Season 1 of the Coffee & Geography Podcast has come to a close. It’s been my first full foray into podcating as a host and producer and I have thoroughly enjoyed it. Sure, the production side of things has been taxing at times, but I’ve loved developing new skills. But without a shadow of a doubt it has been all the guests that have given me the most pleasure.
I’ve spoken to teachers, students, actors, authors, activists, scientists… dotted across the world from a range of different backgrounds. I set myself high expectations with regards to the diversity of guests – I don’t think I quite got what I would have hoped, but this only the first season of the podcast, hopefully of many, and I’ve only just started building connections.
Rather than giving my highlights and favourite moments, I thought I’d put together a piece of poetry, where I have threaded together all of the ‘We are all Geographers’ keywords chosen by each guest. ‘We are all Geographers’ was a little game I played where a guest had to link a word to ‘geography’ (in the loosest sense) and then chose a word for the following guest to do the same. I put all those words into this lovely piece of WordArt.
Head over to the main Coffee & Geography Podcast page to catch up on all the conversations if you have missed or indeed listen back to your favourites. Please consider liking, rating and subscribing to the podcast via your preferred platform or app (it really does help!). And last of all… enjoy the poem!
“Baamaapii” (Coffee & Geography season 1)
It's just me Sitting hear with my cup of tea Thinking about the souls I've connected with The minds I have explored And the stories I have listened to What is it about geography That makes me want to take to poetry? And journey from one end of the line to the other? Pausing at each stop To ponder To observe To find a community Unfamiliar and outside the experience of me To hear how they would battle a flood Dance to a beat Meld intersectional cultures And act so motherly Now I do talk a lot As I seek and discover melting pots Maybe it's FOMO? Or maybe it's finding hope Within the geography To restore a faith in humanity? Now on from a teacher trio I recall fondly a soul from Rio Who can paint words exquisitely as she can birds A challenge it should not be For girls to aspire to STEM Many examples have been set Such as a friend with bouquets Delivered with passionate jazzy upraise Lesson taught true and Through a feminist gaze It's no threat... Embrace Have faith Look inside yourself to dimiss Demons and wraiths To emerge from the coal mine Of disconnect And dispassion I, too, often need a map To find my way or escape a trap Be it by ladder or (heh) trampoline Getting creative also helps find a path Helps communicate and translate Talking through baking cakes and crocheting scarves Chatting to fellow geeks About various GIS techniques Both exposes and breaks the north-south divide We can meet in the middle and Not be fearful of the 'abnormal' Or paranormal Because those angels do exist Even though they may be sorely missed Causing one to be discombobulated Comfort is found by sharing stories Of loss, of what might have been But also acknowledging what's come to pass instead Conversations are key And these have certainly enlightened me How language is more that just words It can be unspoken, felt Transcending and connecting places and people India, Portugal, UK and beyond... Comedy can cut through too Take stories of exploding leeches and leopard poo And yet I still learned a thing or two! So did the mini-geographer Who thought it quite fun Clearly inspired by this art! Now while I have certainly had laughs Talking about people's crafts Privilege checks and eye-openers I've had too Justice without equity is no justice at all Climate reparations mean nothing Without the leadership of the global south Admittedly my platform is western bias Without being nefarious or impious I'm curious about everyone's story Especially of those proven allies No cover-up, no secrecy My intentions to spy are true To gaze closer, to look deeper Decipher nature's secrets, a keeper Of primordial knowledge The aroma of Assam tea And embodiment of one's soul Conducive to finding happiness within Happiness need not be elusive When engaging in conversations inclusive Of experiences outside of your own Even connecting with another outside the binary The pictures taken and share with me Sharpens my spatial awareness From photographs to musical tunes Getting down to the beetroot In the afternoons We're down with the kids, right? Right? Ok, we'll settle for empowering them Enabling youth to fight the good fight They are saplings to be nurtured into Forests of strength anew Watching these plants grow into STARS And listening to them illuminates Our surroundings Let's be more attentive There us far more contrast than I realise When I simply open my eyes How much more could we see If we slowed down, uncaged ourselves Got on our bike Or kept our head up as we walk We'll notice the colour and flair Within what we build and wear If a boy could harness the wind and We could chikondi chili m'anga in friendship Together there is nothing we can't achieve Even between the ends of east and west Africa My discourse has been graced By an everyday Yorkshire lad who embraced The role of President His lineage documented digitally (Amongst a treasure trove of other stuff!) Dusted in fresh chalk *Sigh* How I could squirrel myself away Recalling these chats day after day But there are so many voices that we must hear Lived experiences that I could never have But maybe some I might share All in common humanity And when voice become A chorus we'll never succumb To the impossible Students teach the teacher And remind me why I'm in the game Bonding over mountains and more The purpose Geography gives us Allows us to deeply discuss Our sense of place and time So let us slow down and Take the scenic route Become rangers of our own space Treating it with grace Like a ballet dancer with soft base View it through each lens And angles never considered A young teacher does well to become wise Through listening It is in this way We stop becoming astray We understand the unnatural is invasive Let's reconnect, keep and share Knowledge Cree, Métis, me, we... For if we don't then Forever it'll be us and them Any connection remains Crypted and alien It's not a performance, it's science! It's human, it's natual These conversations have been dear All profund, enlightening, queer Did you know, Brer Rabbit isn't who he really says he is? Well, Disney's... anyway (Like fresh untrodden soil captured under toenails I've picked up a thing or two!) Although I'm sure in my identity I've enjoyed hearing life's complexity I'll take this into stewardship Freshly reverent Thank you all Baamaapii Baamaapii
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Geogramblings 
Very delighted to see and read. I too learn and taught Geography for about three decades. And presently writing independently .
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