the year ahead. For Jamie it's focussing more on the work he wants to do now rather than has to and Gill it's doing more with her willow weaving and the ideas that she has.

With many people complaining about January and how long it is Gill has a theory about why so many people think January is soooo... long. Jamie asks Gill what she thinks of the old fashioned idea of keeping Christmas decoarons up until Candlemas day at the start of February.

A quick moan at the BBC about the timing of Jools Holland's programme on NYE's and finally they have a discussion about baths in bedrooms! What is all that about??!! Jamie has a theory on the current trend.

It's Christmas this week Jamie and Gill decide to chat about their memories of Christmas past and how we've changed how we feel about it now.

Gill can remember lots of her family traditions based around Christmas including the last one she had with her Dad before he died in the January.

Jamie admits he struggles to remember anything of his childhood Christmases other than his Action man tank which he still has in the attic. He tells a funny story about how he somehow sat on and rode his new tank down the stairs.

As Gill talks he slowly recalls things he had forgotten. They both remember being at work and the excitement of everyone being 'let go' early on Christmas Eve - that alone felt like a big present.

They talk about how your feelings change about Christmas as you grow older. The childlike excitement gives way to being with your friends as well as family and going out to work. Then as you get a family of your own it changes again. Gill explains how she still loves Christmas but for very different reasons these days.

Christmas is just one day and for some it is a hard time of year especially if they find they are on their own, have lost someone close during the year or have other challenges to face. Where ever you are in life avid comparing yourself to other people's Chistmas and make Christmas your own - Happy Christmas.

This episode it's Jamie's turn to sound sexy as he's got a sore throat!

Apart from his sore throat he's really happy as he's sold the crocodile that the made a couple of years ago for a panto. (Look at his video of it on his YouTube channel The Worcestershire Cabinet Maker). He could have sold it for a lot more, as one person told him, but he is happy with the price and explains that he found a balance with the purchaser based on his values of 'pay it forward' to another amateur dramatic society. Jamie is concerned that these societies are getting far too technical with one person knowing how the technical side works.

Gill and Jamie chat about the cost of something v. the time it took to create and Jamie thinks this is a missing link in the programme 'The Repair Shop' that they don't say how long a repair actually took in real time creating unrealistic expectations. They both agree it would be helpful to have labels on crafted / handmade items saying how long they took to make as it may help buyers appreciate and understand the price.

Finally, Jamie has a rant about the increase in the use of palm oil instead of milk especially in chocolate and how that's having such a negative impact on dairy farmers with many giving up. Again it comes down to the price people are prepared to pay and often can't afford the better quality chocolate. We discuss the amount of 'crap' going into and onto our bodies and how we hope more peole will return to growing and making their own.

Gill and Jamie chat about why, after some research, they've decided to stop posting their podcast (and Gill her other podcast too) onto Spotify. Spotify are getting wealthier by the day and the average creator is struggling with musicians getting between £0.0024 and £0.004 per download. With the introduction of AI being able to use any content on the platform creators will end up becoming obsolete!

The conversation turns to other big companies like Amazong which Jamie is not a big fan of! He explains how when looking to buy some tools it lead him to take a deep dive into the product and discovered somen interesting facts. We chat about the impact this has had on manufacturing in the UK and how old steel works and buildings are being demolished to make way for bland housing (and yes I bring up the book 'Less' again!).

Lastly I tell Jamie about the challenge I had trying to pump up my tyres at the garage early this morning and how did something that used to be so easy become so difficult and complicated!

Following an observation from Gill's husband on last week's episode she apologises to Jamie for talking so much at the start of the last episode. In her defence she says she was praising Jamie about his skills.

Talking of skills Jamie is a bit 'miffed' as he was asked to become involved with a tree removal at a local church. He was asked to use his skills to make some things, stool, benches etc. from the wood of the tree being felled to help parishioners accept it had to come down. He was also promised some of the wood.

It's another tale of mis-communication with a number of people including with Jamie who ended up with very little wood!

We change the topic and Gill talks about her recent experience to do with Smart meters or what turns out to be not so smart meters! She was flat sitting for her son as he needed to have his meter changed and again due to computers and mis-information the slot he had chosen had been messed up!

In the process of chatting to the man changing the meter she discovers that her son will still ahve to do monthly meter readings! It's a tale all about mis-information being given to customers to get them to change their meters.

Talking of computers... Gill and her husband discover something that makes them wonder if they have been victims of ID fraud. She digs deeper!