Wendy Valentine welcomes back Midlife Makeover Show with inspiring guest

Gail: Foreign.

Wendy Valentine: Hey there, my beautiful midlife warriors, and welcome back to the Midlife Makeover Show. I’m your host, Wendy Valentine, and today’s guest is someone who truly embodies courage, transformation, and the beauty of embracing limitless possibilities at midlife. Gail has been on an incredible journey and she’s here to inspire us all. In 2019, at 56 years young, she did what many of us only dream about. She quit her corporate job in the uk, uprooted her life, and designed a minimalist haven in the stunning landscapes of southern Portugal. Yes, Gail and I are neighbors. How cool is that? But Gail’s journey isn’t just about creating a new home. It’s about building a new life. One rooted in holistic wellness, personal development, and a whole lot of adventure. From plant based whole food cooking and intermittent fasting to meditation, kettle balls, paddle boarding and hiking, my fave, this woman has mastered the art of thriving in midlife and beyond. Her new book, the Midlife Edit, it’s excellent. A transformative self help journey for women is a premier guide for women in midlife who are ready to rediscover their purpose, build resilience, and create a life they love. Today, Gail will be sharing her story, her top tips for holistic wellness and how you can transform midlife into your greatest chapter yet.

Gail is leaving her corporate job to start a new life in Portugal

Please welcome the incredible Gail to the show.

Gail: Oh, that was amazing.

Wendy Valentine: Thank you.

Gail: I was wondering who that was about. It’s about me.

Wendy Valentine: Who is that amazing woman?

Gail: Oh, my. I want to meet. Huh?

Wendy Valentine: Her. We had such a great chat even before we hit record. I mean, we have so much in common. We both live in Portugal. We both sold everything. We both were like, the heck with this, let’s start something new. So what inspired you to just like, all right, I’m going to start a new life. I’m, leaving my corporate job. I’m moving to Portugal. What sparked that?

Gail: Well, big question. So I had always been somebody who was very success focused, success driven, and I was very motivate, motivated by success. So I. The harder I work, the more money I earned, the bigger the house, my God, the better my car got. And I ended up with this huge house with 22 rooms. It was, it was huge. And it was the most beautiful house. It was very run down when we bought it. But over the years, we, restored it and it was stunning. And then there were a couple of things that kind of changed the way that I thought. So I was in the house and I walked into one of the rooms and. And then I had this moment of when was the last time I came in this room? And I couldn’t remember the last time I’d been in that room. And I figured, well, I obviously don’t need it if I am not going in this room. And then the second thing was, I had got everything I’d always wanted. You know, the beautiful house, the beautiful cars, the luxury holidays, everything. I needed money in the bank. But I still. I still felt like I wanted something else. Something else. But what is that something else? What is that something else? And then I realized that, you know, actually, the most precious thing I could gain, obtain is time. That’s the most. That’s the most precious thing. And it’s something I didn’t have because, I mean, it, was. It was my own choice to be so focused on the success. And I don’t know why, but it was suddenly having this huge house with just two of us in it and thinking, why am I working so hard to basically keep this house, this huge family home that two people are in? What is. What is that giving me? Of course, it’s an investment, and it’s going up every year, and it’s something that I can sell and downsize. But is it giving me any joy? Well, not really, because it takes so much maintenance, it takes so much money, to actually just stand still with that home. And so I thought, well, I’ve got this nice house, nice car, nice everything, but I’m still seeking something else. And then I, I watched the film up in the Air with George Clooney. Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah. And in the film, he says, oh, imagine everything you own in a backpack. And he’s talking about how, your belongings are a burden. And honestly, I don’t think I heard another word of that film, because all I could think of, I was fixated on the idea of, oh, my goodness, what if you could get everything you own, in a backpack? Imagine how agile you’d be. Imagine where you could go live wherever you wanted, you know? And then I start looking around the house, and I’m like, what’s that painting on the wall? What value is it bringing me? I’ve got to look after it. I’ve got to clean it. It’s just sitting there. And so. And then I’m going around the house, and I’m, why do I need that many shoes? Why do I need that many coats? Why do I need all this gardening equipment? Excuse me. And then I. I just looked at this house and thought, I. I don’t need this. And Actually, if I sold this house, I could go anywhere in the world if I wanted to. So I said to my husband, sorry, I’ve had a cold. I’ll let you edit that out.

Wendy Valentine: We’ll edit that cough.

Gail: What?

Wendy Valentine: Yeah, Jack, edit that cough.

My husband and I had always talked about moving to Italy

Gail: So, so my husband and I had always talked about moving to Italy. Moving to Italy. And I’d learned Italian. We’d been to Italy maybe 30 times. That’s no exaggeration. We’ve been to Italy. And I got this idea of, well, actually, you know, why Italy? Why not somewhere else? And so this whole journey began really, really quickly. From watching George Clooney to realizing my son was never going to come home. He left home when he was 18, off on his adventures. And then we thought, well, we’re saving this family home for him, but he’s not in it. So, this is our opportune moment to do something different. So we don’t have anyone else that we’re responsible for. My parents are, healthy, they’re self sufficient. I don’t have any more children. I only have one child. We had, we had the ability to downsize, get our capital from our house and then say, hey, let’s do something crazy. So we said, this is a window of opportunity. Not everyone has that, but we have that window of opportunity. Maybe things change in the future. Maybe we have to go back to the uk. Maybe we have to settle somewhere, I don’t know. But we thought, this is a window of opportunity. But we were still thinking about Italy. And then I just happened to see this show about, the north of Portugal, actually, and this couple were relocated to the north of Portugal. And I thought, that’s the kind of Portugal I haven’t seen. I haven’t seen that. It’s, it’s so rugged. It’s so beautiful. It’s so unspoiled. It’s so rustic. So typical me booked a flight, within 48 hours of seeing that TV show.

Wendy Valentine: So awesome.

Gail: Yeah, about 48 hours I’ve seen that TV show. We were there in the north of Portugal, and yes, the scenery is stunning. It’s beautiful. It’s fantastic. It’s outstanding. It’s just, it’s just so unspoiled and the windswept. And then it started raining and it didn’t stop raining. And I was like, well, if I’m going to move to a country, I really don’t want to move anywhere where it’s raining. And then we looked on the weather chart and it said it wasn’t raining. In Algarve. And I said, oh, I don’t want to go to Algarve. That’s where everyone goes in Portugal.

Wendy Valentine: But there’s a reason why they go there, right in the car.

Gail: And we drove down to the south of Portugal. We were like, that’s why people come here, because it’s always sunny. So, So, yeah, that’s. That was the whole story of, we’ve got this house, don’t need it anymore, got this window of opportunity. Let’s go somewhere else. We came to Portugal. I. I walked into the market hall in Lol, which is a market town in. In Algarve. And I just said, I can do this. I could live here. I can do it. And I think the thing is, most people overthink things, and I just thought, let’s not overthink it. I can think of a million reasons not to do it, but I only need one reason to do it. And that’s. That’s why, and that was the decision to just go, right, let’s go for it. And that’s what we did.

Wendy Valentine: So courageous.

You put your house on the market and moved to Portugal

You know what’s interesting, like, with change, change can be either voluntary or involuntary, right? Like, so, for example, you get served with divorce papers that you’re being forced to change, right? If you get, fired from your job, you are being forced to change. If you get a bad diagnosis, you’re being forced to, right? But then when you’re living a comfortable, nice life, to voluntarily go, you know what, let’s just uproot this whole thing and do something totally different. To me, that’s even more courageous because that’s like, you could have. You could have just stayed right where you were. What did your friends and family think when you were like, yeah, we’re going to move to Portugal.

Gail: I don’t think they were too surprised because originally, we had lived in the middle of England. So we were in the middle of England. That’s the only place to say, really. Says in Worcestershire. And then, I decided I wanted to live by the. By the sea, by the ocean. So one day, I just put my house on the market and moved, you know, three hours away, down to the coast. And people. People like, why, you know, all your family live here? And I said, well, I want to live by the ocean. So they. I’ve got a bit of a history of, oh, let’s just do it. Don’t just. Let’s just do it. So, I mean, I’ve got a story. My husband will tell you. This is completely true. He Came home from work and said, there’s a for sale sign in the garden. I don’t think that should be there. Who’s. I wonder where that should. I went. Oh, no, no, we’re moving. I’ve already put on the market. it’s already on the market. Don’t worry about it. I’ve sorted it out. And so he’s. He’s used to my,

Wendy Valentine: He’s used to. He’s totally cool with it.

Gail: Yeah. Because I used to get annoyed with him when I do these things, kind of spur the moment. So I remember being at work and someone said, oh, I’ve just come back from Thailand. It was amazing. And, oh, let me show you some pictures. I was like, oh, I fancy going there straight online. Books and flights, booked a holiday. and I said to my husband, are you doing anything for the next two weeks? He was like, no, no. Can you take two weeks off? He’s like, yeah, why? I said, I will tell you when I get home. I got home, I said, right, tomorrow. Tomorrow we’re going to Thailand for two weeks. And he what? So he’s used to me doing things on the spur of the m moment. So for me to say, come on, let’s move to Portugal. Yeah, okay, why not? I’m very lucky in that. He’s just like, you want to do it? Let’s do it. You know, am I not, I don’t. Do I want to do it? I don’t know. She wants to do it, let’s do it. You know, what can go wrong? What can go wrong at the end of the day?

Wendy Valentine: Yeah.

Learning Portuguese was your biggest concern when moving to Portugal

What, what fears or doubts, if any, bubbled to the surface during this whole time?

Gail: I think learning the language was the biggest thing because, you know, when you’re younger, it’s so easy to pick up a language, and it’s so easy to mingle with people if you’ve got. Especially if you’ve got children. If you’ve got children, you’re at the school gate and you hear other languages and you hear people and there’s children’s parties and so. And so you’re meeting other parents. But I. The only concern for me was, how do I meet people without relying on expats, without other English immigrants? And I really have shied away from that because, oh, we’ve got a meeting, English expats next Tuesday. You’re coming? No, no, I’m not coming because I want to. I want to meet people. I want to meet Portuguese people. I want to meet people. From other countries. I don’t want to just stay in my little piece of England.

Wendy Valentine: Yes.

Gail: Fairly easy to do that. And I’m sure it’s the same for you in Madeira, is it?

Wendy Valentine: Yep. Yeah, it is very easy to kind of get in a comfort zone and stay with the same. But I’m like you. I want to. Like, there’s. Why did I move to Portugal? Like, because I want to meet Portuguese. I want to eat Portuguese food. Like, you know, if I want to do the same thing and hang out. Not that, you know, I’m against hanging out with Americans here, but, you know, it’s like I want to meet different cultures and that’s what is. What’s great here. I’m sure for you too, in the Algarve, you meet people from all over, which is so cool. Yeah. That people want to. That visit your. Where you live, which is pretty neat. Cruise ships and like, it’s so cool.

Gail: Oh, yeah. Because you get more cruise ships there. We don’t get cruise ships here. I know at one point that I think they may get put into Portimao, which is quite far from here. They do pull in there, but we get a lot of American visitors here. Canadian, Canadians, especially in the winter, because, of course. Yeah, they’re quite mild here. But, there’s lots of English, lots of French, lots, of Swedish as well. So. Yeah, so that was my only concern, which was, you know, how am I going to meet people if I don’t speak fluent Portuguese? However, as we discussed before, this, the Portuguese can speak English fluently and they understand the sense of humor, comedy, timing, everything. They’re so in tune. And no one was. No one was happier than me going to cinema and realizing that all films are in English. Yes.

Wendy Valentine: Yes. Yeah. And they’re. And they’re just so welcoming and friendly. And that makes it easier to. To be able to adjust and kind of move into a new society. Yeah.

Gail: Yeah.

What were some of the biggest challenges when downsizing and decluttering

Wendy Valentine: What were some of the biggest challenges when you were downsizing and decluttering?

Gail: Oh, I. I think the thing is, I think for a lot of people it would be really, really hard to let go of things. But I don’t have any emotional attachment on objects. None at all. I think some people would say I’m very cold, the, way that I deal with things. So, for example, I love the whole DoD standing, the whole Swedish death cleaning, that whole philosophy of getting rid of everything before you get too old to be able to deal with it yourself.

Wendy Valentine: Right.

Gail: So when I was downsizing, I’D pick something up. My. My son is 30 now. He was the. He’s 30 now. But at the time, you know, you’ve got all these drawings and these books and, you know, little cards and things, and I just thought, you know, a normal person would hang on to these. I’m burning them. And the reason I burnt, them is because there’s no going back from burning them. And.

Wendy Valentine: Yeah, that’s true.

Gail: Yeah. And even with photographs, I had packets and packets of photographs, and I would open the packet, and I’d only allow myself to choose one from each packet. And then I burn the negatives and I’d burn the photos because I thought, there’s, no going back. I’ve made that decision. I’ve picked my one photo. It has to go. So I think that most people would have found downsizing difficult from the emotional aspect of things that, the emotions attached to objects. I don’t have that. I don’t have that at all.

Wendy Valentine: I don’t either. Yeah. So, I mean, the way I look at it, you come into this world with nothing. You will leave with nothing.

Gail: Yeah.

Wendy Valentine: So what? Who care? Like what? And. And now, like, with traveling, like, when you were talking about the house, selling the house and getting rid of everything. Right. Meant freedom. Freedom to travel, freedom to, like, the backpack way of life. Right?

Gail: Yeah.

Wendy Valentine: Because otherwise you’re stuck, and it makes it so much challenging. And now, I mean, I love buying little knickknacks. I used to, but now, I’ll pick something up. And I’m like, do I really want to carry this sucker around everywhere? Like, and in the rv, it’s like, the rule is, if you bring something in, something must m. Go. Yes. So then I’m like, oh, no, what am I? Like, if I buy this, something’s gotta go. Like. But it’s. It’s so freeing, isn’t it?

Gail: Oh, it’s amazing. M. It’s amazing because I. I. Little things can cause not arguments in our house. I’ll give you an example. My husband bought me this little carved. He knows I love birds. I absolutely love birds. He bought me this little carved wooden bird. I can’t tell you how angry it made me. He’s like, why? You look angry. You look upset. And I said, I just got rid of everything I owned. I just gave away everything I owned, and you’re giving me something I really don’t need. And I was trying to get it into his head, when you go on a trip, please don’t bring me anything. But Unless it’s food, I don’t want it because I don’t need things. I mean, the things behind me, I’ve had to kind of grab them to kind of get little stains behind me. This painting I made myself with some acrylic paints and a three pound canvas because I was like, I. I have to create this illusion. I’m living in this lovely, you know, create creative space. But actually I live in a rented house with everything. All the furniture is. It came with the house. Yep. And I live a very, very basic life. I buy clothes because I like buying clothes, but I don’t buy many. I think people would be shocked how few I buy. But I buy food and clothes occasionally. I don’t buy anything else. Nothing else, because I pick like you. I pick it up and go, do I need this? Will it enhance it? Really?

Wendy Valentine: Yeah.

Gail: Can I live without it? If I was house is burning down. Would I save it? No. Right. I don’t need it.

Wendy Valentine: Exactly.

You mentioned before about time was the one thing that you wanted more of

You mentioned before about time was the one thing that you wanted more of and, and actually like, yeah. Not having so many things and stuff to maintain, that gives you more time. So looking back at Gail before, what. What was your day to day life like then and what is it like now?

Gail: Well, I think before, because I had this huge house, that meant it was quite a greedy beast that needed feeding with money every month you. I was so focused on work. I am a workaholic. I this, I. I freely admit that I’m a workaholic and I can’t help myself. So suddenly when you don’t have these outgoings every month, it’s like, well, what do I do? I don’t have to do that thing anymore to earn that money. What do I do? Of course I create more work for myself by doing something else. I’m like, oh, I website. I need to. I need to motivate other people to do the same as me. I need to start an Instagram. Not expecting anyone to ever follow me on m. There maybe 10 people. And then I find I’ve got, you know, now, it’s over 600,000 people following on there. It’s about a million people altogether on all my platforms. And I’m like, why have I created another beast? But of course that one doesn’t need feeding in the same way because this is. That’s a creative outlet for me. That’s a way for me to.

Wendy Valentine: And just sharing, just sharing Gail with.

Gail: It’s really different because before I was motivated by earning the money to feed the beast. That was the house and the car and everything. And now it. You, I, you still need a purpose though. You still need a purpose. And that’s where, the book came from. It’s like, well, I found my way out of the darkness. I need to help other, women find their way out of the darkness. That’s what I need to do. I need to have a value. Because when, when my son left home. Sorry. When my son left home, he is suddenly, he’s self sufficient, he’s gone. which is amazing. That’s, that’s like, well done, mom, you’ve done a great job. He’s self sufficient, he’s confident, he’s successful. That’s great. But it’s okay. What’s my purpose now? What’s my value to society? What’s my value in general? I’m not a mum anymore. I’ll always be his mother, but I’m not a mum anymore because I don’t have a day to day role doing that. So then I created this other interest. I mean, I’ve got so many interests. Origami, paddleboarding, paint, painting, writing. I’m doing all the things that I didn’t have time to do before.

Wendy Valentine: Yes, time.

Gail: Yeah, it’s time. And I think the thing is, a lot of people don’t realize how precious their time is. So, you know, we all scroll. Occasional scrolling. You’re like, what am I doing? I’ve just wasted an hour scrolling. I could have done an hour Portuguese. I could have painted, I could have written a poem. I could have, I could have baked a cake. Whatever it is, I could have done something else. So, and also I’m getting to the age where my friends are dying. I’m being honest, they’re dying. And I’m thinking, if they had an evening, would they be scrolling on their phone or would they? Would they? Would they? It’s so precious that evening. What would they do with it? So I tried to, I try to learn things, I try to do creative things. So the old me was working, working, working, exhausted. Now I’m working when I want to work. I don’t have to earn a lot of money. I like earning money. Who doesn’t like earning money? But I don’t have to earn a lot of money. So now I’m doing things that have value to me but also have value to other people. But I’m also doing the creative things as well. You know, spending more time with my dog, spending more time outside, learning, different sports, taking up kettlebell. I didn’t know what I was doing when I started doing that, taking up jump rope. It’s just realizing that you are the creator of your universe. And if you don’t take that for granted, you, you can achieve so much more. You can be so much more. So the old me was very work, work, work, work, work, blinkered. But now my eyes are fully open and now I’m very conscious that if I’m working too much, I stop and I take time out to do things I enjoy because I just don’t think people have enough fun anymore. People have kind of forgotten they’re in a child and they become this very sensible suit wearing, middle aged person who has lost the ability to even laugh or smile. So that’s. The old me was very serious and the new me is very like, hey, nothing’s a problem. Are we dead? No. Right? Everything’s good.

Wendy Valentine: Yeah. You know, the number one regret of the dying is living life for everyone else. And so many people don’t take that big leap because they’re so worried of what everyone else is going to say or what they’re going to think and oh my gosh, I better just stay right where I’m at.

Darren says learning to say no is important in midlife

It’s going to upset the apple cart. And then they end up just being bored or lonely or they’re, they’re, or unfulfilled and and filling their time with things that they don’t really want to do.

Gail: No, I think the thing is it’s also learning to be authentic as well. I think when you have a little bit of time, when you’re not focused on money or you know, paying the bills and things like that, when you’re not paying bills, you can kind of take a step back and say, well, what makes me happy? Am I being true to myself? Well, no, if you’re working for a corporation, you’re not, you’re playing a role and you’re, you’re blinkered in what you’re seeing. You’re, you’re careful about what you’re saying. And then when you no longer work for a corporation and you don’t have somebody, you know, hitting you every day for results, you can say what you want, you can be who you want. And I’m, quite, I’m quite an energetic life, life wherever person. And I realized at work I was never like that. I was very quiet. Not quiet, but very. People would say I was icy. It’s because I was just in protective mode all the time. You know, careful about what you’re saying about Careful about how you’re presenting yourself now. I don’t care if people don’t like me. I just don’t care. if you don’t like me, that’s great because I probably wouldn’t like you, so that’s okay. And I think so many people worry about what other people think about them. I really don’t.

Wendy Valentine: I know, I don’t either. I think that’s one of the, the nice things that do come along, I think in midlife is you just start to care less and less because you don’t have time for it. No, I have the energy for it.

Gail: But you’re so tired. You’re tired of being judged, you’re tired of being critiqued. You’re tired of people telling you what to do. Yeah. And even, and I only learned this in the last few years, is learning to say no. Why did it take me so long to say learn to say no? Someone says, do you want to do this? Oh, I could do that. Oh, maybe I could jiggle these. No.

Wendy Valentine: Or try to think of some excuse.

Gail: Or something like no. Yeah, just like, no. So now I just go, oh, no, that’s not for me. And then people go, oh, okay. And then that’s it. That’s the end of the conversation. Yeah. So I have this thing, my husband will always, if he said, you want to do this? Like, oh, yeah, that’s for me. Or I say, oh no, that’s not for me. And he was jokes and saying, oh, so you’re deciding what’s for you, what’s not for you? Because I just go, no, that’s not for me. I’m not interested. And I think because my, generation, we were raised as people pleasers, you, you know, did what you were told. Why did it take me so long to shake that off? I just don’t know.

Wendy Valentine: Yeah. And the perfectionism, all of that. It’s like, yeah, I’m, I’m, I’m perfectly imperfect.

Gail: Absolutely, Absolutely. Oh, you shouldn’t wear a short skirt or shorts because you’re 57. I don’t care. I wear shorts nearly every day. Someone said, why do you still bother wearing makeup? You know, you’re too old for makeup, aren’t they? I will never be too old for makeup.

Wendy Valentine: Just like putting on today, I was like, I’m gonna put on a red lipstick. It always makes me feel more Darren and amazing. I’m like, why not? You cares.

When you started blogging, did you think it would evolve into what it is

So when you start. So when you moved to Portugal and you started kind of just sharing your story, did you think it would evolve into what it is now?

Gail: No, no, it’s. I have these moments, where I kind of run away from it because it’s overwhelming. So when I first started posting, it was just a bit of fun. it was just a fun way to connect with people. And I was growing my hair out to silver and I was connecting with other women who were doing the same because they were connecting with me. And that’s just a bit of fun. And I had like 10 followers. Oh, this is a bit of fun. And then overnight it became 70,000. And I was like, what? What? I didn’t sign up for this. So then I disappear for a few months and then I kind of come back and start having a little look again and, oh, yeah, yeah, some nice people. I’ll find out what they’re doing. And then it just exploded. and I still to this day don’t think anybody’s watching or reading. I can see how many views, been millions of views on some of my videos. And it blows my mind because I didn’t, I didn’t do it for that. It’s kind of an accidental success, I suppose, if you can, if you consider followers as success. I don’t think of them as followers. I can, I kind of consider people as just, oh, they’re interested in the same things as me. I hate that whole.

Wendy Valentine: Yeah, what do you, what do you think it is? What do you think? I mean, besides the fact that you’re amazing. But, but what do you think that they’re so. I mean, a lot of people still live vicariously through, through others. Right? Is, what is it, do you think about your story that they’re just fascinated with?

Gail: Well, I know because I meet a lot of people and they also messaged me and they said one, it’s my energy. They literally have. You know, you’re dancing around, you’re doing this, you’re cycling, you’re paddleboarding, you’re what? Where are you getting your energy from? And, they said that I motivate them. So if they see me skipping, they’re like, well, she can do it. I’m 30, so, maybe I should give it a go. So I know that they’re, they’re saying, Well, I thought 57 was old, you know, and then, and these are 30 year olds, there’s a lot of younger women following me and they say, oh, I wish my mum would look after herself like you. And I show your account to my mom and you know, she’s not really interested, but you know, I’ve started eating properly and I started skipping and I’ve started doing this. So I know that people are, they’re looking for somebody to inspire the same way as I was looking to inspire me. I mean, there’s two people that I absolutely adore is Mimi Kirk. Mimi Kirk is a, I think she’s 80 something now. 82, I want to say. She’s 82 and she’s 82 and she walks 10 miles every day. And she’s a vegan cook. She’s written vegan cookbooks. Well, they’re not she cookbooks because she, she eats raw. So they’re vegan food books because she’s not cooking, but you know what I mean. So there’s Mimi Kirk. and she inspires me because I know if she can walk 10 miles a day, if she can eat only more, then so can I. There’s Jane Goodall. I think she’s amazing. She’s the naturalist and she’s the lady with the chimps. And she’s,

Wendy Valentine: Oh yes, that’s right, yes.

Gail: You’re still doing that now. She’s still touring the world now. And I’m like, she’s incredible. And then you’ve got, Joan McDonald trained with Joan. She’s, I think she’s late 70s and she’s doing, you know, the lifts and everything. And so I, I was looking for somebody to inspire me, but I didn’t find one person who was talking about food, fasting, fitness, you know, downsizing, empty nesting, all of these, all of these subjects. and I suppose that’s why I wrote the book, because I thought, well, and the book, I don’t know whether I created it too big really, as in too many subjects, because that’s my, my head is like a box of frogs. And I’m like, I have to tell people about fasting, I have to tell people about downs, I have to tell people about eating plants. I have to tell people about the blue zone diets. Because, because there’s so much that there’s a lot.

Wendy Valentine: Because.

Gail: Right.

Wendy Valentine: I mean, in midlife there’s so much going on.

Gail: Yeah.

Wendy Valentine: Oh, you got the menopause, you get the emptiness. You’ve got career changes, relationship changes, body changes. There’s so much going on between your 40s and your 50s. Whether we want, whether we want it or not, a lot of these changes are just happening.

Gail: Absolutely. I mean, your skin changes.

Wendy Valentine: Yes.

Gail: You know, and there’s the weight gain, of course, that, that’s inevitable, I suppose, because you you just don’t need to eat so much when you get older. It’s that simple. And I, and I think people over complicate the whole weight. Yeah, the weight debate of what you should do, you know, if you don’t eat too much, you don’t put on weight. Unless you’ve got a medical condition, of course. You know, let’s, let’s say you haven’t got a medical condition. You’re either eating too much, drinking too much, through alcohol calories way or you’re not moving enough. It’s that simple. It’s that simple. So, I mean, I know I.

Wendy Valentine: Always said that too, like it’s not rocket science.

Gail: It, I agree with you. However, I think people don’t know how to counter calorie. People don’t understand the nutritional value of things and that’s not their fault. It’s very, very difficult to understand calories and which calories are good calories and which calories, bad calories because you can eat, you know, 10 jelly beans and that’s a good, a good snack calorie wise or you can eat an apple and that will keep you feeling fuller for longer. So I think it’s such a complex subject that nobody, not many people take the time to learn about. And of course you’ve got this constant balancing act of well, how much exercise did I do today? Have I eaten enough or have I eaten too much?

Do whatever exercise you really enjoy. Just don’t overthink it

Should I exercise more? So I think that, it can be overcomplicated. And I think people get really, really confused by, or what should I be doing? Should I be running? Should I. People say to me, I can’t run and I can’t skip. What should I doing? And I’m like, do whatever exercise you really enjoy.

Wendy Valentine: It’s that exactly. Just like you said earlier. Just don’t overthink it.

Gail: Don’t overthink anything. What I mean, I chose jump rope skipping because where I live is really, really hot. So I had to find something I could do indoors. I don’t want to pay for something monthly. So I wanted something that was a one off purchase, which is a rope. And then I thought, I don’t need much equipment. I need a pair of feet, you know, and a good sports bra and a rope. That’s it. It, that’s all you need is a good sports bra and a rope. That is it. And so that’s why I started with jump rope. You should do something you love. Walking, canoeing, cycling, yoga, ballet, tap, whatever it is, just keep moving because that’s the most important thing that we can do is to maintain our strength and our fitness because most of us end up falling over and we never recover from that.

Wendy Valentine: Yes, exactly.

Before your midlife edits, were you that much into health and wellness

Before your midlife edits, were you that much into health and wellness before or did that kind of come after?

Gail: Yes, I was. So before. So I put a lot of weight on. In 2021, I put a lot of weight on, and that was lockdown. That was the whole, you can’t exercise, you know, Prior to that, I’d been walking, no exaggeration, six hours a day, hiking six hours a day. I’d hike three hours in the morning, three hours in the evening. My dogs were so happy, and so I was burning a lot of calories. I was slim, I was. Was fit, probably upper body, not so much because it was mainly hiking, but I had a, whole food plant based every day, and I was walking every day. However, when I was confined during lockdown, that gin and tonic became a little bit more attractive because there was nothing else to do in the evening. So I go out for my one walk a day, and then in the evening it was like, oh, okay, well, I’ll go and watch the sunset. I’ll take a gin and tonic with me. So I was drinking one gin and tonic. Oh, well, chicken and tonics. Okay, so it’s having two gin and tonics. And then, I think my food really changed, but I was drinking more alcohol than I’d ever drunk before in my whole life. And so. And also, I wasn’t exercising as much. And it was only when I filmed myself because I love filming things. And I was filming this little river setting in the north of Portugal, and I was diving into the water with my dog.

Wendy Valentine: I saw that. I saw that real. And it was like, there you had the captions off to the side that people were like. Like as if this was somebody else, you know?

Gail: Yeah. Oh, they were saying, oh, that’s not you, that’s not you. And I don’t know. And I was filming it because it was such a beautiful, perfect setting. And then a few weeks later, I was kind of going through my videos and deleting and clearing them out. What? Who’s that? And, oh, that’s me. That’s me. How. What, how did that happen? And, And. But for me, it wasn’t so much my weight because I’m carrying a lot of extra weight. At 32 pounds, I’m carrying a lot of extra weight. But I just looked. My eyes were just not sparkling because my husband always Says, you’ve got really sparkly eyes. The whites of your eyes are white. The color of your eyes is very vibrant. And I could just see that I’d lost my sparkle. So that’s when I was like, okay, so I’ve got to do something. So it’s like, what did I do before? Why have I put this weight on? What have I changed? Well, I’m drinking. Okay, I got to stop drinking. how do I control. How do I control my food without it being micromanaging everything I eat? Okay, well, I’ll do intermittent fasting. I’ll try that. So I tried intermittent fasting and the weight just fell off. It fell off so quickly. It really surprised me. So I lost the weight, 32 pounds within about three months. I was like, my God, that’s amazing.

Wendy Valentine: Wow, that’s awesome.

Gail: It was amazing. And then I thought, well, I need to tone this up now because there’s a lot of jelly belly going on here. So. So that’s why I thought, well, I can’t. You know, the walking thing? I can’t walk for miles here because it’s so dry, it’s so arid. Lots of the plants are very vicious, so you’ll end up with ripped, ripped open legs. That’s no exaggeration. So I was like, okay. And that’s where I thought, okay, I’ll try the jump rope. And I. Day one, I thought I was going to die. There’s a video of me and I’m lying on the floor and I’m like, what am I doing? I’m going to die. I kept going for a month. I was like, I’m going to do a month. I’m going to do a month. And then I’ve never looked back. I just love it. It’s such an incredible workout on the spot, indoors. It’s just amazing. I love jumping.

Wendy Valentine: Right.

The courage to change is more scary than staying where you are

One thing I’ve noticed with you within the stories that you share is that you became. You were conscious of where you became unconscious, if you will. You’re very like. And we all, like. We all, you know, fall off and like, okay, we’re get out of our routine or whatever. Like, it happens. We’re human beings being human, right? But then the key is, is that awareness to get you back on track to change things up. Like, okay, this isn’t working. Like, I need to try something else. I need to change my diet. I need to get out. I need to walk more. I need to do more. I need to move to Portugal, whatever it is. Yeah, it’s that awareness of like, all right, this is not working for me. Right. Yeah. Oh, now I was just going to say too the, the courage to change. The courage, no matter how small the change is, no matter if it’s. Okay, I’m gonna start. I’m gonna go buy a jump rope. I’m gonna start jump roping. Right. I’m gonna change my diet. I’m gonna. It doesn’t have to be such big leaps. I think sometimes people feel like they’ll watch people like you and I work these big leaps in our life. Like, it didn’t just happen overnight, right? It was literally picking up one thing in your house and going, okay, is this going in the garbage? Am I going to burn it in the fire? What am I doing with this? You know, I mean, like, it’s, it were the, this is the end, right? Not the end, but this is the byproduct, right? They didn’t see all the steps that needed to take to get you to the other side. But the other side is always very possible. It is taking those tiny little steps that kind of equal one big leap, if you will.

Gail: But I think it’s more scary to stay where you are to stay.

Wendy Valentine: Oh, I do too. Yes.

Gail: I, I, you know, people say, oh, you know, I love routine, and routine’s good for you. I hate routine. I wish every single day of my life could be completely different. I wish I could wake up every day in a completely different place and figure out, okay, where, where do I get food from? You, know, what do I need to wear? What can I do? What’s that over there? That, to me, would be my idea of heaven, where she’s waking up in the morning not knowing where I am now. A, lot of people, ah, are so scared of change, they stay where they are. And to me, that’s more scary. You don’t like your partner, you don’t like your house, you don’t like your job. You don’t, you don’t like your dog. Whatever it is, you don’t like it. You don’t like your body, you know, but you’re doing nothing about it. To me, that’s, that’s more scary than, than trying something. I would rather try and fail than never having tried. I want to be the old lady with so many ridiculous stories of all the crazy things I’ve done. Yeah, when I did that, that was crazy. Then.

Wendy Valentine: Did you remember the one quote about sliding in your, your gravesite? Like, sideways wine in one hand, chocolate in the other? Like, what a ride. Rather than okay. Just slowly laying down in your casket. like, yeah, like, it should be filled with so many amazing stories. So much so that, like, I. I hope that when. When I’m on my deathbed, like, there’s so many things to think about that I. I’ll be like, oh, my God. Like, I want to just stay alive just so I can think about all the cool s*** that I did in life.

Gail: Yeah. I know what people say to me. We’ve got a bucket list. And I’m like, well, no, because as soon as I think of something, I do it. Yeah, I just do it. I literally like, oh, that’s it. I mean, even, buying my old vintage car, because I’ve always had really nice luxury cars. And I go, I’d like a really nice, like, old vintage car that I don’t care if someone hits it. And, you know, everybody loves an old car, don’t they? And I was just. I’m just gonna go buy one. And I just literally went out and bought one that day. And I just think that people spend so much time thinking about things, they.

Wendy Valentine: Never do them and they talk themselves out of it.

Gail: Oh, you can talk yourself out of anything.

Wendy Valentine: Yeah.

Gail: And I’m somebody. I’m very analytical. I’m analyzing stuff all day, every day. Because I’ll say to my husband, oh, do you remember the other day you said this? Well, I’ve thought about it, and I’ve come up with five different options. He’s just like, who does that? But I do. I’m very. I’m analyzing myself all, ah, the time. Have I eaten the right food? Have I exercised enough today? Am I taking care of my mental health?

M. M. says Covid was a very weird time for everybody

Am I remembering to breathe? Am I remember to breathe properly? Am I what? Have you been grateful for something today? You need to be grateful. And then when I go to bed, I’m lying there and I think, right, I need to think about positive thoughts about things that I want to achieve or things I want for other people. And I want to go to bed in a positive, mindset. So I’m very analytical, and I think it’s only when I kind of slipped and I was drinking, so I couldn’t be analytical. That kind of things. I mean, it was a very weird time for everybody, wasn’t it? It was a very.

Wendy Valentine: It was strange. Yeah.

Gail: I don’t think I’m ever going to get over that whole period because it. It was just a really bad time for me. I feel like it was, My parents had the war in. In their life, and that was like a massive event. And I, I can’t say that Covid is the same as a war because I’ve never been. However, taking away everybody’s right to even go outside your door was. It was a very weird feeling.

Wendy Valentine: It was a weird feeling. Yeah. It was very, very strange.

Gail: Yeah.

Wendy Valentine: Yeah.

Gail: So for me, it was a whole shift in that time where our, life as it was, was just completely changed. So I, I found that very difficult to deal with. The fact that my son was in another country. I couldn’t just hop on a plane and see him. So for me, it was kind of this major event that I didn’t deal very well with. Yeah. But I, like you said, I had the self awareness to say, oh, you’re drinking too much, you’re not looking after yourself, and it’s time to change. I mean, there’s not one good thing about alcohol. There’s. There’s not one health benefit for alcohol. M. But of course that’s not what we’re marketed, is it? But yeah, you have a lot of self awareness. Every day I’m analyzing what I’ve done, what I’m doing, what I plan to do.

Wendy Valentine: There’s that saying, that saying of a comfort zone is a beautiful place, but nothing ever grows there.

Gail: That’s so true.

Wendy Valentine: Yeah.

How do you feel like you’ve grown as a woman, as a human

How do you feel like you’ve grown in just the last few years as a woman, as a human?

Gail: Oh, I think I’ve had a full awakening. I think I’ve had a full awakening of realizing that I am the creator of my life, that I can create. Every opportunity, anything that I want, I can create. And that’s being, putting everything in a positive way, thinking positively. You know, people talk about raising your vibration, and it’s true. If you’re, if you let yourself, sink into the mindset of doom and gloom and everything’s terrible, that’s. That’s what will be attracted to you. Whereas if you say, okay, that didn’t work out for me, but maybe it didn’t work out for me in that way for, for a good reason. And I’m grateful happened and I’m excited for what will, be because of. Because things didn’t work out that way. So I changed the way that I think about everything. I don’t want anybody speaking negatively around me. Everything has to be positive. And I think I’ve realized that you should never stop learning and never stop questioning everything. And also another one is that, I’ve realized that you, you can’t, you can’t Change someone else’s path for them. You have to give them the tools, give them, Shine the light for them. But if they don’t see the way. Yeah, you feel they should go. You should wish them luck and wave them, Wave them goodbye and wish them well. Because I think the thing is I was somebody that, people pleaser, but I, I wanted the best for everyone. I literally, someone asked me for help and I was in. I was like, not taking over, but I was just like, oh, you could do this and you could do that and I’ve done this and I’ve done that. And then, I thought, no, you have to give people the tools to look after themselves or open the doors themselves, give them the keys, but don’t, don’t guide them there.

Wendy Valentine: Exactly.

Gail: Yeah. So shine the light.

Wendy Valentine: People will change when they want to change, if they change.

Gail: Yeah. And you can’t wake anyone up to their potential or possibilities, because they have to wake themselves up or you have. They have to get into the. So dark, deep into the darkness that they, they, they see your little bit of lights and you can help them, but you, you definitely can’t help other people lead their lives. You can only give them the tools so they can help themselves. And that’s something I didn’t realize before. I thought I could help everybody and solve everybody’s problems, but wouldn’t that be.

Wendy Valentine: Nice if we could just like, fix everyone and everyone’s happy?

Gail: Yeah, yeah.

Wendy Valentine: That’s also. Yeah, that’s part of being a people pleaser and a perfectionist. And let me just. Yeah, I, I had that, that’s taken me a while too, to learn that lesson. My brother actually taught me that lesson. I’m like, you can’t, you can’t. You can be a catalyst. You can be a, positive impact in people’s lives, which is probably why you and I do what we do. Right? But everyone out there listening or watching us, it’s up to them to actually make those changes themselves.

Gail: Yeah, you can. And also, you can’t give people that spark. They have to find it within themselves.

Wendy Valentine: I know. And sometimes I think what you were saying earlier is about, like, sometimes you have to go into the dark to find that light.

Gail: You do. I always say that the darkness is a place to explore, but it’s not a place to linger. and I, and I say that because when you’re in the darkness and everything seems hopeless is that you shouldn’t fight it. It sounds weird, but you shouldn’t fight it. You should just like wallow there and say, okay, this is not great, but I’m here. What am I gonna do? So it’s almost like I’m in the darkness. I can’t get out. What are little steps that I can take to at least take control of this chaos. And I think that’s where the intermittent fasting came from because I thought the world seems out of control at the moment. I can’t control anything. But I could control, you know, I could. Oh, I can change the way that I eat. I can. That’s something I can do. Oh, I can change the way that I think about exercise. It’s not punishment, it’s actually a treat. It’s a treat for my body because then I feel amazing afterwards. And you know, I had the cold shower after every jump rope session. Why would you do that? And I said, because it’s horrible. And then I know, I know that that’s the most horrible thing that’s going to happen to me today. I put it over with. So you have this cold shower and it’s hideous and it’s horrible, but afterwards you feel refreshed. So yeah, I’m a different person. I think the thing is, I was so busy taking care of everyone else and worried about everyone else, I really wasn’t taking care of myself at all. Not at all. Not mentally, not physically.

Wendy Valentine: I love the name of the book. Midlife Edit.

Gail: Yeah. Do you know that was. It came to me really, really quickly because I thought, I feel like I’m editing my life. I feel like I’m, I’ve got this story and I’m editing it and I can actually change the plot every day. I can change the plot every day.

Meditation is about centering your thoughts on yourself, right

And then the COVID which is a butterfly wing, I, I really felt like I’d been this caterpillar my whole life, but not even knowing I was a caterpillar. And it was only when I was in this darkness. It’s almost like the chrysalis of, reinvention that I went in there, ah, this little caterpillar and came out this very, I felt very powerful when I, when I came out of this darkness. I just felt like I could do anything. I just thought because like you said earlier, I stopped caring about what anybody else thinks about anything I do, anything I say. And I can be who I want to be, how I want to be that person.

Wendy Valentine: Yeah.

Gail: And so the Midlife edit was okay? Well, you know, learning to say no was really difficult. Why was it really difficult? But I’ve learned to say no, that’s amazing. And then I’ve realized that I’m the creator of my, you, know, bringing positivity in. I’m the creator of my life. What do I want? If you don’t know what you want, how are you going to get there? You know, something as simple as that. And, I don’t like to say meditation because a lot of people get turned off when you say meditation because they. It can mean different things to different people. So for me, meditation is kind of bringing all my power back to me and saying, right, am I comfortable? Am I happy? Am I stressed about anything? If I’m not, why am I. What am I stressed about? maybe it’s because I haven’t exercised. Maybe I haven’t eaten enough. Maybe I’ve been online too much. And to me, it’s the whole using your mind to draw your resources back and kind of like center yourself and go, okay, no, I’m good. I’m safe. I’m comfortable. I don’t need anything. I’m, I’m. I’m stressed because I’m, you know, my brain’s creating these problems, but I don’t need to be stressed. And it’s just a moment to calm, and then. And then I kind of create this golden force field around me, this imaginary golden force field where nothing can hurt me. And that, to me, is meditation. It’s that, just centering your thoughts on yourself.

Wendy Valentine: Yeah. Just listening, listening, observing the thoughts. Yeah. I used to think the meditation was, okay, I need to stop my thoughts. And I was like, oh, my God, this is impossible. But then, right. It’s just like watching the ticker tape of thoughts going across your mind and not judging them, just feel like. And it’s like this. I feel like you end up becoming kind of your own coach, your own guide through your life, talking to yourself, as crazy as it might be, Right. But asking yourself those questions, even difficult questions, listening for the answer of how you feel about something. And it’s just kind of like this nice internal dialogue that you have with yourself and knowing that you can change that, you can change that dialogue, you can change the thoughts, you can change how you feel about something. Like, it’s. It’s fascinating once you realize how much power that you have over yourself and who you are and who you are becoming.

Gail: Absolutely. And I think the thing is, we all have problems, and human nature is if you don’t have a problem, you will find one. You will create. Yeah. You know, we’re really good at that. It’s like, I don’t have a problem. That means I have a problem I don’t know about. So we. We’re. We’re, you know, that’s just our, mind, isn’t it? It’s, like, burning too much. So I do this thing where I’m like, well, what are the things that. I’m kind of conscious that, they’re not a problem, but they’re things that, on my mind, I kind of imagine them all in front of me, and then I just let them fall to the floor. And I see them more than they fall to the floor. And then I walk over them in my mind, and I’m like, okay, well, they’re obviously not important. They’re not that important because everything fell to the floor. and I say that if you have your health and your immediate family, your friends are healthy too, there’s really not a lot to worry about. If you’ve got a warm shower, a belly full of food, nothing else matters, really. Nothing else matters, really. And it’s just those basic creature comforts. If you’ve got those roof over your head, you’ve got food and clean water. Ah, you can get through anything else.

Wendy Valentine: Yeah, I totally agree. I love the serenity prayer. Like, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change. The. The courage to change the things that I can, and the wisdom to know the difference. I remind myself of those times where I’m like, yeah, I’m having a rough day. And I’m like, okay, seriously, like, what can I change here? Even if it is just changing my energy and changing the vibration. Right.

Gail: Yeah.

Wendy Valentine: Yeah.

Gail: I think being grateful for, even when bad things happen to you, obviously there are terrible things that happen to people, and no one but should be grateful for that. But, you know, when things go wrong in the day, I just think, okay, well, I. I thank you for that. Thank you. Because that’s tested me. It’s, you know, tested my patience or. Oh, actually, because that didn’t work out, I could do this instead. And I think some people get so caught up on the things that didn’t work out, they can’t move on. Whereas I’m literally somebody that goes, that didn’t work. Right next. Not even. And I don’t think about it ever again. Right next.

When things don’t work out 100 percent of the time, I feel they work out

That didn’t work. Let’s try something else. And, when things don’t work out 100 of the time, I feel they work out better in the end.

Wendy Valentine: Yes. Isn’t that interesting?

Gail: Yeah.

Wendy Valentine: Just like with Steve Jobs and said, you can’t connect the dots looking forward. You can only connect the dots looking backwards.

Gail: Yeah.

Wendy Valentine: So it’s like, as you look back at your life, even like the really s* times in your life, it’s like, oh, well, if that hadn’t happened, I wouldn’t have gone to this dot and this thought and this dot, and here I am now.

Gail: Oh, absolutely. When I was working for this company and I was sitting there listening to my boss going on and on about something, and I was really disagreeing with them, and he. They were. I can’t explain the story, but they really wanted me to do something. And I said, no, it’s not in the customer’s best interest to do that. And they were like, well, you have to do it. And I said, but I’m not going to do it. And we’re having this conversation. There was like 20 people in the room, and I just thought, this. This is not going anywhere. what am I doing here? And I literally put my coffee cup down, walked out of the meeting, and I never went back. I left the building and I never went back because you’re like a mouse.

Wendy Valentine: Check it out.

Gail: I said, that’s it. I’m done. I’m done. And then my husband’s like, oh, what are you doing home? I went, I still want to talk about it, but I’m not going back there.

Wendy Valentine: Coffee mug behind.

Gail: I. I did. That’s the only thing I was annoyed about, because it was a really nice mug.

Wendy Valentine: It would be funny if you walked by. You’re like, I just came to get my mug. Sorry. Now I’m gone.

Gail: But it was so. It was. I didn’t even make a fuss. I just put my coffee cup down and walked out there. Oh, she’s gone to the bathroom. That’s where she’s, He never came back.

Wendy Valentine: Oh, my God, I love it.

Gail: But that was a moment of this is going nowhere. Do I want the rest of my life to be like this? No, I don’t. I’m gone. But, But it’s. It’s having. I don’t think it’s brave. I just think it’s having the. The energy to make. To deviate from this path. That is because your path in life is growing in front of you. It always is. And it’s up to you. Sliding doors. Do you get on the train? Do you not get on the train? I always say, get on the train. You can get off the train again, but get on the train. And that’s the advice I give to everybody. I don’t know what to do, or I’m scared, or I’m just like, what’s the worst that can happen?

Wendy Valentine: Yeah.

Gail: You know, if you’re jumping out of a plane without a parachute, I say, don’t do that. But apart from that, you know, just try it, do it. If you don’t like it.

Wendy Valentine: Right.

Gail: Go back to what you’re doing before.

Wendy Valentine: Exactly. Just pivot and try something else.

Gail: Yeah, absolutely.

Wendy Valentine: What I love about this, I love the whole conversation, but it’s just simple wisdom. It’s not right. I mean, it’s just. Just live and. And enjoy your life.

Gail: Because I think the thing is, a lot of people realize too late, the thing. And that’s why I feel very blessed that I had that moment in the darkness to kind of reevaluate my whole life again. you know, what. What do I want? What do people. What do I need to do to improve myself? And on my 50th birthday, it was seven years ago in Sicily, I met this, doctor, and he was nursing geriatric patients. And I said to him, which patients do the best? Which patients do the worst? What’s your best bit of advice for aging? And he said, the patients who lived by their age, that, oh, well, I’m 80. I should be. I should be sick, I should take tablets, I should be. They were the ones that did the worst, whereas the ones that were like.

Wendy Valentine: Oh, I don’t care.

Gail: 80, it’s just a number.

He said they were just living life to the max. That’s something I’m really grateful that I learned from him

He said they were just living life to the max. And. And that really, at, that time set me on a path of age means nothing. Yes, my face is changing, my hair is changing. My body’s changing. My mind isn’t changing. My mind isn’t changing. My mind’s still expanding. And our minds should expand until the day we die, really. But I think, think so many people get into a rut with their houses and their cars and their holidays and their jobs that they have. They need. They need people to see how successful they are by the things that they’ve got. Where anyone comes to my house, they’re like, you’re living in this. And I’m like, yeah, it’s great. It’s just a little cottage in the middle, in the middle of an orange grove. It’s nothing fancy. Yes, I could have, ah, a much fancier house, but I don’t need it. And that’s. That’s something I’m really grateful that I learned from him, which was, you know, don’t be limited by your age. Just. Just enjoy life every day and then just learning to be happy with less. You need so few things to make you happy. So few things. Time is the thing that will make you the happiest.

Wendy Valentine: I love it. So good.

Where can we find you and how do we get your book

Where can we find you and how do we get your book? I already have your book. But where can everybody else get your book?

Gail: Well, I’ve got a website, 50sister, uh,.com, 50sister, I’m gonna have to change it to 60sister, I guess in three years time. But 50sister.com is my website and there’s lots of jump rope information there, jumping information. And, there’s a bit about my book on there as well. You can buy it from Amazon. there’s also an audiobook which strangely has outsold the, paper version. It’s. People have gone crazy for the audio version, which is great. So, yeah, 50sister.com everything’s on there. And I’m on YouTube and Instagram are my two main channels.

Wendy Valentine: Thank you, Gail. You’re awesome.

Gail: Thank you.

Wendy Valentine: We’ll have to see each other sometime. You come to Madera? or I’m going the Algarve.

Gail: Yeah, definitely. I’d love that, Wendy. I really, really would. Thank you so much. It’s been really good, fun chatting.

Wendy Valentine: Thank you, everyone. Have a great day.