Please, pull up your chair and get yourself ready with a cuppa coffee and come and enjoy this Interview with Brian from “The Two Doctors”
One of us a psychologist (Dr B) and one of us a scientist/teacher (Dr C), now both retired. We studied together, graduated together, raised a family together, ran a UK/Nepal Educational charity together. One of us is from Cumbria, one of us is from Kathmandu AND was the first woman from Nepal to get a PhD (1971!).
All about your BLOG:
Tell us about you lovely BLOG.
What is the name of your blog and how did you decide on your blog name?
Our blog address is The Two Doctors, because Champa and I both have PhDs in Chemistry
having been students together in the 1960s. We chose this title originally because we knew the
blog would change in nature over time and didn’t want to tie ourselves to something that couldn’t
endure, so WE are The Two Doctors! But this is only the web address, the actual name of our
blog is Buddha Walks Into A Wine Bar which we often use to blog a topic as if Buddha has sat
down with us to discuss or question us about the topic! I know, it sounds crazy!
What prompted you to start on this blogging journey?
Originally our blog was about mountaineering, Champa is from Nepal/The Himalaya and I am
from Cumbria, the mountain district of England. We used it as a place to tell of our treks, climbs
and summits, though Champa stopped with trekking and I continued into snow and ice climbing.
The blog then morphed into a website/blog for our education charity in Nepal for 10 years, then
into a travel blog, and now a wine blog. But …. it’s still The Two Doctors!
To date, what blogging achievement/s are you most proud of?
I don’t think we view our blog as a place for achievement, it’s a place to share things with friends,
a place to meet and engage with new friends, and a place to have an occasional rant. We have
far more important things in our lives we are proud of.
How would you describe your own blogging style?
Eclectic!
What excites you most about blogging?
The anticipation of someone commenting, whether they agree or disagree with a post is
irrelevant.
What platform do you use and why?
We use Wordpress as until recently it has been simple and stable, but now it is becoming
unreliable and very unstable when writing and posting. Once posted though it is very stable to
view and has considerable flexibility and choice of layouts.
What genre/topic/theme do you blog about? Do you ever deviate from that theme?
Our current them is wine and wine tasting plus the occasional “window” into a few political or old
age topics via “conversations” with Buddha. (Champa and I are both Buddhists). As mentioned
previously, our theme has changed from mountaineering, to Nepal education work, to travel, and
now wine. There are occasional posts about philosophy and philosophers from the ancient
Greeks to the existentialists.
How often do you blog per week or month?
Typically I would post 8-12 times per month depending on travel, vineyards visited, new wines
added to our collection …
Do you have any wisdom or tip/s regarding blogging to share with us?
I believe that blogging reflects something of the self, who you are, because knowingly or
unknowingly you are projecting a self to the world. It makes sense, therefore, to occasionally
reflect on what you are LEARNING or GAINING from blogging and whether it is adding or
subtracting from your quality of life. I have known bloggers who get stressed because they dry
up and run out of topics, or stop getting followers, for example ….. so why are they doing it?
Do you participate in linkup parties? How do you feel about it?
No. As a couple of introverts, this is not our “cup of tea”.
All about YOU:
Tell us something about you, the real YOU.
What do you like to do other than blogging?
My main interests are wine collecting, macro photography, reading philosophy. Champa goes to
Tai Chi classes, is interested in bird watching, cooking and watches a colossal amount of tv
soaps! We are joint members of English Heritage and regularly visit castles, cathedrals, ruined
abbeys, ancient monuments and historical docks, ships, museums, galleries together.
Where do you reside?
The Cotswolds district in England
Are you an indoor or outdoor person?
We are both inherently outdoor types
Do you still work, and if so, what is your trade/profession?
Champa was the first woman from Nepal to get a PhD. She became a lecturer in chemistry at a
college after university, then a science teacher for about 30 years after our children were born.
After my PhD, also in chemistry I gave up science, went back to university to study psychology. I
became an organisational psychologist and having been employed as such for many years
formed my own consulting company which I ran for 10 years before retiring 10 years ago.
Or are you retired? If so, what do you do besides blogging?
I think we’ve answered this above.
Do you wish to be 20-something or the age you are now and why?
We are NOT part of the “Forever Young Brigade”, we are believers in Eriksons 8 Life Stages and
understand we have entered the final stage where we have a choice between Ego Integrity or
Despair. We embrace our old age, accept memory lapses and laugh at them and with each other,
have new interests that are more intellectual than physical (such as the membership of English
Heritage). We have wealth, health and some fantastic memories of our earlier lives … we certainly
don’t want to be 20 again!
What makes your day a good and happy one?
Both of us waking up in the morning and being able to get out of bed for that first cup of tea!
Describe yourself in 3 words.
Dr B: Introverted, Systematic, Intellectual
Dr C: Introverted, Peaceful, Undemanding
Share with us 3 interesting facts about yourself.
Dr B:
1. Once held the world altitude record for Extreme Ironing,
2. Is a member of the Wine Century Club,
3. Has been to Everest Base Camp 8 times
Dr C:
1. Was the first woman from Nepal, ever, to gain a doctorate
2. Joint founder (with Dr B) of Nepal Schools Aid which developed 200 schools and 2000
teachers in Kathmandu
3. Meditates for an hour EVERY morning at 6.30am on waking
Do you have any other tidbits to share with us about yourself?
I have nothing else to add to this question.
Last but not least:
Please share with us your social media links, in order for our readers to follow you!
Twitter @wine_buffer
Instagram @winebuffer
www.thetwodoctors.wordpress.com
Top two are both Dr B, Dr C is technology averse!
I am pleased to see my two favourite doctors featured here. I enjoy their blog and have learned a lot from reading the various posts. Right now they are featuring a photo a day for a month and it is great to see what the photo is, with the accompanying story, every morning. Keep up the good work DR. B and DR. C!!
This is an awesome post and am so happy to have them share their story here with us. Thanks for reading Darlene