Sara’s Universal Soul Show – Karoline Sofie Lee

Foreign. Welcome to the Universal Soul Show. I'm Sarah Griffiths here with you for the next hour. My guest coming up today is actress Caroline Sophie Lee. She's currently in the UK for the London Korean Film Festival. If you want to check that out, by the way, it's koreanfilm.co.uk her debut film, the Return, is being shown. It's a fascinating piece of work where fiction and documentary merge to create almost a hybrid film experience. We're going to follow her search for her birth parents, having been adopted at birth from South Korea to Denmark. So I'm really looking forward to talking to her in a short time. In the last part of the show, as usual, we'll have the best things in life for free. Giving away the collection of plays from Steven Berkoff to one lucky listener. Stephen, of course, was on the show last week and of course we're going to have this week's giveaway, which is one of my favorite objects and I'm not telling you what it is yet. But first of all, a big thank you to all of you who've contacted the show in the last few weeks, wherever you are in the world, broadcasting globally as we are of course, here at women's radio station. The ways to contact me are via email on presenterswomensradiostation.com on Facebook, the Universal Soul show and Twitter mensradio, stn or universalsoulsh. Caroline, thanks so much for being here today. Thank you for having me. It's interesting, this story, because it's called a high for very good reason, because it brings together this concept of documentary, this concept of fiction. And in a way, it seems the main players in it all have a kind of connection to it in their own way, personally. So, for example, it does tell in many ways quite an accurate story relative to your director. But you also yourself, I believe, had an experience of going to South Korea and searching for your birth parents. So how did you all come together with these varying experiences of what the story tells to do this project? Well, the director, she had this treatment written and a lot of the scenes were open. So for instance, there is this scene at the adoption agency hold. There were no script, so I just had to say what I felt natural, as if it was my first time at the adoption agency. So in that sense I could use my own experience from when I went back to Korea to try to. To find my own parents. It's very interesting, the complexity of these events and I think that's what makes the film so interesting. Give us a little Premise, an overall synopsis of the story for people listening. Well, it's. It's Caroline. She's a woman. She's adopted from Korea to Denmark. And she was this at birth? Well, it doesn't really say that in the movie, but I was adopted when I was five months old. Then she goes back to Korea to try to find her. Her mom, and also, like, try to find herself. And on this journey, she meets other adoptees and they share their story with her. And then in the movie, we follow Caroline and the frustrations that follows. Trying to search, not finding anything, trying to figure out who you are when you have a Danish culture with you, but you are from another place. Interesting. The whole concept of identity, which is so large in the world at the moment, where do we belong? Our physical, geographical, sense of identity, and then perhaps our internal or more spiritual one as well. Does that transcend place or particular location? When you talk about the director, so Marlene Choi, did she know, for example, when she cast you, that you had had this experience? Yes, she was looking an actress who was adopted from Korea. So when I went to the casting, I had to tell about myself and my relationship with my family in Denmark and also my feelings about Korea. So she knew a lot about me, and I guess that was why she chose me for the part. And when you did your personal journey back there, Caroline, how long before had that been? Actually, the first time I went back to Korea was when I was only 15, 15 years old. I went on this culture trip for adoptive parents with children from Korea. So we were this whole group who went back, got an introduction, saw the country, learned about the culture. But I think I was. I guess I was too young to really grasp everything. I remember that I felt it like a shock coming there and also a disappointment because I had some hopes and ideas about how it would be for me to go back. Did you always know you were adopted? At what age did you become aware of that, or did your Danish parents tell you? I've always known it, I guess both, because my parents told me that I'm from this Korean country and it looks like this, and they showed me some pictures. And also because I can't see it, I look very different from everyone else where I grew up. So they were very supportive and almost instigated, going back when you were 15 to look at where you were from. It was actually their idea. They won this trip to Korea, and then they waited until I was old enough to travel. And also my younger brother, he was old enough, and then we went back As a family, did you feel troubled? I know you were only 15, but did you have a sense of anything challenging that was driving you towards feeling you would need to do that? Did you feel complete in your life where you were? Oh, I was very challenged at that point in my life. But I think that's quite normal for teenagers. You want to find out who you are and who you're going to be and when you don't know anything about your story, maybe you think you can find some answers there. So that was what I hoped for, going back. That's what's so interesting, isn't it? Because I think no one, no matter how much one knows one's story, whatever that might be, no one is spared the experience of perhaps questioning who they are anyway. Exactly. So I was interested how much more or how much more heightened that is when you have perhaps the information missing of where you began your life. Have you known any people, Caroline, for example, that have been adopted from South Korea, but haven't felt the need to go back and find originally where they were from or their birth parents? Yes, I have met many. I'm not sure what makes the difference, But I've also been speaking to people who at the beginning was like, I don't need to know anything about Korea or my original family. And then the more we talk, the more questions they begin to have. And maybe they have an interest, but somehow they've shut it down because it can be very difficult to start this birth family search because you never know what you'll find or what you will not find. And I think you're right. It takes a certain amount of courage. And sometimes when something potentially painful, our bodies or our minds or our souls have a very intelligent way of almost trying to protect us by shutting it down little by little. And then maybe something prompts it again. So we're going to listen to your first choice of music now, which is a piece by Chopin, the Waltz, Opus 70, no. 2, F minor. What made you choose this? Well, actually, I just love his music in general, and I've played the piano since I was a kid, so actually I love classical music. It makes me feel very relaxed. So this is like one of my favorite pieces of his. Caroline, thank you very much. We'll talk more in just a couple of minutes. Yes, Sam sa. I'm discussing the return, one of the films in the Korean Film Festival in London. Lots more to talk about with Caroline in just a couple 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 hi, my name is Michelle Bartlett, the founder of Live Laugh Love Ladies Club. We're looking for ladies to link arms across the globe. This is a new vibrant brand connecting women socially. Our club members enjoy great food, fun and inspiring speakers while making friends of all generations. If you're a social butterfly in your community, this fast growing franchise may be for you. Or we invite national companies to advertise within our close network of members. Please visit LiveLaughladies Club. I'm Tamina Zaman, founder of Empower and Enrich. When it comes to money, do you clam up or get confused? Do you wish you could save more money or are you hoping you have enough for retirement? You are not alone. Many women want to be smarter with their cash, but just don't know where to start. @empowerandenrich.org you will find a host of options to help you take charge of your finances and learn how to put your money to work for you in an easy, affordable way. Get in touch with me@empowerandenrich.org and let's change your future together. Women's radio station Voice of Women Worldwide presents future Classic Women Awards nominees concert Friday 23rd November at 7pm hosted by me, Stefania Passamonte with some of the most amazing nominees ever heard so far on the program it will be St. James Catholic Church, Marylebone. Please join us for a fantastic evening of classical music. 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 benefits you may be entitled to, we can help. Visit turntous.org.uk WRS Women's Radio Station Voice of Women Worldwide 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. Well I'm here with Caroline Sophie Lee. We're just talking about her debut film, the Return, part of the Korean London Film Festival. Caroline, we, just before the ad, spoke about how you had done your own personal search back to South Korea. So you certainly have an experience and an emotional understanding around it, even though your character story is not exactly the same trajectory that's possibly closer to the director of the films. So if you don't mind me asking, when you went back on your search, did you eventually find your birth parents? No, I didn't. When I went back when I was 15 years old, I went to Holt, the adoption agency. I asked for information and they couldn't really give me more information besides what's in my papers already. But then I actually went back again in 2015 because I thought maybe when I'm plus 18, they would give me more information. Unfortunately, they didn't. We have a little clip from the film which I'd love us to hear. So I don't know how true this was to your experience, but it was a very pivotal moment in the film where it was suggested to you by one of the co characters, also from Denmark, on the search for his birth parents, that perhaps they were withholding information. And I know during the film, anyway, this is your second visit to halt and you are actually pushing for more information where the woman has appeared reticent. So let's just have a little listen to this moment now. I think it's different system, you know, in Denmark, between in Denmark and in Korea, I think. But you know, even though you just pursue that, I've been at Incheon City Hospital. Why didn't you contact them just to hear, do you have any. I'm not God, you know, I cannot do everything for you. That's too much. Don't you think so? No, I expect me too much, maybe. Why? You know, I'm not God, you know, I'm a social worker, you know, and I told you that this information is not from hold, right? Yeah. I feel as someone is lying to me in this case and I don't know how I can find out the truth about my story. When you were there, Caroline, actually filming that, did you find it cathartic revisiting this? How did you actually experience that, being an actress, having some knowledge of this firsthand? Is that how it was when you went back and. And sat there with Holt? It was more or less like that because I tried to pressure a little to get information, but I still wanted to be polite. So the director, she had experience at Some adoptees had the same experiences as I have, and if they just pushed the social worker, they would get more information. So that was what we tried in this scene. But the thing is that the social worker, she's not aware that this is actually a movie we're making. So that was a real social worker, was it? Yes, and it's her real reactions. And I'm trying to, like, remember how it was when I was there and try to act as if it was my first time there. So it's very real, this scene. Actually, it's an extraordinary scene. What I love is there is emotion throughout the whole piece, but the balance of emotion is. It never tips into sentimentality. There is such space around the film and which almost creates the sense of void which I imagine must exist for a lot of the people searching. When she says I'm not God, you expect too much. Just on a personal level, how do you sit in terms of. Have you had. Do you have any sense of faith or religion or support that's carried you through these challenging times? No, not really. I'm not a religious person. So do you have a sense of connection or a sense of belief in the world? Where do you get your strength from? I think I get it from myself, actually, because I guess I've learned that the only person that you can really rely on is yourself. So, yeah, I just have to keep believing in that. I'm able to do what I want to do. When you were in the story, Caroline, you went. In that particular scene, you were encouraged to go by Thomas, who was a Danish chap in the same scenario where he'd been adopted at birth from South Korea. Was he a friend of yours in Denmark in the story, and you went to South Korea together on the search, or did you meet him once you got to South Korea? Well, Thomas, he's also an actor, so I met him for the first time when he was at his casting. So I was there. And then we did some scenes to see how we would work together. It's so confusing, actually, because in the actual story. So in the narrative of the film, were your characters supposed to have traveled to South Korea together? Or, as you know, in the fiction of the film, did you only meet the two characters when you actually arrived in South Korea? Because I was never quite clear about that. Well, in the film, my character arrives to Korea, and Thomas. He's already there. He's already there. I wasn't sure whether you were traveling. There was this kind of undercurrent of love or romance. I felt all the way through with you two. Tell us about that. And now I'm talking about the film. Yes. We've got to clarify. Is this fiction? Is this real? It's fiction. And actually it wasn't really in the treatment in the script, but it was something that we felt kind of natural, evolving. Because a lot of adoptees, when they meet other adoptees, they feel a strong connection and sometimes it can evolve to a love connection and sometimes it's something else, like more spiritual. So, yeah, it was fiction, but we had a very good connection, Thomas and I. It's interesting when you say you don't have a religion or you just trust in yourself, and yet you say it can evolve into something spiritual. So what would you. How do you. What do you think of spirituality as being? I guess it's something about understanding each other on a deeper level. Because if you share some of the same emotions and feelings and also maybe the same story, personal story, you feel connected on another level. And you don't always have to speak directly about it. You can just like, feel it. It's like a subconscious knowing or a cellular trust. It was interesting, one of the particular scenes where Thomas almost challenges this and he almost questions whether it's a sort of a projection of emotion that he's feeling with you. It's another very beaut. Someone else that I thought was a very powerful character and it was the girl who was the artist who planned out her entire life on post it notes. So having up to 103 years of age all out on these post it notes and then this imaginary friend. So the different strategies that all the characters had of ways of coping with what they were facing, their sense of identity, the potential of meeting their birth parents and maybe imagining it's going to be great and yet also protecting themselves from possible disappointment. But I love the underlying that she said because in a way, I suppose, and I'm not meaning any of us have challenges that replicate that sense of looking for our families if we don't know where they are. But all of us are dealt cards in life. That probably mean we have to create strategies for survival. I love this imaginary friend she creates. And when she says, have faith for you have always been loved. Such a beautiful line. What did that mean, do you think, in the context of the film? Well, actually, this scene was very powerful to me because I wasn't prepared of anything that she would say. I met her for the first time just before the shoot and we asked her, would you be interested in telling your story? So I wasn't prepared. And she just told me about this imaginary universe with these characters and. And the feelings that she told about I could, like, find in myself. And that touched me a lot. And I think that is really some of the magic that comes through the film. We're going to hear your second piece of music now, Caroline. So it's no Air featuring Chris Brown. So it's Jordan Sparks and Chris Brown. More talk in just a moment. Tell me how I'm supposed to breathe with no air? If I should die before I wake it's cause you took my breath away? Losing you is like living in a world with no air? Oh, I'm here alone? Didn't want to leave my heart? There was a way that I can make you understand? Breathe with no air? Stop here whenever you ain't there? No air, no air yeah? Got me out here in the water so deep? Tell me how you going to be without me if you ain't here? I just can't breath, no and no, No, no, no, no? I walk, I ran, I jumped, I flew Right off the ground to flow to you? There's no gravity to hold me down for real? But somehow I'm still alive inside? Took my breath but I survived? I don't know how but I don't even care? So hard for me to breath? Got me out here in the water so deep? Tell me how you gonna be without me if you ain't here? I just can't breathe? There's no end, no end? Actress Caroline Sophie Lee is staying with me, so I do hope you can, too. We'll be right back after the break. Welcome to women's radio station, the voice of women worldwide. Hungry an average woman eats about 2 to 3 kilos of lipstick in her lifetime. Women's radio station, we want to hear from you. This is women's radio station. You're listening to Avril Price with Kitchen Sink Spirituality. It's Anna Kennedy talking all things autism. And my guest today is Karen Nunn. I listen to women's radio station women. The possibilities are endless. That's what makes us different. Hi, I'm Valentina Barbacci and I'm the executive director of Media Matters for Women. We're a registered charity operating in Sierra Leone and the Democratic Republic of Congo, and we produce and share podcasts via Bluetooth on mobile phones, focusing specifically on women and girls excluded from information due to extreme poverty. We empower those living in rural areas with media that transforms how they access, own, and share information. To find out more and be part of this movement. Come check out our website@mediamattersforwomen.org. 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We would love you to join our mailing list or become a sponsor or just buy a ticket to one of our shows. The website is www.jermynstreettheatre.co.uk Women's radio station is a not for profit, community interest company. Supporting women is our passion. We're currently welcoming donations and to help towards our running costs to keep this important initiative alive. To donate, simply head to our website. Every little will help. Well, Caroline, Sophie Lee is here with me. Caroline, just before the break, we talked about various characters and moments within the film. I do love, as I said, the very natural sense of. Of pace with it. Moments were allowed to sit, uncomfortable moments were just allowed to breathe. It was sort of beautifully done and I think again, as we said, being this hybrid of documentary and drama, it gives us a very different pace and rhythm to the film. We talked about this line in the play. Have faith for you have always been loved. You mentioned you don't have any particular religion, but you have a connection through yourself. You know, a sort of knowing of something. Where are you now in your life in terms of do you feel? Have you fully accepted? Perhaps you won't find your birth parents. Where are you placed relative to that and your family in Denmark? Well, the second time I went to try to find my parents and they didn't have any more information. I kind of settled with that because I can't keep looking because they won't come anymore. So. So I guess I'M good with that now. And if maybe a relative would try to find me, I'm open, but I've stopped my search now and then. I'm looking forward to someday having my own family. And you're now living in Copenhagen. How do you feel about Denmark as a country? How's it been for you and your family there? I really like being Danish. And actually sometimes I've been annoyed by the fact that I don't look Danish because I look Asian. So it can be difficult not being white. Do you think that's changing, Caroline? You know, with everyone, hopefully, and being able to have the freedom to identify in whatever way they identify. Have you felt a shift in other people's reactions and how you therefore feel about it? I think it's changing, but it's changing very slowly also. I guess it's because Denmark is such a small country, so we are used to looking the same and being. Being like our neighbors. But more and more different ethnicities are coming to Denmark and growing up in Denmark. So I think we're getting used to that. You can have a darker skin and still be 100% Danish. When you go back to Korea or when you've been back to Korea, is there any bit of you that thinks you will choose to spend more time there? Do you feel a fundamental being at homeness there or not? Particularly. I hoped that I would feel this. This is where I belong, but I don't because the culture is so different from what I'm used to. I like going back there just to blend in in the street and just being so. In an aesthetic way. Yes, exactly. And that I don't like, pop out, but I feel very different when I'm there also because I don't speak the language, so I can't communicate. So I feel very like a child almost. But I think it's nice to have another place where I somehow feel that I'm connected to this world, even though I don't really know it. And I will always feel like I'm a stranger there, but I still have, like, something in my heart that's deep for this country. We're looking at the five things that feed your soul here as well. And the first thing you mentioned was love. So love. And in all forms. Well, to me, love is the most important thing in life. Have you felt love through your life? Yes. Yes, I have my family. We love each other and we support each other. We're there for each other. And also I have a boyfriend. I love him very much. What about dogs? Dogs Come in here. Have you got dogs that you love? That was your second thing that featured soul. I had a dog when I grew up, and I loved her very much. She was like my best friend. I love dogs because they are so. They're always happy, and whenever they see you, they love you. It's kind of unconditional, isn't it? Yes. And also, you can read their emotions. If they feel bad, you can see it in their face, in their eyes, and that makes it easy. That's also what I like about people, that they are honest. Yes. We've also got dancing and singing, which I know you've done a lot in your life. You've been a professional dancer, I believe, and you sing. Yes, I do. I still sing. I sing in a choir every week. And I also still dance. And when I do these things, it's like I feel at home and I can, like, relax, and it makes me really happy to do these things. It's interesting you talk about religion. I've just done this diploma in practical spirituality and wellness. And one of the things that we concentrate on enormously is people finding their own sense of connection. And when you think about it, you are literally. You are connecting. It's whatever connects the intangible, invisible element of us all, potentially our spirit, to the magic and the wonder of the universe. And so many times dancing comes up or singing comes up, and your last or the fifth thing, rather, I should say, that feeds your soul. The ocean. Well, I can't really explain why I have this connection with the ocean, but every time I'm near the ocean, I feel I can breathe somehow better. So, yeah, it's like a feeling of freedom when I'm there. Well, I really wish that as many listeners as possible get the opportunity to see this beautiful film, the Return. I'm sure it's going to touch a note for many, many people who perhaps on their own personal journeys, are seeking their birth. Would you have any words to those that maybe know they never will or are really struggling with that search just to come to terms with the outcome, whatever way it goes, I guess I think even though you find your parents, you will always be on a constant journey because you will never stop being an adoptee. So I guess don't think that this is like the end goal, that this will be what will make you happy in life. I think it's quite comforting to remember that, you know, the kind of existential quest, who am I? Is there for everyone. So no matter what, we are really in this together, Caroline. We're going to hear your last choice of music now, which is if I Ain't Got yout by Alicia Keys. Why do we love that one? I've liked Alicia Keys since the first time I heard her. And this song, it's just. It's really about love. And I guess that's why I like it so much. I wish you huge luck with everything you do. Thank you so much for coming in today. If anybody's able to see the film, it's going on a tour. The Glasgow Film Theatre, Edinburgh Film Theatre, Manchester Home, Sheffield Showroom, Nottingham Broadway Cinema, Belfast Queens Film Theatre, and around the world. Maybe you can keep your eyes open for the return. Caroline, thanks so much for being here today. Thank you. Much love from us. Thank you. Some people live for the fortune Some people live just for the fame Some people live for the power yeah Some people live just to play the game Some people think that the physical things define was with the been and I've been there before that life's a superficial Some people want it all But I don't want nothing at all if it ain't you, baby if I ain't got you, baby Some people want D Some just want everything but everything means nothing I ain't got you yeah Some people search for a fountain the promise is forever young you know Some people need three dozen roses and that's the only way to prove you love them. Would it be no one to share with no one who truly cares for for me Some people want it all But I don't want to been at all if it ain't you baby if I ain't got to do, baby Some people want diamond rings Some just want everything but everything means nothing if I die you you use no me no one at all But I don't want nothing at all if it ain't you baby if I ain't got you baby don't just want everything but everything needs nothing if I ain't got you, yeah. If I ain't got you with me, baby oh said nothing in this whole wide world don't mean a thing if I ain't got you with me, baby. Thanks again to Caroline. Lots more still to come in the last section of the show, including the best things in life are free. 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 Women Awards with me, Stefania Passamonte on women's radio station. Welcome back. I'm Russ Caine. 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 programmes we have on women's radio station, head to our website womensradiostation.com hi, my name is Michelle Bartlett, the founder of Live Laugh Love Ladies Club. We're looking for ladies to lay arms across the globe. This is a new vibrant brand connecting women socially. Our club members enjoy great food, fun and inspiring speakers while making friends of all generations. If you're a social butterfly in your community, this fast growing franchise may be for you. Or we invite national companies to advertise within our close network of members. Please visit LiveLaughladies Club. I'm Tamina Zaman, founder of Empower and Enrich. When it comes to money, do you clam up or get confused? Do you wish you could save more money or are you hoping you have enough for retirement? You are not alone. Many women want to be smarter with their cash, but just don't know where to start. @empowerandenrich.org you will find a host of options to help you take charge of your finances and learn how to put your money to work for you in an easy, affordable way. Get in touch with me@empowerandenrich.org and let's change your future together. Women's radio station Voice of Women Worldwide presents future Classic Women Awards nominees concert Friday 23rd November at 7pm hosted by me, Stefania Passamonte with some of the most amazing nominees we heard so far on the program. It will be St. James Catholic Church, Marylebone. Please join us for a fantastic evening of classical music. 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 benefits you may be entitled to, we can help. Visit turntous.org.uk WRS Women's Radio Station Voice of Women Worldwide 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. Coming up, we're going to have the winner of the Stephen Buckle play. And of course our brand new musical. All the Moon Belongs to everyone. The best things in life, they're free Stars belong to everyone they claim that for you and for me Flowers in spring the robins that sing the sunbeams that shine they're yours and they're mine Love can come to everyone Best things in life they're free Moon belongs to everyone the best things in life they're free Stars belong to everyone they glitter there for you and me Flowers and spring they're robin they sing sunbeam to shine all the yo's and remind yo Love can come to everyone Best things in life they're free all of the good things Every one of the better things the best Best things in life they are free. Thanks us over to Sam Cook for that. Well last week our beautiful poetry books by Hafiz were won by Eamonn Clarke. Eamonn very kindly not recorded us a thank you message, but he also recorded us one of the beautiful poems too. So let's hear from Eamonn now. Dear Sarah, thank you so much for these books. They're wonderful and to hear my name read out on your show was such a treat. I never win anything. They're beautiful books. The subject tonight is love and I heard God laughing. If it's okay, I'd like to read a poem for you and your listeners called you don't have to Act Crazy Anymore. Thank you Sarah and thanks for your wonderful show. I love it. You don't have to act crazy anymore. We all know you are good at that. Now retire, my dear from all that hard work you do of bringing pain to your sweet eyes and heart. Look in a clear mountain mirror. See the beautiful ancient warrior and the divine elements you always carry inside that infused this universe with sacred life so long ago and join you eternally with all existence with God. What a beautiful voice there. Read wonderfully by teacher there. Eamonn Clark, thank you so much for taking the time to record that and send it in. Amen. Well, if you'd like to be in with a chance of winning one of our giveaways, all you need to do is connect with the show in whatever way works best for you. You can like a post of a picture of the giveaway as Eamonn did, for example. You can email me here on presentersomensradiostation.com just put the show name as the subject. You can follow us on Facebook, which is the Universal Soul show or on Twitter mensradiosdn or UniversalSoul. Now to the winner of last week's giveaway, which of course was that collection of plays. Plays won by Steven Berkoff, hopefully signed by Stephen Berkoff I say hopefully because I forgot to ask Stephen to sign it before he left the studio. But there are ways and means. I will get my signature elves out to dispatch the book to Stephen and get it signed for you when I say for you. Our lucky winner this week is Debbie Bailey in Dublin. Thanks so much, Debbie for liking the post which had the picture of the plays on it. If you just want to send me your details, I'll make sure we we get that to you as soon as my signature elves have got it signed by Stephen. So now to this week's giveaway. I've got one of my all time favorite objects for you. I'm sorry to say I'm back on the champagne theme. We're never off it for long. It's the most beautiful champagne bottle opener. So never again do you have to have that feeling where you can't get the cork out. You know, that feeling where it's nearly a panic. Or am I the only person that has that where you just can't get it out and you actually think that the muscles in your neck are going to go into spasm. So desper to have a lovely glass of cold fizz? No, nobody else knows that. It's just me. Okay. Right. It's my problem. Well, anyway, there is no possibility of that happening once you have one of these. It's aesthetically really pleasing. It's stainless steel and then gold plated and really, really useful, obviously in this run up to Christmas as well. I'll make sure I post a pic of it. It's by Des Courgette. It's wonderful. Goes over the bottle, you squeeze a lever and the champagne cork comes out. Or of course you can use Ombreseco or anything else sparkling you like. I believe the only champagne it doesn't work on is Bollinger, by the way. So if you're only a Bollinger drinker, I'm sorry, it might not be for you. Well, as ever, if you feel you've something you'd like to gift us as a giveaway, please do get in touch. Something, you know, maybe a little spoiling as in the champagne or the champagne opener or something that's good for the soul. We leave that up to you. Now, talking of lovely things, just a heads up, I've been very busy making things that I hope will eventually find their way onto the Universal Soul Company website into the shop section. So one of the things I've been working on secretly is this soul mist. I don't know about you, but I love fragrance. And I am always a little bit confused when I have to choose between a room spray, a pillow mist or a meditation spray. So I decided I'd make a three in one. So, as I say, it is called a soul mist. It's got a really beautiful combination. I hope you'll think of natural essential oils. It's got this sort of grounded, nurturing base notes to it, then very sort of pure and clean middle notes with very uplifting top notes. So the idea is that when you spritz it, you sort of attach or relate to whatever your soul needs at that time and it provides that for you. So really kind of delightful fresh smell. And yet it's grounding either to spritz on your pillow to help you have a good night's sleep. I tested it last night and it was great. Or if you're somebody who likes to meditate, it's wonderful just to kind of set the smell. And it's almost like a sort of sensory memory, I think, if you do it regularly when you meditate. Or of course, as simply a room spray because it's got no alcohol in it, so if it lands on your cushions or fabrics or clothing, there's nothing that can actually damage them. And it also means that the way that it's actually preserved, because it's in water, it means that the fragrance doesn't actually go off and get slightly stale. So when you have a room spray that accumulatively starts not smelling quite as good as it did, smell this. You respirts each day and it should be really, really fresh. So anyway, I'm working really hard to try and see if I can get this out before Christmas. So hopefully it might become one of our giveaways and hopefully I'll be able to get it on the website as well. It's cruelty free, of course, alcohol free, it's vegan and paraben free, so really beautiful. And it has a signature fragrance name, which I'll let you know a little bit nearer the top time. Well, we're going to move on now to some more of the five things that feed your soul. Last week I actually asked my own friends on Facebook and I have to say it was surprisingly very, very silent. But I did manage to get the five things out of a few of them. So first of all, to Emma Harvey, my wonderful voiceover agent, she said, number one, her grandmother's chicken and rice broth soup. The recipe, by the way, is a closely guarded family secret. Number two, cuddling cats. Well, any fluffy animals, but most my two Beautiful cats, she says. A scorching hot day, lying next to a cool pool with an iced lager in hand. A spritz of her favorite perfume, which I think is hysterical. It's called the Ruthless Countess Dorothea. I'm sure the ruthless Countess Dorothea was from an opera and makes her smell of fresh baked biscuits and a waft of ginger spice. Gosh, I hope no one's hungry when you're wearing it, Emma. And lastly, a posh nosh fancy pants dinner with all the wines with my favourite person to take dine with, Sarah Griffiths. Of course we know how to eat. So true, Emma. And we're overdue. Talking of fine dining, someone else who loves that is my brilliant brother, Rhett. Coolest name in the world. I'm sure I was supposed to be called Scarlet, but maybe a few letters got dropped or something similar. Anyway, he said his five things that feed his soul are porridge, ducks, the sky, laughter and the music of Charles Ives. Last but not least, Robin Kermode, by the way, wrote a fabulous book. If you've ever had to give a speech and feel anxious about it, it's called Speak so your audience will listen, you can get it on Amazon. And in. In fact I must ask him on the show at some point. So he says. 1. Showing kindness to a stranger. 2. Laughing uncontrollably. I've got to share with you. Predictive texting on that one made it say laughing unconvincingly so I had to check that with him, but it was laughing uncontrollably. Three. Fire breath meditation to start the day. Four Having a reflexology treatment. And five. Knowing I'm loved. Well, I hope you all feel loved wherever you're listening. From around the world. I think you know from the conversation with with Caroline today, there is no doubt about it. Self love and feeling secure that we have whatever we need in life inside us is just so important. I just wanted to finish with a little poem I wrote to explain a little bit of what the Soul Company is all about. The Soul Story I live right inside you in a very deep place. But you wouldn't recognize me by name or by face. You know me much better than any thing, place or being. And yet I'm not something you'll ever be seeing. I travel within you wherever you go. And every moment and pulse of your being I know. Follow what you feel. Let your heart take you there. And all of the beauty of you I will share. There's everything you'll ever need inside me. So why not take the time to journey and see every flavor ever tasted, every color ever seen, everything you've ever wished for, every emotion, every dream. This is how amazing you are. And my goal is simply to share with you. I'm your soul. Thank you again to Caroline Sophie Lee for being my guest this week. Thanks, of course, also to you all for listening. Wherever you are in the world, I wish you a wonderful week and I'll be back with another show very soon. Until then, much love and bye for now. There was a time I used to look into my father's eyes In a happy home I was the king I had a golden throne those. Those days are gone now the memories on the wall I hear the songs from the places where I was born. Welcome to women's radio station, the voice of women Worldwide. Hungry an average woman eats about 2 to 3 kilos of lipstick in her lifetime. Women's Radio Station station We want to hear from you. This is Women's Radio Station. You're listening to Avril Price with Kitchen Sink Spirituality. It's Anna Kennedy talking all things autism. And my guest today is Karen Nunn. I listen to women's Radio station Women. The possibilities are endless. That's what makes us different. 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