On World Radio Day… a look back at my post from 2022

Wow, it really is the end of an era as the big show on BBC Radio 2 comes to an end, I remember the first time I met Steve, it was at a showbiz party at the Café De Paris. I think it was an album launch, can’t remember the band, but I had heard that Steve was starting a show on Radio 2, I bounced over and cheekily told him how much of a fan I was …and he should hire me as a co –presenter!  lo and behold he did, and its hard to realise how long it’s been, I only know because I only had one baby  when I started and 3 more were born over the 23 years!

We have had so much fun doing the show, its almost embarrassing, it really shouldn’t have been called work! I remember once having a chat about what we would do if we won the lottery, I said I’d stay doing exactly the same thing, and I really meant that.

Over the years, as we have had our chats on air, I have often talked about my passions about natural and organic living, therapies and wellbeing, and Steve has gently faded down the microphone to shut me up, but of course its all been in good humour and actually, the fact that Steve, Tim and I have such different personalities and interests has made it good value!  I feel especially blessed that during my chats about holistic living, a publisher heard me and convinced me to write a book.  Imperfectly Natural Woman came out in 2006 and was an Amazon number one best seller! (you see publishers listen to the radio!) and in fact the lovely Caroline Lenton’s publishing house Mcnidder & Grace has published my latest book Happy Healthy Sober

We have been lucky to have met the great and the good, all the stars, comedians, the authors, the politicians want to be on the big show and it was my good fortune to meet so many wonderful people, friends often ask me: Are celebs as nice as they seem? and the answer is mostly – yes!

I loved it when we did Children in Need studio stuff, we all sang with Rylan a few years back,  I got to duet ‘Don’t go breaking my heart’ with Nicole Scherzinger looking on!  The arrival of Elton John’s piano in the green room was something, and of course interviewing Elton was always fun!

Some of my fave guests include Russell Brand, Chris Martin from Coldplay, Goldie Hawn, we interviewed Agnetha from Abba, and the beautiful late Olivia Newton John, and of course Eddie Izzard (who everyone knows I LOVE!)

I also remember some great trips away from the studio, we had the most fantastic trip to New York, getting the inside track on wall street, visiting the actual iconic diner from When Harry met Sally, even interviewing the mayor at the time.  In more recent years we did a show live from the Eastenders set

Of course I must also mention our amazing production team, who made it flow effortlessly, Steve Wright and Tim Smith, and Bobbie, I will miss you all beyond measure.  Tim and I had a ball being on Ready Steady Cook in 1999 (he won!) and in 2018 we were on Celebrity Antiques Roadshow and had a blast, Steve made all sorts of jokes about our classic car driving and choice of antiques…(Tim won again!)

Oh and our listeners are the best too. I stood in for Steve on Love Songs several times and connected with listeners, You’re lovely! Thank you for the memories!

Who knows what magic lies for the future, I have a LOT going on, as coach and founder of The Sober Club, hosting retreats and workshops, I now train sober / selfcare coaches, and of course am still passionate about holistic living and run The Platinum Awards every year.  Def not hanging up the presenting hat either…watch this space!

Sunday 17th JULY Kings Langley Hertfordshire – 25 mins by train from London Euston, Close to Junction 7 M1 or Junc 20 M25

Some of you know that I believe Family Constellations transformed my life, I am forever grateful to Julie Toms who facilitated a constellation for me that changed everything – in 30 minutes! I’d had an extremely difficult relationship with my mother and was extremely anxious and insecure. Of course once I slotted the missing piece into the holistic jigsaw (ditched the booze) I could see that there was more work to be done.

I’ve become even more fascinated learning about ‘inherited family trauma’ (Check out the excellent book It didn’t start with you by Mark Wolynn a podcast guest) and the impact of adverse childhood experiences. I love the work of Gabor Mate, and Vincent Felitti (The ACE study) and I find it very powerful to realise that even a fairly low score on the ‘adverse child experiences’ questionnaire has negative impact on health and wellbeing in adulthood. In the original ACE study, those who scored 4 or more were 7 times more likely to be an alcoholic, 10 times more likely to have injected drugs, and more likely to experience depression and relationship breakups. You can take the ACE questionnaire here.

I offer 1-1 coaching which is always about SO much more than not drinking! I trained as a Family Constellations practitioner to add to my ‘toolbox’ of EFT, NLP and Matrix Re-imprinting and I am fascinated by the connection of where trauma meets addiction, but we will address any topics that come up on the day. We may end up looking at someone’s relationship with a sibling, a parent, or even looking at whether they should change career!

Book your place here

Family constellations is extremely difficult to explain, it was devised by German Psychotherapist Bert Hellinger who realised that events that are traumatic such as abuse, abortion, early/violent death, and miscarriage, can ripple down through generations and manifest in a range of psychological and physical illness. We now know much more about this of course with the phenomenon of Epigenetics.

Rather than attempt to fully understand it, its probably better just to come with an open mind, absolutely no experience is necessary and it’s not ‘acting’ or psychodrama, but it can be profound. It’s been described as ‘Homeopathy for the soul’. You can read about my experience in an article written for Spirit and Destiny magazine and published on the website of the wonderful practitioner I worked with.

We will start the day with an interview with Rafe Nauen, a leading expert in adverse childhood experiences, trauma work and family constellations. There will be time for Q and A, and then we will do some constellations. As this is a one price event we won’t be pre-booking the ‘issues’ so everyone will be invited to be a participant, a ‘representative’, and some will experience their own ‘constellation’. Many people find it benefits them hugely just to witness constellations, they can be very powerful.

Rafe says:

‘Working with ‘ancestral healing enables us to notice what’s going in the people’s systems – their family, their environment, their history.  We inherit things from our past and we pick up things along the journey of life, and some of it is not helpful. Family secrets, early deaths, traumas experienced, all contribute to our current state. Adverse Childhood Experience adds to the catalogue of “stuff” we carry with us. If we don’t manage to deal with it, it contributes to ill health mentally, physically and emotionally as we get older.

At a constellation workshop we safely explore these aspects using representatives chosen from the attendees. The issue holder (and the others present) get to see where the “stuff” belongs. And knowing that enables a final leaving it where it belongs. The plan for the day is to do quite a few  short pieces of work, and some longer ones. Almost everyone who has ever been to one of my workshops has gone away enriched and empowered.’

Book your place HERE

You will receive venue info once you book, Kings Langley is 25 mins by train from London Euston or close to M25 Junction 20 and M1 Junction 7, there is parking close by. We will provide teas, coffees, snacks and ‘light bites’. You are welcome to bring your own lunch or go to one of the coffee shops/deli in the village.

If you have questions please email janey@janeyleegrace.com

See my article ‘Keeping it in the Family’ in this months Health Triangle Magazine Issue 96

Time for change? Family constellations is certainly not conventional but it is powerful and I believe it transformed my life, so much so that I trained as a Family Constellations practitioner and I’m hosting my next event on Sunday 23rd January and I would love you to join me.

If your past is affecting your present, Family Constellations could be the answer to discovering why you feel stuck in an area of your life.

It was devised by German Psychotherapist Bert Hellinger who realised that events that are traumatic such as abuse, abortion, early/violent death, and miscarriage, can ripple down through generations and manifest in a range of psychological and physical illness that can have a far reaching impact on your daily life and choices.

Even mild ‘adverse child experiences’ have a negative impact on health and wellbeing in adulthood. In the original ACE study, those who scored 4 or more were 7 times more likely to be an alcoholic, 10 times more likely to have injected drugs, and more likely to experience depression and relationship breakups. 

If you are ready to make positive changes, absolutely no experience is necessary to join, but rather an open mind and a willingness to participate, and it’s not ‘acting’ or psychodrama, but it can be profound.

We will start the day with an interview with Rafe Nauen, a leading expert in adverse childhood experiences, trauma work and family constellations. There will be time for Q and A, and then we will do some constellations. As this is a one price event we won’t be pre-booking the ‘issues’ so everyone will be invited to be a participant, a ‘representative’, and some will experience their own ‘constellation’. Many people find it benefits them hugely just to witness constellations, they can be very powerful. It has been described as ‘Homeopathy for the soul’.

BOOK HERE

Kings Langley Hertfordshire – 25 mins by train from London Euston, Close to Junction 7 M1 or Junc 20 M25

This weeks Alcohol Free Life podcast features an interview with Rafe Nauen Trauma and family constellations expert, who I am co-hosting this event with. Listen to the interview here.

I am excited to announce that I will compère at this year’s Women’s Business Awards for the Women’s Business Club. I will be presenting alongside one of the UK’s most well-regarded businesswomen, Angela De Souza. 

Angela De Souza is CEO and founder of Women’s Business Club, and the Women’s Business Awards launched in 2013 to celebrate the success of businesswomen across the globe, it’s quickly becoming a recognised as a brand in business excellence and the awards are open for anyone to nominate throughout the year until the end of October at which point the voting opens.  

The Women’s Business Awards are a celebration of incredible women from around the world, who have stood out above the rest, featuring over 20 categories including Businesswoman of the Year, Employer of the Year, and the Diversity & Inclusion Award. All women entrepreneurs, executives, and the companies they run are eligible to enter. 

The awards are held online – meaning that no matter where you are in the world, you can still tune in.  

The awards event will take place during the first week of December with USA kicking things off on 1st December followed by UK on 2nd December, Australia on 3rd December, Canada on 4th December and finally ending off with South African on 6th December. All of these festivities will lead into the global Women’s Business Conference happening for 48 solid hours between 14th and 15th December. 

Angela will kick off each event with one of her inspiring business talks drawing on her years of experience in supporting women in their business or career, offering inspiring stories along with practical and honest business advice.  

I will draw on my experience as a Radio 2 presenter and Number One amazon best-selling author and working in the media for twenty-five years and running my own successful business and talk about getting clarity on the ‘Authentic you’, finding your USP and ‘YOU-nique brilliance’ and how to focus on what you really want. I want to encourage businesswoman to become their own best PR and step into the spotlight. 

There is nothing more boosting to confidence than an award nomination!  

This year’s awards are proudly sponsored by the popular online accounting software XERO and are judged by distinguished business leaders from across the country. 

Get involved for the opportunity to secure an elevated status in the business community, PR exposure and validation of a job well done! Become an award-winning businesswoman! Or if you know a hard-working woman in business that deserves some recognition, nominate her for an award today! 

 
For more information about Women’s Business Awards, visit awards.womensbusiness.club 

@wombizclub Sponsored by @Xero #WBAWARDS2021