The Happy Pod: 'Life changing' treatment restored my daughter's vision

Summary

Global News Podcast: The Happy Pod

Episode: "‘Life changing’ treatment restored my daughter's vision"
Date: May 9, 2026
Host: Holly Gibbs (BBC World Service)

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Episode Overview

This uplifting edition of the Happy Pod centers on inspirational and heartwarming stories from around the world. The main feature spotlights a groundbreaking gene therapy that restored sight to a six-year-old girl, alongside tales of rare quintuplets in Ethiopia, tributes to Sir David Attenborough on his 100th birthday, research linking childhood music to surgical skill, an unlikely friendship struck on a flight to Las Vegas, and a moving musical collaboration between a choir and humpback whales.

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Key Stories & Highlights

1. Restoring Sight: Saffy's Gene Therapy Miracle

Segment begins: 01:59

• Background: Six-year-old Safy Sanford was born with a rare inherited condition, leading to worsening night blindness and the prospect of total blindness by adulthood.
• Family’s Experience: Lisa Sanford, Saffy’s mother, recounts the harrowing journey from early diagnoses to the dread of her daughter’s prognosis.
  • “I could never in a million years have imagined results like this. We were able to get trick or treat in last October and she was running down the path in the dark shouting I can see. And we were just in floods of tears.” (Lisa Sanford, 01:02)
• Gene Therapy Explained: Consultant Rob Henderson describes the pioneering treatment—injecting billions of healthy gene copies directly to the retina.
  • "We're lucky to have this as the first and only at the moment, ocular gene therapy. ... Treating younger children, we get results that are actually better than were in the original published research." (Rob Henderson, 05:12)
  • “It's a huge privilege to be able to do this.” (Rob Henderson, 07:48)
• Life After Treatment: Saffy can now see in the dark, participate in everyday activities, and is thriving, her prognosis transformed.

Notable Quotes

• “I can't even really put into words how we felt… That sort of panic… you're gonna spend every day waiting for her… We felt so helpless really until we met Rob and learned that we were one of the very, very lucky few that happened to be eligible for the gene therapy.” (Lisa Sanford, 04:21)
• "She can do absolutely everything. Her peripheral vision is far improved. Her night blindness is so much better." (Lisa Sanford, 06:45)

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2. Quintuplets in Ethiopia – A Miracle Birth

Segment begins: 07:51

• The Event: After 12 years of trying for a child, Bedria Adem, a 35-year-old Ethiopian woman, naturally gave birth to quintuplets—a 1 in 55 million occurrence.
• Community & Family Reaction: Overwhelming joy and a sense of prayers answered pervade the family and local community.
  • “She was just really praying just for one child, but what she says is, you know, Allah surPR and gave five blessings...” (Richard Kagoi, 09:16)
• Surprise Element: Doctors had expected four babies—only to discover a fifth during delivery.

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3. Sir David Attenborough at 100: An Icon’s Lasting Legacy

Segment begins: 10:46

• Voice of Natural History: Legendary broadcaster David Attenborough is celebrated as he turns 100, reflecting on his seven decades of inspiring nature documentaries.
• Attenborough’s Personal Message:
  • “I had rather thought that I would celebrate my 100th birthday quietly, but it seems that many of you have had other ideas.” (David Attenborough, 11:35)
• Michaela Strachan on Attenborough:
  • “For me, particularly in his latter life, it's his voiceovers that are still so incredible. His voice melts into the pictures…” (Michaela Strachan, 13:30)
  • “He's an inspiration and he's adored by all the different generations. I don't think there's anybody that doesn't like David.” (Michaela Strachan, 14:47)
• Memorable TV Moment: The lyrebird mimicry scene is called a moving symbol of both beauty and loss in nature.

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4. Musicians Make Better Surgeons: The Power of Early Practice

Segment begins: 17:14

• Research Findings: A Hong Kong study found that medical students with childhood music training mastered surgical skills more quickly and with greater precision.
  • "It looks like musical instrument training has helped our students to acquire surgical skills quicker and better." (Dr. Michael Ko, 01:42 & 18:27)
  • “Students were able to complete surgical tasks 25 seconds faster... and achieved 0.5 marks out of 10 higher than their peers.” (Dr. Michael Ko, 18:27)
• Mechanism: The hand-eye coordination and fine motor skills honed through music translate to surgical dexterity.
• Personal Impact: Student CN Gur reflects on how years of violin practice now “has some direct translation of skills to my current medical career.” (CN Gur, 19:16)

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5. Grandmothers, Pro Wrestling, and a Viral Friendship

Segment begins: 20:54

• Story: Four Welsh grandmothers, en route to scatter a husband’s ashes in Las Vegas, meet a friendly wrestler on their flight after finding him occupying their seats.
• Unexpected Bond: The nanas end up at a wrestling match—cheering wildly, later making viral headlines thanks to the wrestler’s social media appeal.
  • “They were like uglies with caps and baggy trousers. And there was us all dolled up like Sex in the City walking in.” (Jane McCubbin, 21:46 & 22:21)
  • “Just chat to the person next to you sometimes. Doesn’t matter how young or old they are... It's a miss. Opportunity to get to know more people outside of your bubble.” (Susie Matthews & Rosalie, 23:56–24:00)
• Message: The chance encounter blossoms into a lasting friendship, demonstrating the serendipity and joy of embracing new experiences.

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6. When Humans and Whales Sing Together: ‘Wash Over Me’

Segment begins: 24:44

• The Collaboration: A UK choir in Margate creates a song using lyrics from members and actual underwater recordings of Icelandic humpback whales.
• Purpose: Coinciding with World Oceans Day, the project raises awareness for marine conservation.
  • “This is the first whale I've had as a featured artist on the track, definitely, but it worked perfectly in the track. There’s lots of moments within the piece that it's almost like they're singing with the choir.” (Huey Gavin, 27:21)
• Reflection:
  • "The water is something that connects all of us through the cycles of life, no matter where we are. ... It’s vital for all of us." (Rebecca Douglas, 27:54)

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Notable Quotes & Moments

• On Restored Vision: "We were just in floods of tears, the whole family just thinking, you know, this has actually given our little girl her life back." (Lisa Sanford, 06:45)
• On Community: "Nobody expected to see Derice again. ... His social media post to try and find them had gone viral." (Susie Matthews/Jane McCubbin, 22:33–22:51)
• On Inspiration: "He's inspired me to grow old gracefully. ... Everybody loves him." (Michaela Strachan about David Attenborough, 14:40)
• On Everyday Adventure: "Grabbing life and enjoying life. ... Because life is too short. You've got to get out there and do it." (Rosalie & Lisa Sanford, 23:55–23:56)

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Timestamps for Key Segments

• Restoring Vision with Gene Therapy: 01:59 – 07:51
• Quintuplets in Ethiopia: 07:51 – 10:37
• David Attenborough Turns 100: 10:46 – 15:07
• Musical Childhood and Surgical Skills: 17:14 – 20:54
• Welsh Grandmothers & Pro Wrestling Friendship: 20:54 – 24:44
• Human-Whale Choir Collaboration: 24:44 – 28:26

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Tone & Takeaway

Uplifting, open-hearted, and insightful, this episode of the Happy Pod showcases transformative science, joyful surprises, deep gratitude, and the enduring magic of human (and animal) connection. Its stories serve as a reminder to embrace new experiences, pursue innovation with compassion, and recognize the shared threads—of music, water, nature, and kindness—that tie us all together.

Transcript

[Rob Henderson]

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[Lisa Sanford]

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[Lisa Sanford]

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[Holly Gibbs]

This is the happy pod from the BBC world service. I'm Holly Gibbs and in this edition

[Lisa Sanford]

I could never in a million years have imagined results like this. We were able to get trick or treat in last October and she was running down the path in the dark shouting I can see. And we were just in floods of tears.

[Holly Gibbs]

The six year old girl who can see again thanks to a groundbreaking gene therapy treatment. Also on this podcast, the woman in Ethiopia who has given birth to quintuplets. The globally renowned environmentalist David Attenborough turns 100.

[Michaela Strachan]

He's an inspiration and he's adored by all the different generations. I don't think there's anybody that doesn't like David.

[Holly Gibbs]

Plus why childhood musicians make better surgeons.

[Dr. Michael Ko]

It looks like musical instrument training has helped our students to acquire surgical skills quicker and better.

[Jane McCubbin]

And there were all these men, they had beards done to their bellies. They were like uglies with caps and baggy trousers. And there was us all dolled up like Sex in the City walking in.

[Holly Gibbs]

Find out how four grandmothers befriended a pro wrestler. We start with a six year old girl who has had a life changing treatment to restore her sight. Safy Sanford was born with a rare inherited condition and without treatment she could have become blind by adulthood. But thanks to a one off gene therapy, Safie has had almost all of her vision back. Here's the moment she could see in the dark after the operation, much to the delight of her parents.

[Lisa Sanford]

What else can you see? Curtains.

[Dr. Michael Ko]

And

[Lisa Sanford]

my tree over there. What about if mummy comes closer? Can you see mummy's face? Yeah. Tell me some mummy's whole face. What about now? Can you see mummy's face? No. You can't see mummy's face at all?

[Rosalie]

No.

[Lisa Sanford]

You got spidey vision in your new eye. What else can you see now? Can you see my face?

[Holly Gibbs]

My colleague Emma Barnett spoke to Saffy's mum Lisa, and to Rob Henderson, the consultant who treated Safi.

[Lisa Sanford]

She was two and a half when we was first diagnosed with highly myopia, which is short sighted to you and I, she's a minus 10. That's when she first got her glasses. And obviously at first we thought, you know, we were really devastated about that but we thought, well okay, you know, we were told when she was 18 they might be able to correct that and we just kind of thought, you know, we'll just get on with it. But she'd always struggled, see in the dark. And I supp if you're kind of naive to this sort of thing, which we very much were. We didn't understand why that was. We were sent to Moorfields in London for some sort of brain scans back in summer 2024 and that's kind of when it all started to really become a lot more serious. She was diagnosed with night blindness. Again, we'd never heard of that as an actual, you know, term. When you Google it you find some, some pretty scary stuff online, which of course every parent's, you know, gonna go straight to Google. And then our worst fear to confirm that she had retinitis pigmentosa, which of course then we started to realise not only did she have a confirmed condition, but actually it was gonna get worse, which we'd never really even considered before. Then we were transferred to Great Ormond street, met Rob Henderson and given the news that she would go blind by the age of 30, which is, I

[Interviewer]

mean as a mother, as the family and for her. Must have been terrifying.

[Lisa Sanford]

Yeah, I mean, I can't even really put into words how we felt that sort of panic that, you know, deep knot in the bottom of your tummy that you're gonna spend every day waiting for her. That and just how do you explain it? Of course, you know, she doesn't actually know that she's got this condition that could ever get worse, bless her. And just thinking, how will she ever navigate through life? You know, she's an only child. We're not going to be here forever. It was absolutely terrifying and you just wished it was you instead of her. It just. We felt so helpless really until we met Rob and learned that we were one of the very, very lucky few that happened to be eligible for the gene therapy.

[Interviewer]

Before we hear what happened and the impact on Safi, let's try and understand the gene side of things, the gene therapy side of things. Rob Henderson. It's a Pioneering moment, isn't it? It's a pioneering therapy.

[Lisa Sanford]

Yes.

[Rob Henderson]

It's very exciting. We are lucky to have this as the first and only at the moment, ocular gene therapy. From 2019 onwards, we've been able to treat patients with this particular gene. And what we've been showing in our most recent research is that actually treating younger children, we get results that are actually better than were in the original published research.

[Interviewer]

And how do you actually do it? How do you do gene therapy?

[Rob Henderson]

So in this particular instance, we're trying to treat the retina. The retina is the film in the back of the camera, if you like. So what we're going to do is go into the back of the eye, so I go through tiny little incisions through the white part of your eye, and then I inject, using a very tiny cannula, a very tiny needle in a solution of fluid containing billions of copies of viral particles that contain a healthy copy of, in this instance, the RPE65 gene.

[Interviewer]

That was the gene that.

[Rob Henderson]

That was the gene that Safi has. And so what happens is that the cells in the retina now get a new, healthy copy of this gene and the cells can start to manufacture a healthy protein. And that allows the retinal cells to start to turn light into an electrical signal much more efficiently.

[Interviewer]

That's incredible. I mean, I just love hearing the detail on that. Let's hear what it's like, though, in real life. Lisa, you know, with Saffy, what. What can she now see and do that she couldn't do before?

[Lisa Sanford]

She can see pretty much everything now. She's just wandering behind me. You might see her. She was. She was pretty much completely blind in the dark before we had to rely on torches to just do everyday things like, you know, eat a meal, do some coloring, go to a kid's party. It was really, really bad. She couldn't see at all in the dark. We couldn't get trick or treating. Life was really, really hard. She missed out on an awful lot. I could never in a million years have imagined results like this. We were able to go trick or treating last October, and she was running down the path in the dark, shouting, I can see. And we were just in floods of tears, the whole family just thinking, you know, this has actually given our little girl her life back. It really. Honestly, I can't even explain. You wouldn't even know. Now that she has this condition, she can do absolutely everything. Her peripheral vision is far improved. Her night blindness is so much better.

[Interviewer]

And how's Saffy doing now because it must just be so exhilarating.

[Lisa Sanford]

Still she does after school clubs now she's riding her bike back on swimming lessons and she's just absolutely thriving.

[Interviewer]

Rob, just final word from you if I can. Pretty amazing for you, I imagine as

[Rob Henderson]

well it's a huge privilege to be able to do this.

[Holly Gibbs]

Lisa Sanford and Rob Henderson to Ethiopia next, where a woman has given birth to quintuplets. Yes, five babies. After about 12 years of trying, the chance of that happening naturally is about 1 in 55 million. The 35 year old mother and her husband say they are overjoyed. Pete Ross has been speaking to our reporter in Nairobi, Richard Kagoi.

[Richard Kagoi]

The mother and the babies are currently under medical care. They are just at the Hiwot FNA specialized hospital. The doctors say that they are in good, you know, strength and health and everybody's just overjoyed, you know, about the blessing that did visited them as a surprise.

[Grainger Advertiser]

Quintuplets, five babies born at the same time. It's a pretty rare event, isn't it?

[Richard Kagoi]

Absolutely. It's not just a common occurrence. This is quite frequent, especially when you have children maybe who are conceived through in vitro fertilization. But for children who are conceived unnaturally, this is just a very rare occurrence. And I think that's why this has really been an issue that's generated really a lot of interest not just in Ethiopia, but also just even around the world with people just following and reading about this story.

[Grainger Advertiser]

And we've heard that the parents have been trying for a child for, for quite some time. What have they been saying about their good fortune?

[Lisa Sanford]

Wow.

[Richard Kagoi]

I mean if you just see what the mother, Bedria Adem has said, they've been trying for 12 years. She says that really she's just overjoyed. It's a dream come true for her. They say that it's indeed been a prayer that has been answered. The mother, she was just really praying just for one child. But what she says is, you know, Allah surPR and gave five blessings through the children. They say that really they are overjoyed. They felt like the wait has really been worth it. It's some sort of compensation because the husband really was trying to encourage the wife that, you know, it's okay because he'd got a child from a previous marriage. And they said, you know, this is just okay, this is one. And I think that's just enough. But she said deep down in her heart she was deeply troubled. She just needed to have children, you know, a sizable and for them now this is just a moment of celebration. You know, they can't hide their happiness and joy.

[Grainger Advertiser]

A big surprise. But they were expecting to have more than one child, but not as many as five, is that right?

[Richard Kagoi]

Based on the diagnosis the doctors had done at one point that indicated actually they were expecting four. But then as we're going through, you know, the delivery process, then they just discovered they had five. So really quite came as a surprise, especially for her.

[Holly Gibbs]

She says, Pete Ross speaking to Richard Ko Goi. Now to a name and a voice you might recognise.

[David Attenborough]

Our planet is a Blue Planet. Over 70% of it is covered by the sea. The Pacific Ocean alone covers half the globe. You can fly across it non stop for 12 hours and still see nothing more than a speck of land. This series will reveal the complete natural history of our ocean planet, from its familiar shores to the mysteries of its deepest seas.

[Holly Gibbs]

David Attenborough speaking there in the first ever episode of Blue Planet. He celebrated his 100th birthday this week. David Attenborough has been the voice of natural history programs for more than 70 years and his work has been broadcast in over 100 countries. And to mark this milestone, he's released this message.

[David Attenborough]

I had rather thought that I would celebrate my 100th birthday quietly, but it seems that many of you have had other ideas. I've been completely overwhelmed by birthday greetings from preschool groups to care home residents and countless individuals and families of all ages. I simply can't reply to each of you all separately, but I would like to thank you all most sincerely for your kind messages.

[Holly Gibbs]

Michaela Strachan is a TV presenter inspired by Attenborough. She's been sharing her thoughts on him.

[Michaela Strachan]

I think one of my favourite moments from any of David's programs that he's done is in the life of birds, when he met the lyrebird. And it's a beautiful bird with a unique, elaborate and complex song. And it's a bird that is a brilliant mimic and in the piece you hear it copy a cookie, a camera shutter, a car alarm and a chainsaw.

[David Attenborough]

He also, in his attempt to out sing his rivals, incorporates other sounds that he hears in the forest. That was a camera shutter. And again. And now a camera with a motor drive. And that's a car alarm. And now the sounds of foresters and their chainsaws working nearby.

[Michaela Strachan]

And for me that symbolizes David's life. He inspired us with the beauty of wildlife. The camera shutter is very symbolic of his work. You know, he spent his life filming and then the car alarm and the chainsaw shows the fragility and destruction of the natural world. So this clip went from beauty to a signal of destruction. And I think that's why that clip has stayed with me for so long. I think anyone that's into wildlife, David is right up there as the most iconic wildlife presenter and he's influenced so many of us and inspired so many of us. But, you know, it's not just the fact that he's inspired us to love wildlife and appreciate it. He's inspired me to grow old gracefully. Here's a man that is still so incredible in his, well, 90s, reaching 100 now. When David does a program, when he puts his name on any natural history program, it is like putting a real stamp on it. You know that it's going to be good. And for me, particularly in his latter life, it's his voiceovers that are still so incredible. His voice melts into the pictures and I've often listened to his voice and tried to learn from it as a wildlife presenter myself and someone that does voiceovers, he's an inspiration and he's adored by all the different generations. I don't think there's anybody that doesn't like David. Everybody loves him.

[Holly Gibbs]

Michaela Strachan. Coming up on the happy pods.

[Huey Gavin]

The piece ends with the humpback whales, but also there's. There's lots of moments within the piece that it's almost like they're singing with the. With the choir.

[Holly Gibbs]

An unusual musical collaboration to help protect our oceans.

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[Lisa Sanford]

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[Holly Gibbs]

You're listening to the Happy Pod. We love it when our listeners get in touch, and Dr. Michael Koh has done just that. He's part of a team of researchers in Hong Kong who have found that playing a musical instrument could help trainee surgeons pick up the necessary skills. The Happy Pods Rebecca Wood has been finding out more.

[Rebecca Wood]

The slide screech of a violin or the bash of a piano key early childhood music practice can be the sometimes grating background sound to many parents lives. But perseverance may well be worth it later in life, especially if the child ends up in a medical career. Researchers at the University of Hong Kong have found that students who played a musical instrument when younger tend to master surgical skills more quickly. The study, published in the ANZ Journal of surgery, looked at 200 medical students who had no formal training in surgery. After a two hour lesson, they were then given a series of surgical tasks to complete. Dr. Michael Coe was involved in the study and is assistant Dean at the Faculty of Medicine at the University.

[Dr. Michael Ko]

We found that students were able to complete surgical tasks 25 seconds faster, which means 10% quicker than their peers. And the second endpoint was the surgical skills score assessed by our surgical educator. And we found that students with previous musical instrument training achieve 0.5 marks out of 10 higher than their peers, which means 6% higher score than their peers. So it looks like musical instrument training has helped our students to acquire surgical skills quicker and better.

[Rebecca Wood]

Around 60% of the students involved in the study have played an instrument in the past. And interestingly, the results show it doesn't seem to matter whether it was the keyboard or cello or bassoon or to what level it was played at. CN Gur is one of the students who took part.

[CN Gur]

I grew up playing violin as a child. I started at the age of four and I think like many children I definitely went through a few years where it was more of a chore to practice. It felt like my parents forced me to practice violin. But I think for me it's definitely a bit of a relief that having so many years of musical instrument training does have some direct like translation of skills to my current medical career.

[Rebecca Wood]

So why does putting in the hours playing like CN did now help her out with suturing and incision making here's Dr. Ko again.

[Dr. Michael Ko]

First of all, both require good hand eye coordination. And secondly, both require the fine motor dexterity, the finger dexterity, and also the ability to perform under pressure.

[Rebecca Wood]

And while the team are keen to point out that it doesn't make you any less of a surgeon not having a musical background, it could be a bonus to have it in your medical kit bag, something Dr. Ko is putting into action in his own life.

[Dr. Michael Ko]

I've got a young daughter, four years old now, and yeah, I'm planning to bring her to a musical school.

[Rebecca Wood]

I did used to play the cello throughout school and it's too late for me to be a surgeon, but I'm wondering, could it maybe benefit me elsewhere in life? Are there maybe other things that I could apply it to?

[Dr. Michael Ko]

Yeah, because this study is all about the muscle memory, the association between the fine motor dexterity and the fine skills that you have developed over the time. Perhaps something like handcrafts, for example. Something that requires quite a lot of precision hand eye coordination.

[Rebecca Wood]

Better get out my cross stitch.

[Holly Gibbs]

Rebecca Wood reporting. Have you ever boarded a flight and found someone already sitting in your seat? That's what happened to four women in their 70s when they were traveling to Las Vegas from Wales. But what started as an emotional trip to scatter the ashes of one of their late husbands turned into one of new friendships and a newfound love of wrestling. As Jane McCubbin reports.

[Lisa Sanford]

Vegas, baby. I lost my husband eight years ago.

[Susie Matthews]

This is Rosalie.

[Lisa Sanford]

I thought it's time to say goodbye, so I got over the girls and I said, how do you fancy a trip to Vegas? I need the support and the love of you all around me.

[Jane McCubbin]

We pre booked the seats.

[Susie Matthews]

That's Susie Matthews.

[Jane McCubbin]

And when we got to the row, there was a young man sat in my seat.

[Susie Matthews]

And this is Lynn Crawford, an extremely lovely man.

[Lisa Sanford]

Definitely. Honestly, you couldn't wish to meet anybody nicer.

[Susie Matthews]

Cue a 10 hour flight during which the nanas were charmed.

[Jane McCubbin]

Got to passport control and he was outside waiting for us. And he said, I'd love you all to come to the wrestling. And Rose and Lynn said, yeah, we will.

[Lisa Sanford]

Oh, one. Oh, one. I've never seen so much enthusiasm in all my life. And Theresa. Okay, I've never been to a wrestling match before. No, no, no, no. This is so dangerous.

[Jane McCubbin]

There were all these men, they had beards done to their bellies. They were like illies with caps and baggy trousers. And there was us all dolled up like Sex in the city walking in.

[Lisa Sanford]

Absolutely crazy.

[Susie Matthews]

But you never expected to see Derice again?

[Lisa Sanford]

Oh, gosh, no.

[Susie Matthews]

Derice had other ideas and posted an appeal across social media to try and find them. You had to find the nanas, of course.

[Lisa Sanford]

Of course. Everyone saw them, everyone was talking about them. They are special people.

[Susie Matthews]

And by the time the nannies landed back in Cardiff, his social media post to try and find them had gone viral.

[Jane McCubbin]

And then my granddaughter said, There's 1.1 million views on Twitter.

[Lisa Sanford]

Are you ready to meet them? Yes. We found a nanners and this is

[Susie Matthews]

the reunion of dreams. You were touched they put the effort in.

[Lisa Sanford]

I couldn't believe that they turned up, to be honest. Oh, this lovely.

[Susie Matthews]

They were there with bells on.

[Lisa Sanford]

With bells on. Going crazy in the crowd. Hello. Lovely to see you.

[Susie Matthews]

So, one mad trip, one viral search.

[Lisa Sanford]

It's cuz you girls are stars. You the stars.

[Susie Matthews]

And suddenly their story isn't over, it's just getting started.

[Jane McCubbin]

We seen you in Vegas, now we're going to show you Cardiff.

[David Attenborough]

Let's see, let's go.

[Lisa Sanford]

First stop, B I N G O. Bingo. Bingo.

[David Attenborough]

There's some superstars in the room. The Welsh nanas upstairs. They're currently viral. Darius too.

[Susie Matthews]

If your story is about anything.

[Rosalie]

Yeah.

[Susie Matthews]

What's it about?

[Rosalie]

Grabbing life and enjoying life.

[Lisa Sanford]

Because life is too short. You've got to get out there and do it.

[Rosalie]

You know.

[Susie Matthews]

We're only here because of your Pete.

[Lisa Sanford]

Human fighter. Highly amusing. Yeah. He said, can't leave you for five minutes and you causing havoc. When I say 01, you say two. One, you're on a plane to Las Vegas, the next moment you're a superstar. You were to lift it. When I say when I say when I say that. Just chat to the person next to you sometimes. Doesn't matter how young or old they are. Everyone likes to be silent at times. It's a miss. Opportunity to get to know more people outside of your bubble. That's amazing.

[Susie Matthews]

There is a saying that what happens in Vegas stays in Vegas. But this was a friendship we all needed to hear about.

[Jane McCubbin]

It's been unbelievable. And it's down to this guy.

[Holly Gibbs]

That report was from Jane McCubbin. We end with an unusual musical collaboration between humans and animals. A choir here in the UK has created a song featuring the sounds of humpback whales off the coast of Iceland. Helena Burke has been finding out more.

[CN Gur]

Over the past few years. A research team from Whalewise has been studying and recording the humpbacks in a remote Icelandic fjord. Rebecca Douglas, the president of the conservation charity's board of Trustees, went to see

[Holly Gibbs]

the work firsthand we're in the very,

[Rosalie]

very remote northeast Iceland, and we're in a town back of Fjordia that looks over an incredible field system. There are a few houses here, but importantly, there are humpback whales in this bay. And we're capturing research and evidence basically of the fact that they're here and they exist because potentially there might be quite a large industrial port being put in. And it's important to know what's in the area and be able to advocate for the whales. And now that we know that they're

[CN Gur]

here, year on year, the team installs an underwater microphone to record whale song from the depths.

[Rosalie]

So it goes down and we then hope for the best that when it's retrieved, a, we can find it, and then B, when you actually start to unpackage it and get the data out, that there's actually something there and recorded. And so that moment of release and relief when it's there is. I can't describe what that feeling must be like.

[CN Gur]

When she's not helping to protect singing whales, Rebecca joins singing humans at a community choir in the town of Margate in England. It was there that the choir master, Huey Gavin, had the idea of getting everyone involved in writing a song.

[Huey Gavin]

There's 140 in the choir, and what we did is create this portal and people could put their words that were inspired by the sea into that portal. And then I had this whole database of oceanic, watery words and I kind of wove together some lyrics based on those choir member suggestions.

[CN Gur]

Huey then mixed the choir's song with the sounds captured from the deep.

[Lisa Sanford]

In the dark blue under the surface.

[Huey Gavin]

This is the first whale I've had as a featured artist on the track, definitely, but it worked perfectly in the track. So the piece ends with the humpback whales. But also there's. There's lots of moments within the piece that it's almost like they're singing with the. With the choir.

[CN Gur]

The song, which is called Wash Over Me, will be released later this year to coincide with World Oceans Day. Rebecca says the experience has made her emotional and hopes it will help remind people of the importance of protecting marine life.

[Rosalie]

We know how important this research is. And then when you see the whales and you see the team's reaction and you just immerse in this place, I'm always, always blown away by that fact that the We're a blue planet. 71 of the planet is water. We're made up of a similar amount as humans. And so, you know, the kind of the water is something that connects all of us through the cycles of life, no matter where we are. And I think that just sort of transcends. And is that thread through World Ocean Day because it's vital for all of us.

[Holly Gibbs]

Rebecca Douglas and the song Wash Over Me ending that report from Helena Burke. And that's all from the happy pod for now. We'd love to hear from you. As ever, the address is globalpodcastbc.co.uk. this edition was produced by Rachel Bulkley. The editor is Karen Martin. I'm Holly Gibbs. Until next time.

[Michaela Strachan]

Goodbye.

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