Dr Sarah host a ahow on Harbour Radio every Tuesday at 2pm. Here are soem reports form gher show. See also Unlearning the Armour which Dr Sarah & Dr Toomas discuss on her show.
Our eyes are extraordinary
They began as simple light-sensitive cells hundreds of millions of years ago and gradually evolved into one of the most complex organs in the human body. The eye is not just a camera — it is actually an extension of the brain, constantly sending electrical signals that the brain turns into the world we experience. Visual input is constantly integrated with touch, movement, and balance. Close your eyes for a moment, or minute or an hour and all your senses will miss their amazing impact!
Children are not born with fully developed vision. Babies learn to see over time as the brain builds connections through experience, movement, faces, and interaction. That is why early eye problems such as squints, lazy eye, or severe short-sightedness are so important to detect early — because the visual brain is still developing and can often be helped remarkably well with treatment.
As we get older, the eyes change too. Many people develop reading difficulties as the lens stiffens, while conditions such as cataracts, glaucoma, macular degeneration become more common. The good news is that modern treatments — including glasses, injections, and cataract surgery — can preserve or dramatically improve sight for many people.
There is also a lot we can do to protect our eyes:
- regular eye tests
- controlling diabetes and blood pressure
- stopping smoking
- wearing UV protection
- spending time outdoors
- eating a healthy diet
- seeking help quickly if vision suddenly changes
The story of the eye is really the story of adaptation — how biology, the brain, and human experience work together across an entire lifetime.
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- Written by: Sarah Flindall
How Sweetness Changed Us
Sugar didn’t start as the white crystals we sprinkle into tea. It began as a plant—something you had to grow, cut, and chew. Early sugar from Saccharum officinarum (sugar cane) was slow, fibrous, and naturally limited. You worked for the sweetness, and your body processed it gradually.
The turning point came with processing.
As sugar moved from plant to product, it was crushed, heated, filtered, and refined until it became almost pure sucrose. In doing so, something subtle but important changed. The fibre, nutrients, and structure that once slowed absorption were removed. What remained was fast, concentrated energy—easy to store, transport, and add to almost anything.
This shift made sugar more than just an ingredient. It made it efficient.
Historically, that efficiency fuelled global systems. Sugar plantations expanded across the Caribbean and the Americas, powered by enslaved labour within the transatlantic slave trade. Later, when slavery was abolished, indentured labour systems took its place. Sugar wasn’t just a food—it became part of a vast economic engine that shaped nations, trade, and inequality.
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- Written by: Sarah Flindall
What Water Reveals About Society
Water feels simple. You turn on a tap, fill a glass, and drink. But behind that everyday action sits one of the most complex — and fragile — systems we rely on.
At a basic level, water is essential to life. It enables every process in the body, from transporting nutrients to regulating temperature. But at a societal level, something even more interesting has happened: we’ve taken a natural resource and engineered it into something reliable, safe, and instantly available.
That reliability didn’t happen by accident. Historically, people drank from rivers, wells, and springs — often unknowingly consuming contaminated water. It wasn’t until the 19th century, when links between water and disease became clear, that modern systems emerged. Filtration, chlorination, and piped distribution transformed public health. Clean tap water quietly became one of the greatest successes of modern society.
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- Written by: Sarah Flindall
What's Really Going On Inside the Body?
Allergies can feel mysterious — why can one person eat peanuts without a problem, while another has a life-threatening reaction?
At its core, an allergy is a case of mistaken identity.
Your immune system is designed to protect you. Every day — especially in your gut and lungs — it's making decisions about what's safe and what's dangerous. Most of the time, it gets this right, tolerating food, pollen, and everyday substances without any fuss.
But sometimes, it learns the wrong lesson.
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- Written by: Sarah Flindall
Gender Identity Treatment: A Conversation in Medicine
In this episode we explore a subject that has become one of the most discussed – and sometimes misunderstood – areas of modern healthcare: gender identity treatment.
Rather than focusing on headlines or social media debates, the aim of this conversation is to understand how medicine approaches gender dysphoriadistress from a mismatch between assigned sex and gender identity., what treatments exist, and why the topic continues to generate discussion among clinicians and the public.
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- Written by: Sarah Flindall
On Dr Sarah On Call for Harbour Radio, I had the chance to share the music that has empowered me through life’s turning points ~ the songs that helped me breathe again, stand a little taller, and remember who I am when everything felt shaky. We talked about my journey from the school playground to more than 60 years rooted in Great Yarmouth, including the impact of bullying, relationship breakdown, and the quiet courage it takes to rebuild and start again. I also spoke honestly about the realities of business success and failure, redundancy, and the life-changing shift into ill-health retirement following long Covid ~ a chapter that asked me to slow down, listen deeper, and find new ways to live and work with compassion for my own limits.
From there, the conversation naturally moved into my writing and the heart behind my books, especially Time to Shine. I shared how the royalties from that cosy romance novel have been donated to GYUP, because community matters to me and I believe in giving back to the place that shaped me. We also explored what I’m building through Awakened Realm ~ gentle, soul-led courses for women navigating change, plus a membership community designed to feel like a safe, supportive circle rather than another noisy online space. And for the women of the Great Yarmouth Borough, I introduced an unmissable membership offer ~ an invitation to take a first step towards calm, confidence, and a renewed sense of purpose, in a way that feels grounded, accessible, and truly supportive.
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- Written by: Jax Southam
The Magic and Balance of Conception and Contraception
For centuries, we told stories about where babies come from:
- Storks flying over rooftops.
- Babies found in cabbage patches.
- Spirit children choosing their mothers.
These myths weren’t foolish. They reflected something profound: the mystery and magic of conception. Before microscopes and hormones, pregnancy felt miraculous. It still is. Even now, when we understand the biology, the creation of life carries awe. As societies evolved, so did our understanding. We learned how conception works — and eventually, how to separate sex from reproduction. That separation is sometimes framed as a loss of innocence or tradition. But it can also be seen as a remarkable human achievement. The ability to choose when — or whether — to have a child is not a burden. It is an opportunity. It allows:
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- Written by: Sarah Flindall
Some lives are shaped by a powerful combination: passionate belief in what’s possible, and relentless drive to see things through.
Geoff grew up with both.
He loved cricket — but it was the era of Ian Botham. He loved tennis — but the court was ruled by Björn Borg. From early on, he understood something important: wanting to be the best and actually becoming the best are two different things. The world is full of giants.
But instead of shrinking his ambition, that realisation sharpened it.
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- Written by: Sarah Flindall
Health Awareness: Bacteria, Viruses, and Recovery
We explored an important health topic: how to tell the difference between bacterial and viral infections, and why it matters.
Both can cause fever, sweating, and coughing, but:
Bacterial infections tend to affect a specific area and may involve pus. These can respond to antibiotics.
Viral infections trigger a wider immune response, often causing runny nose, eye symptoms, cough, muscle aches, headaches, and fatigue. Antibiotics don’t help.
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- Written by: Sarah Flindall
Inspired by Geoffrey Smart — Thoughts on Humanity
From Physics to People to Politics
On the 13th January Geoffrey Smart Joind me on my Harbour Radio Show, Geoffrey is the author of "A Few Thoughts on Humanity - From Physics to People to Politics"
Some books don’t give you answers. They quietly rearrange the way you think. A Few Thoughts on Humanity is one of those books. It takes you on a journey that starts with physics, travels through biology, and lands squarely in the heart of what it means to be human. It moves from atoms to people, from molecules to morality, from science to society. And what it asks, again and again, is this:
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- Written by: Sarah Flindall
Linda and Shelley : Bowel Cancer Specialist Nurse Team
Inspiration: The journey from 'what I wanted to be when I was young' to TODAY.
This journey was through travel, adults education, NHS nursing (on the other side of the world and back) to building a team who care and wrap around those who have had that heart stopping moment of a diagnosis of bowel cancer.
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- Written by: Sarah Flindall
Doctor Sarah on Harbour Radio!
On Tuesday 8 January, Doctor Sarah took to the airwaves on Harbour Radio 107.4 FM, delivering an insightful show ... check it out on Facebook.
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- Written by: Sarah Flindall