Spare a Thought

Life in Gaza - Dalia's Story

The world’s media has very little access to Gaza. Reports from aid agencies and local news sources suggest 2 million people are at risk of famine. Amidst the horror, the people of Gaza endure. In this special edition of Spare a Thought, Tom shares Dalia’s story. 
Dalia is a Business Administration student who lives in Gaza. Life under the Israeli blockade is dire. Despite this she volunteers, supporting her community, working with organisations, advocating for human rights, for children, young people and women.
She has a dream. She wants her voice to become part of the change she wants to see in her country because: “I truly believe that real change doesn't start from the top. It starts with one person, with one heart, and with one small idea…that travels further than we ever imagined.”
You can listen to Tom’s interview with the International Rescue Committee on getting aid to Gaza from the Political Dispatch podcast here: https://thepoliticaldispatch.podbean.com/  
If you are able to, there are a number of charities supporting aid to Gaza:
Choose Love: https://chooselove.org/ 
Doctors without Borders: https://www.msf.org/ 
The International Rescue Committee: https://www.rescue.org/uk 
To hear more about Spare a Thought follow us on our new Instagram account. 
Listen back to previous episodes of the show here: https://spareathought.podbean.com/ 
Spare a Thought is a Be the change. Media Network production.

Saving the NHS

Tom talks to Dr Julia Patterson, the Chief Executive of EveryDoctor. EveryDoctor is a campaigning organisation fighting for patients, staff and the future of the NHS. 
This episode focuses on Julia’s journey from NHS doctor to campaigner and the personal costs of campaigning, what Wes Streeting’s reforms mean for NHS England, Julia’s book Critical and much more.
You can find out about the work of EveryDoctor by heading to their website: https://everydoctor.org.uk/. You can also follow Julia on Tiktok and Bluesky. 
To hear more about Spare a Thought follow us on our new Instagram account. You can also subscribe to Tom’s free Substack newsletter.
Listen back to previous episodes of the show here: https://spareathought.podbean.com/ 
Spare a Thought is a Be the change. Media Network production.

Supporting Migrant Communities

Tom talks to Kim Mamhende, the Chief of Staff at The CAE, a Swansea-based charity that supports migrant, immigrant, refugee and asylum seeking communities in Wales. 
Together Tom and Kim’s conversation centres on the work of the CAE, how work helps migrants and immigrants integrate into society, why the UK wouldn’t run without migrants and what role entrepreneurialism plays in bringing communities together.
You can find out about the work of The CAE on their website: https://www.caentr.org follow them on Instagram, Facebook, X and LinkedIn. 
Follow Spare a Thought’s new Instagram account and you can subscribe to Tom’s free Substack newsletter.
Listen back to previous episodes of the show here: https://spareathought.podbean.com/ 
Spare a Thought is a Be the change. Media Network production.

Wales and the Media

Tom talks to Will Hayward, a Wales based freelance journalist, columnist and podcaster. Together they talk about how Will got into journalism, his books about Wales, the Welsh media environment and who is most likely to become next First Minister after the 2026 Senedd Elections. 
You can subscribe to Will’s Substack here: https://willhaywardwales.substack.com/ and listen to his podcast For Wales, See Wales here: https://forwalesseewales.buzzsprout.com/
Spare a Thought is a Be the change. Media Network production.
You subscribe to Tom’s Substack here: https://tomspare.substack.com/ 

Personal Independence Payment (PIP)

In this episode of Spare a Thought, Tom speaks with Luke Young, Head of Policy at Citizens Advice. Luke has previously worked for organisations including NUS Wales, Stonewall, the Senedd, and the Labour Party.
Tom and Luke discuss the people who shaped Luke’s worldview, the work of Citizens Advice, the unique challenges facing Wales, recent UK Government changes to Personal Independence Payment (PIP), and three policy changes Luke would introduce to improve the lives of millennials and young people in the UK.
If you have been impacted by anything discussed in this episode, you can find support and information at the Citizens Advice website: https://www.citizensadvice.org.uk/
For the latest updates, follow Tom on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ and subscribe to his newsletter on Substack: https://tomspare.substack.com/

Season 1 Highlights

This month Spare a Thought celebrated 1,000 downloads. As a way to celebrate, Tom has put together a retrospective of Season 1, to look back at the conversations he had with the first cohort of guests. 
You can find the links to the individual episodes from Season 1 below:
Spare a Thought for the Iris Prize
Spare a Thought for Refugees
Spare a Thought for International Students Part 1
Spare a Thought for International Students Part 2
Spare a Thought for International Students Part 3
Spare a Thought for Dima Hamden
Spare a Thought for the RNLI
Spare a Thought for Creativity
You can find all previous Spare a Thought episodes here: https://spareathought.podbean.com/
You can also subscribe to Tom’s Substack: https://tomspare.substack.com/
And follow him on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sparetom/ 

Compassionate Leadership and Purpose-Driven Business

In this episode of Spare a Thought, Tom speaks with Paul Hargreaves, CEO of Cotswold Fayre, a UK-based wholesaler committed to ethical and sustainable business. Paul is also the author of two influential books, Forces for Good, which explores how businesses can help create a better world, and The Fourth Bottom Line, a guide to flourishing in a new era of compassionate leadership.
Together, they discuss how Paul came to found Cotswold Fayre, why businesses can and should be forces for good, and how compassionate leadership can strengthen both company culture and financial performance. The conversation also explores Britain’s broken relationship with food, and how individuals and organisations alike can lead more purposeful, fulfilling lives.
You can find out more about Paul, his businesses, work and books at https://www.paulhargreaves.co.uk/ 
You can follow Tom on instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ 

Cuts at Cardiff University

At the end of January, Cardiff University announced plans to cut academic staff in a bid to plug a £30 million shortfall in its finances. A formal consultation with staff, titled Securing our Academic Future, is underway and will conclude in May.
Universities across the UK are facing financial pressures thanks to student visa restrictions causing a dip in international student numbers, growing competition to attract top UK students and home student fees not rising with inflation. However Cardiff has been criticised for the severity of its proposed cuts, and for the way they have been communicated.
Many departments and academic schools at Cardiff will be affected. Under current proposals, the School of Modern Languages faces near-total closure.
In this episode, Tom speaks to people directly affected by the changes including current and former students, the branch president of Cardiff UCU, and the president of NUS Wales to understand the human cost behind the cost. He also interviews Professor Dylan Jones-Evans, an academic and entrepreneur, who explains why Cardiff, and many other UK universities, are making such difficult decisions.
Links, reading and petitions 
Cardiff University’s Securing Our Academic Future statement: https://www.cardiff.ac.uk/news/view/2894086-securing-our-academic-future
The University’s Update on Cardiff University in Kazakhstan: https://www.cardiff.ac.uk/news/view/2903220-update-on-cardiff-university-kazakhstan
You can sign the Save Modern Languages at Cardiff University here: https://www.change.org/p/save-mlang-at-cardiff-university
And view the SaveCardiffLanguages website:https://www.savecardifflanguages.org/ 
You can sign the petition to Save Cardiff University’s School of Music: https://www.change.org/p/save-cardiff-university-school-of-music 
You can sign the petition to Save Cardiff University’s School of Nursing:https://www.change.org/p/save-cardiff-university-school-of-nursing 
Find out more about Professor Dylan Jones-Evans’s work on his website: https://www.linkedin.com/in/professor-dylan-jones-evans-obe-3755a711/?originalSubdomain=uk 
Keep up to date with Cardiff’s UCU branch: https://www.cardiffucu.org.uk/
Learn more about NUS Cymru: https://www.nus-wales.org.uk/ 
Professor Leighton Andrews, an academic at Cardiff’s Business School and former Welsh Government Education Minister’s Substack posts on:
An alternative to Cardiff University's plans: https://ukania.substack.com/p/an-alternative-to-cardiff-universitys
And We Need a Wales-wide review of Higher Education: https://ukania.substack.com/p/we-need-a-wales-wide-review-of-higher

Supporting Those Living With Long Covid

Content warning: This episode features personal experiences of living with long Covid. While some listeners may find aspects of this discussion difficult and triggering, we believe these stories are important to share. Listener discretion is advised.
In this episode, Tom is joined by breathing coaches Vikki Jones and Jackie Baxter to explore what it means to live with Long Covid, how breathwork can support recovery, and the broader support needed for the Long Covid community.
Vikki was a personal trainer living in Arizona when the pandemic hit. She moved her teaching outdoors to keep clients active - but in the summer of 2020, she contracted Covid and has been living with Long Covid ever since. Her life was turned up-side down, but she has found a new path in becoming a breathing coach. 
Jackie caught Covid just a week before the UK went into lockdown. A music instructor with an active lifestyle, she initially recovered but later developed Long Covid. It took her three years to fully recover.
After Vikki appeared as a guest on Jackie’s podcast, the two decided to collaborate. Though they've never met in person, they co-founded Breathing for Long Covid & ME/CFS - a coaching service that uses breathwork to support the physical and mental health of others living with Long Covid and ME/CFS, grounded in their own lived experience.
You can follow Vikki and Jackie on Breathing for Long Covid & ME/CFS: https://www.instagram.com/longcovid_breathing/
Their classes are starting May, which you join here: https://payhip.com/b/zhNV4
You can also join the Breathing for Long Covid & ME/CFS Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/271297139041871/
They have a YouTube channel: http://www.youtube.com/@longcovidbreathing
And a free 30 min workshop: https://youtu.be/KKDlECcMb9c
You follow Tom: https://www.instagram.com/sparetom/
You can subscribe to Tom's substack: https://tomspare.substack.com/ 

Living with Long Covid

Content warning: This episode features personal experiences of living with long Covid. While some listeners may find aspects of this discussion difficult and triggering, we believe these stories are important to share. Listener discretion is advised.
Five years after the pandemic started, we live parallel lives. There are those who have returned to the ‘old normal’, they have retained their routines, their social lives, the jobs they had before Covid-19. And there are those who have been left behind, suffering from long Covid. 
In this episode Tom brings together the voices and stories of 12 ‘long haulers’ impacted by long Covid.
You can follow Vikki and Jackie on Breathing for Long Covid & ME/CFS: https://www.instagram.com/longcovid_breathing/ visting their website: www.LongCovidBreathing.com In May they have classes starting: https://payhip.com/b/zhNV4You can also join the Breathing for Long Covid & ME/CFS Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/271297139041871/ And visit their YouTube channel: http://www.youtube.com/@longcovidbreathingThe free 30 min workshop they gave in Feb: https://youtu.be/KKDlECcMb9c 
Long Covid Support: https://www.longcovid.org/
You can follow Amy Butterworth here.
You can subscribe to Tom's substack: https://tomspare.substack.com/
Also, feel free to follow Tom via Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sparetom/