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Be Grand
Andy Gaffney is not very clever. And not in a cute “How old were you when you realised…” way – more in a “didn’t know Barcelona was in Spain” way. But maybe he can fix that! BE GRAND: THE LEAVING CERT RESIT is the show where Andy invites very clever talented people onto the show to relive their school days, talk about how they ended doing what they do and along the way, they can earn some completely pointless points by answering Leaving Cert questions from the year they did it. All in the hope that Andy’s sponge-like brain soaks up this new knowledge! That and provide some sweet sweet light entertainment of course…
Dropping into the Be Grand studios for a chat today is world-renowned health and wellness coach, as well as award-winning author, Alison Canavan. An advocate of an holistic approach to self-care, emphasising the importance of treating the mind, body and spirit as a whole, Alison’s work has taken her from Ireland to the United States and she’s received glowing reviews for her book Minding Mum. Before turning her hand to wellness and writing, Alison was also one of Ireland’s most successful models, spending two decades in the spotlight after being catapulted to fame at age 15.
She joins Andy to talk about what it’s like seeing your face on a billboard everywhere you go, her battles with addiction and what needs to change with regards to mental health services in Ireland. Plus, Alison tries to win some coveted Leaving Cert points by talking about that fixture of the exam, the 1995 action epic Die Hard With A Vengeance.
On this week's edition of Be Grand, Andy is joined by radio presenter and producer Mike Hogan for a masterclass in broadcasting, something that regular listeners to the podcast will agree is badly needed. Currently overseeing the breakfast show on Classic Hits 94-105 FM, Mike reminisces about his early days in pirate radio and his private school education before the two gents analyse and discuss the venerable yet intimidating institution that is the Irish Debs. Join Andy and Mike as they take a trip back to the heady days of 2001 and seek to answer a question we've all pondered at some stage...just how good was Shaggy?
Globe trotting adventurer Allan Dixon joins the show this week. Allan talks about how the Quokka brought him fame, his tips for the perfect animal selfie and pitching his ideas to a billionaire. Also Andy tests Allan's knowledge on 2008 and why volcanos go boom boom. Which in fairness, saying things like "Why do Volcanos go boom boom?" is probably why Andy made a bag of his leaving cert in the first place.
Sex Siopa is the sex shop that is changing sex shops. Founded by Shawna Scott , Sex Siopa’s aim is to provide customers with a fun safe place that offers body safe products. Shawna joins Andy to discuss growing up in Seattle, the high school experience , how a much underrated Irish rock band played a role in her coming to ireland and how important it is to have an open chat about sex and sex products. Andy also makes Shawna draw Carlow which was a leaving cert question in 2012 and makes her feel at home with some SAT questions. Hup ya pup.
Actress, Comedian, Writer and all round bad ass Tara Flynn joins Andy on the very first episode of Be Grand : The Leaving Cert Resit. She has a crack at some questions from 1987, chats about if her skills in voice over work is any good for picking people up and how Abba had her out on the streets.