EP232: Scraping the Barrel #45 – Shrinkflation… it’s 18 inches! FOR 7?!?

Natalie Cassidy 0:02:06 I'm sorry I look like a boiled egg.

Marc 0:02:25 That wouldn't be the first thing that came into my mind, actually.

Natalie Cassidy 0:02:28 I can't really see this evening.

Marc 0:02:30 Okay. How does that correlate with, with being a boiled egg?

Natalie Cassidy 0:02:33 I just look like a boiled egg. It's my hair's all scraped back. I mean, I, I usually look like this, but I think it's—

Marc 0:02:39 Don't you think you look like a boiled egg? That is not the first thing I would think of.

Natalie Cassidy 0:02:42 Oh, what would you think of?

Marc 0:02:43 Not a boiled egg. A boiled egg is like a little round thing. Mm-hmm. With no definitive sort of features. No hair. Just like a little lump.

Natalie Cassidy 0:02:54 I feel like a little lump tonight.

Marc 0:02:56 Okay. We had an egg the other day, but Joni was a bit worried about it, and it had like a weird, bobbly kind of texture on the, on the shell.

Natalie Cassidy 0:03:05 I know what you're saying.

Marc 0:03:06 Yeah. It was really weird. And it was a different sort. When I, when I broke it, it broke. It looks fine. The egg looked fine, but she was a bit worried about it. I thought it was a prank. I thought it was like a fake one.

Natalie Cassidy 0:03:18 She's got a fake one. You know, that's the only one that's in there now.

Marc 0:03:20 Yes.

Natalie Cassidy 0:03:20 That's really annoying me.

Marc 0:03:23 What's really annoying you?

Natalie Cassidy 0:03:24 Well, the, the fake one.

Marc 0:03:25 What would you think? It's an egg.

Natalie Cassidy 0:03:26 Well, because I like, if it's empty, the basket's empty. I'm not saying I won't buy 'em if there's one in there.

Marc 0:03:31 Right.

Natalie Cassidy 0:03:31 But it just sort of throws me a little bit that the fake egg—

Marc 0:03:34 Are you blaming Joanie's fake egg on you just not going shopping at Lush at the moment?

Natalie Cassidy 0:03:39 And— Went shopping today.

Marc 0:03:40 Did you?

Natalie Cassidy 0:03:40 Yeah.

Marc 0:03:41 What, what we got for dinner tomorrow night?

Natalie Cassidy 0:03:43 I'm not here working.

Marc 0:03:45 Oh, brilliant. So—

Natalie Cassidy 0:03:46 I'm gonna make everybody a chicken tray bake.

Marc 0:03:49 Okay.

Natalie Cassidy 0:03:49 So hopefully there'll be some leftover for you.

Marc 0:03:51 Righty-o. See what I mean? Don't think it's Joe's fault. Well, if I'm not here, you don't—

Natalie Cassidy 0:03:58 I can't magic up loads of dinners, can I, if I'm not here?

Marc 0:04:01 No, no. But just for mere semblance of, of, of some stuff.

Natalie Cassidy 0:04:06 Semblance.

Marc 0:04:06 In some semblance.

Natalie Cassidy 0:04:07 Semblance.

Marc 0:04:08 Have a Google. It's gonna be wrong, but I'm gonna style it out for the next 5 seconds while I can get away with it. But The— here we go. Sibilance. Sibilance?

Natalie Cassidy 0:04:21 No, it's not sibilance.

Marc 0:04:22 Sibilance. Go on, try it.

Natalie Cassidy 0:04:23 The outward appearance or apparent form of something.

Marc 0:04:30 I think you can give me that.

Natalie Cassidy 0:04:32 No.

Marc 0:04:33 Yeah, the outward appearance of the food in the fridge. No. Doesn't— isn't gonna make a new dinner.

Natalie Cassidy 0:04:37 No. Rubbish.

Marc 0:04:39 Just some ingredients would be nice.

Natalie Cassidy 0:04:40 There's lots in the fridge.

Marc 0:04:41 Is there really?

Natalie Cassidy 0:04:42 Yes.

Marc 0:04:43 I should run down there now. I have a list. It'll be like— it would literally be like Ready Steady Cook.

Natalie Cassidy 0:04:47 Yeah.

Marc 0:04:48 It would be as, as random.

Natalie Cassidy 0:04:49 If you whack all the bits in there. Oh yeah. Chuck that in ChatGPT and come up with a recipe.

Marc 0:04:54 Bag of Parmesan.

Natalie Cassidy 0:04:54 Yep.

Marc 0:04:55 Some grapes.

Natalie Cassidy 0:04:56 No, yeah.

Marc 0:04:57 What we gonna do now? Hang on. What we gonna do with the Parmesan?

Natalie Cassidy 0:04:59 There's peppers, there's onions and garlic.

Marc 0:05:02 All right.

Natalie Cassidy 0:05:02 In the cupboard.

Marc 0:05:03 Right, okay.

Natalie Cassidy 0:05:04 There are potatoes.

Marc 0:05:04 Yeah.

Natalie Cassidy 0:05:06 There are tinned tomatoes. We've got butter beans and pulses and kidney beans coming out of our ear holes. There are lentils, giant couscous. In the fridge. No, within the house.

Marc 0:05:15 Oh, no, no, no, don't, don't start. Hang on. I could have done that. No, no, but you just open the fridge. In the fridge.

Natalie Cassidy 0:05:21 You will open the fridge.

Marc 0:05:22 What could we make with the ingredients in the fridge?

Natalie Cassidy 0:05:23 But that's not the point. You need staples.

Marc 0:05:25 I'm really interested though. What could we make at the moment with the ingredients in the fridge?

Natalie Cassidy 0:05:29 There's chicken thighs and wings. Okay. Peppers, onions.

Marc 0:05:33 So if, so tomorrow night I can just whack out the chicken thighs, can I? And have them with something.

Natalie Cassidy 0:05:38 Yeah, but I'm making a traybake. I'll go back to what I just said.

Marc 0:05:41 Are you actually? About 5 minutes ago. Okay.

Natalie Cassidy 0:05:44 I'm making a tray bake for the children. Mm-hmm. With potatoes, onions, peppers, and it'll all be in there. And then Elliot can just pop that into the oven. So it's nice and easy.

Marc 0:05:55 Okay. Lovely.

Natalie Cassidy 0:05:57 But when you say, what have we got?

Marc 0:05:59 Yeah.

Natalie Cassidy 0:05:59 I think people would be really astounded at how much food is in the house.

Marc 0:06:04 Yeah, possibly.

Natalie Cassidy 0:06:05 There's a lot of food in the house.

Marc 0:06:07 Is there?

Natalie Cassidy 0:06:07 Yeah.

Marc 0:06:08 How about, You being very bad with the recycling earlier.

Natalie Cassidy 0:06:12 Oh, here we go.

Marc 0:06:14 I, do you know how, seriously, it's so boring.

Natalie Cassidy 0:06:18 Darling, can I explain why that is? Genuinely. I'm scared to open the door and go outside. Look at my face.

Marc 0:06:25 Yeah.

Natalie Cassidy 0:06:25 So I just dumped it all in the bin. I didn't wanna open the door.

Marc 0:06:28 It's really bad that.

Natalie Cassidy 0:06:29 I'm scared to go outside. Okay. I never do that. Don't start calling me out for recycling.

Marc 0:06:35 Okay.

Natalie Cassidy 0:06:37 But I didn't want to go outside. It's really boring. I'm fed up of talking about it. But this week, as a few people on Insta have said, it's— the pollen is really bad. Really bad.

Marc 0:06:52 Oh, I'm sorry about that. But you've been alright up until now.

Natalie Cassidy 0:06:54 It has been very good. It's been fine. It's not been too bad. But this week has been off the charts to the point where I can't breathe very well.

Marc 0:07:03 And you look like a boiled egg.

Natalie Cassidy 0:07:04 Yeah. So what? Anyway, there we go. There's nothing we can do about it. Gotta crack on. Please, everybody, I've said it before and I'll say it again, please don't suggest things. I've done everything and I'm on top of everything. I can't do any more. I can do no more, as they say. I've got a message here for you regarding your, um, Dishwasher tablets. Had a few people come back about those saying you were right again. Becoming a bit of a thing, isn't it, each episode of ours?

Marc 0:07:38 No, sorry, but I have to say, yeah, what it was— I shouldn't laugh at this. I did find it funny listening back, yeah, to when you were going— you get confused about the quantity in a bag and the price versus the price per gramme. And you were sort of saying, well, it was quite funny. It was funny. I'm not taking the mickey.

Natalie Cassidy 0:08:04 That's what I'm here for.

Marc 0:08:04 Well, I'm taking the mickey, but yeah.

Natalie Cassidy 0:08:06 Don't know if you can say taking the mickey anymore.

Marc 0:08:09 Taking the Michael.

Natalie Cassidy 0:08:10 Well, it's all to do with Irish, that, isn't it? Mickey Mouse.

Marc 0:08:13 I thought it was taking the Mickey Mouse.

Natalie Cassidy 0:08:14 I don't know if it is taking the Mickey Mouse.

Marc 0:08:19 Well, someone will tell us, won't they?

Natalie Cassidy 0:08:20 So taking the Mickey Mouse rhymes with what? Taking the Mickey Mouse.

Marc 0:08:27 I have no idea what you're talking about. I don't know.

Natalie Cassidy 0:08:31 Let's have a look. Why not?

Marc 0:08:33 Yeah, go on. I mean, we could do that about everything each of us say, and that's basically the hour gone. Every other sentence, you could do that with me, couldn't you? Look up what I've just said and what it actually means, like you've already done in the last 2 minutes when I used the wrong word.

Natalie Cassidy 0:08:47 I know, but it is good, isn't it, that we can do this?

Marc 0:08:50 Oh, he's brilliant, yeah.

Natalie Cassidy 0:08:51 Oh! Very interesting. Taking the mickey is a very British saying, and most likely comes from Cockney rhyming slang. The strongest theory is that it evolved from taking the piss, mickey bliss, taking the mickey. Mickey bliss was used as a rhyme for piss, and over time people shortened it To just the mickey. So if someone was taking the mickey, they were basically teasing, mocking, or winding someone up. Very good.

Marc 0:09:30 So in, in 2026, I think it's a safe thing to say.

Natalie Cassidy 0:09:34 I think so. Yeah, I think it's fine. And then ChatGPT says, Britain really does love a phrase that makes absolutely no sense until someone explains the backstory. It's a bit rude.

Marc 0:09:48 Sorry. Are you using ChatGPT?

Natalie Cassidy 0:09:50 Yeah.

Marc 0:09:51 You know, that's like 25. Hey, you know, that was like last year. That's the AI that everyone used last year. No one uses that anymore. It was programmed years ago.

Natalie Cassidy 0:10:01 I don't know, darling.

Marc 0:10:02 It's poor. It's getting, it's getting a bit dumb actually. In fact, there's a bit of a movement. In fact, they're in trouble.

Natalie Cassidy 0:10:06 Are they?

Marc 0:10:07 Yeah. They're actually in trouble. I just read the other day that they're in trouble.

Natalie Cassidy 0:10:11 Oh.

Marc 0:10:13 There's lots of other AI thingies out there.

Natalie Cassidy 0:10:16 Oh, okay.

Marc 0:10:16 AI has ruined Google, hasn't it?

Natalie Cassidy 0:10:18 Yeah.

Marc 0:10:19 You just— but you can switch it off. It's very easy to switch off, but it's ruined it. I don't care about your AI. Just make stuff up. I Googled something the other day and used to be it would take the words you've Googled and it would find the nearest match, like an article or a forum.

Natalie Cassidy 0:10:35 Yes. And so I was looking into how to repair something.

Marc 0:10:38 Mm-hmm. But the first things were AI-generated content from real articles.

Natalie Cassidy 0:10:43 Sorry.

Marc 0:10:46 Oh, no, it's all right. You're just emulating what thousands of people are doing listening to me.

Natalie Cassidy 0:10:51 Sorry, just a bit worn out from the antihistamines, you see.

Marc 0:10:55 Right. Okay.

Natalie Cassidy 0:10:56 But you're right about that.

Marc 0:10:57 Thank you.

Natalie Cassidy 0:10:59 You are.

Marc 0:10:59 You could join the other— join the queue. Oh, my, my, my fan base who, who say I'm right.

Speaker G 0:11:06 Hi, Nat. Hope you and Mark are well. Regarding Scrape in the Barrel, the dishwasher tablets, all supermarkets have offers on, as you know. The big, big brands, like the ones who make the dishwasher tablets, for example, they put on the offer in the stores.

Speaker G 0:11:25 So it's not that particular store giving you the money off, it's the brand, if you like. So basically, a brand will be on rotation. So these particular dishwasher tablets One week they'll be on offer at Tesco, then they'll be on offer at Sainsbury's, then they'll be on offer at Waitrose, then they'll be on offer at Morrison's. And it just kind of goes round in a circle because it is a brand offer. As somebody who used to deal with customers complaining, saying, I bought these, they're supposed to be on offer, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah.

Speaker G 0:11:57 The brands do it to confuse you. There's just, there's no other way around it. The shop workers don't understand it. You don't understand it. It is there to confuse.

Speaker G 0:12:09 So quite simply, there's 2 ways of making sure you're getting the best offer. One, Mark is absolutely right, it's the price per kilogramme. Or 2, it's using your Quick Check gun, because if you're using your Quick Check gun, the price will automatically come up on there. You'll know exactly what one is on offer, what you're getting for it, blah blah blah. I hope this helps.

Speaker G 0:12:32 I've gone over a minute. Caroline from Wellingarden.

Natalie Cassidy 0:12:35 Thank you, Caroline. Hang on a minute. Quick check gun. What's a quick check gun?

Marc 0:12:41 It's a little thing you can scan an item with and it does a quick check.

Natalie Cassidy 0:12:44 My scanner, when I'm doing my scan and shop, is that the same thing as a quick check gun?

Marc 0:12:50 No, it's, it's an item you have to smuggle into the supermarket.

Natalie Cassidy 0:12:54 No, I'm just saying, have you heard it be called that before? What I'm saying is Caroline didn't say Pop, you know, your scanner, have a little check with the scanner. And I have to say, love the message, Caroline, actually. But I don't know if the brands are doing it to confuse us. I think that's a bit of a conspiracy theory. I think they're doing it because that's what they do, to rotate it around. It makes sense, Caroline. But I don't think they're doing it to confuse you guys, to confuse us.

Marc 0:13:30 So I've just Googled, um, QuickCheck gun, and you're right, it's meant to be the handheld device. Well, this is a good subject. How on earth does that— but so is it— so I understand the basics of price per gramme or whatever it might be, per unit.

Natalie Cassidy 0:13:46 Yep.

Marc 0:13:46 But the QuickCheck gun, the scanner, you scan it, it's on your shopping list, it tells you how much it costs. Maybe, maybe it breaks it down, maybe it tells you those information, but then Break it down. Surely you just look at the cheapest. I mean, I literally look at the badge underneath the price.

Natalie Cassidy 0:14:04 No, I know, but then it might be on offer.

Marc 0:14:05 But it said it the other day. This is my point. The other day on the offer, there was a packet which was on offer, and on that offer badge, there was still the price per gramme on it.

Natalie Cassidy 0:14:15 Oh, I see what you mean.

Marc 0:14:17 And I thought, and that, that was the whole point. I'm sure you remember this. It was the whole point of my point because it was like 20 quid for this special ultra bag.

Natalie Cassidy 0:14:24 We're not going for it again, are we, on this pod now?

Marc 0:14:26 No. But on the other bag, which was like a tiny fraction of the quantity—

Natalie Cassidy 0:14:31 Oh, he's doing it again.

Marc 0:14:32 It was cheaper. I don't know if you didn't understand what I said.

Natalie Cassidy 0:14:34 Can we get— we're going through it again?

Marc 0:14:35 Because you didn't listen. You proved you didn't listen by what you just said. Don't listen to me at all. You're doing it now. You don't listen.

Natalie Cassidy 0:14:43 I do, darling.

Marc 0:14:49 Did you listen to the bit of that voice note where she said I was right?

Natalie Cassidy 0:14:51 Yes, I did. I did.

Marc 0:14:53 Did you listen when pretty much every other person said that I was correct about the, the fashion stuff, you know, walking about with a brand name on your hat?

Natalie Cassidy 0:15:02 Would you like to know the percentage of people on this pod that think that I'm right over you for most things?

Marc 0:15:09 Yes.

Natalie Cassidy 0:15:09 We'll do a poll.

Marc 0:15:10 Do a poll. Now, how can that happen?

Natalie Cassidy 0:15:12 I can make a poll.

Marc 0:15:13 No problem. I'll tell you someone who doesn't. Suzanne. from Dunstable.

Natalie Cassidy 0:15:20 What about Suzanne?

Marc 0:15:21 He never agrees with me.

Natalie Cassidy 0:15:24 Well, there we go.

Marc 0:15:24 I said it the other day, I never agree with anything he says and I sympathise with you, Natalie. Never. I mean, that's a strong—

Natalie Cassidy 0:15:31 I, I think, I think you'll find that—

Marc 0:15:33 Even Suzanne, even Suzanne from Dunstable to scream, because I actually mean Suzanne from Durham. Even that was wrong.

Natalie Cassidy 0:15:40 There we are.

Marc 0:15:40 Well, actually, that was wrong. So there's 2 things I've said that have been wrong, Suzanne.

Natalie Cassidy 0:15:43 There we go.

Natalie Cassidy 0:18:58 Lots of messages about my stickers. My sticky labels and the sticker gun.

Marc 0:19:07 Wish you said that before your birthday. I know. I don't want to—

Natalie Cassidy 0:19:10 Yeah.

Marc 0:19:11 Got you one of them machines.

Natalie Cassidy 0:19:13 Well, we had a message from Michelle in Welling, and she said, oh my God, just listen to Scraping the Barrel Pod about the sticker gun. Felt physically sick. I'm petrified of those labels. I used to have a caravan as a child, and my closest friends used to chase me with labels. To this day, I cannot eat an item that has a label on it. So she's the complete opposite of me.

Marc 0:19:40 Can I— there's a few people wondering this.

Natalie Cassidy 0:19:44 Yes.

Marc 0:19:45 What's the, the relevance between the caravan and being chased with the labels. Where does the caravan play the part?

Natalie Cassidy 0:19:51 Because her friends down the caravan used to chase her with labels.

Marc 0:19:54 Oh, like they're in a park, a caravan park. Yeah, she's on— I'm with you now. Thank you. So thank you. Yeah, understood.

Natalie Cassidy 0:20:03 We need to watch Danny— the 2 Dannys, Danny Dyer and Danny Dyer's programme on caravan parks.

Marc 0:20:08 Yeah, that'd be good.

Natalie Cassidy 0:20:10 Yeah.

Marc 0:20:11 On the subject of, um, on sticker books, Yeah. Chloe in Andover said, uh, hi Nat, hope you're well. Listening to the Scraping the Barrel earlier, which gave me a pod chuckle as always. There is such a thing as adult sticker books, but not like Mark is thinking. They're made of tiny stickers and you put all the stickers together to make a picture.

Natalie Cassidy 0:20:32 Yeah, like a mosaic.

Marc 0:20:33 I got one as a gift and it was strangely therapeutic.

Natalie Cassidy 0:20:36 Absolutely. I thought we had a message from someone saying there was an adult sticker book that featured vaginas in it.

Marc 0:20:42 Well, you didn't quite read it correctly. Oh, because it was from Claire.

Natalie Cassidy 0:20:46 And what'd she say?

Marc 0:20:47 Beckensfield.

Natalie Cassidy 0:20:48 Right.

Marc 0:20:48 And, uh, I'm just listening to Scraping the Barrel where you and Mark are talking about the adult colouring books. Ah, did we talk about adult colouring books?

Natalie Cassidy 0:20:59 I think we spoke about adult sticker books, but anyway, I don't know.

Marc 0:21:02 Maybe she's not listening properly. Well, to the point, I can 100% confirm that there are indeed adult colouring books. How did I find this out, you may ask? My mum volunteers once— I started getting worried when I read this.

Natalie Cassidy 0:21:15 Right.

Marc 0:21:16 You know, when you think, how's this? This reminded me of a tattooed penis.

Natalie Cassidy 0:21:19 Yes. You know, when the story's going off on a tangent. Yeah, yeah, yeah. You're not sure where it's going yet.

Marc 0:21:23 My mum volunteers once.

Natalie Cassidy 0:21:27 What's funny now?

Marc 0:21:30 So I know, because in my head there was a joke then, and I'm not gonna say it.

Natalie Cassidy 0:21:36 Painful, this.

Marc 0:21:37 My mum volunteers once a week in a charity shop near where she lives in Pershore, Worcestershire. Mm-hmm. In the book section, she happily announced during the family meal the other week that someone had donated a colouring book that was completely dedicated to the ins and outs of a female vagina. Not entirely sure about the ins and outs part.

Natalie Cassidy 0:21:59 Why?

Marc 0:21:59 Now, is that a bit of flourish that Claire's added to the story? Or was it actually literally the colour of him?

Natalie Cassidy 0:22:05 Have you been fucking, dunno, toilet paper with words on or something? You know, you get toilet paper like a thesaurus.

Marc 0:22:12 Not really, no.

Natalie Cassidy 0:22:14 You're coming up with some weird shit tonight. Flourished.

Marc 0:22:18 Flourish, like embellish.

Natalie Cassidy 0:22:19 Embellish the conversation.

Marc 0:22:20 You know what I mean? It's been a long day.

Natalie Cassidy 0:22:22 I know, but it is funny, the words that are coming out. It's like Susie Dent. I'm trying.

Marc 0:22:26 I'm just trying to improve my vocabulary.

Natalie Cassidy 0:22:28 Okay, Winston.

Marc 0:22:29 Yes. A whole book of various images of female bushes ready for the colours of your choosing.

Natalie Cassidy 0:22:35 Wonderful.

Marc 0:22:36 That's a really random— like, I'd get it if it was a bit more zoomed out, you know, if it was like a couple of people naked to draw, like colour in. But really, that sort of detail on a body part, that's a bit odd.

Natalie Cassidy 0:22:49 Yeah, but the colouring, you want it to be kind of detailed, don't you? So I kind of get it.

Marc 0:22:52 Really?

Natalie Cassidy 0:22:53 Yeah.

Marc 0:22:55 Really? What a highbrow subject we're covering here.

Natalie Cassidy 0:22:58 Oh, there you go. I'll tell you what, talking of genitalia and bums and— got the mighty hoopla at the weekend.

Marc 0:23:06 Oh yeah?

Natalie Cassidy 0:23:06 Goodness me. Oh, everyone wanders about happy as Larry, they are. What a great day out. Lots of bums and—

Marc 0:23:17 What are you talking about?

Natalie Cassidy 0:23:19 Just—

Marc 0:23:20 are those people naked?

Natalie Cassidy 0:23:20 No, not naked, but people are very happy and proud and, do you know what I mean? I just find it, I just think bloody hell, that's quite something.

Marc 0:23:31 You're not walking around Tesco's, are you?

Natalie Cassidy 0:23:33 No, you're at a festival, I know, but it was, I just feel like it's such a wonderful place of sort of freedom, if you like, that just people do what they wanna do. Good luck to people. It was a lovely day and I haven't shown you this picture. I've saved it for you.

Marc 0:23:52 Okay.

Natalie Cassidy 0:23:52 You're not gonna believe it. Yep. You won't believe this. And you know when you see somebody out of context?

Marc 0:24:04 Yeah. Is it gonna be my cousin?

Natalie Cassidy 0:24:09 I didn't see Kate.

Marc 0:24:10 Okay. Is it gonna be Chloe?

Natalie Cassidy 0:24:11 Oh, you knew Chloe was there?

Marc 0:24:14 I did, yeah.

Natalie Cassidy 0:24:15 Oh, you've spoiled it.

Marc 0:24:17 Okay, well, that's annoying. At least I'm honest. Do you want me to pretend? All right, go on, let's pretend I don't know. Go on. Oh, it's Chloe.

Natalie Cassidy 0:24:25 Chloe from the railway.

Marc 0:24:27 Brilliant.

Natalie Cassidy 0:24:28 It was great to see her, but no, unfortunately I didn't see Kate. It was carnage. No, it was a very, very busy day, quite frankly. How did—

Marc 0:24:38 sorry, how did Chloe find you?

Natalie Cassidy 0:24:40 Well, she did. I was walking somewhere and she was there.

Marc 0:24:42 What, in a festival? Yes. You were in a— you were in like a little section, weren't you? Like at the back?

Natalie Cassidy 0:24:46 I was going there. I was finding my way.

Marc 0:24:49 That's so random.

Natalie Cassidy 0:24:51 And she was there.

Marc 0:24:51 I have to have words for her. What's she doing at that place?

Natalie Cassidy 0:24:53 What do you mean?

Marc 0:24:55 All these, like, people wandering about.

Natalie Cassidy 0:24:57 I've had a great time. Interesting. Jessie J was amazing.

Marc 0:25:02 Right.

Natalie Cassidy 0:25:02 Lily Allen was great.

Marc 0:25:03 Yeah. Artful Dodger.

Natalie Cassidy 0:25:05 Didn't see him.

Marc 0:25:06 Well, at the same time as Lily Allen.

Natalie Cassidy 0:25:07 Really silly. Yeah. Really silly. And obviously I went on and Charlie Brooks was there. I got a surprise from Janine. So everyone was, oh, you can imagine. The Queens were dead. There was Janine on stage, Sonia and her trumpet. It was all going on with EastEnders. No, it was a very, very, very fun day. Very good.

Marc 0:25:24 Well, I'm pleased to hear it. It sounds like a really arduous day at work for you, that.

Natalie Cassidy 0:25:28 It was very hot.

Marc 0:25:30 Yeah. Well, you were very inebriated from the— all of the sudden stroke that you'd had on the way home.

Natalie Cassidy 0:25:36 I have to say that I was very, very good.

Marc 0:25:38 Okay.

Natalie Cassidy 0:25:39 In terms of drinking, In terms of drinking, I did very, very well. It was a very long day with a lot of heat. Yeah. But we spent quite a long time in the tent, and when we went to watch Lily Allen, I sort of didn't drink after that point.

Marc 0:25:56 No. Okay.

Natalie Cassidy 0:25:58 So then a couple of hours with no booze, which was quite good.

Marc 0:26:01 You said before you went you're not going to drink.

Natalie Cassidy 0:26:03 I did. That didn't happen.

Marc 0:26:04 No.

Natalie Cassidy 0:26:05 But didn't drink loads. I'll tell you what we were drinking, which is a very good choice, is a Hang on. I'm so old. I was gonna say Alka-Seltzer. A seltzer?

Marc 0:26:16 Have you been on that thesaurus tonight?

Natalie Cassidy 0:26:19 No, a seltzer. So it's like a sparkling water. You're asking me? It's sparkling water with lime. I think you can get them in all flavours, but it tastes like water. But it's alcoholic, but it's very— it hydrates you.

Marc 0:26:33 Sorry, it's alcoholic? But it tastes like water. That sounds like a really sensible drink.

Natalie Cassidy 0:26:39 Like a sparkling water and lime, but it's got lots of water in it. Honestly, another thing for you to look up. Have a look. Very, very popular.

Marc 0:26:50 Okay.

Natalie Cassidy 0:26:50 Apparently one of the big trends.

Marc 0:26:51 I bet it is. Yeah.

Natalie Cassidy 0:26:53 Yeah.

Marc 0:26:54 Yeah. Do you wanna drink alcohol, not know you're doing it? Drink this. It's like water.

Natalie Cassidy 0:26:58 You can still sort of taste it a little bit, but it hydrates you. It's got a lot of goodness in it as well. Wow. But it was blooming hot, I have to say. Very, very hot. And it was kind of a circus tent where I was.

Marc 0:27:08 Right.

Natalie Cassidy 0:27:08 Aching.

Marc 0:27:10 Yeah. Okay.

Natalie Cassidy 0:27:11 But it was lovely. We had a good day. So that was nice. Denise Welch was there.

Marc 0:27:16 Yes. Your mate who invited you over to the— was it barbecue, wasn't it? It was a barbecue.

Natalie Cassidy 0:27:22 I gave her a hug and I said, how are the pizzas?

Marc 0:27:24 Mhmm.

Natalie Cassidy 0:27:25 She performed It's Raining Men on stage.

Marc 0:27:28 Topical. Yeah.

Natalie Cassidy 0:27:29 Looking extremely glamorous, may I add. Right. Looks great for her age.

Marc 0:27:33 Was Jay McDonald there by any chance?

Natalie Cassidy 0:27:35 Jay McDonald was there the day after, and they brought, they brought her out on a cardboard cruise ship.

Marc 0:27:41 I mean, it was a thing of dreams.

Natalie Cassidy 0:27:42 It looked amazing. But, you know, I missed that. That was on the Sunday.

Marc 0:27:45 It sounds right up my street.

Natalie Cassidy 0:27:47 It is the most campist, mad thing. But what we said is next year, There is a whole audience of people who don't listen to this pod.

Marc 0:27:59 No, they've got different interests, I think, to the average listener.

Natalie Cassidy 0:28:02 No, you say that, but they're like me. So anyway, Maria said we should get a little Life with Nat stand there next year and we should all go.

Marc 0:28:12 Flyers, maybe.

Natalie Cassidy 0:28:13 Fly or QR code and we'll do some beers. Get a couple of—

Marc 0:28:16 get a pair of shorts for Tony to squeeze into. That'd be fun. Get him stood up on the podium with a Great idea. Lovely.

Natalie Cassidy 0:28:23 Yeah. And you?

Marc 0:28:24 Oh yeah, I'll be straight. You can put your song on.

Natalie Cassidy 0:28:27 Yeah, fishnet stockings and like a vest. Perfect. Go wild for you, won't they?

Marc 0:28:38 Hey, I don't know. I don't know who's there doing this.

Natalie Cassidy 0:28:40 Just lots of people.

Marc 0:28:42 Yeah, it's quite— it actually feels a little bit sick actually describing that then.

Natalie Cassidy 0:28:46 But why is that, darling?

Marc 0:28:47 Maybe feel a bit ill. Thinking of myself wearing—

Natalie Cassidy 0:28:49 Oh, stop being such a fishnet stocking. You dressed up as a girl once, didn't you? For your play?

Marc 0:28:55 Yeah. When I was about 9. Nothing wrong with that.

Natalie Cassidy 0:28:57 There's nothing wrong with it at any time.

Marc 0:28:59 Right. Thank you. Careful there. You watch what you're saying.

Natalie Cassidy 0:29:02 You just said nothing wrong with that.

Marc 0:29:04 Having a go with taking the mickey of being worried about that. Well, you can't start complaining about me wearing a dress when I was 9 years old.

Natalie Cassidy 0:29:11 You looked, you had little makeup on, didn't you? Had little rosy cheeks. Yeah, little high heels. Very cute. Very pretty, actually.

Marc 0:29:20 Oh God, I mean, how do you know that?

Natalie Cassidy 0:29:24 Because you've shown me the video.

Marc 0:29:25 Yeah, a VHS video from like 1991.

Natalie Cassidy 0:29:29 Which you've sat down and said, watch this.

Marc 0:29:31 Yeah, and you can see about 4 pixels of it. I'm like a little pink blob, and you can hear this higher-pitched squeal of a voice. I look quite— you're just saying that for effect. Very pretty. Okay.

Natalie Cassidy 0:29:44 Charming. That is meant to be a nice thing.

Marc 0:29:47 Okay, lovely.

Natalie Cassidy 0:29:49 I'll tell you what, you did look better than I look now, which is not, not hard. We've had a message here from Nessa George 2003. Why do you think Nessa George 2— sorry, Nessa George 3003 Do you think there are that many Nessa Georges on Instagram that she had to go for 3003?

Marc 0:30:15 I reckon she's born on the 30th of March.

Natalie Cassidy 0:30:17 Oh, it's not good security-wise, is it, to do that?

Marc 0:30:20 Just saying.

Natalie Cassidy 0:30:21 Bring it back or let it go, please, please, your opinions. Vianetta Deep Fried.

Marc 0:30:30 Deep fried Vianetta?

Natalie Cassidy 0:30:33 Deep fried Vianetta.

Marc 0:30:34 I've had a lot of messages lately on Instagram about— because everyone's on holiday, or seemingly is on holiday— having a Maxibon or a Viennetta.

Natalie Cassidy 0:30:42 But what do you think about, just before we go off-piste, of a deep-fried Viennetta?

Marc 0:30:49 That'd be quite large. I'm not sure about that. I don't know. I've never had a deep-fried ice cream. I bet it's alright, actually.

Natalie Cassidy 0:30:56 You're not really a deep-fried fan, are you?

Marc 0:31:00 Not really.

Natalie Cassidy 0:31:00 Not really.

Marc 0:31:01 You know, you're lady who does the cakes. Yeah. It's all about the cakes. Yeah. Got a message here saying, hi Mark, I hope you're well. I felt compelled to share my shock with you. Not that my viennetta was £2 in Tesco today, but according to the box, it serves 7 people.

Natalie Cassidy 0:31:18 7?

Marc 0:31:19 I mean, funnily enough, look what she said after 7 people. 7?

Natalie Cassidy 0:31:23 7. Well, I just said, it's pretty weird. How big's a viennetta?

Marc 0:31:28 About, I don't know.

Natalie Cassidy 0:31:28 No, it's like that.

Marc 0:31:29 It's about what?

Natalie Cassidy 0:31:30 No, it isn't.

Marc 0:31:31 18 inches?

Natalie Cassidy 0:31:32 It's about that big.

Marc 0:31:37 I counted the wiggly bits. I'll do that occasionally.

Natalie Cassidy 0:31:40 Don't tell me you've broke your phone.

Marc 0:31:43 That's not funny.

Natalie Cassidy 0:31:44 That would be funny.

Marc 0:31:45 I counted the wiggly bits on top and there were 12. If you want people to cut it into 7 pieces, then at least give 14 wiggly bits. She's done the maths for you there, Natalie. She saved you a job. She's a bit like, this is about the price per gramme all over again.

Natalie Cassidy 0:32:02 Oh, I know what she's saying.

Marc 0:32:03 Gobsmacked. Needless to say, I cut it into 4 and we all enjoyed it after dinner. Picture for proof. But it does indeed on the photo have a serve 7 people. But I'm sorry, that is no different. They've done that deliberately. It's like when you buy like a chocolate bar and it says it serves—

Natalie Cassidy 0:32:21 Who had one wiggly bit then?

Marc 0:32:23 That's probably just melted. But you know, like, you can buy a chocolate bar which is blatantly for one, or a cookie. You buy a big cookie and it'll say on the— it'll be like per serving, and it's like the calories per serving. You're obviously gonna eat the whole thing, but it's like a large— a wagon wheel, say, or something like that, and it's like per serving. It's so they can break it up.

Natalie Cassidy 0:32:45 Does it say that?

Marc 0:32:46 I've seen products like that.

Natalie Cassidy 0:32:47 I mean, you get that in a— on a large bag of crisps.

Marc 0:32:50 You do, but I promise you, I've seen the price per serving on clearly individual little— it's absolutely a joke. It's a joke. Let's end it there. It's 20 minutes in.

Natalie Cassidy 0:33:03 I'm not doing that on purpose, I promise you.

Marc 0:33:06 Okay, right.

Natalie Cassidy 0:33:06 Honestly, I'm not.

Marc 0:33:07 I am knackered.

Natalie Cassidy 0:33:08 I know.

Marc 0:33:10 I mean, it's— I'm really trying to stay awake for you here.

Natalie Cassidy 0:33:13 Oh, as am I. Is it warm in here as well?

Marc 0:33:16 Yeah, it's absolutely roasting.

Natalie Cassidy 0:33:18 Should we open that window?

Marc 0:33:19 No, no. I can't be able to get up.

Natalie Cassidy 0:33:22 Oh, fair enough. I just think a bit of air might help.

Marc 0:33:25 What would help the podcast? What, go back to the beginning? That's a good idea. Yeah, I'll do that. I'll open up the window. We'll start from scratch.

Natalie Cassidy 0:33:32 No, no, we're not doing that. That might improve things.

Marc 0:33:35 What a silly—

Natalie Cassidy 0:33:37 See if it's raining. Might have cleared the air a bit.

Marc 0:33:40 Why is it every time we do a podcast, I end up talking from outside the—

Natalie Cassidy 0:33:45 Oh.

Marc 0:33:46 Oh, it's lovely. It's a good job I've got trousers on.

Natalie Cassidy 0:33:48 It is.

Marc 0:33:50 Where were we? You were falling asleep.

Natalie Cassidy 0:33:51 So I was not falling asleep. Okay. Promise you that.

Marc 0:33:55 Okay.

Natalie Cassidy 0:33:55 No, you were talking about the per servings, and I do see that.

Marc 0:33:58 I've definitely seen that on some ridiculous things.

Natalie Cassidy 0:34:01 Have you?

Marc 0:34:01 Yeah. Like, just—

Natalie Cassidy 0:34:04 Do you get it on a pizza?

Marc 0:34:05 Possibly. Pizza should— I bet it's in quarters. I don't know.

Natalie Cassidy 0:34:09 Possibly. Or half. It'll say something. You know, the sort of—

Marc 0:34:12 but, you know, Listen, we don't need to get into— no one needs texting now and send a load of stuff in where it's— you don't need to.

Natalie Cassidy 0:34:17 Well, be rude to people if they want to.

Marc 0:34:19 No, I'm saving people the chore. The gist of the story is the general object—

Natalie Cassidy 0:34:22 What if they'd like to tell us some ob— that is so rude.

Marc 0:34:25 Right. Feel free.

Natalie Cassidy 0:34:26 07788 201919. What is it that you eat that is quartered or halved when you eat it on your own?

Marc 0:34:33 Or short form question, am I right?

Natalie Cassidy 0:34:36 There isn't an argument to say you're wrong. I agree with you. It's, it's—

Marc 0:34:41 Oh, you do agree with me?

Natalie Cassidy 0:34:42 Yes.

Marc 0:34:44 Oh, okay. I do. I thought you just said—

Natalie Cassidy 0:34:46 No, I completely agree with you. Okay. But I've never seen it on a biscuit. That's all I was saying.

Marc 0:34:50 Right. I was saying wagon wheel.

Natalie Cassidy 0:34:53 Wagon wheel.

Marc 0:34:53 Do you remember—

Natalie Cassidy 0:34:54 Please don't say the wagon wheel. You're not gonna tell me that it didn't fit in your lunchbox again, are you? 'Cause I might jump outta that window. I, I mean, genuinely, you weren't gonna do that again. I don't know if you've ever done it on the pod. Maybe you haven't. But the amount of times I hear, my Wagon Wheel, well, it didn't fit in my lunchbox when I was little. Didn't fit in my lunchbox. And now it's tiny. I must have heard that how many times?

Marc 0:35:27 But look, I say, always say, and now it's the size of a Digestive.

Natalie Cassidy 0:35:31 It's not that small though, is it?

Marc 0:35:32 It's ridiculous now.

Natalie Cassidy 0:35:33 I do think Mars bars, I think all the chocolates got smaller.

Marc 0:35:39 Yes.

Natalie Cassidy 0:35:41 Shrinkflation.

Marc 0:35:42 Shrinkflation. Shrinkflation. Shrinkflation. Shrinkflation. Shrinkflation.

Natalie Cassidy 0:35:49 Does that just happen to chocolate and stuff like that?

Marc 0:35:53 Are you suggesting that over time something else shrinks? That's brilliant. What a great thing to say. Are you being serious? Is that actually a thing?

Natalie Cassidy 0:36:08 No.

Marc 0:36:10 I need to Google that. That's my next worry now. Is that a thing?

Natalie Cassidy 0:36:15 No, darling, I'm just having a laugh.

Marc 0:36:17 Well, it's only funny if it's like an element of truth in it.

Natalie Cassidy 0:36:20 Oh my God.

Marc 0:36:23 Hang on, I'm looking it up.

Natalie Cassidy 0:36:27 Why are men so sensitive?

Marc 0:36:33 Yes, that is possible.

Natalie Cassidy 0:36:34 Is it? What does it say? Read it out.

Marc 0:36:37 It's typically caused by ageing, poor circulation, specific medical conditions. Hmm. Interesting. I'll leave everyone else to Google that themselves.

Natalie Cassidy 0:36:48 Fair enough.

Marc 0:36:49 I mean, you don't even know what I'm Googling. You're assuming, you're assuming you know what I'm talking about. Your mind might be wandering. You might be thinking something.

Natalie Cassidy 0:36:55 Could be the brain.

Marc 0:36:56 Could be many things.

Natalie Cassidy 0:39:51 Can you believe we're in June?

Marc 0:39:55 I can, actually. I do feel like the last couple of months has definitely— from about April onwards, it's definitely sped up. May always goes quick for me.

Natalie Cassidy 0:40:06 Always. And I love May.

Marc 0:40:08 It's all that, like, I don't know, nothing much happens in May. It's a bit of a nothing month. The weather's not normally great, because normally the sort of April showers that sort of comes in May.

Natalie Cassidy 0:40:20 It was nice though, wasn't it? This May's been great.

Marc 0:40:23 The last week has been like being in the Sahara Desert. Obviously this week not so much, been a bit wetter, but you know.

Natalie Cassidy 0:40:31 It's rained once, once it's rained.

Marc 0:40:34 No, it rained on Wednesday.

Natalie Cassidy 0:40:35 It was absolutely Sweltering hot today.

Marc 0:40:38 It rained on Tuesday, and it rained yesterday, and it's raining today.

Natalie Cassidy 0:40:42 For about 5 seconds.

Marc 0:40:43 Right. Okay.

Natalie Cassidy 0:40:45 So sorry. Routine compresses time. When days become similar, yeah, school runs, work, cooking, repeating schedules, the brain stops recording as many new memories.

Marc 0:41:00 Mhmm.

Natalie Cassidy 0:41:01 So looking back, months can feel like they've vanished because there are fewer distinct moments to anchor them.

Marc 0:41:06 I don't know if I believe that.

Natalie Cassidy 0:41:07 I'm nervous only once.

Marc 0:41:09 Because Wimbledon drags and drags and it's like Groundhog Day. Oh, as I've said many times before, it's like walking down the hill, seeing the same people, seeing the same security, doing the same coverage, doing the same. It's really, it's interesting.

Natalie Cassidy 0:41:24 Trudging up to Centre Court every day to watch the best tennis in the world.

Marc 0:41:27 When you could be sat at home watching it on telly with a beer.

Natalie Cassidy 0:41:31 Love it. It's great.

Marc 0:41:32 On telly even.

Natalie Cassidy 0:41:33 You wouldn't watch it if you were at home.

Marc 0:41:34 No. No. So, but the point I'm making with that whole tennis thing is—

Natalie Cassidy 0:41:39 I know what you're saying.

Marc 0:41:40 It's like Groundhog Day. It doesn't go quicker. And any monotonous job I've ever had always seems to take a long time. So I don't necessarily agree with that. Yeah. You're interested in that. I do have a theory.

Natalie Cassidy 0:41:51 It does say that psychologists have studied this a lot. And the common theory is propulsion.

Marc 0:41:58 It's exactly what I was about to say.

Natalie Cassidy 0:41:59 So when you are 10, a year is 10% of your life.

Marc 0:42:02 There you go.

Natalie Cassidy 0:42:02 When you're 40 or 50, a year is a much smaller slice of everything you've experienced.

Marc 0:42:08 Your understanding of time.

Natalie Cassidy 0:42:10 Yeah.

Marc 0:42:11 Increases as you get older.

Natalie Cassidy 0:42:12 Absolutely. So, you know, 6-week holidays when you were a kid.

Marc 0:42:16 That is literally like going, right, you're off school now for 10 years.

Natalie Cassidy 0:42:20 It was ages when I—

Marc 0:42:21 You, you were like, all right, see you later. Say bye to your mates. You'd be like, see you later. And you used to walk away thinking, wow, that was it, it's gone.

Natalie Cassidy 0:42:28 It was like a brand new— I know it is a new school year, but it felt like you were off for a year.

Marc 0:42:34 It was, uh, went on forever, on and on.

Natalie Cassidy 0:42:37 The best, you're understanding the time.

Marc 0:42:39 But as you get older, so the nice thing to think of is, as you know, give it another decade and the days will be going even quicker, the years will be going quicker as you're, as you're heading for an early grave. It's great. Something to look forward to. Another perk of getting older, isn't it? It's like someone hits fast forward on the last bit. It's like watching your favourite film.

Natalie Cassidy 0:43:01 Yeah.

Marc 0:43:02 And at the end, when you get into the bit you really wanna watch, someone goes fast forward and you're like, oh, it's disappointing.

Natalie Cassidy 0:43:09 No, no, no. That's not true.

Marc 0:43:12 Slightly pessimistic view really of life there, but it's true.

Natalie Cassidy 0:43:14 I disagree with you. I don't think that is true.

Marc 0:43:17 You don't think?

Natalie Cassidy 0:43:19 I don't think so. Okay. You can fill your life and it, it does go quick, but you've gotta make the most of it, haven't you?

Marc 0:43:26 The last 5 years.

Natalie Cassidy 0:43:27 Last 5 years of what? My life?

Marc 0:43:29 Yes.

Natalie Cassidy 0:43:30 Or not the last 5, the, the last 5 years or the last 5 years I've got coming? What do you mean?

Marc 0:43:35 No, the, the last 5 years, AKA the last 5 years of your life.

Natalie Cassidy 0:43:42 At the end or now?

Marc 0:43:43 Well, you haven't got there yet. Well, I don't know.

Natalie Cassidy 0:43:46 You were just talking about my life dramatically coming to an end.

Marc 0:43:48 We're not in Back to the Future. We're, we're talking about your life now. Tomorrow you haven't lived yet, so your life would be the bit prior to now, surely.

Natalie Cassidy 0:43:56 Yeah. Okay.

Marc 0:43:57 I'm not doing about the hypothetical life.

Natalie Cassidy 0:43:59 Oh, well, you just were. Carry on.

Marc 0:44:01 Maybe, yeah. Might have to rewind and listen to that again, but fast forward it even. I forgot what I was saying now.

Natalie Cassidy 0:44:08 The last 5 years of my life. Probably just as well. The last 5 years of my life.

Marc 0:44:12 The last 5 years of my life have definitely gone quicker than a previous 5 years. My understanding of time has definitely increased. The other weird thing about ageing is because all the people you know are ageing at the same rate.

Natalie Cassidy 0:44:30 Yes.

Marc 0:44:31 You all kind of carry on. And you don't really notice it. Whereas someone— so for example, when you're 20 and you look at someone who's 40, you immediately look at them and think, you're, you're 40, you're a lot older than me. When you're 20.

Natalie Cassidy 0:44:47 I never spoke about it. I never thought of it.

Marc 0:44:49 You weren't ever conscious that someone who was 20 years older than you looked 20 years older than you?

Natalie Cassidy 0:44:54 Never.

Marc 0:44:54 You weren't conscious of that?

Natalie Cassidy 0:44:56 The only person I would say, a couple of people from work would be, Kind of Wendy Barber. Sorry. But that's probably 40.

Marc 0:45:05 Sorry.

Natalie Cassidy 0:45:05 That's sort of 40 years older than me. I never looked at Patsy Palmer or Lindsay Coulson, who played my mum, who was definitely 20 years older than me, and thought, Cor, you look 20 years older than me, ever.

Marc 0:45:18 I'm not gonna go there with what I was gonna say. It doesn't work.

Natalie Cassidy 0:45:20 Why?

Marc 0:45:22 Well, I can't compete with that.

Natalie Cassidy 0:45:25 True, but maybe that's—

Marc 0:45:27 You're genuinely saying you've never at any point in your life looked at somebody and thought, you're a lot older than me?

Natalie Cassidy 0:45:32 Oh yeah.

Marc 0:45:32 You didn't go to a care home as part of your documentary and, and—

Natalie Cassidy 0:45:35 You were talking about when you were 20.

Marc 0:45:37 I, you, I was just making the point.

Natalie Cassidy 0:45:39 Fine.

Marc 0:45:39 When you are 20.

Natalie Cassidy 0:45:40 Yes.

Marc 0:45:41 The re— okay, look, I chose the, this is so boring. I chose the figures for 2 reasons. I said 20 and 40 because 40 is double the age of 20.

Natalie Cassidy 0:45:49 I've got a hair coming out my chin here that needs picking out. You have to do that for me later before I start looking like the Grinch. It's really annoying. Sorry.

Marc 0:45:59 It's all right. I forgot what I was saying.

Natalie Cassidy 0:46:00 I was really enjoying that.

Marc 0:46:02 No, you weren't.

Natalie Cassidy 0:46:03 I was.

Marc 0:46:03 No.

Natalie Cassidy 0:46:04 I, I absolutely could look at someone like Jim— John, who played Jim, my granddad, June, Wendy. But genuinely, someone— if it was about 20 years difference when I was sort of 15.

Marc 0:46:22 I've talked about being double your age, not 20 years difference. What's double of 20?

Natalie Cassidy 0:46:26 40.

Marc 0:46:27 Right. So when someone's double your age, you're telling me you don't know?

Natalie Cassidy 0:46:30 No, you do know. I think you do know. Oh my God.

Marc 0:46:33 What a waste of time. We've gone full circle. I think you know. Right. No, I'm not gonna— I can't be. I'm not having the mickey taken out of me. You carry on.

Natalie Cassidy 0:46:42 Not having the mickey taken out of you at all, my darling.

Marc 0:46:46 No. I had a really good point to make about that as well. It's completely Sidetracked me.

Natalie Cassidy 0:46:50 I think it depends who you're—

Marc 0:46:53 Oh, I remember what it was.

Natalie Cassidy 0:46:53 Cool.

Marc 0:46:54 That's right.

Natalie Cassidy 0:46:55 I think it depends who you're talking about and if you share interests with that person. And if someone is as passionate about something as you are, I think age goes out the window. So if I'm sat with your mum having a really brilliant debate about something in the lounge, and we're having a good chat, I never think, oh yeah, but you're older than me, so— do you know what I mean?

Marc 0:47:25 Well, I haven't suggested for one second that, that in that context you would do such a thing.

Natalie Cassidy 0:47:29 No, but I'm just—

Marc 0:47:30 The point I was merely trying to make was, I think because you age as everyone else around you, you aren't aware of yourself ageing and your appearance and your ageing process as as much. I mean, yes, obviously, you look different. Obviously, you compare old photographs to now, and you've seen you've aged. Obviously, you might have grey hair or getting grey hair. The bit I'm saying is, is so grey. Everyone around you is ageing at the same point. I see. I often think about this. This is only just my— this is just my thoughts. I'm sharing. Do you think about—

Natalie Cassidy 0:48:06 it is interesting because you think about these things a lot more than me.

Marc 0:48:09 But, but Going back to what I was attempting to say, that what I've just said is amongst people you know and spend time with and see regularly.

Natalie Cassidy 0:48:19 Yes.

Marc 0:48:19 But if you fast, if you rewind to being a lot younger, if you saw someone double your age, which for convenience sake, I'm just saying is 40, I'm saying you're 12, you could, all right, do you know what? You could be 10. Yes. And see someone who's 40. You'll see where I'm going with this if you allow it to breathe a little bit.

Natalie Cassidy 0:48:40 Yeah.

Marc 0:48:42 10-year-old looks at a 40-year-old, that person's 30 years old. That's a huge difference. Right. Yeah. They see that as that.

Natalie Cassidy 0:48:47 Yeah.

Marc 0:48:48 But when you are actually 40, when that 10-year-old is that age and they're looking in the mirror, they don't have the same feeling as when they're 10 looking at someone who's 40, do they?

Natalie Cassidy 0:49:01 No.

Marc 0:49:02 And I'm just saying that's because you've slowly seen that change and everyone around you has done very slowly the same change. So you don't see it the same. So when I now look at people who are like 40 years old, they don't look how I used to see someone who was 40 when I was a kid.

Natalie Cassidy 0:49:21 Of course not. But also things have changed as well as your perception. Life has changed. And women and men, when they were 40, when, if you look back, sorry, we weren't born in the 1500s, but darling, even, even us, if you look at the '80s, men and women at 40, looked a lot older than they do now, without a doubt. If I look back at my mum and look at pictures of my mum when she was 50, she looked like a nan.

Marc 0:49:52 I'm sure I've got a magazine somewhere of, like, over-40s. I'll get it out and compare it.

Natalie Cassidy 0:50:05 Hi, Nat. I listen from Kefalonia, a little Greek island. As I'm going from hotel to hotel, I'm listening to your pod and it makes me feel like I'm home in the UK. I have lived in Kefalonia for 27 years. I had to go and see on YouTube a video of Life with Nat as I was thinking to myself, what do you all look like apart from you, Nat, as I used to watch EastEnders.

Natalie Cassidy 0:50:27 I love the YouTube. Thank you for always bringing a smile throughout the day. I will continue to listen, listening to your pod and loving it. I am now in the debate at 42. Do I change my career?

Natalie Cassidy 0:50:41 When is too late? Well, that's very interesting, isn't it? From Kefalonia over there. Mercedes.

Marc 0:50:47 How do you spell Kefalonia? Oh, you got it in front of you, haven't you? Um, I had no idea how Kefalonia was spelled. I didn't realise it wasn't a K.

Natalie Cassidy 0:50:55 It's spelled here with a K, and the lady has put okay. Okay, is that not Cefalù that you've got up?

Marc 0:51:04 No, I've, I've put in Kefalonia. I spelt it like the top, and when I Googled it, that's what came up.

Natalie Cassidy 0:51:12 I believe that. I do believe the— what? K-E-F-A-L-O-N-A.

Marc 0:51:19 Oh no, hang on.

Natalie Cassidy 0:51:19 I think it's right, darling.

Marc 0:51:21 It is. Yeah, but there's a place called Cephalonia in Kefalonia.

Natalie Cassidy 0:51:26 Oh, there you go.

Marc 0:51:27 Well, there you go.

Natalie Cassidy 0:51:29 You never know.

Marc 0:51:29 I was just, I was only Googling it because I thought we might have gone there before, but we didn't, did we?

Natalie Cassidy 0:51:33 No, we didn't.

Marc 0:51:35 No. I get very confused with Greece. There's too many islands.

Natalie Cassidy 0:51:37 So Mercedes said, should she change her career? She's 42 and is it too late? Well, obviously it's not. We've had these conversations and discussions in the past, but as we are talking about age, age is just a number, Mercedes. If that's what you wanna do.

Marc 0:51:52 Well, it depends on her career as well, really.

Natalie Cassidy 0:51:54 Well, I don't, don't know. She's in Greece. I wonder what she's up to.

Marc 0:51:57 I don't know. There's a few careers which would be perfect, perfect age for starting, and then there's a few other careers you might think maybe you're a bit older. Like, if you wouldn't start being a professional footballer, would you, at 42? It's not gonna happen.

Natalie Cassidy 0:52:10 Not gonna happen, no.

Marc 0:52:11 You see what I mean? There are vocations that are more suited to a change.

Natalie Cassidy 0:52:15 Yes.

Marc 0:52:16 You don't get people working in like citizens' advice bureaus usually until they've had a bit of life experience.

Natalie Cassidy 0:52:21 Is that true? Yeah, I don't know.

Marc 0:52:25 Yeah, I think they're often volunteers actually, but you know what I mean.

Natalie Cassidy 0:52:28 It's— oh yeah, interesting.

Marc 0:52:31 Yeah, another train of thought for you there.

Natalie Cassidy 0:52:34 Just what I need. I haven't got enough on my brain at all.

Marc 0:52:37 What are you thinking about? Citizens— I don't think you should. Citizens Advice Bureau.

Natalie Cassidy 0:52:43 No, I'm just— you said another thought for you. Oh, I said thanks very much. I need some more thoughts. I haven't got enough going on up here.

Marc 0:52:49 Oh, really? Is there a lot going on around you?

Natalie Cassidy 0:52:51 Constant stream of things that are happening at the moment.

Marc 0:52:54 Give me a 5, little 5-minute insight.

Natalie Cassidy 0:52:56 5? Cool.

Marc 0:52:58 What streams of insight?

Natalie Cassidy 0:52:59 Making sure tomorrow morning, Joni's got piano, so we've gotta make sure we're back at the school for 8:15, but I need to be home, showered, hair washed, because Becky's gotta blow dry my hair. Then I'm thinking, once the hair's done, I need to really go to the nail shop because I'm doing a programme tomorrow night, which is quite nice. Sorry, I can't mention it. It is quite special. But I think, do I really wanna go on with chipped nails? Not really.

Marc 0:53:19 So I I mean, also that programme is well known for its close-ups of fingernails. You don't stop seeing them, do you?

Natalie Cassidy 0:53:28 I don't know, do you? Depends, doesn't it, what you're doing on there.

Marc 0:53:32 So anyway, I don't think there's gonna be a close-up of fingernails.

Natalie Cassidy 0:53:35 However, do I wanna turn up like that? Not sure yet. By the by, then I'm thinking in my head, okay, we've got to do that. And then I'm thinking, do you know what I do really need to do? I need to email the school for Joni's application for secondary school, which has not been done yet. And I need to find out all the information and get that sorted. At the same time, I was thinking about Joni's swimming on Thursday. Should she go swimming? I'm not sure because her arm, she can get it wet now, but is that a step too far?

Marc 0:54:02 It's a step too far.

Natalie Cassidy 0:54:04 Agreed. I, I agree with you. That's why she didn't do netball today.

Marc 0:54:06 That's one less problem. I can continue if you like. With light and below deck.

Natalie Cassidy 0:54:08 I can continue.

Marc 0:54:09 A problem shared is a problem halved. Would you like me to continue? Please do. I'm so envious of this.

Natalie Cassidy 0:54:16 Envious of what? Just be careful.

Marc 0:54:18 Just knowing what— here we go, girls. Oh, hang on, we've immediately decided to draw a line down the middle there, haven't we? We've just, we've divided into girls and boys, have we?

Natalie Cassidy 0:54:28 Just for a minute.

Marc 0:54:29 No, that's not fair. Why? No, you can't do that in this, in this day and age. You can't do that. You can't tell me it's all right for me to wear a dress and then go, here we go, girls. Suzanne from Durham, yes, will be agreeing with you. But you could be saying that the sky is purple.

Natalie Cassidy 0:54:45 And she would agree.

Marc 0:54:47 Yeah. No, carry on. I'm really interested in what, what else there is.

Natalie Cassidy 0:54:53 Just, 'cause I can help you with this stuff. It's just continuous. Goes round and round and round. I haven't, I haven't done the exercise this week. That would be nice. I wish I could fit that in. Could I do that tomorrow? No, I can't. I can't have a nice hour's walk 'cause I gotta get my hair done. for work, which is annoying. Something that you would never understand, and it's really annoying, is when girls get ready, you can't then exercise. You can't because your hair's done.

Marc 0:55:20 Yeah.

Natalie Cassidy 0:55:21 You could do whatever you want, blokes with short hair. Jump in the shower, 5 minutes, you're ready. It's such an enormous thing that— when are you going swimming? Oh, I'd like to go swimming, but my hair will be wet. I can't sit in a steam room, can I, if I've got something to do because I've done my hair? It's all stupid little things that you would never know about.

Marc 0:55:43 But surely the sensible option is not to do your hair and you can do whatever you want by the sounds of things.

Natalie Cassidy 0:55:48 So then what happens? Just to go on the telly like that looking like a bald egg?

Marc 0:55:52 Whoa, hang on a minute. Hang on a minute. You can't just throw that in.

Natalie Cassidy 0:55:56 That's what I'm talking about.

Marc 0:55:57 Oh, hang on.

Natalie Cassidy 0:55:58 I'm on the telly tomorrow.

Marc 0:55:59 For most people, going on the telly is a big deal. So yeah. Okay. Fair enough.

Natalie Cassidy 0:56:03 Or if people are going out in the evening or they're going to a bar and they get their hair done.

Marc 0:56:07 I'm sure any listener who's been on the telly or is about to be on the telly will go, do you know what, Natalie? Actually, we, when we go on the telly, we just do our hair and that's fine. We just can't go to the gym that day.

Natalie Cassidy 0:56:18 Yeah.

Marc 0:56:19 But the rest of the time we are not on a telly.

Natalie Cassidy 0:56:21 Oh, look at me.

Marc 0:56:23 Well, you could do—

Natalie Cassidy 0:56:24 I'm not, I'm not high maintenance, am I?

Marc 0:56:27 Okay.

Natalie Cassidy 0:56:27 I'm just saying, look at me.

Marc 0:56:28 I'd be forgiven for thinking there was some major issue because you were just saying that you can't— you're scratching that hair on your chin again.

Natalie Cassidy 0:56:35 Sorry. Chinny chin chin.

Marc 0:56:37 I wonder how many people who listen to this podcast have been on television. There's a subject.

Natalie Cassidy 0:56:42 Well, we've had a few on some funny old quiz shows, and we've had a couple of competition winners that I think have been on a video, but I've not heard about anyone, don't know, being an extra in something or—

Marc 0:56:54 That'd be good.

Natalie Cassidy 0:56:55 That would be quite good. Have you been a— yeah. Have you been an extra in a big film or That'd be quite fun. Did you enjoy the experience? Or what else could we say?

Marc 0:57:03 Been interviewed by the local news.

Natalie Cassidy 0:57:05 Yeah, that's quite good. The news thing's good.

Marc 0:57:07 I've been on the local radio. Probably, probably, maybe that's a bit much. Maybe.

Natalie Cassidy 0:57:12 Yeah.

Marc 0:57:13 TV.

Natalie Cassidy 0:57:13 Telly stuff is good.

Marc 0:57:15 What's the phone? We need to get a phone.

Natalie Cassidy 0:57:17 Or something like, has anyone been on the Antiques Roadshow?

Marc 0:57:19 Yes.

Natalie Cassidy 0:57:20 I would love that.

Marc 0:57:21 Really?

Natalie Cassidy 0:57:22 Yeah. Or any family members got there and, you know, and they go, how much is it worth? We're not interested in selling. Of course you're not. Hmm.

Marc 0:57:34 I always, when I was younger, used to think, when I used to sort of like, as a kid, used to play in the loft, I used to see stuff in the loft. The loft.

Natalie Cassidy 0:57:41 Sorry to interrupt. Frightened the life out of me today.

Marc 0:57:45 Yeah.

Natalie Cassidy 0:57:45 Crash, bang, wallop. Came down again.

Marc 0:57:47 Flaps opened.

Natalie Cassidy 0:57:48 The flaps opened. Why do the flaps keep opening on their own?

Marc 0:57:52 I should say flap.

Natalie Cassidy 0:57:54 It is a flap, yeah. But why does it keep opening? Because it's so loud. I felt like someone was up here, give me a heart attack.

Marc 0:58:01 All right. Um, it's not a very good catch, and I think there's a bit of, um— sorry, your camera's over there. Just, just looks at— what camera did you just look at?

Natalie Cassidy 0:58:12 I wasn't looking at a camera.

Marc 0:58:14 You looked, raised your eyes, and decided— I did it over there.

Natalie Cassidy 0:58:17 I didn't do it to the camera, thank you. No, no, you're directing me now. I'm not directing you. On which way to look. Emma, you've got that. I mean, I haven't gotta say a word. I've got it all on record.

Marc 0:58:26 Yeah, I know that.

Natalie Cassidy 0:58:27 I wanted to look that way, not that way.

Marc 0:58:28 But why would you look over there?

Natalie Cassidy 0:58:30 Because I'd like to.

Marc 0:58:31 But it wouldn't look very good though.

Natalie Cassidy 0:58:32 I'm not thinking of the cameras all the time, darling. The flap opens up and gives me a right old shock. Is it to do with the wind? It's gotta be, isn't it? Draft?

Marc 0:58:48 Yes, it's the draft.

Natalie Cassidy 0:58:50 Is it? Can we try and sort that out? Because you're very good at these things.

Marc 0:58:54 It doesn't happen often, does it? It just means that there was a door open somewhere.

Natalie Cassidy 0:58:57 Window, maybe.

Marc 0:59:00 Yeah.

Natalie Cassidy 0:59:00 Fair enough.

Marc 0:59:02 You know the conversation we had about time moving too quickly?

Natalie Cassidy 0:59:05 Yes.

Marc 0:59:05 The last 5 minutes of this podcast have remedied that for anyone worrying that their life was going quicker. We have just helped them.

Natalie Cassidy 0:59:15 Do you think?

Marc 0:59:16 As if their life has come to a grinding— it might be in reverse now. Like, actually thinking, has it? So time probably has stood still. It's so riveting, the conversation we've just had. Just a, just an—

Natalie Cassidy 0:59:29 Well, we've done them a favour then, haven't we?

Marc 0:59:31 Service. Yeah.

Natalie Cassidy 0:59:33 That's good. I've got my trunk out. Possibly the fucking funniest thing Mark with a C has ever said. A bit of wee actually came out, I laughed so hard. No bank holiday here, it's next week. This is Marie in Galway. My wife got me a Barbour wax jacket for Christmas one year. It's like it's been tailor-made for me. Every time I wear it, I feel so good. I'm not really into brands as a rule, but this jacket is pure quality, handmade in the UK, so you can understand the price. That's lovely, Marie. Regular messenger inner.

Marc 1:00:10 Is that the first person that agreed on that subject?

Natalie Cassidy 1:00:13 There was a couple, just a couple.

Marc 1:00:15 Okay.

Natalie Cassidy 1:00:16 But that I get, it's a Barbour coat, you know what I mean? It's different.

Marc 1:00:19 What if it's the same as your one?

Natalie Cassidy 1:00:20 Oh, I'm not— don't think so. Love my coat.

Marc 1:00:24 I've got an Instagram message from a Mrs. Pilks.

Natalie Cassidy 1:00:27 Mrs. Pilks?

Marc 1:00:28 Yeah.

Natalie Cassidy 1:00:29 That's a nice name.

Marc 1:00:30 Not sure.

Natalie Cassidy 1:00:31 Hello, Mrs. Pilks. Sounds right out of World War II, that. I just popped round Mrs. Pilks to see if you got any milk for me. Me mother was asking.

Marc 1:00:40 You done, like, taking the mickey out of one of our listeners?

Natalie Cassidy 1:00:43 Just Mrs. Pilks. It makes me feel nostalgic.

Marc 1:00:46 Well, Mrs. Pilks said, hi Mark, I'm a huge fan of the pod of you and Nat, just messaging on behalf of my husband today. He has asked me to pass on that the engineering team he works with in Sheffield are building a new steam locomotive. Hengist.

Natalie Cassidy 1:01:01 Hengist?

Marc 1:01:02 Yeah, Google Hengist, H-E-N-G-I-S-T. It's progressed massively over the years. You'd love to share more pictures and more information.

Natalie Cassidy 1:01:12 Right.

Marc 1:01:14 Well, I've, I've wrote back and said that's really nice, I am aware of that. It's like a new build steam engine.

Natalie Cassidy 1:01:20 So you knew already?

Marc 1:01:21 I knew of it, yeah. It's a new build steam engine. They've had a, like, lately they've like been They've gotta raise a lot of money, like a lot of money to build it, and it's gonna be more efficient and it's sort of using more modern design techniques. And why are you looking at me like that?

Natalie Cassidy 1:01:36 So you were talking about our conversation.

Marc 1:01:38 Yeah.

Natalie Cassidy 1:01:39 And time going slowly.

Marc 1:01:41 Yeah.

Natalie Cassidy 1:01:43 How many people do you think are interested in what you're talking about who listen to this pod?

Marc 1:01:48 Okay. Tim.

Natalie Cassidy 1:01:49 Yep. James.

Marc 1:01:50 James. Mrs. Pilsley's husband. Ant, his name is.

Natalie Cassidy 1:01:54 Maybe Mrs. Pilks.

Marc 1:01:56 Well, I'm talking about Mrs. Pilks. Oh yeah, so that's 5. 5 so far. Oh, there's some people from the railway that listen. Yeah, general fans. All right, so it's maybe 6 or 7.

Natalie Cassidy 1:02:09 Oh, but anyway, at least you've said that. That's lovely.

Marc 1:02:12 I've been interrupted, so I'll go back. Oh, is there more of it? Yeah, just very kind. I won't go into the details, but basically a nice kind offer for a little tour because also they've They've got, um, a B17 in the workshop as well that they're working on. If you ever fancy popping in, there is an open invite for Monday before 4 PM to see the locomotives. There you go. It's nice, isn't it?

Natalie Cassidy 1:02:37 You reminded me of this, and this is very important. Okay, lovely Michael messaged me a couple of weeks ago, and then I said to him, please remember to message me so I can do this for you. So Michael, this is for your beautiful wife Laura McEwan on a happy 41st birthday on the 6th of June. So there you go, I didn't forget, Michael.

Natalie Cassidy 1:03:05 Have a wonderful, wonderful birthday, Laura. And, uh, I believe Oh, do you know what? I won't. I'm not, I'm not gonna say that bit in case I spoil the surprise. There might be a little surprise coming your way, Laura.

Natalie Cassidy 1:03:19 But he said, thank you so much, and she'll be shocked and extremely happy if she hears this when she listens. So there you go, Michael. I've not let you down.

Marc 1:03:28 Well, I hope that when she listens, she does hear it.

Natalie Cassidy 1:03:31 Fingers crossed. She'll, she'll just stay for the end. She'll hang on after your bit.

Marc 1:03:39 What about the other bit where time sort of stood still? Not sure about the flap of the loft.

Natalie Cassidy 1:03:44 Perhaps Emma could swap the birthday message, put it earlier for me, or something she could do.

Marc 1:03:49 What Emma could do is we could have the opening title music and just put that birthday, and that's it. Sorted.

Natalie Cassidy 1:03:55 Sorted.

Marc 1:03:56 Make sure that that's been heard.

Natalie Cassidy 1:03:57 Oh, that sounds good.

Marc 1:03:58 To be honest, I'd listen to that.

Natalie Cassidy 1:03:59 Yeah. Well, it's absolutely pouring now. I might go and stand in the garden, wash my eyes away with pollen.

Marc 1:04:08 Okay.

Natalie Cassidy 1:04:09 I, I'm gonna go and pluck my chin. And thank you so much for doing this. And I'm sorry I look the way I do with the hay fever because it doesn't make me feel very attractive. So my apologies. And to anyone who's watching on a telly, that is absolutely crazy. Maybe save it for Halloween or something.

Marc 1:04:27 Thank you. Well, I don't think that's fair.

Natalie Cassidy 1:04:29 I mean, well, I do. It is absolutely, absolutely terrible. I mean, I'm someone who doesn't mind what I look like. But this is, this is one step too far tonight. I, I, I, I don't mind. I go on Instagram and whatever, but my eyes are so sore and swollen. They're like piss holes in the snow.

Marc 1:04:46 You can't say that.

Natalie Cassidy 1:04:48 It's okay.

Marc 1:04:49 That is appalling.

Natalie Cassidy 1:04:50 That's what they look like.

Marc 1:04:52 Piss holes in the snow.

Natalie Cassidy 1:04:53 Have you never heard that?

Marc 1:04:55 No.

Natalie Cassidy 1:04:55 My dad said it all the time. Look at his eyes. Look like piss holes in the snow. It's a great reference.

Marc 1:05:01 But they don't look— but that wouldn't look swollen. That would look like they were really— No, but they're tiny. Yeah.

Natalie Cassidy 1:05:05 But they look really tiny in my eyes because of— I see. They've swollen.

Marc 1:05:09 Because the rest of it's all puffy.

Natalie Cassidy 1:05:10 Yes. Piss holes in the snow.

Marc 1:05:12 I don't think you look that bad. I've gotta say.

Natalie Cassidy 1:05:14 Thank you. That's very kind of you. Gosh, you need to go to a glasses shop. Well, hope you've enjoyed this one. I hope everyone has an absolutely lovely weekend, whatever you're doing. What are we doing at the weekend?

Marc 1:05:27 I'm working.

Natalie Cassidy 1:05:29 What, a weekend? Yep. What am I doing?

Marc 1:05:32 Probably—

Natalie Cassidy 1:05:34 Hopefully nothing. Not working. Oh, hopefully just at home. Fingers crossed. I'll have to have a look. It's all gone out the window this week. 07788 20 19 19. Follow, subscribe, tell your friends about us. Thank you so much for all of your messages about the Care documentary. They've been so lovely. It's a bit overwhelming actually. And if you haven't seen it, it's on BBC iPlayer, and the more watches it gets, I might get a series 2. So maybe you could just leave it rolling on your telly overnight or something.

Marc 1:06:03 And actually, uh, while you're at it, do the same with the podcast.

Natalie Cassidy 1:06:06 Well, yeah, just put a telly on, radio, phone. Yeah. Just anything with me in it. Just keep it on. Just keep it rolling.

Marc 1:06:13 It's all good.

Natalie Cassidy 1:06:13 All right. Lots of love. Thank you very much. Thank you, darling.

Marc 1:06:17 You're welcome.

Natalie Cassidy 1:06:18 I'll speak to you soon. Yeah.

Marc 1:06:20 Yeah.

Natalie Cassidy 1:06:22 Oh no, we're gonna go. Sorry. I dunno why I said that.

Marc 1:06:25 We're gonna go and walk, sorry.

Natalie Cassidy 1:06:26 Well, we're gonna come outta this room and talk to each other. I don't know why I'm saying speak too soon.