Feral Friend #10 - Josie Long

Josie Long is a comedian, writer and broadcaster. She’s also a committed campaigner, having co-founded Arts Emergency in 2013 – a mentoring charity helping young people get a fair start in the arts and humanities.

Josie is a keen swimmer and we're chuffed to have her as our latest Feral Friend.

I have always loved swimming and the water, but I didn't start swimming in freshwater, and cold water, until I was 28. I took a dip in the sea in Edinburgh during the fringe and I decided I would try and swim wherever I could on tour that autumn and winter. I swam in lakes and rivers and reservoirs and in the sea and I fell in love with the feeling of cold water, and the incredible feeling it gives you.

I love the fact that it completely takes away my anxiety and my racing brain, it brings me into the landscape around me and I feel like I’m seeing the world from a different perspective. I love the fact that I can do something that feels as wild as jumping out of a plane, but on a normal Tuesday morning. I love challenging myself to get into cold water, and I love going with friends and the feeling of shared adventures.

I love having a flask of tea afterwards and changing by the side of a river.

Josie presents Short Cuts on BBC Radio 4 which is a showcase for delightful and adventurous short documentaries. These include some lovely pieces about our experience in the natural world.

Have a listen to some of these watery episodes:

Field Guides
Josie ventures outdoors, hearing stories of how human hearts become tangled in the forests, lakes and skylines of the natural world.
Click here for a link to this episode

Wild Water
From finding your way in a cold, dark sea swim to coping with the isolation at the bottom of the ocean, Josie Long hears stories of wild water.
Click here for a link to this episode

The Sea The Sea
The sounds of the sea, whispers into a wind phone and the dark, silent nights in Lyø, Denmark; a writer reflects on women dreaming of diving beneath the surface of the water; an Hawaiian surfer describes the exhilaration of riding through the barrel of a wave and stories from cliff-edge towns in the UK as the water comes ever-closer.
Click here for a link to this episode

You can find out more about Josie on her website www.josielong.com