Open Discussion – NHS AND SKYLINE

Hello and welcome to open discussion with the 3Js. That's me, Julia Collier, Judith Walker and Joy. And on the program today, we're going to start with London's changing skyline. Isn't that glamorous, that skyline? When you come over Waterloo Bridge at night and you see all the glinting lights going on in all the buildings are. You feel like, oh, it's. What a wonderful city to live in. You see the National Theater on the left and then you see the Houses of Parliament. And then if you look further up the river, you see some pools starting to disappear amongst the high rise skyscraper office blocks. But some of. I do like the Shard, I have to say now I'm probably not. That's probably not a very popular thing to say. I think most people like the Shard, they're just glad if they don't live next door to it. Yeah, I think I hated the Shard because my bus route used to go, go around the building site and it got diverted for several years and got in a traffic jam. So I actually hated the Shard the whole time it was being built. But now as it stands by itself at London Bridge, it actually does look more elegant than a lot of other buildings that have been built in the city. Like the walkie talkie, I think is hideous. Is that the one? No, that's, that's the one that goes outwards as it goes up, set fire to cars. And the other one I don't like is the one on the south side of the river. That looks like it's pregnant. Yes. Oh, that's a Black Friars. Yes. No, I hate that one as well. The bulge. I don't know. What if it's. I'm not sure how it stands upright because it almost looks like it could. It doesn't look like a safe building, does it? Because of that, you think my tipple forwards. Well, you think the foundations have to be very, very precise, wouldn't they, for that building? Oh, I'm sure, yeah. That's what it is. It's about architects being clever, creating shapes and building the same possible space, aren't they? They're getting more sort of real estate and they're all men, aren't they? Most of them. There was a famous female architect who actually died. Yeah. She did the lovely building at the swimming pool, didn't she? For the. She did. The one that was the Pringles. Yeah, that was the, the, the. That was a cycle track, wasn't it? The Pringle? I don't know. Now, I'm talking about. She did the aqua building for the Aquatic Center. Yeah, yeah, she, she. I think it's still rarer for women, but women do get into architecture, you know, There is one thing that's interesting about the London skyline is that certain of the views are protected by law. So the view of St. Paul's is actually protected by law. So you can't just actually build around St. Paul's and hide that view. And there are other viewpoints, but I think these laws have been tested and pushed the whole time. Well, the cheese grater arrived, didn't it? Because of that thing about St. Paul's because it couldn't be seen down Lombard street if the cheese grater was given. Given cube shape, cuboid shape. So they had to cut it in half. So they ended up with a slice, half, slice of cake. And I. I find fascinating those buildings that you see on the court, they're like corner buildings. They look like they're. They're a slice of a cake. So they're very narrow one end. I don't know if you know that it's the one in. Where's that? Well, I can't remember. There's one at Old Street. It's a hotel and. But if you look at it from a certain angle, it looks like it's. It's invisible. It's like. Then it starts to go out as you get near it and you think, well, how. The rooms can't be very big in the hotel because it's on the. So perhaps that sort of narrow angle, perhaps that's the broom cupboards all the way down. Well, yeah, I actually said there's those apartments near Bankside behind the Tate, the ones where the people complained about. The people on the observation platform, Tate looking it in. And those have a triangular shape. And you can see there's a room at the end of the apartment that's all glass and it's like got this very sharp angle and it just looks like a kind of useless room that people have put some kind of ornamental things in. It doesn't look like a space you could even use to live in. And they must be horrendously expensive. But I personally, I don't think it's nice to live in rooms with sharp angles. I think people like living in rooms that curves or rectangular rooms and a lot of these just very expensive. But I just think I don't want to live in there anyway. So it's also the mirror effect of these. The outside of these buildings, which apparently is very bad for birds because Birds fly into it. They get confused and apparently in Toronto they now, most architects have to do something to the outside of the building that's. That stops that mirror. Yeah. Deflecting the birds so that they don't know. They don't know where they are. And I think they're. Well, I did read that somewhere. Yes. Because the glass is so reflective and it confuses them. Yep. The birds just fly in and they've lost lots of birds. And I think there was a. Something in Toronto where they said, we got to stop this happening. Yeah. It happens in my sister's garden. She's got great big kind of picture windows that look down her garden and sometimes she comes in and the dust on the bird's wings leaves an imprint. And so she sort of had a, you know, sort of a picture of a pigeon at the window. She said one morning she came down and there was an owl. There was the whole owl with the wings outspread. I mean, the birds had gone, so they'd obviously survived. But I think you can do something to those sort of glass window. You can break them up by putting a tape down them or something so they look, I think, you know, in that situation of my sister's, I think would be less hazardous for a lot of birds. If you think of the high rise buildings and there's a flock of birds, you could really sort of do some big. And they're flying very fast, aren't they? When they're. I mean, they never talk about it, do they? But I'd always be. I haven't. I'm sure the RSPB would have a lot of information on it. So anyone out there who knows the floor when they went to work, whether the birds suffer with our high rise, posh blocks in London, but surely we'd see lots of dead birds on the floor if they were. They probably swept up. Yeah, they do sweep up the birds sweep up. They do sweep up a lot of dead pigeons, I think. I think they used to in Trafalgar Square. Which brings me to another thing. Where have all the pigeons gone? Well, you're not allowed to feed them in Trafalgar Square anymore. So I don't think they. They're there. I do get them in my back garden. Yes, I do. And I get wood pigeons as well, which are beautiful birds. But I think we're talking about the changing skyline. I do get quite annoyed because I think I've lived in London a long time and I think it's my city and it's a beautiful Old city. And suddenly people just seem to be building and this is a lot of kind of foreign investment of people building things in London just to make money out of the city that I live in. And they're actually kind of ruining it. I mean, Manhattan, that is a style of Manhattan that there is these tall buildings and that's how it developed. And it was like that London isn't. London's a historic old city and it's a shame to just let it go. Well, it's fast disappearing as historic old city. Yeah. And I think that's a shame. I also like where's all the money coming from? A lot of it is coming from abroad. Companies that maybe don't pay tax here and they're ruining the city. And whilst we were talking about in an earlier program was that whilst there are lots of Londons are homeless and living on the street and it doesn't seem to be a city that's for the ordinary person anymore. I mean, I can still enjoy living in. In London. I can appreciate the culture that's around, but I finding a lot of the buildings are just really kind of alienating. And they create wind tunnels and they block out daylight and often set the bottom of them. They have very expensive bars and cafes that I can't afford to go in to. And I think they ought to, you know, when they knock a building down, rather than build on it, they ought to make that land a garden, you know, have a bit more green because there's lots of. The real estate is too expensive. Yes. It's too valuable. They couldn't. They couldn't do it. The fact they're building on me. Happy. Doesn't matter. Yeah, yeah. No, they're actually trying to take away green space because there's bits of parks are now being carved off, which happened in Deptford near my studio. They took a bit of the park and built a bock of flats on it. A private company, but there's loads of like derelict land that could be used, you know, if they want to build. It's less and less now it's being built on. And as soon as something is now demolished, it does tend to. Building starts to appear again. I would kind of say in the Deptford area there's a lot of old warehouses and a car auction that took up quite an area of land that were demolished. And it's immediately. There's huge volumes of flats going. You just see these lift shafts going down. Do you think anyone ever moves into these flats, you know, with their fitted kitchens? Are they all ever. I mean are they all just gathering dust? Well it's rich people that can buy them. It's not the ordinary person that wants to buy a home because it, they're all kind of, they've all got this sort of million pound price tag on them, haven't they? Yeah, these luxury flats. Yeah. I mean these probably aren't quite to that extent where they are but they're still very expensive. Yeah. And well then they're not kind of on the river but they do have a small percentage for social housing and they're usually a flat, few flats around the back with a separate in entrance and the rest of them are going to like rich for investments or people who are buy to let landlords that are getting a lot of money out of squeezing. I mean I read at the weekend there was 35 student beds in one a four bedroom semi detached house that was reported in the Guardian and people are having to live like this and squeezing them. And also the apartments are very small as well. They have a ceiling to floor glass to give a sense of space but basically they're tiny little places. Yeah, they're awful. And all this building is going on not to the benefit of your average Londoner. Well, I don't think we're ever going to get to a state where you know that the homeless are thought of as a, not a commodity but like a group of people that need to have somewhere to stay even if it's only a temporary, a nice temporary accommodation built where like a sort of halfway house where they, they can be helped. But we're not just talking about homelessness here because it's such a complex thing. It's reliant on your work, your ability to work, your mental health, your physical health and it's a very complicated thing. And Maggie Thatcher got rid of a lot of the overnight stays for people, didn't she? Okay, we're taking a break. Back soon. WRS women's radio station. Voice of Women Worldwide, Sarah's Universal Soul Show. What does your soul or spirituality mean to you? Welcome to future Classical Woman Awards with me, Stefania Passamonte on women's radio station. Welcome back. I'm Russ Cain. You're listening to in conversation with on women's radio station. I'm Angie. And I'm Patsy and we're open to see what other programs we have on women's radio station head to our website womensradiostation.com I'm Isabelle Manevy, an executive coach. Do you want to change a negative into a positive? We can do this by coaching you to rewire your brain using simple visualization techniques. In 20 years of practice, I seen this transform lives. For more information, look on Women's Radio website. Call me on 079-844-22171. I'm listening. Mirae B Ltd. We are a virtual PA consultancy. We provide remote administrative services. Our offer diverse. We manage your calendar, we update your client database. We take care of your property in France and in London. We also offer bookkeeping and translation services. Would you like to know more? Please call 077-8684-8998 for further information. Mirae B Limited making the life of the business owner successful. Let Women's Radio advertise your brand or business. It's so affordable and effective. Reaching out to all women. Call us on 020-743-7770 66 now. Are you struggling with money? Turn to us as a national charity. Helping people struggling to make ends meet. Job loss, illness or bereavement can cause a real financial crisis. We give practical help to get people back on track. Whether you're thinking of having a baby, trying to get out of an unhappy relationship or. Or just unsure what benefits you may be entitled to, we can help. Visit turntous.org.uk I'm Angie. And I'm Patsy and we're open to share our own personal stories dealing with life events. Staying positive through the tough times. Share your stories too. What worked, what didn't? Join us each week for open. We know you're going to love it. Women's Radio station is a not for profit, community interest company. Supporting women is our passion. We're currently welcoming donations to help towards our running costs to keep this important initiative alive. To donate, simply head to our website. Every little will help. Hello and welcome back to open discussion with the three Js. And we did start with the London skyline and now we sort of segued a little bit into homelessness. And poor old Maggie Thatcher's been knocked again, isn't she? Yeah, Maggie Thatcher. I think the homelessness thing, as I was saying earlier, is a very complicated thing because I get the big issue and I read a lot of the articles in it and a lot of the homeless people don't. They don't actually want to live on the street. Well then they don't actually want to live in a house either. They're not capable, you know, they like the street. It's safe. Some of it's safe because they know where they are to actually then move into a Home where you've got to pay for lighting, organize yourself, look after the property, organize heating, lighting. You've got to organize your benefits. You're more official because then you're. You're at a location where people can track you. And I think there's a lot of things about, like disappearing when you're on the streets, you can. You can disappear. So I think there are different levels of homelessness, but people used to. Those kind of people used to be okay and could manage all right before Maggie Thatcher closed down. All the spikes. And the sort of hotels where people, you know, they might earn a bit of money busking and they'd have a few coins in their pocket and they were really cheap accommodation and they could just by a bed for the night. But I think what. I think those things don't exist. Now. My ideal thing, if you're a homeless and you don't want to be on the streets, you could go somewhere where it's safe and you're not going to be surrounded by drugs and alcohol, which I think is a problem with a lot of them. I think people on the streets do get attacked. It's not. Yeah, they do. I'm not saying they don't, but I'm just saying some of them don't want to be in a. They don't want the responsibility. They don't find, you know, it's difficult for a lot of people. And also they don't want to be in hostels where it's quite dangerous. Some of the homeless hostels aren't always actually very nice and they have to get out by a certain time in the morning, then they have to wander around for all of the day and they can't go back when they want to. So it's not really what I would call a nice home. So it's mainly like people who can't cope with having a home. And they need the support. Yeah, they need the support. It's not just a hope they want. They almost want somewhere like, as you say, a hotel, a very good sort of hostel where they can go and get just a bed for the night, help. A bed for the night, but a bit of counseling, a wash where you can have a shower, change your clothes. It's kind of like crisis at Christmas, but all the year round. Yeah, and I think every town ought to have them. But it's finance, isn't it? Local councils can't even afford to do all their. Yeah, only because they've. They've been. All their budgets have been. Oh, yeah, it's got to be taken. Funding. Yeah. And that's. I mean, some councils won't have any funding at all. I mean, I, I sort of contribute towards Shelter, you know, the charity, rather than crisis at Christmas. But, you know, shelter are more political campaigning charity perhaps. I don't know how effective they are, but I think they are. I do like to give to homeless charities and I think in the past I've got kind of thought that you don't give to a homeless person begging because it's better to give to a charity. But now there are so many people that I do give money to beggars more often than I used to because there's so many of them and there are so many people who don't look like your typical homeless person, which I don't. But in the past it used to be people who more obviously had drug or alcohol problems or had been in prison. And also, I mean, ex servicemen, which is a huge scandal that that's happened. But they, they seem to be a certain type. Now, you see there are people who look like they're almost kind of quite respectable with suitcases. Yeah. They can't wear a shop. Yeah, it's terrible. And there are people who are holding down jobs who are homeless and they may be sleeping on friends sofas and things. So it's something that's kind of affecting a wider range. That's why I'm saying. So there are many levels. There's, you know, there's the person that wants to be missing, not sort of official disappear. Almost like the old gentleman of the road. You know those old fashioned men that used to, you know, roam around Britain. Yeah. Going from town to town. Yeah, Going from town to. I mean, they're like a. Probably a different breed of. They wouldn't call themselves homeless. Yeah. They were tramps. And they'd leave kind of marks outside people's houses to show which houses were generous. So they put little chalk marks and signs on what say, you know, this house, home's generous. Then you've got the, you know, the people coming in, the migrants who can't find anywhere to live or they've just got out of a sort of. Or they don't want to get into accommodation because they want to get all the money they can get together to send home, don't they? And they don't want to be tracked, you know, they want to disappear. So I think you're in a bit of a bind really, if you, if you're, if you, you know, if you're trying to Escape from some sort. I think there are. I've heard of something which I thought was really outrageous, was that foreign workers were being put up in giant lorries that had mattresses put in them, and these lorries would be parked in central London and the men would sleep in them for the night and then they would be let out in the morning to go to work. So they don't have proper. So I think you do have people who are migrant workers who are accepting kind of paying conditions that English people can't afford to, because they maybe have a family here. They've got to pay London prices for their food and their accommodation for their family. But the people who are migrants are sending money home to a place where the cost of living is much lower, so they can afford to feed their family for doing that. And maybe they're only seeing it as a temporary. Yeah, I'm sure they are. There was a program of some guy that was living under a flyover by the bins, and every penny that he was earning and he would go down the bins, he was collecting old clothes that people had thrown away and sending them home and, you know, sort of making what money he could on occasional jobs here. And, you know, he was building his. And they took you to his country and his family, and you saw this house that was being built kind of wall by wall by wall. And so he was going to lead this awful life that he didn't like. But it was the only way that he could see that he could build somewhere for his family to live because of the difference in sort of the currencies. You know, the money here is worth a lot more in the country than he came here. Yeah. And I think this is where there has been very unfortunate resentment against foreign workers. And if the employment laws were, and conditions were tight, then it would mean that a decent wage would have to be paid to everyone, because someone like that is taking living conditions for a while to build a home for their family, which you can perfectly understand. But then an English worker could not live on that and feed their family and look after most of the money that he was getting was from the stuff that we were throwing away. He was rightly just being more resourceful. Yeah. Using the rubbish. But he was. But I mean, but people who are actually working and working for, you know, to lower wage, and I think that is hard the way that that does create resentment. Well, and also a lot of families now, you know, I can't make ends meet and they are becoming homeless, having to go into hostels. You know, one. One family in one room, which is terrible, you know, and then they don't get any support to keep them in their own home, which they need. You know, that's when you need the support, is when you're about to be made homeless and, you know, for the. For the sake of maybe two months rent, you know, you can. You can sort of. You can get that help which will stop you becoming homeless and all the ramifications of that. Yeah, it's so easy to happen these days and it's going back in time to when families used to live in one room in Victorian time. And it's very sad to see society sliding back in that way, whether it's for people who were actually born and brought up here or for new workers coming into the country. They should have a decent place to live and not. This is why, ladies and gentlemen, why I always do donate every year to the. The St. Martin's in the Fields fund, which they do at Christmas, which is for homeless. But it's not just for homeless people, it's for people that are on the edge of being, you know, asked for. You can't afford the rent this month and they give the money. Or if you've got a new flat and you've got no money to buy any cooker or fridge, they give small grants. I wonder how many people were pushed over the edge by this new social services. You know, the universal credit, where people were left without money for six weeks. Yes, that's still going on, but that was really chaotic, the way they move vulnerable people onto a benefit and it wasn't handled correctly. Yes, that's been. Because even One of the MPs said at the time, you know, you wouldn't. When you go for a new job and you. You don't get paid for the first month, they don't tell you, we're not going to pay you for six weeks. It's a long time for people that don't have rainy day money. Yeah, that's it. A lot of people don't have rainy day and then they borrow and then get themselves into even worse situation with this sort of huge mountain debt. Yeah, that is. Which, I mean, luckily recently one of those companies, Wonga, has gone out of business that were doing that to people, but yet there isn't that kind of protection in society. And I think one of the reasons this has occurred is we're going back to Margaret Thatcher, who we seem to frequently blame for things in this show, is the fact that the council houses were sold off the social housing. So now there isn't reasonably priced decent accommodation for families to live in because they were sold off. And I don't blame the people who bought them. Why wouldn't you buy a cheap house? But then they've been sold on to investors who are like buy to let landlords. But the Conservatives are stopping the councils from building more. They're actually. There's been fewer council houses built in the last five years than there was in, you know. Yeah. Because once the council houses were sold off in the Thatcher, that money was not allowed to be able to be used to create new houses. So this is appalling situation. They won't let councils take on loans to build new houses. That's true. I heard that recently as well. They stopping it. Whereas there are some people, especially in London where house prices are so high, people need to be able to rent accommodation decent level because we do need people who are on low wages to work within the city such as and security within those within that accommodation. Absolutely do need that. Yeah. Right. I'm afraid we will be taking a short cup of tea break or coffee break and we'll see you very soon. Thank you for listening WRS women's radio station Voice of Women Worldwide. This is Amy Liu, Voice of China at Women's Radio Station. Welcome to future Classical Women Awards with me, Stefania Passamonte on Women's Radio Station. After a long day I like to sit in my bath with a glass of wine and listen to women's Radio. Kamross, Kate, you're listening to in conversation with on Women's Radio Station. To see what other programs we have on Women's Radio station, head to our website womensradiostation.com are you looking to enhance your career? Are you looking to grow your business? Well then why not? Visit wearethecity.com wearthecity.com is a website for working women. It's full of inspirational stories of women that have been there, seen it and done it. We also feature events, women's networks and other articles that may help you to progress both in terms of your connections and business ideas. Visit wearethecity.com and take your business or career to the next level. Mirai B Ltd. We are a virtual PA consultancy. We provide remote administrative services. Our offering is diverse. We manage your calendar, we update your client database, we take care of your property in France and in London. We also offer bookkeeping and translation services. Would you like to know more? Please call 077-8684-8998 for further information. Mirabilimited, making the life of the business owner successful. Would you like to host your own radio show? Would you love to be doing what I'm doing right now and be a radio presenter on Women's Radio Station? If you're passionate on your subject or topic, we'd like to hear from you, wherever you are in the world, about what's happening in your country, town or city. It's your station, your voice to women of the world. So contact us. Send an email to involvedmensradiostation.com. I'm Isabelle Manavie, an executive coach. Do you want to change a negative into a positive? We can do this by coaching you to rewire your brain using simple visualization techniques. In 20 years of practice, I've seen this transform lives. For more information, look on Women's Radio website. Call me on 079-844-22171. I'm listening. Women's Radio Station is a not for profit, community interest company. Supporting women is our passion. We're currently welcoming donations to help towards our running costs to keep this important initiative alive. To donate, simply head to our website. Every little will help. Hello and welcome back to open discussion with the three Js. Now we're not going to talk about homelessness anymore. We might get back to it. Who knows where we're. This conversation is going to lead. We thought let's cheer up a bit and go to the seaside. Go to the seaside and. Well, I haven't been on holiday this year, so it's quite likely that I went to Rome. No, that's a lie. But only like four days. I haven't been to a holiday resort outside of Britain, but I do go down to Kent quite a lot. Ramsgate, Margate, Broadstair. So although it's not a holiday, well, I wouldn't look upon it as a holiday destination. It's where my family live. But I think a lot of people are regarding it maybe more as a potential holiday destination. Although of course, all the bread, all the bed and breakfast that used to be in the seaside resort that I know from Old Margate have all gone. So now, even if it were to take off again, you'd have to build new bed and breakfast accommodation. They don't have many hotels down there. They went through a really bad patch in the 80s, 90s, noughties, thousands, whatever, 2000s. And it's in the last five years. I thought a lot of the accommodation going out of Margate, up the hill, I thought a lot of that was B and B. No it used to be because I stayed there a few times but if you compare it to the old days, I mean there are probably those, those little roads leading near the Lido. You would be. Every house would be a bnb, not just one or two. What was it like? Was it. It was lovely, yeah. It was like a flat that we. Self catering. Oh no, well you see I'm talking about B and B. No, there were sort of B&B's kind of. What did you make? Did they look all right? Yeah, yeah. I mean it looks pre loved you know it was kind of a bit of paint peeling here and there and it hadn't had the upgrade but it was, it was looking nice. I think that is the thing with the old traditional British B and B. I think that most people want something a bit more these days like most people want an ensuite whereas the traditional B and B all had share a bus but you'd often get really good breakfast because they'd be home cooked by the person who lived there. Yeah, I think it's sad that they're going but there were some bad ones around. Well when I was in my, you know, teens I used to help at a B and B in the morning's kitchen. I used to do all the breakfast and I used to, I mean they used to churn out the breakfast to about 80 people every morning. Old age pensioners that came down from on their coach trip for the week. These were the good old days of, you know where you had all these coach trips, you know mainly old A old age pensioners coming down for the week from Wales, Wrexham, you know, the north of England to the south coast and it, you know I'm sure they had a wonderful time. They still do it maybe to different destinations but I know those do exist because my in laws have been going on them for years. Well my, my auntie who's in her late 70s she goes to Warners. Oh yes, that's very popular with old people. Warners, yes. Gosh, I didn't think they existed. They've been kind of upgraded so they're quite nice hotels and they have entertainment and especially older people do seem to enjoy them a lot. I don't think it'd be my sort of thing, not yet anyway. But it's interesting we're talking about British seaside is that last week I was actually supposed to go to Istanbul and due to unforeseen circumstances that had to be cancelled and then we decided to just go to Bournemouth for a few days and I hadn't been to Bournemouth since I was a child and my auntie and uncle and cousins used to live there and we'd gone down to see them. And I actually have to say that the weather was glorious. I mean, it was so beautiful and sunny and the beaches there were beautiful and it did almost feel like you were in the Mediterranean. It was south of France somewhere. I think it is called the English Riviera, Daughter. And in the sunshine it was just absolutely beautiful. And all the sand and the sea was clear and clean and the beautiful countryside of Dorset. And when we went to Poole for the day and took the cruise around Poole Harbour, around Brownsea island, which is a nature reserve, it was just absolutely stunning because there's all these islands in Poole harbour, which apparently is the second largest harbour in the world, which I've got no idea. Before I went, I said, it's full of these islands. And apparently it used to be full of pirates and smugglers in olden days used to hide in the islands and, you know, actually it was a bit of a consolation prize, but, you know, it was delightful and it was probably a lot less stressful than having to go to an airport and go through all that. But we did stay in a. We stayed in a nice hotel. It was a spa hotel, so it wasn't the old B and B, and that was nice. So there's a spa facilities in the hotel and. And it was. It was a very civilized holiday. So did you go for a swim in a spa treatment and. Yeah. Treat yourself? We didn't actually, because they were all booked up. I think it happens. I've realized with these spa hotels is that they have locals that are members and the treatments tend to be booked up unless you book in advance. So I think I know the one you mean because I used to go to the one in Christ Church Spa. Christchurch Harbour Spa. Oh, right. Which is just along the coast. Oh, right, yeah. I think the other one is at Bournemouth. Actually there are several spa hotels in Bournemouth. It seems to be absolutely full of them now. So I think that's something that hotels have done, is to put a spa in because they realize that it attracts people. So actually, when I was looking on the website, there was quite a few. Well, you've just given me an idea for a holiday, actually, because I think I might go to one of the spas not in Britain, the ones in Germany, you know, the ones that are really nice on the edge of the lakes. On the edge of the lakes, yes, because you. Oh, yeah, I bet I can get on and find out I did stay in a really nice spa hotel in Budapest, actually. Maybe that's it. It was just outside of the center of Budapest, which was. But it was by the river, by the Danube. And it was really nice and relaxing. And thing about it was it was. It was an old hotel, obviously from the communist era, from, you know, workers to go and take a holiday. So it had almost had this kind of sparse 670s look about it. So it wasn't very ornate or plush, but it had the most amazing spa that I've been to with a huge thermal pool and this as well, because Budapest is full of thermal pools and it was big and it was so spotlessly clean. And the women who gave the treatments, they looked like they were from the communist era as well. They were kind of big, burly women in white uniforms and you wouldn't have dared kind of disobey them or walk into the spa in your shoes or anything. But I actually found that to be really good. Even though it was just kind of basic with no kind of frills. It was functional, but it was lovely and soothing. So I do recommend Budapest for spas as well. Well, yeah, I mean, the last spa I went to was up in Cambridge and unfortunately it was a bit of a. It was not a very nice experience because I won't say where it was, but actually the pool was over chlorinated. And when I went into the pool, my eyes started watering. I couldn't, you know, maybe I'm allergic to that sort of thing, but sometimes they do that. In the one that I were to import warmer, it didn't have chlorine in the pool. It had that kind of saline type stuff that they used to disinfect the water in the actual pool. But the Jacuzzi was quite heavily chlorinated, which I don't like, which makes me wonder why was it heavily. You know, I don't actually like any of these kind of water things. I'm a Gemini. I'm an air person. Oh, no. I'm a water baby. Even though I'm a fire person. I don't like all these. I like the sea. Yes. Oh, the sea is wonderful too. Even if it is dirty. I like the sea just to be out in the waves. Yeah, I did go in the sea in Herne Bay this year, actually, the heat wave, which was nice. Well, I went swimming in Broadstairs quite a lot. And it's freezing cold but very rejuvenating. So I recommend Broadstairs, Margate and Ramsgate, really, if we have more summers, kind of summers that we've had had this year and last year. You couldn't really beat the English seaside. And you. Well, I've heard that people are staying put more. You don't have to go into the airport. You don't have to see how big your case is or you don't have to worry about how much it weighs or whether you can have a bag or not a bag. I just find the whole airport kerfuffle now completely off putting. It is. It's really tough. Yeah. You've got to be careful how much take. There's the liquid sting and the security thing taking over and. Yeah, it is. It is horrible going through an airport now. And I do agree, if you've got the weather, the English countryside and seaside is beautiful. And I have to say, when I went in the sea at Herne Bay this summer, it was really warm. Really? Yeah. Wow. Because it is all warmed up. Yeah, you probably. I mean, I probably went in. Well, it was. It was warm, I mean, but not warm if you're used to what I call really warm water. But once you're in and you get used to it, it's absolutely wonderful. Yeah. No, this. This was actually warm. Warm. But I think it. It takes shallow for. Well, there are. It's quite shallow at home. There weren't a lot of people near you that had made it. No, I think it's. Because it's shallow. Quite a way out. Yeah. Sorry. Yeah. No, you would have to be face to mind, but I did swim in the Serpentine this summer as well, for the first time and that was amazingly warm as well. A nice. And I didn't feel that that was dirty too, apparently. Tooting Beck baths are very nice. Oh, I used to go there. I used to live in Streatham and I used to go there early in the morning. It was fabulous. Yeah. It's a shame they've closed down the Lidos in London and I. But I also park still there, I think. Yeah, I think they are. But I think the unfortunate thing is when it get really good weather, they're absolutely crowded to join the summer holidays. Well, they used to have a very nice Lido in Margate, which. That got closed ages ago. But is that the one that goes out into the sea a bit? Yes. The Lido workable. Yeah. They could have made quite a lot of money. Yeah, it was. It is beautiful architecture, that one. It is. It's ruined. I have seen it as I've walked along the seafront. That could be I'm sure they could renovate that with all the new posh people moving into Margate. Yeah. No, we're still in time. We've still got 20 seconds left. Well, Joy, where would you go now if money was no object? Quickly. I think I'd go to Egypt. Oh, I'd go to New Zealand. I've always wanted to see New Zealand. Where would I go? Actually, I think I'd like to go to Budapest, one of those spas. I want to ride on a camel and see the pyramids firsthand. Thank you for listening. WRS Women's radio station. Voice of Women Worldwide. Sarah's Universal Soul Show. What does your soul or spirituality mean to you? Welcome to future Classical Woman Awards with me, Stefania Passamonte on Women's Radio Station. Welcome back. I'm Russ Cain. You're listening to in conversation with on Women's Radio Station. I'm Angie. And I'm Patsy. And we're open. To see what other programs we have on Women's Radio Station, head to our website, womensradiostation.com I'm Isabelle Manevi, an executive coach. Do you want to change a negative into a positive? We can do this by coaching you to rewire your brain using simple visualization techniques. In 20 years of practice, I seen this transformation. For more information, look on Women's Radio website. Call me on 079-8442, 2171. I'm listening. Mirae B Ltd. We are a virtual PA consultancy. We provide remote administrative services. Our offering is diverse. We manage your calendar, we update your client database, we take care of your property in France and in London. We also offer bookkeeping and translation services. Would you like to know more? Please call 077-8684-8998 for further information. Mirae B Limited making the life of the business owner successful. Let Women's Radio advertise your brand or business. It's so affordable and effective. Reaching out to all women. Call us on 020747066 now. Are you struggling with money? Turn to us as a national charity, helping people struggling to make ends meet. Job loss, illness or bereavement can cause a real financial crisis. We give practical help to get people back on track. Whether you're thinking of having a baby, trying to get out of an unhappy relationship, or just unsure what better benefits you may be entitled to, we can help. Visit turntous.org.uk I'm Angie. And I'm Patsy and we're open to share our own personal stories. Dealing with life events, staying positive through the tough times. Share your stories too. What worked, what didn't. Join us each week for a week. We know you're gonna love it. Women's radio station is a not for profit, community interest company. Supporting women is our passion. We're currently welcoming donations to help towards our running costs to keep this important initiative alive. To donate, simply head to our website every little will. Hey, and welcome back to Open discussion with the three Js. We were talking about our dream holiday. I've just said Budapest Spa and I said Egypt, but you have to be concerned these days. Make sure that you go to a place that's not politically in upheaval, don't you? I don't know. Is it okay to go to Egypt these days? It was, there was a bit of a concern a few years ago. I think you have to check with the Foreign Office before you. But I think there is one thing is there's a Foreign Office advice, but then there's also what's politically correct to go to as well. And I think people's opinions vary on that because I know people who for years, oh, I wouldn't go to Turkey. You know, it's a terrible regime and I have been to Turkey and just find it really nice and the people are lovely there and why punish them because of their government? So I think there are a lot to see as well as the kind of environmental issues around tourism as well. There are some places now. Yeah. So overwhelmed with tourists. I mean, I went to Prague earlier in the year and that was. The experience was not as good a quality as it should have been because of the mass tourism there. The same with Rome, it was absolutely heaving. I think you need to choose when you go to these places. I mean, I hate queuing up for anything, but there were queues for everything. There was a wonderful burn that was talking about them going to Russia and to go and see the Winter palace and all the beautiful things and, you know, talking about these really crowded places and you can't see anything. And he said, well, I'm not interested in football or anything like that, so I'm going to go. And the Olympics are on in Russia because they're all going to be at the football badges. Yeah, no, I heard that during the World Cup. Yeah, you could have got a cheap ticket, which, if I'd have thought in advance, I'd done that. Because one of the places I definitely want to go to is St. Petersburg. Yes, I want to go to Russia. In fact, I actually want to Take the. That train, that long train journey across the Russian continent. I don't know where it goes from. Is it Finland or. I don't know, but it goes right across. I think it takes about two weeks. That's on your bucket list, is it? I definitely like to go to Russia because, I mean, we have the Cold War when people didn't go as much and tourism wasn't terribly comfortable. I know someone who kind of like the only. They were given cucumbers to eat for a whole week or something. That was a crop that was in time, but now it's good. But now the thing is, with Putin, there seems to be things going wrong, but I think it's probably a fairly safe country to visit still. Oh, I think it is now, but I don't know, the political climate could deteriorate. My sister recently came back from six weeks in Colombia and that, you know, we're going, oh, be careful, you know. But she was, she, she said it's cleaner than London people. They don't have benefits at all. No benefit system in place. So she said, you see all the homeless. This is going back to our previous topic. They, they make. They make their pin money by sweeping the streets, collecting the rubbish, selling the rubbish on into various, you know, recycling things, and that's how they keep themselves going, you know, financially, but, you know, without a benefit system. But she said that, she said everything is very clean. Mind you, she probably didn't see the more edgy areas, I don't know, but she said it was lovely, the food was fresh. Where was actually then Medellin, which is sort of like central Colombia. But she traveled quite a lot. Oh, she went around, yeah. Didn't just visit. And, you know, they had a. Obviously it was a guided tall. But she was, you know, she said it's a lovely country, very beautiful. So you can't always believe. You never can tell. You know, you. You get these terrible things happening to people in Thailand, don't you? And things happen everywhere. So I think you have to be just, you know, I think things can happen anywhere. And also I think you can do a lot to just behave responsibly instead of irresponsibly. I think there's a lot of young people go to Thailand and it's just one party, you know, alcohol and drugs and things, and then bad things happen to them because they're out of it and lying in the street or something. So I think you can, to some extent, moderate your behavior and be careful about where you go and respect local customs. At the moment, it seems more important to get an advanced weather forecast with all these awful kind of tsunamis and earthquakes and things that have been happening this one at the weekend. But I've, I've. I may not have told you this, but I'm going on a cruise to the Panama Canal. Oh, wow. In 2020. So 2020. Well, I have to, to save up the money. So, you know, so it's a. It's going to be a lot of money. But so what happens? Do you fly over there? I have no idea because I'm going with my Open University bestie friend who's organized it all. Oh, right. And she's, she loves traveling. So she's one of these people that are fearless. She'll go anywhere and do any, you know, at the top of her hat. She's going to Croatia, I think, this week, whether she's got the money or not. She goes, she goes. She always travels. She's. That's her Finds the money. Yeah, she finds money after. And I think I'm a bit too careful. I think I'm one of those people that like to have the money, then I'll make the decisions. But because I'm like that, I don't get to see that many places. It's the one place that I haven't seen which I feel as I probably won't see now. Which I really, really wanted to go to was Machu Picchu. I would have loved to have gone there. The Inca start saving joy. Well, it's not that so much. I think it's the, the high altitude and yeah, my sister went up there and it wrecked her knees because apparently she. Lots of climbing. Oh, she chose to do the trek to the top. Yeah. And there's huge steps. Yeah, yeah. But it would have been lovely to have gone younger and actually do that rather, because I think you can get transport almost to the top so that it's not. But it would be lovely to sort of just walk there really, and acclimatize slowly. I know when Joe went up there, my son, he was. He said he got awful altitude sickness and had to stop, but he trekked. I think he did the longest trek available as he would really punish himself. So it isn't age that necessarily that would stop you doing it as well. Yeah. Because he's young and healthy. Yeah. But my sister's attitude is that you do things while you can, you know, don't save up your money and then, you know, think, oh, in three years time I'll do it. Because you Never know what's going to happen today. But I'm not as. Not like that as much. But one holiday I know I will never ever want or do, and that's to go skiing. And something else I know I absolutely don't want to do is do a skydive. I'll leave that to other people to do. I did skiing once and I didn't really hate it or anything, but I couldn't see the point in spending my holiday money and time going. Doing it every day, sliding down about it. Yeah, well, I think skiing is when you have to do it, when you've learned it, when you're younger, I think. I'm sure it's great fun if you don't have a fear of going down a very steep slope fast. I mean, I'm just one of those people that don't like anything that's on a slope and out of control. And out of control. No, it isn't like that. Although you do learn on a kind of more gentle slope. But I just kind of think it's quite a boring thing to do every year. I suppose it depends on where you go because they have different sorts of tracks to go down, don't they? Yeah. Different places with snow. Well, no, I mean, they're different layouts. You go on different walks, don't you? There's different scenery, but it's. Yeah, but it's not the. I mean, the view at the top. Some of the photographs that my son took when he went with the school did the skiing trip. It's just incredible. You know, you're just looking across miles and miles, miles of mountaintops all covered in snow. It's absolutely stunning. I mean, to actually be there and to be able to see that. But I wouldn't want to have the trip to get up there or the one to slide down. No, I'm afraid I'm. I mean, I'll go to one of those nice posh hotels in Stad or some. Do the Apresky. Yeah. And you know, sit on the terrace and have my gin and tonic. Look at the view. Yeah. Or maybe do a cross country skiing which apparently is. Yes, I know somebody that could be more interesting than just going. Going up with her new German boyfriend. Yes. Okay. They do that all the time. But I do agree with you about skydiving. It doesn't attract me at all. I don't like high fights. Yeah, really? Well, I've done that. That's that. I've already done that. I've done three parachute jumps in the Past you have. I didn't know that. Oh, yeah, yeah. What with that walking on fire. Yeah. Hot coals. Yes. Well, that was part of a weird weekend which we'll go into another time. Yeah. The she now walks on stumps. That's to do with mind over matter, I think. A good topic for another. Yes. Discussion. But when did you do the skydiving? When I was about in my 20s, I did. It wasn't a sky. You didn't do it with any, you know, jump, buddy, you. You just did it on your own. I had to climb. I had to go up on this little two, what you call it biplane, climb onto the wing while it was. The plane was still going and jump backwards into the sky from the wing of the plane. So you had to get out of the cabin, edge along on the wing of the plane. What possessed you? I did it three times and each time it got worse. Three times? Three times. Oh, my goodness. Why did you do it again? Oh, it's a long story. So it's a long story. Was there a man involved? What we do. No. We've got to find out more about this storage you have. Well, pump her then. Find out what's recordable for ourselves. Did you even do it for charity? No, no, no. So there's no excuse. No. I'm glad I did it because actually it made me realize that you can do a lot of things when you're afraid. Yes. And if you have to do them and you know, you're fairly safe, as safe as you can be, you just have to do it to get through it to get out the other side. Did you get it? Did you have a reserve parachute? Yes, of course. But you kind of hope so. But there isn't 100% guarantee with it. I mean, it can be sort of. No, it can. It could have. Could have gotten wrong. So it wasn't. It was brave. I must show you a picture. I've got proof of it. Okay. Oh, yes, we'd like to see that. Yeah, jumping. We'll get it put on the website so our listeners can verify as well. So. Yeah. All right. So we've learned something new about Julia and her courage. Yes. And I'm not going to do anything like this ever again, you know, unless I have to. Is there anything else you would do? Well, I think I'd like to do Round the World's sailing. Round the world Sailing, you know. Well, yes, I will look forward to hearing about that when you get back. Julie, could we stop being a water person? No, I wouldn't want to do that. Yeah, I don't think I would want to. No, not days and days. Just seeing no land, not mountain. Yeah, well, luckily, hopefully we none of us will be venturing to do that before the next discussion. Well, I think we're going to have to wrap up now and say thank you for listening to us, Julia Collier, Judith Walker and joy the 3Js and the women's Radio Station. And if you wanted to listen again or catch up on our previous programs, you can head to the presenters page on womensradiostation.com thank you for listening and you can always tweet us womensradiostationstn or email presentersomensradiostation.com Goodbye. Are you looking to enhance your career? Are you looking to grow your business? Well then why not? Visit wearthecity.com wearthecity.com is a website for working women. It's full of inspirational stories of women that have been there, seen it and done it. We also feature events, women's networks and other articles that may help you to progress both in terms of your connections and business ideas. Visit wearethecity.com and take your business or career to the next level. Mirae B Ltd. We are a virtual PA consultancy. We provide remote administrative services. Our offering is diverse. We manage your calendar, we update your client database, we take care of your property in France and in London. We also offer bookkeeping and translation services. Would you like to know more? Please call 07-78684-8998 for further information. Mirae be limited making the life of the Business owner successful Would you like to host your own radio show? Would you love to be doing what I'm doing right now and be a radio presenter on Women's Radio Station? If you're passionate on your subject or topic, we'd like to hear from you, wherever you are in the world about what's happening in your country, town or city. It's your station, your voice to women of the world. So contact us. Send an email to involvedmensradiostation.com. I'm Isabelle Manevy, an executive coach. Do you want to change a negative into a positive? We can do this by coaching you to rewire your brain using simple visualization techniques. In 20 years of practice, I've seen this transform lives. For more information, look on Women's Radio website. Call me on 07-98442-2171. I'm listening. Women's Radio Station is a not for profit, community interest company supporting women. Isabel Our passion We're currently welcoming donations to help towards our running costs to keep this important initiative alive. To donate, simply head to our website. Every little will help.