The Daisy Chain

You're not behind. We're all just ordinary, in the middle, just trying - Sue Cook on growing up without support, finding strength through hardship and why we're all just figuring it out | The Daisy Chain

Most of the wisdom we consume comes from people who have arrived. People with titles, platforms, track records. People who have packaged up what they know and presented it as a formula. This week's guest has none of that. What she has instead is a life, fully, bravely, extraordinarily lived. Sue Cook is not a public figure. She is my neighbor. One of my mother's closest friends. One of the women who helped raise me after I lost my mum at 14. I have known Sue my entire life. And then I pressed record, and she showed me sides of herself I had never seen in thirty years of knowing her. Sue grew up with a violent father and a mother who didn't want her. She escaped, raised three boys alone without a car, built a career entirely from scratch, completed a degree in her fifties, and is now caring for Joyce, her 98-year-old aunt, with the same fierce, unsentimental love she has brought to everything in her life. She has never had a safety net. She has never waited for permission. And she has never let anyone else's opinion of what she can do change what she knows she is capable of. In this conversation, Sue and Daisy talk about what it really means to be strong when you're terrified, why nothing you learn is ever wasted, and what it looks like to build a life entirely on your own terms. Sue shares the unexpected gift her violent father gave her, introduces the zone of proximal development - a concept that reframes where you are right now not as behind, but as exactly in the middle of getting there, and explains what Joyce, at 98 and living with dementia, has taught her about presence, pleasure and how to really be alive. She also shares the one piece of advice that has carried her through everything: there will always be someone with more and someone with less. We are all just ordinary. Just trying. This one is for anyone who has ever felt ordinary and wondered if that was enough. Sue has something to say about that. Every Thursday at 3pm. 🌼 In this episode we discuss: * Growing up without a safety net and finding strength through adversity * How to be strong even when you're terrified * Why nothing you learn is ever wasted * The zone of proximal development, why you're not as behind as you think * Giving yourself permission to stop doing things you've always done * Why we're all just ordinary, just trying * Intergenerational wisdom, what the elderly can teach us about being alive * Building a life and career from nothing * The importance of friendship during parenthood * Caring for an ageing parent and what it teaches you about yourself Follow The Daisy Chain: * Follow The Daisy Chain on Instagram [https://www.instagram.com/thedaisychainpod] * The Daisy Chain's TikTok [https://www.tiktok.com/@thedaisychainpod] * Know an amazing guest? Contact us at thedaisychainpod@gmail.com [thedaisychainpod@gmail.com] Enjoyed this episode? Subscribe on Spotify, Apple or wherever you get your podcasts. Leave a 5🌟 review — to help more people discover our pearls of wisdom. What found us- Links & Mentions Holly 'What found me this week' * Mob Fresh Cookbook [https://www.waterstones.com/book/fresh-mob/mob/9781399705059] Sue: * Quiet by Susan Cain [https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/8520610-quiet] * Come On Over by Shania Twain [https://open.spotify.com/album/5MUiqH86VtEvtVIY1loBDi?si=PpEyRbgMSdapbbleTNnipA] * Conclave — Edward Berger [https://letterboxd.com/film/conclave/] Guest: Sue Cook ---------------------------------------- Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy [https://acast.com/privacy] for more information.

You don't have to know everything to deserve your seat — Joanna Christie on self awareness, people pleasing and career confidence | The Daisy Chain

We are consuming more than ever and feeling less equipped than ever. More advice, more opinions, more noise. And somewhere in all of that, the signal gets lost. This week's guest has spent most of her career asking herself exactly what she lets in, and why it matters more than most people realise. Joanna Christie is the CMO of Moonfare and one of the most compelling leaders I have ever had the privilege of working under. She has built an extraordinary career across some of the UK's most recognisable brands, and has never once applied for a job. What makes Joanna remarkable isn't her title or her track record. It's the fact that she got here while openly battling people pleasing and imposter syndrome, asking stupid questions on purpose, and admitting what she didn't know in rooms full of people who expected her to have all the answers. In this conversation, Joanna and Daisy talk about what it really means to back yourself in your career, the difference between people pleasing and genuine kindness, and why curating what you let into your brain is one of the most powerful performance decisions you can make. Joanna opens up about losing her mother suddenly and the unexpected way grief handed her the most important lesson of her life. She shares her philosophy on work life balance, why she thinks suffer porn is a red flag not a badge of honor, and her simple formula for taking back control when overwhelm creeps in — clear the day, make the list, check it off. She also recommends Tuesdays with Morrie, a book about a man running out of life but not out of love, passing down wisdom every week to someone who needed it. Sound familiar. This one is for anyone who has ever felt lost in their career but still carries huge ambition. Joanna has something to say. Every Thursday at 3pm. 🌼 In this episode we discuss: * People pleasing and where it comes from * Imposter syndrome and career confidence * Why not knowing everything is your greatest professional asset * Signal vs noise- being intentional about what you let into your brain * How to curate your feed and take back control of the algorithm * Grief, loss and the wisdom that only comes from having really lived * Work life balance and the truth about being a working mother * Why busyness as a badge of honour is a red flag not a flex * Self awareness as a leadership skill * How to take back control when you're feeling overwhelmed Follow The Daisy Chain: * Follow The Daisy Chain on Instagram [https://www.instagram.com/thedaisychainpod] * The Daisy Chain's TikTok [https://www.tiktok.com/@thedaisychainpod] * Know an amazing guest? Contact us at thedaisychainpod@gmail.com Enjoyed this episode? Subscribe on Spotify, Apple or wherever you get your podcasts. Leave a 5🌟 review - to help more people discover our pearls of wisdom. What found us — Links & Mentions Daisy: * Walking pad [https://www.decathlon.co.uk/sports/fitness-gym/walking-treadmills-walking-pads] Joanna: * Tuesdays with Morrie by Mitch Albom [https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/6900.Tuesdays_with_Morrie] * The Life-Changing Magic of Not Giving a F*** by Sarah Knight [https://www.sarahknight.com/books/lcm/] * HAYU [https://get.hayu.com/welcome?utm_campaign=google_746431217474&utm_term=hayu&gclsrc=aw.ds&gad_source=1&gad_campaignid=19892785343&gbraid=0AAAAAC7YBaJsH8It4CRPp3gHI4kpKsprw&gclid=CjwKCAjw2rrQBhBuEiwAarLWHdGgn5zY6SH3niGPWqtzAk-yf4VJj7bPpFMxIMbkavg9V0xigLaYqRoCDmcQAvD_BwE] * Real Housewives of Beverly Hills [https://www.bravotv.com/the-real-housewives-of-beverly-hills] * Southern Charm [https://www.bravotv.com/southern-charm] * Romeo and Juliet - Baz Luhrmann [https://letterboxd.com/film/romeo-juliet-1996/] * Love Story (1970) [https://letterboxd.com/film/love-story-1970/] * Ancient and Brave electrolytes [https://ancientandbrave.earth/products/true-hydration?tw_source=google&tw_adid=725684768845&tw_campaign=17333306597&gad_source=1&gad_campaignid=17333306597&gbraid=0AAAAACJ8I143c8Y45Gkx71U9hna9yK1X2&gclid=CjwKCAjw2rrQBhBuEiwAarLWHQXa7qlz0ZXAxdrfgbHsHrgo_oJ352T-f3X_5EIA76PdaT3FNNvd_hoCWG4QAvD_BwE] * Calm app - sleep stories [https://www.calm.com/] * Sauna blanket [https://higherdose.com/en-gb/products/infrared-sauna-blanket?variant=46349821509803] * Bio Effect skincare [https://www.bioeffect.com/uk/products?gad_source=1&gad_campaignid=8909448949&gbraid=0AAAAADoOaaDh2epKVffnJw0nlbAWbrt2X&gclid=CjwKCAjw2rrQBhBuEiwAarLWHbChOE4_-s8r2mIcoSNCjT68mofrN9iV_EGSypW8Pr0_uewMnCghhRoC3-oQAvD_BwE] * NuFace [https://www.mynuface.com/?srsltid=AfmBOooFHBTvil2zAb-VVKGgqAHGX16NzAp7FQx9sP_h6Q0k44pBOGc_] Guest: Joanna Christie — CMO at Moonfare [https://www.linkedin.com/in/joanna-christie-60104b15/] ---------------------------------------- Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy [https://acast.com/privacy] for more information.

Stop waiting for permission to make your art — Colette Woods on creative courage, finding your artistic identity and slow living | The Daisy Chain

Most of us have had someone tell us - a parent, a teacher, someone who should have known better - that the thing we love most isn't a real thing. Not a real career. Not a direction worth following. That moment doesn't leave you quickly. The question it plants - am I allowed to trust this? - can follow you for a very long time. Colette Woods is a painter and ceramicist living and working in Bruton, Somerset, whose art has been described as whimsical, instinctive and luminous. She spent decades working her way back to what she always knew she wanted - through family discouragement, through the practical realities of building a life. Last year, she was so seriously ill she couldn't lift her head from the pillow. She's only recently started working again. And she has never been clearer about what matters. Daisy and Colette talk about what happens when you spend your twenties following other people's maps, and what it takes to eventually trust your own instincts over the noise. They explore the art of saying no without explanation, and why Colette's morning ritual - an Italian percolator on the stove, the sound of the bubbling, the smell, a mug she made for herself, toast with marmalade is as close to meditation as anything she knows. Colette also shares her recent rediscovery of John Singer Sargent, whose paintings of fabric she finds so extraordinary that she looks at the cloth long before she ever reaches the face. This one is for anyone who was told their passion wasn't practical, and has spent years quietly wondering if they were right. Colette has been there. And she has something to pass down. Every Thursday at 3pm. 🌼 In this episode we discuss: * Being told your creative ambitions aren't a real career * What it means to finally trust your gut over other people's advice * The power of saying no without explanation * Life after serious illness and what it strips away * Protecting your creative process from commercial pressure * Creating beauty and ritual in the everyday * Finding your artistic identity later in life * Why emotions in art aren't a weakness - they're the energy * Social media noise and why it's a lie * How to start making art again when you've been away from it Follow The Daisy Chain: * Follow The Daisy Chain on Instagram [https://www.instagram.com/thedaisychainpod/] * The Daisy Chain's TikTok [https://www.tiktok.com/@the.daisy.chain.pod] * Know an amazing guest? Contact us at thedaisychainpod@gmail.com Enjoyed this episode? * Subscribe on Spotify, Apple or wherever you get your podcasts. * Leave a 5🌟 review — to help more people discover our pearls of wisdom. What found us - Links & Mentions Daisy: * The Prado Museum, Madrid [https://www.museodelprado.es/en] Colette: * John Singer Sargent - artist  [https://www.tate.org.uk/art/artists/john-singer-sargent-475] * Hieronymus Bosch [https://www.museodelprado.es/en/the-collection/artist/bosch-hieronymus/c9716e4a-4c24-44dd-ac65-44bc4661c8b5] * Three Colours Blue (dir. Krzysztof Kieślowski) [https://letterboxd.com/film/three-colours-blue/] * Manon des Sources - French film [https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0044883/]  * The Other Bennet Sister - TV series [https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episodes/m002qkp1/the-other-bennet-sister] * La Bohème, Puccini - opera [https://www.metopera.org/season/2026-27-season/la-boheme/] * Édith Piaf [https://open.spotify.com/artist/1WPcVNert9hn7mHsPKDn7j] * Grace Jones - La Vie en Rose  [https://open.spotify.com/track/5yJrl2r0vr6u9BXqQXZE3V] Guest: Colette Woods [https://www.instagram.com/_colettewoods_/] ---------------------------------------- Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy [https://acast.com/privacy] for more information.

Grief doesn't get easier, it just gets easier to carry - Ruby Jenkins on losing a mother young, life after loss and finding your way forward | The Daisy Chain

Grief has a way of finding you twice. Once when it happens- and again, years later, when you're standing in your twenties and you just want to pick up the phone. Ruby Jenkins is a hairdresser and entrepreneur who lost her mum suddenly at fifteen, there one day, gone the next. Daisy lost hers at fourteen, after years of watching cancer take hold. They met three years ago over a bad blow dry, two weeks before Daisy's wedding, and have been in each other's corner ever since. What they didn't know until they sat down to record this was how much they'd never said out loud. In this conversation, Ruby and Daisy talk about what grief actually feels like when the funeral is over and everyone goes home-  that hollow feeling nobody prepares you for. They talk about why grief doesn't get easier with time, it just gets easier to carry, and why for both of them it hit hardest not at fifteen but in their twenties, when the little things started to sting. They talk about the embarrassment of grief that nobody mentions, what it means to stand at a crossroads after loss and choose who you become, and how losing her mum gave Ruby the biggest empathy battery she's ever had - something she'd never give back. Ruby also shares the wisdom her mum handed down that she still carries: there is always something to be glad about. You just have to find it. This one is for anyone who has ever lost someone young and wondered if the weight ever lifts. It does. You just get stronger at carrying it. Every Thursday at 3pm. 🌼 In this episode we discuss: * Why grief doesn't get easier, it just gets easier to carry * What nobody tells you about losing a parent young * Why grief hits harder in your twenties than it did at fifteen * The embarrassment of grief nobody talks about * Growing up without a mother and finding guidance elsewhere * Life after loss, choosing who you become * There is always something to be glad about, even when you have to look hard * How losing a parent young shapes the person you become Follow The Daisy Chain: * Follow The Daisy Chain on Instagram [https://www.instagram.com/thedaisychainpod] * The Daisy Chain's TikTok [https://www.tiktok.com/@thedaisychainpod] * Know an amazing guest? Contact us at thedaisychainpod@gmail.com Enjoyed this episode? * Subscribe on Spotify, Apple or wherever you get your podcasts. * Leave a 5🌼 review to help more people discover our pearls of wisdom. What found us - Links & Mentions Ruby: * Ray's a Laugh - Richard Billingham (photography book) [https://www.1854.photography/2024/03/rays-a-laugh-richard-billingham-mack/] * Martin Parr (photographer) [https://martinparr.com/] * Hot Fuzz (film) [https://letterboxd.com/film/hot-fuzz/] * Everything I Know About Love - Dolly Alderton (book) [https://www.waterstones.com/book/everything-i-know-about-love/dolly-alderton/9780241982105] * Vienna - Billy Joel (song) [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3jL4S4X97sQ&list=RD3jL4S4X97sQ&start_radio=1] Daisy: * Project Hail Mary (film) [https://letterboxd.com/film/project-hail-mary/] * Kacey Musgraves - Oh What a World (song) [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3tgspkNRIcc&list=RD3tgspkNRIcc&start_radio=1] * About Time (film) [https://letterboxd.com/film/about-time/] What found me this week:Charlotte’s pick: * Baz Luhrmunn- Everybody’s Free to Wear Sunscreen [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xfq_A8nXMsQ&list=RDxfq_A8nXMsQ&start_radio=1] Guest: Ruby Jenkins @byrou_ [https://www.instagram.com/byrou_/] ---------------------------------------- Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy [https://acast.com/privacy] for more information.

Use anger as fuel, not fire - Natalie on creativity, letting go and finding gratitude | The Daisy Chain

Some of the most important things anyone ever told you about creativity, confidence and finding your way weren't said in a classroom or a therapy room. They were said in a kitchen, at a piano, in the middle of an ordinary afternoon by someone who had already figured it out the hard way. Natalie is an actress with decades of BBC productions, theatre and film behind her - Calendar Girls, Pride and Prejudice, The Importance of Being Earnest, and this summer Shear Madness at the Sonning Theatre. She has spent nearly thirty years teaching the STAGE method to everyone from children to corporate boardrooms, helping people find their voice when it matters most. But she also happens to have known Daisy since the day she was born - and long before any of the credentials, she was the person who sat her down at a piano and told her to just play. In this conversation, Natalie talks about what it really means to use anger as fuel rather than letting it consume you, and why the fire you felt at fifteen never actually goes out - it just needs you to look for it. They talk about creativity and why boredom is one of the most underrated tools you have, about letting go of what you cannot control, and about gratitude as something you practise rather than feel. Natalie shares what a hypnotherapist gave her in two words that changed everything, how watching David Bowie on Top of the Pops in 1973 cracked something open in her, and why nothing you have ever learned — even the things that didn't work out - is ever truly wasted. This one is for anyone who has ever felt lost, poured everything into something that didn't go to plan, or needed a reminder that feeling behind is not the same as being behind. Every Thursday at 3pm. 🌼 In this episode we discuss: * Using anger as fuel, not fire * Why nothing you've ever learned is wasted * The two words that changed everything * Boredom as a creative tool * Letting go of what you can't control * Gratitude as a daily practice * Natalie Ogle's STAGE method and public speaking * Why the fire in your belly never really goes out Follow The Daisy Chain: * Follow The Daisy Chain on Instagram [https://www.instagram.com/thedaisychainpod] * The Daisy Chain's TikTok [https://www.tiktok.com/@the.daisy.chain.pod] * Know an amazing guest? Contact us at thedaisychainpod@gmail.com [thedaisychainpod@gmail.com] Enjoyed this episode? * Subscribe on Spotify, Apple or wherever you get your podcasts. * Leave a 5🌟 review — to help more people discover our pearls of wisdom. What found us — Links & Mentions Daisy: * Give it a grow by Martha Swales [https://www.penguin.co.uk/books/463153/give-it-a-grow-by-swales-martha/9780241710364] * Joshua Tree by Demi Lovato & Rose Gray [https://open.spotify.com/track/6HzNXN730dXkoUeSlPFWrv?si=264ead2edb834582] * Is This Thing On? [https://letterboxd.com/film/is-this-thing-on-2025/] What found me this week: Ella's pick: * The Road Not Taken by Robert Frost [https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/44272/the-road-not-taken] Natalie: * Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars * The Rocky Horror Show * Suzi Quatro Guest: Natalie — Shear Madness at the Sonning Theatre [https://www.sonningtheatre.co.uk] The Daisy Chain is a weekly podcast where every week, someone who's already been where you are passes down four pearls of wisdom to those of us still finding our way. ---------------------------------------- Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy [https://acast.com/privacy] for more information.