Melissa has played sport her whole life. Tennis from the age of six, hockey through her 20s, 30s and 40s, squash, golf, real tennis, even ladies' cricket. Then a shoulder injury took it all away for six months, and as she puts it, it narrowed her whole life down: the sport, the people, the confidence, all of it.

In this episode Melissa talks about the knock that time out had on her mental health, what it took to get going again (a lecture from her children and a notice in a window), why six months off made her feel like a slug when she wasn't nearly as unfit as she thought, and how building her strength back rebuilt her confidence with it. These days she plays pickleball and bowls, and she's part of the volunteer team taking Stonehouse to the national In Bloom finals on 20 October.

There's a Jim's Gym quick-fire round, a hot air balloon pilot, the first Porsche ever imported into Britain, and some very good advice involving a tin of beans.

Chapters
00:00:00 Welcome and who Melissa is
00:02:06 Surrey to Gloucestershire: a fresh start
00:05:11 A lifetime of sport, from tennis at six
00:07:48 Born competitive (and the first Porsche in Britain)
00:12:12 Why a new game in later life is worth it
00:14:44 Making friends in a new area
00:15:51 The shoulder injury and six months out
00:18:04 "It narrows your life down"
00:19:55 Getting strong again, working around pain
00:21:09 Why pickleball replaced tennis
00:22:39 Stonehouse in Bloom and the national finals
00:27:55 The Jim's Gym quick-fire round
00:31:28 Melissa's advice: just start
00:33:13 Outro

Free live workouts every Tuesday and Friday at 9am: www.facebook.com/groups/jimsgymcommunity
Free Fitness MOT: www.jimsgym.fitness/free-fitness-mot
Join Jim's Gym: www.jimsgym.fitness/become-a-member

One in three people over 65 has a fall every year. And yet the message at the heart of this episode is a hopeful one: falls are not an inevitable part of ageing, and there's more in your control than you think.

James is joined by Meghan and Annie from the NHS Falls Assessment and Education Service here in Gloucestershire. They cover why people really fall (it's rarely just bad luck: slippers, medications, eyesight and strength all play a part), the fear-of-falling cycle that quietly does as much damage as falls themselves, the exercises with the strongest evidence behind them, and the magic number: three times a week. They also walk through exactly what to do if you find yourself on the floor, including the right way for someone to help you up. And listen out for the gentlemen who've never injured themselves in a fall thanks to their National Service para training, plus the surprising case for owning a log burner.

This episode is released during Falls Prevention Awareness Week, 21st to 25th September 2026. Jim's Gym is supporting Fall-Proof, a Gloucestershire-wide campaign helping older adults stay strong, steady and confident through strength and balance activities. Find out more and access the free resources at: fallproof.me

If you're in Gloucestershire and worried about falls, you can refer yourself: search "Gloucestershire Falls" or use the link below. Wherever you live, the free resources are open to everyone.

This episode is general guidance, not personal medical advice. If you're worried about falls, speak to your GP or local falls service.

Fall-Proof campaign and free resources: https://fallproof.me
Gloucestershire Falls Assessment and Education Service: https://www.ghc.nhs.uk/our-teams-and-services/falls/

Fancy working on your strength and balance from home? Find us at www.jimsgym.fitness

We live in a world where everything needs to be done yesterday. Izwe Nkosi believes gardening offers something very different: the chance to slow down and move at the pace of nature.
Izwe is the gardener behind For Plants Sake, where well over 100,000 people follow his garden and allotment. He grew up in South Africa surrounded by his father's mangoes, avocados, grapes and roses, worked in garden centres himself, and eventually started sharing his own gardening journey online. Then a simple video about growing potatoes reached millions of views and everything changed.
But this isn't really an episode about becoming a successful gardening influencer.
James and Izwe explore why gardening can be such a powerful antidote to the speed of modern life: getting us moving, giving the mind somewhere to settle, reconnecting us with nature and creating opportunities for people to connect with one another.
They talk about burnout and our relentless pursuit of productivity, loneliness and the friendships formed on allotments, gardening with children, growing your own food and why Izwe believes we should think less about constant productivity and more about fruitfulness — recognising that, like nature, human beings also need periods of rest.
Izwe also talks about authenticity online, why he sees people as different plants requiring different environments in which to thrive, and how something as ordinary as weeding has become a form of meditation for him.
And there are plenty of practical ideas to take away too, including the three foods Izwe thinks everyone should grow at least once, what to plant as autumn approaches and some simple ways to begin experiencing the garden differently.
Find Izwe:
Search For Plants Sake on Instagram, TikTok and social media.
Fancy getting moving too? Find us at www.jimsgym.fitness
Chapters:
00:00:00 - Introduction
00:01:37 - Meet Izwe Nkosi and For Plants Sake
00:04:17 - How gardening came into Izwe's life
00:05:52 - Gardening at the pace of nature
00:08:30 - Why younger people are rediscovering gardening
00:13:54 - Growing your own food
00:15:39 - Allotments, community and loneliness
00:17:49 - Gardening as movement and exercise
00:20:20 - Productivity versus fruitfulness
00:23:00 - Gardening with children
00:24:57 - The potato video that went viral
00:26:24 - Social media success without chasing influence
00:28:18 - Why Izwe sees people like plants
00:30:13 - Authenticity and staying real online
00:34:38 - Three foods everyone should grow
00:36:44 - What to plant going into autumn
00:39:36 - Kale and eating with the seasons
00:44:29 - Weeding as meditation and how to get started
00:48:01 - Where to find For Plants Sake