Women's Hour

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Originally broadcast on: http://radiosoapbox.com Radio Soapbox

Women's Hour broadcasts live every Sunday at 7:00p.m. uk time. 

Good evening, listeners! Welcome to episode 3 of Women's Hour on Radio Soapbox. I'm your host, Shelley Tasker. Today, we have two incredible guests lined up for you. First, we chat with Aga from Intuitive Soul, a multifaceted healer who specialises in shamanism, crystals, tarot, Reiki, and more. Aga shares her journey of discovering her gifts, the power of sound baths, and the importance of self-care. She explains how sound baths work and their benefits, including emotional and physical healing. Aga also discusses her Slavic magic background and her love for crystals.

Our second guest is Deanna Yates, a former coffee shop owner who defied lockdown restrictions during the COVID-19 pandemic. Deanna shares her story of standing up against the authorities, the challenges she faced, and the overwhelming support she received from her community. Now, Deanna has embarked on a new adventure, living in a van with her family and travelling around the UK. She talks about the joys and challenges of van life, homeschooling her children, and her passion for healthy living.

Don't miss this episode filled with inspiring stories of resilience, self-discovery, and living life on your own terms.

[00:00:51] Unknown:

Good evening, ladies. And maybe your gentlemen that's listening, you are listening to episode 3 of women's hour.   We are coming out of radio soapbox.com.   Today's date is Sunday 30th June 2020 4, and I'm your host, Shelley Tasker.   Good evening, everybody. I hope you've had a good Sunday,   enjoying,   the lovely Cornish weather if you are in England,   in Cornwall, I'm fed up with gray skies.   Anyway, I've got 2 awesome guests for you again this evening.   And, without further ado, I will introduce you to AGA.   I hope I said that right. It's AGA from Intuitive Soul,   and Aga does healing, shamanism,   crystals, tarot,   angel and oracle cards, Reiki,   Slavic magic, herbs, personalized candles, and oils.  

She is a woman of many talents, and, I've had the pleasure to meet this gorgeous soul. So good evening, Aga.  

[00:01:52] Unknown:

Good evening, Shelly. Good evening, everyone.  

[00:01:55] Unknown:

Thank you. Pleased to be here. Oh, bless you. It's lovely to have your company.   And, I probably should just say to the listeners,   I met you a few weeks ago, 1 of your sound baths. I've never been to 1 before and didn't know what to expect, and you had an amazing t shirt on. Can you remember what it said on it?  

[00:02:13] Unknown:

Make yourself priority.  

[00:02:15] Unknown:

Make yourself a priority, and I love that because it's so true. We don't take time out for ourselves.   So  

[00:02:21] Unknown:

No. That's true. And even though I'm saying that on my,   you know, 1 to 1 sessions,   I'm still guilty of that, not making   enough time to myself. But we're learning. We're all learning. You know? Yes. Definitely.  

[00:02:37] Unknown:

So let let's start at the beginning. How did you get into all this, like, Witchery taboo stuff?   Tell us a little bit about yourself.  

[00:02:45] Unknown:

Well,   I've been born with with my gifts.   And when I was about   6 years old, I realized that   nobody in my family kind of understand me,   in a way, like, I could,   read the energy around them   and that wasn't matching what they were saying.   So that was really confusing for me, and I didn't know kind of what to do with that. I was, I was a bit of lost with this.   So,   I shut my senses   not to,   kind of, you know,   get this get this kind of feeling.   But then when I was 15, my,   beloved grandma passed away, and she came into my dreams.   So then,   my senses kind of, came back,   if you like.  

So,   I was kind of doing,   I was always interested in astrology,   numerology,   always,   you know, staring at in this in the in the sky,   kind of talking to the stars, feeling like I don't belong here.   And,   you know, then the tarot cards came in kind of naturally,   and the healing came naturally.   And first, I start with with my, friends and family. I never thought that will be my so called business, if you like.   So,   when,   you know, friends were saying and my family was saying, it's like, look, you should have you should do that for for other people. So this is how I started. I started with with with the cards,   then came healing on the top of that.  

And   not   not long ago,   because it was only last year I started to do the sunbath.   Although, with the music and and the instruments, I was always connected and,   so I've kind of,   you know, was buying 1 by 1 the instruments, which were really,   helping,   myself and my daughter   when she was little.   But, again, I was doing it for for for kind of myself, my friends, my family.   And then last year, in in January, I decided to to go out public, and,   literally, the rest is history. I I didn't know what to expect, but,   yeah, it's been a huge   success in that sense. So many people,   are looking now   for alternative,   you know, ways of   really and truly relax   relaxing. So,   yeah, sound buffer, it's it's a wonderful thing.  



[00:05:36] Unknown:

Well, I should say I I found it absolutely amazing. Can you just explain to the listeners what a sound bath is? Because I bet they were a bit like me. When I first saw it, I was like, what the heck is this?  

[00:05:46] Unknown:

Yeah. I mean, the the term sound buffet, it's it's sometimes a bit misleading for people, and people are like, what's going on? Are we going to be in the bath, and you're gonna be make some sounds, like, what's going on here?   So,   I only,   say say that as a sound bath because I'm bathing you in sounds and different frequencies.   So, it's basically a form of relaxation,   because we are like, our human body is,   you know,   let's say about 70, 80 percent, you   know, with, like, formed with water and water resonates.   So,   with the different   frequencies of that instruments, and I use, gongs, I use crystal balls, Tibetan balls,   koshichams, rain sticks. I even have solfeggio   pipes,   which, again, they every single pipe,   is different frequency   and belong to a different   theme, if you like. So some of them heal trauma, some of them restore your DNA,   some of them open your heart or connect to your higher self.  

But what is really a sound bath is you come in to,   lie down for 1 and a half hour and just be,   you know, present to that   beautiful sounds,   and which will heal you, which will,   heal not   only emotionally   but it will heal your body as well because the sunbathas   work,   a bit like a detox to your body. So whatever when the sound goes to our through our body and our body is quite dense, you know, energy is is light, but our body is dense. So when the sound goes through your body, wherever there is a blockage,   then the the sound will go there and and,   resolve that.  

If this is, you know, something in your body, like, physically, or is it something more, kind of, mentally or emotionally,   It's the same process. It's just going through and cleanses   cleanses and soothes.   You know, I had people who suffered with,   huge,   insomnia for for,   you know, a long time.   And,   I had messaged the following morning saying they slept for the first time in a very long time. So,   it does it does work,   or people who used to have, for instance, operation on them,   for instance, removed something,   whatever is,   this car is,   the sound is healing, is restoring tissue,   So,   the people felt sensation in that in that place, like,   someone was literally healing them.  

Yeah. I've got,   you know, different story from different people, but, I know that really, really helps. And,   but what it mostly does to you, it does   actually calm your nervous system. And because,   you know,   in every   everyday life,   we're very busy, we're very   stressed, we're very hectic.   So this is good for for for for you, for me, you know, for us just to come down, lie down,   and take the time for ourselves. You know? This is this is where the make yourself priority comes in.  

[00:09:16] Unknown:

Yeah. It does, and I think it was the night before before you did your class.   Excuse me. I just saw it pop up on Facebook, and I was really feeling that I need something for me.   And I didn't know what to expect, and I took along my sleeping bag and my big dryrobe coat and everything because I knew we'd be lying down. And, when we arrived and it was wonderful because they were all women. I mean, I know it's not aimed just at women, but it was like a   lovely atmosphere.   I don't know. The energy in that room   when you went I mean, I I suppose you're attracting like minded people that,   you know, believe in the energy and things like that. You've already got that thing in common when you go to these sessions.  

But it was just amazing.   It it was beautiful.   You know, I lied there and you walked around for an hour and a half, and I'm sure I dozed off a few times, but I could feel the vibration   of whatever tools you were using at the time. And I never really   understood until a few years ago when I messed around with tuning forks and things what they can do.   But, obviously, some people, they just don't feel energy, and I've had to tune in fork, like, right on my partner's third eye, and he still can't feel it.   And, I mean, I know lots of people don't, but to me, I do feel energy.   And I've been quite blessed where I can hold that in front of me. And I think, wow. That feels amazing. So,   you know, I suppose even if you can't feel it, it's still doing  

[00:10:42] Unknown:

something. Yes. Yes. And, you know,   you're saying about like minded people. Yeah. Of course, the majority,   you know, it will be like minded people. However, I see that more and more, people, which we will say, normal,   you know, are coming   to to session like this and and kind of giving a try.   You know, people who kind of   I wouldn't say they don't believe as much, but, you know, they're very skeptical.   So,   for them, when they started to feel how that, you know, the the vibrations go through your butt body, then it's like, oh,   wow. You know, I never expected that. So more and more people actually are open to to the, you know, not only to the sound, but   to to alternative healing methods,   in general.  

But, you know, the sunbath, I do them for children as well, for little babies even. My my youngest participant was 2 weeks old. Oh, lovely.   And, it's amazing how,   you can see when they just fall asleep, for instance, or just, you know, from being kind of very active baby.   They just sit,   sit down and calm down and just kind of are amazed by those those sounds. And obviously, babies are more highly sensitive than us anyway, aren't they? Psychically  

[00:12:03] Unknown:

as well.  

[00:12:05] Unknown:

Yeah.   But but still, you know, just just it is amazing how they kind of,   you know, stop when when you started to play over them or near them. They just stop. It's not just the, you know, kind of a curiosity,   it's just how the vibration,   you know, working on them. You can almost see all the faces.   Yeah. So it's it's an amazing tool. I really, yeah, really love doing this.  

[00:12:32] Unknown:

Yeah. Well, you're doing well, aren't you? You do lots of all of these   little evenings and yurts and things like that. And the 1 upcoming this week, you said, is, in a field next to a stone circle.   And you tend to do them more on, like, primitive, like, nights when it's a full moon and things like that?  

[00:12:51] Unknown:

Yes. That's that's that's, usually what I do. I do them in new moon and full moon or, special portals,   like the, 888 portal, which we're gonna have in,   August.   So this is this is a specific,   Lions Gate portal,   and that's gonna be actually held in the same land.   Now on Friday, we've got New Moon in Cancer, and this,   is   on the private land near Trentchrome.   So through   through Trentchrome, there is the Athena ley line, going through,   but at that ladies land,   there is, Saint Michael's mouth,   Saint Michael's line going through as well.   Yes. So this so this land is very powerful. And, yes, the lady has a stone circle there and the seed of life inside, actually, the circle.  

So energy there is absolutely amazing. It's a completely different experience, the 1 outdoor to to the 1 in the yard I do.   They're both brilliant, but, yeah, just outdoor, it's almost like the whole nature,   you know, play with me and the birds join in and the elements join in. It's it's  

[00:14:04] Unknown:

truly magical. It sounds it. So is it an outside 1 this Friday then?   Yes. Yes. Oh, I'm looking well, let's hope the weather's good.   I'll bring my sleeping bag and blankets.  

[00:14:14] Unknown:

Yeah. There's always you know, because we are gonna be outside, and when you're lying from 1 and a half hour, you always need a bit of extra blankets or or some maybe socks and cushions and stuff, to keep you warm. But,   you know, even if,   hopefully, it's not raining raining, but, you know,   yeah, if there is a good weather, we will be doing it there. So great stuff. So so what is this lion's portal then?   The lion's gate portal is,   basically where the,   lions are the,   the guardians   of Cyrus.   So we're gonna this is like a Sirius,  

[00:14:54] Unknown:

So this is to do with astrology. Yes? Portal.  

[00:14:58] Unknown:

With   we feel all this, connection and, you know, like, today, for instance,   the   Saturn is retrograding just started to retrograde and what that means for all of us, things might slow down. So instead of getting frustrating,   just like, okay, Saturn is in retrograde. It's almost like Saturn is is is a is a planet who checks, you know. It's like,   it's like, okay. Have you have you done your lessons? So let's check.   Yeah. But I felt it like I felt it today with a a bit of, like, like, the,   like, the energy,   around us is just pause   because because he he just is going he's very slow planet, but he's going backwards.  

Okay. So it's like, okay. Stop.   So with the with the series, it's more like,   like, you know, it's a it's a, it's a star. And,   most of people,   like yourself or myself, you know, who are there,   helping the humanity going through this transition process we are going through right now,   most of us are,   star children. We are the, you know, star seeds.   So we come in from   plant or another planet or another stars,   and,   we are the wayshowers,   you know. So the this portal is a very important   it it's almost like,   acceleration   portal. So if anything you wanted to,   manifest   on that on that day, it it will be like,   would you will shoot, like, with the rocket, really.  



[00:16:51] Unknown:

Go in. Gone. Oh, I've got just all my hairs and my arms have just stood up on end. I'm, like, really excited now. Yeah. I love the word manifestation.   Yeah.  

[00:17:00] Unknown:

Yeah. So it's a it's a big thing. You are a starseed. You know? Well, first, when I met you, you know, your energy is so amazing. And, you know, people like minded people, as you say, we are connecting,   you know, you know, sooner or later, we will connect.   I can go on and on like this, about this, you know, there is this 144,   4, 000 people on that planet who actually   doing this job right now. Really? For Wow. Yes. Yes. For all of us, and it doesn't matter if you are,   in brackets, just, you know, a barber or,   I don't know, baker. It doesn't matter what you actually do.  

You can still be a wayshower. You can be even,   you know, a housewife, and you think, oh, housewife, what what's housewife gonna do? Oh, well, yes, she does. So, if you,   they,   I don't wanna say chosen 1. It's not chosen 1. It's I mean,   it's it's not like,   you know, somebody chose us. We chose ourselves.   So our soul has chosen to be the wayshower   in, you know, this   incarnation   to help the humanity and help the earth   to rise their vibration.  

[00:18:16] Unknown:

Yeah. And, gosh, do we need that?   We do. Definitely. Needs lifting   in this day and age.   Yeah. It's fascinating. I love I mean, my friend would call it hokey pokery stuff,   but I've been into this for years. And   a friend of mine, sadly, she passed a few years away. But I had a baby finger problem, and it was just really sore for months. And she got her tuning forks out and did some stuff on it, and, you know, I haven't had a problem since. It was just like, wow. What is that all about?   You know? And then I was fortunate to buy a tuning fork,   and I use it sporadically at work sometimes. And I obviously ask the resident's permission if I can give them a bit of sound healing.  

I don't you know, I'm not qualified or anything like that.   I've done a slight, like, little day course when we were out, a few years ago, but I just do what comes naturally and where I feel   that they need, you know, a bit of energy given, if it does anything, great. If it doesn't, well, you haven't lost anything, have you?  

[00:19:16] Unknown:

Well, but this is amazing way to to think, you see.   And I feel like,   because we've been   for so many years in those structures,   you know, people are afraid   of actually following their own gifts and talents.   Is like, oh, I'm not qualified. You know, I cannot use, you know, tuning forks. No. You can. Just believe yourself. So this this is what we what we're doing right now. We are stopping these beliefs which were harming us and now what we're doing, we're   relearning really ourselves   and and and starting to trust our intuition, and we're learning who we are. And at the same time, we are the creators of our life. We are the creators,   you know, so doesn't matter if the follow the the world,   round was fall down.  

You still know you're gonna be okay.  

[00:20:09] Unknown:

Yeah. Yeah.   No. It's, it's an amazing thing to experience. And do you find that people come to you for, like, anything in particular for healing, or   is it just more of like a time out? I mean, it's so so good to meditate to, isn't it? Just an hour and a half with all these instruments being played.   Oh, it's just amazing. I can't express how much I enjoyed it that night.  

[00:20:32] Unknown:

Yeah. I mean, you know, it's it's mainly for for a kind of   I don't think they come may they come as such for healing itself. It's just, I guess, it's just just a time to yourself   and honour yourself because we don't take enough time to   to relax really, you know, we don't we don't do that,   we should do that daily,   but, you know, now and then, if you if you come to a sound bath or or go to yoga or go for a walk or do something, anything, whatever makes you happy for yourself,   that's that's amazing and that's so needed. And particularly, you see, I feel that,   you know, as a mom, as a single mom, you know, that I have to look after myself,   you know, to be able to give to my to to my, daughter. So I have to give to myself to be able to give to others as well, you know. So,   I do my own stuff. I go to my friends who do the   sound bar for me,   because, yeah, I I need to kind of look after myself to be able to be in service to you.  

But, you know, saying of of, sound bath, So that's probably what people come just for relaxation and and just kind of, you know, oh, I need a bit of break from from this crazy world.   But in in 1 to 1 sessions, they just, you know, so many people are lost.   And this is where I try to help them,   and give them a bit of,   guidance   and, you know, kind of explain why that happened and how you can get out of this situation. So For sure.  

[00:22:11] Unknown:

And you were you were shaman as well?  

[00:22:15] Unknown:

Well, I I did. You know, it's it's in Poland where I come from, the the the Slavic as I said, the Slavic magic is we are kind of,   you know, born,   in that sense that,   our grandmothers   and mothers, we we're passing by the knowledge   in a very natural way. So,   since I was little,   I knew all the herbs and how to use them,   what they are for, and so on. So it's kind of like,   it's natural   with with us,   and,   I just expanded that if you like, and I've got a certificate that I can do it.   So but I do know what herbs are good, for instance, for money or for for love, if you want if you need or for health, you know.   So the magic side of it,   I do. But,   mainly, I I use them now just to help people to to feel better, to get better.  



[00:23:19] Unknown:

Wonderful. Wonderful.   And, I'm just trying to think. Sorry. I had my next guest quickly send me a message. Everything's all about testing the sound and see if we can get a connection.   But and I know we worked it out nice and early because you were gonna be a guest last week, but you had a bad luck, didn't you? Yes. Yeah. You had a bad time with your jaw and stuff like that. I couldn't speak, so that wasn't good. No. No. That's not what I need. No.   So, you're also into you've got all your crystals, haven't you? Oh, gosh. Yeah. I love crystals. I'm connected to them, and,  

[00:23:54] Unknown:

you know, they they they really speak to me. They speak to everybody. You just need to listen.   That's I'm I'm to know what I'm trying to say is, like, I'm not special.   We all have that gift. We've all been born with the with those gifts. We just,   might not,   be   open or might be not   there yet, you know, so,   but, yeah, crystals. I love crystals. I do, I do heal with crystals. I do crystal grids,   which,   help the earth as well rise the rise the, you know, vibrations. Right. And   and I do the, crystal grids for for for people as well. So if there is anything you need,   specifically, I do the greet for you as well. So,   yeah, I love crystals. You can you can you can buy crystals when on hours on on my sessions, so I bring the crystals with me to my to my sun bath.  



[00:24:50] Unknown:

Right. I've dabbled in crystals many years ago when I first really got into all of this stuff, and   I chose to meditate   once with is it malachite, the green 1?   Yes. Malachite. Yeah. Oh my word. I was, like, quite low and down, and I did this meditation for half an hour, like, with the malachite on my heart.   I have to tell you what, after half an hour, I was, like, transformed.   And, you know, you can call it mind over matter, but   there's something about these crystals. I mean, there must be for so long. Like, people have got birthstones   and things like that, so they've got to mean something.  



[00:25:27] Unknown:

You you know they've been lying in the earth for how many   millions of years or billions of years? You know? They have they they have the knowledge. It's almost like, you know, ancient trees when they when when you've got, like, 200 years old trees and stuff, they've seen a lot, obviously,   and, they have the ancient knowledge in them. So it's the same with crystals. Crystals have amazing stuff. We've got, for instance, Lemurian,   seeds,   and Lemurian crystals,   which, the people from Lemuria, before they obviously   sang under the water, they left them around the earth for the the right people to find them. So if you saw drones of the Lemurian crystal, you know that you you've been   to Lemuria before,   and stuff like this is is yeah. It they they are amazing, and they have,   yeah,   yeah,   like, incredible   knowledge you can get from them.  

And and what is important, people think, like, oh, okay. I I go to the shop and get, for instance, I don't know, rose quartz, yeah, or or clear quartz. And then they,   you know, walk out with,   I don't know, a a masonite or or something completely different what they came for. Something that they're drawn to. Because,   no because they the the you know the the crystals is choosing you. Yeah. The crystal knows exactly what you need right now. So when you go and and you're drawn to something   you you just follow this. Don't don't go against and say no no no I actually came for rose quartz. No. You are now needing, for   instance, amazonite, so go with that.  

Yeah. It's it's it's beautiful, and then see what, you know, message the the stone has for you, And 100%   is something where you actually need.  

[00:27:13] Unknown:

Wonderful. Wonderful. Well, we're gonna have to round up   because time is nearly up. It's gone quick, isn't it? Always doesn't.   Yes. Always doesn't these fascinating conversations.   Where's your where can people find you, Aga?  

[00:27:27] Unknown:

I've got Facebook and Instagram page,   under the, intuitive soul. So Aga the intuitive soul, that's how they can, find me or under my email, which is exactly the same, I got the intuitive  

[00:27:39] Unknown:

soul dot com. I will put your notes at the bottom of the show so people see. And,   you know, anybody listening, if they've you've not tried a sound bath or anything like that, I urge you to go and do it if you need a bit of healing or bit of downtime.   But I should be there without fail on Friday, and I'm really looking forward to it outside in a stone circle when   you dinging your dongs and everything like that.   Because if people saw it, they would all probably think you're quite mad, wouldn't they? Most normal people.  

[00:28:09] Unknown:

Yes. They were like, what's going on here? You know? Load of load  

[00:28:13] Unknown:

of   witches. Yeah. Oh, bless you. It's absolutely amazing.   Yeah. Yeah. You're serving your purpose and, you know, we talk about energy, and I did. When I came in, it was like, oh, just your t shirt straight away.   Take time for yourself. Yeah. Anyway, my lovely, thank you so much for being a guest.   And Thank you for having me. Yeah. No. You're welcome. Welcome. Yeah. And I'm I look forward to seeing you on Friday.   See you on Friday. Take care, my darling. Thank you. Bye. Thank you. Bye. Bye bye.   Yeah. I really do urge people   to go and do that. It was amazing. I can't express it enough. Anyway,   we are just at the bottom of the hour nearly.  

I have another great guest in a second,   but before that, we've got to get on to life hacks. Bit of a problem this week.   People don't like leaving voice notes, do they?   So I've, like, rounded up friends, and they're like, oh, just message me and remind me, Shelley. And then I said to my daughter, I said, perhaps, you know, you can just find 1 every week and just do a different voice, use a different name.   But I urge you to be brave   and just send me a voice note. Just 1 or 2 minutes. You know? My friend, Jo, decided to help out tonight last minute, and she said, yeah. I'll send you 1 over in a minute, and it was 6 minutes long.   And I was like, oh, the song that I play it to is only, like, 2 minutes.  

Anyway, I'm more than grateful when I will play   part of Joe's life hack next week. So we're already sorted for next week. But so I'm going to read these life hacks. Where's my special music that goes with it?   There we are because it all sounds so much serious now. Right. This week's life hacks have come from Patrick's   mum, the lovely Nancy. Hello, Nancy.   And thank you kindly   for these wonderful,   life hacks. Right. We've   got 4 of them.   1st 1.   If you do not have any expectations,   you will never be disappointed   that I kind of live   by anyway next 1   forgiving   does not erase the hurt but it helps heal the soul   I do love that 1 hard to forgive people   well some people   Right now onto housework tips.  

Use vinegar instead of fabric   softener when doing laundry.   It's better for your washing machine and your skin when these   clothes are washed with it are warm.   Right let me make sense of that use vinegar instead of fabric softener. Should have read this out earlier.   Better for your washing machine and your skin but do they smell of vinegar?   Nancy you need to know this.   And also for washing windows use a mixture of water with vinegar and some lemon juice. Less chemicals and that way   store bought window cleaning sprays are the result of clean windows without streaks left behind. Oh, sorry. And the results are clean windows without streaks left behind. I need to put my glasses on. Thank you, Nancy. Much appreciated.   So, yes, if you've got a life hack, leave me a voice note   or send it to me, shellytasker@btinternetdot   com and I will endeavor to play it.  

So that's this week's live cast.   I'm gonna move on to our second guest now.   I have spoken to Diane to Diana,   I think a few years ago when we were going through the whole   COVID   pandemic   and bless her they've they ran a family business and they kept trading anyway she's gonna tell us all about this now and about her new venture of van life.   So she has got a signal. Let's bring her up on Skype and let's do this.   Okay. Let's I'll   have a sample of Skype.   Good evening, Diana.   Hello. How are you?   I'm good. You? I'm good. Thank you, my lovely. So I'm just gonna I gave you a very brief introduction. So this is Diana Yates,   people.  

She, yeah, she's a bit of an activist   in climate times, and I follow her on Facebook, and her life is   what I would call pretty exciting. So, yeah, welcome, Diana. Thanks for coming back.   I know we talked on her on the show. Yeah. If you how are you getting on?  

[00:32:36] Unknown:

Yeah. Tired at the moment, because it's been a a crazy few weeks,   but I'm   feeling   liberated and excited   for the future.  

[00:32:46] Unknown:

Oh, wonderful to hear. Well, before we get on to that step, I do think we need to bring up what happened in COVID times because you were, like, you were the woman.   Can you tell us a bit what happened and about your business and stuff?  

[00:32:59] Unknown:

So I've I owned a coffee shop with my partner since 2015.   We were quite a big coffee shop in Plympton.   We   had a massive,   customer base, many elderly   and vulnerable.   And then when COVID like, the first lockdown, obviously, everyone kind of towed the line and sort of did what they had to do, but it kind of soon became apparent for the 2nd lockdown that didn't feel right.   I had many customers that,   that were really, really upset,   and   crying, basically, that they couldn't face another lockdown.   And I was back and forth with the council anyway,   questioning a few things that didn't quite seem right.  

And,   so, yeah, we made the decision to basically keep our doors open for the 2nd lockdown.   Right.   Yeah.   Which right or wrong.   We did it for we thought we did it for the right reasons, but we were used as an example,   and they came down heavy on us.   So yeah.  

[00:34:01] Unknown:

Yeah. You got a lot of heat, didn't you? It was all over the press and stuff. And did you have to go to court? You had a court fine?  

[00:34:08] Unknown:

So, yeah, we got basically we got a fine from the council,   and we didn't pay the fines. We were obviously challenging the fines. And then because we were challenging them and didn't pay them, they, yeah, sent us to court.   And it it was I mean, it's a bit of a blur, to be honest   with you. I'm not gonna lie. Obviously, we had many people reaching out trying to help us. We we tried all sorts of different angles,   of how we were trying to   challenge them. We even, at 1 point, had Francis Hall from, a barrister from London.   But we so it soon became apparent that, you know, it didn't matter who was gonna help us. It didn't matter if we had the best of the best   because they had 1 agenda, and that was it. They there there was no way that we were gonna   I won't say win, but,   we weren't gonna get anywhere in their court system. No.  

So, eventually, I think the last court case that we did have,   the fines were reduced by half. So,   the business well, the the personal fines were reduced by half because they basically,   fined us as well as business owners as well as the actual business because it was a limited company.   So   and  

[00:35:21] Unknown:

after that, we just walked away. We we we thought that we just needed to stop trying to fight them because we knew we weren't gonna get anywhere with it at all. So Right. And what were your customers like during this time? Did you get, like, lots of people still supporting you when you kept your doors open? Did it inspire other people? Because there there only seem to be a few that,   you know, really made it. They were out there fighting and saying we're staying open.  

[00:35:44] Unknown:

So what was interesting is whenever you saw anything online,   Plymouth Live,   we were because we were on BBC, ITV, Sky News, everything,   Facebook, everything. So, like, every time that we saw anything online,   we just saw a lot of negative, and we were so anxious.   I mean, I did I mean, I had hate mail through the post. I had people impersonating me, police officers, ringing me up.   But   regardless of whatever we saw online,   keyboard warriors, I suppose you wanna call them,   when we opened the doors and walked through the door, all the supporters of our shop was still full. Wow.   And we had   so with our final fines, we were actually face gonna be facing prison.  

They said that if we didn't pay our fines by a certain amount of time,   we would have had to serve 3 months in prison,   for for, basically, not being able to afford the fines. That's that's what it got boiled down to. So we were weeks away from going to jail   for not we'd we'd, by this time, closed our business because we just couldn't afford to keep going.   And,   a friend of mine suggested that we did a crowd funder   with Donorbox.   And through   what's the name of the   Toby Young.  

[00:37:00] Unknown:

Right.  

[00:37:01] Unknown:

So he basically posted it on his Twitter,   to basically try and help us get these fines personal fines paid off,   because we we would you know, didn't wanna leave our children, of course.   And within 2 days, we had,   over £22, 000   donated to us. Wow.  

[00:37:21] Unknown:

That's amazing.  

[00:37:23] Unknown:

We, we were on the floor. We couldn't believe it.   We we couldn't talk for hours. We were just absolutely   gobsmacked. And that was it then. That was the end of it. We we paid the personal fines   and walked away.   The fit the limited company, that's that's still   that was on some of it was paid while we were open. But,   yeah, it that was the only thing that the personal fines we needed to get done because they were gonna chuck us in jail for 3 months.  

[00:37:50] Unknown:

Yeah. Not nice. Not nice. Like you say, they had to make an example of you.  

[00:37:54] Unknown:

That's and that's all it was. I mean, there's loads that we could talk about. There's loads it's so much detail that I can go into to what happened, what had been said,   how we got treated,   how corrupt it was.   But, yeah, we haven't got enough time for that.  

[00:38:09] Unknown:

No. We've got your new exciting life that you're on.   Yeah.   Great admiration for you because you set the target, and I think it probably encouraged other people to question it. I mean, you've lost your business   through this, but quick question. When you remained open,   was you following the guidelines, like the social distancing and wearing masks as well, or was it just no. We're open as So,  

[00:38:31] Unknown:

it was kinda I did the bare minimum to what I had to do.   So I I didn't I I would I personally didn't wear a mask, and I didn't make any of my staff wear the mask.   I gave them the choice to whether they felt comfortable or not. And then I put a sign up on my door, the 1 that, basically, everyone had eventually. It was basically saying that I wouldn't question anybody because we couldn't question anybody.   So I did I had phone call after phone call, and I had a police officer and EHO visit me and basically say,   why I've been why are you not questioning any of your customers? And I said, I can't question any of my customers. I'm not allowed to. So   they they did try and sort of point a few things out, but I basically   told them that I was doing everything.  

Although it was the bare minimum,   I I, you know,   I I wasn't gonna   start putting up loads of big plastic frame,   screens,   putting drawing arrows on the wall. I wasn't gonna hire any more staff to start, you know, I wasn't gonna do that.   And also, you know, they were doing it in agree   with a lot of it. We still respected our customers regardless of what side of the fence they were on.   You know, so we did, you know, clean the the   the tables and chairs, you know, more or, you know, we we just we respected each individual person.   And the police officer in EHO, they actually had nothing on me and then ended up walking away. So most of the time, I I felt that they were really embarrassed themselves, and they were just trying   to scare us into   doing certain things. But   the the media made it out that we   were getting told off and that we were doing things wrong, but in natural fact, we weren't.  



[00:40:11] Unknown:

So but we just we did the bare minimum to what we had to do. Right. And I I think we all learned in those times, like, certain laws, what they stood for and stuff, didn't they? We were all Exactly. Delving in behind the scenes, so to speak.  

[00:40:24] Unknown:

Absolutely. And we and we knew that. But, you know, our ultimate goal was just to to make sure that every customer was respected for   their own views,   and, you know, try and make everyone feel comfortable.  

[00:40:38] Unknown:

Yeah. Well, good on you, my lovely. You were brave, and, it was amazing.   They were, like, amazing times, really. And I you know, your new venture now, perhaps if COVID didn't happen again, you wouldn't be where you're at  

[00:40:49] Unknown:

now. I think Oh, no. I totally believe that everything happens for a reason, and people I've had quite often ask get asked, do you regret doing it? Absolutely not.   But not in a second and I'll do it again. I would probably be a little bit more,   I don't know. I I say stronger. People think that I was stronger doing it, but I would be a little bit more tougher for and push it a bit more further.  

[00:41:10] Unknown:

But it's hard when you've got children, isn't it? Because That's it. Yeah. If you didn't have children, I found that I was doing things in COVID times, and I would have liked to have done more. But I also had the time when, they put a warrant out for my arrest because I didn't attend school and stuff. And it was like, oh my god. The police are gonna turn up here, and I've got my son and my grandson. You know? And I was bricking it. You you talk about being strong, but at the end of the day, your children come first, and they need their mom around.  

[00:41:36] Unknown:

Oh, absolutely. I there's no doubt about it that if I didn't have children, I would have stayed open and continued to stay open until they arrested me and chucked me in a cell,   because they're you know?   And I would have gone all the way, but,   the my children, like you say, they come first, don't they? Absolutely. Yeah.  

[00:41:54] Unknown:

So moving on to your life now, you've recently started a new venture. Tell us how this all came about because I saw your post the other day, and I was like, wow. And I watched your, like, reel that you did, which was beautifully done   of you packing up and stuff.   Yeah. Tell us how you got to like your new venture.  

[00:42:16] Unknown:

Well, so we've always wanted that was always our dream was to basically build a van and and go off.   And, obviously, over the last few years,   it's it's distracted us,   veered us away. Financially, we've really struggled,   because of everything as well.   So we've just really honed in and sort of like we've always said, you know, when the time is right, we're gonna do it. We're gonna move into a van and travel.   And but we just we didn't see a way of being able to do it.   But also as well, like, when is the time right?   So   we managed to get a van. We cheaply, and we managed to build it ourselves.  

When I say we, it was mainly my partner.   I kind of decorated it. And,   and then we my partner's been working full time. I I homeschool my children,   and   we decided that we were just gonna move into the van and stay local to where we lived.   And,   my partner would continue working.   We set ourselves a goal for about 8 weeks' time.   And then   something came up,   where we could basically move around the country and work in several different locations,   until we can kind of   because we'll have no more overheads, we could then save enough for the summer.   And then, hopefully, in the winter, we can take a good free, 4 months off and travel Europe. So that's the plan.  

So, yeah, we had a phone call 3 weeks ago well, nearly 4 weeks ago to basically offer the job. We had 2 hours to make the decision,   and so we basically made the decision in 2 hours and just   said life's too short. Absolutely.  

[00:43:57] Unknown:

I'm jealous because I'd love to be like that.  

[00:44:00] Unknown:

We and, literally, we had 3 weeks. We set well, my partner had to leave within the week, so he had to help me do all the big stuff in the house.   And he well, he had to pack everything, and he left within a week. And then I had 2 weeks left   with the children and to close down the house. We decorated house, obviously, hand we only rented, so we handed over the house.   And, yeah, I had 2 weeks to do to do that   and then go and find him  

[00:44:25] Unknown:

and join him. Wow. So, like, where are you staying now? You're in your van now, are you?  

[00:44:31] Unknown:

So we're in the van.   So we're moving around sort of,   Wales at the moment,   just working at different locations,   just moving from location to location, earning money.   And   I I do sort of online work with,   essential oil educator as well. So trying to,   educate people about living a toxic free life.   So I kind of do that online as well as look after the children.   And then, hopefully, by sort of October, November time, we would have saved enough money to what we would have spent on, rent and bills.  

[00:45:09] Unknown:

And then hopefully go and travel, you know, somewhere a bit more sunnier over winter periods. Yeah. So, I mean, what is it like living in a I just can't imagine it. I saw you packing up your house in that video.   For 1, like, you know, you you have that wall there with the memories of,   where you've marked your children growing.   You know, like lots of us do. We look pen marks, you   you know, kitty's name and the date and stuff, and I did that with my elder 2. And when I when my marriage broke down and I had to leave that house, that was the saddest memory leaving and that wall with them,   you know, their markings of them growing up. It was only a wall, but that really touched me when I saw that part in the video.  



[00:45:53] Unknown:

Oh. But, yeah, I mean,   it was it was hard, but so what we had I did, I got a a long bit of sort of square wood, and I marked it onto the wood with the children together. Right. So then we can take the wood with us so we can continue doing it. Oh, brilliant.   And then spent 2 hours then taking all the stickers and the marks off the wall that we don't obviously own a house. Yeah. Yeah. But, yeah, it was, and it was a big thing for the children as well. So,   we did it together, and we've got it with us so we can take it on our travels and continue doing Great stuff. But you have to be really minimal now.   I'm just Well, yeah. So, basically, we got rid of we got rid of a lot of stuff. I mean, we we like to be minimal, and I think when you have more space, you kind of tend to   collect more, and we we have wanted to, basically it's so it was so liberating getting rid of so much stuff.  

So   it was amazing. But we've had to also put quite a bit into storage because we didn't have time to   to get rid of it all. So we have a shared storage that we can basically,   eventually go back to and get rid of the stuff that we don't need any longer. But then there's, you know, a few things that we wanted to obviously keep  

[00:47:02] Unknown:

that we'll all all, you know, always have. Yeah. You got all the sentimental stuff. And I think that, you know, if there's a house fire, it's like, what would I grab first? And I think, photo album.  

[00:47:12] Unknown:

There's a few boxes that I have. There's 2 boxes that have all our memories in.  

[00:47:17] Unknown:

That's that's definitely in storage. We won't be getting rid of them. And was it the white van that was in your Rio? Is that the van that you're living in? Yeah.   Wow. God. That's not very that's not very big, Diana.  

[00:47:29] Unknown:

It's not, but it's my my partner managed to build a double bed, 2 bunk beds.   It's got a a work in shower, bathroom, toilet, kitchen, cooker, oven,   a sink area, and a living space in there. Gosh. It's like a Tardis then, really.   Literally. But we   you know, we're very outdoorsy,  

[00:47:47] Unknown:

and we're we're a really, really close family. So, like You'd have to be, wouldn't you? And I mean, I get that because I'm do you still cosleep with your children?  

[00:47:54] Unknown:

I do. So this is the the the test. I I I do cosleep with   them. My my daughter, she is, she's 8. So she   she is happy to sleep on her own as long as she's close, as long as I give her cuddles before she goes to bed. She she's okay. But my little boy, he's always coselept with me.   So I haven't managed to get him into his own bed yet. It's gonna be sort of a soft transitional  

[00:48:18] Unknown:

thing with him. Yeah. No. You know, at the end of the day, when people talk about cosleeping,   I I wish I did it with my last 1 because on the odd night that he fell asleep next to me, he slept all night.  

[00:48:29] Unknown:

Yeah.   They and they do. They've I've never had any issues whatsoever. When people say, oh, yeah. My baby or my child doesn't sleep, and I'm like, well, mine do. Yeah.  

[00:48:38] Unknown:

Just put them in the bed with you. Yeah. Exactly. I wouldn't have any other way. But there's just so much fear, isn't there? But you might roll over and you might kill them?  

[00:48:47] Unknown:

Well, there is. But, also, I think with a mother, they just have a 6th sense. I think they do as well. Yeah. Oh, I've been there's been times where,   I I've woken up,   like, not hearing or seeing something, but I I yeah. You just you have a 6th sense. 100% have a 6th sense, and it it can never happen. It won't happen. No.   No. No. Yeah. I I think probably,   truly,   a mother never actually fully sleeps from the moment she begins to bath, anyway.  

[00:49:21] Unknown:

It must be weird, though, because I'm like, oh, I just can't imagine. I like my own company,   and,   like, I'm looking at my lounge now, and it's probably the space of your van.   And I thought I've got this whole room to myself.   I've never 3 people in it. Oh,   and, you know, children, but you're younger than me. You'll start and, you know, your family are young and stuff like that. But,   no. It's pretty commendable because No.  

[00:49:47] Unknown:

Absolutely. But the the the rule is, like so is if   we wanna go for a walk on our own, not to be offended. It's just you need some headspace.   So we are very good at giving each other the space that we need. Like, my partner does a lot of working out.   I like to go for walks. So we kind of do share,   you know, the childcare where they can just he can go off and do his workout. I like to cook. So if I'm cooking, you know, he'll take the kids to the park and and stuff like that. So it's making sure that we kind of look after each other as well.  

[00:50:18] Unknown:

Yeah. I can just imagine you cooking away in there. And I've recently got into cooking the last few days. I'm going down this process of, I want to eat new processed   food and just, like, be healthy.   Yeah. Yeah. I'm doing lots of research and stuff, and it's all cooking from scratch, isn't it? And, Yeah.  

[00:50:34] Unknown:

Yeah. Definitely. I mean, I do all my cooking from scratch. I've always been a massive cooker. I've I started doing sourdough bread. Oh, that's what I want to do. Is it easy?  

[00:50:44] Unknown:

I put a big post on Facebook yesterday. Can anybody tell me how to make bread? Oh, so I my partner bought a,  

[00:50:50] Unknown:

a bakery   sourdough bakery course for me in at Christmas, and I attended it in in March.   Oh, nice. It was amazing. He'll he'll   they're gonna if they listen ever listen to it, Hale Bakery or Hale Bakery? Yeah. H e Hale. Y Aleos. Hale Bakery.   Yeah. They do courses.   Oh. Best thing I ever did.  

[00:51:09] Unknown:

Oh, right. Okay. That's interesting.   Oh my gosh. I feel like I'm getting old now, but, no, I just feel quite content at the moment just, like, spiritually,   how spicy, and I just wanna make a home. And you're making a little home in a little van, and it's just lovely.  

[00:51:24] Unknown:

Well, home is where your family are at, aren't they? Exactly.  

[00:51:27] Unknown:

And how Yeah. We're massive with, food and healthy food. So Yeah. Yeah. Well, we'd like to be. I think both myself and my partner would like to lose a bit of weight, which is harder when you get older, but I wouldn't say that we eat particularly bad. You know? And we were just having a conversation last night, and I was just saying that, you know, when we talk about what people spend their money on and is it necessary? And I just said for some things now,   I cannot go back   to, like, you know, an egg at Aldi's,   that's yellow,   and an egg from the butcher's that's bright orange.  

There's just no going back.  

[00:52:01] Unknown:

No. I don't. We don't shop at we don't shop at supermarkets.   We don't have takeaways. We gave up alcohol 2 years ago.   We've never we haven't had a TV for about 4 years.   Yeah. We've made massive changes,  

[00:52:15] Unknown:

and and I actually thank COVID for that. Well, there you are. Exactly. Yeah. COVID's got a lot to answer. No. It does sound like a dream. You should write a book.   A lot if you can fit it there a lot. Yeah. If you can fit it in around your busy schedule. I know.   So I I I've got so much I wanna do, but I literally, it's, yeah. Was it like when life is like that, I think you know it must be good because I get days like that when I wake up and I'm so excited, and I think, oh, just get up, Shelly. Get up. You're not gonna go back to sleep because you're excited about the day. So get up. Yeah. You know? Oh, absolutely. I live my every day, I wake up like that. I,  

[00:52:49] Unknown:

I never want to not get out of bed or live my day or,  

[00:52:54] Unknown:

demo I'm just, yeah, I'm always excited for the next adventure. Brilliant stuff. And what about, like, the homeschooling? So you've got an 8 year old.   Yeah. How how's that working out for you?  

[00:53:04] Unknown:

So sort of for the 1st few years of homeschooling,   we're kind of unschooled,   let them play, let them get to know themselves.   Plymouth Homeschooling,   community is massive, so we've been so lucky that we've had such an amazing experience down there.   But already, I've, you know, I've already reached out to,   Home Edders in my area at the moment.   I met up with them.   And then,   obviously, before we left Plymouth, we you know, my daughter, we did have a tutor for, like, maths,   or, like,   coding for computers   and,   there yeah. There's quite a few sort of classes that she went to, but a lot a lot of meet ups in that as well, like drama classes.   So, I'm sort of taking on the role of a lot of stuff.  

I I kind of follow the lead to what they're really interested in and kind of help them be the best that they can be or want to be in that particular area, but also, obviously, meeting the other needs as well of,   you know, maths, reading, and writing, and, you know, we do a little bit of computer   work and stuff like that.   So, yeah, we we love it. It fits our lifestyle. If they absolutely love it. They they don't sit still for 2 minutes.   They will run rings around everyone.  

[00:54:23] Unknown:

They, are so active and so confident. So it it really they they, yeah, they love their little life. Oh, and, I mean, what a life for them as well. You and I think there is something. You know,   children, you recognize it when they're home educated and stuff because they have got that array. People say, oh, they don't socialize properly and stuff like that. And   but my god. Can they socialize and can they talk? Because they're around grown ups as well. They're if anything, I've always found them to be a lot more, you know, intelligent or articulate, so to speak. Oh, definitely. But I I, when people say that, you know, what about social? I kind of I I can't even get into that conversation anymore because they've got a better social life than me.  

[00:55:00] Unknown:

So, yeah, they they will have a conversation with any   adult. Yeah.   And,   yeah, and they will hold that conversation for some time.  

[00:55:11] Unknown:

Wonderful.   Yeah. And, I mean, after COVID, I was gonna homeschool again. I've gone through this, like, back and forth, and then I do it. And I think, oh, I can't do it. But after COVID, I thought, no. I'm gonna keep him home. But, unfortunately,   I didn't   I didn't know enough people. We did because he's more or less an only child because his siblings are a lot older. He needed that social side   of it. So I did you know, looking back now, I think I probably could have found more, but I've decided he'll he'll do his last year in primary school, but then we're gonna do Steiner education or homeschool. I'm definitely not worried about the mainstream.   But the first day I dropped him back after he'd been home, he just ran up and down that classroom, and it was such a wonderful sight to see because he was just he was with little people his own age, and I I do think that's important.  



[00:55:55] Unknown:

But   Oh,  

[00:55:57] Unknown:

yeah. Yeah.   So you're in Wales at the moment, and what so you're heading for Europe in,   autumn time?  

[00:56:05] Unknown:

Yeah. Hopefully. Sort of, autumn slash winter,   time. I we hope to.   So, yeah, we're just sort of traveling around Wales, and then I mean,   again, like, we don't I hate planning ahead, like,   even, like, with home educating, like, back in Plymouth, before we even knew what was going on or what we were doing, I I mean, I felt like a big change was coming. I just spiritually, I knew   I felt like I needed a change, and I felt like it was coming. I just but I I can never put my finger on it. But, like, with home educating, like, you know, all the other groups were, like, planning 2, 3, 4 months ahead. And I said, I'm not I can't book or plan the thing because I I I can't do it because I don't know what's No. No. Happening. And also,   I'd, you know, I like to make the   correct decisions.  

So, yeah,   we haven't got anything set out in in stone, but, that is the the rough plan at the moment. It's kind of  

[00:56:57] Unknown:

head Yeah. But you've got a name, and you've got you've got a goal, so to speak. Somewhere warm. Someone warm definitely. Definitely somewhere warm. I'm sick of this gray.   Off the beaten track. Right. Okay. So, I mean, like, do you just find somewhere to park up for the night, or you, like, rent a porch or something? Just park anywhere.  

[00:57:14] Unknown:

We can we're completely off grid, so we can, you know, as long as we got water in the tank, we've got,   we've always got electric.   And, yeah, as long as it's level and it's safe,   we we can park up anywhere.  

[00:57:28] Unknown:

Amazing. Amazing. Right. Well, we are coming to the end. That's flown by. I knew it was. I love these conversations. So many wonderful women out there that have got stories to tell and,   yeah. No. Thank you so much for being a guest, Diana.   Oh, you're welcome. We'll have do it again in a few months' time, and you can give us an update of how it's all going.  

[00:57:45] Unknown:

Definitely. Definitely. I really like to. I mean, I know you asked you asked me a few years ago with the whole COVID thing, but I I I was up in messages, emails I bet you was. All the way to Chelsea, and I didn't know if I I didn't know where I was coming or going. I thought you did come on. Maybe you didn't. I know we were in contact. But, We were in contact, and then I think I just kind of  

[00:58:05] Unknown:

I don't know. I can't remember what happened. It's I was sure he was a guest 1 week, but maybe he wasn't. I don't know. We're talking a few years   ago.   Yeah. Never you know, I myself, like you, things going on, we never had so many messages of people. You know? Can you advise this? Can you do this? Blah blah blah. But, no, good times. Anyway, I know you're gonna have amazing times to come. Do you wanna give your business a quick plug before   we put the outro music on?  

[00:58:29] Unknown:

Well, it's literally my my I   I so my with the essential oils, I just do it on my,   Instagram and my Facebook, which is Inked and Oiled,   and under under my name, Deanna Yates. So you could follow me, and then if you ever were interested, you can reach out, and then I can give you as much information as I can  

[00:58:48] Unknown:

and point you in the right direction. Well, I will add your details to the show notes, my lovely. And I wish you all the luck in the world, and, I look forward to seeing all of your little bits that pop up on Facebook.  

[00:58:57] Unknown:

Yeah. Definitely. Thank you so much, Ellie. Thank you, Diana. Take care. And you. Bye bye.  

[00:59:03] Unknown:

Wow. That's it for another week. That went really quick, isn't it? Wow. So I'll be back the same time   next week with, hopefully, 2 more amazing guests. Have a great week, guys.