Things that really matter - Dea and Alex revisited

Welcome to a dive into the Sharing things archive and a selection of 5 episodes where the objects are not just starting points, but deeply woven through the lives of our guests. What do you hold close? In the fourth episode of this collection we revisit the conversation between Dea Birkett and Alex Lewthwaite and talk about running back to the circus, performing and seeing the potential in everything. 

This episode is hosted by Kate Stewart, a member of the alumni relations team who took the hot seat in early 2021. 

Dea is a former circus performer and current Ringmaster of Circus250, established in 2018 to celebrate and showcase circus to new audiences. Alongside her work in Circus250, Dea is also Creative Director of Many Rivers Films and former Director of Kids in Museums, a charity dedicated to making museums more inclusive of families.

At the time of recording Alex was a 2nd year student at the University studying Medicine. He had just completed a group project which involved blogging (and vlogging) about life as a medical student during the pandemic. 

Each episode of Sharing things is a conversation between two members of our university community. It could be a student, a member of staff or a graduate, the only thing they have in common at the beginning is Edinburgh. We start with an object. A special, treasured or significant item that we have asked each guest to bring to the conversation. What happens next is sometimes funny, sometimes moving and always unexpected. 

This episode of Sharing things was recorded during the Covid thing. We are still online but 2021 was starting to feel a bit okay.

Images designed by Chris Behr. They are part of his Nice Things icon set.