Season 5: Episode Nineteen. Benji and Brad are back after their short summer break with brand new episodes for Season 5! Find out what the boys have been up to over the last couple of weeks including Brad’s big gaycation to New York! Plus, as the Pride season comes to an end in the UK, the boys share the importance on being your true authentic self, especially with homophobia on the rise in the country. Keep spreading the love and be kind to each other x
A special shout out to our FWB for the month of August!
Get to know us more personally!
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Season 5: Episode Nineteen. Benji and Brad are back after their short summer break with brand new episodes for Season 5! Find out what the boys have been up to over the last couple of weeks including Brad’s big gaycation to New York! Plus, as the Pride season comes to an end in the UK, the boys share the importance on being your true authentic self, especially with homophobia on the rise in the country. Keep spreading the love and be kind to each other x
A special shout out to our FWB for the month of August!
Get to know us more personally!
Instagram
www.instagram.com/biggaypodcast
Email
hello@mybiggaypodcast.com
Website
www.MyBigGayPodcast.com
Hello and welcome to this week's episode of my Big Gay Podcast with me.
Speaker 3:Benji, I'm me, brad, giving you the life, the loves and lovelies of living in London Two gays one city what could possibly go wrong? Oh, benji, not gonna lie, I have missed you.
Speaker 2:I'm not gonna be shady, but I have missed you as well. But I will be honest. Yeah, I will be honest. This is probably the longest that we've ever been without speaking right in the last three years.
Speaker 3:Yeah, I know you've had a couple weeks break from me.
Speaker 2:Yeah, and it's been welcomed. I'll be honest, it's been lovely. I had somebody in the supermarket a couple days ago with an accent like yours and, I'm not gonna lie, I had like PTSD and I started shivering. I know that this holiday is coming to an end. You know you get like the holiday blues just before you come back.
Speaker 1:Uh-huh, yeah, yeah.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I've very much had that, so I grabbed like an extra packet of doughnuts so I can sort of eat my feelings.
Speaker 3:Did you hear like a big oi, oi and like, oh my god, not this.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I was like I have to leave. I have to go home now.
Speaker 2:It was my job anyway. How are you?
Speaker 3:I am feeling on cloud nine. I feel so great to be back in the studio recording with you. As I say, I have missed you. I've missed connecting with people and using our little platform and getting the messages through. It's been a bit of a weird, like little break.
Speaker 2:I've missed it so much, like can't wait to get back recording again and it has been lovely and all the messages that have come in as well have been great. Yeah, sorry, to be honest, our little break did come a little. It was abrupt, right. We didn't really give any warning, we're just like right, that's it.
Speaker 1:A little bit, it was very dramatic.
Speaker 3:It was a bit.
Speaker 2:It was very. You know, jerry Halliwell leaving the Spice Girls. There was no warning and it was taken very badly. But we're back now so we're really, really sorry, but it was very much needed. I mean, I guess we should probably talk about what we've been up to whilst we've been away.
Speaker 3:Yeah, well, the reason why we had a little break we were planning to have a week off anyway because I went to New York City, didn't I? And it was amazing. Oh my goodness, did you go to New York? I don't know if you saw, but I went to New York City.
Speaker 2:Oh my goodness, you never mention it.
Speaker 3:But we should come back to that in a bit. So we were going to have a little break, anyway for me to go and have my holiday, and then you decided to go and have a quick holiday as well, because it's just been a busy, hectic year for both of us. We've done so much, yeah, and I mean it's been summer season, which I love summer season, but it's relentless, isn't it? All the prides, all the festivals, oh my goodness, so many prides, so many, yeah, loads.
Speaker 2:Which is great, which is so lovely, but like, oh, we just weren't quite ready for all of them. And then, with train strikes.
Speaker 3:Oh, not the train strikes.
Speaker 2:I mean, let's just talk about that just for a second. I don't know why trains have suddenly become so homophobic, but it got so difficult to get to any of the prides. However, train strike on the train strike, we still made it to Brighton Pride.
Speaker 3:We did because, remember, we got all the tickets, we were hyped, we're ready to go. Then the train strikes got announced and we thought, well, how are we going to get to Brighton now? But we got to get there.
Speaker 2:We did so. We got our very own Venger bus.
Speaker 3:The Venger busies were out on that one.
Speaker 2:Let me tell you, oh gosh, oh gosh, wow, here we go, street back into it. Yeah, we got a party bus all the way from Clapham to Brighton.
Speaker 3:Yeah, because we were looking at taxis, like I'm sure we can get like a couple of taxi cabs, we can all go en masse, etc. And then one of my friends was like well, how about limousine? Yes, that is amazing. It was so fine with that, but limousine was so expensive. But we came across one of our friends came across a party bus website which is basically a converted van.
Speaker 2:So, yeah, we had this little WhatsApp group going right and I was like this is what I imagined for the party bus. It was very much like expectation versus reality, and the expectation was somewhere along the lines of the spice. Oh, the Spice Girls are getting a lot of mention this week. The Spice Girls, spice World tour bus, do you remember it? Yes, it was Double Decker Union Jack. Yeah, stunning Iconic, literally iconic. Like still want that bucket list, want that big Side note? Apparently you can, still, you can hire that as an Airbnb somewhere.
Speaker 3:Okay, we need to do that ASAP.
Speaker 2:Yeah, somebody wrote in when we posted and they were like oh, you can actually hire this as an Airbnb. Oh my God, dreams can come true. Yeah, that wasn't the Spice Girls, but anyway. So that was the expectation, and the reality I'm not joking was Mam with a van who had painted the windows black, so you can see how whacked a couple of laser machines up in the corner.
Speaker 2:There was a flat screen TV on the other end and champagne flue holders. Oh, and leather sofas. Yes, all of that, it was great. Leather sofas like bolted to the sides.
Speaker 3:Yeah, we had such a great time, though we arrived in style and we had the tunes on. You were being very controlling with the playlist, though, might I add.
Speaker 2:Well, to be honest, I had to be, because when we first got on I was like I'm going to control the music because I feel like of everybody, I've got a good mix of what everyone will like. Right, that is true, yeah. And then somebody else in our group got on and connected their phone first, loved them dearly, but the music for the first 10 minutes was, I mean, I don't even know what it was. It was like gay song rejects. That never quite made it to any gay iconic film.
Speaker 2:What is this music? And somebody else was like looking at me, like like mouthing, change the music. It was like Enne.
Speaker 3:Oh yeah, not the one.
Speaker 2:This is not the vibe guys Brad's on his second bottle of vodka. Enne is not the one.
Speaker 3:Yeah, I got quite merry on the on the vancabre seat, didn't I? You did?
Speaker 2:Although big shout out to the company and the driver, who was lovely, and when he realized what we were doing on the TV screen I don't know if you remember this he changed it to the pride flag. Yes, he did, yeah.
Speaker 3:A legend.
Speaker 2:Yeah, what a legend. He'd driven all the way from Essex to pick us up, to drive us to Brighton, to drive straight back to Essex.
Speaker 3:And we arrived in style. We arrived in style. And the weather was raining as well, wasn't it? I was like, okay, homophobic weather, trains were still going and supporting pride. We're not Staying indoors.
Speaker 2:Yeah, we marched those streets of Brighton, we dragged an unnecessarily large amount of clothes and suitcases through the streets to our Airbnb, and then we finally got to the field and we, we darts in that mud.
Speaker 3:I was caked in mud. I've never been so covered in my life. I remember coming out the Port-A-Lews and it was like really slippy and I weren't wearing proper shoes, just normal trainers. And I was trying to be really delicate, like doopy, doopy, doopy on my tippy toes, like carefully does it, don't slip over, and I just went face first.
Speaker 3:Yeah, literally that. Yeah, yeah, One half of my body was covered in mud. I mean, it's probably like dreams come true for you. You were looking at me like, oh my God, I want to get involved.
Speaker 2:Actually I was more looking at you going. Bless him, he thinks that that's mud.
Speaker 3:Just the Port-A-Lews leaking.
Speaker 2:Yeah, you came out. Oh, my God, I'm covered in mud. You were like you stink, get the bleach, so it's so bad, and you kept them dropping. I don't know where you got them from. You had these like heart-shaped glasses.
Speaker 3:Oh, yeah, kept losing them, didn't I?
Speaker 2:Kept losing them. So it got to about like 8 pm, starting to get dark, and you dropped them again. So I just picked them up in my pocket and I remember the next day you were like cry. You're like, oh, I lost my sunglasses. I was like no, I've got them. And you're like why have you got my sunglasses?
Speaker 2:I was like I cannot tell you how many times you dropped them, and so I just pocketed them to get them to you, and I knew you're going to be in a better frame of mind. Yeah, thank you.
Speaker 3:Thanks for that, appreciate it, appreciate it. Always got my back, love it. But we've done loads of prides. We unfortunately couldn't make it to Dover Pride, hinkley Pride and Manchester Pride all happening at the same weekend. Just gone, I know, but again, what was happening? Trains strikes, trains strikes again.
Speaker 2:Women Trains strikes.
Speaker 3:I'm a phoenix.
Speaker 2:I know it was such a shame, Hinkley. We really wanted to be there and we're so pleased that we managed to come to the first one. I know it was cancelled, but we still managed to come to the party, which was great, and hopefully we'll come next year in Manchester. So we didn't get to get there, but we did send some of our social media friends who got us a lovely video. So do head over to our Instagram if you haven't seen it and have a look at Manchester Pride. It looked epic and I'm still yet to do a Manchester Pride Same.
Speaker 3:I have never done a big night out in Manchester. I've been a couple of times in my life, but it's always been during the week for like work and stuff. So it's like, oh, I've been out, but it's not been like the full weekend experience, you know, like a weekday experience.
Speaker 2:The full Cannell Street experience.
Speaker 3:Yeah, I want a Friday to Sunday Cannell Street experience, so we have to hit up Manchester at some point. That is on the list.
Speaker 2:I want to get that picture of you with the Cannell Street sign where you're covering up the letter C.
Speaker 3:That can be arranged, don't you worry. Don't you worry, honey, I got this.
Speaker 2:Yeah we definitely do. Manchester, anyway, we've said that before. And yeah, dover Pride. Sadly we missed those, but hopefully next year and hopefully, if they're not all on the same day and the trains are blooming, working, yes, then we will come along and celebrate with you.
Speaker 3:Yes, because it's so important. I think that we show up and that we're visible and we are just making our voices heard, because it's been a lot of homophobia in the news recently, so I feel like it's on the rise. It's a bit of a weird time, but the more that we're all out and supporting each other and showing up to these events, then the more that just becomes the norm and not going to get rid of our voices. We're here to stay.
Speaker 2:Absolutely, and I think we'll talk about that more after this very short break. This episode is sponsored by rainbow lotterycouk.
Speaker 3:Play now and support LGBTQ plus dreams.
Speaker 2:So obviously this is our first episode back after a little while and we don't want to bring the mood down, but we don't feel that we can really do our listeners and our area of London justice If we don't mention the statement that we put out on our Instagram about the horrific attack and the stabbing that happened at the two brewers in Clapham a couple of weeks ago.
Speaker 3:Oh my goodness. I mean I was in shock when I read the news. I was in New York at the time. Then, if I mentioned, I went to New York for my holiday.
Speaker 2:Did you go to New York?
Speaker 3:I went to New York.
Speaker 2:Oh, my goodness.
Speaker 3:But yeah, obviously with the time difference. I just got back and then turned on my phone and all the messages came through and I thought, oh my goodness, what the hell is going on? Yeah, Because there is homophobia in the world, right, and some countries it's way worse than others. And I always feel that we're quite lucky, especially living in London, that we live in quite a cosmopolitan area. It's very open minded, it's yeah, it's part of just the London culture, and so to kind of hear about like a homophobic stabbing in London is quite shocking anyway, but to then hear about it happening in an area that's very gay, outside a very prolific gay bar, I was just like what is going on and it actually really shook me up a little bit because I felt like our space is being invaded. You know there shouldn't be homophobic attacks anywhere, but when it's in one of your like safe spaces, that's quite frightening For sure.
Speaker 2:I mean, mary Mack, the incredible drag queen that performs at Brose, quite often put out an amazing statement and was like you know, for years we have been driven to create our own safe spaces because we have not been welcomed as our own authentic, you know, as our true, authentic selves in other spaces. So for you, then, to come to our space, to our house, and attack us is just, you know it's. I mean, attacking should never be acceptable, but this is beyond, yeah, like it's absolutely unbelievable, and you know you can. If you haven't heard of it and you want to go read of it, it's literally everywhere and I'm very happy to say that the two people that were attacked are very well and getting better and they're actually doing they're doing an amazing job at speaking out about it. Now, I obviously have never had to go through that and I honestly I can't tell you how I would be, but I am so impressed that they, from literally the get go, even like in hospital that evening, were speaking out about it so quickly, so eloquently, and they've continued to do so. They're sharing things and they're raising awareness and you know, like you said, it's a shame that we have to raise awareness to sort of say that homophobia is out there.
Speaker 2:It's horrible that homophobia is still happening, but it really is, and something at the moment is just making it right. I don't know if it's linked to, obviously, what's happening in America yeah, but we need to do all we can to tell people that it is not. It's obviously not acceptable, and this is why pride is important. I've had so many people say to me like, oh, do you think we really need pride? Yes, and this is a prime example for why we need to have it. And also we are lucky that we get to talk about how many prides we can go to, because there are still places around the world where they don't have pride.
Speaker 3:Yeah, yeah, I totally agree with you and I do think it's really, really important, whatever country you're in, that you are registered so that you can vote, because what I do is I look at the policies for my community, the LGBTQ plus community, and my vote will go towards the people that give our community a voice. So it's really, really important that you are registered so that you can vote and you can have a say, absolutely, because I don't know if the current government well, they don't. I'm just going to be honest with you. The current government that we have here in the UK do not represent our voice strongly enough. They promised five years ago they were going to ban conversion therapy, and five years has passed and they still haven't done it. So you know, that's just one example of where our current government have not been fully in support of us. So I can't wait to vote because your voice gets heard. So it's really important that you're registered.
Speaker 2:Yeah, and if your area doesn't have a pride, please head online, try to find the nearest pride to you and go celebrate. Find your community, find those places and fight to keep them going and to keep normalising it, which I hate. That I don't even have to say that we have to fight to normalise it, but me too, I know. Sadly that is what we have to do and the more we do it, the better it will be for the future. Generations that sort of you know move into these spaces as we get older, I guess.
Speaker 3:Yeah, for sure. But you know big love to the two victims and know that you are loved and supported by the whole community. We've got your backs and obviously we want to raise this awareness. Some slight good news just to give you a bit of a positive spin on this awful tragedy that's happened recently. But Brazil, the Supreme Court has ruled that homophobia is now punishable by prison. Oh, amazing, so big up Brazil. Yes, more places need to do that.
Speaker 1:Yeah.
Speaker 3:Because if you do make a homophobic attack and go to prison, cool, you're obviously not welcome in society. Why go out your way to be horrible to someone and don't get it? No, but also like, does not make you think what has driven that attacker to hate the community so much that they've gone out of their way to a gay bar to make an attack?
Speaker 2:I know Madness it kind of yeah, a kind of speechless it's, it's yeah, and I mean let's extend this. Obviously this is a horrific attack that has happened. But I'm going to extend the word homophobia into sort of a bigger remit. It's anything. It doesn't have to be physical, it can be verbal. If you have ever experienced homophobia to you or to someone around you, but particularly actually to yourself, just know it is nothing to do with what you're doing, it is completely on that person and who you are is who you're meant to be and do not change that for anybody. And the final thing, I'll say something very interesting that I listened to. It was from a podcast episode from I'm not sure if you know them page three and flesh oh yes, I think page three is a stunning drag queen.
Speaker 3:Watch this space for page she is very, very good.
Speaker 2:What a babe. I have so much time for her. But she said where has this word homophobia come from? And I thought this was actually really sort of eye opening. She was like homophobia, it's the fear of somebody. Why are people scared of us? Yeah. Why are they scared of gay people, yeah. So why are we calling it homophobia? Can we change the name? Because we're not scary, yeah, and we're not scaring them, and then there's not a reason for them to attack. She was like I think she like linked it like a arachnophobia, like actually being scared of a spider, uh-huh. Like why are you scared of us and why do you feel like it's acceptable then to attack back on us? It's just not. Yeah, let's change the word yeah for sure, she explains it much better than I just paraphrased.
Speaker 2:So go head over to her podcast. It's called Didn't Ask, page 2, infrared. It's super, super interesting. It's a really yeah, it's a really good insight from a drag queens point of view. So go have a listen. But anyway, moving on, you have been singing Annie songs and every break we've taken today.
Speaker 2:we've been recording various bits of box for about three hours and I've probably heard the soundtrack back to back about four times. So I really feel like you are eagerly awaiting for me to ask how was New York?
Speaker 3:Oh my God. You know I went to New York.
Speaker 2:Yeah, somebody mentioned it One of the producers, I think, was like I think he's in New York. I was like, cool, he can stay there.
Speaker 3:Yeah, I mean, if you don't know, annie, I mean where have you been all your life? But I went to NYC.
Speaker 2:Oh gosh, the writer that musical is absolutely appalled by what you're doing.
Speaker 3:Oh God, they're not done the right notes.
Speaker 2:Gosh, why did I bother writing those notes for them to get massacred on some English podcast? But anyway, come on, tell me about it. How was it? I want to know the whole thing. Although you keep telling me you went to New York and I've heard drips and drabs of stories, I don't really know what you got up to, so this is over to you now.
Speaker 3:Oh, it was amazing. Have you ever been to New York before?
Speaker 2:I have actually been to New York.
Speaker 1:I have.
Speaker 2:It was a long. It was a long, long old time ago. Actually, scarily thinking about it, it was probably about 11 years ago.
Speaker 3:Oh wow, young.
Speaker 2:Yeah, because I was about 12. No, because when I went to college, a couple of my friends were American and they went back home for the summer and they were like, oh, do you want to come visit? So I was like, boy, do I? So, yeah, I went to. I actually went to New Jersey and then we went to. We went into New York a couple of times, but it was so hot, it was miserable and everyone was just angry and pissed off. But anyway, this isn't about my experience, this is about yours, honey. I want to hear about your experience.
Speaker 3:Oh, my goodness, where to begin. I mean, it is incredible, although I didn't realize it's the most expensive city in the world, is it actually? Yes, we went on this boat trip and they were saying, like fun facts, like fun fact, new York is the most expensive city in the world. It's like, well, that explains why my credit card is like minus right now, just climbed. Yeah, no, it is really really expensive. So if you are going to go, it is amazing and it is incredible, and obviously so many like movies and TV shows are filmed there. So you walk past like, oh my god, I'm outside the friends apartment or I'm outside the sex in the city house, so it's really great, and you feel like you are walking through this movie set the whole time. But it is, it is spenny, so got to make sure you've saved up for it. Yeah, but I went to go and see the Britney Spears musical on Broadway whilst I was there, which reminded me of of you and our sense of humor, and it was really, really fun. Have you heard much about it?
Speaker 2:No, nothing at all.
Speaker 3:So it is basically Cinderella and she's like wait, I don't need a prince charming to be happy ever after I can be independent and, like, do my own thing. So she kind of like rallies up all like the, the princesses in fairy tale land, to like dump their princes, basically. But it's all set to the musical Britney Spears it's so much fun and they there's a bit in the story where they all find out they're dating the same prince and the prince comes in and they're like oh my god, you're the prince for all of us.
Speaker 2:Womanizer, womanizer, oh gosh, is it a comedy? Please tell me it's a comedy, it's a comedy.
Speaker 3:Yeah, it's a comedy, yeah, it's funny, it's funny and yeah, it's just so much fun. So I saw the Britney musical. That was incredible and there's nowhere else in the world. The only place you can see it right now is in New York.
Speaker 3:I'm not surprised, and also I did go for a big gay night out and went to Stonewall Inn, which is where obviously Pride originated. So I felt like I was walking through history and I was reading up all about that time and the stories from there and did like a bit of a bar crawl and ended up at a place called Flamin Saddles which is basically have you ever watched Coyote Ugly the movie? Yes, it's basically the gay version of that and they advertise it as that and it is cowboys, gay cowboys behind the bar, and they wear like what are they called? Hot pants, Like denim.
Speaker 2:Oh, my gosh, don't even try it. What?
Speaker 3:are they called? I don't own any myself.
Speaker 2:Jokes, jokes no hot pants. Are they called hot pants?
Speaker 3:Like denim, short shorts, little pink, like crop tops, cowboy hats, and every half hour they stop serving and they line dance on the bar. It's amazing. I was like I think this is my new career. I want to work at Flamin Saddles and be a dancing cowboy. Honestly that's where I'm going.
Speaker 2:Where's Brad, new York. What's he doing there To be honest, jokes aside, you would put on a great show. I would smash it, wouldn't I? Well, that's a little far, but you would put on a really good show.
Speaker 3:And my little short shorts and my cowboy hat doing the la suse on the bar Love it.
Speaker 2:Oh, my goodness.
Speaker 3:But anyway, before I went, one of my friends was like, look the Americans, they do love the English, but it's like, do not speak in your London accent, Make sure you speak a bit more posh. So I was doing my best. Kate Middleton, let's hear it. Oh, hello, yes, could I get a vodka lemonade please? Honestly, I was doing that accent and people were like sorry, what lemonade. Could I get a vodka and lemonade? Wow?
Speaker 2:Is that how you think I sound?
Speaker 3:A little bit yeah.
Speaker 2:No A vodka A vodka, a vodka.
Speaker 3:Oh, my gosh, honestly, so many people were like, oh my God, I love your accent. I was like, oh, thank you so much and I really playing up to it, right? I was making myself laugh and then some gay guys outside this cowboy bar heard me chatting to some people in that voice and they started to take the piss out of my accent and they went oh, cheerio, oh my gosh.
Speaker 3:And so this was a thing. So many people in New York kept saying cheerio to me, and American people think that British people say cheerio yeah.
Speaker 2:I've heard this before. It's like people think Australians say throw another shrimp on the bumblebee yeah they don't.
Speaker 3:They don't say that it's like a g'day mate Like they. That's like a stereotype thing, right no?
Speaker 2:I think they do say g'day.
Speaker 3:Oh right, anyway, if you're American and listen to this, I don't know any British person that says cheerio when they say goodbye, that's just not a thing.
Speaker 2:My dad says cheerio.
Speaker 3:Of course he does.
Speaker 2:That does not surprise me, no, literally he says cheerio, but what they don't say is like pip, pip.
Speaker 3:Yeah, cheerio pip, pip yeah.
Speaker 2:Oh my goodness, so so funny.
Speaker 3:But yeah, the amount of people that said cheerio to me. I was like, guys, it's not, that's not a thing, but there we go. So live my best New York life. I mean, I did it all, did everything that you could do in New York.
Speaker 2:I'm very jealous of going past the friends flat. That's cool.
Speaker 3:And also went to Central Park and went to the fountain where they did the claps as well.
Speaker 2:Did you, though? You sent me a picture and I was like that is not the same fountain.
Speaker 3:It is on the tour guide. They were like they put a screen behind it, so it's like a different backdrop on the TV show, but the fountain is that, apparently. Apparently that's what the tour guide said.
Speaker 2:But the fountain doesn't have fish on it and in the friends that's got like these fish. Ben your fountain. There's no fish.
Speaker 3:Well, maybe they just put the fish in for the filming?
Speaker 2:I don't know, no there's like a statue of a fish.
Speaker 3:Oh, actual fish, I don't mean bloody goldfish, my goodness Also.
Speaker 2:Fun fact, friends, was never filmed in New York. It's all filmed in LA.
Speaker 3:Was it.
Speaker 2:Yeah, not once had they filmed in New York.
Speaker 3:Interesting.
Speaker 2:Which makes me think they were trying to replicate the Central Park fountain.
Speaker 3:Maybe. I mean, there's two fountains of Central Park. There's like the smaller one, which I was told was the friends one, but maybe that's maybe a sold misinformation, and then the big one. Have you ever seen the enchanted Disney film? Have I? I mean, loads of films have done it. Yeah.
Speaker 2:I've thought you have. I've been dreaming of my true love's kiss. Yeah, of course I have.
Speaker 3:Literally that. And they did a big dance routine on the fountain, didn't they?
Speaker 2:Yes, how do you know that? Yes, that one yeah.
Speaker 3:So I did recreate that. No, but no one else wanted to get involved, it was just me. Like spinning around on the fountain, is there?
Speaker 2:any video evidence of this, of course. You have to send it to me right now.
Speaker 3:I might do. I might do. It depends how stupid I look. If I look like an absolute fool, then no, because you'll use it against me for the rest of my life.
Speaker 2:Well, we know you're going to like a fool, but I want to see it. So, all in all, you had a good time in New York.
Speaker 3:It was great. I'd say it's like being in the films. There's so much to do there. I felt like a little ant. I'm going to be honest because the buildings are so tall, they're so massive.
Speaker 2:Yeah.
Speaker 3:When you walk around, I felt tiny and then, now that I'm back in London, walk around like there's no kind of height really in London, is there? There's not like massively tall buildings. No, but that is the one thing I would say about London. London definitely has more like architecture, I guess, and history. That's it. I do think London's quite interesting to walk around.
Speaker 2:Yeah, because London was built way before New York was yeah exactly, New York's not really that long.
Speaker 3:Oh is it. Is that a few hundred years old? I know my history, I did my research. Yeah, exactly.
Speaker 2:New York's not really that long. Cheerio, cheerio, pip-pip, did you go to the site of the Twin Towers?
Speaker 3:Oh, I did, and I actually got really upset.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I went there when I went to New York and we queued and queued and queued and we got in and it was.
Speaker 3:It's too emotional. I had to leave halfway through. I was like I can't do anymore. I feel really sad. Yeah, you know I'm an empath, aren't I? So I feel emotions. So, you know, when you're walking around the Memorial Museum and they're like playing the video screens I remember it so clearly when we were younger and it all happened and just like what the hell was going on. Yeah, like oh, it was really sad, you know, and they've got like the voices and the recordings and stuff. I was like, oh, my God, it's too real. It's too real. Like there's one thing sitting in the UK, in my small town where I grew up watching it on the news, and then there's another thing being in the space where that happens, and the surrounding streets as well.
Speaker 2:Like just just well, heavy, heavy, did you get to the end fountain? Did you get to that bit? Yeah, yeah, yeah, it's beautiful, yeah, it's just amazing. I actually love so much that the city has kept that space in a place where that sort of space is so valuable. I absolutely love the fact they've kept it as a memorial.
Speaker 3:Yeah, they have to. It's only right, yeah. So yeah, I mean, I do recommend going if you are into city breaks, but, as I say, it's really expensive, I'm not even joking. Vodka slash, the Britney musical $40.
Speaker 2:Sorry, Okay, first of all that is absolutely astronomical expensive. But I love the fact that your little pictures like a holiday, like then you're like let's base New York and like relevancy to how price it is on a vodka slash from the Britney musical. It's not like the average price of a main meal, or like you know, you know a hot dog on the street, or like no, it's a Vodka slash at the Britney musical.
Speaker 3:Yeah, $40 was about 30 quid for one drink, expensive but also it was expensive food and drink there. I'll be honest. But the one good thing they do do you don't ask for maybe like a double because they just free pour it. Yeah, so you do get like the drinks were so strong I think in like UK everywhere kind of like does a double unless you want to singled at. You like to measure that properly? Never once, or a measured cylinder, jargato. I was just like, yeah, whack it in that glass honey Pouring it in or in.
Speaker 2:I do wonder if it's slightly like you know, like us in London well, don't go there, it's so overpriced, and we know, like, the cheaper places to go. I wonder if, like, if you live in New York, you get to learn that.
Speaker 3:Yeah, yeah, I guess so yeah, because obviously like the heart of like the tourism is like Times Square and obviously everything is just so expensive around there. Yeah, it's like being in less than square. I guess, like I would never go out in less than square.
Speaker 2:No, for sure, okay, big question Did you buy any memorabilia? Did you get a t-shirt? I felt you're the sort of person that would walk away with a Statue of Liberty like hand glove or hat.
Speaker 3:Okay, I wanted to buy a Statue of Liberty hat. Everyone said no. You know me so well.
Speaker 2:Yeah.
Speaker 3:But I did purchase a New York City jumper and obviously I got a little Statue of Liberty statue to go on my desk and key rings and all that. Obviously I like the tourist hat, I love it.
Speaker 2:You love it. I mean, you came back from Disney. I look like like Disney and thrown up on you.
Speaker 3:Disney key rings for everyone.
Speaker 2:You get a key ring. You get a key ring. You're wearing your like I heart Disney t-shirt and your Mickey Mouse ears.
Speaker 3:Yeah, of course, I bought Mickey Mouse ears and spent all day walking around with them. Obviously, yeah, no, I do love all the tourist hat. You know me so well.
Speaker 2:I do, and we've definitely need to plan this like gay occasion, gay holiday that we want to do, because I think it would be so fun. I also think we'd both need to go to Disney, because I think that would just be a hoot.
Speaker 3:Yes, sign me up.
Speaker 2:Yeah.
Speaker 3:Bean Park rides and Mickey Mouse ears. Don't fret me over good time.
Speaker 2:Although I do remember a couple of weeks ago I was like, oh, should we go to Thorpe Park? And you looked at me and I just went, no, I said oh okay, you're like never in the school holidays.
Speaker 3:Never, don't do it, never. Why would you do that to yourself, queuing for hours with kids like screaming no.
Speaker 2:I've never known you to be so like definite on an answer.
Speaker 3:Absolutely not. I've done it before.
Speaker 2:Should we go to the park?
Speaker 3:No, no, I said we can go when all the kids go back to school. Then yes, 100%. I'm not queuing two hours for a ride with lots of screaming kids, no way.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I know I wish they did like no kids nights, but probably just be us walking around.
Speaker 3:I'm actually for this and I'm not to bring that Debbie Downer on the mood. There was a screaming baby on one of the plane rides and I thought, lady please.
Speaker 2:Excuse me, lady.
Speaker 3:This is so selfish. I think it is because I would not take a baby on a plane. I just don't think. I think they should be like at least five years old. Probably going to get a bit of hate for that you will, and I guess you know there's circumstances, but maybe then I don't know cheaper flights Like this is a kid friendly flight and the tickets are cheaper because you might have a screaming kid next to you for the whole flight. Yeah, I think it's selfish personally, yeah, yeah, I mean, let's not get into that, because I feel very strongly passionate about screaming children and where they shouldn't shouldn't be, and also just parenting, like control the baby, like there was none of that going on. I was just letting the kids scream willy-nilly. I was like, please.
Speaker 1:Oh really.
Speaker 3:Trying to watch Will and Grace on the telly.
Speaker 2:I was you kill me. You are such like a grouch, but it's so good. At the same time, I saw you put out a thing on the Instagram like oh, do I know anyone that works for Virgin Airlines? I did. I mean props to you using the platform to get yourself free stuff, but did it work?
Speaker 3:Well, no, well, kind of ish. So I knew this is a little secret, right. So if you're listening, this is gold dust. So take note. My one of my good friends used to work for BA. You know the British Airways flights, I'm aware of what BA is.
Speaker 2:Yeah.
Speaker 3:Yeah, Just double checking case. People listening might be like what's BA? Why is it English people don't say cheerio? Like every day is a learning day on this podcast. Let me tell you.
Speaker 2:Okay, so we've taught people that BA is British Airways.
Speaker 3:Okay, anyway, he was an air host. Was that what? What's like a male version of air hostess? Air Stuart, air Stuart, yeah, and I didn't know that. Air hostess, air host. I tell you, every day is a learning day for you, my goodness, oh gosh.
Speaker 3:Anyway, he told me this little trick, so do this as you will and go forth. But he said that the air stewards they don't really get to eat like good food on the airplanes and if you go with a bag of like sweets or chocolates and like magazines, then you probably will get some special treatment. Now, they're not actually technically allowed to bump you up to like first class or whatever, but they might just like go out of their way a bit more to be. You know, make sure you have a comfortable flight. So I did that. I've done that a couple of times and I did it on my flight to New York and it does work, let me tell you Really, yeah, I guess it's a bit like you scratch my back, I scratch yours. I was being a nice person, but obviously with like an intention behind it, right?
Speaker 2:So what did you give them? Like a hobnob or a digestive biscuit?
Speaker 3:I brought them two bags of massive Harry bows, because apparently sugar and sweets are good for them to keep them awake, because obviously they've got like stay awake for the night and stuff, haven't they Right? So obviously the flight left, they did all the dinners and stuff and then everyone's like settling down for the night and I thought you know what, I'm just going to go back and like get chatting to them. So I took two big bags of Harry bows and I was like oh, my friend used to work as an air I think I said air host, to be fair and so I know that you guys work really hard and you don't get much sweets and stuff. So here's a little treat from me to you to say thank you for looking after us on the flight. And they're like oh, thank you so much, how long are you going for New York? Well, we got chatting and like made some friends with them and we was just chatting for about 10 minutes Like oh, do you want some extra drinks?
Speaker 3:So like, oh, yeah, you know what mine's like a little extra drink for the for the flight and she just gave me loads of miniatures. So I put more on your bag, take them off the flight, use them around New York and stuff. Really friendly, really nice. And then we'd pop in like do you want a water? Do you want like extra drinks? Just went above and beyond. So I did feel like very what's the word? Treated on the plane and they were like thank you for the Harry bow. It went down a right tree and then two days later I bumped into them in New York when I was walking around the streets.
Speaker 3:What the chances and they're like oh my God, it's you, how's your trip going? So, yeah, how was it? How are you? Because they obviously get to stay over for like a day or two and then, before they fly back, yeah, so make some friends on the plane.
Speaker 2:Oh my goodness, did they also buy Britney?
Speaker 3:Spears? No, I don't think they did.
Speaker 2:Oh well, that's that's. I mean it's a good thing to know. I mean let's be nice to everyone anyway, but if you get free drinks out of it, then who?
Speaker 3:exactly look out for each other. You know help each other out. So there you go. If you're on the long haul flight, when you get to the, you know that is it the duty free bit. You know, when you go through like security and there's like the shops, yeah, buy a few bags of sweets, skim to the air stewards as a little thank you and you might get a little treat in return.
Speaker 2:So basically, what you're saying is to help the BA staff stairway all night. Give them a couple of baggies.
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Speaker 2:Okay, so you're probably all flown out, but you do have a very important flight coming up, haven't?
Speaker 3:you. Oh, my goodness, I'm so excited for this. This is the last stop on our pride season and I'm coming to your hometown.
Speaker 2:So get the red carpet out, get the flags flying, because I'm coming to Jersey baby, absolutely, it's Channel Islands Pride this September and it all kicks off actually earlier on in the week, but the main day is the 16th of September in Jersey and we are very excited to have been invited along as one of the sponsors and, like you said, it is my hometown, which makes it so much more exciting. Now I have been putting out a couple of things into the press in Jersey. I've sort of been warning them that you're coming, and if they see somebody coming, you know, into their shop, speaking very broken English, don't worry they're okay, I'll be along to catch you know, to find you shortly afterwards and take you back to the hotel to lock you away from the public.
Speaker 2:But no, don't decide. I'm actually so excited to sort of show you around the island.
Speaker 3:Yeah, I can't wait. And also when I meet your dad, I'm gonna go cheerio.
Speaker 2:And I think you found that really funny. Cheerio means goodbye, so don't like meet him and then say cheerio, because that kind of is rude.
Speaker 3:Who the hell is this gaze that you brought along?
Speaker 2:Why does he keep saying cheerio, Devin, I brought you on a cup of tea. Oh yes, please, cheerio. Oh my goodness. Yeah because you've never been here before, have you?
Speaker 3:I've never been to any of the Channel Islands actually.
Speaker 2:Fun fact, nor have I ever, actually ever been to Jersey.
Speaker 3:Just to Jersey. So what is the Jersey in Guernsey?
Speaker 2:Jersey is the largest. Yeah, guernsey, alderney, sark and Herm, and then you do have the Ekrahoes, but that's basically just a bunch of rocks, but you can go there once a day when the tide's out.
Speaker 3:Okay, well, yeah, I've never been to any of them, so very excited to go. But Jersey Pride, what are we getting up to?
Speaker 2:Well, on the main day, the main day, that's on the Saturday, the 16th you are going to be amongst the crowd and on the main stage capturing all sorts of social media content to share with everybody through their accounts, but ours as well, to sort of document the day for those that can't be there with us. So you're going to be busy.
Speaker 3:I can't believe you're leaving me with tech Now. Me and tech are just not friends, so this is going to be interesting. I'm like Benji I can't unlock the phone. Where's the lock screen?
Speaker 2:Halfway through a performance like sorry excuse me, excuse me excuse me, stop singing. Just take the microphone off them. Sorry, sorry, benji where are? You Kiss my hand. No, Just grab the microphone but they have to.
Speaker 3:Oh my God, benji.
Speaker 2:No, I know I think you'll be absolutely fine. I did say maybe try bringing somebody to come over and film for you. But if there's a couple of people over here, that I'm sure would help you film, and obviously I'll be there as well. But I'll be back and forth because I'm also doing a couple of the events for Pride as well.
Speaker 3:Yeah, because you're quite involved, aren't you? Which is going to be great. So get to come to your drag event that you're hosting. Can't wait for that.
Speaker 2:For sure. So yeah, like I said a couple of episodes ago, like I got rid of that horrible toxic job that I had and I've very much gone solo and yeah, these are my first sort of four events on my own.
Speaker 3:I'm so excited for you.
Speaker 2:Yeah, so super excited to see how those go. I know they'll be fine. We've booked some really good drag queens for it, some from the UK. So yeah, just overall really excited. Obviously, you're going to be there by my side for each and every one of them and hopefully you'll be getting on the microphone here and there when you can. And don't forget, the whole of Pride finishes with a boat party.
Speaker 3:I mean, I'm going to live my mum and me a fantasy running around an island on the beach singing and dancing to Abbasongs and then going on a boat party as heaven.
Speaker 2:Does that mean you're bringing your denim jumpsuit again?
Speaker 3:Yes, that's really my side.
Speaker 2:You're sleeping it, you're bathing it All round New York in it. You do love it.
Speaker 3:I love it. I do love it, but who's performing Channel Island's?
Speaker 2:Pride, so headliners on the Saturday are actually five.
Speaker 3:Love me some five, everybody get up. Oh, my God.
Speaker 2:Yes, yeah. So it's going to be super, super fun. And then we've got, obviously, the drag queens headlining as well. We've got a flash pastry misleading Mercedes Benz and Tamara Thomas, as well as many other performers. And then, on the after party which, yes, you're coming to as well the DJ is Una from the Saturdays.
Speaker 3:Oh, my goodness, this trip gets better and better. Honestly, it's like gay heaven. This is what Pride's all about is like just being your authentic, true self, live in your best life with everyone else in the community. And, yeah, having a great old time is going to be amazing.
Speaker 2:Yeah, and what's really amazing for me, on a complete personal note, is what this is doing for the island.
Speaker 2:I've spoken on this podcast so many times about how suppressed our community is on this island and it really really upsets me to see all these blank profiles on all sorts of dating apps. We'll leave it at that For people not being feeling that they can actually be who they want to be because of their jobs, et cetera. So I'm really chuffed with Channel Islands Pride and what they're providing for the Channel Islands in the way of this Pride and the support that I know that it will be giving to people. So you know what, on the main day, if 10 people turn up or 10,000 people turn up, we're doing such, they're doing sorry, I should say such a good job, even just for those 10 people, and they will make such a difference. So I'm really, really excited not only to share that with you, but sort of then to bring it back onto the podcast and talk about it, and then I think it's going to be. It's going to be a wild five days, let alone the fact that we're both staying in the same hotel.
Speaker 3:After party at ours everyone.
Speaker 2:Yeah, with all the performers as well.
Speaker 3:So it's going to be carnage, yeah it's going to be a lot of fun, but it's also this is really huge for Jersey as well, isn't it? I know you've said for that reason to have provided in these, these spaces, for the queer community to come out and live their best lives, but also it's big. This is the biggest they've ever done. It. It's huge and it sounds really exciting, all the events that's going on, because did you tell me that Jersey actually doesn't have a gay bar on the island?
Speaker 2:We have zero gay bars, no queer spaces right.
Speaker 3:So for these five days, and especially over the weekend when it's all the big stuff happening, all those spaces are now going to become queer venues.
Speaker 2:Yeah, literally all of a sudden, we've got a drag bingo, a drag brunch, main stage makeup tutorials. It's literally everything that they could want.
Speaker 3:Yeah and hopefully, then this is going to pave the way for there to be a permanent queer space on the island.
Speaker 2:Well, fingers crossed. I mean ages ago, before I was 18, there was a gay bar over here that was actually run by drag queens and, if you remember, we bumped into one at Hinckley Pride who said oh, I used to work as a drag queen.
Speaker 1:Yes, oh, my goodness, yes, yes.
Speaker 3:Yes, yeah.
Speaker 2:And that went, got bought by a bank? Of course it did, because it's a finance island and it was never replaced. And yeah, I'm really hoping that after this, somebody goes. You know what? We need to find a space for this community, because there's nothing for them. You know, we've got so many sports teams on this island, which is great, and there are so many clubhouses. There's rugby clubhouses, tennis, badminton, literally everything. There's a croquet clubhouse Like wow, yeah, there is space for all these people that want to do these sports. There is nothing for the queer community over here. So I'm hoping this will get the ball rolling on that as well. Who knows?
Speaker 3:Absolutely, and if you haven't got tickets, you can still get tickets, right Even now.
Speaker 2:Yep, you can still get tickets for all the events. Some of them are almost sold out, but not completely. The flights are super cheap. Book them now. They're like 50 pound return. There are hotels. We've got hotels of all different sort of styles, depending on what your budget suits. You've got from sort of travel lodges all the way up to very nice, fancy five-star hotels. There's still space. It's going to be so much fun.
Speaker 2:The island is beautiful as well. So even during the day when you're hungover, instead of just going to a weather spoon or just sort of sitting in the flat not knowing what to do, you can go sit on the beach, you can go for a swim, you can go kayaking, jet skiing like, or just walk around the island. It's absolutely stunning. So if you are available on those dates so we said it's on the 16th of September, but there's things going on that entire week head over to their website, check it out and if you can come, I would really recommend it. And if you do, please send us a message, because we'll be there and we would love to meet you. But, brad, that, sadly, is all we have time for on this week's episode of my Big Gay Podcast. If you don't already, please head over to our Instagram. It's at Big Gay Podcast, and if you haven't checked out our website, it's wwwmybiggaypodcastcom.
Speaker 3:And get in touch with us with your summer stories. What have you been up to? Have you had any fun stuff that's happened at Pride that you want to share with us on the podcast? Because we've got some fun ones to share with you and I've got a couple of funny stories that have happened to me as well. So next week all will be revealed.
Speaker 2:But, like I said, thank goodness, that is all we have time for on this week's episode, until next time. See you next Wednesday.
Speaker 3:Right, benji. So when I come over and land in New Jersey, no, no, no, no.
Speaker 2:Just Jersey, not New Jersey. Do not call me and say I've landed in New Jersey. Where do I go?
Speaker 3:Can you imagine, oh?
Speaker 2:my goodness.
Speaker 3:Well, I'm thinking what should I bring for the air stewards on the flight?
Speaker 2:Do you know what? I think they'll really appreciate what Is if you leave them alone? You fly with a different airline, you swim.
Speaker 3:And then I rock up at the island and I'm like Cheerio.
Speaker 2:Oh right, he's not with me. Sandy Brown couldn't be with us today.