Robin Ince on His Mum’s Life-Changing Accident, Love, Laughter, and Unfinished Business
In this episode of the Mumbelievable Podcast, Sonia celebrates all mums and welcomes broadcaster, author and comedian Robin Ince, who shares stories about his mother and the lasting impact of a major car crash just before his third birthday that left her in a coma and psychologically changed. Robin describes blaming himself as a child, trying to comfort her during mental-health struggles, and how the change affected his whole family, including his older sisters. He reflects on her eccentric humour—wigs, a Vatican letter, meeting the Pope—and later dementia, recalling how Rising Damp repeatedly made her laugh. The conversation also touches on anxiety, a late ADHD diagnosis, learning who a parent was before motherhood, and the love and resilience shown by both his mum and dad.00:00 Podcast Welcome and Guest Intro01:25 Sock Radar and Dog Stories02:05 The Unwritten Mum Book02:29 Crash That Changed Everything04:11 Flashbulb Memory and Guilt04:48 Trying to Make Mum Smile05:50 Kids Fear Change and Sartre Tale07:01 Wigs Eccentricity and The Pope08:43 Hidden Insecurities and School Trauma09:29 Who She Was Before Motherhood10:36 Wartime Selves and Lasting Loss14:20 Dad Refused to Give Up15:37 Sonia's Mum Sectioned and Aftermath17:14 Funny Care Home Conversations18:10 Blog to Podcast Origin Story19:01 Telling Dad About Blog20:00 Mum Quotes Two Hearts20:55 Family at the Palladium21:51 Funeral to Awards Night23:44 Jokes and Protectiveness24:27 Late ADHD Diagnosis26:06 Mum Sectioned Story28:14 Mumbelievable Mum Survey28:48 Embarrassing Mum Moments30:39 Rising Damp Poem32:27 No Unfinished Business32:42 Why She Was Mumbelievable34:30 Her Legacy in You35:16 Final Thanks and Farewell Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.