Abattoir butcher stories can be wild – and this 50-year legend has them all. From playing Tom Jones for the ladies to watching school kids chew raw bones, surviving horrible accidents, and the guy who walked in wearing nothing but his knife belt. His abattoir butcher stories are funny, gruesome, and full of heart – hit play and step behind the counter.

Ready for some stranger stories? Personal stories of love, resilience & daring unfold in this loveable podcast, as story-collectors Tim Reid & Jon Coghill wander the streets of Australia (and sometimes a little further), microphone in hand, chatting to strangers.

It's conversations... with everyday people.

EPISODE SUMMARY

Meeting Bob the Retired Butcher

Jon spots Bob enjoying the sun. Bob’s been a butcher for 50 years – apprentice at 14 making sausages all day. Abattoir butcher stories? He’s got thousands.

The Tom Jones Years

Bob played Tom Jones in the shop – the ladies loved it. Abattoir butcher stories always had a soundtrack. Customers danced while he sliced. Best marketing ever.

School Kids Chewing Bones & Knife-Belt Nudity

School kids came in, chewed raw bones like lollipops. One guy walked in wearing nothing but his knife belt. Classic abattoir butcher stories.

Horrible Accidents & Near Misses

Seen some shockers – fingers gone, arms sliced. One guy lost half his hand. Abattoir butcher stories get dark fast.

Buying the Shop – Worst Thing He Ever Did

Thought owning a shop would be the dream. Turned into a nightmare – stress, long hours, no life. Abattoir butcher stories taught him: sometimes the dream job isn’t.

Favourite Cuts & Butcher Wisdom

Best cuts? Near the front – tastiest meat. Abattoir butcher stories always end with flavour. Bob’s retired now, happy, still sharp as his knives.

Chapters

00:00 – Intro and meeting Bob the retired butcher
00:48 – Apprentice at 14 – making sausages all day
01:27 – Tom Jones in the shop for the ladies
03:30 – School kids chewing bones & knife-belt nudity
05:15 – Horrible accidents in the abattoir
07:42 – Buying the shop – “worst thing I ever did”
08:23 – Favourite cuts & butcher wisdom – farewell

Key Moments

• Played Tom Jones in the shop – ladies loved it
• School kids chewing raw bones like lollipops
• Guy walked in with nothing but knife belt
• Horrible accidents – fingers gone, arms sliced
• Buying the shop – “worst thing I ever did”
• Best cuts near the front – tastiest meat
  
  

Listen to the Full Conversation

Abattoir butcher stories – Tom Jones, knife belts, school kids chewing bones. Bob’s a legend.Listen now on your favourite platform

🎙️ Want more, Stranger?

Like the idea of story-collectors Tim Reid & Jon Coghill chatting to attendees at your next conference or event? Or maybe you'd like them to chat to strangers in your part of the world. Hit them up here.

📸 Join us behind-the-scenes

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☎️ Got a story you'd love to share?

Call us +61 489 272 286. You've got a whopping 10-minutes, so sit back, take a big breath and go for gold.

👽 Don’t be a stranger

Got some feedback? Bring it on. Just be gentle. One of us has thin skin ;)

🤩 Who’s behind all this strangeness?

Made & Hosted by Tim Reid & Jon Coghill
Music Supervision by Dennis Feletto

Support the show: https://whatastrangertoldme.com/

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In Episode 20 of the What a Stranger Told Me podcast, Tim meets Simon – a retired lawyer who's traded courtroom chaos for Byron Bay's slow rhythms. This storytelling podcast uncovers honest moments from everyday lives. After 17 years as a cop and decades as a barrister, Simon moved to the coast in 2014 and never left. “Every day's my favourite,” he says with a grin. Retirement means mornings with nothing on the agenda and afternoons for rest – a far cry from his fast-paced past.

Ready for some stranger stories? Personal stories of love, resilience & daring unfold in this loveable podcast, as story-collectors Tim Reid & Jon Coghill wander the streets of Australia, microphone in hand, chatting to strangers.

It's conversations... with everyday people.

Simon’s career was “accidental”. He left school at 15 for a labouring job, thinking it meant money, car, girl. Instead, he joined police cadets, excelled, and got pushed into prosecuting. Law school followed, leading to barrister life. “I enjoyed it, but I wish I'd done medicine,” he reflects, admiring expert witnesses in court. No regrets, though – it was his path.

Now 70-something (he looks younger), Simon fills days with slow breakfasts, town walks, organic salads at Fundies, coffee, and ocean swims. “I do nothing in the morning, rest in the afternoon,” he quips. From Cronulla's “same but not as nice” to Byron's laid-back vibe, it's the environment that hooked him. He swims most days, rolling arms over in the ocean group.

He’s philosophical about change: the world rushes, but he chooses slow. “Guilty sometimes – everyone's busy.” His voicemail? “Smile on my dial. Probably living the dream.” Abusive messages? He laughs them off.

This episode is about embracing slow after speed, no regrets, and finding joy in simple rhythms. Press play for a retired lawyer's wisdom – proof a chance chat can slow your own world down, too.

Chapters

• 00:00 – Laughing Blind Man at Gympie Muster
• 01:10 – The Day the Tinny Capsized
• 02:30 – Seven Freezing Hours Clinging to an Outboard Motor
• 04:20 – Waking Up Blind in Hospital
• 06:00 – From Depression to “You’re Getting a Guide Dog”
• 08:10 – First Embarrassing Cane Walks in Strange Suburbs
• 10:30 – How the Guide Dog Changed Everything
• 12:00 – Getting Happily Lost (and Found) at the Muster
• 13:20 – “I’m Having a Ball” – Final Beers and Wisdom

Key Learnings

1. Hypothermia + stress can accelerate sudden vision loss
2. The #1 rule when blind and lost: stop moving and ask for help
3. Guide dogs don’t just guide — they create instant community
4. Depression after sight loss is normal — action (cane → dog) beats despair
5. Living life blind can be louder and happier than living it sighted

🎙️ Want more, Stranger?

Like the idea of story-collectors Tim Reid & Jon Coghill chatting to attendees at your next conference or event? Or maybe you'd like them to chat to strangers in your part of the world. Hit them up here.

📸 Join us behind-the-scenes

Follow the What a StrangerTold Me podcast madness on Instagram.

☎️ Got a story you'd love to share?

Call us +61 489 272 286. You've got a whopping 10-minutes, so sit back, take a big breath and go for gold.

👽 Don’t be a stranger

Got some feedback? Bring it on. Just be gentle. One of us has thin skin ;)

🤩 Who’s behind all this strangeness?

Made & Hosted by Tim Reid & Jon Coghill
Music Supervision by Dennis Feletto
Photography by Will Reid & Andy McColl

Support the show: https://whatastrangertoldme.com/

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In Episode 19 of What a Stranger Told Me, Tim pulls up a chair at the Gympie Muster beside Jane Turner (not Kath!) – a veteran burns, ICU and emergency nurse who has spent decades on the absolute frontline of human suffering, and is now finally kicking back with a cold beer and a good book.

Ready for some stranger stories? Personal stories of love, resilience & daring unfold in this loveable podcast, as story-collectors Tim Reid & Jon Coghill wander the streets of Australia, microphone in hand, chatting to strangers.

It's conversations... with everyday people.

Jane started in New Zealand when the Christchurch burns unit took overflow patients Australia couldn’t handle after the 2002 Bali bombings. She was part of the small volunteer “Bratz team” that met planes at 3 a.m., triaged horrific injuries, and fought to keep young lives together. To this day, whenever she visits Bali she visits the memorial – the emotional pull is still raw.

She’s seen burns care change dramatically (“We treat them completely differently now”), worked the old-school graft of daily dressing marathons, and held more hands through unimaginable pain than most of us could imagine. Yet she insists the job always came back to basics: care hard, do your best, be the patient’s advocate, then go home and sleep.

After a lifetime of 12-hour shifts in burns, plastics, emergency and intensive care, Jane has zero regrets and zero burnout. “As long as you care, you’re good enough,” she says. Policies come and go, but the fundamentals never change – and that goes for every job, not just nursing.

Now she’s exactly where she wants to be: same campsite, same mates, same morning ritual of cracking a breakfast beer while someone else cooks (and someone else cleans up). The woman who once raced to save blast victims is finally, joyfully, off the clock – and loving every second of it.

Chapters

• 00:00 – Beer, Book and a Burns Nurse at Gympie
• 00:40 – “Yes, I get the Kath & Kim joke daily”
• 01:20 – Bali Bombings: The Night NZ Took Australia’s Overflow
• 02:30 – Being on the Volunteer “Bratz Team” at 3 a.m.
• 04:10 – How Burns Care Has Completely Changed
• 05:40 – 12-Hour Shifts, ICU, Emergency – Why She Stayed
• 07:20 – The One Rule: Care Hard, Then Go Home
• 08:30 – Breakfast Beers and Zero Regrets at the Muster

Key Insights

• Bali bombings created lifelong emotional ties – many nurses still visit the memorial
• Burns nursing has transformed – modern treatment is worlds away from 2002 methods
• Best nursing advice ever: “As long as you care, you’re good enough”
• Be the patient and family advocate – everything else is secondary
• After decades on the frontline, the perfect retirement is cold beer and old friends at sunrise

🎙️ Want more, Stranger?

Like the idea of story-collectors Tim Reid & Jon Coghill chatting to attendees at your next conference or event? Or maybe you'd like them to chat to strangers in your part of the world. Hit them up here.

📸 Join us behind-the-scenes

Follow the What a StrangerTold Me podcast madness on Instagram.

☎️ Got a story you'd love to share?

Call us +61 489 272 286. You've got a whopping 10-minutes, so sit back, take a big breath and go for gold.

👽 Don’t be a stranger

Got some feedback? Bring it on. Just be gentle. One of us has thin skin ;)

🤩 Who’s behind all this strangeness?

Made & Hosted by Tim Reid & Jon Coghill
Music Supervision by Dennis Feletto
Photography by Will Reid & Andy McColl

Support the show: https://whatastrangertoldme.com/

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In Episode 18 of What a Stranger Told Me, Jon meets Richard at the Gympie Music Muster — a man who is laughing, drinking, dancing, and living louder than most sighted people, all while being almost completely blind.

Listen in to hear what it's like to be living life blind. Fifteen years ago Richard was in a tiny tinny off Western Port Bay, Victoria. The boat capsized in freezing winter water. His mate swam to shore; Richard couldn’t swim. For seven hours he clung to the outboard motor in hypothermia, letting go only when rescuers arrived. He woke up in hospital alive… but the extreme stress triggered advanced retinitis pigmentosa and he lost almost all vision within days.

Ready for some stranger stories? Personal stories of love, resilience & daring unfold in this loveable podcast, as story-collectors Tim Reid & Jon Coghill wander the streets of Australia, microphone in hand, chatting to strangers.

It's conversations... with everyday people.

What could have broken most people became Richard’s turning point. After a short season of depression he got pus shed into cane training (which he hated), then a guide dog (which changed everything). Now he and his dog are inseparable legends at the Muster. The dog walks him from swag to bar to stage and back at 2 a.m., finds empty chairs, and attracts instant friends who happily buy the next round. Richard’s rule for getting lost: “Stop walking, stand still, and someone always comes.” It works every time.

He’s brutally honest about the scary moments — being lost twice this weekend, the terror of not knowing which way is “out” — but refuses to let fear win. “I’m having a ball,” he repeats, and you believe him. The guide dog gives him freedom most sighted festival-goers envy: no queues, instant conversations, and a four-legged mate who never judges.

This is living life blind at full volume: zero self-pity, maximum adventure, and proof that the human spirit plus one very good dog can turn the worst day of your life into the best years.

Chapters

• 00:00 – Laughing Blind Man at Gympie Muster
• 01:10 – The Day the Tinny Capsized
• 02:30 – Seven Freezing Hours Clinging to an Outboard Motor
• 04:20 – Waking Up Blind in Hospital
• 06:00 – From Depression to “You’re Getting a Guide Dog”
• 08:10 – First Embarrassing Cane Walks in Strange Suburbs
• 10:30 – How the Guide Dog Changed Everything
• 12:00 – Getting Happily Lost (and Found) at the Muster
• 13:20 – “I’m Having a Ball” – Final Beers and Wisdom

Key Learnings

1. Hypothermia + stress can accelerate sudden vision loss
2. The #1 rule when blind and lost: stop moving and ask for help
3. Guide dogs don’t just guide — they create instant community
4. Depression after sight loss is normal — action (cane → dog) beats despair
5. Living life blind can be louder and happier than living it sighted

🎙️ Want more, Stranger?

Like the idea of story-collectors Tim Reid & Jon Coghill chatting to attendees at your next conference or event? Or maybe you'd like them to chat to strangers in your part of the world. Hit them up here.

📸 Join us behind-the-scenes

Follow the What a StrangerTold Me podcast madness on Instagram.

☎️ Got a story you'd love to share?

Call us +61 489 272 286. You've got a whopping 10-minutes, so sit back, take a big breath and go for gold.

👽 Don’t be a stranger

Got some feedback? Bring it on. Just be gentle. One of us has thin skin ;)

🤩 Who’s behind all this strangeness?

Made & Hosted by Tim Reid & Jon Coghill
Music Supervision by Dennis Feletto
Photography by Will Reid & Andy McColl

Support the show: https://whatastrangertoldme.com/

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.