Wild Card - Whose Shoes?

72. Maff Potts - Camerados and Public Living Rooms - A Christmas Cracker!

🎄🎧 A bit of a Christmas cracker (with maverick music included) A conversation full of humanity.In this Wild Card – Whose Shoes episode, Gill Phillips chats with Maff Potts, founder of the Camarados movement and creator of Public Living Rooms - simple, welcoming spaces where people can put their feet up, enjoy no-agenda company, and look out for each other.No labels. No tick boxes. No “fixing”. Just people. Maff brings stories (and piano!) from his journey: from working in homelessness, to advising government, and very intentionally returning to grassroots connection, where real change happens. Together we explore why kindness, laughter, and belonging aren’t “nice extras” - they’re essential.🍋💡🍋 Lemon lightbulbs🍋 “Where would you put the KPI for this?” The case for humanity, music and improvisation over metrics.🍋 Public Living Rooms = connection + purpose (without needing a “service” or a diagnosis).🍋 Permission to be a bit rubbish - and why failure/iteration can be a superpower (England vs Silicon Valley!).🍋 A powerful example of language changing everything: when “Put your feet up” became “It’s time to talk #MentalHealthAwarenessWeek”… footfall dropped from 1000 people to 40.🍋 The “how” matters: how we welcome, speak, listen, and create environments that help people feel human.If you’ve ever felt weary of spreadsheets, assessments, and VIP top tables … this episode is for you. #NoHierarchyJustPeople🫖 Want to start a Public Living Room? Find out more at camarados.org (and you might just receive a beautiful permission-giving box to get you going). #JFDI Happy Christmas everyone! Links:Home - Camerados“It takes a village” We LOVE it when you leave a review!If you enjoy my podcast and find these conversations usefulplease share your thoughts by leaving a review (Spotify or Apple are easiest to leave a review - navigate via 3 dots) and comment on your favourite episodes.I tweet as @WhoseShoes and @WildCardWS and am on Instagram as @WildCardWS.Please recommend 'Wild Card - Whose Shoes' to others who enjoy hearing passionate people talk about their experiences of improving health care.

71. Amelia Wilkinson - living (and parenting) with Type 1 diabetes

Amelia Wilkinson: Living (and parenting) with Type 1 diabetes - beyond the dataPublished on 14 November (World Diabetes Day), this conversation lifts the lid on what most of us miss about Type 1 diabetes - the mental load, the masking, and the trauma that doesn’t show up on a glucose graph.Podcast host Gill Phillips talks with Amelia Wilkinson, diagnosed at 10 and now a mum, about growing up through school exclusions and assumptions. Topics include why behaviour is communication, navigating a high-risk pregnancy, and the power - and limits - of technology. Amelia calls for two big shifts: train the adults around children with Type 1 (teachers, carers, clinicians) to spot the emotional tollAND separate Type 1 and Type 2 awareness, so misconceptions stop harming care.🍋💡🍋 Lemon lightbulbs🍋 Type 1 ≠ Type 2: why the confusion hurts🍋 Grief for a ‘former self’ and the hidden mental health toll🍋 School stories: control, freedom-seeking, and being labelled ‘naughty’🍋 Pregnancy with Type 1: what it really took for Amelia to have her daughter🍋 Masking, peer support, and life beyond the data🍋 Don’t make assumptions – ask how the person is doing, including mental health🍋 Train the grown-ups!🍋 Separate the awareness days!If you work with children and families- or love someone with Type 1 - this one’s for you.LinksType 1 Diabetes: The Comic Book Stories (courtesy of FAB Fab NHS Stuff)World Diabetes DayOverview of Whose ShoesWild Card - Whose Shoes podcast with Aurora Thompson💛 #WorldDiabetesDay #Type1Diabetes #NoHierarchyJustPeople #WhoseShoes #WildCardWe LOVE it when you leave a review!If you enjoy my podcast and find these conversations usefulplease share your thoughts by leaving a review (Spotify or Apple are easiest to leave a review - navigate via 3 dots) and comment on your favourite episodes.I tweet as @WhoseShoes and @WildCardWS and am on Instagram as @WildCardWS.Please recommend 'Wild Card - Whose Shoes' to others who enjoy hearing passionate people talk about their experiences of improving health care.

70. Aurora Thompson - the power of hope

In this powerful episode of Wild Card  -Whose Shoes?, Gill Phillips talks with Aurora Thompson - a remarkable young woman whose story of trauma, survival, and resilience will stop you in your tracks.Aurora shares her lived experience of abuse,, bullying, mental health crises, and being sectioned as a teenager. She talks about her diagnosis with autism and what difference it has made.But at the heart of her journey is a message of hope: a force she breaks down into four vital elements — connection, love, opportunity, and purpose.🍋 All behaviour is communication - don’t judge, listen.🍋 How is it okay to restrain but not hug?🍋 The cost (emotional and financial) of crisis care versus the value of early intervention🍋 The role of “golden people” — those rare professionals who bring honesty, humour, and humanity🍋 From despair to purpose: how a photo of a therapy dog sparked hope, and how participation work with Barnardo’s became a lifeline🍋 “Aim for the stars and you might just land near the moon” - Aurora’s call to dream big.We also explore diagnostic overshadowing, the importance of holistic care, and why systems must stop lazily labelling children as “complex” and start seeing them as whole people.Aurora is now studying philosophy, working with young people, and speaking out with passion and clarity to help change the system for those who come after her. Her voice is brave, authentic, and unforgettable.🎧 Listen in for a story that is painful, inspiring, and ultimately hopeful - and perhaps take away your own lemon lightbulb or two. 🍋💡🍋We LOVE it when you leave a review!If you enjoy my podcast and find these conversations usefulplease share your thoughts by leaving a review (Spotify or Apple are easiest to leave a review - navigate via 3 dots) and comment on your favourite episodes.I tweet as @WhoseShoes and @WildCardWS and am on Instagram as @WildCardWS.Please recommend 'Wild Card - Whose Shoes' to others who enjoy hearing passionate people talk about their experiences of improving health care.

69. Curiosity, Connection and Creativity in the NHS: An Intentional Coffee with Dr Ben Allen

🎙️ Wild Card – Whose Shoes? with Gill Phillips Episode: An #IntentionalCoffee with Dr Ben AllenIn this episode, Gill Phillips speaks for the very first time with Dr Ben Allen - transformative GP, former ICB leader, and curious explorer of how the NHS can work better for staff, patients, and communities.Ben and Gill have connected through LinkedIn where Ben describes himself as: "GP, NHS leader, convener and innovator. Releasing potential, creating joyful and effective teams. Supporting large scale improvement."On the podcast, Ben shares his bold decision to step away from a formal leadership role to pursue a two-year “personal learning experiment” - visiting teams, shadowing people across the NHS and beyond, and testing new ways of connecting, leading, and learning.✨ Ben and Gill dive into:Building trust and psychological safety in teams.Why creativity (perhaps a RAP or a ball of wool!) can shift culture.The power of connections and ripples in complex systems.How social media can be more than noise - a space for learning, challenge, and collaboration.The hope found in unlocking the untapped potential of human beings.It’s a rich, hopeful, and energising conversation about leadership, curiosity, and finding new ways to make change happen.🍋💡🍋 Lemon lightbulbs🍋 “Make everything work harder” – capture, share, and amplify learning so others can benefit.🍋 Psychological safety is built when we stretch people’s vulnerability just enough – trust grows through human connection.🍋 Creativity in healthcare (a poem, a musical, a ball of wool!) can feel radical because our systems are so rigid – yet these moments are what people remember.🍋 Impact in complex systems is messy and hard to measure – but ripples matter.🍋 Relationships are as vital as evidence; systems are only as strong as their connections.🍋 Social media isn’t just a hobby – it’s an underused engine for ideas, learning, and collaboration.🍋 Hope comes from recognising untapped potential in people and organisations – not just from more money or resources.🍋 Stepping out of your comfort zone to explore and learn can bring rich rewards.Useful linksFind out more about #CYPWhoseShoes: 'Whose News?' Edition 14 BRAND NEW - The #CYPWhoseShoes story so far, told with a ball of string! Ben's Youtube channel#MatExp the MusicalListen to the episodes around #UniversalHealthcare (Episodes 56-62) - explore further some of the issues and people mentioned in this conversation:56. Becky Malby – Universal Healthcarehttps://www.buzzsprout.com/1838805/15239449 57. Tom Holliday - Children get lesshttps://www.buzzsprout.com/1838805/15363315 58. George Winder – Don’t medicalise povertyhttps://www.buzzsprout.com/1838805/15461390We LOVE it when you leave a review!If you enjoy my podcast and find these conversations usefulplease share your thoughts by leaving a review (Spotify or Apple are easiest to leave a review - navigate via 3 dots) and comment on your favourite episodes.I tweet as @WhoseShoes and @WildCardWS and am on Instagram as @WildCardWS.Please recommend 'Wild Card - Whose Shoes' to others who enjoy hearing passionate people talk about their experiences of improving health care.

68. “Every Life Matters” – an extraordinary conversation with Benedicte Symcox

🎙 “You’re amazing!” But what if hearing that doesn’t feel amazing at all?In this powerful and deeply moving episode, Gill Phillips meets awesome Benedicte Symcox – parent carer, founder of Tugboat SEND Navigation, and passionate advocate for children and adults with complex needs.Benedicte’s story is breathtaking. From the moment they met at Yvonne Newbold’s wedding (!), Gill and Benedicte struck up an instant connection – and this podcast brings it to life. With wisdom, humour, brutal honesty, and astonishing lived experience, Benedicte takes us on a journey through parenting three very different children – each with their own profound challenges and triumphs.🎧 Expect to hear:The rollercoaster of navigating health, education, and social care systemsTeenage mental health, neurodiversity, and diagnostic overshadowingRaw conversations about suicide, resilience, and “extreme parenting”How Benedicte’s lived experience powers her work supporting other families through TugboatWhy kindness, curiosity and valuing every life are non-negotiables in a broken systemThis episode goes live in #CoProductionWeek - the week that  #MPFTWhoseShoes, the extraordinary Whose Shoes journey to better support children and families, is showcased in Staffordshire.With her signature wit and passion, Benedicte reminds us why real voices matter.This is one for the ninja parents, the professionals trying to do better, and anyone who wants to understand what truly matters.🍋💡🍋 Lemon lightbulbs🍋 Every life matters – regardless of age, ability, or achievements. 🍋 Stay curious, be kind 🍋 No one’s coming to save you – a tough truth from Yvonne Newbold that hits hard but empowers families to take action🍋 Value doesn't come from capability – our culture must stop measuring people’s worth by what they can do or produce🍋 You can't fix what you don't truly see – honest, raw stories like Benedicte’s open eyes and hearts🍋 Children with complex needs are not always ‘inspirational’—they’re human.They get stroppy, funny, scared, brilliant... just like any child🍋 Diagnostic overshadowing destroys lives – assuming one label explains everything leads to devastating gaps in support🍋 We need to talk about suicide – actually talk about it – no euphemisms, no sidestepping. Say the word. Save lives.🍋 Professionals are often also parent carers : dual perspective🍋 Honesty matters more than heroics – saying “this is hard” is more powerful than pretending to cope🍋 Sometimes kindness means saying uncomfortable things 🍋 Honest conversations are vital – especially around 'taboo' topics : sex, disability, parenting, mental health🍋 Parenting doesn’t come with guarantees – ‘success’ can mean just surviving another day🍋 Systems should support families, not punish them – blaming parents, gatekeeping support, and making people fight for help is not acceptable.🍋 Hope lives in connection – whether through a podcast, a wedding, or a kindness conversation, real change starts with human storiesLinksTugboat SEND Navigation – Steering you through SEND watersPlease visit the episodes with Cath Crock, Bob Klaber and Steven RussellWe LOVE it when you leave a review!If you enjoy my podcast and find these conversations usefulplease share your thoughts by leaving a review (Spotify or Apple are easiest to leave a review - navigate via 3 dots) and comment on your favourite episodes.I tweet as @WhoseShoes and @WildCardWS and am on Instagram as @WildCardWS.Please recommend 'Wild Card - Whose Shoes' to others who enjoy hearing passionate people talk about their experiences of improving health care.