EP249: Scraping the Barrel #49 – honouring the craft

Speaker B 0:00:34 Hi Nat, it's Natasha from Essex. I'm a newbie to podcasts actually, and I've discovered you. You are my first. And after listening to some of your recent ones, I decided, nah, nah, nah, nah, can't do it. So I've gone all the way back to the beginning.

Speaker B 0:01:01 Oh, that's great. And I'm starting right back, right back all those years ago. And I'm just on episode 12, and you're shocked at how many newbies you had coming in then and saying how that people after years join in on this like podcast or series or something. And I just wanted to let you know you're still getting people to join into your little world, and I'm absolutely loving it. And I'm— Thank you.

Speaker B 0:01:27 Bingeing the hell out of you and, um, laughing my head off while I'm doing my work as a cleaner, my headphones on, well away, and yeah, thoroughly enjoying it. Keep up the good work. Bye!

Natalie Cassidy 0:01:38 Isn't that lovely? I love it when I hear new people starting.

Marc 0:01:43 And she's gone back to the beginning.

Natalie Cassidy 0:01:45 I wonder what makes people want to do that. Just,

Marc 0:01:51 uh, completeness.

Natalie Cassidy 0:01:53 Or is it where we're talking about, oh, do you remember that thing?

Marc 0:01:57 No, surely not. I think people— I've been a little bit like that. I've, I've started listening to things and I think, oh, this is really good. And then you realise you can go back to—

Natalie Cassidy 0:02:07 I did it with ChatterBix.

Marc 0:02:08 ChatterBix?

Natalie Cassidy 0:02:09 Yeah. I didn't go—

Marc 0:02:10 They've got about 10,000 episodes.

Natalie Cassidy 0:02:11 No, I didn't go right back, but I always dip. It's perfect 'cause it's something you can always listen to it.

Marc 0:02:19 What's the matter?

Natalie Cassidy 0:02:19 Just, I'm itching.

Marc 0:02:21 You've been away?

Natalie Cassidy 0:02:22 I've been alive.

Marc 0:02:24 Okay.

Natalie Cassidy 0:02:25 But yeah, there's always— I do like going back, but it's a lot to go back to the beginning of this.

Marc 0:02:32 Well, of this, yeah.

Natalie Cassidy 0:02:34 It's quite a lot now.

Marc 0:02:35 I might do that and just see how it compares.

Natalie Cassidy 0:02:39 I did think about doing that, listening to the first couple, but I think it would make me A bit icky, isn't it?

Marc 0:02:46 Is it? Yeah. What do you mean?

Natalie Cassidy 0:02:48 I don't know, maybe there's no difference at all.

Marc 0:02:51 I don't, I don't know. I think you're reading into that a little bit.

Natalie Cassidy 0:02:57 It would be interesting to see what I was like. I remember feeling very nervous.

Marc 0:03:01 Right.

Natalie Cassidy 0:03:02 Now I don't feel nervous.

Marc 0:03:04 No. Well, there you go. I wonder how many other people have done that lately. Texting.

Natalie Cassidy 0:03:11 I think I've got a, I've got a little message later about it as well. But yeah, it would be lovely to hear what everyone else's thoughts are, whether they just dip into it or— because some people, I think they hear me on other pods and then they think, oh, she's all right to listen to, then they might pop mine on. But I wonder if they stay. Be good to know, wouldn't it?

Marc 0:03:34 You could maybe do like a Some sort of special sort of mashup episodes for Patreon.

Natalie Cassidy 0:03:40 Yes. You

Marc 0:03:42 could like blend some, you could do like a little best of, of one of your little strands.

Natalie Cassidy 0:03:49 Lovely. But Emma will have a heart attack. If you don't mind knocking through those and getting 5 minutes out of a few of those. It's quite a lot of work, isn't

Marc 0:03:57 it? I was gonna text Emma actually, because, um, do you remember when we did the anniversary pod and she gave me some facts and figures?

Natalie Cassidy 0:04:02 Yes.

Marc 0:04:02 Be quite interested in some of those now. Like how many hours would

Natalie Cassidy 0:04:07 be good,

Marc 0:04:07 all of that sort of stuff.

Natalie Cassidy 0:04:08 We didn't do that, did we, for the 2 years?

Marc 0:04:10 If you put it on how far could you travel, remember we did that?

Natalie Cassidy 0:04:12 Yeah, that was good.

Marc 0:04:13 We worked out a few places. I can't remember what it was now. What did we do? We looked up something, rather. You could walk to— oh, I mean, it's useless, isn't it? I can't remember what it was.

Natalie Cassidy 0:04:21 No, I know.

Marc 0:04:22 But that kind of thing.

Natalie Cassidy 0:04:23 Yeah,

Marc 0:04:23 might be quite nice.

Natalie Cassidy 0:04:24 So welcome to Scraping the Barrel today. You're very tanned.

Marc 0:04:30 Oh, as are you.

Natalie Cassidy 0:04:31 Well, I'm not.

Marc 0:04:32 Been a bit sunny over here, isn't it?

Natalie Cassidy 0:04:34 I had a little base colour before going to Tuscany, you see.

Marc 0:04:36 Mm-hmm.

Natalie Cassidy 0:04:37 So that does help a little. But what makes me laugh is you, you stand in it for an hour and you're browner than me.

Marc 0:04:42 This is from England. This has got nothing to do with being in Tuscany.

Natalie Cassidy 0:04:44 Do you think so?

Marc 0:04:46 Yeah.

Natalie Cassidy 0:04:47 You burnt a bit actually on the, on the sunbed.

Marc 0:04:48 I did my shoulders. Yeah. Well, I fell asleep in the swimming pool.

Natalie Cassidy 0:04:51 I know, which is a strange thing to do.

Marc 0:04:54 Bobbing around.

Natalie Cassidy 0:04:55 You wasn't bobbing around.

Marc 0:04:56 Next minute I was snoring.

Natalie Cassidy 0:04:57 No, you were face down in the water. You were leant on the edge. I

Marc 0:05:00 might have been drugged.

Natalie Cassidy 0:05:01 No, you were drunk, maybe.

Marc 0:05:03 I wasn't drunk, thank you very much. Not that day.

Natalie Cassidy 0:05:05 You had a couple of Proseccos in you?

Marc 0:05:07 Not on that day, no.

Natalie Cassidy 0:05:09 But your, your arms were— you were like this?

Marc 0:05:12 Yeah, that's exactly what I just described.

Natalie Cassidy 0:05:14 Leaning. You wasn't bobbing around, you were quite still.

Marc 0:05:18 Well, funnily enough,

Natalie Cassidy 0:05:19 it's quite dangerous to do that. May I just put a caveat in here?

Marc 0:05:22 Well, you would monitoring me, weren't you?

Natalie Cassidy 0:05:24 I was monitoring you, yes. Yeah, I kept sort of poking you.

Marc 0:05:27 It was so relaxing, wasn't it? It was just, it was lovely.

Natalie Cassidy 0:05:30 It's a great time, wasn't it?

Marc 0:05:31 Really good.

Natalie Cassidy 0:05:32 Gonna go into that a bit more with Auntie Linnie and the girls. We're gonna sort of, uh, go into a bit more detail. But what was your favourite bit about the trip?

Marc 0:05:39 Um, oh, that's a— that was nice.

Natalie Cassidy 0:05:45 You're only there for 2 days, so—

Marc 0:05:47 That nice meal we had.

Natalie Cassidy 0:05:48 Yes.

Marc 0:05:49 That was nice.

Natalie Cassidy 0:05:49 That was really lovely.

Marc 0:05:50 I joined you for, um, what else was good? I quite enjoyed the Uber journey on the way to the place. Quite enjoyed the scenery. And, um, I enjoyed seeing Joni. She seemed to miss me. And Eliza.

Natalie Cassidy 0:06:03 Yes,

Marc 0:06:03 that was nice. Um, at least someone did. It was good. Yeah.

Natalie Cassidy 0:06:08 What does that mean? I missed you.

Marc 0:06:10 No, you didn't.

Natalie Cassidy 0:06:11 Oh, I was so pleased to see you. It was lovely you turning up.

Marc 0:06:14 Absolute nonsense.

Natalie Cassidy 0:06:16 It's true.

Marc 0:06:16 Not bothered in the slightest.

Natalie Cassidy 0:06:18 That's not true. I was having a cracking time. Exactly. But when you turned up, it was lovely.

Marc 0:06:23 I was quite enjoying being at home, to be honest. It's quite nice. Got to watch, like, um, what did I watch? YouTube. Yeah, watched like a steam railway thing on the big telly in the living room. It's brilliant.

Natalie Cassidy 0:06:35 Why are you saying that as if you don't do that anyway?

Marc 0:06:37 Well, I do, but you know, I felt I could do it, you know, without being moaned at.

Natalie Cassidy 0:06:41 Mosquito there.

Marc 0:06:42 Where?

Natalie Cassidy 0:06:42 A little one.

Marc 0:06:43 Do you want to get it on mic 3, see what he's got to say?

Natalie Cassidy 0:06:46 No, I don't.

Marc 0:06:47 No, I can't see it.

Natalie Cassidy 0:06:49 Okay. I wonder if there's a thing, if you're— you've been bitten a lot, then there is something about you which attracts them more to you. Does that make sense?

Marc 0:07:02 Oh, maybe. I don't know. Blood, maybe.

Natalie Cassidy 0:07:08 I don't know.

Marc 0:07:09 I don't know. I don't want to jinx myself, but

Natalie Cassidy 0:07:12 I can't believe it.

Marc 0:07:14 Oh, you get bitten all the time.

Natalie Cassidy 0:07:15 But not only am I bitten, I then scratch them and then I bruise.

Marc 0:07:17 That is probably your main problem, actually. The scratching.

Natalie Cassidy 0:07:21 Possibly. Anyway, there we go.

Marc 0:07:24 Yeah,

Natalie Cassidy 0:07:25 I've tried everything. I've got everything. Body mist cream, the Jungle Formula Strength 5 that you're— it's meant to be good for Mozambique when you're in you know, in the middle of jungles and Madagascar, and nothing works. I don't know what to do.

Marc 0:07:41 Marmite, maybe? Eat Marmite.

Natalie Cassidy 0:07:44 I like Marmite. What, eat more of it?

Marc 0:07:48 Yes, that's meant to be good, isn't it?

Natalie Cassidy 0:07:49 Is it?

Marc 0:07:50 Yeah.

Natalie Cassidy 0:07:50 I love Marmite on a bit of seeded bread.

Marc 0:07:53 Of course you like Marmite. Why, you've got a very funny set of tastes, haven't you? Like, if it's a little bit like, ugh, You know what I mean? If it's a bit like awful.

Natalie Cassidy 0:08:03 Yeah.

Marc 0:08:06 Like weird, you know, if it's, if it's an organ from an animal. That's not true. Oh, you love it.

Natalie Cassidy 0:08:11 That's not true.

Marc 0:08:12 Like basically.

Natalie Cassidy 0:08:14 I'm not keen on sheep's intestines. 'Cause I do those in Italy.

Marc 0:08:18 Yeah.

Natalie Cassidy 0:08:18 I don't really like those. No, I like a little bit of liver and bacon at time to time. Couple of stuffed pig's hearts every now and again. But you don't really get them unless you go to somewhere like St. John in Islington, or, you know, it's not— it's not— I wouldn't say to you that's my favourite. It's not my favourite.

Marc 0:08:38 Just lost about 12 listeners there.

Natalie Cassidy 0:08:40 Well, possibly.

Marc 0:08:42 Yeah,

Natalie Cassidy 0:08:43 a few vegans have gone. I don't go crazy. No, I don't pick the weirdest thing on the menu. If I'm out, it's something I probably wouldn't cook at home.

Marc 0:08:55 Yes, I understand that. However, it doesn't surprise me you like Marmite. Kind of fits for today. Maybe not.

Natalie Cassidy 0:09:05 Why don't you like Marmite?

Marc 0:09:08 I just absolutely don't like that kind of malty sort of—

Natalie Cassidy 0:09:12 Bovril?

Marc 0:09:13 Um, never had it.

Natalie Cassidy 0:09:16 No. Do you like Yeah, you don't like offal. You don't really like crustaceans, do you? Fish with heads on and things?

Marc 0:09:27 No.

Natalie Cassidy 0:09:27 I think you've got better with that.

Marc 0:09:30 What do you mean?

Natalie Cassidy 0:09:32 Well, if we go out and you order a piece of fish—

Marc 0:09:34 Oh yeah, that's fine. Yeah, yeah, yeah, it's all right.

Natalie Cassidy 0:09:37 We get them to do it for you, don't we? Debone it for you.

Marc 0:09:40 Yeah.

Natalie Cassidy 0:09:41 Like a little baby.

Marc 0:09:43 Um, actually, the ones that I've had filleted have been sort of Fish fit, they would normally do that as part of the theatre in the restaurant, actually.

Natalie Cassidy 0:09:53 Yeah, it's true.

Marc 0:09:53 Not that I'm a baby, but that's all right. If you want me to take that, I'll wear that. Yeah, I'm a baby. Because of course, the person next door having exactly the same part of the service done when they're having the fish served, what have they been? They're not a baby.

Natalie Cassidy 0:10:05 Fair enough.

Marc 0:10:07 Okay.

Natalie Cassidy 0:10:08 No, it is true. It is a theatre of it usually.

Marc 0:10:09 Yeah. I mean, I don't go to Captain Cod, do I, and demand that he's gonna like cut it open and sort it out for me.

Natalie Cassidy 0:10:19 Oh dear. Now, before we carry on,

Marc 0:10:23 yeah,

Natalie Cassidy 0:10:24 we must mention lovely James, who is your friend from Moors Valley.

Marc 0:10:30 Yeah.

Natalie Cassidy 0:10:30 And he listens to the pod all the time. To Mark and Natalie, I know you probably won't make it to Cornwall this year, so here is something that I knew you would enjoy from James and he sent us a bottle of lovely wine from the Trevor Barn Mill where we go in Cornwall.

Marc 0:10:49 Yeah.

Natalie Cassidy 0:10:50 That is so thoughtful.

Marc 0:10:51 It is thoughtful.

Natalie Cassidy 0:10:53 Really thoughtful.

Marc 0:10:54 Really nice thing, that.

Natalie Cassidy 0:10:55 So thank you, James. We've not had it yet, have we?

Marc 0:10:58 No. Standing by, ready for like a special occasion. Been quite busy.

Natalie Cassidy 0:11:01 Yes.

Marc 0:11:01 And it's not something we're just gonna sort of glug down.

Natalie Cassidy 0:11:04 No, absolutely not.

Marc 0:11:05 Needs to be looked after and You know,

Natalie Cassidy 0:11:07 I love that, a little bit of a thought that goes into that.

Marc 0:11:10 Very good. I'm a big fan of Treviburn. Do you know what? We've sent people there even. There are people I work with who have gone there.

Natalie Cassidy 0:11:18 Yes,

Marc 0:11:18 off the back of us talking about it. The apple dessert one that they do is unbelievable.

Natalie Cassidy 0:11:23 It's like apple crumble, isn't it?

Marc 0:11:25 It's really good, really good. I do like going there. It's nice. We've been there a couple of times, haven't we? With—

Natalie Cassidy 0:11:32 yeah.

Marc 0:11:32 get a cab there and buy some wine. And

Natalie Cassidy 0:11:35 when I was talking to you on holiday, and I, I think could be a wedding venue for us.

Marc 0:11:41 Yeah, maybe. Yeah,

Natalie Cassidy 0:11:45 could be.

Marc 0:11:46 Yeah.

Natalie Cassidy 0:11:46 And I am sad, James. I'm sad we're not going to make it. We were talking about that, weren't we? It's a funny old year. It's lovely, but it's weird to have not gone to Cornwall this year. We're going to miss it.

Marc 0:11:59 I think so. There's always next year.

Natalie Cassidy 0:12:02 There is. Need to book it though. I know, it all gets so booked up in the summer holidays. Anyway, talking of holidays, hi Nat and Mark, first time messaging. Lots of those lately as well. First time voice notice.

Marc 0:12:18 That's nice to hear.

Natalie Cassidy 0:12:19 First time messages.

Natalie Cassidy 0:12:21 It's very good. Had to message about your discussion about packing. I'm 100% with you, Nat. I hate it. I get so stressed doing it.

Natalie Cassidy 0:12:30 But your comment about a box with everything in duplicate just to make packing easier, I have to say it's totally not extravagant, and I've actually started to do this. Not clothes and makeup, that's a bit too much, but toiletries, hair stuff, medicines, chargers. I have a box with separate mini duplicates in toiletry bags, and I just top them up each time I go away. Helps me remember what I need to take. I've gradually done this over a few years, and now I just have bags that I can grab and go.

Natalie Cassidy 0:13:02 ago. So yes, do it. It will change your life. Lots of love from Laura from South Staffordshire.

Marc 0:13:08 Well, there you go, Laura. But the thing, you've got to go away quite a bit though, surely, to just justify that, or things will be out of date, surely.

Natalie Cassidy 0:13:16 You've got—

Marc 0:13:17 Really?

Natalie Cassidy 0:13:17 You've got aftershaves in there.

Marc 0:13:19 Yeah.

Natalie Cassidy 0:13:20 That you've had since before I met you.

Marc 0:13:23 There's aftershaves in there that are probably, I don't know,

Natalie Cassidy 0:13:27 But you know you can't use them.

Marc 0:13:28 I can.

Natalie Cassidy 0:13:30 No.

Marc 0:13:30 I can and I do.

Natalie Cassidy 0:13:32 No, they'll all smell the same.

Marc 0:13:33 Oh, I quite like it.

Natalie Cassidy 0:13:35 They go off.

Marc 0:13:35 Oh, people compliment me on them, so.

Natalie Cassidy 0:13:37 Unbelievable. Perfumes and aftershaves go off, darling.

Marc 0:13:43 Okay.

Natalie Cassidy 0:13:44 So then they just smell the same.

Marc 0:13:45 Maybe that's the answer on the mosquitoes, because I'm all right, aren't

Natalie Cassidy 0:13:49 I? Maybe.

Marc 0:13:50 Maybe it's some sort of special elixir. Possibly. Or elixir.

Natalie Cassidy 0:13:56 What's the word? I know exactly. Elixir.

Marc 0:14:00 Elixir.

Natalie Cassidy 0:14:00 Something E-L-I-X-I-R. E-L-Y-X-I-R.

Marc 0:14:10 If someone's got this, it's not far from saying Alexa, is it?

Natalie Cassidy 0:14:13 No, of course not. That's a funny one as well. I was thinking about that the other day.

Marc 0:14:17 Yeah.

Natalie Cassidy 0:14:18 When you hear people now Yeah, I've heard someone say Alexa. I think, fucking hell, what a name to have in this day and age.

Marc 0:14:27 Oh really? I didn't know what you meant, as in like the name of a child?

Natalie Cassidy 0:14:32 Child, human being.

Marc 0:14:33 Well, hopefully it does answer you back. Maybe that's the, maybe that's the thing. Or maybe, maybe, maybe the child doesn't answer back, like the Alexa we've got downstairs.

Natalie Cassidy 0:14:46 Yeah, it's a little bit old now.

Marc 0:14:48 It is, yeah. Not a fan of Alexas. I think it's very— I mean, someone's listening in.

Natalie Cassidy 0:14:52 No.

Marc 0:14:55 No? Okay. You don't think that feeds into suggestions? You don't think it listens out for words?

Natalie Cassidy 0:15:01 And if you talk to it,

Marc 0:15:05 same as your phone. Phone listens all the time.

Natalie Cassidy 0:15:06 Oh yeah, that's true. Do you think so?

Marc 0:15:08 Absolutely.

Natalie Cassidy 0:15:09 Do you know they've built, um, up at the A10, you know, near Cheshunt, you know, they started those film studios?

Marc 0:15:15 Yes.

Natalie Cassidy 0:15:16 And they've just been left.

Marc 0:15:17 Yes.

Natalie Cassidy 0:15:17 Round the back there, apparently Google have bought loads of land.

Marc 0:15:22 Oh, right.

Natalie Cassidy 0:15:23 And they've just built massive, massive big buildings or whatever. I don't know, but it looks quite sort of factory-like.

Marc 0:15:30 Yeah.

Natalie Cassidy 0:15:30 But that's all for data apparently.

Marc 0:15:33 It's the way forward, unfortunately. Did you know, someone said this to me the other day, I don't know if this is true, but you know how they use so much water for cooling these, these AI data centres. Yes. Apparently for every search you do on ChatGPT, it uses like a little bottle of water.

Natalie Cassidy 0:15:53 Yeah, the world's fucked.

Marc 0:15:56 Okay.

Natalie Cassidy 0:15:57 Okay. It's completely ridiculous. And I,

Marc 0:15:59 I— How very profound.

Natalie Cassidy 0:16:00 We're doing ChatGPT. Chat— I'm doing it. Yeah. You're doing it. We're all doing it.

Marc 0:16:05 Yeah.

Natalie Cassidy 0:16:05 Water, water, water. And I can't, I can't use my hose in the garden.

Marc 0:16:10 I said, yeah, meanwhile the tomatoes are shrivelled.

Natalie Cassidy 0:16:12 That's not good enough.

Marc 0:16:13 That wasn't a euphemism.

Natalie Cassidy 0:16:14 It's not right, is it, that we can't water the garden yet AI sensors are taken up?

Marc 0:16:24 No, I don't, I don't think it is. It's, yeah, it's a strange, strange one. Strange times that we're living in.

Natalie Cassidy 0:16:30 So out of order. So we can, we, all of our ground and lovely produce can be barren.

Marc 0:16:36 Yeah.

Natalie Cassidy 0:16:38 But we can meanwhile carry on with the AI.

Marc 0:16:40 Anyway, back to packing up stuff in a special standalone bag.

Natalie Cassidy 0:16:45 Yeah.

Marc 0:16:45 How on earth? We just segued into—

Natalie Cassidy 0:16:48 Power the pod.

Marc 0:16:49 Power the pod. Power the water. And, and I do think it is a good idea, and I did have that— I was thinking about it actually when, when I was packing the other night.

Natalie Cassidy 0:16:57 Yeah.

Marc 0:16:58 And did think it would be a good idea, um, to a point. But it's not like we go away all the time. If you're like a frequent flyer, frequent traveler—

Natalie Cassidy 0:17:09 Oh, we're getting quite good at it.

Marc 0:17:13 Yeah, but still, really? Don't know.

Natalie Cassidy 0:17:16 No, I don't think it— I don't think it warrants it at the moment.

Marc 0:17:20 Okay.

Natalie Cassidy 0:17:20 Joanie was brilliant. She did all her packing. Oh, actually, talking of that—

Marc 0:17:26 Oh, talking of that,

Natalie Cassidy 0:17:28 yeah,

Marc 0:17:28 there's a few people have asked

Natalie Cassidy 0:17:30 About Alan.

Marc 0:17:30 You did hear?

Natalie Cassidy 0:17:31 Listen to this.

Speaker E 0:17:33 And Mark, just been listening to your pod.

Speaker E 0:17:37 Um, great, really funny. Did make me laugh when you said about Joanie and her, her, um, favouritism for, um, what's his name? Oh, I've forgotten now. Um, but it did make me laugh. Um, I do watch that myself.

Speaker E 0:17:55 I did like Miranda and, um, oh, I've forgotten his bloody name now. It's gone now. Wow, it's crazy. Anyway, love the pods. Keep doing what you're doing.

Speaker E 0:18:05 It's great. Um, hope you have a great Friday, and I look forward to listening to your extra Patreon one with Tony tomorrow on my walk in the morning. Um, and no, I will not be eating at that point. But sounds like it's gonna be a good laugh. Have a good day, Gail from Much Hadham.

Speaker E 0:18:27 And I just remembered, sorry, Alan, of course. How can I forget Alan? Alan Carr. That's the name I was looking for. It just wasn't on the tip of my tongue.

Speaker E 0:18:38 Bye for now.

Natalie Cassidy 0:18:38 The thing is, Gail, you called Amanda Miranda.

Marc 0:18:43 I was gonna say, Alan and Miranda. That's a new one.

Natalie Cassidy 0:18:45 There you go.

Marc 0:18:46 That would be quite a good show.

Natalie Cassidy 0:18:48 Miranda Hart.

Marc 0:18:49 Yeah, I can see those 2 working.

Natalie Cassidy 0:18:50 I could, I could see that working. So I messaged Alan Carr on Instagram because every now and again we might send a very odd DM, and I messaged him.

Marc 0:19:00 Sorry, I've got to ask on behalf of everyone listening, an example perhaps? What's an odd DM?

Natalie Cassidy 0:19:06 It's a weird thing really, celebrity, because you can just message people and— yeah, it's a weird one. Feel like, I don't know, we get back to each other and it's sort of you're acquainted but you're not really.

Marc 0:19:19 Yes, I know what you mean.

Natalie Cassidy 0:19:20 We've messaged quite a few times in the past.

Marc 0:19:23 Don't let us down now.

Natalie Cassidy 0:19:25 Quite a lot.

Marc 0:19:26 Come on.

Natalie Cassidy 0:19:27 The last one, well, I, I messaged him obviously. I mean, you'll have about 15 million messages, but I loved it. Well done, how amazing. Yeah, so that was, that was nice. And then, um, What did he, he sent me one a little while back.

Speaker F 0:19:44 Oh, Natalie, love, you have cheered up a gloomy day in Mexico. Me, Rossi, and Leah sitting on the balcony, grey clouds, and then I see your lovely voice note.

Natalie Cassidy 0:19:55 Yeah, I'm not, I'm not telling everyone my messages from Alan, but—

Marc 0:20:00 Okay. Well, I just, I was interested. I dunno if people listening would've been interested in that.

Natalie Cassidy 0:20:03 But I sent, a video to Alan of Joni's case.

Marc 0:20:09 Ah.

Natalie Cassidy 0:20:09 And then showed, showed him the picture.

Marc 0:20:12 Yeah.

Natalie Cassidy 0:20:12 And just said, absolutely, she's absolutely obsessed with you, and I just wanted you to know. And he sent a lovely little video back saying this.

Speaker F 0:20:21 Hiya, Joan, it's Alan Carr here. Now I hear you're going on your holidays to Italy, Tuscany. Oh, I wish I was coming with you, it sounds fabulous. Well, listen, make sure you wrap up that photo of me. I don't want it getting smashed when it's in the plane, love. Have a fantastic holiday, and I wish I was there with you. Mwah. Look after Mummy. Hope she doesn't drink too much rosé.

Natalie Cassidy 0:20:44 So there we go.

Marc 0:20:45 Well, I'm pleased.

Natalie Cassidy 0:20:47 So kind of you. I didn't ask for a video. It's just really nice.

Marc 0:20:51 So kind. What did Joni say to that?

Natalie Cassidy 0:20:52 She was a bit nonplussed about it.

Marc 0:20:55 I was gonna say.

Natalie Cassidy 0:20:56 She sort of watched it.

Marc 0:20:57 I thought she would—

Natalie Cassidy 0:20:58 I watched it. I thought she was gonna be ecstatic.

Marc 0:21:00 No.

Natalie Cassidy 0:21:02 And she sort of went, oh, I think it was a bit overwhelming. 'Cause she, I said, is it a bit funny? And she's, oh, I think she found it a bit funny 'cause she'd been watching him so much.

Marc 0:21:12 Yeah. Yeah.

Natalie Cassidy 0:21:13 Lovely message here. Hey Nat, hope you're all having a great holiday. Just thought I'd say your pods are brilliant. I listen to them on my drive to and from work as I'm up early and don't want anything overstimulating. Oh.

Marc 0:21:31 That, that as a review of the podcast is probably the best one I've ever heard.

Natalie Cassidy 0:21:36 Your pods sound like having friends on the phone. The only disaster is I'm up to date and don't have any more to listen to until the next episode comes out. Love, Sophie from Surrey.

Marc 0:21:47 Don't look at me, honestly. Overstimulated. Don't worry about getting overstimulated. There's gonna be no—

Natalie Cassidy 0:21:57 That is what we are. We're a family. It's a cup of tea with friends.

Marc 0:22:00 There's no overstimulation here.

Natalie Cassidy 0:22:01 It's a cup of tea with friends. I went to an Acast, um, Acast are a company who sort of sell adverts for the pods and all that sort of stuff for listeners. And I went down to London today and, um, I did a little interview and a chat, but it was lovely. They had a big screen and they'd done a bit of, you know, they had a slideshow and All of us came up on the screen and then some messages from listeners. And you were very, just so you all know, very much part of my chat because it's a very, very strong community that we're building. And that excites a lot of people because it's—

Marc 0:22:34 Or stimulates them.

Natalie Cassidy 0:22:36 Well, you're easily stimulated, aren't you?

Marc 0:22:40 Yeah.

Natalie Cassidy 0:22:43 Oh, going back to Alan Carr. Something for you and Mark to watch, Traitors Canada on BBC iPlayer, apparently.

Marc 0:22:52 All right.

Natalie Cassidy 0:22:53 Oh my God, some fab characters. I'm obsessed with the full franchise. Great TV. Lisa from Hull. So there's not a lot on at the moment, really.

Marc 0:23:02 No.

Natalie Cassidy 0:23:02 Although we've got Rivals to watch.

Marc 0:23:04 I just think it's so weird.

Natalie Cassidy 0:23:05 You've started it. We saw Dominic, didn't we?

Marc 0:23:09 Yeah.

Natalie Cassidy 0:23:10 Dominic is the, oh, The Big Cheese,

Marc 0:23:14 the writer slash executive producer.

Natalie Cassidy 0:23:16 Amazing.

Marc 0:23:17 One of which, yeah.

Natalie Cassidy 0:23:18 Um,

Marc 0:23:19 great screenplays. He writes a screenplay.

Natalie Cassidy 0:23:21 Great to see people do well. Lovely to see him. Would you be up for that, watching a traitor from Canada?

Marc 0:23:31 I mean, I take my hat off to you if you feel that we've got time to watch anything on television I can't tell you.

Natalie Cassidy 0:23:40 I know.

Marc 0:23:40 Well, no, I can tell you. The last thing I watched on television was like 16mm Railway Ramble on YouTube.

Natalie Cassidy 0:23:51 Sorry, mosquito's back.

Marc 0:23:58 I don't think it is a mosquito.

Natalie Cassidy 0:23:59 I just can't afford to get bitten again. Carry on.

Marc 0:24:02 I think it'd be all right.

Natalie Cassidy 0:24:03 Carry on.

Marc 0:24:05 I've said what I wanted to say now.

Natalie Cassidy 0:24:07 I wonder what you were going to say because I was away for 4 days. I didn't know what was going to come up. The last thing you might have watched on the telly.

Marc 0:24:12 Nothing popped up. I was just watching railway stuff on YouTube.

Natalie Cassidy 0:24:17 Okey-dokey.

Marc 0:24:20 What are you trying to insinuate there?

Natalie Cassidy 0:24:22 Nothing at all, darling. Nothing at all.

Marc 0:24:23 Right.

Speaker E 0:24:24 How's it, Nat? I'm just busy listening to, I think, the latest Scraping

Speaker G 0:24:28 the Barrel when you're talking about packing and you said it would be extravagant to have a separate set of things.

Speaker G 0:24:34 Well, We have a beach cottage. We live in South Africa, so it's not as big a deal as it sounds. It's not as fancy as it sounds. Anyway, we go there often, and I have all of our toiletries. I have a set there for my kids, for me, for my husband.

Speaker G 0:24:54 It's all there. So when we pack, I don't have to pack anything like that. And it's not extravagant because you would take your shampoo there and you would use it, and then you would bring it home and you would use it, and then shampoo would get used up. Those things don't go off if you use them often. So I don't think it's extravagant to have a separate set that you keep in your toiletry bag all packed and ready, your makeup all packed and ready.

Speaker G 0:25:21 You could have quite a few. I mean, even if you bought an extra hair dryer, and that's not, I mean, a massive expense. So I would wholeheartedly suggest that because When I pack, I pack for 5 people, and that makes my life so much easier. All we have to pack is clothes. I've got extra— well, you wouldn't need that, but extra foodstuff there as well of non-perishables that aren't going to go off, so I don't have to worry about that.

Speaker G 0:25:49 It makes life so easy, and it makes going away so pleasant. So I would definitely recommend it.

Natalie Cassidy 0:25:55 There we go.

Marc 0:25:56 Well, that was like an instant reply to what I said. Yeah, I mean, it's a fair point.

Natalie Cassidy 0:26:00 At this event today I was at,

Marc 0:26:03 um,

Natalie Cassidy 0:26:04 they had, um, cupcakes on the table.

Marc 0:26:08 It's like you've— it's really weird, by the way. Several times during this recording, it's like you've read my mind. It's really weird.

Natalie Cassidy 0:26:18 Really?

Marc 0:26:18 Really. That's happened more than usual. Sorry to interrupt. It's okay.

Natalie Cassidy 0:26:25 Um, but there were cupcakes there.

Marc 0:26:26 Yep.

Natalie Cassidy 0:26:26 And on top of the cupcakes, there were little squares. Mm-hmm. And they had, basically they had the thumbnails of, of the podcasts that they look after. So, um—

Marc 0:26:37 Sounds a bit gruesome.

Natalie Cassidy 0:26:38 There was my little face on there with my pink jumper on with a dark green background, My Life with Nat King.

Marc 0:26:43 Yes.

Natalie Cassidy 0:26:44 But it was a bit weird watching people eat me. That's funny. Sick of this. Wouldn't you find that funny? If your face was on a cupcake and someone was eating your face.

Marc 0:27:21 It's a bit strange.

Natalie Cassidy 0:27:24 Yeah, I don't know what, what's so funny.

Marc 0:27:25 No, I don't know, just don't

Natalie Cassidy 0:27:28 get it.

Marc 0:27:28 Just started chuckling to myself. No, it's a bit strange. Yeah, would be weird if it was like more of a model of, you know, like a— do you know what I mean? No, it's just an image, wasn't it?

Natalie Cassidy 0:27:40 Yeah.

Marc 0:27:41 Did you sort of look to say, oh, who's selected You know, was there— I

Natalie Cassidy 0:27:46 have to be honest,

Marc 0:27:47 was there some favouritism?

Natalie Cassidy 0:27:48 I have to say, I think because I was in the room, people were diving into me.

Marc 0:27:53 Okay. Were you the only person there?

Natalie Cassidy 0:27:58 Yes.

Marc 0:28:00 Oh, I see.

Natalie Cassidy 0:28:02 Apparently not a lot of celebs do them.

Marc 0:28:03 Oh, fair enough.

Natalie Cassidy 0:28:07 You know me, like a chat. I'll go anywhere, me. Anyway, they were lovely, lovely little cakes. The green and pink, it looked good. I think I chose well on the colours, you know, I do.

Marc 0:28:20 What, Wimbledon colours?

Natalie Cassidy 0:28:22 Yeah, we've got a message here. Look, I was thinking the Wimbledon colours are like the pod colours too. Your colours always reminded me of something, and when Wimbledon started, I thought, that's it. Loved Wimbledon this year, some great matches. Love a little backstage story too from Mark. Verity. So yeah, she noticed the colours as well.

Marc 0:28:42 And Verity in, in real life, much, much more on brand to my eyes. It's much more— on camera doesn't quite translate the same, but it does by eye look exactly the same. Bizarre.

Natalie Cassidy 0:28:57 It feels like ages ago you did

Marc 0:29:00 that. Tell me about it.

Natalie Cassidy 0:29:00 Why is that?

Marc 0:29:01 Is it— well, because you've been on holiday for a week since.

Natalie Cassidy 0:29:05 Wimbledon Cup.

Marc 0:29:06 Yeah.

Natalie Cassidy 0:29:07 I got this last year when you were working at Wimbledon.

Marc 0:29:10 What, that big cup?

Natalie Cassidy 0:29:11 Yep.

Marc 0:29:12 That you're holding, which is green and cream?

Natalie Cassidy 0:29:14 Yes.

Marc 0:29:15 With a straw out of it with a pink logo?

Natalie Cassidy 0:29:17 Yep.

Marc 0:29:18 I did that for the, um, majority of people listening to this.

Natalie Cassidy 0:29:21 Yes, that's true. I'm so sorry. I beg your pardon.

Marc 0:29:23 Yeah, well, there you go. You didn't really watch any Wimbledon this year.

Natalie Cassidy 0:29:28 I tried to watch as many as I could, many matches. But it just doesn't seem to happen. They're on all day. You can't sit down all day. I'd love to do that.

Marc 0:29:39 You know, um, just thinking about talking about old sporting events that have long since expired and people aren't probably interested in— the football.

Natalie Cassidy 0:29:46 That was a shame.

Marc 0:29:46 It was, yeah.

Natalie Cassidy 0:29:48 Oh, it's a shame, wasn't it? Got it, get all that way.

Marc 0:29:52 What was funny was when Spain won.

Natalie Cassidy 0:29:55 I was so happy when Spain won.

Marc 0:29:57 I was with the National Spanish Orchestra.

Natalie Cassidy 0:30:02 They must have been so fuming.

Marc 0:30:05 They were on stage, so I went to go and I normally popped out in backstage. Yeah, around the back of the thing, and I ran to the loo, and quite a few of them were watching on a phone.

Natalie Cassidy 0:30:16 I bet.

Marc 0:30:17 And watching the football, and then they went back out to the concert.

Natalie Cassidy 0:30:19 Oh my God.

Marc 0:30:21 But how funny is that? But they would have, they would have then finished. I think they went to the bar after, and I would imagine would have watched it.

Natalie Cassidy 0:30:26 Yes.

Marc 0:30:26 Well, nice fix. They must have been ecstatic. They've done a lovely orchestra But they're really, really happy to be there at the Albert Hall. And then they've gone to the bar for like the wrap party and they've watched their country win the World Cup.

Natalie Cassidy 0:30:37 A lovely orchestra. Do you mean a lovely orchestral performance?

Marc 0:30:42 Yes.

Natalie Cassidy 0:30:45 Yeah. But yes, brilliant.

Marc 0:30:49 You know what I mean?

Natalie Cassidy 0:30:50 I bet they were a bit, oh, hard.

Marc 0:30:53 The conductor went a bit quicker in the second half.

Natalie Cassidy 0:30:57 I did think about you doing that prom though, and if England were in, how many people might not have been there? But I think it might be a bit of a different audience.

Marc 0:31:04 Maybe.

Natalie Cassidy 0:31:05 Possibly.

Marc 0:31:06 Well, a conductor came on at the very end with a football scarf on.

Natalie Cassidy 0:31:09 An England one?

Marc 0:31:12 No, bizarrely enough, a Spanish one.

Natalie Cassidy 0:31:16 Oh, sorry. Because he was a Spanish conductor.

Marc 0:31:18 That might have been a little bit wrong.

Natalie Cassidy 0:31:20 No, I thought you were talking about a different person. Another person coming on.

Marc 0:31:24 Or a bus conductor.

Natalie Cassidy 0:31:24 No, I thought maybe it was a different conductor. For different sets?

Marc 0:31:29 No, it was the same orchestra for the whole night.

Natalie Cassidy 0:31:32 God dear, they must have been furious.

Marc 0:31:35 No, they weren't furious. They were— they were— what a lovely orchestra. They were so nice and friendly.

Natalie Cassidy 0:31:41 Spanish for you, innit?

Marc 0:31:43 Really good.

Speaker H 0:31:44 Hi, Nat. It's taken me an embarrassingly long time to message you because I'm always covered in clay when you read out the number, so I've always missed it. It's Libby.

Speaker H 0:31:52 I came to your book tour ages ago, uh, last year, um, and gave you a couple of mugs, um, 'Cause I always listen to you when I'm making my pottery in the studio. And I finally got round to watching your carers programme, and I couldn't believe it. You were carrying one of my mugs, and then carried on watching, and then you were using the other mug and putting in the dishwasher. So thank you so much for actually using them. I kind of just thought, oh, it was a nice thing to say thank you to you, 'cause yeah, I'm always listening to you in the studio.

Speaker H 0:32:23 I'm always covered in clay, so I've never been able to do a voice note. Oh, that's okay. And I'm not very good at doing voice notes anyway. But yeah, just wanted to say that the Carers Show was just amazing. And yeah, really loved it.

Speaker H 0:32:35 Love listening to your pod. I'm sure I'll think of more interesting things to say, but I just wanted to say thank you so much for using them. It was such a nice surprise. And I will carry on watching the show. Still haven't finished it yet.

Speaker H 0:32:47 And I'm so behind on all your pods, but I will be getting making and carrying on listening. But yeah, life's been busy, as yours has as well. But yeah, lots of love, Nat. Have a lovely summer. And I hope I hope Joni's all right with her arm.

Speaker H 0:33:00 Um, yeah, I can't— it makes me feel sick even thinking about what you must have felt when you got that call again. I've got 2 little ones, so yeah, just, yeah, such a ride. Anyway, lots of love. Have a great holiday as well. Bye.

Natalie Cassidy 0:33:11 A lovely voice note, and so happy she messaged because that mug is my favourite mug now for a cup of tea.

Marc 0:33:20 I thought she was gonna say you shouldn't put it in the dishwasher.

Natalie Cassidy 0:33:25 No, obviously it's all right, but my favourite mug for a cup of tea now.

Marc 0:33:29 Oh, there you go. It is a nice mug, actually.

Natalie Cassidy 0:33:32 It's lovely.

Marc 0:33:33 When she said I'm always covered in clay, firstly I thought of those things, you know, like the wrestling, the mud wrestling.

Natalie Cassidy 0:33:39 No, that's mud.

Marc 0:33:42 Clay muddy. Okay. And then I thought, I want, you know, I wonder if she's got like equivalent of like Patrick Swayze, sort of, you know, sitting behind, sort of doing the modelling.

Natalie Cassidy 0:33:55 Okey-doke. No, I was just listening to the message that she sent about making me a mug.

Marc 0:34:04 Have you ever seen the film Ghost? Yes. You know what I'm talking about?

Natalie Cassidy 0:34:08 I do, yeah.

Marc 0:34:09 I think it's pretty cool, isn't it? Like doing the old—

Natalie Cassidy 0:34:10 So cool being a potter.

Marc 0:34:13 Yeah,

Natalie Cassidy 0:34:13 sat in her studio all day doing pottery.

Marc 0:34:16 Well, I haven't got a mug, have I? Be nice.

Natalie Cassidy 0:34:21 There were 2, I believe. She said there were 2, but I think there was only one.

Marc 0:34:28 I think I know about both of them, and I think—

Natalie Cassidy 0:34:30 Where's the other one?

Marc 0:34:31 I don't know. I only—

Natalie Cassidy 0:34:33 I use the blue. Don't say that now.

Marc 0:34:35 She said she's seen it. She thinks you've broken it now.

Natalie Cassidy 0:34:38 I'm not— no, I'm gonna have to go and have a look in a minute.

Marc 0:34:41 Sounds like me trying to find something that—

Natalie Cassidy 0:34:45 oh, don't.

Marc 0:34:47 But no, that's— that is nice, isn't it? What a nice thing.

Natalie Cassidy 0:34:50 What a lovely thing. And then she spotted it on the telly, her mug. Um, I'd like your details, actually. Send me a voice note so I can pop a picture of your mug up with— if you've got an Instagram account or what have you, and then I can pop it on for people, because honestly, they're the best mugs ever.

Natalie Cassidy 0:35:07 What would be your dream job? To me, that's a bit of a dream job, being a potter. A potter? I just feel like going into a studio, not so much, maybe not pottery, but art, if you're that way inclined, to sit in a studio. It reminds, it basically reminds me of Henry Moore.

Natalie Cassidy 0:35:28 Yeah. When you go to Henry Moore's house, and he was a sculptor, obviously. But it's not far from us, is it?

Marc 0:35:35 No.

Natalie Cassidy 0:35:36 And you walk around his house and then look in his garden and his workshop. I would love to have had that life.

Marc 0:35:43 Did he actually make any money, like, from that? I think so. In his lifetime while he was alive?

Natalie Cassidy 0:35:48 I don't know about that. He's a very interesting character though.

Marc 0:35:51 It's not loads of— I mean, there are people, there are artists that have done very well.

Natalie Cassidy 0:35:56 Barbara Hepworth.

Marc 0:35:57 Did she?

Natalie Cassidy 0:35:58 There are a lot of artists that Died never knowing. Obviously a lot of retrospective stuff happened. Look at Caravaggio. Unbelievable, his life. Lost his mum and dad very, very young.

Marc 0:36:11 Right.

Natalie Cassidy 0:36:12 Did some painting, went to art school, but was very, very obstinate, bit of a character, liked to fight.

Marc 0:36:21 Right.

Natalie Cassidy 0:36:22 Quite violent, a little bit arrogant by the sounds of it, but was a genius. And then got into some sort of scuffle, didn't he, in Rome where Tommaso, I think his name was, he was dead. So he got exiled. Is that what they call it?

Marc 0:36:39 Maybe, yeah.

Natalie Cassidy 0:36:40 Oh, kicked out of Rome. Kicked out of the country. Well, he killed somebody. Well, they say he killed them. I'm not sure.

Marc 0:36:46 Right.

Natalie Cassidy 0:36:46 There was a scuffle of some kind, but the other guy died. And then he ended up going, going round and he went to Malta. He did a lot in Malta. But what I mean is, I like art because you can just look at a picture, or if you start actually looking into people's lives, there's a lot of characters knocking about. A lot, a lot of creatives are very interesting, aren't they?

Marc 0:37:09 What really impressed me was— I hate to go back to it, but at Wimbledon, the lady that looks after the press came up to us and said, there's some seats, like, near one of the cameras. She said, oh, we've got a very special person who's with us. And it's a photographer called Andreas Gursky.

Natalie Cassidy 0:37:30 Right.

Marc 0:37:31 And he is very well known for doing sort of plate photography, shooting, like, massive, great, big wide shots, basically, full of detail. And he uses very clever camera, very expensive digital camera, which is like— they use these cameras for sort of surveys. So because they're so detailed,

Natalie Cassidy 0:37:57 right? Okay.

Marc 0:37:58 And the chip sizes. Anyway, really interesting. So he came up and he just sat there with a camera on a little monopod. He came up about 4, 5, 6 days over the tournament, just sat there. in like a press— he had a press thing on, press pass, and he'd been invited and he went to come. And if you just look into him, like into the detail about him, he obviously is still alive.

Natalie Cassidy 0:38:24 Yes.

Marc 0:38:25 He is renowned for selling the highest grossing photograph ever sold at auction.

Natalie Cassidy 0:38:34 Really? How much was it?

Marc 0:38:36 Millions.

Natalie Cassidy 0:38:37 How much?

Marc 0:38:38 I can't remember. I don't want to Google it. Anyone else can go and Google it or whatever, but it was a lot of money. And you just think, wow, that is amazing. I mean, he's sort of sorted, surely, because from that point onwards, I mean, you can do a wedding and charge what you want.

Natalie Cassidy 0:38:52 But he probably doesn't want to do that.

Marc 0:38:54 I doubt he would do that. But it just is amazing. And he was sort of taking these images.

Natalie Cassidy 0:38:58 But is it the image that people have bought, or is he a famous photographer? I've never heard of him. That doesn't mean much because I'm not massively into photography, but if you say to me photographer, I go Annie Leibovitz, David Bailey.

Marc 0:39:13 I looked at the images and I honestly, some were familiar,

Natalie Cassidy 0:39:17 right?

Marc 0:39:17 I'm not just saying that. No,

Natalie Cassidy 0:39:19 no, no, no, no.

Marc 0:39:20 And it is sort of a style.

Natalie Cassidy 0:39:22 Yes.

Marc 0:39:23 Um, it's an interesting one. Interesting he's made a career from it. And yeah, I mean, some amazing images worth looking up.

Natalie Cassidy 0:39:35 But going back to what I was saying about kind of me wandering out into kind of a— having a greenhouse with vegetables in it and then—

Marc 0:39:43 Yes.

Natalie Cassidy 0:39:43 Going into my workshop to paint.

Marc 0:39:46 Yeah.

Natalie Cassidy 0:39:46 Or whatever, you know. What would your dream job be?

Marc 0:39:50 Oh.

Natalie Cassidy 0:39:51 Would it be kind of a big workshop?

Marc 0:39:54 Oh, I don't know. You know, it changes that. I, I like having the flexibility of deciding what I want to do and when. So for example, doing some sort of DIY type activity.

Natalie Cassidy 0:40:09 Yes.

Marc 0:40:10 Where maybe I'm doing it over a week period. Doesn't happen often, but it has happened.

Natalie Cassidy 0:40:15 And

Marc 0:40:16 I've quite enjoyed the fact that I can do the school run and I can kind of go off and do that, and I'll go off and do this, and I'm kind of at control of my own schedule. And I quite like doing what the job I'm doing and whatever. I like that. And I also quite like having the time to properly dedicate to either restoring things or— yeah, I mean, I think that's something I could— Like the repair shop? Maybe not. Yeah, I'd be a bit more specific. I wouldn't just be repairing any old things, but I think there'd be something. No, you know what I mean? Like, I'd probably specialise a little bit.

Natalie Cassidy 0:40:53 They all specialise in certain things.

Marc 0:40:54 Yeah, that's true. Yeah, I dunno what necessarily, but something more.

Natalie Cassidy 0:40:58 Surely restoring steam engines of some kind.

Marc 0:41:01 Possibly that kind of thing.

Natalie Cassidy 0:41:03 Probably. Like your garden one?

Marc 0:41:05 Yeah, maybe. Yeah. I mean, to be fair, it's something I could potentially do, isn't it?

Natalie Cassidy 0:41:11 But— I dunno why you don't do that.

Marc 0:41:12 Yeah, it's having the time. It's just having the time to do it.

Natalie Cassidy 0:41:15 No, but you'd have to make a choice, wouldn't you?

Marc 0:41:17 Yeah. And, and I do also really enjoy my job, so it's a tricky one. But should there be a time that my job gets replaced by robots or AI, or should I say, say when the time comes, then yeah, I've got a fallback plan. I mean, I don't know what state the old, uh, I mean, trying to get a bag of coal at that time will be interesting. It's hard enough now, let alone, let alone in however many years' time. But, um, who knows?

Natalie Cassidy 0:41:48 Don't know, do you?

Marc 0:41:50 No.

Natalie Cassidy 0:41:51 I just, I, I feel like I could have, um, I don't know, write poetry.

Marc 0:41:57 I would have loved to have worked in radio.

Natalie Cassidy 0:41:59 That's what I'm talking about.

Marc 0:42:01 Not necessarily on it, but I do get excited listening to good radio.

Natalie Cassidy 0:42:08 So do I.

Marc 0:42:08 Like, I like the atmosphere of it.

Natalie Cassidy 0:42:11 I do. And at the moment, for me, I'm sorry, but Greg James probably is the best. I would say Greg James is the best.

Marc 0:42:20 I've got a lot in common with Greg James.

Natalie Cassidy 0:42:22 Yeah, both from the area of Kent.

Marc 0:42:26 Yeah, same place.

Natalie Cassidy 0:42:28 Both know Dave Bowden.

Marc 0:42:30 Yep, both did work experience at the BBC really close to each other. I mean, we all know who did the best out of that, don't we?

Natalie Cassidy 0:42:41 How old's Craig James? Our age? My age?

Marc 0:42:43 Uh, my age, yeah.

Natalie Cassidy 0:42:45 Is he your age?

Marc 0:42:47 Um, he's a bit younger than you.

Natalie Cassidy 0:42:49 Didn't bump into him, did I? Shame.

Marc 0:42:53 No, no, never mind.

Natalie Cassidy 0:42:57 I think he's brilliant, I really do.

Marc 0:43:01 I can't believe you just said that.

Natalie Cassidy 0:43:07 It's a little bit of a laugh, isn't it?

Marc 0:43:08 Oh, it's hilarious.

Natalie Cassidy 0:43:09 Have you seen his wife?

Marc 0:43:11 No.

Natalie Cassidy 0:43:13 Bella. Bella Mackey.

Marc 0:43:15 No.

Natalie Cassidy 0:43:15 She's a writer,

Marc 0:43:18 right?

Natalie Cassidy 0:43:18 Runner. Beautiful couple, actually.

Marc 0:43:21 Got a lot in common with you, has she?

Natalie Cassidy 0:43:22 No, no, nothing at all. She's absolutely stunning, and their dog's also stunning as well. So just a great family, really.

Marc 0:43:31 Right.

Natalie Cassidy 0:43:31 What do you think about— so I went and did a radio, didn't I? I did Virgin, did one, one stint. Yes. And a lot of celebrities are now just on the radio.

Marc 0:43:46 Yeah.

Natalie Cassidy 0:43:46 Not— I'm saying I don't like them. For me, Romesh on a Saturday morning is excellent.

Marc 0:43:53 Yeah.

Natalie Cassidy 0:43:56 But again, it's a craft, it's a skill, radio.

Marc 0:44:00 Yeah, I know where you're going with this, I think.

Natalie Cassidy 0:44:03 No, I'm just— all I'm saying is, for someone like Greg James, who started— he did hospital radio, that's why he's obsessed with Alan Partridge, isn't it? But he's, he's, he's done everything about it.

Marc 0:44:13 Yeah, it's his vocation.

Natalie Cassidy 0:44:15 It's his vocation, and he's a craft, and he's worked for how many hours on the radio to get as good as that? Do you think someone like him resents people who just step into kind of a really good slot. I don't think he does, because he's also the nicest person I've ever met.

Marc 0:44:32 I think, being careful what I say here, it's very similar in a way to, to putting in, you know, a face, a known celebrity into like a drama, when maybe their main skill isn't acting, but it draws an audience.

Natalie Cassidy 0:44:46 Yeah.

Marc 0:44:46 There are programmes like that, aren't there? So similar in a sense, and I understand why they do it. But what's brilliant is coexisting in that you've got people who are, you know, they, they do radio and that's what they're known for doing, which I think is absolutely brilliant. And actually, in a funny way, especially when you're talking about some of these big radio stations, the audience draw now, I mean, they're huge audiences.

Natalie Cassidy 0:45:11 Massive.

Marc 0:45:11 Compared to TV.

Natalie Cassidy 0:45:12 Did you see Zoe Ball's gone over to Greatest Hits Radio?

Marc 0:45:15 Yeah, they're getting a collection, aren't they, of ex-BBC presenters there.

Natalie Cassidy 0:45:17 They really

Marc 0:45:18 are.

Natalie Cassidy 0:45:19 Excuse me, Bruce, is Lisa going to turn up there on a Saturday night? Because I'll cry my eyes out. I'm waiting.

Marc 0:45:23 Possibly.

Natalie Cassidy 0:45:24 I'm waiting. I genuinely, I've, it makes me, please.

Marc 0:45:27 You are good on radio though.

Natalie Cassidy 0:45:29 No.

Marc 0:45:29 You were good.

Natalie Cassidy 0:45:31 Thank you. Again, I just felt out of place. I can't explain it.

Marc 0:45:35 I wanted to get a, I'd like to.

Natalie Cassidy 0:45:36 I know. I'd like—

Marc 0:45:37 I can come and work experience then.

Natalie Cassidy 0:45:39 I think if it was the middle of the night, genuinely, if someone said to me, you can do, I don't know, whatever. I, I'm not saying I'd like to do kind of I don't know, Radio Bedford or something. But if it was in the— if it was a late night slot, yeah, and I could be a bit funny on it.

Marc 0:45:57 I'm sure you could do that on a normal one.

Natalie Cassidy 0:45:59 I couldn't, I couldn't. I don't— not in the daytime. I don't deserve to be there.

Marc 0:46:03 Maybe fair enough.

Natalie Cassidy 0:46:04 That's just how I feel.

Marc 0:46:05 Quite an honourable thing to say.

Natalie Cassidy 0:46:06 But also, I should probably go to Radio Bedford because I'm saying that, and then I'm like, oh well, I don't want to do that. So that means it isn't a vocation of mine. Do you see what I mean?

Marc 0:46:17 Yes. See, I would do that.

Natalie Cassidy 0:46:18 I

Marc 0:46:19 know. I would be quite up for that.

Natalie Cassidy 0:46:21 Well, you've got a really lovely listener. I met her brother today, actually.

Marc 0:46:25 Yeah.

Natalie Cassidy 0:46:25 And, um, she has a radio show that she wants me to go on.

Marc 0:46:29 Oh, right.

Natalie Cassidy 0:46:30 It's like a local one.

Marc 0:46:31 Yeah.

Natalie Cassidy 0:46:32 So we should get in touch with her and maybe go down there or something.

Marc 0:46:34 Yeah, brilliant. I'm well up for that. Um, Gabby Roslin said that I could, I could go and do work experience with her in Sydney.

Natalie Cassidy 0:46:41 Gabby would do that for you?

Marc 0:46:43 I know she said that. She was like, yeah, come along.

Natalie Cassidy 0:46:46 Yeah,

Marc 0:46:46 just come and sit in if you want. I should do that. I'd find that really interesting.

Natalie Cassidy 0:46:50 I just know that that's no different. Your passion for radio,

Marc 0:46:53 yeah,

Natalie Cassidy 0:46:53 you should go and sit in, is no different to me going to a certain office for the day, which I won't talk about on air, but sitting and watching all people do their jobs, which is mind-blown. Absolutely mind-blown.

Marc 0:47:07 But people actually have jobs to do.

Natalie Cassidy 0:47:10 No, in an office, I'm watching I know what you mean. Things unfold that I'd never get to see.

Marc 0:47:16 I know what you mean.

Natalie Cassidy 0:47:17 Anyway, all I'm saying is there's some great radio about, and some people are very, very, very, very good. Some people are very, very good at it. I think Ramesh is excellent.

Marc 0:47:27 Rachel Johnson on LBC.

Natalie Cassidy 0:47:29 Oh,

Marc 0:47:31 I don't know. I mean, when I first heard her on there, she sounds like a lovely lady. But firstly, she used to have all sorts of abuse from people phoning up about just about her brother, just

Natalie Cassidy 0:47:46 slagging her brother off.

Marc 0:47:47 And I used to think, gonna hide into nothing there. So going back to your original point.

Natalie Cassidy 0:47:51 Yes.

Marc 0:47:52 How has that happened then?

Natalie Cassidy 0:47:54 Because she's Boris Johnson's sister.

Marc 0:47:56 But what does that— why does she get a job presenting the radio?

Natalie Cassidy 0:47:59 No, she might. Listen, I don't know her career. I'm— and I'm not now gonna waste a bottle of water on it. I'm not gonna do that.

Marc 0:48:07 So that's fine.

Natalie Cassidy 0:48:08 I think— is she not a journalist? Is she not a writer? They've all been educated well, so I'm sure she's got lots behind her belt. Behind her belt? What's behind her belt? What's on her belt?

Marc 0:48:20 Under her belt is the usual.

Natalie Cassidy 0:48:22 Thank you.

Marc 0:48:23 Turn of phrase. Yeah,

Natalie Cassidy 0:48:24 lots under her belt. It's 11 o'clock at night again, people. Fuck me. Well, it's been a lovely time. I've had a great time tonight. I think it's— I think it's been, um, no, I think it's been thought-provoking.

Marc 0:48:38 Stimulating?

Natalie Cassidy 0:48:40 No, I think it has been quite stimulating.

Marc 0:48:42 Okay.

Natalie Cassidy 0:48:43 I think since the message, which is not a bad one because that's why we're here, to sound like friends, to have a laugh and a cup of tea and be your company, but since we heard that We sort of went into a little bit of, you know, creative stuff. Had some photography, some art.

Marc 0:49:02 It was all planned. It's gonna happen anyway regardless of the message.

Natalie Cassidy 0:49:06 We, we did not talk about the photographer or—

Marc 0:49:09 I just threw that in. But you know, the other, the other like arty stuff you were— we were going to talk about? No,

Natalie Cassidy 0:49:15 no.

Marc 0:49:16 Oh, I thought you had it all planned on your phone.

Natalie Cassidy 0:49:18 No.

Marc 0:49:18 So what you've been doing and like texting on there?

Natalie Cassidy 0:49:20 All of it.

Marc 0:49:21 What have you been on your phone for?

Natalie Cassidy 0:49:22 Just putting the voice notes on, when to play them in.

Marc 0:49:24 I thought you had it all planned out on there.

Natalie Cassidy 0:49:27 No, what, what, just reading what I'm saying? Oh, that'd be a good pod.

Marc 0:49:30 No, but I thought you had like a running order.

Natalie Cassidy 0:49:32 No, roughly, but things have come up that weren't supposed to come up.

Marc 0:49:38 Don't we know it.

Natalie Cassidy 0:49:41 Anyway, we're ending here.

Marc 0:49:43 Righto.

Natalie Cassidy 0:49:45 Thank you.

Marc 0:49:46 You're more than welcome.

Natalie Cassidy 0:49:47 Thank you everybody for listening. Please send us your voice notes and messages on 07788 20 There's some cracking stuff on the Patreon. You've got 4 or 5 now bonus episodes of lots of different bits and pieces over there. So if you can, and if you fancy, and if you want more of us, head to patreon.com/lifewithnatpod and you can find more of us over there.

Natalie Cassidy 0:50:12 Remember to grab your tickets for the live shows at the end of the year, and you can catch all of that if you go onto my Insta, click on the, uh, bio there, the Cameo, and you'll find all the links. and it's all there for you. Thanks very much, lots of love, and thanks for listening. Cheers.

Speaker E 0:50:26 Hello, Nat and Mark, it's Jordan, otherwise known as Ruby Slippers, listening in to your Scraping the Barrel.

Speaker E 0:50:32 And you were just talking about acronyms, and I remember once I was on a tour, it was a Christmas tour with the pantomime, and, uh, I remember getting really upset seeing my name Jordan and then in brackets FAT close bracket. And I thought, gosh, is the company manager being really personal? There was 2 Jordans in the cast, so I thought it's one way to identify us on the little sheet. So I went, excuse me, uh, why have you called me fat? And he started laughing.

Speaker E 0:50:57 I said, no, I said, I found you quite rude. And he went, no, George, love, he went, it's FAT for first aid trained, because, you know, on the cast you are the one that's first aid trained. I thought, brilliant. So I've got really upset thinking of you calling me fat, and actually it wasn't. It was just stating the fact that I was the one that was first aid trained on the, uh, on the cast.

Speaker E 0:51:19 But hope you're well, hope you're looking forward to your holiday. And I've got to say, I am Loving all the bonus episodes on Patreon. So for anybody that is thinking about, uh, actually joining Patreon, do it because you'll never be bored. There's lots of group chats going on, there's bonus episodes, and I'm really looking forward to the one with you and Tony talking about toilet, toilet humour. I wonder how well that'll go down.

Speaker E 0:51:43 I'm sure it'll be all flushed away, but I'm just currently relaxing in the hot tub before tonight's gig.