How To Be Hopeful Episode 25 "Comedy, cows and cancer"

This week I had the pleasure of speaking with cheeky faced comedian Stevie Gray, AKA "Oldham Guitar Pirate", about his recent gigs in a field in Derbyshire where "the cows were heckling us", how comedy is vital for our positive mental heath, and how lessons learned from a bad gig can help you develop resilience and strength. Stevie tells a story about a gig in Bolton Golf Club which didn't go as well as usual. The organisers told him afterwards "you were by far the worst comedian we've booked in 30 years" and yet he picked himself up (a similar thing, after all, happened to Eddie Izzard among any others, so Stevie knew he was in good company!) He remembered that other people were still booking him, and loving his act, so he got back on stage with hope in his heart and carried on. This amazing strength and humility must have helped him recently when he had a terrifying cancer scare, and in the midst of waiting to hear his test results, whilst still at the hospital, not knowing whether he was about to find out he had a terminal illness, he  made an incredible decision: he immediately set up a Just Giving page pledging to donate all his comedy earnings until 2021 to Cancer Research UK. Stevie hoped to raise £500 "but before I'd even got home from the hospital I'd raised £600!..I was humbled at our generous people are... how kind people are" 

I'm delighted to say that Stevie has received the all clear in the last couple of days but continues to raise funds for Cancer Research UK

If you'd like to donate please visit here: 

If you'd like to see one of Stevie's fab songs please go here:  

My book "How To Be Hopeful" is OUT now! Packed full of hopeful stories, ideas, case studies and things to try, I'm happy to say it is getting lovely reviews already! You can buy it here  

here

or in your local independent bookshop

'The perfect book for troubling times. The ideas and exercises in How To Be Hopeful will soothe your soul.' Katherine May, author of Wintering: The Power of Rest and Retreat in Difficult Times

 

More soon! 

Love Bernadette xx