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It's a warm late September afternoon in Harrogate, and Lise is strolling across The Stray with her friend Jo Moseley. There are no dogs on this Out & About, just two friends, a bit of autumn creeping into the air, and a lot to catch up on before they head back to the hotel to get changed for a special event in the evening.
Join Lise and discover...
- How a dip in Buttermere and a very early start turned two strangers into firm friends
- Why Jo's first paddleboarding lesson at 51 changed everything, and what came after
- A walk around The Stray in Jo's home town
- How Instagram can open the door to new friendships, adventures and walking opportunities
- Why midlife, and life after menopause, can feel like a gift
Quote of the episode
"If you want to do something, you just need to sort of crack on really." – Jo Moseley
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Useful links
- Follow the show and get all the links you need on LinkTree - https://linktr.ee/walking_this_way
- Email us: walkingthisway@hotmail.com
- Use the get in touch form HERE - https://tr.ee/r-ePylKE8H
- Send us a voice message HERE- https://www.speakpipe.com/WalkingThisWay
Produced by The Good Studio - thegoodstudio.co.uk
Creators and Guests
What is Walking This Way?
Welcome to Walking This Way - the upfront, no-nonsense podcast about midlife for women who are done with pretending it’s all fine.
Join Lise Thorne for honest conversations, unfiltered stories and a good dose of humour as she explores what it really means to be a woman in midlife - from shifting priorities and changing bodies to rediscovering joy, purpose and self.
Real talk. Real women. Real midlife.
Because this isn’t about surviving midlife - it’s about walking it your way.
Walking This Way is produced by The Good Studio.
Walking This Way: Out & About, S2 E3 (Jo Moseley)
Lise: So this is Out & About, season two, episode three. Normally I'm out and about with the dogs, but today I have the pleasure of being in Harrogate with my friend Jo Moseley. Jo, thank you very much for joining me on my walk. We haven't got the dogs with us, sadly, but we're here for a special event today, and it's really lovely that you've agreed to come along.
Jo: Thank you so much. This is just such an honour. I love it.
Lise: Well, on my Out & Abouts it's sometimes just me and my reflections, but if I'm with someone I think, let's just have a chat. We only met in...
Jo: June. I know, but I feel like we've known each other forever.
Lise: We met at a, well, people say the word "influencer", don't they? A content creator weekend at Hassness House on Lake Buttermere, which is a bit of a spiritual home of yours.
Jo: Yes. I researched it very well for my second book about paddleboarding, all about the Lake District, so I know Buttermere, and it's one of my very favourite lakes.
Lise: It's gorgeous, isn't it? And we were lucky enough that Hassness House is right on the lake.
Jo: Yes, it's a two to three minute walk and you're on the lake. It's the closest you could get to being able to paddleboard on Buttermere and dip off the edge of the shoreline. It's absolutely gorgeous.
Lise: I think that's where our love affair started, because we were the first down there in the morning, cold dipping.
Jo: Every morning we were there, looking a little bit blurry-eyed but having a wonderful time.
Lise: We were down dipping first that whole weekend. And the reason we're now bonded together, as if dipping wasn't enough, or the love of the Lake District, not that I've spent as much time there as you have, is that we are now both Ramble Worldwide ambassadors.
Jo: We are, which is fantastic, and I love it. I couldn't wish for a more wonderful ambassador to be with.
Lise: Such fun. It's that love of the outdoors, isn't it? Which takes me back to your paddleboarding, which you discovered in... are we allowed to say midlife?
Jo: Midlife, yeah. I was 51. My first lesson was almost exactly 10 years ago. The 24th of September 2016, my very first lesson, and that was on Derwent Water, which is also in the Lake District.
Lise: That's crazy. And since then you've done three books.
Jo: Yeah, I've written three books about paddleboarding. I used to have a podcast series, which is still available, and I made some films. It changed my life.
Lise: And is that when you started posting on Instagram, or were you always on there?
Jo: I used to be on Twitter, or X, back when it was super positive. I did a big rowing fundraising challenge in memory of my mum for Macmillan Cancer Support, and then I moved to Instagram. I thought all you did on Instagram was use filters, so I just filtered the photos, and then I started posting, probably around 2015 or 2016.
Lise: So 10 years of making content. Are you going to write any more books?
Jo: Never say never. I haven't got anything in the pipeline right now, but never say never.
Lise: And it's lovely, you now live with your dad. You're very open about that on your Instagram.
Jo: Yes, I do. I live with my 93-year-old dad, who turned 93 last week.
Lise: And you care for him full time.
Jo: Well, I live with him. My sister's there right now, which is fantastic. He's very independent, but there are bits and bobs he does need me for. He would say he doesn't, but he does. We have quite a few appointments, and I'm tech support. But we just sort of potter along together, so it's great for me and hopefully great for him. When I moved in he said there were two things I had to know. Number one, we couldn't have things in the sink overnight, the kitchen needs to be shut down. And number two, I couldn't be too jolly in the morning. I am a bit too jolly sometimes.
Lise: I was about to say you probably leave the house before he's up, because you live near the water, don't you?
Jo: We live by the coast, so I'm often coming back from a dip or a paddle or a walk while he's having his breakfast. So yes, very lucky. It's a real honour to be able to live with him and be part of his life.
Lise: Jo, I feel like this is a full-on podcast episode now that I didn't research for, because Out & About is supposed to be "roar and ready". But you're always so positive about it, and I think lots of people would find it a tie, or a bind, or difficult.
Jo: I've had my moments. But my mum had lymphoma, and we thought it had got better and then it hadn't, it came back, and she died within three to four weeks of going into hospital. So although I was supportive at that time, I didn't get that chance, so you take it when you can. I have this chance with my dad, and we do get on really well. And I live by the sea, so...
Lise: It works.
Jo: Yeah. And he is lovely to be with, except when his new iPad isn't working. He's like, "Why is everything swipey and no buttons?" But he sits there reading, and he loves his food, and we have great conversations.
Lise: That's really nice. Do you follow Sarah Eaton [?] and her dad? No? If you don't, you must. He's a Royal Academy artist, and I should know his name, but it goes out on her account. He's now 103.
Jo: Oh my gosh.
Lise: And he still paints. They're still releasing prints and things, and she films conversations between the two of them. I'll have to share it with you afterwards. It's really lovely, those interactions between father and daughter. I'm lucky enough that both my parents are still here, but my dad has Parkinson's and fell down the stairs and had an injury, so he has a full-time carer. They make the best of it in their house. But we're all at that age now, aren't we?
Jo: Absolutely. At one point both Mum and Dad were going through chemo and my boys were at home, so I was looking after the boys and supporting Mum and Dad more from a distance. Now my boys are off doing their own things and I'm here with this. We can have caring responsibilities in all sorts of different shapes and sizes, but for many of us it is absolutely part of our lives. So we might be empty nesting with our children and then...
Lise: ...gaining a mother hen or a father peacock or whatever.
Jo: But no, I'm very lucky. He's wonderful to be with. I couldn't ask for more, really.
Lise: That's really lovely. And we're in Harrogate. You were born and brought up here?
Jo: Born and brought up in Harrogate, so this is my home town. I don't live here now, but this is home for me, so I'm really looking forward to spending time exploring my home.
Lise: Interestingly, I had a little peek around yesterday. I had a wander around the town. We've got some very fancy shops in Harrogate. It's like the Kensington of the North, or the Mayfair of the North.
Jo: The golden triangle, with the walking... This morning I took my godmother out to Betty's. We had lunch at Betty's with all the china and silver teapots, so that was lovely. It's really lovely to be home.
Lise: And we're walking around a park in the middle of town at the moment.
Jo: We're on the Stray.
Lise: Walking around the Stray, and it is beautiful. We're lucky enough to be spending the night at Hotel du Vin. I've come up for two nights, and we're here for a very special occasion. Our lives have become intertwined so quickly. We met at Hassness in June, and now it's the end of September, nearly October. That's not very many months, is it?
Jo: I do feel like we've known each other forever.
Lise: And then there's a good friend of yours who I've not met yet.
Jo: Oh my gosh, no.
Lise: So we're here because I was interviewed on her podcast, and she's coming on mine, but my organisation skills have failed me as usual. So Rachel Peru [?] is launching her new...
Jo: Swimwear brand, which is fantastic. I've known Rachel for, I was trying to work it out, probably 20 years now. Literally school gate mums. I've just seen her on this incredible journey, modelling and now launching her swimwear brand. Every day she's doing something extraordinary. She works with my friend Tina, Tina Boden. She's just amazing, and it's a huge honour to be part of this evening and watch her launch.
Lise: I know, I'm amazed. It looks beautiful, it's red and black. And she went off to London to get some funding, from someone called Timo something [?].
Jo: Somebody very big.
Lise: There was a queue of people waiting to pitch, and Rachel turned up in, I think, a dressing gown, and then took it off and was in her...
Jo: I've seen her do it. She did a talk at Reading Park [?], which is in Harrogate, in her lingerie, and I've seen her do one at the Big Retreat in Wales in her lingerie. I don't have lingerie, I just have bra and knickers.
Lise: She does always look fabulous. She's a model as well, isn't she?
Jo: She's just fantastic. She's got her podcast series, she's always doing something. It's incredible to watch her journey, and it's an honour to be part of this evening. I was her first podcast guest, that's why she's invited me, because otherwise I haven't got any claim to fame. Yeah, I know, that's not very positive.
Lise: What sort of language is that? We're all for no shame, midlife women!
Jo: I shouldn't speak badly of myself, but no, she is amazing.
Lise: So we're live podcast guests tonight. I started to get a bit nervous about it yesterday, being live. It will be done by the time this episode goes out, so we'll see how it went. But it's funny that you've known her for 20 years and I haven't ever met her!
Jo: She's really lovely. And hopefully Mark will be here. He's her husband. I love it when she shows pictures of the children, because I literally remember them in their school uniform. It's just wonderful watching a woman change her life in her 40s and 50s, grow and develop, and create wonderful opportunities for other women.
Lise: I think that's quite an important point, because we're both on Instagram and we both create a lot of content, and that leads us to do things we perhaps hadn't thought about. Going places, adventures.
Jo: One hundred per cent. So much of the life I lead now, other than looking after my dad and my sons, has come from the relationships and communities and people and opportunities I've met through Instagram. Yes, it can take up a bit too much time, and as you say, you can create a reel while texting your friends at the same time, but it opens up amazing opportunities. I wouldn't know you, we wouldn't be Ramble Worldwide ambassadors. I wouldn't have written three books, or be on panels, or speak at festivals. It's all part of those incredible connections.
Lise: It's the connections, and that's the wonderful thing we can't know before we get here. I talk a lot about this, and I'm in the middle of this perimenopause hellhole a little bit at times. No, speak well of yourself, Lise. It's not all a hellhole, but it's a challenging time. So Jo, can I ask how old you are?
Jo: I'm 61, very postmenopausal.
Lise: You're not 61! You're 16.
Jo: I am. I'm 62 at Christmas, and very happily postmenopausal. It is such a joy to be through it. I met someone at a festival I was speaking at on Saturday, and she said, "I remember two or three years ago at another festival, you said to me, 'It does get better.' I did not believe you, but it does. So thank you for telling me that." Obviously we need to keep looking after ourselves, taking medication if we require it, doing all the lifestyle stuff, but for many, many women it does get a lot better as we get through it, and then it's all about the journey ahead.
Lise: I think for that reason, coming out the other end is something to look forward to, but it's also a gift, isn't it, somehow? Because it rips up the rule book. We didn't know we'd be doing what we're doing. We had no idea that, like you said, you'd write a book. In our younger years, our 20s and 30s, we're just trying to work out the world and raising our children. In our 40s we still can't really look up from it all. You mentioned your mum dying during that time. And then suddenly your 50s come, which I'm a whole one week and one day into. I'm very wise now, because I've found my 50s, and we can just do what we want.
Jo: Really not worrying what other people think, and just choosing to be who we want to be, within the constraints of our responsibilities and commitments. It's just such a joy. But I also think it meets you at a time when you realise how short and precious life is. If you want to do something, you just need to sort of crack on, really.
Lise: That's true, isn't it? It's about your own mortality. You begin to see it, and again that could be the age of your parents. But when you're younger, you've got forever.
Jo: Forever.
Lise: And suddenly we're like... and that thing about not caring. I'm just going to point out, look at that. I feel like I've got to take a photograph.
Jo: Absolutely, it's beautiful. The Stray is absolutely gorgeous, and you can see autumn coming, can't you?
Lise: Yeah. I feel like the temperature's dropped, although it's quite warm now. Quite hot, actually. Jo, thank you!
Jo: Thank you very much. I didn't expect it. It's such a huge honour to be on your podcast, because I know you have super interesting women on. So thank you very, very much.
Lise: Wow, and it's always lovely to chat to another super interesting woman. Thank you, Jo. Take care, lots of love. We'll see you tonight. We've got to go upstairs, we've got a meeting, and we've got to put our dresses on. I'd quite like you to choose one of our dresses. I'll send you a photo later. Thank you for being on the Walking This Way podcast.
Jo: Thank you.