Lord Peter Hain’s Crisis Comforts

Podcast date Series 7. Episode 77

As regular listeners will know, at the end of all our conversations we ask our guests for their three crisis comforts; their go-tos for inspiration and strength during the challenging times.

Short but perfectly formed advice for getting you through the tough moments.  Over the years we have heard some incredibly interesting and useful tips for anyone who might be feeling the weight of their own problems.

In this episode the politician and activist Lord Peter Hain shares his Crisis Comforts with us. The full episode is available below, but here is a little taster…

 

Full episode and transcript

https://www.crisiswhatcrisis.com/podcasts/lord-hain-on-growing-up-in-crisis-letterbombs-and-a-kafka-esque-plot/

 

Links:

Stream/Buy ‘Allies’ by Some Velvet Morning: https://ampl.ink/qp6bm

Some Velvet Morning Website: www.somevelvetmorning.co.uk

Your Daily Practice: Sleep by Myndstream: https://open.spotify.com/track/5OX9XgJufFz9g63o2Dv2i5?si=b2f9397c92084682

Buy Peter’s latest book here  – The Elephant Conspiracy: Volume 2

Also read his earlier book  – ‘A Pretoria Boy: The Story of South Africa’s ‘Public Enemy Number One’

 

Team:

Host – Andy Coulson

CWC production team: Louise Difford and Jane Sankey

With special thanks to Global

 

For all PR and guest approaches please contact – [email protected]

 

Episode Transcript

Andy Coulson:    [0:00:01] Hello. I’m Andy Coulson and welcome back to Crisis What Crisis and another Crisis Comforts episode. Short but perfectly formed advice for getting you through the tough times.

As regular listeners will know, at the end of our conversations we ask all our guests for their three Crisis Comforts, their go-tos for inspiration and strength during the challenging times. Over the years we have accumulated some incredibly interesting and more importantly useful tips for anyone who might be feeling the weight of their own problems.

I’ve just had a fascinating conversation with politician, activist and writer Lord Peter Hain, and I urge you to listen to his full episode. But if you’re short on time, here is a taster. And remember, you can also listen to all our conversations in full wherever you get your podcasts. You can follow us on Instagram and TikTok, and you can watch the full episodes on YouTube. Just search for Crisis What Crisis podcast. You can also find full transcripts of this and every episode on our website, www.crisiswhat crisis.com Thanks again for joining us.

Andy Coulson:    [0:01:04] Can I ask you for your Crisis Comforts? I’d like to ask you for three things that you have sort of leaned on in the difficult times. Can’t be another person, but the three- I guess this gets to the sort of Peter Hain operating system a bit; how do you, in those moments that we’ve described, how do you in practical terms get through it? What do you lean on? Is there a piece of music, is there a book, is there a particular thing that you do?

Lord Peter Hain: [0:01:30] I don’t think any of those things. I quite like going on walks, particularly with my wife Elizabeth, we walk quite a lot. I explained how during that awful time following the Deputy Leader donations business that we went on holidays. One of the most important things is to try and catch up on sleep. I probably don’t sleep enough, but your resilience in the end, and this is about resilience, it’s about- the way I’d express it, just not being beaten.

Andy Coulson:    [0:02:03] Yes.

Lord Peter Hain: [0:02:05] Which is a phrase I’ve used I suspect quite a lot in this interview. And I don’t think there’s any one, sorry to disappoint you, prop that I would say is the thing that kind of helps me cope. It would be more just-

Andy Coulson:    [0:02:23] Other than the walking, how do you relax?

Lord Peter Hain: [0:02:25] Well, I watch a lot of football. Too much, my wife says.

Andy Coulson:    [0:02:30] So Chelsea would be one of your Crisis Comforts.

Lord Peter Hain: [0:02:33] Absolutely yes, and a lot of football. I like pretty well all sport, I watched a lot of the World Cup, and you know, the Springbok victory under a black Springbok captain with a multiracial side was a sort of vindication as it was in 2019.

Andy Coulson:    [0:02:46] That must have been an astonishing moment for you personally.

Lord Peter Hain: [0:02:48] Yes, in 2019 it was particularly, and then to see it repeated, because that’s what we were fighting for. Not particularly for the Springboks to beat England or New Zealand, but to have a team that actually genuinely reflected the country. So, sport.

But the main thing I think is to try and not be absolutely eaten up by it. To try and sort of say, “Well you know, I’m going to wake up tomorrow and maybe it won’t feel quite as bad as it does now,” and it usually doesn’t. And obviously if somebody is pointing a gun at you or pulling a knife on you it’s a different type of crisis but I’m not talking about that situation. I think you’ve got to sort of say, “Do I want to get through this?” And then it’s up to me to do it.

So a prop, no. I don’t think I can think of anything that I particularly find a comfort in that situation. You know, apart from just getting fresh air and walking away from the situation and then coming back to it feeling rather better.

Andy Coulson:    [0:03:56] Very good. Peter, Lord Hain, thank you so much for your time.

Lord Peter Hain: [0:03:58] It’s a pleasure.

Andy Coulson:    [0:04:00] If you’ve enjoyed this conversation with Peter, please do give us a rating and a review, it really helps. Peter’s book is out, The Elephant Conspiracy, you can find the link in the episode notes. And if you hit subscribe wherever you download your podcasts from you will find loads more useful Crisis conversations. You can follow us on Instagram and TikTok, and you can watch the full episodes on YouTube. Just search for Crisis What Crisis podcast. You can also find full transcripts of this and every episode on our website, crisiswhatcrisis.com

Thanks again for joining us.

End of Recording
0:04:43