How To Be 60 with Kaye Adams

On this week’s Midweek Catchup, we talk pink cheeks, overdue roots, and the strange intimacy of finishing radiotherapy - plus the unexpected emotional fallout that comes after the “big milestones” are ticked off.

There’s honest chat about bodies that don’t quite feel like yours anymore, the relief (and anti-climax) of treatments ending, and why booking holidays can feel like both triumph and admin hell at the same time.

We also wander - as ever - into the comforts that keep us sane in the in-between bits: knitting socks, jigsaws, mushrooms, late-night hoovering, NHS sleep apps, eating an entire sleeve of Jaffa Cakes in a car park, and the quiet joy of deciding you absolutely deserve it.

Whether you’re navigating recovery, wrestling with sleep, rethinking food rules, or just wondering when dinner got so late (and why that now feels impossible), it’s never just about hair, or habits, or snacks. It’s about agency, comfort, and finding small pleasures when life has been anything but small.
Because no one tells you that after the hard part ends, there’s still a lot to process - and sometimes companionship is simply hearing someone else say, “Yes, that’s exactly it.”

Get in touch with your thoughts at [email protected]
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

On this week’s episode, we’re joined by Lucy Kellaway OBE, 64 — former Financial Times columnist who did something genuinely radical on the edge of 60: she left her job, her marriage, and her Highbury home to retrain as a secondary school teacher in an inner London school.
Lucy talks candidly (and with real humour) about what pushed her to jump. By 2013, her marriage was deteriorating, her father’s health was failing, and decades at the FT had tipped into burnout and career malaise. Teaching wasn’t a neat reinvention. It meant starting again at the bottom, navigating teenagers, parents, younger colleagues, and an education system that doesn’t bend easily - all while rebuilding identity and confidence in midlife. Later, she relocated again to teach in the north east.

That experience didn’t stop with her. Lucy went on to found Now Teach, the UK’s only dedicated career-change charity for teaching. Now Teach has helped over 1,300 people retrain - and crucially remain - as secondary school teachers. Their free service offers 1-to-1 guidance, wellbeing, subject and career coaching, plus access to a peer network to share problems and find practical solutions. To learn more or apply: [email protected]

With January still deep in “fresh start” territory, this episode is for anyone quietly asking a dangerous question: is it too late — or am I finally ready?
Get in touch with your thoughts at [email protected]
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

On this week’s Midweek Catchup, we’re talking about those very specific midlife moments no one warns you about. When your roots feel louder than your opinions, your nose develops a mind of its own, and holding your breath becomes a daily medical requirement.

From zoning out on Zoom calls and freezing houses that should probably be illegal, to radiotherapy reality checks, relentless itching, eyebrow mishaps at the beauty counter, Pilates-induced body scrutiny, and the deeply controversial topic of marmalade hygiene. It’s never just about the grey hair or the sniffles. It’s about what happens to your patience, your body, and your sense of humour when life keeps shifting the goalposts.

Whether you’re navigating treatment side effects, questioning why sleep is suddenly so elusive, or just wondering how you ended up needing tissues in every coat pocket, this one’s for you. Because no one tells you that ageing can be simultaneously absurd, exhausting, and weirdly funny, often all before breakfast.
Get in touch with your thoughts at [email protected]
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

On this week’s episode, we’re joined by Jackie Kay - poet, novelist, former Scots Makar and one of the sharpest, warmest thinkers on identity, belonging and getting older without shrinking. We talk about turning 60 as a clarifying moment, why writing is a lifelong form of processing, living on the margins by choice, love without cohabitation, grief, friendship, and what really matters as you age.
Whether you’re rethinking who you are, how you live, or how much of yourself you’re willing to give away, this is a conversation about staying whole, because it’s never just about getting older, it’s about getting clearer.

See Jackie Kay live in conversation with Russell T Davies at Pitlochry Festival Theatre on 16 January
Get in touch with your thoughts at [email protected].
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

On this week’s Midweek Catchup, we’re easing into 2026 the only way we know how: chatting through the small domestic dramas that somehow say everything about where we’re at. From the brutal satisfaction of taking the Christmas decorations down early (and judging everyone else who hasn’t), to the chaos of tangled fairy lights, surprise clothing labels, itchy arms, ageing bodies, drum kits, camper vans and gift-giving politics.

It’s never just about the tree - it’s about control, fatigue, humour, and learning to laugh at yourself when life refuses to be tidy. Whether you’re quietly relieved Christmas is over, negotiating changing bodies, or wondering why the men in your life are suddenly buying musical equipment, this one will feel very familiar.
A warm, rambling, honest start to the year - proof that companionship sometimes looks like two friends talking absolute nonsense and accidentally telling the truth.

Get in touch with your thoughts at [email protected]
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.