Latest news with #ScummyMummies
Yahoo
28-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Comedic duo the Scummy Mummies set to return to Poole
Comedic duo the Scummy Mummies are set to return to Poole with their new show. Helen Thorn and Ellie Gibson will take to the stage at Lighthouse on Friday, July 11, at 7.45pm. The show, titled Hot Mess, explores topics such as the menopause, teenagers, and mansplaining with sketches, songs, and stand-up comedy. The pair, who joined forces in 2013, are known for their podcast, book and sell-out comedy shows. They recently achieved a Guinness World Record for the highest-ever stand-up comedy gig on land after performing at Mount Everest's base camp. READ MORE: Comedian Rich Hall to perform at New Forest venue later this year The Scummy Mummies also have a strong social media presence, with more than 172,000 followers on Instagram. Their podcast has more than 300 episodes and has been downloaded more than seven million times in 150 countries. The show has featured comedians such as Dara Ó Briain and Jenny Eclair and influencers like Giovanna Fletcher and Rosie Ramsey. It has been nominated for a British Podcasts Award, and won the Glomama UK Best Podcast trophy in 2020. Their first book, Scummy Mummies, was released in March 2017 and reached the top 20 on the Amazon chart. Tickets and further information can be found on the Lighthouse website. The show is for people aged 18 and over.
Daily Mail
28-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Daily Mail
EXCLUSIVE I used to run to make myself thin. But I finally discovered the joy of jogging in my 40s after my doctor delivered some gut-wrenching news
Writer Emma Campbell espoused the benefits of imperfect running with Mail columnist Bryony Gordon, revealing how embarking on a new fitness journey in middle age carried her through the trauma of receiving a third cancer diagnosis. On the latest episode of The Mail's 'The Life of Bryony' podcast, author Emma Campbell and comedian turned marathon runner Helen Thorne, declared their love of running, crediting the sport for keeping them sane during some of the most trying moments of their lives. Emma said she only discovered the 'magic' of running in her forties having been diagnosed with the disease for a third time, forcing a rethink in her approach to exercise. The 'All That Followed' and 'One Day at a Time' author lives with stage four cancer and is a mother to four teenagers. 'My life-changing running journey only began back in 2019, when I got my third cancer diagnosis ', Emma described. 'Before that, all I'd done is throw myself around, to shrink myself – I would do these punishing runs. 'Helen had just started chemotherapy, and our paths crossed. We met for a coffee, and she recommended we go running together. 'That year, on the physical front, I had a mastectomy, lung surgery and chemotherapy. But 2019 was a transformative year in so many other ways because I discovered running. 'It helped me deal with my body: to be able to look at my body and accept it differently.' The writer emphasised the extent to which she 'fell in love' with running, revealing that she had run a 10k the day before lifesaving lung surgery. 'It's not about thinking of myself as such a hero', Emma told Bryony. 'Running created a mindset in me that helped me get through what was a really challenging year. It turned out to be a brilliant year – it was magic.' Helen Thorne, best known as one part of the anarchic comedy duo Scummy Mummies, concurred with Emma about the transformative effects of running. She has completed six of the seven most famous marathons across the world but only began her long-distance running journey in middle age after finding out her husband had been unfaithful. Helen revealed: 'At the beginning of 2020, I was signed up to do the marathon and then the big lockdown happened in March. 'My marriage then collapsed: I found my husband had been having an affair. My life had blown up. 'I was drinking and smoking quite heavily – it was Olympic standards of self-destruction. I then thought I had to turn my life around. 'So, in 2021, I did my first marathon – I started choosing my health more. I have since done 9 marathons.' The active pair stressed that the value of running is not connected to how fit you are or how far you can go. 'I don't want to talk in cliches, but it's all about why you're doing it', Emma said. 'If it makes you feel better, if it makes you feel more alive, more connected – then that's brilliant. There are so many positives and very few negatives. This chimed with host Bryony Gordon, who has become somewhat of a poster girl on social media for the joys of exercise, regardless of your size. She recently ran the London marathon in her underwear, a statement against a toxic fitness culture that alienates people from exercising. The columnist remarked: 'People say – 'I wish I had the confidence to do that.' I don't. I do it because I don't have confidence. 'I wasted years obsessing over my body. I run in my pants as a big two fingers up to all the expectations that tell me not to.' In the candid spirit of the podcast, Helen gave one piece of unconventional advice to listeners thinking of giving running a go. 'Lubricate your crack, that's one of my top tips', the comedian said. 'Vaseline your arse hole. If you have a hairy bottom, it's just marvelous.' To listen to the full episode, where the pair discuss how to start running as a beginner and how exercise helps in navigating life's challenges, search Life of Bryony, wherever you get your podcasts.
Telegraph
14-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Telegraph
I lost 5st and became a marathon nerd
In the past few years, I have unexpectedly become a fully-fledged marathon running nerd, a turn I never expected my life to take. Like many other Lycra middle-aged tragics, I have deep dived into a sea of fancy trainers, and complicated sports watches, spending my weekends, and any spare time I have huffing and puffing around my local parks, and then pouring over my health stats on my phone like a deranged forensic scientist. This is something I never would have thought would happen to a person who has spent most of her life very happily sitting down, and being a cuddly couch potato. I would often joke, and say 'I am built for comfort, not for speed' and preferring several sauvignon blancs over a sweaty gym session. But, here I am a 46-year-old woman, who just recently completed the six major world marathons in just over three years, and on her way to complete her 10th marathon in London this April. My former self would have laughed very hard at me now, and called me a 'running w---er' and then passed me a big bowl of crisps. As a stand up comedian for over 20 years, my body has been a great source of material. Since 2013, I've been in the double act Scummy Mummies with my comedy partner Ellie Gibson. I had spent most of my 20s and 30s as a happy size 18. I assumed that it was just 'my size' and who I was as a mother, a wife and a comedian. Being a comedian provided a shield to the negative thoughts. I felt buoyed by being on stage, and was accepted for who I was. In my 30s I was outwardly positive about this too, and created an entire Instagram account called @helenwearsasize18, where I shared photos of myself in outfits, and enjoyed recommending clothes for curvy bodies; well for all bodies really. I hadn't always been confident in my larger body, growing up in Australia where there is a strong sporting culture and lean looks are prioritised over brains and strength and I was subject to bullying and ridicule. This didn't stop me from participating in sport, but I would be lying if I didn't long for the slim legs and tiny waists of my team members, or want to be the girl with a flat stomach that everyone fancied. Instead, I was the girl who made people laugh. Little did I know back then these strong thighs were built for marathons. When I was 19 I fell in love. Although I thought he loved me, he was particularly good at making me feel unattractive. I remember going to Paris with him, and he promised he would buy me a Cacharel dress, but only after I lost some weight. It was as though my current body wasn't worth a pretty dress. It was humiliating. For our wedding in January 2010, when I was 32 years old, I slimmed down dramatically from a size 18 to a size 12. I'd given birth to my daughter Mathilda by then but when I cut out sweet things and reduced what I ate, the weight seemed to come off quickly. It's not a diet I would recommend but having the deadline of the wedding and size of the dress looming over me, was a great motivator. The only time I tried the dress on was about 30 minutes before the wedding, and it took a couple of friends to squeeze me in. but, I managed it, and yes, promptly put the weight back on again. By the time I got to the end my second pregnancy I gained even more weight. Then, a year before my 40th birthday in 2017, I took up running. The aim was to just plod around doing short distances, but in 2019 I signed up for the 2020 London marathon. It wasn't about losing weight, it was me showing what a size 18 body could do. So my weight stayed around 90kg – that was until my catastrophic divorce happened in March 2020. I felt numb, rejected, unwanted and unloved and became a big hot mess of booze, takeaways and self-destructive behaviour. I put on even more weight, going up to 100kg, and felt heavy not only physically, but emotionally too. My health was in the toilet and after some blood tests I discovered that I had a virtually non-existent immune system, was low in vitamin D and was on the way to poor heart health and diabetes. I needed a total health overhaul. For the next year I had Zoom meetings (Covid made face to face difficult) with my trainer Amber Keatley, a women's health and nutrition coach, going through what and why I ate certain foods, using a diary to track not only how I felt, but also sleep, stress and trying to calm my nervous system down. I started incorporating more plants into my diet and ever so slowly reducing the sugar and alcohol too. This wasn't meant to be a quick fix or a one off flash in the pan diet, I needed to change habits and overcome my emotional eating, too. For me, I was also a big carbs person – toast for breakfast, biscuits for snacks, more bread at lunch and pasta for dinner, and just so much cheese, washed down with either white wine or gin and tonics. I knew I had been numbing my feelings with food. But I was newly single and as lockdown had been lifted I found myself drinking less and as I started to incorporate the small changes the weight slowly started to shift, a pound here and there. The first thing I noticed was my generous G-cup boobs were shrinking rapidly. I was moving just a bit quicker than before. Each week, I felt motivated by the times I was getting as I jogged around the park, and just how I felt when I woke up in the morning. By the time the London marathon came around in October I was down 2st (or 13kg), and I completed the marathon in just under six hours. Well, that's all done I thought, I can tick that off my list. But, as the weeks passed, I started to change my thinking. I mean, I had enjoyed running 26.2 miles, and I seemed to be getting better, and fitter perhaps I should give it one more go. I signed up for the marathon again in 2022, and this time, I decided for the first time in my life to take something seriously. This was a new and strange feeling. For as long as I can remember, sport and my body were sources of laughter, and taken with a big dose of self depreciation. Was this me finally having some self respect or valuing what my body could do? My coach, Elkie Mace sent me three runs to do every week and we decided I should aim to run the marathon in 5.3 hours. As the weeks and months went by, and the more weight I lost, my legs were getting faster, and I became more and more determined. I started to look a lot smaller and my clothes and bras were too big. Friends and family could see I was shrinking, too and were supportive. Online, I started receiving mostly positive comments, but there were a few people who were disappointed that I was no longer @helenwearsasize18, and said they felt betrayed that I had left them behind. And, I wasn't who I said I was. I took on board all the comments, barring a few rather mean ones, and changed my Instagram handle to @itsmehelenthorn. I focussed what I shared around running and fitness and my new life as a single parent. I felt more in control of what I was eating, and incorporated some intermittent fasting into my weekly routine too, saving breakfast until 11am and swapping out all those big carb-y meals for lots of salad, soups and stir-frys. Amber's advice was to eat well 80 per cent of the time and the other 20 per cent to eat what you wanted, or just enjoy yourself, which felt doable and what I live by now. So, it didn't mean I felt nervous going out for dinners, or celebrating with friends. And, on holidays, I wasn't going to miss out on anything either. As a person who adores food, and cooking for others and entertaining, I didn't feel the things I loved were compromised or that I was starving hungry either. When I was on tour with the Scummy Mummies, we always had a post-show curry, and a few pints to wind down. Some nights I would skip the beers, and try to hold back on eating too much. But, if I did I wouldn't beat myself up either. Life is too short not to enjoy a Rogan Josh with your best mate. Feeling stronger and moving faster were the greatest feelings. Sure it was nice to wear size 12 jeans, but I wasn't obsessed with the size of my thighs, or if my tummy was flat, the thing that kept me going was how I felt when I moved my body, this was addictive. I continued doing strength training at Fitology Hub, my local all women gym and could start to see biceps forming and definition in my legs. Things like stepping out of the shower, or just going up and down the stairs at home felt effortless, and I stopped making those old lady groans when I got out of a chair. I felt renewed, and upgraded. One of the things that sat uncomfortably with me was that people commented that I had a revenge body, that this was a way of getting back at my ex for having his affair. This was far from the truth, for the first time I was doing just something for me. Away from being a mother, one half a comedy duo, a daughter and a friend. As a people pleaser I was never very good at prioritising myself, and finally I felt I was achieving big, hard and challenging things. And, this confidence bled into other aspects of my life, I started making better choices for who I was and standing up for myself, too. By the time the London 2022 marathon was approaching I had lost 5st, or just over 30kg, and felt in the best shape of my life. On race day, I put my headphones on and my head down and just tried to follow every instruction to the letter. This was not just about the race but about reclaiming myself. And for once, my body wasn't the butt of my jokes. I remember telling friends, don't come to cheer me on, I was going to be a proper dork and try to run this one fast. So off I went, and the whole thing went by in a bit of a blur. The only thing I remember is coming around the corner from Big Ben and into The Mall looking at my watch and thinking, 'f-----g Hell, I am going to run it in four hours and 15'. And then seeing a group of people in tutus walking together in line. I burst through them and said 'Get out of my way!' which I obviously feel deeply embarrassed about now, but I was on a mission. As I approached Buckingham Palace I sped up, tears leaking down my face and smiling, I sprinted to the finishing line, and crossed it at 4.14.45, exactly at the time I wanted to the minute. I had done it, every huffy puffy, early morning, carb loading minute had been worth it. My body which had 18 months previously been a mess soaked in wine, and fuelled by crisps and Haribo was now something unrecognisable. I had not only changed my size and shape, but how I saw who I was and what I was capable of. It was a moment of transitioning from surviving to thriving. I haven't looked back. From that marathon I went on to complete Copenhagen, and then the world majors in New York, Boston, Chicago, Berlin and most recently Tokyo in March this year. And, I am set to finish my 10th in London on April 27. Running has given me so much, not only an entire wardrobe of leggings, a cupboard of anti-chafing creams, and a box full of medals, but a greater sense of self worth and purpose. Yes, I may have gotten smaller, but my life has gotten so much bigger. What I ate before Breakfast Sugary and carby, so a jammy bagel or hot cross bun. Lunch Cheese toastie. Dinner Pasta with loads of cheese on top. Or whatever the kids were having so pizza or beige food. Alcohol/drinks I would typically have around 12-15 glasses of wine per week. Snacks Flapjacks, Jaffa cakes, or sweets. What I eat now Breakfast Smoothie or porridge on running days. Lunch Smoked mackerel on toast or omelette. Dinner Salmon stir fry or chicken thighs and veggies. Snacks Cottage cheese/nuts/fruit. Alcohol/drinks 3-5 glasses of wine. My exercise regimen before Nothing. My exercise regimen now 3-4 runs a week, 1 strength training session and 1 yoga/Pilates session. The Scummy Mummies' new show Hot Mess is now touring across the UK in 2025
Yahoo
10-02-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Nelly Furtado and Faithless to headline this year's Big Feastival
Nelly Furtado and Faithless have been named as the headliners for this year's The Big Feastival. The festival, which takes place on Blur bassist Alex James' farm in Kingham, just an hour's drive from Swindon, will run from August 22 to 24. Nelly Furtado will headline on Friday, while Faithless will take to the stage on Saturday. Your Community, Your News Subscribe to Swindon Advertiser now for either 50% off for a year or 3 months for £3. Stay connected with all local happenings. #CommunityNews #SpecialOffer — Swindon Advertiser (@swindonadver) January 20, 2025 Alex James' Britpop Classical will close the festival on Sunday. Other acts include Travis, The Wombats, Sophie Ellis-Bextor, and Rizzle Kicks. Renowned chefs Raymond Blanc and Si King will also be present at the event. Alex James said: "I'm absolutely thrilled to be welcoming everyone back to the farm for our 14th year of Big Feastival. "We've pulled out all the stops to create a weekend packed with incredible music, top-notch food, and something for the whole family to enjoy." The festival will also feature family entertainment, comedy, and podcasts. Read more: Swindon's Bus Company makes big donation to Prospect Hospice Children's TV star Justin Fletcher, comedian Bridget Christie, and the Scummy Mummies podcast are among the attractions. Cooking demos and workshops will be held by chefs including Simon Rimmer and Cherish Finden. The festival will also have a range of family-friendly activities, including a farm park and a circus. Tickets are on sale now at the Big Feastival website.
