#129 | New Year, New Me | 2026 Resolutions – We Tried

00:00:01:15 – 00:00:15:16
Well, Christmas is over. Are you happy that it's over or you. What's that like? Like Christmas in that? Yeah. You dirty little pig.

00:00:15:18 – 00:00:39:16
I forgot to eat my sausage roll. Athena. Well, I literally, before we recorded, I was going to say, you know, get yourself a little cheeky sausage roll. The vegan sausage rolls of shit. Yeah. Absolutely. Shit. I tried one. This is a Greggs sausage roll, by the way. And flavor's got a vegan one. To remember all that kerfuffle.

00:00:39:18 – 00:01:00:20
Piers Morgan, and he was saying about vegan sausage rolls, and he was going on on fucking one of his crusades again about why are we doing vegan sausage rolls? And I think there was an advert as well from Greggs, where there was Mary, and then in the basket was a vegan sausage roll, and he was just going on about that.

00:01:00:22 – 00:01:23:13
I'll try one. I've got to try one. Yeah. He's right. He helped, drive vegan sausages out through the roof properly. Yeah, I don't yeah, we always found that bit a bit odd. Like, I know, I know, Piers Morgan is odious and obnoxious. Yeah. More or less. I think he actually gets things pretty right. More or less.

00:01:23:15 – 00:01:42:03
And then there's some things he just gets wrong on. The Meghan Markle stuff is just odd. Weird. Yeah. Yeah. Are you fucking mental? Why are you infatuated with this girl as half your age? Like, who cares if she's your mate or you've talked to her or not? Who cares about this? Like these comments on tabloid journalism as well.

00:01:42:03 – 00:02:03:14
Again, like what? I don't I don't give a shit about really. I think it's stupid. Like this morning stuff is stupid politically. Generally. I think he's all right. I know that's going to be kind of difficult for some people to hear, but because I just don't like him. But if you listen to what he actually says and he's I think he's pretty down the middle on most things.

00:02:03:16 – 00:02:20:16
But yeah, he's, decision making on some things like vegan sausage rolls and the Meghan Markle stuff is so odd. I still would still to this day, like, if she doesn't want to see your dad, it's none of your business. Just shut up. Why are you so passionate about this? Why are you walking off stage? You look weird.

00:02:20:16 – 00:02:42:09
You're like an old creep. He's like that? Yeah. He's not a proper woman. Scorned about their. It's like they were. They were mates. And now she's, like, distanced herself and he's like, well, if you if you're going to be like that, then I'm going to be like this. As a 58 year old man, you should not be mates with like a late 20s woman in my opinion.

00:02:42:11 – 00:03:00:17
No, actually, no. It's not. It's weird if there's that much age gap and you're hanging around and all friends, I think that's a bit odd. You. Yeah. It's it's I'm like I dunno, it's just that there's, there's times in your life where you're knocking about with people and then you kind of grow in different directions and things happen.

00:03:00:17 – 00:03:21:22
I know that like that's, that's fine. But then holding on to this relationship that you had, that was a glimmer in time. But it's like, yeah, we're still best mates. And with and then it just kind of went the other way. And then how aggressive he went on every single news story anywhere that would have him, that would listen to his opinion on that.

00:03:21:24 – 00:03:44:00
He was there driving home the dagger. I was like, this is fucking mental. Yeah, yeah. I think he gets grouped in with like, what's he's the men or women, the stop the boats swimming gunshot. What? Kate Hopkins. Yeah, he he just grouped him with her like they're the same. They're not the same. No. Oh, God. No, she is ten times worse.

00:03:44:00 – 00:04:08:09
Yeah. She's horrid. How is your, Christmas father? I it was all right. Yeah. Okay. It was, No, no. It's lovely. I mean, it was it was. I'm grateful to have everything I had, you know, in terms of time I spent with people, I think we only we only were my dads for about six, seven hours. And it was just so many people, they weren't relaxing.

00:04:08:11 – 00:04:40:19
Really? Yeah. It was. It was busy, if anything. Oh, okay. My preference is chilling out on the on the sofa. Yeah. Some beer, watching television and dinner comes. Eat that. And then for the kind of. That's my preference. But this year is. Yeah, we get to drive and but yeah, very grateful to to Yeah. Did you, have to get, did you have to get involved with anything not serving or clearing dishes away or anything like that.

00:04:41:00 – 00:05:03:08
Were you. Yeah. I didn't do any cooking. Help. Clear. Yeah. Little bit serving took like an I took two minutes, so it wasn't really a job, but, no, it was just pretty standard as always. Really. I forget how stressful Christmas is. What part of it, so. Oh, like. Oh, December. It's like Christmas just coming in. Looking forward to it.

00:05:03:13 – 00:05:21:22
Christmas dinner. And, you know, being we have family and it's that one day to switch off from everything the world not talk to anyone. Fucking brilliant. But then leading up to it. Right. I said about this, the stress of secrets and, people badgering me that I have an update on my list, and then I've not bought my Secret Santa.

00:05:21:24 – 00:05:35:13
And then I need to buy my kids presents, and I need to buy my missus present. Oh, fuck. I forgot about my dad. And is it can arrive in time, and then you kind of get everything, and you've got to wrap it, and you've got to wrap it in secrecy, and you've got to wait to different times and all of that.

00:05:35:13 – 00:06:00:19
Lots. And then amidst all of that, the Christmas shopping, the food shop. Have I got enough stuff? Do I get more stuff? This year? I wanted to go a bit more reserved because we're not having Christmas Day here and it's just grazing stuff. A Boxing Day. But then mum was like, oh you haven't, we haven't bought this. I'm like, no, no, no, remember we're going down.

00:06:00:21 – 00:06:17:17
So I and I was fine. And then I kept hearing, yeah, we haven't got any of that. We had to go to the shops again. Then I thought, have a Christmas Eve. I was like, I fucking need this. Like a hole in the I dunno, what did you do, just not buy stuff that you usually have for Christmas.

00:06:17:19 – 00:06:40:01
Yeah. Well yeah. They agreed that what wasn't going to be bought or did you agree there would be a scaling back. And I agreed to be a scaling back. You can't go through the list exhaustively. You can't just sit there and go through. That was always happiness. Yes or no? Yeah. It was always going to happen. Yeah. So, we went out on New Year's Christmas Eve to because we likewise just thought we haven't.

00:06:40:03 – 00:07:10:14
It doesn't feel like we've done enough. Yeah. £650 disappeared. It just like was. I can't believe where this is. Where's it all going? Well, it's it was insane. Like, so we woke up. We woke up four hours later or 650 with them. And I really can't tell you what we bought. Yeah. Exactly. Same. And then like, on Christmas Day, obviously, lovely kids opening their presents, seeing their little silly faces, happy with everything.

00:07:10:14 – 00:07:42:01
Mrs. happy, everyone's happy. And I'm getting ready to go to my mum's. And before that is where we're running. Like, always running like, I'm Mrs. my mum say we're running late. I had put my hand up and I said I did the Yorkies. So I did like 20 Yorkies for the day and jumped in the shower, came down from the shower as I was coming down the stairs, my oldest guy that and I was like, yeah, there's water dripping from the ceiling into the kitchen.

00:07:42:03 – 00:08:16:01
So for fuck's sake. Oh fuck. You know, Mary Fucking Christmas. And then, I just I couldn't think about our shower by shower again, so I just got a pan, put it under where it was dripping as that. I'll fucking deal with you later. Get everyone in the car, drive to my mum's, and once you get to it, once I got to my mum's, all of the kind of the lead up of buying presents and Christmas shopping and wrapping presents and all of that stuff, I just had just gone and round my mum's.

00:08:16:01 – 00:08:43:00
It was my sister, my two nephews, my mum and me and my girl. So it's pretty quiet. And like you were saying, it was just kind of I was sitting around for most of it, food coming in, eating it, food going out and then helping out with, you know, dishes and stuff like that. But it was well, well chilled and we just had planned we doing a lot of games as well.

00:08:43:02 – 00:09:01:08
Getting games. I don't know if you've seen it on TikTok. You know, there's one of those a quick reaction games with it drops and they. Yeah the drop in. Yeah. So I did a game of that. There was another one. Imposter. Now this was a fucking quality game. Never played in my life. And it's done via an app.

00:09:01:08 – 00:09:25:06
It's like a free app. You've got like, I that nice, let's say eight players and seven people get the same word. An imposter doesn't get a word all. And then, and then you have to say one word that's relative to the word that everyone's been given. But the imposter doesn't know the word, so they have to try and fool you that they know the word and pick up on it.

00:09:25:08 – 00:09:52:06
So for maths, this is, it was hilarious with our family, but the word was kebab. Someone said lettuce. Someone said onion. My sister was the imposter and she just said hot. And we said, oh yeah, food's hot. Go to my Mrs. who knew the word kebab? She went cold and everyone was like, okay, she's definitely the imposter.

00:09:52:06 – 00:10:13:14
You can't have a kebab code. And then it went round again. No, I said chili sauce went round. My sister said something that's relative to a kebab. And then it got to my Mrs.. She went curry. Oh, is that relative? She knew the fucking word, you idiot. Piece of myself. So there was quite a lot of that.

00:10:13:14 – 00:10:38:17
Good. And then, as a city as well, that, my mum's partner, he's, quite into his health. Health and fitness. He's got a little plunge pool. And in October they had a sauna put in, so Christmas Day, your mom bought a ripped. Yeah, well, well, he's not ripped, but he's he's a fit guy. Good fit guy.

00:10:38:18 – 00:11:08:09
Yeah, right. He runs. Yeah. Yeah, yeah. Stamina. Yeah, yeah. He's a landscape gardener as well. Oh my God. Yeah yeah. So he does. And I pounds away for hours. Hours. Yeah. Mum's just looking at what I need to go in the sauna. Hurry up. At a lovely sauna on Christmas Day as well. It's fucking beautiful. You know, I've not had a Christmas where I have enjoyed it so much.

00:11:08:09 – 00:11:19:12
It was not perfect, really. So it's lovely. Should we go on a bit? Yeah, let's do it.

00:11:19:14 – 00:11:50:00
Oh, just, just. You got a tissue for a tissue? You're a bit sad, cause I will give you a aching in your soul, alone in your flat. Please talk to Vicky Flanagan. Let not stress off your chest. Well, friend, you deserve to be like your savior. To get nice and warm between Vicky, your lamb. Hello and welcome to lads.

00:11:50:00 – 00:12:19:14
Anonymous is episode 129. I'm Ricky, he's flat two best mates. One main topic we answer your life dilemmas, confessions and our feature something 90, you know, and everything. Rene remains anonymous. Always I sit back, relax and enjoy the pot. How's your Boxing Day, by the way? We just sit at home. Nah, my mum was. My mum was over, with her husband and my stepmom.

00:12:19:14 – 00:12:44:00
Kindly invite them to have Christmas because they'll be on their own otherwise. How how was how was the, It was absolutely fine. But, like, I just, it can be it can be quite stressful. So, I found a lot of it quite stressful rather than relaxing. Anyway, so we went over, it we they came over on Christmas, Boxing Day.

00:12:44:00 – 00:13:09:04
I said, look, there's a pub near me. Maybe, but in the new gaff. And we just had a we had a little Boxing Day drink, which was all right, but they, they, they've got a Fiat 500, my mum, which I don't know, I know they're tiny. Yeah, yeah. You know the Dow terrier which is like a massive dog fuck which is lovely dog but huge.

00:13:09:06 – 00:13:26:13
So just to have him in the back with on his own is too. It's already not enough space. Yeah, we except this for adults for over seven years in the Fiat 500 driving over it and they don't quite know the way to get here. So, the stress like, I opened the door and everyone was just like, fucking stressed.

00:13:26:13 – 00:13:46:15
And I was up. Brilliant. Like, what I would really like now is for you to get back in that car and drive away. But we went went to the local pub, fucking rams. You know, they saying like, pubs are dying if you're in the right spot and with the right in the right environment and you make the right kind of pub mate.

00:13:46:16 – 00:14:06:21
It was Christmas Eve was, was I forgot to say this because I didn't go in, but I drove past it, walked past it. I was walking dog. It was rammed. When I say rammed is the glasses were steamed up. It was. There was so many. But it was like the clothing you might see on a Friday night in the city after having stuff.

00:14:06:21 – 00:14:31:07
So yeah, packed everyone singing Christmas carols and songs and drinking mulled wine. It was like one of the most perfect Christmas, Christmas in the country pub, and everyone in there was good local folk. Right? Okay. No outsiders. If it was those good, like, wealthy folk. No. Yeah. No, I mean, the only way you can get there is you walk.

00:14:31:07 – 00:14:47:00
So they must have been from everyone in Mark 11. Where I work or live must, must have been in that pub. But we had like a little open. We, we just said anyone can come in who hasn't seen the house can come round and bit of a drink and stuff. So we didn't go to the pub but that was lovely and went and box.

00:14:47:00 – 00:15:07:24
They rammed again, not, it's not as busy. And so we just sat in a pub for about a couple of hours and I had a couple of pints with the in-laws, not the in-laws, the stepparents and the parents and Sounds lovely. Yeah. Then I came back. We hadn't any food left over from the, Christmas dinner, obviously.

00:15:08:02 – 00:15:32:20
Obviously. So we just, ordered a kebab in and, watched the latest film. What the fuck was the film? Oh, I'll tell you what we did. Do it. We watched Hunger Games latest film, which was shit. And, we opened me in to Mrs.. And spent any time really the other thing you don't at Christmas you don't spend time your partners.

00:15:32:22 – 00:15:54:23
You spend time with everybody. So, yeah, we just, we sat down together on the sofa and we opened a bottle of wine that my missus bought me when she went in the Hindu, too. But they took her to Bordeaux and she bought me a, bottle of, red wine. Yeah. Which at the time was a two for two, 2014, which is when we met.

00:15:55:00 – 00:16:24:03
And she bought that in 2020, something like that. 2021. And we looked online and it was worth three, £280. Now. Oh, shit. So we drank a 280 pounds. It wasn't she didn't buy it for that. She got it for about €50. Yeah, yeah. But this particular year was, really. And it was sensational. I mean, I wouldn't want to make quid on it, but yeah, it was, it was probably the best bottle of wine, a glass of wine I've ever had in my life.

00:16:24:03 – 00:16:48:13
Yeah. Mate, that sounds lovely. That was nice. Yeah. Oh, mate, that's fucking my dream. My dream right there. Maya. Yeah. Boxing day. I just spent a sat watching movie after movie with the kids, building Lego. It's fucking great, man. Absolutely glad that, I didn't have to go anywhere or do anything. And I did do a bit of trolling on on, Christmas Eve.

00:16:48:15 – 00:17:13:24
What did you do? Just tweeted, if you're not wearing jeans right now, you're not a real man by 11:30 on Christmas Eve. Anyone who responded, I just wanted, you know, man. You know what, man? May I just, ask what they actually, I did see the picture is, was like, he is not comfortable. He's not. Well, I'm no optimum.

00:17:14:01 – 00:17:41:05
Come to bed. Know I'm in joggers at the moment and I'm just that fucking. This is the best ever. Always talks about it. So. Yeah. Again, I mentioned before we get into this, something I need, you know, the is an anonymous submission form. So if you go to any of our social media and you click on the link, you see at the top something only you know and you can submit your stories anonymously.

00:17:41:06 – 00:18:04:11
We don't know. We don't require any email, any location, anything. So we would never know who sent it. And so if you've got anything that is hiding in your closet, send it in. We'll never know. We'll read it out. So do you know, you can probably guess what the topic is today on a, I remember you said New Year's Eve, though, New Year's resolutions.

00:18:04:13 – 00:18:36:19
That's right. New Year's resolutions are. Listen to our pod. Last year that we did 2000. What is 2024 with it? Yeah. 2024. And what do we say? So yours was, you spoke about dry January, but you said dry January isn't really isn't going to work for you because it was right. Okay. If I've got dry January, I can hold off drinking booze until the 31st of January.

00:18:36:19 – 00:18:57:22
And then on the 1st of February, I'll just fucking neck eight points. Yeah. So that's that. Does that really help me? Does that help my behavior in my relationship? And I know it's a reset, but I kind of feel like I need something bigger. So that was one of yours? Yeah. You also mentioned your, blood pressure and feeling fatigued.

00:18:57:24 – 00:19:24:03
That you needed to address that in 2025. Yep. Because of your drinking or non drinking that you weren't, kind of you weren't compelled to smoke cigarets, so you were over cigarets. Don't need them. Don't want that. Yeah. About that. When did we do this 2024. No I know, but when I might be 2025. Actually, January this year.

00:19:24:03 – 00:19:49:08
I hadn't stopped by then. If it went in 2024, I stopped drinking on, on Boxing Day, Boxing Day last year. Right. Okay. So we we recorded this. It was after. Yeah. Right. Well, so yeah, I mean, yeah, at the time, so what the context of that was the idea. Yeah. The blood pressure. Yeah. The don't we talk about this last week?

00:19:49:08 – 00:20:15:16
I'm pretty sure we did. Somewhere we talked about it. Did we? Well, just at the I had, I had an operation checked, and let's have my, Yeah. That's right. Yeah. We talk about. Yeah. Yeah, we. Yeah, yeah. So, so that's that that's what that was about. I think, and I mean, I lasted until 21st April, which was good, which returned everything to normal.

00:20:15:18 – 00:20:39:21
That's good. That's what you need to do. Yeah. Take. Yeah, yeah, it did it right there. Right. In hindsight, I wish I hadn't started again. Right. Just because if I had just carried on, carried on, that would have been better. But, I did, so I don't know what you and my were. Us. Give up smoking. Oh, that.

00:20:39:23 – 00:21:02:13
So, so, it was, it was to give up smoking. But in September, I'd gone on a wild night out, with the gooners. And I felt so fucking deadly. The next few days, I didn't go near a cigaret around it up. And then after that, I was just like, I'm fucking. That's it. I'm done. Fully done. So from that September to December, I wasn't smoking.

00:21:02:14 – 00:21:27:11
But anyway. But I wanted to continue that for 2025, not for it just to be a four month thing, but to go through 2025. Not smoke any back, Not get back into that, and stop vaping as well. Not add a cigaret. Take that. Oh, do you know what I'd add? One at Oasis and one somewhere else.

00:21:27:11 – 00:21:55:11
I can't remember, but that's it. Like two, maybe three cigarets in 2025. Done. Tobacco. You're out of here vaping lasted until April, and now it's in my mouth, like, pacifier. I know it's fucking you. Yeah, yeah, I I yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. We talk about vapor cock the dick, the dick. The dick. Yeah. It's hard in it because.

00:21:55:11 – 00:22:15:18
Yeah, yeah. So I've, I when I'm not smoke, when I'm not drunk, I don't feel the desire to smoke. I talked about this as well. But smoke or vape or anything. Yeah. Yeah. Only you know what I say. Vaping as well. You don't feel the desire to know. I mean, I might do, I might have one or. I don't think about it, really.

00:22:15:18 – 00:22:33:15
I don't I, I mean, I've been drinking so it doesn't really matter anymore, but. Yeah. So that's that's no good. Don't fags is good. Yeah. Yeah. So I'm pleased with that because that's one of the big ones that I was like, I'm definitely going to go back and see Rollies man. There is you know, I, I love the Raleigh.

00:22:33:15 – 00:22:57:21
I loved everything about it. Just, the car, obviously, you know, smoking was, I enjoyed it, but it's the whole rolling of the the roll up that I enjoyed as well. Everything around it was that rich. Yeah. Ritual. Kind of. Yeah. Yeah, it it. Oh, my. Yeah, that was my. I'm, I'm, I'm nearly qualified for like grade A I'll tell you I've spoken about this as well.

00:22:57:21 – 00:23:30:03
But yeah it's it really. Yeah. Because it's proper but from the, from from government garden mate. This is insane. Yeah man I'm going to get into weed. I mean, so have you been is there been any, like, back and forth with the with the doctors, the hospital and now we do you go to your doctors and you say, I've got this for me is peripheral neuropathy really they can't prove whether you got it or not.

00:23:30:09 – 00:23:51:05
So you just go to the hospital because the doctors and go, I've got peripheral nerve. The they have to try to course as a treatment if never the work which they won't work because. Because there's no cure for it. You didn't get you wait. Shit, boy. Yeah, you have to pay for it. That's free. Yeah, yeah. I'm not paying for weed, but that it's not cheaper than the street either.

00:23:51:07 – 00:24:24:07
You could grow your own and then just say it's personal use. Because my feet. This is the thing. You can't do that. That's. This is the mad thing about all of this is the government's got grow houses everywhere. But not. You're not mad. Yeah. That's mad that they've got the. Where are they. Do you know what right. Every time I walk down the canal and this might be canal people and I might be slanging them, but that smell of weed down the canal, I don't know if it's people popping out of their houses and having a quick spliff, but there is a boat every time I walk past it.

00:24:24:07 – 00:24:46:19
The pungent smell, it's like someone is smoking a spliff there and then. And I'm wondering, all people have got, do they have like abandoned boarded up canal boats? But inside the canal boat they growing weed? Yeah, possibly. There was a house in where I lived in university, and it was clear as day that it was a weed house.

00:24:46:21 – 00:24:51:16
It stunk, but it absolutely reeks.

00:24:51:18 – 00:25:21:07
Yeah. So, we'll see how that goes. Really. But yeah, that's that's mad. Well, kind of because of the way it works, it sort of impacts your central nervous system, which is what my issues with said, the nerve endings on fire will actually damage the ovens and the damage so that apparently weed nullifies it or throws it. I'm I imagine that you do get this grade-A weed and, and I make a bong, right?

00:25:21:09 – 00:25:39:18
And you start doing it and it starts working, but you're just like, stoned all the time. But this is the problem is I can't, it's not like I'm not going to, I'm never going to be painless, pain free rather because I can't do this and work life. You know what I'm like when I'm stoned. The hearts can't function.

00:25:39:20 – 00:25:56:21
So maybe the more weed you do, the less pain you feel. So you just have to get super high all the time, every night. That's the thing. But then the kids need lifts places and I'm like, like, yeah, you got well, I mean like, when it's like proper evening, evening. You should be able to. You'll be right.

00:25:56:23 – 00:26:21:18
Yeah. But that means you spend 90% of your day with my feet on fire. So. And then, then I'll go to sleep. Anyway, it'll be fun. It could be fun. Don't just have it for recreational use. The other thing that I said that I would do in 2025, go to bed at a reasonable time. No. I have probably done that maybe three times.

00:26:21:18 – 00:26:40:23
Not even that. I reckon presents are free. 30 on Christmas Eve the other day. Yeah. Well, the day before Christmas Eve. Oh, I know it would have been Christmas Eve. 330 in the morning. And then on Christmas Eve, we were up again until, like two in the morning. What time for Christmas Day? Like half nine, I think.

00:26:41:00 – 00:27:08:12
Late one. Yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah I said nine, half nine. Yeah yeah yeah. And then we went down and done everything. So bedtime I've not really done that. Another one of mine I wanted to read more. I wanted to read 30 minutes before going to bed. When I was getting to bed, an early time. I have not cracked the spine of a single book in 2025.

00:27:08:14 – 00:27:19:24
No, no. Not read. So I've not, not done that. I read The Boy, the horse, The mole in the Fox on Christmas Day.

00:27:20:01 – 00:27:46:00
You know. Right. Yeah. Why? Why am does that, What's the dude? Yeah. Where's the data? He does the artwork for it. Oh. Oh, he wrote it. The wrote the guy, right? It was Charlie Maxey. My case. I said yeah, yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah. I don't know if he did the artwork as well.

00:27:46:02 – 00:28:04:08
It might be in my head. He's he's quality that dude. I've had him on quite a few podcasts. He's got a, got very good outlook on life and a lovely bloke. Well, you can, you can tell that because of the, you know, the message in, in the book is all about self-help and changing your viewpoint on the world.

00:28:04:10 – 00:28:27:20
Yeah. Very. Yeah, yeah, it's quite emotional read, actually. It's I mean, you can read it in half an hour. It's like it's a, it's a graphic novel. Really. Right to know, dude, know the story about. He was doing a book signing in I think 20, 20 or 21 after this came out. And, and obviously it's massively popular.

00:28:27:20 – 00:28:50:20
I think it's the best selling book in the world, or certainly in Great Britain. Yeah, yeah, yeah, it's been number one in like 200 countries. An assumption like that. Yeah. And he was doing a book signing, he, this guy, towards the end of the queue, this young man of about 22 appeared in front of him and he says, I don't have a book to sign.

00:28:50:20 – 00:29:15:24
It's just a while ago, I didn't want to be here anymore. And I read your book, and now I want to be here. I, I didn't do it because I read your book. And he said, the author said, if one person if I if, you know, I produce this and only one person wrote it and it was that young man, then it would have been worth, he'll.

00:29:16:01 – 00:29:39:15
So that's how powerful it can be. You need to look into yourself and look at some of the messaging and apply it. But as a as a piece of self-help, if that's even maybe to try a way of thinking about it. It's a it's a great piece of work, about 4 or 5 books he's done now, mate, that is, that's fucking, I could feel myself as you're saying that.

00:29:39:15 – 00:30:01:10
Like going up to him and saying, like, I've got enough time, but obviously reading your book helped me. I didn't want to be. Here's the ace. Yeah, it's Matt, I think, mate, I think Christmas is I don't know where it's fucking fucked with my, my emotions or whatever, but I was watching Nativity yesterday and that fucking started getting me what bit the film.

00:30:01:12 – 00:30:24:01
He's so good. So funny. Okay. It's just I've seen him all I there's three of them, I think the. Yeah, yeah, I honestly the first, the first one is so good in terms of Christmas movies that are quintessentially British but also classic like Love Actually, that kind of thing. This is. Yes. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. I would say it's on this let on that level of fucking 100%.

00:30:24:05 – 00:30:50:02
That is so funny. It's such a good and moving. Yeah, yeah. There was a couple a couple of bits in there. Asked us to. Oh, God. God. I looked over at my messages and I saw like, apple tear rolled down their cheek and I was like, I can't, I can't go not not to nativity cheesy. You, she she saw me kind of like, cause that normally I just, I lean forward a little bit just so that if I lean back, she bend to get that side angle.

00:30:50:02 – 00:31:13:09
So just like, lean forward a bit. I was like, bank guy wreck. Not now. Yeah. If she, So she doesn't mind. See any crazy now? I could make fun of you. No, no, no, not at all. Not till I fucking went during, she bought me tickets to see, Tame Impala. Oh, yeah, for my boat for my birthday.

00:31:13:11 – 00:31:37:24
And, I was trying to thank her for it, and I got, like, half I free, and I was just like, I need to stop, and I just. I just sat there for, like, 45 seconds before I could say for fucking move. It probably just froze. Fucking. So embarrassing. I need to stop. Silly. Right. So yeah.

00:31:38:01 – 00:31:59:14
Yeah. But, Yeah. Can't fucking wait for that. And then the last two that I had was, I don't know if you remember this height watching I described to you that I had become not obsessed, but, I enjoyed hate watching. So is watching people social media that maybe it was an influencer, or maybe it was a person that I knew.

00:31:59:14 – 00:32:27:18
Or maybe it was, I don't know, an aspiring fucking mechanic or whatever it is to stop it because I watched it, because I didn't like them and I hated them and stuff. So everyone that I had that was on my Instagram unfollowed them after that podcast, not seeing any of their content since actually there is one person because, they are a social media kind of thought leader.

00:32:27:20 – 00:32:57:20
Because I work in social media, they're always going to be in and around the timeline. It was a it was a lady called. She worked with Steven Barnett. They got named Grace Andrews, but she's just this posh, that, just, you know, when people want you up, they just want you up. And I was just like, I can't, but I have to watch it because she's, like, on the forefront of social media trends and all that.

00:32:57:20 – 00:33:30:16
But she I just, you know, just I'd rather not be on the forefront of it if I have to listen to this. So I'll stop doing that, which is great. And then, being a better follower, more listening, more understanding, just being there for my kids. Understanding about the frustrations, whether it be with school or whether it's kind of like because because I used to get really frustrated that if one of my daughters was not, what's the word?

00:33:30:16 – 00:33:54:01
I'm looking for? You know, like if we, being repetitive over something like, I don't know, a maths equation and I've gone through over and over and over again and still not like landing, and then you just end up getting a bit, you know, talk with them and just thought frustrated anyway. Yeah. But realizing that people learn in different ways and all of that stuff.

00:33:54:01 – 00:34:21:14
But being a better father, I have most definitely. I feel like I've improved. I'm not, you know, the best father, but definitely improved. But, I'm suffering a new thing five. Which is really I'm finding it quite difficult to not overcome. That's not the right word. I'm just finding it difficult. So, as you know, my daughters, young women, everybody that.

00:34:21:14 – 00:34:53:22
Well, there's three women in this household ministry at different times. And I'm finding it hard to be there for them, not be there for them. But it's it's like a rollercoaster of emotions because they're young women going through school and all the other kind of stuff that they're worried about. And then they are on their period, and it's just trying to navigate through all of that and make sure they, comfortable and that they've got everything that they need.

00:34:53:23 – 00:35:15:14
Does that make sense? It's like, what what are you supposed to do there? I don't know what I mean. That that's the thing. I mean. Well, no, it's it's hot water bottles for stomach aches. Paracetamol. Ibuprofen for pain. Well, I'm like, I'll get a favorite shot. Yeah, but you don't know that, did you? I didn't know that.

00:35:15:16 – 00:35:33:18
Yeah. No, it's not, it's not, it's not the physical act that I don't know how to get chocolate from a fridge. It's not. Normally you're so caught up in work all your life, it's like, oh, I've got period pains. Take some paracetamol. Fuck off. That's the. Just get on with it. Well, it's kind of pacifically about the menstruation cycle.

00:35:33:18 – 00:35:54:21
You feel like you have to do more. Well, yeah, it's it's kind of just been a bit more understanding because there's three people and they're all kind of thinking up or one's coming off and then one's going on and then it's trying to understand the vibe of the house. When you wake up that morning, who's angry? Who is in, who's in pain, who isn't?

00:35:54:21 – 00:36:15:10
Who wants to kill me, who hates each other this morning? And it's that understanding what kind of pedals to push and what one's to kind of not. So that's been an interesting part of my, journey as being a father in 2025. I kind of think like, not nailed it, but I'm getting a better understanding of it.

00:36:15:10 – 00:36:37:13
But there are many kind of house households out there that wouldn't even speak to their, daughters or partners about that and know what they can do to, help them or to make things better for them. So, so I'm just kind of. Yeah. It's just that one of you is that you're new, new this year.

00:36:37:15 – 00:37:02:09
So. No, it wasn't, it was just that it was to be a better father last year. But towards the end of this year, I've kind of like it's been difficult because there has been a lot of hormones flying about. And I've been like hiding in my office because I don't really know what to do. I don't think you can do it, but you just, you, I don't think, what can you do?

00:37:02:11 – 00:37:24:16
It's like someone's got a cold. Like, what can you do? Give them a blanket, make sure they feel alright. But hiding in your office is fine. Like keep hiding what you might just let them go through it. They'll feel better in a couple of days. Like be like the father of like you say. Like if you can make them feel more comfortable, you can't change their hormones inside their brain or how they feel.

00:37:24:18 – 00:37:43:15
So you can't. But you can try to make them feel more, comfortable. They'll hate you trying to make them feel comfortable. You think? Yeah. Yeah, they'll they'll go numb. They might sometimes like it, but sometimes they go. They'll they'll pick your dick because they don't know what's going on. Yeah. That's true. They think I'm a dick anyway.

00:37:43:17 – 00:38:07:23
Anyway, do you have any. Are you, are you doing any New Year's resolutions? Yeah. Oh, yeah. Or just even. Not even, like, putting a name on it. Not like a New Year's resolution just to be like. Do you know what last year was a fucking clusterfuck because of my brain was constantly on moving home and all of that.

00:38:07:23 – 00:38:31:21
So maybe this year I can do a bit of self-improvement, self-reflection, whatever you want to call it. Yeah. I haven't really thought about it. Like Christmas came around really quickly. Like, sometimes you just don't have time to really think inwardly, which is fine as well. I spent the Christmas sentence suddenly here I was like, what the fuck?

00:38:31:21 – 00:38:51:21
Where does that come from? But this was the least Christmassy I've ever felt. Ever. Did I have that Christmas vibe at all? But it's because I couldn't concentrate. I was working up until a lot. Yeah, a lot going on. Look at home with the house and stuff I like. It was almost like the stress of that, that the last 3 or 4 months meant that you don't have time to have a normal life.

00:38:51:23 – 00:39:19:05
So now that we're moving out of that period, we're not out of that yet. I have a couple of months before we move out of it properly. And then you can start to sort of out there. Then it is time, I guess, to look at what it is that you want to do, but it kind of seems it seems almost like, weirdly like, pointless at the moment because there's so much, there's so much to still.

00:39:19:05 – 00:39:41:11
Yeah, yeah, to do. So I'm kind of looking, looking forward to a time where you think right now I can, Yeah, maybe think about other things, like, like last year was all about it being like these things were forced upon me, like, you know, this just quitting drinking and managing and trying to get fit because of the blood pressure.

00:39:41:11 – 00:40:00:05
All of that stuff was forced upon me, and you had to make it. The problem is, is the most difficult thing is, is making those decisions and choosing the right choices when things aren't forced upon you, it's almost more difficult. I didn't have a choice last year. Yeah, yeah. I needed my hernia sorted out. I couldn't have it with my hypertension.

00:40:00:05 – 00:40:22:19
So what? There's no choice here. This is what I have to do. Whereas, now it's almost like I don't have time. I'm not my priorities, not my me. The priorities are sorting the things out that needs to be sorted out while working full time. So yeah. So the answer in the short is I don't really have any.

00:40:22:21 – 00:40:56:13
Okay. But I want to have be in a situation next year where I think I can legitimately concentrate and have some, if I just having some next year, I'm feeling like it worthwhile, then, yeah. That's that that's my what needs resolution to be to be in control of stuff. Whereas I haven't been in control. I've been at the whim of other people's decisions and and, I don't mean I'm happy with decisions like, I don't know what color to paint the walls.

00:40:56:13 – 00:41:27:12
It's it was like, more like, expensive decisions that have massive ramifications on your quality of life. Once you get past that, eventually we will. And it is just a moment in time. Then you can kind of make you start thinking about these things. I guess. Anyway, so yeah, that would be it to take to get back in control and feeling comfortable with everything that's going on, feeling comfortable and a contentment.

00:41:27:14 – 00:42:17:08
That's what I strive for next year. Right? That's that's that's good. That that's. Yeah. Like when people do like New Year's resolutions and what you touched upon there, do you think people do need resolutions for themselves or for what people think they want them to do? Like if someone was like, oh, I'm going to quit, like vaping and I'm going to quit vaping because my kids want me to do it, not because I want to do it, or I feel like I need to do it or I, you know, I mean, yeah, yeah, I think, I think that most people's New Year's resolutions or changes they want to make in their life

00:42:17:08 – 00:42:46:00
come mainly from things they think they should do, because other people think they should do them. Yes. And generally those things are correct. Like if your kids want you to stop smoking, you might quit. Mainly because the kids want you too. But deep down you know you should as well. Yeah. So it's almost like your insecurities about all your decision making about things is, is exposed or exemplified by, you know, how other people close to you feel about it.

00:42:46:00 – 00:43:08:06
So absolutely. Yeah, I think, yeah, a combination of two things. I know I should go to the gym. I know I should quit smoking, and I know I should stop drinking so much. And I know that because if I don't, it'll impact the people around me. Yeah. And I'll live less long. And so, Yeah, it's all of those things, really, they come from.

00:43:08:06 – 00:43:38:04
They should generally come from really good space. So I would say my kind of a target for 2026, I think I've mentioned that on this part, give up vaping so that the, give myself to first the jam, knock it on the head. No more to I'll be like a bear with a sore head. I'll be joining the girls, stomping around the house and slamming doors and stuff like that.

00:43:38:06 – 00:44:05:02
That. So I'm only going to do kind of two. Stick to two. Because if you overload yourself with loads, you just never do it. And then the second one is obviously going to bed at, a reasonable hour. And I tried to do that last year. I got into a bit of a pattern, but this year I'm really noticing and looking at my Fitbit that I'm getting about five hours sleep a night, and it's just it's just nowhere near enough, for the 5.5 hours.

00:44:05:02 – 00:44:29:05
Yeah, but yeah. Average. Average a week. Yeah. But that's. You asleep. That's not you stirring. You're not set right. Yeah. It probably isn't as bad as you think. So what, you're telling me you in bed, falling asleep and then waking up. So I, in bed at, like, half 12 and then probably fall asleep at 12:45. Something like that.

00:44:29:07 – 00:44:55:07
Yeah. And then I woke up again every night. 6:15. All right. Yeah. So you literally can not enough sleep. Yeah. I mean that's that's my that's my routine. We can't keep talking about this week I know, but I mean I'm going to be in New Year's. Yeah. Yeah. There are people with different Akkadian rhythms. So you you there are people who enjoy being up later and spend I'm more comfortable and relaxed later.

00:44:55:09 – 00:45:15:22
But the world doesn't stop for people who prefer that, that my daughter said this the other day. To me, it really well me up because she puts us up to bed, like she's a she'll be 18 soon. So she, she's, she has to make her own decisions and and she has to learn through consequence. They're not it isn't going to be me telling her that this is going to make her learn.

00:45:15:24 – 00:45:35:05
It will be the consequences of her actions that will make her learn. From this point onwards, because they put her stop listening. Some they go, you don't know, I know. Yeah. And that's it. And that happened. That probably has already started to happen. Maybe with your kids. Right? Yeah. For sure. So she woke up, put herself to bed at a certain certain time.

00:45:35:07 – 00:45:54:23
She would get up. She, without fail, wakes up El Pop and gets herself ready every day, which is. That's insane. That's quality. No, 18 there an adult like they can go to war. They can vote. If they can't get themselves up and get themselves ready when they can go to war. That's not insane, Ricky. That is normal kids, a kids mind.

00:45:55:00 – 00:46:18:04
Not just that. That's that's the bare minimum. Eight. Eight. They're not kids. 18. Adults. 18. She's not 18 yet. I mean, they she will be in three months. I, I moved out of my home. I didn't come back till 33 when I was 18. Right. So I think getting up, and making yourself ready to do the bare minimum at 18.

00:46:18:04 – 00:46:38:15
Ricky. Right. Okay. Anyway, so she does that, she gets up if you see. And if she didn't, then there'd be a big, big problem because I don't know what time she's put herself to bed because I'm asleep by if I can get into bed by half nine, I'm buzzing. Half nine. Fucking. Oh, man, that's a dream I would love.

00:46:38:18 – 00:47:01:00
I would love to, I'm not saying I would go to sleep at that time, although sometimes I will. But I would love to be able to be in bed. Am I reading or on my phone by that point? Yeah. Anyway, the point is, it is she. She goes to bed much later. She gets up, she goes to school, she comes home, she crashes often.

00:47:01:00 – 00:47:31:18
She just goes to fall asleep on a bed. Shortly after getting home, I said to Claire, you can't. That's not. You can't do that. If it means you're not falling, you're not putting yourself to bed enough, you're not getting enough sleep and you're crashing. That isn't a maintainable lifestyle. And the reason why is if that's how you pattern your form in your the when you go into work or, whatever it is you're going to be doing next, the world doesn't stop at 3 p.m. when you want to crash.

00:47:31:20 – 00:47:50:19
Yeah. She goes, well, my Akkadian rhythm is different. And I'm like, it doesn't matter. The your boss won't give a shit about you, Katie and rhythm. I don't care. Yeah. You have to be in bed. You have to be up and you have to be at a function to a certain point in the day. Or eventually someone will go, you can't do this job for me or whatever it might be, and it's on.

00:47:50:19 – 00:48:12:21
I get it. It's not it's not easy decision making because you just awake, right? You don't want to go to sleep, but you have to and you don't have to. You don't have to be fast asleep to be recovering. But being up looking at your computer, playing PlayStation look scrolling tick tock is is it is it makes your brain.

00:48:12:21 – 00:48:40:01
What is it? It doesn't prepare for sleep reading about, but now no kids really read it. Well, the what? My kids, they seem to read. What about if she, that the crash is happening because she's, mentally exhausted from learning? No. That's nice. That's what it was. Spent six hours in the classroom. Means you're mentally exhausted when my kids come home from school.

00:48:40:03 – 00:48:57:23
Like they'll get in it for half four. Yeah, they'll just go. They'll go to bed. Don't lay down. They won't go to sleep. And they're just like, straight away bed scrolling, Tik Tok or whatever, you know, that's their time to distress. That's quite distressing and chilling out on your phone. Yeah. That's not passing out face down on a bed.

00:48:58:00 – 00:49:21:16
Not it's not. And if it's and if and it's not when you say eight to hour four that's being out of the house. They get they get dropped off and picked up from school. If they are falling asleep off this, that's the limit. 18 again, if your limit is being in a classroom for six hours and then you have to fall asleep and you are.

00:49:21:18 – 00:49:40:08
Well, what what what are you going to possibly do in the future? And then not and even even in six months even, I mean, sorry, even at sixth form, they're not they're not in class. They didn't school. They have to be in school now. Yeah. They like, you know, when we were kids at 16, you could just that was it.

00:49:40:08 – 00:49:58:24
You've just released into the world? Yeah. Brilliant. Yeah. If you want it to the sixth form, you you could. Well, you wanted to do A-levels. You could, but you have to now they have to stay in school to 18 or training to 18. It's one of the few things, I think, which you soon got right in. There's so much okay.

00:49:59:01 – 00:50:24:00
There's so much provision for them now. It's unbelievable. Like when when I was 16, it was like, even you get your GCSE, you can do A-levels or you can do it in guilds. But it was completely by my choice. So kids that really were desperate to just not do anything or work or one of those things, they would be allowed to do that and then and then even they would be successful.

00:50:24:00 – 00:50:40:21
They were through for it fall through the cracks and and they won't be successful, end up having to work in Tesco's for the rest of their lives or whatever it might be, even if they've got the motivation to do that. Now, regardless of where you are academically, there are services and courses in place to catch you. So.

00:50:41:02 – 00:51:07:23
Right. So if you didn't do well at GCSEs or academically, academically, it just wasn't. I like, you know, we both got experiences where where kids don't function in the way that someone who's academically smart does. Yeah. They've got vocational stuff, they've got bricklaying, they've got carpentry, they've got nursing, hair and beauty. Anything you can think of, you'll find something that interests you and it catches you for two years.

00:51:08:00 – 00:51:13:23
That is good. I wish so, I was always of the impression that,

00:51:14:00 – 00:51:36:08
It's, It's a shame that, like, at 16, that you can't go and go straight to work. All you want to do is earn money. You can do it. You can't do that. You have to spend one one day, one day in college. But you can get a if you can find an apprenticeship, you can get one. And that that you worked four days in the on site and then or wherever it might be.

00:51:36:10 – 00:51:59:12
And one day in college that I mean, yeah, I see, I see, I I see your point now. You can't you can't leave. You cannot leave education. You have to stay. There's no way I'm I'm not thinking about that. Like if I was back then, if I had to stay in school for another two years or do something I didn't want to do.

00:51:59:14 – 00:52:25:02
Yeah, there is no easy. Yeah, there it is. But you'd be asking media directly after something like that. I should have done that. Yeah. But I went to work working where I said no, and then I went back. So the lesson learned, the the last two things, actually just stop scrolling, phone scrolling the amount of times I just catch myself and I'm like, what am I doing now?

00:52:25:02 – 00:52:51:09
I've just wasted like 15, 20 minutes just looking at fucking stupid stuff on TikTok. And Instagram Reels. Need to cut that out. So those are my free things. Vaping only sleep at a reasonable time. And to stop scrolling now we are going to be going onto. And another thing I sent you over a voice note, email.

00:52:51:11 – 00:53:19:15
And that is on Christmas dinners and then something only you know is called Yahoo go like yeah the topic for next week is retirement and it's all you planning for retirement now. Do you have a pension and any investments. What are you most looking forward to in retirement? What are your aspirations for retirement? Do have any fears that you're going to have too much free time?

00:53:19:17 – 00:53:44:01
Will I be as horny as I am now in my retirement years? Will Flav still be wearing jeans when it comes to retirement and they'll be sitting around the house these? Oh yeah, it's really weird. And it's like when we were younger, our granddads, even though they're retired, just go around that and they're just wearing shirt ties, jumpers, trousers, shoes.

00:53:44:01 – 00:54:21:22
They're in the house doing nothing. Boy. What? They dressed really fucking mad. Yeah. You know, they did. They always sort of like smart. Sort of. Yeah. Yes. Yeah. It's cultural thing. I think my, my thing with jeans is I'm just not a funny y. Okay. This week if you don't wear jeans at home in my opinion, do you think that by age or retirement, do you think that you're you'll be more of a man that wears shirts that, not jeans, denim shirts, denim shirt, jeans, jeans, socks.

00:54:21:24 – 00:54:45:16
Is that everyone wants to be comfortable all the time. That's a problem. Too soft. So I say there's nothing wrong being comfortable. Boy, me, I know, I know the reason. The problem is it's a it's an epidemic of not wanting to be in slightly, you know, not be as comfortable as possible, you know, any type of hardship. Oh Granddads it was about how they looked is about how they were presented.

00:54:45:18 – 00:55:05:08
Because they served in the military. They were taught about the principles of things. Our generation just wants to get out, but I'm putting on as fast as possible. Let me let me put on my, my fluffy pink boxer shorts because those are the most comfortable. The fake is that the preferred that, I love this new you have that you're old now.

00:55:05:10 – 00:55:18:24
This is beautiful. You're going to listen to. And another thing, Christmas dinners. Okay.

00:55:19:01 – 00:56:05:04
And another thing, if you're a grown up and another friend. Yeah. Christian. Great. I have the novel thing. Oh, yeah. I love learning everything. Oh. Oh, you're not like. This is a nearly immediate reaction to the discussion on proper Christmas dinners and the slagging off of American cuisine. You know, I'm sure this is going to, be less than anonymous, because I'm sure a lot of people will be able to figure out who's sending this in.

00:56:05:06 – 00:56:46:06
But, you see, I grew up my Christmas dinners with my family were shrimp, sometimes crab legs. So to me, a proper Christmas dinner involve shrimp, not a roast, not necessarily any other kind of meat. And then another thing potatoes are the most versatile food on the planet. You know, they can be served. However. Anyone pleases. Yeah. You know, if somebody wants to serve mash as a proper dinner, it's a proper side for proper dinner.

00:56:46:08 – 00:57:18:02
And another thing, I will not take any guff from anyone from a country who conquered half the world for spices, to not even use them in their own food. I don't get it. And one more thing. Enjoy your breakfast beans. I love this podcast and I don't know what I would do two days out of the week if I didn't have it.

00:57:18:04 – 00:57:23:17
Merry Christmas!

00:57:23:19 – 00:57:28:13
I mean.

00:57:28:15 – 00:57:49:21
I don't know what to say. I mean, shrimp, yeah. And I was like, that is the thing is as well, this, this gentleman says about, you know, dinners and he said it straight away, their dinner, not Christmas dinner, dinner with mashed being served dinner. That's exactly what we were saying. It is dinner. It's not Christmas dinner, though, is it?

00:57:49:23 – 00:58:12:11
I'm talking about Christmas dinner. You can't. You can't have mashed on the Christmas dinner. So I just I was googling American Christmas dinner, and there ain't got one. I ain't got one with these things. Seems I said of the classic components teams, is these Turkey and then glazed ham. But they also have beef tenderloin and prime rib.

00:58:12:13 – 00:58:31:04
According to Google's I right. Stuffing and dressing which is, which is fine. Good, good. Yeah. It was dressing it I don't know, sometimes sausage or oysters.

00:58:31:06 – 00:59:07:12
Potatoes. Oysters. So potatoes like potatoes, mashed potatoes with gravy is the most universal in the Christmas dinner. Sauces embellishes cranberry and gravy. Cranberry is fine. Vegetables, green beans. They Brussels sprouts. Good good. Corn and squash. You can have you can kind of corn on fucking Christmas dinner and a squash you can have. I guess you could make it if you're going to have mash, you could have squash and or carrot Swede.

00:59:07:14 – 00:59:33:15
Yeah. Oh that's it. That that's a squash. More like a Swede. Yeah. And then. No, don't worry about desserts as a matter. But, but there are regional or cultural influences. So it's southern collard greens with ham hocks, sweet potato pie, shrimp and grits. Oh my God. It just. There is no that's the problem in England. It's everyone has the same thing.

00:59:33:17 – 01:00:00:22
Everybody's having it right. Some people are talking, you know Yorkshires on there. Most people have the Yorkshire even though it's not traditional. Yeah. What's the other thing? Cauliflower cheese. My colleague's not so good. I've got a rabbit. So. Yeah, but I like. Other than that, everyone's having a that. As soon as you said shrimp, I'm like, yeah, there's no a single person in England that's eating shrimp on Christmas Day.

01:00:00:24 – 01:00:21:05
There might be prawn cocktail in the morning. Some people might have it or start, oh, you might have a prawn cocktail. You might do. I've seen that. But yeah, someone in the discord had had chicken wings. Christmas Day. Chicken wings? What? Chicken wings instead of turkey? Yeah, I think so. Do they just eat because they love chicken wings?

01:00:21:07 – 01:00:45:06
Maybe we can't do that. They, Yeah. The, And it's nonsense that we don't use spices. It's a it's a, like this, this this tick tock kind of social media. Everyone jumping on the bandwagon and beating the UK down saying, no, we don't have season. It is just such lies. It's nonsense. It's a but, you know, whatever.

01:00:45:07 – 01:01:12:13
I mean, I think we're quite comfortable, but as everyone else seems quite sensitive. Yeah, yeah. We, we know we've got, we use spices so just because we don't use Cajun spices on everything doesn't mean we don't add spices to stuff. Right? So the Christmas dinner, there's enough flavor in a Christmas dinner to when it's like the stuffing is is well-seasoned.

01:01:12:15 – 01:01:38:10
Yeah. You should be seasoning everything really like on on on like on a on our carrots. We had honey with, mustard seeds. Oh, yeah. Like when you crack or when you get that real punch in the mouth. Yeah, yeah. That's, What was I think. Yeah. This this gentleman needs to come over and spend Christmas in the UK.

01:01:38:11 – 01:02:00:21
Yeah. Why am I being so funny? I thought said last night that we get fucking long, that we get over, over baked beans. Baked beans on toast. Oh, oh, oh. All we ever did was eight fucking baked beans. We brush our teeth with baked beans. I can't fucking, I can't answer baked beans. But I wouldn't mind having baked beans on toast for it.

01:02:01:01 – 01:02:24:20
I think they're baked beans are slightly different. They come in like darker and they're they're like, really sweet. I don't know why you always see cowboys eating them out of cans. Yeah, yeah, yeah. That's right. Yeah, but they're baked beans on toast with, Marmite and cheddar cheese. Baked beans in a jacket. Potato. Oh, my. Yeah. Oh, my.

01:02:24:20 – 01:02:36:03
I saw a TikTok the other day sponsored by Heinz. And the guy's gone. What you want to do is bake being a jacket potato loaded with baked beans.

01:02:36:05 – 01:02:58:02
Yeah, but. And, yeah, we're not just, an end. Yeah, it just ended. That was that was it? That was it. Baked. Baked potato and beans. That's it. No, but I already finished. This is hindsight stuff. Yeah, maybe that's the that's not on it at that point. So. Blueberry smash. How's the batter in there? Dump load of cheese.

01:02:58:04 – 01:03:22:09
Yeah, yeah, yeah, I prefer, like, coleslaw and cheese. Rather. Well, what on your on your website? I have so much. I have potato as well. That has to be. They've got to be kind of the skin has to be cooked individually. Sorry. The skin has to have gone through a process. And what I mean is if I get jacket potato and the skin just looks like it's on the potato.

01:03:22:11 – 01:03:47:19
You know what I'm saying? Like the potatoes. So yeah, soft Jack is is not not that great shit I think. But if you, if you, if you, you pierce your jacket potato, you cover in oil and salt. So. Yeah. Yeah. And then you put it in the oven for about an hour and 15. Yeah. The trick is a 20 minute blast in the air fryer on 200.

01:03:47:20 – 01:04:16:03
Oh, nice. Oh, nice. Yep. And for me I get to a point where I've got quite a tough, crusty skin and then. Yeah. Okay. If I'm, if I can be bothered to burn my fingers, I'll scoop all the potato out and then I, and then I put butter and cheese into it, mix the, mix it up into a sort of mash, not not compressed, and put it back into the skin.

01:04:16:05 – 01:04:45:06
Fucking our HQ. Thank you. I'm. I'm used to it when I was a kid. That's, Oh, mate, that's a fucking rain jacket that is right there by jacket. Right. We are going to go in to something 98 and I. Wow. Something, you know. Highlights of the you mentioned Yahoo on the internet pot. I got mad at myself for not sending this in last week.

01:04:45:12 – 01:05:04:09
I thought about submitting it but never got around to it. I knew I had to write in after you said you also went on Yahoo! Love the pod. Your episode on the internet reminded me of something I've never told a single person in my life, and after years of suppressing it, I'm finally ready to traumatize strangers with it.

01:05:04:11 – 01:05:35:19
Back in 2000 2010, I was obsessed with Yahoo poll like full on league tournaments, daily competitions, the whole thing. And somewhere along the way, teenage Brain me realized that if I pretended to be a girl, people were insanely nicer to me. So I spent four years catfishing the Yahoo pool world as Alexandria, using photos of an extremely attractive girl from my school being.

01:05:35:21 – 01:05:56:18
Got me free stuff. Free wins, free homework help. Honestly, it was like unblocking life on easy mode. Eventually I got caught. So. So I dropped it. So I dropped the act and went back to being my actual self. They put their name there, but I started out because this is this is lads anonymous and I ain't going to do it.

01:05:56:20 – 01:06:28:08
Here's where it got even more cut. Even after the reveal, one woman kept talking to me, a brunet from Ohio. While most people on Yahoo were older, unattractive, or pretty overweight, she actually was a decent looking gal. She was in her mid-thirties. I was 18 and after moving our chats to Snapchat, things got spicy very quickly. I was about to start university, didn't want to go in as a virgin.

01:06:28:10 – 01:07:04:07
So when she mentioned she'll be vacationing in South Carolina within driving distance from me, my brain went a. That sounds completely reasonable. I told my parents I was visiting a mate at uni. Instead, I drove to South Carolina to meet her. Her mum and her daughter on their farm and their family vacation. We spent a couple of days together and yet I lost my virginity to the woman I had met through Yahoo pool, and that trip we kind of drifted apart, but the memory remains.

01:07:04:09 – 01:07:28:21
Anyway, that's my internet confession and that is something I need. I can make as a fella. Where did he say? He didn't say he. He didn't say where he lived, but he lived in driving distance. But South Carolina, that that seems mental to me because, like, I don't know, for Brits listening to that state. So much for, like, countries.

01:07:28:23 – 01:07:53:14
I think when you say South Carolina, Americans also think that what we would consider mammoth drives, they just sort of do it in their sleep, like, it's only a 12 hour drive or a 12 hour drive you can get anywhere in the UK. You can go anywhere in 12 hours. Like you. Yeah. The only the longest drive I've ever done was was the Lake District to London, to Bristol.

01:07:53:16 – 01:08:11:16
No, no, no, it would have been Bristol Airport and then back to where I live. It's at 14 hours, but that's because of traffic jam. That was traffic jams. Oh, God, that's 30, 48 hours. It was hell, right? The whole as we were driving down the whole, the whole of the M1 was closed because of an accident, hold of it or both lanes.

01:08:11:16 – 01:08:25:17
So we had to go divert through Preston of all places, which is an absolute time. It was hell, but. Yeah, but you know, in America they're like 14 hours. Yeah, right. That's one. Yeah. Yeah. It did all the time probably that to work. I mean.

01:08:25:19 – 01:08:47:09
That's so funny. Gina, what? When we spoke about the internet and Yahoo and I remembered that I'd met someone during those early years playing Yahoo pool. You did? Yeah, I did, yeah. And she is a friend on my Facebook. My, my Facebook is private. It's locked down. No one gets in there. My kids are on there.

01:08:47:11 – 01:09:07:06
I will never let like random as in. But this person who I used to play Yojimbo, she is still there. Now, what about my. No. If I don't know anything about. I never spoke to it. Not fucking 20 years at least. What? What did you what what was she going to like? You want it to pay high?

01:09:07:08 – 01:09:23:22
No, no, no, none of that. It was just a, I think she was quite lonesome, so I think she was, you know, so I was just chatting to her like there was nothing. Yeah, there's none of that for me. It's so. But, Yeah. No, not spoke to her since, but she's still there. I found that we have a deal.

01:09:24:03 – 01:09:45:15
What are you doing here? What? She came. Oh, love. Yeah, there was a there was a, There was a woman. I had a one night stand with a long, long time ago. Yeah, and we're not friends or anything. There was a brief moment afterwards where we were texting each other, and sometimes I would see, sometimes I would see, what?

01:09:45:15 – 01:10:06:15
I'd be on my way to work very rarely. We exchanged pleasantries, and it would be nice. Okay. Yeah. And so there was nothing past that, but then I. Right. I was going through all my old chats on WhatsApp, going all the way, all the way back. Fuck it out. I mean, I don't know what's happening around.

01:10:06:17 – 01:10:29:06
Fuck. Nice. What were you just all kind of, deleting them? I just curious about what I was talking about, but, And I must have had a number saved on my phone. And, you know, when you save your numbers, if they're on WhatsApp, they're there. Yeah, yeah, yeah. And, and I noticed that she has, like, a massive family with kids and stuff.

01:10:29:06 – 01:10:50:15
Not just for us. Wicked. Because I think she, I felt like she was potentially wanted a relationship or why don't you go further? But I didn't at that time at all. And so, and so, so it was nice anyway, to see your profile. Yeah. Yeah, that is nice. Literally hadn't haven't thought of that or like fucking, I don't know, 11, 12 or 13 years.

01:10:50:17 – 01:11:03:17
Was there any point of view that wanted to just. Chuck. Yeah. How's it going? No, just for a laugh. No. No, nothing. Like what? It. No. Jesus. Oh, do you want a bit of, like, drama in your life?

01:11:03:19 – 01:11:28:05
Hey, you're. I go Christmas. No, no, nothing like that. Good. Right. That brings us to a close. But today's part. Next week, we're going to be talking about retirement. Does any questions, any storage, anything you'd like to submit? Send it to that anon pod. Gmail.com. But until then, we will see patrons we see today.

01:11:28:05 – 01:11:31:07
Everyone out. See you Monday. Bye.