Comedian Maxine Jones did her first stand-up gig in a Dublin pub and was hooked.
Her material is honest and refreshing, on rearing three Irish sons and on turning 60. She is the Women's Over-60 national 800m sprint record holder, and has appeared on Countdown.
Since that first stand-up gig, she has taken four shows to the world famous Edinburgh Festival, been a guest on BBC Woman's Hour and has a show featuring on RTÉ Radio 1’s Comedy Showhouse Hour – Maxine Jones is Sounding Off – at the end of September. She is bringing her current tour, Now We Are 60, to An Táin Arts Centre in Dundalk on the 9th September and Castlerea Arts Centre later this month.
Interesting fact: In 1996, Maxine became Ireland's first divorcee, or, as she puts it, "first in the queue"!
For the first in our My Mental Life series, Maxine tells us how she keeps it all going with a smile on her face.
1. Tell us about a typical working day for you, if you have such a thing.
My last working day was the final day at the Edinburgh Festival after doing my show ‘Now We Are 60’ for 23 days on the trot. The final day was pack-up day, returning the venue to its normal, non-Festival state. I also did three 10-minute guest spots at 11am, noon and 6.30pm.
2. What do you do in your down time?
That day, I also had some downtime. I got my hair cut and went to see two shows, including Richard Gadd’s Monkey See Monkey Do, which won best show of the Fringe and is all about mental health. I bought jewellery from a market on the Mound and walked home at midnight after Richard Gadd’s show eating a chocolate and lemon ice-cream.
3. How important is down time to you?
Vital to keep the weird world of stand-up comedy in perspective.
4. How much down time do you get & do you prioritise it?
I prioritise work as it’s either a feast or a famine and you can’t turn it down when it’s there. But to balance that, I have loads of free time when the gigs are thinner on the ground. I’m never really ‘off-duty’, though, as my work and life are really one and the same, in that everything I do usually feeds back into the comedy.
5. What do you do to unwind before bed?
Hot chocolate and an old sitcom on YouTube. I usually have some bedtime reading on the go as well.
6. What do you like to treat yourself with that’s ‘just for you’?
I love a sauna.
7. What are the signs that let you know it's time to slow down a bit or take a holiday?
If I start taking things too seriously or too personally.
8. Do you pay as much attention to your mental health as you do your physical health?
The same. Physical health, for me, equals mental health. I do a lot of running which definitely keeps my head in order.
9. How important are diet and exercise to you when it comes to maintaining good mental health?
I watch my diet because I want to run well, which in turn maintains good mental health – just being out and moving and in the fresh air, not necessarily winning races.
10. Do you have a 'calm down quick' tip?
Yogic breathing. Works every time.
11. Do you have personal experience living with mental ill health, be it your own or a loved ones?
I think we’re all living with mental health issues, our own and loved ones, as few of us live in balance with nature or are tuned into the workings of our own mind. Meditation I’ve found helps achieve this and is something I try to do most days.
