Russell 1961

husband, father, son & supporter

A red jumper at a community centre disco. A chapel aisle, some said, he shouldn’t walk. A bus to the wrong end of a cup final and a long, cold trek home from the station after a night in a cell. When I sat down with Russell, I found a life textured by central Scotland in the sixties and seventies—steelworks grit, Friday pay packets, and the tidal pull of Rangers versus Celtic—alongside the quieter courage of choosing love over the lines others drew.

We begin with the culture of sectarian identity and football, where schools and pubs marked allegiances from birth. Russell reflects on how that world shaped him, then walks me through the romance that crossed the divide: marrying Katie, the youngest of a large Catholic family, and navigating the fallout with humour and resolve. From a near-miss at a professional football career to the hard lessons of gravel pitches and hot tempers, he shows how discipline is forged in the small moments no scout ever sees. Work anchors the story as we move from a boutique sales floor to a filthy, formative steelworks apprenticeship, redundancy, and an unexpected pivot to Prudential—where trust, doorsteps, and a thick book of names turned into a top-performing agency.

Our conversation deepens around family and drink: a father who worked hard and drank harder, a mother who held the home together, and a son who asked the right question at the right time. Russell’s answer—that he would choose not to drink—becomes a practical compass, echoed in his son’s turn to CrossFit and Taekwondo. Along the way, you’ll hear the soundtrack of Clyde Valley weekends, the clatter of pool tables, and the comic-serious tale of being stitched up at Hampden. What emerges is a candid, grounded portrait of identity and endurance: the parts we inherit, the parts we refuse, and the parts we build with our own hands.

If Russell’s story resonates, please follow the show, leave a review, and share it with someone who’s wrestled with identity, rivalry, or sobriety. Your support helps these lived histories reach the people who need to hear them.

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"In a world where you can be anything, be kind."

What happens when we pause to truly listen to the stories that shaped us? As Season One draws to a close, I find myself reflecting on ten conversations that revealed how seemingly small decisions can dramatically alter the course of family destinies across generations.

When I began this podcast a few months ago, I had no clear destination—only a quiet curiosity about the turning points tucked inside ordinary lives. I started with my own family, and soon discovered how my grandfather’s move from smoggy 1930s London to the Isle of Wight—on a doctor’s recommendation—completely changed our trajectory. Had he not made that move, my mother would never have met my father. The recordings I made with my aunt (now 89) and my mum have become even more precious, especially as both have faced health challenges since we spoke.

From there, the journey widened. I listened to stories of adventure, loss, and unexpected legacies. Gary left the rat race behind for rhinos and solo Pacific crossings. John unknowingly fulfilled his late father’s dreams in Spain. Moray shared the complexities of growing up with a jazz legend for a dad. I revisited school dormitories with Bas, proving that some friendships truly never fade. And I honoured lives cut short—like Andy’s brother Simon, whose everyday kindness left a quietly profound legacy, and David’s father, remembered through fragments of wartime heroism passed down through generations.

Each conversation reminded me that memory isn’t just about preserving the past—it’s about what we choose to carry forward. These ordinary yet extraordinary lives show how the smallest moments and choices ripple through time.

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"In a world where you can be anything, be kind."

Llewelyn Williams - David 1955

father/son

What remains when a father disappears from a child’s life at the age of seven? When I sat down with David Williams, I found the answer lay not in grand gestures, but in fragments—sausages sizzling on Stanley Beach in Hong Kong, bowling club outings, and the fading images of a man he barely knew, yet whose extraordinary life continues to echo through the decades.

In this episode of Longtime Ago People, I journey through memory and history as David pieces together the remarkable story of his father, Llewelyn Williams. Born in 1922, Lew volunteered for the Royal Air Force at just nineteen, becoming a navigator after an officer famously told him, “Any bloody fool can drive a bus. It takes brains to get it there and back.” The odds were harrowing—more than half of Bomber Command airmen never returned home. Yet Lew flew around thirty missions before being shot down over France in June 1944.

What followed reads like a wartime thriller: the sole survivor of his seven-man crew, rescued by the French Resistance, captured by the Gestapo, imprisoned in Buchenwald concentration camp, transferred to Stalag Luft III (the site of the infamous “Great Escape”), and finally liberated as the war drew to a close. Tragically, the chemicals used to delouse prisoners would later cause the cancer that claimed his life in 1963.

But David’s story isn’t solely about wartime heroism—it’s about how we preserve the memories of those we’ve lost, how family stories sustain us, and how love finds a way to endure across generations. Through vivid recollections from relatives and his father’s friends, David has assembled a portrait of a man he barely knew, yet whose legacy shaped his life in profound ways. And when a loving stepfather named “Binks” entered the picture, David experienced what he describes as “a very privileged upbringing… because there was a lot of love going around.”

This conversation is a moving exploration of family history, resilience, and the powerful ways our ancestors remain present in our lives—even in their absence.

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“Follow Longtime Ago People wherever you get your podcasts.”

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Have a story echoing through time? I’m listening—300 words or fewer.

"In a world where you can be anything, be kind."