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SOCIAL FABRIC 2018 \u2013 A Thank You Note When I started this journey, I had an idea for a project that would help young adult to rediscover the art of conversation. Growing up in Italy, we sat at the table everyday as a family And in Italy the family includes uncles, aunties, grannies, granddads, neighbours and anyone that happen to be passing by when the dinner was served. At the time it didn\u2019t really seem to be that important, but as I spent 50 on this earth, I realised that the conversations, nuggets of information, jokes, laughter and that very important inter -generational crossover made a positive impact to my life. Listening to my favourite uncle talking about the good old days or my granny reminiscing about the War or even having a very animated conversation with my sisters about my favourite band, was all part of what made me. Looking at my teenage children, looking at the importance screen time \u2013 be it phone, tablet, tv or playstation \u2013 and the lack of conversational skills \u2013 or indeed the lack of interest in conversation, saddened me and genuinely worried me. The peer to peer conversation over Instagram, snapchat or whatever the next big thing is going to be, seemed to fall short of what I believe to be necessary and healthy for them. Over a glass of wine and lovely conversation with a couple of friends from Brazil, I mentioned that that I was worried about the very fabric of our society and the tears that started to appear. Social Fabric, the name, was born. When a friend of mine, Graham Bushe, completely the incredible feat of running the Wicklow Way race, 127 km, only to turn around and run back, I thought it would be a good idea to sit down with him and ask him how and why. I contacted the Outsider Magazine and asked them if they\u2019d be interested in an article about Graham. They kindly agreed to the idea and off I went to meet with Graham. I brought my phone along, sat it between us on the table and asked him a few questions, I thought I\u2019d record the chat in case I missed anything for when I was going to write the story. What developed was the idea of the podcast. I thought that perhaps someone out there would like to know about an ordinary people doing extraordinary things. The article was published, Graham got nominated for an Outsider Magazine award and I thought \u201cwhy stop here, there are so many amazing people around and I want to know more about them and hopefully my kids will listen to their stories and get inspired\u201d In the meatime, I decided to do a radio course in Near FM, in Coolock, Dublin. The course was brilliant and gave me a great taste for the radio, the studio, the recording systems and once I completed the course I put together a proposal for a weekly show. Social Fabric, the podcast was born. Loosely based on the fabulous Desert Island discs, in that the guests get to pick 7 songs that are meaningful to them, I decided to focus on Passion and community involvement. 9 months and 37 episodes later I have had the privilege to meet with a fantastic group of people whose lives, work, passion and drive could not have been more diverse. I learned so much from each one of them. From Graham Bushe \u2013 how mind over matter can make you achieve impossible things From Paul Byrne how and why he set up a website \u2013 greystonesguide.ie that has become the go to place for anyone in the town From Eamon O\u2019Connor of LuckyBones, what it means to be a passionate musician and how to make a living out of it. A special thanks to Eamon for allowing me to use his songs for the intro of the podcast, Alice will be played in full at the end of this. From Pol O\u2019Conghaile \u2013how to combine the love for writing and travelling to become a multi award winning travel writer. From Patrik Albertsson \u2013 how to follow your passion and reinvent yourself from Policeman to Massage Therapist From Mark Davidson \u2013 how to use your passion for books to introduce children to the art of writing From Ju Ju Jay \u2013 How to overcome addiction to become a...