Philippa on the Jamie and Louise show on BBC Radio Wales
What do you think? Fancy yourself as a bit of a psychologist?
What has been your involvement with Coal House so far?
I've helped select the families involved. I've been a psychologist for about 15 years and I specialise in influencing and communication skills, and 'soft' skills - relationships, group dynamics and psychology at work. I've coached a range of people including two Prime Ministers but this was much more interesting!
What kinds of process did you put the families through during the selection day?
Quite arduous physical tasks - wood chopping, bath-filling, lamb entrail filleting. The families had to come to speak to me and come up with an advert for their family, some creative product that said who they were. They could make posters, sing songs, make models, do a dance...
What were you looking for in the families? Were you looking for any specific qualities? Or avoiding any?
I was looking for families who worked well together and who had distinct identities as whole families. I was looking for a really broad mix of people and avoiding obvious reality TV types: the very chippy or exhibitionist, for instance. I wouldn't have been happy to put vulnerable individuals into Coal House who may not be able to deal with the stress or families who seemed unable to work on a task together.
What drew you to the 3 selected families?
The three families stood out for their distinctive qualities - their high achievement and ambition, their laid-back relaxed way of interacting together and their warmth and spontaneity.
Can you foresee the families having any difficulties?
The Cartwrights are all very bright individuals - this could make them impatient and less comfortable with team work and slower folk.
The Philipses are laid-back and easy-going - this could make them too philosophical about achieving things and problem-solving.
The Griffithses are warm, spontaneous and approval seeking - they may worry about the strangeness of their environment and the reactions of others in the Coal House.
What can we expect during the 3 weeks from the 3 selected families?
I am hoping for insights, a sense of achievement at overcoming challenge, an experiment in communal living with all that will be tested therein, and lots of humour to keep spirits up. I hope this is an amazing and insightful experience for the families and one they will never forget.
Have you researched 1927 to help prepare the families for the Coal house?
Yes, I have researched 1927 but in terms of relationships rather than the physical conditions. I am interested in how a high achieving woman adapts to being a housewife - relentlessly - for instance, and how easily our modern families adapt to communal living. I think the communal nature of the experience may be the most difficult thing for the families.
Do you have a connection with a coal mining community?
When we went to Blaenavon to introduce the project to the local people, someone came up to me at the end of the presentation and told me they had an important piece of information about what was necessary, above all else, to survive in a mining community. When I asked then what this was, they said 'the ability to gossip'.
