WHO REMEMBERS? The UK Nostalgia Podcast
Join "amateur" historians Andrew and Liam (thrice bronze medalists in 'The South Yorkshire Rememberers Chalice') as they travel back in time like Nicholas Lyndhurst in Goodnight Sweetheart and try to remember things from the past.
Do you remember Woolworths? Do you remember when Marathons changed their name to Snickers? Do you remember Del Boy falling through the bar? If so then come and remember with us. If not then stick around and we will probably remember it for you. You literally can't lose so why not hit the play button as hard as Paul Sykes hit that shark?
WHO REMEMBERS? The UK Nostalgia Podcast
Who Remembers........Global Crises?
Remember that moment when the world seemed to stop? When headlines blared warnings and we collectively held our breath? From nuclear standoffs to global pandemics, we've lived through some extraordinary times.
This episode takes you on a journey through the global crises that defined generations. We start with the Cuban Missile Crisis of 1962 – those thirteen days when the world teetered on the edge of nuclear annihilation – and the remarkable story of Vasili Arkhipov, the Soviet naval officer who may have single-handedly prevented World War III. Though we weren't alive to witness it, this historical event set the stage for the anxiety that would characterize many global threats to follow.
We share personal memories of the AIDS crisis and those ominous public information films with tombstones and dire warnings, creating fear without understanding. Remember the panic about the ozone layer depletion and how we were all suddenly conscious of aerosols and CFCs? Or the mad cow disease outbreak that made us question every burger? The Millennium Bug that threatened to send our computers back to 1900 (but mostly didn't)?
September 11th stands as perhaps our generation's most visceral shared memory – we recount where we were when the towers fell and how that day reshaped our understanding of security and global politics. Finally, we reflect on the still-fresh wounds of COVID-19, with its bizarre social rituals, lockdowns, and online quizzes – a crisis that transformed daily life in ways we're still processing.
Between the darkly humorous recollections (like wiping down groceries or struggling with Zoom) and more somber reflections, this episode examines how these moments of collective crisis have shaped us, changed us, and sometimes even brought us together. What crisis do you remember most vividly? Join the conversation and share your memories with us @whorememberspod.
Hello and welcome to who Remembers the UK Nostalgia Podcast and this week we are asking who Remembers Global Crises, the C5, Britain's first mass-produced electrical car, and something called the internet Stop joking. Thanks, Steve, but none of the locals got paddling. Yeah, that's for me. No bottleless kids. I can't speak. You can't win anything with kids. Pac-man one of the superstar video games in the business. Did you threaten to overrule me Before? We can't get through again. Remember when it's the lowest form of conversation. This is history.
Speaker 2:This is history Right now. Right now, this is history. Yeah, and you kind of over-pronounced that a little bit. We had a debate before recording started about we thought it was global crisises.
Speaker 1:Crisis is not a word, it pretty, turns out.
Speaker 2:No, so we believe the plural of crisis is crises um, we might have got it wrong. I mean, I don't, I'm really makes me think actually, and it won't mean anything to people who didn't listen to the who remembers, but jesus christus, jesus christus, yeah, yeah, so it is global.
Speaker 1:I think it's global crisis. We should have probably thought of a better title, really, shouldn't we?
Speaker 2:but well, it stems from um friend of the show. I don't know if he's a friend of this show. I suppose he is because he's recommending stuff to the show. Certainly a friend of the other show, someone I know from school, mr Adam Follett, recommended the start point for the episode, which is who remembers the Cuban Missile Crisis?
Speaker 1:Yeah, and I think you were trying to be funny, but we like a challenge, we like a challenge, we like a challenge. And he asked us to do Global Missile Crisis and then we thought what a great episode that'll be talking about all the things that have happened.
Speaker 2:Well, we both sort of vaguely know of it. I mean, we don't remember it, we weren't alive 1962. Yeah, but we're kind of aware of what it is, or vaguely anyway. And yeah, it seemed I don't think we could do a full episode. I know we're good at remembering things, even when we don't remember them, but it seemed a lot to do a full episode on. So it's a, it's a kicking off point.
Speaker 1:Yeah, so we'll start with it. We'll get straight on through. We've got a lot to get through. What we're going to do after big crises.
Speaker 2:They're ongoing, aren't they? We've broken our rules again because they've not ended global crises.
Speaker 1:They've not ended. No, they've not ended. We'll talk about the stuff that sort of shit us up, basically as we were going through life, or the biggest events as we were going through life and what we thought of them. We'll start with what we've been asked to do, which is the Cuban Missile Crisis. You know much about this, liam.
Speaker 2:No, I mean, it turns out from doing I never know which. To play the joke. Do we do no research, in depth research, do we?
Speaker 1:Whatever the kind of gag is, yeah, we certainly don't do in-depth research.
Speaker 2:Yeah, but do we pretend we're doing that? Oh yeah, oh yeah. Pretend we're doing that? Oh yeah, oh yeah. We do a massive amount of research. Yeah, yeah, yeah. I think we sometimes are quite smug about the fact we don't do any research. So, yeah, whichever way, we're playing the joke in the moment. I did some research and it turns out I knew more than I thought. Actually, I kind of did know the story. I didn't know. The collection of events was the sort of full cube, because cuban missile crisis is 13 days. I, I didn't realise that. Yeah, yeah, yeah.
Speaker 1:I'll give you a quick version if you want. All these fucking history pods, dan Snow's history, and the rest is history. They do like five episodes on this, won't they? The Cuban Missile Crisis.
Speaker 2:You never really end it. I mean I stopped. I used to listen to a serial killer guy, the Serial Killer Podcast. It was like a serial killer guy but he did like 13 part episodes on some.
Speaker 1:I just I cannot face this we're going to sum things up much quicker than that, aren't we? Well, we're going to probably do this in about 10 minutes. So to usa basically tried to overthrow cuba's new communist government. Uh, in something that was called the bay of pigs, cuba asked soviets for help. They're like hey, fucking hell, you know a communist, come and give us an hand. So the Soviets secretly sent them nuclear missiles. Are you with me so far, liam? Is that? Have I got that right?
Speaker 2:Well, yeah, but, as it turned out, not so secretly, because the US became aware that they were sending them parts for nuclear. The reason they did that is because the USA had got nuclear weapons in Italy, but in particular Turkey, that were USSR at the time not Russia saw as a threat.
Speaker 1:So the USA said they would intercept all shipments to Cuba, which is classed as a naval blockade and, by proxy, an act of war. And the Soviet lads were like I'm not going to do an accent, I'll probably sound Jamaican again, but they were like this is an act of aggression. I think it's one of the few that I can't do, actually, when I said they could, you lost. He's not.
Speaker 2:I mean you've got Arnie, spot on, We'll prove that. But Where's Dolph? From this would be considered an act of war.
Speaker 1:That's not bad. I thought I talked to boris yeltsin then. Um, so the usa anyway demanded that the removal of all missiles in cuba. Um, but the soviets said they're only. They're only here as protection man, you keep invading, we're just there to protect them. Um, but then soon after that and this is where it all really kicked off, as a usa plane was shot down by the soviets and this is the big part of it is a soviet submarine was hit by the US Navy and the people in this submarine thought, well, this is it. War started. You know, we've been hit. This submarine's been hit, and there were three main officers and they had to unanimously vote on whether to basically send nuclear missiles on the US. And two of them went for yeah, yeah, fuck it, let's do it, let's end the world. And this other guy went not sure, that's a good idea. I can't remember his name. What's his name? Liam.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I tried to screenshot it before we started and it didn't work. I assumed you would have it. I do think we should probably find it because I think he is a key player.
Speaker 1:Well, he's not just a key player.
Speaker 2:Asperov or something like that.
Speaker 1:He basically saved the world.
Speaker 2:I'm not trying to take anything away from this guy, by the way, because obviously it's a very good job. He did that. I don't know if we'd be doing this podcast now. Imagine that, yeah, we might be some kind of like hybrid. I think we've still found a way to the who Remembers podcast, though, maybe, but yeah, he basically stopped nuclear weapons being fired all over the world.
Speaker 1:Yeah, vasyl Akripov.
Speaker 2:he was called, yeah, akripov that's right, yeah, but I wonder. I mean, obviously I presume the Hunt for Red October, which is a brilliant film, is loosely based on that, but is it one of them things that One of them would have always said, hold on a minute, if this guy would have straightaway said yeah.
Speaker 1:Yeah, do you think? Yeah? The third one we're always going to say oh, I might know, I reckon yeah, if sort of the first two say yeah, press it.
Speaker 2:And then look at the other one like please don't say press it.
Speaker 1:Well, you know me, I go along with things in situations.
Speaker 2:Yeah, you probably do.
Speaker 1:Yeah, things I'm not sure about If I've not got a strong opinion on it. I mean, this is probably something I should have a strong opinion on, but things I don't trust myself on. I'll just look at whoever's next to me and they'll say, oh yeah, definitely. I'll say, oh yeah, I'll just be nodding. You're doing like Batty Stewart nodding background going fashion, I'd say what we should do.
Speaker 2:we should press that button. Yeah, absolutely. Oh yeah press that button. No, you're kidding, aren't you? Don't press that. You're fucking joking.
Speaker 1:You can't press that button, by the way. I love the button, by the way, because Corbyn always used to get this when people, when Jeremy Corbyn was running for Prime Minister, they used to have debates and he'd say, would you press?
Speaker 2:the button yeah.
Speaker 1:Like it's a big red button that, just like I don't know, flashes it only use in emergency.
Speaker 2:I mean this proves obviously it wasn't. I mean I don't know who was it. Was it Yeltsin? I don't know who. I don't know who would have made the call, but ultimately it didn't. It came down to this commander, or not?
Speaker 1:I can't remember his name. I can't, I'm not even going to pronounce it. We were way before Y, To be honest.
Speaker 2:I can imagine you in this situation. I think we're under threat. I press the button. The other person thinks we're being attacked. Sorry, we're going to have to press it. I can imagine you as a bit of a peacemaker who doesn't want to press the button, but dyspraxia kicks in and you drop something and you actually drop something on the button and then it turns out that dyspraxia ended. You hadn't it.
Speaker 1:But I'm a very peaceful man. We were talking once about all our mates.
Speaker 2:I'm a very peaceful man.
Speaker 1:I'm a very peaceful man, yeah, this is why I love the reggae, I think. But I think that we were talking about if we were in World War II, what country would we be? And I think you had me down, didn't you? As the Swiss, the neutral Swiss?
Speaker 2:I'd just be in the middle going like, eh, I can see both sides yeah, I think you'd struggle to sort of commit to a side, but I don't know, like I've kind of. Admittedly, 25 years ago, I've also seen you in a bad mood outside a nightclub after a few drinks yeah, yeah, a long time diving in like the Italians. Just this is where I'm going. I'm going to stick with it.
Speaker 1:Changing sides halfway through, like actually these guys yeah.
Speaker 2:I forgot who you're arguing for.
Speaker 1:yeah, but Anyway, anyway, in the end, these superpowers obviously I mean, by the way, I know we're making stopped the destruction of probably most of the world yeah, and it genuinely in all seriousness.
Speaker 1:Um, although I can't pronounce his name, um, I've I've read a few books and stuff about this and it is incredible and I always feel like, is it more of a I don't know how? People just saying this like, almost like what you said, that this one man stopped essentially world war three happening, it's almost like a bit too much like a mover, if you know what I mean. This one guy's had all that power in his hands and stuff. But I know what you're saying about.
Speaker 2:You know the soviet president it's very hard if you're the sort of ultimate fail safe. I think it's very easy to to sort of ultimate fail-safe. I think it's very easy to sort of be one of 20 people who has to agree. But if you're the 19th or the 20th, I think that's a much harder decision than the first one to say yep, let's follow protocol.
Speaker 1:Yeah, and like you said, the Soviet leaders would obviously be saying, well, that's our call. But once they've hit, yeah, exactly, yeah.
Speaker 1:They've got now saying it because obviously John Kennedy is in charge. Obviously he'll be like going. I mean, you know, he gets a lot of praise obviously for sort of navigating the Cold War and stuff, but he'll have obviously had to say it's war. It's a bit like Brass Eye, you know. No, it's day to day, isn't it? Do you want to have a war live on there? Just because he's like getting two people to argue.
Speaker 2:We have to retaliate. I don't believe there'd be any like, uh, but hold on, did they really mean it?
Speaker 1:I just think I once, I once got a soviet badge from um chesterfield market. I might have mentioned that before. But yeah, they sell all like sort of. They sell loads of like IRA stuff.
Speaker 2:Wolfie Smith was it.
Speaker 1:Yeah, yeah, soviet Union badges and yeah, and like Nazi memorabilia and stuff like that. I don't know if they still do that. This was about six, seven years ago. So if you're into that, get yourself to Jersey Market. That should be too sponsorish, yeah.
Speaker 2:It's controversial at best, yeah, but yeah, maybe. But in the end anyway, basically the USSR and USA got together and said, basically going to an agreement, that the USA would never invade Cuba again as long as the Soviets removed their neutral country, I think, from what I understand, they're both sort of criticised by their own sort of states for actually saying you know, you didn't have any authority to work around our own rules and protocols, yeah, so both sides, basically the public, were really against it because they basically said you're negotiating with the enemy.
Speaker 1:And that's the problem, obviously, with all the propaganda, especially at that stage and it is to a degree now obviously of like these are the enemy, these are the enemy of like these are the enemy, these are the enemy. Hang on, you're talking. Why are you doing deals with the enemy? Do you know what I mean? And that's obviously an issue with it. But essentially they landed on the wheels and said what were you worried about?
Speaker 2:Yeah, that's a good summary.
Speaker 1:So that's the Cold War covered.
Speaker 2:So that you know throw your man down. That could be some podcast. That would be. That's the episode. Not us, though. We're going to move on into crises.
Speaker 1:Yeah, so we're going to go through the ones that we remember, through our Not childhood, sorry, just our lives. Really, the biggest events, I suppose, global events, and I think you're going to start, liam, aren't you?
Speaker 2:I am, but I haven't got a list in front of me that you've told me that I'm going to start with, so you'll know what I'm starting with.
Speaker 1:You're starting with the AIDS crisis. Oh right, You've really dropped that on me then.
Speaker 2:Yeah, yeah. I mean I would say we were late to the party on the AIDS crisis. We were aware of it. That sounds awful. No, yeah, it does actually.
Speaker 1:We were late to the party. It's not a party, is it Well?
Speaker 2:Yeah, I'm digging, I'm digging, aren't I? Yeah, yeah, I'm digging, I'm digging on it? Yeah, I was aware of this before. I probably even knew what it was, what it meant. Yeah, yeah, yeah. So so is this kind of really threatening word that was thrown around, which is this? This aids thing is going around. Don't remember it initially sort of being a hiv, it was just just aids. People have aids and these people are dying and yeah, I remember it being really frightening, but not really understanding what it was. Yeah, just AIDS. People have AIDS and these people are dying.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I remember it being really frightening, but not really understanding what it was Like I say late to the party is probably not the right phrase, but I was aware of it before I understood the magnitude of it. I think is what I'm trying to say.
Speaker 1:Yeah. So the thing I always remember about this is that horrible public information film. There is a new disease going around, you know, know, the monolith, and you know what I mean um the gravestone or whatever it is, and um, anyone can be infected and all this sort of stuff. And then I mean I'm nicking this off. Uh webding, actually we had on last week, but he said before the, freddie mercury announced that he got aids, um, and then 24 hours later died. And you're thinking, fuck you, now I don't want to catch this. It's like you know what I mean it's like it does you in a day?
Speaker 1:obviously that wasn't the case. He just, you know, didn't reveal it to the public and stuff. But the thing about this one for me is is not understanding what it was but being scared of it, purely because there was so much talk. I was sort of at that age where I was, so I weren't watching the news or anything, but I'd be sat having dinner and my dad would have it on and it'd be like headlines and then you'd see the public information films about it and it was proper scary. And that's what the job is for. I suppose in public information films, the best ones you know do make you afraid.
Speaker 2:Well, they do. But I also think there should be some kind of understanding with it. And yeah, I do remember genuinely thinking. I do remember genuinely thinking, oh my God, this is scary, this is a disease that can kill you really quickly but not really understanding kind of what it was, how it was passed on and and yeah, I mean I really saw sad.
Speaker 1:They're all sad. It's horrible, it's really. This is horrible. This one we weren't really going to. I mean, I weren't sure whether to include it or not, but it was the first sort of big thing that I remember.
Speaker 2:I'm kind of wishing you hadn't, after the way I've introduced it. Late to the party is absolutely incredible Roll with the punches, but yeah, yeah, I mean I don't even remember it sort of being the age crisis or such, so I'm not even sure why it is Pandemic, weren't it?
Speaker 1:It was a pandemic, rather than anything else.
Speaker 2:Do I think it was? I love when we kind of go down these routes where we don't have any sort of knowledge or sort of any purpose or reason to be in this debate. Like, was it blown up by the media to be bigger than it was, or do you think this was a real global event?
Speaker 1:Don't know.
Speaker 2:Yeah, you're not qualified to make that call. I'm not qualified either.
Speaker 1:so let's move on. Yeah, so, something we are qualified on is the uh, the ozone layer the problem? Yeah so this is like from the 70s, 80s and 90s, really. Scientists discovered that certain human-made chemicals were destroying ozone molecules in the stratosphere. Um, and if I remember rightly and again I'm nicking this off webb didn't what he was, because we said we were doing this last week. They basically just said stop using deodorant and then everything will find.
Speaker 2:That's all exactly how I remember it so I I remember this as cfc's chlorofluorocarbons and I haven't researched that. That's memory. So if it's pure remembering, it's pure remembering if it's not it's bad remembering again, but I think it was fridges as well. I think there's something to do with fridges and aerosols and there was a certain it's not an element. Is it because it's a? It's a particle. It's these certain man-made. I tried to start clever, sound clever at the start. It's not worked.
Speaker 2:This is this, is these man-made things that we put into the atmosphere that for some reason seem to sort of collect at the poles and destroy the ozone layer. That meant that the sunlight would come through more. Is that?
Speaker 1:anything like Ryan. Again, I don't know. I do not have the foggiest idea about any of that.
Speaker 2:But I do remember this being like if we don't stop using these things and I love how these things are put on the individual. So I remember at school it was like almost that point at individuals, like a teacher point at me if you don't stop using these things, we're going to destroy the ozone layer.
Speaker 1:So genuinely, I just remember deodorants, that's the only thing I know. You say aerosols, but I remember like, oh, you can't use deodorants anymore. Yeah, whatever, I'm looking now at two Lynx Africa. Actually.
Speaker 2:I think they've taken it out now, haven't they?
Speaker 1:Well, I'm going to say thank God that they've sort of sorted it out, because imagine not having to bring Lynx Africa by your side.
Speaker 2:The sort of thing I'd say about this and we can mention it later on, but just as a reference point is, things like this do make me sort of wary of the global warming. I'm not someone who doesn't believe in global warming or climate control and all that sort of thing.
Speaker 1:Oh, this is it. He's trying to get out Joe Rogan podcast again. Here we go. I just think.
Speaker 2:Joe, you know these fucking scientists, you know they told us fucking shit man yeah.
Speaker 1:Joe Rogan was like I'm just putting it out there. I'm just putting it out there.
Speaker 2:Find that clip of him saying the ozone layer was fucking dead.
Speaker 1:Oh my god man, that's so scary.
Speaker 2:And then straight away forget the ozone layer. Have you got that picture of that fucking 20-foot crocodile? Crocodile, yeah.
Speaker 1:That big foot. He's some fucking big messed up shit man, that bigfoot yeah yeah, the best thing he does is when he smokes in people's faces as well, like he gets a cigar out and blows it right in, like professional people's faces, you know. I mean like uh, brian cox and stuff like that I'm not sure.
Speaker 2:That's exactly true. I'll try.
Speaker 1:I love the image yeah, it just blows like smoke into people's faces.
Speaker 2:Anyway, carry on yeah, um go on remind me, I think you were denying climate change no, not yet. We've not got to that yet all right, sorry, go on yeah, no, I need to know. I've. You've sent me a list, but my phone battery's running we're moving on from those online, sorry.
Speaker 1:Your next one is mad cow disease.
Speaker 2:Ah, another frightening one, but another one that I didn't understand.
Speaker 1:No, I didn't understand it.
Speaker 2:I'm going to try and sound clever. Kreutzfeld-jakob disease, I think it was.
Speaker 1:Yeah, that's correct, I think yeah.
Speaker 2:So I mean mad cow disease. I don't know if it made them mad in a sense was it a brain disease or did it affect them physically and they they acted mad because they weren't moving properly. I don't know. But I remember videos of sort of cows not being able to climb ramps into trucks and falling over and stuff, quite, quite frightening in a sense that to you know fairly young kid at the time not all.
Speaker 2:They should have been um, I think 1994, yeah so, so 12 year old, who you know was eating mcdonald's beef burgers and I probably probably not much else in sort of beef products actually, but was eating beef burgers certainly all of a sudden seeing this, this, this meat is diseased and you can't eat beef, and yeah, another one that I found genuinely sort of slightly frightening because I didn't really understand yeah, I think with it.
Speaker 1:I always remember and I don't know why I always remember the name of the first person who I think. I think it was the first person who died. I don't think it was the first person infected and he was called Simon Churchill, and I don't know why. That is not research. That is in my head.
Speaker 2:That is a legal memory and even for us right.
Speaker 1:Yeah, that is in my head.
Speaker 2:Although it probably turned out he was someone who fell off a ladder in Sheffield with no cleaning or something.
Speaker 1:Oh yeah, I've got it wrong. Yeah, yeah, yeah, that's him. Yeah, I swear it news and it would say something like I mean, this is probably where, like my anxiety disorder and stuff started because people, the they did this with covid, as we'll get on to like the first person of has died of mad cow disease. Oh my god, who the first? As if, like, there's going to be, do you know, I wish there was obviously more, but you're like, oh my god, everyone's going to die.
Speaker 2:But that's interesting, though, isn't it? Because yeah, that was obviously the threat which I'd forgotten. I'd say I just thought the sort of meat was diseased, but actually it could transition into people, couldn't it? The disease could cause people to die, I think.
Speaker 1:Yeah, absolutely yeah. That was the main big thing about it, Because I don't think TB can pass directly to people.
Speaker 2:Again, I'm not sure. We're not scientists.
Speaker 1:We're not scientists. I'll tell you what man these fucking TB jabs. They're.
Speaker 2:I'll tell you what, joe I've never seen a fucking shark with TB. It's fucking right man.
Speaker 1:It's right. It makes you think, doesn't it Right? I'm going to go to the few years later, the Millennium Bug, which was. I was never scared of this, I have to admit no.
Speaker 1:I was never bothered at all about this. In hindsight, I find it one of the most ridiculous things that people got. Oh my God, all these. I'm sure they got this wrong. It can't be this simple. But all the computers aren't going to know what year it is and everything's basically just going to blow up and stop. And Richard Madeley obviously did his own Millennium cupboard, didn't he?
Speaker 2:Millennium bunker, didn't he? Yeah, yeah, yeah.
Speaker 1:He had loads of milk and food and all this sort of stuff because he thought that there were a chance that basically everything had shut down. Society had shut down because computers hadn't worked out, going from 1999 to the year 2000. I don't know what he thought were going to happen. Let's go back in time like goodnight, sweetheart, sweet.
Speaker 2:I don't know what he thought were going to happen yeah, I think it was something to do with the fact that I don't think it was necessarily anything that had been programmed for 1999 to go to 2000, but I think it was that certain things that have been programmed from 99 to 00 that they were worried. Yeah, would that reset or cause I have?
Speaker 1:seen. I have seen a picture of I think it's France. It's an airport, I think, in France, and the year on the airport, like on all the flights, says 1900. Do you know what I mean? So it's gone back to the 1900s, but it didn't affect, but they didn't fly back to the 1900s, did they?
Speaker 2:They didn't.
Speaker 1:Imagine how good that would have been, though. Imagine how that been so good, because I remember like there were all those people as well at the time, weren't? They thought the world were going to end for some reason.
Speaker 2:yeah, I don't quite get that bit, but but then again, I suppose I think the thinking is that and I suppose we're closer to that these days with ai and what people are saying about what that can do but it seems to be like well, actually, if, if security facilities reset and and gates are unlocked and military passwords are unlocked, who knows the kind of turmoil If banks shut down or reset, or yeah, I can kind of see the thinking behind it.
Speaker 1:I'm scared now. I'm scared now, yeah.
Speaker 2:I always sort of thought, well, it'll be all right, Even if you can't take your money out for a couple of days and they have to get some kind of whiz kid in to sort it out. I never sort of saw it as the end of the world millennium bug.
Speaker 1:And, like I said, these people thought the world was going to end, like genuinely going to end I don't know if Nostradamus predicted it or something stupid like that and they'd be like going yep, it's in the book of whatever.
Speaker 2:You know, I've read this In one of his sort of 17,000 vague predictions. Yeah, yeah, I mainly like looking at Jude.
Speaker 1:Like looking at Jude I told you Jude. I told you, jude, have you heard this? Jude's like yeah, yeah, yeah, and he got this millennium cupboard together. What an idiot, absolute idiot.
Speaker 2:I suppose he would argue if you've got the exposable income, why not? Why not have a millennium cupboard? Why not have a cupboard at all times, in case the world goes wrong?
Speaker 1:I'd take it back Once again, Maidley Maidley's done it.
Speaker 2:Philosophy in action.
Speaker 1:Right, you're going on now to it's 10 years later, and it's not. It's one year later, I can't even add it up and it's probably the biggest event in our lifetime. Maybe not when we go to the next one 9-11.
Speaker 2:Make some jokes about 9-11 yeah, the the most sort of serious one of the lot, in a sense that I kind of very.
Speaker 2:I felt this one very much in a sense that I kind of very. I felt this one very much in a sense that I was at home waiting to do a shift at Sainsbury's, where you work now in Sheffield, and remember the first plane hit in a building and not really knowing what was going on and yeah, I don't know if I had an early mobile phone, but you kind of couldn't get constant news updates and I remember thinking what on earth is going on, what do you mean the planes here building? And then getting to sainsbury's to start my shift, the people stood around tvs, watching tvs in the electrical bit and and somebody's saying no, that's not the first one, another plane's here and just being really confused as to what's going on. Like to it, and just being really confused as to what's going on, like these days you'd be straight on social media. You'd probably be told a lot of what's nonsense actually, but you'd at least be able to get I've got another one there's 10.
Speaker 2:10 of them's gone in, yeah yeah, nuclear submarine has hit the twin towers but but whatever. But there used to be some kind of narrative, but I just remember sort of starting my shift thinking what what's happening like is is gps not working? I don't instantly know it was a terrorist attack and some people say wasn't, it was in-house I.
Speaker 1:This is not a sort of watch this swing.
Speaker 2:Yeah, this, this is not a conspiracies one we're happy to investigate conspiracies.
Speaker 1:Yeah, people also investigate 9-11.
Speaker 2:Genuinely Give us a heads up At this point in time yeah, we've not done our investigation of it, so I assume what I'm told is true. Yeah, conspiracies they would hate that, wouldn't they?
Speaker 1:We can either confirm nor deny that 9-11 was an inside job. Now watch the swing.
Speaker 2:But yeah, I just remember being genuinely one of the few. I mean, people talk about princess diana's death and I do remember that and I remember princess dana's funeral being a big thing, but waking up late because I think I've been out the night before yeah, not too bothered, but I do remember this being like a real moment in my life where I was like, wow, what is going on? Like what on earth is happening? So, yeah, it's shocking.
Speaker 1:I've got a good anecdote about this. I flew back from Spain on this very, very day 9-11, and as we were waiting to board or whatever it is, when you're sat in the airport, this were on TV, obviously in the bars or whatever in the airport, and I didn't give a shit. I was thinking it'd be like I'm genuinely not just taking this from stuart lee. Stuart lee says the same you look and you think I'll be somewhere like columbia or do you know? It's one of these made up I'm not bothered about, like it's miles away. Then someone said it's america. No, is it? Oh yeah, it's a bit crap, isn't it? Plane crash and another one went in as we were sort of getting on the plane, if I remember right, like or around that time. So another one's gone in and I didn't care. I didn't care at all, and it was only when I got home and everyone were like obviously I've got the news on. I'm like fucking hell, this is one of the biggest things that's ever happened.
Speaker 2:But at the, the younger, naive, and I just thought you kind of can't comprehend the scale of it, can you? No, no, no. And also I think you can't sort of really make light of this. Not necessarily what we'd want to, but it is what it is. It was really shocking, a global terrorist event. It sort of triggered a lot of changes to sort of modern life and and the way the world is perceived by people. So, yeah, probably for me, like that day in particular is one of the biggest sort of events that I remember is it?
Speaker 1:it's sort of the go-to still, I think, for sort of edgy jokes. You know, when people try to make edgy jokes and stuff, I think I did see something it did. There were a pair of jeans, um, that had 9-11 um on them, you know, like the the planes crashing into 9-11 as an image, and they were called the twin trousers, which I quite liked, um, but it is still the yeah, it was 9-11.
Speaker 2:There's 9-1-1 like a levi's brand. Then is that? Where is that the joke?
Speaker 1:no, I think it was just that they were called the twin trousers.
Speaker 2:That were it I wonder if it's cleverer than you realize, though did levi I?
Speaker 1:don't know, I don't know. Is that the joke? No, I think it was just that they were called the twin trousers.
Speaker 2:That were it. I wonder if it's cleverer than you realise, though it might be cleverer than I don't know, I don't know, I really don't know. I mean either way it's in bad taste, Let us know in the comments and smash a like. Smash a like if you got the Levi's 9-11 joke.
Speaker 1:I'm just going to have a quick look actually. Yeah, I don't think it will be.
Speaker 2:They have like three numbered jeans, don't they? Actually they have five 11s, so the joke is that it's the nine 11s.
Speaker 1:I get it. I get it. Yeah, it's better than I thought, but yeah, that made me laugh and I think you can laugh at most things to be fair or anything really, if it's done right. Moving on.
Speaker 1:Such as I know, I know, yeah, you can't say out these days, can you On my Netflix special that I'm getting 20 million for COVID-19 we're going to end with Now. This is obviously really recent to most people and it's not really much remembering going on, because it was that sort of yeah, I'll let you say that I was sort of stunned.
Speaker 2:2019, weren't it?
Speaker 1:Yeah, six. Thought you'd say that I was sort of stunned. 2019, weren't it? Yeah, six years ago, december 2019. This in hindsight even I know it's so short a short time ago, absolutely crazy that we lived through this. I just can't. I think, as the years go on, I'll look back at it and think what the fuck was that all about?
Speaker 2:Yeah, this will be. Do you know why I think you mentioned years go on. I'll look back at it and think what the fuck was that all about? Yeah, this will be. Do you know why? I think you mentioned once I don't even know if we actually included it in a recording, but like a dancing plague where everybody danced themselves.
Speaker 1:Yeah, we did do it. Yeah, in a conspiracy. Yeah, mystery, sorry, yeah.
Speaker 2:This will be looked back on like that, won't it? Like? Hold grandparents, my parents, and sat on the garden two metres apart because they weren't allowed to have physical contact with them. And this is despite obviously, now lots of evidence say that the leaders of the country and people making those policies were having parties. Just madness, madness that we shut ourselves away.
Speaker 1:The maddest thing I think is I went to watch a football game Sheffield United versus Leeds and obviously we were all behind closed doors but pubs would reopen but you can only have four at a table or wherever it was behind closed doors, but pubs would reopen, but you can only have fucking four at a table or wherever it was. And United went on attack and I stood up and probably on bargains you've got to put your mask on if you're going to stand up, so as an arc of attack we're going in. I'm like having to get my mask and stand up like just in my seat, in the same seat, mad but anyway, if you remember, we Broadfield in Sheffield.
Speaker 1:Yeah, that's right. Yeah, yeah, yeah, the lockdown Was kind of.
Speaker 2:It was kind of like Right, there's no more lockdown, but there are going to be Strict rules.
Speaker 1:I think it was Rish's eat out to help Thing, weren't it?
Speaker 2:Ah, yeah, it was yeah, yeah, yeah. So we went down there About eight of us, I think and we sat at a table and even though there were eight of us, mixing from all different groups and bubbles, we could take our masks off at the table and talk, but the second we stood up to go to the toilet, we had to put a mask on and we all fell into this. You know, it's like this thing, isn't it?
Speaker 1:Oh, some of us did. Again, Joe Rogan would be laughing. No, not all of us, man. Some of these people saw through this bullshit. Yeah, but I just mean to kind of function because I wanted to go out for a drink with my mates.
Speaker 2:I kind of thought, yeah, this is madness to me, yeah, but this is what I have to do to be out. And yeah, I mean looking back now it you could kind of play footage of some of the stuff we were doing and just put like clown music over it. Do you know the sort of gerald?
Speaker 1:diving montage. I mean it's like, it's crazy, like the sort of I mean people I don't know how many people know, I don't know if I've mentioned it before, but I care for my mum. She's got COPD. I used to like we'd get groceries, like used to do online shopping or whatever. I used to wipe them all down. Do you know what I mean? Wiping covers and stuff like that, because, oh, what a time. Bring it back. That's what I say. I mean it started in China, obviously. Is that known now?
Speaker 2:China.
Speaker 1:Is that known? Well, you know, I mean, some people have got it, but this is what the lamestream media would have you believe. It started in China and at the time I think it was just like what story number 10 on the news. You know what I mean.
Speaker 1:Yeah, there's another sort of virus In this fucking. You know China. They've always got shit going on over there, whatever. When did you start getting worried? I think when it got to Italy and loads of people were dying in Italy. That's when I was like, oh my fucking this is mad.
Speaker 2:I mean, I still don't know what to make of it all. I'm still, you know, sometimes like after a sort of I don't know like a mad holiday or a mad weekend or something, and you think I still can't quite piece together what was happening.
Speaker 2:Yeah, yeah, yeah, I don't know, because obviously, yeah, you were sort of told, oh, this is killing loads of people. But then you were told and it probably coincides with the rise of social media as opposed to mainstream media that, yeah, but this actor is in the same video in this place as they were in this place. Get that fucking crocodile on. I saw a fucking 20 foot crocodile in a mask, joe, I kid you not. Yeah, I don't, I don't quite know how to process cut. I mean, the only thing I would say is it personally, for us as a family it was really damaging in a sense that it kind of stopped us getting out and doing things and we found it quite hard afterwards to to get back into the real world yeah, really difficult, I mean, obviously.
Speaker 1:I mean this is not quite as big, but this weren't the biggest uh tragedy of it. But the quizzes, the online quizzes we obviously had a few people were obsessed with them, weren't they? Oh, let's go on, zoom and do an online quiz, and yeah, all that.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I think people kind of became aware that that human interaction is is kind of vital and yeah, I mean we. One of my funniest covid memories is uh, one of our mates couldn't turn his microphone on and was being slagged off by another guy.
Speaker 1:So he was furiously giving the V sign, swearing to the screen Rods and coffee bean handshakes and everything, weren't he?
Speaker 2:Absolutely livid because he couldn't respond.
Speaker 1:Because he muted himself and he didn't know how to unmute, so he was just giving rods up at the screen. Absolutely furious.
Speaker 2:Brilliant, it was worth it just for that. And then a guy on there again we won't name him and I think he thought this was a far bigger thing than any of us did. But at the end of one of the quizzes accidentally shared his screen and it said dreamt of being naked in public or something.
Speaker 1:Yeah, and then he instantly left the call he left there so off. We somehow put I think he might have been reading the questions out, so we were sort of going through the answers, and he put his, like his screen on so we could all see it, and he put it onto google and he were dreaming about being naked on his search engine and then he had to shut it down and that way he just went yeah just left and I messaged him to say, is everything all right?
Speaker 2:and he said, yeah, fine, why what's up?
Speaker 1:as if like he's not being honest I don't think we did any after that. I think that was the end of it, but anyway. So we were around like march time, it sort of kicked off here. I remember going to chef united versus norwich and everyone were talking about it like, oh, have you heard about this thing? And we're like it's just flu in it. It's just flu in it, do you know what I mean? People were like realising something was coming. But I don't think people realised how quick it was going to come.
Speaker 1:And I remember the week after the Premier League had started because I think Debbo was one of them actually, or maybe even Webding, who was supposed to go to Newcastle away, sheffield United, and it got called off because the Premier League actually shut down before Britain did. Because Boris, if you remember and we spoke about this privately today in his wisdom, going around shaking hands with people saying, look, there's nothing to worry about, he was trying his best it came out on Dominic Cummings' blog, whether you believe it or not, that he wanted to inject himself with COVID. Live on this morning.
Speaker 2:Yeah, he avoided those sort of emergency meetings and then wanted to prove. Look, this is not. This does not need to shut the country down. So went and shook everyone's hand and made a point of doing it.
Speaker 1:And then people might think, yeah, well, fair enough. You know, it wasn't that bad and the fucking fat fucker ended up in intensive care. It's all right. It's ridiculous. This guy is nothing wrong with it.
Speaker 2:It's two weeks later I have caught covid 19, I feel fine. But even without, you're sort of so corrupted these days, aren't you by by doubts and conspiracy. But was that planned, in a sense that people sort of said, ah, look, it's nothing, oh my God. No, actually, by interacting with people is an intensive care. I don't want that.
Speaker 1:I don't know, it depends on who you believe. I don't know If you listen to like the. I've not looked at all the COVID inquiries and stuff like that, but the people who did want to lock down Chris Whitty, they were all famous.
Speaker 2:Yeah, we all had to watch him every day, didn't?
Speaker 1:we yeah, Van Tand and fucking Matt Hancock were probably the most famous man in England for a little bit, but I think they all wanted to lock down the scientists and stuff. And I think Boris was very much like we've got to keep the economy going because we were really late at locking down compared to other countries and stuff. And whether it's the right thing or the wrong thing, I don't know, I I don't know.
Speaker 2:I mean it's still again. You know we're trying to be entertaining and amusing and if we've kind of I'm still thinking back to the age thing If we've got some stuff wrong in this episode, apologies, but what I will say on this one is it's very difficult, whatever your stance on it, is to see the videos of sort of grandmas crying at the funeral of the granddad who weren't allowed to be comforted by family members. There is still a bit of a bitter taste about particularly when it turns out the leaders were.
Speaker 2:You know, we're just having the sort of usual get-togethers, and I know these are, these are must have meetings, and it's sausage rolls and champagne. There is still something quite unpleasant about this? I think absolutely, and this is why people felt like All of them by the way, I'm not undermining any of these things. No, no, no. I still think this is very fresh in the memory. A lot of the doubt of government these days comes from things like this, I think oh yeah, massively.
Speaker 1:It changed everything. I think like everyone lost their mind to a degree, us included, Whether it's Like you said, you struggled to get back to real life after. I think loads of people were like that. Loads of people got on the conspiracy train and got deeper and deeper into that. Off the back of this, I think most people were scared not necessarily, maybe not scared of the virus I think a lot of people were but I think it was. Is life ever going to be? Will life ever be sane again? I think that's what most people were thinking. How long is this going to go on for? Like and I think everyone was scared about that and it does. It is like a mental trauma in it that people went through.
Speaker 1:Imagine it's our sort of version of the war. I think world war ii. I really I'm not saying it's like, obviously it wasn't a danger. I certainly won't put like me and you of people the same as like soldiers going into war and stuff, but in terms of like a, a nation going through a complete sort of head fork, because that's the closest thing I can think of yeah yeah, I mean, can you remember dominic cummings driving around?
Speaker 1:we're huge because we're not? Basically because none of us had anything else to do. So everyone like outraged about that. He said he was testing his eyesight. It was such a shit excuse.
Speaker 2:I know, yeah, if you're going to say some reason, that's terrible, isn't it? Yeah, I mean, I'm sure there's kids out there that are still affected by this. I mean mine was young enough that I kind of got through without any real trauma to him, I think for older kids I must. It must have been appalling to not have that sort of social interaction for a for a long period of time, but yeah we haven't done any research for this, but I I have looked at this because I was interested in myself.
Speaker 1:Do you know the, the day or the or the day of the final lifting of all restrictions? That I mean, obviously we, we lifted restrictions. I think there were three lockdowns. Three lockdowns, it was. Yeah, do you know the day when everything was? And we've not gone back since?
Speaker 2:I think it was about two years, but not quite so. I think it was Because I think you mentioned as well to me, not in this particular chat, but that they sort of said they were going to sort things out for Christmas. Then they didn't.
Speaker 1:Yeah, so I'm guessing sort of like I'm trying to think.
Speaker 2:When we were out, maybe like April 21?
Speaker 1:February 2022. Oh wow Was the final lifting of all restrictions. So it went on for two years. That on and off. Oh, maybe I've got a sort of start date right, I think around about two years but, yeah, okay, so it was pretty much talking. It went from march 2020 to february 2022.
Speaker 2:We could do a full 2019.
Speaker 1:Then I thought there was some kind of no, that's when it started in china, it was 2019 so we didn't have any actual restrictions till 2020.
Speaker 2:We didn't, yeah, march 2020 restrictions till 2020.
Speaker 1:Yeah, March 2020 was the first restrictions, yeah, and then obviously, and, like I say, I don't know if it's too fresh in memory.
Speaker 2:I know people, by the way, who loved it.
Speaker 1:Oh yeah.
Speaker 2:People posting Team Furlough, like it's just been put on, remember you telling me that your mate or somebody you know anyway, were putting Furlough forever.
Speaker 1:Come on, furlough, Furlough forever.
Speaker 2:hashtag yeah, like they were a team, I think you were getting 80% pay for doing 0% work. I mean, my particular firm we ended up doing I mean I was working a ridiculous amount of hours to keep things moving, and that for reduced pay, which actually they did back pay us, to be fair to them. But yeah, there was a period in COVID where I was working really really long hours for reduced pay. But in some ways I kind of got into a zone where I liked it. I got up, switched on, got my work done, switched off. I think it encouraged I don't know about other people, I get the feeling it did from speaking to a few of us but you know we never used to drink alcohol in the house until COVID and that changed.
Speaker 1:And now you're sat there drinking, blowing cigars in each of us' faces going. Hey, look at this fucking 20-foot, fucking crocodile on this TV.
Speaker 2:But no, I just think it was huge for us. I mean, we're still sort of trying to get back to normality afterwards. And I think again, you know, we had, and we do have, a lot of help from grandparents around child care, but that changed things a little bit, that that gap in how things were done and hey, people got away, like you say, people working from home, and the arguments all about that.
Speaker 1:Everyone I don't know. I mean I don't. I I do get the feeling that everyone's a little bit more stressed out really I think the world's a darker place since that.
Speaker 2:I genuinely do. I think there's a lot of people, a lot of goodwill towards each other sort of faded when we were all locked away. It's quite deep for a.
Speaker 1:Yeah, it is, it is. But, like you say, that first lockdown, when it was boiling hot, I don't know, there was a weird sense of community, but I think after two years of that happening, or whatever it was, people are fuck off. I would look at her next door. What a dickhead. Do you know what I mean?
Speaker 2:you're sick of seeing people to me like that larry david scene where he says uh, I sometimes sit in the garden and hear all the birds singing and think can you imagine if, if you couldn't hear that? And I think it's not so bad. And I sort of thought, yeah, it sounds awful to not sort of see anyone, but actually I thought it's not so bad. I mean, I miss sort of immediate family but sort of long term.
Speaker 1:Yeah, it's not so bad.
Speaker 2:I don't mind sort of not being out in the general public.
Speaker 1:We'll finish on that then, Liam.
Speaker 2:I thought we were going to do climate.
Speaker 1:I've not got that on the list, but we can talk about climate change if you like, because that's an ongoing one isn't it?
Speaker 2:Well, only because I inserted a deliberate reference point. To come back, to it.
Speaker 1:Alright, sorry, Corey. Then let's talk about climate change.
Speaker 2:This is going to be Joe Rogan style again. Hit me up, man. The fucking sea. It's been the fucking sea since fucking medieval times, man.
Speaker 1:I put my hand out of the window. Today it was fucking hot, so what? It's fucking hot all the time. What gives a fuck?
Speaker 2:Yeah, I see a fucking lobster boat. It floats out one day, it floats in the next. The fucking same thing, man, for 200 years. No, I don't think I'm fairly confident that the scientists of the world and people that I really like so, like Brian Cox, neil deGrasse, tyson they're becoming mainstream, I suppose, now, but I don't believe they are lying to people. So I believe that the Earth probably is warming up. I don't know whether it's a pattern that always happens or not. The biggest sort of doubt I have that goes back to the ozone layer a pattern that always happens or not. The biggest sort of doubt I have that goes back to the ozone layer is that. I just remember that being the biggest thing ever. This is going to destroy the world. We are going to have deserts in the uk, that the everything's going to be flooded in europe or whatever it was, and the the most surprising thing about that was how quickly it just went away. It's like just oh, oh, yeah, now we just don't talk about that now.
Speaker 1:Do you think they'll get out of climate change and just stop using deodorant? Have they thought about doing that?
Speaker 2:Well, it's the same thing that nobody's realised.
Speaker 1:Yeah, imagine if they just said look, not even no, it's the new deodorants that they've used is causing climate change.
Speaker 2:The worst, that's the. It's not even a conspiracy, is it that?
Speaker 2:the big thing that's hard to take is sort of in the western communities that that we're being asked to pay a lot more money for things that have a have a lesser impact on the world, and I think that's right. We should all do our best, but but in percentage terms we're talking so minimal compared to developing countries. And and who are we to tell them that they shouldn't be doing it a certain way? Because we've had our industrial revolution and we've got to where we are by doing things that we, you know, we burn a lot of carbon. I don't know, I don't know what to make of it. I'm just saying the ozone thing does sometimes make me think. Well, that was weird. They're fucking lying to us, man.
Speaker 1:But you all literally do it. You've literally just said it makes you think like that, let's just yeah, I'm thinking you're doing that gif now, like looking up at the ceiling I've got one arm sort of up on the window so I'm not touching my face, but I'm nearly sat like that like I say I don't believe that.
Speaker 2:I don't know kind of what people listen to this whole thing as well, because I think it's interesting that people's take on it. I don't think we're being lied to, I just think we're sort of creating something potentially that's not quite as big. It is a big event, but it's not quite in our control as much as we're being sort of told that you must buy this product that costs twice as much, because in 100 years we might have a slightly less impact I'm not gonna lie, I like these sort of conspiracies.
Speaker 1:I really do. I think that I think the covid conspiracies was just boring shit. People got angry about it. I know people get angry about the climate change stuff as well, but I like the.
Speaker 2:They're just trying to make you pay more money, you know you know that don't you do these people yeah but I suppose that never changes, does it that that is, isn't it they always want? Us to pay more for something, and perhaps they've just found this genuine thing to tie to a reason of why you need to pay more. And if this didn't exist?
Speaker 1:it'd be. I absolutely love that we've started this podcast and we've ended it becoming two conspiracy theories. You do know, hitler's not really dead don't you?
Speaker 2:We sort of mocked the Joe Rogan thing and then we've sort of become it. That's how he gets you. That's how he gets you.
Speaker 1:So, like next week, we'll just be becoming a conspiracy. We didn't really land on Moon. Next week we're going to be talking about Well, liam, I'm not going to say I enjoyed that because we've talked about some heavy subjects and I hope that we've not offended people who are affected by any of these sort of things. But you know what does.
Speaker 2:Gervais say you can't say some of these things, can you?
Speaker 1:really no, these days you can't say anything. So, yeah, but we've said it. So we might get a Netflix show off back of this, who knows? Highly unlikely, but you know. But thank you very much. And thank you for Adam Follett for giving us he's asked for something else, by the way a bit more normal that we will do as well, but this seemed like something a bit different. So, yeah, thank you. It really makes you think. It does make you think. Look at that fucking fucking crocodile. Thank you for listening to who Remembers. If you want to get in touch with us, you can find us at whorememberspod, at outlookcom. If you are a right-wing fascist, you can find us on Twitter at whorememberspod, or if you're a Wokenor, you can find us on Blue Sky at whorememberspod. Once again, thank you for listening and we'll see you next time for more remembering.