Tom Read Wilson: “My quirks are my superpower!” Be ok with people not liking you
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How does Tom describe discovering and celebrating his quirks as a super‑power?
Hello there, a massive welcome to Happy Place with me Fern Cotton. Today we're heading to the Happy Place Festival at Tatton Park and I'm chatting to the utterly delightful Tom Reid-Wilson.
I think the being very authentic I discovered by necessity when I was very young because I just sort of realised slowly but surely that the difficulties I was having with people pointing out things that were curious about me was that I didn't have full ownership of them and I wasn't celebratory of them myself and I thought if I could just flick that switch suddenly it would be a superpower because they're colours in my tapestry that I rather enjoy.
I'm really excited about this episode guys for so many reasons. I feel like me and Tom need to do some serious hanging out I am a keen bean. I'm not one of those mysterious cool people. And ever since I've met Tom, I've been working out ways I can be his friend. One of them is, don't you think, right, this is my petition to start this. Don't you think me and Tom should make our own TV show or like YouTube thing, whatever the fuck it is, where we just go looking at art together and we just like hang out at art galleries. I don't know. I need a funny name for it. I haven't had time to think about it. But that is one way that I can solidify a friendship with Tom Reed Wilson. That's my game plan. He is the most joyful human being I've ever met.
So I rolled up on the Saturday morning of the festival. in Manchester and I had all the feelings going on around me. Tom was my first podcast of the day, so I hadn't really like seen any humans apart from Team Happy Place. So I was feeling, you know, you just feel a bit like unable to talk to humans. You sort of can't, you don't know how to say hello, how are you? Like it just doesn't come out right. I felt like that. And I felt quite overwhelmed about the idea of the festival and meeting so many people that day and smiling all day. All of it just seemed like a bit of a mountain to climb. And I don't want to sound ungrateful saying that. I'm not. I'm so, so unbelievably grateful that people turn up to the festival.
But simultaneously, I find it unbelievably overwhelming. So I stood in the tent, probably looking a bit shell-shocked, and Tom walked in and Oh, darling. We had this gorgeous hug. He smells exactly like you'd imagine. Like he's sort of walked out of a little enchanted woodland smelling like pixie dust. He's heaven, everything about him. His skin is flawless. His eyelashes are so long and curled. As I said, he smells delightful. Every word he utters is pure poetry. And I instantly just sort of breathed a sigh of relief. And we talked for about half an hour before we went on stage about Marilyn Monroe. And I was like, right, I feel better about life. I can do this. I can do this festival. This is just chatting to nice people all day.
So thank you, Tom, for calming my nervous system and for, quite frankly, getting me on that stage. And we had such a hoot during this chat. So let's talk about Tom. He is currently on tour with his show, The A to Z of Me, which is obviously the perfect name for his show because he is such a sublime wordsmith. And we talked loads about his love of language in this chat as well. Right, let's do it. This is the show.
Isn't this lovely? Because everybody's dressed to be kind of riotous in colour. It's so perfect. Look at them, Tom. Aren't they gorgeous? It's really dazzling. They're all like great blooms. Yes. We only let good-looking people in. Well, I can see. Very prepossessing, I say as I bore into you.
Ah!
Bit early for that. It is, isn't it? Was a lady. We are so happy to have you here. Oh, I'm happy to be here. I mean, it's such a dazzling spot. All these great broad canopied oaks everywhere.
I know. When you drive into Tatton Park, it is so beautiful. You instantly feel calm. The trees are ginormous. There's cheap deer.
I was reading about Tatton Park that the reason that they're sort of fenced off some of the very old ones is because they're over 400 years old and the deer and the sheep like to have a nibble, you know.
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Chapters
8 chapters
1
How does Tom describe discovering and celebrating his quirks as a super‑power?
0:01–6:31
2
What was Tom’s experience arriving at the Happy Place Festival and how did it affect his confidence?
6:31–13:18
3
How does Tom’s ‘A‑to‑Z of Me’ show use the alphabet to explore his personality and storytelling?
13:18–19:42
4
What impact did the digital‑detox part of the I’m A Celeb jungle have on Tom’s mental and physical health?
19:42–27:31
5
Why does Tom believe language is the key to better mental health and how does he explore word origins?
27:31–32:57
6
How have Tom and Fearne learned to handle uncomfortable confrontation and people‑pleasing?
32:57–41:16
7
Why do Tom and Fearne think turning 40 sparks greater honesty and self‑advocacy?
41:16–50:01
8
What is Tom’s new children’s book ‘Pricklepaper’s Letter Magic’ and why should parents check it out?
50:01–56:57
Speakers
1 identifiedMore from Happy Place
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