Midlife: petty irritations anyone? 101 is back!

Our favourite rant-filled episode is BACK 🔥

In this week’s Midlife? No Crisis!, we throw more things into Room 101- from menopausal surprises and annoying noises to corporate jargon, self-checkout chaos, and the absolute rage of littering.

It’s unfiltered, relatable, and guaranteed to make you say: “YES, that annoys me too!”

Expect laughs, strong opinions, and a lot of cathartic complaining.

 What We Cover in This Episode

• The reality of midlife/menopausal changes (yes… including random facial hair 😅)
• Why some weeks just feel off (and everything irritates you more)
• The return of Room 101 – your favourite rant segment
• Workplace frustrations & corporate jargon we’re DONE with
• The phrase: “Don’t ask for permission, seek forgiveness” (and why it’s the worst)
• Influencer culture and when “authentic” becomes… not so authentic
• The problem with 24-hour news cycles and constant negativity
• Supermarket self-checkout etiquette (are YOU doing it wrong?)
• Why littering still makes our blood boil
• The never-ending burden of meal planning & food shopping

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Keep in touch, follow our socials or send an email to hellomidlife@icloud.com.

Transcript

SPEAKER_02 0:25

Hello.

SPEAKER_03 0:26

Hi.

SPEAKER_02 0:28

You look really surprised to see me.

SPEAKER_03 0:31

It shocked me that I was in a bit of a dead like a daze. Why? What are you daisy? I was just like looking at myself on the video thing, just yeah. Daisy. Thinking how beautiful you are. Not really, no. Probably quite the opposite. In fact, I've got like a weird hair on my face. Oh. Like a long hair? No, like a like a beardy hair, like a sharp hair.

SPEAKER_02 0:58

Oh, that's annoying.

SPEAKER_03 1:00

And I was like, is this the start of my menopausal beard? It's a bit high. Yeah, no, it's right up here. Oh. I was like, oh. So I was just contemplating getting a beard actually.

SPEAKER_02 1:13

Maybe you're gonna get an eyebrow down here.

SPEAKER_03 1:15

Like a excellent.

SPEAKER_02 1:18

What would you call that?

SPEAKER_03 1:19

A rear brow. I have no idea. Something to look forward to in addition to all the other things.

SPEAKER_02 1:28

I think hairy chins are one of the worst things that the Lord God invented when it comes to. You got a hairy chin.

SPEAKER_03 1:35

Do you have a hairy? Do you have like sharp hairs?

SPEAKER_02 1:37

The little black hairs, yeah. Oh I don't like black ones. Have you got a black one? Yeah. Like little black ones. But then I have always had those. And I remember having a stress dream before um before we got married. Oh no, it wasn't about that. I had a stress dream before we got married that I got halfway down the aisle and realised I hadn't shaved my armpits. Remember that.

SPEAKER_03 2:00

Oh my god. Anyway, welcome to midlife no crisis. Anyone else got any uh menopausal hair issues? Oh, it's a sharp one though. I don't want to be a that's the end of that. I'm not having that.

SPEAKER_02 2:16

They're the worst. Because once they start, they're just like multiply and multiply and multiply. And it's literally you check in the morning, there's no hair, and then by about 10 o'clock, all of a sudden you're like, What is that? I've got hair, how have I got the hair? And then that's all you can think about for the rest of the day. This hair hair. Well, that's all I can think about.

unknown 2:38

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 2:38

Sharp hair.

SPEAKER_01 2:40

Well, how'd you get on just to keep pulling it out? Yeah, just have to get some good breathing.

SPEAKER_03 2:46

Well, can that go in room 101 to start? That can be the first thing that goes in room 101, yes. Correct. Sharp facial hair. Out of absolutely nowhere that wasn't there before this morning, even.

SPEAKER_02 2:58

Yeah. It's in sharp facial hair joins who else who's in there? Donald Trump's in there a couple of times, isn't he? Nigel Farage. Can we put him in again? Yes. 100%. He deserves it, doesn't he? The kid's head just keeps popping up, doesn't it? I know. We just have to keep stamping on the old dustbin later to make sure that he's der definitely thoroughly. What about his sidekick with JD Vance he can go as well? Well, he's only keeping the Iranians alive so he can negotiate with them. I've just heard on the news. Oh, really? Hooray for him. I can't. I can't. Let's not go down that route. It just I'm I'm in a slightly irritable mood today. So go on then. Go on.

SPEAKER_03 3:43

No, that's a good it's a good start. Tell me about your week. It's a good start to the bone fest that is room 101.

SPEAKER_02 3:50

Yeah, so I've had I've had one of those weeks. I've had a nice week actually. Nothing bad's happened, but just like I've just been a bit hormonal and just feeling a bit meh and a bit rubbish. So everything feels a million times worse. Um, but we had a really nice weekend, obviously. Saw your little face, which was lovely. Came to Bristol, which was your hairy face, sorry. It wasn't hairy then. We had a lovely family day on Sunday, and then we had a nice day on Monday, and Joe came for tea, and um yeah, and then to be fair, work's really busy at the moment, but nothing that is unusual. You know, when you just feel shit, and everything feels ten times worse as a result of that shit feeling. Yeah. I kind of go into I can only describe it as brutal honesty mode, where my all the filters that I normally employ seem to disappear out of my life a little bit, and yeah, I have to be I have to be a bit careful with that.

SPEAKER_03 5:03

Cheers. Cheers. Cheers to the Vimto. No, cheers. Are we no sponsorship still? No, are we still not been sponsored? Oh somewhat wrong with them. They don't know what they're missing, that's their problem. Obviously. Or they do.

SPEAKER_02 5:20

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 5:21

Or they they have actually checked us out and gone. Oh no, it's a no from us.

SPEAKER_02 5:26

It's not our brand, thank you. Um but yeah, no, my worst irritation before we get on to the actual proper room 101s, the bloody builders across the road from us. Bloody builders. I'll I'll I'll put a picture up after, but they've installed a fence, and the fence has no beginning or end, it just is a fence. So it doesn't like complete itself, if that makes sense. It's just a line of fence panels. And you're in a lovely green country fied area. Um, so what colour fence would you choose for something like that?

SPEAKER_03 6:03

Illuminous orange.

SPEAKER_02 6:05

Oh no, I think I would go particularly bright red. Like we live in a fire station.

SPEAKER_03 6:11

Bright red? Mm-hmm. Is that is that for like safety reasons?

SPEAKER_01 6:15

Absolutely not.

SPEAKER_02 6:16

No.

SPEAKER_03 6:17

Oh, it's not for safety reasons, no.

SPEAKER_01 6:19

No.

SPEAKER_02 6:19

So it's just the only colour they had kicking about. It's clearly their brand colour. I won't mention any names, but um oh dear. But yeah, I'm looking out of my window at a lovely red fence, which coincided perfectly with the sales board going up outside our house.

SPEAKER_03 6:37

Can you go out like a raging menopausal woman and like start smashing the shit out of it? No, but I did send some very angry emails last night.

SPEAKER_02 6:46

Did you? Yes. Paint your fence! No, just take your fucking fence down. It's absolutely to have a fence.

SPEAKER_03 6:54

They all they haven't just put a random fence up for no reason.

SPEAKER_02 6:57

When I show you the picture of the fence, you'll see that that the fence has no purpose. It's it I can't I I'll have to take a picture of it and show it to you. But the fence has no purpose whatsoever. Right. So it's just irritating. It's just I think it's actually specifically there to irritate me. I'm standing up to take a picture, by the way.

SPEAKER_03 7:16

They haven't put it up just to annoy you. I think they have. Well, I don't I I don't think they have. I mean it they I'm quite impressed at how much it is annoying you, if I'm honest. I know.

SPEAKER_02 7:28

Well well, you'll be pleased to know it's not just me, it's annoying, it's the entire Facebook of our estate. Have you got a Facebook group or WhatsApp group? Uh both. We have both. Oh, right. And it's made it to both. Both of them have been bouncing with messages about red fences.

SPEAKER_03 7:45

Oh, excellent, excellent.

SPEAKER_02 7:47

Which is the best message. Moaning messages. Yours. Mine's the best one, yeah. And then I've sent a lovely email to the site manager, which I actually had to get um ChatGPT to rewrite for me because I felt like it was a bit too harsh. So no, go harsh, go harsh. Well, I went all you've contravened your planning restrictions.

SPEAKER_03 8:15

Oh dear. And have they?

SPEAKER_02 8:16

Yeah, I think they have actually. But anyway, that's another issue. Well, you're go you're going in hard today. I like it. So that particular house builder, who I won't name, um, can go. I don't want you to now. I kind of want you to. I feel like I could get myself in trouble. No, would you get into trouble?

SPEAKER_03 8:34

You probably would get into trouble. Yeah, well, we'll just keep quiet about that. Just text me.

SPEAKER_02 8:40

I've well, I've sent you a picture of the fence.

SPEAKER_03 8:42

Right, okay.

SPEAKER_02 8:43

Anyway, how was your first week back at work? Woo-woo.

SPEAKER_03 8:48

Do you know what? It was actually alright.

SPEAKER_02 8:50

When was it?

SPEAKER_03 8:51

I went in on Tuesday and I was like, this is gonna be awful. And I walked in, you know, when you're just like, the UK's shit, ruh, the weather's actually the weather was alright, which did help. Yeah, it's a nice week, wasn't it? Yeah, and I walked in on Tuesday morning and I was like, Oh, do you know what? It's alright, you know. And then I think there was some like crackhead who was like throwing a shopping trolley at a wall or something, and I thought, oh well, let's keep it real on the walk in, on the walk into town. Um, but I went in, but I went in and actually I sat down, I was like, right, let's have a look at the email. I I did have a little sneaky look at my email the night before, which I didn't want to mention on the podcast as I did slag you right off.

SPEAKER_02 9:34

You did slag me right off, so and then I did the exact thing.

SPEAKER_03 9:38

But I thought, well, I have had a month off. But yeah, I didn't go by my own rules. Anyway, um, and I've got just the great I think having a month off, like people cover you, like actually cover you, and have done stuff for me because of they're thinking, oh well, she's not like back next week or back. Do you know what I mean? So it's like I've actually got to cover this and do some what actual work. So it was fine. So that was good. Yeah, it was, it was, and hats off to my team who have really helped. And has everyone missed you? I don't think so, no. No. I don't think anyone missed me. We had a full team meeting and everyone was just kind of like eye rolling because they had a tan. Um yeah, no one really was that really no one's really asked about your holiday though, are they? They're like just a bit. Did you have a nice time? Yeah, right, anyway, about this.

SPEAKER_02 10:37

Yeah, that is it, isn't it? Especially when you've had a mega holiday like that, where you feel you come back like you feel like you've really changed and you've experienced so much, and your kids are there, and it's like, oh my god, yeah, I've gone through so many obstacles.

SPEAKER_03 10:52

Life changing.

SPEAKER_02 10:53

Nice holiday, good, right? On with the next thing.

SPEAKER_03 10:56

Yeah, this happened while you were away. Lots of corporate guff that you really don't care about, care about it even less now because I'm at a month away. Still the same words, still the same absolute bollocks, but never mind. So you've not missed the corporate guff. Oh god, I have not missed it. I just but but because I've been off for a month, I was just like watching it, just going, just like wrinkling my nose. Yeah, just like you're not I don't care, yeah. Like they're all talking. I was like, I don't care about any of this.

SPEAKER_02 11:29

I sometimes sit in meetings and feel a bit like that though. Do you know? Like sometimes I I am properly in it and engaged and stuff, and then sometimes I sit there and I'm like, This is such meaningless trite. Like, what is the point of this conversation? Like, why are you doing this? Did you just call it tripe?

SPEAKER_03 11:47

Yeah, oh that's a good word. Let's bring that one back. Tripe. It's a brilliant word. Why don't we use that more often? Right, I'm bringing that back. Bring back tripe. Bring back calling things tripe. It's like really old school, like northern saying, isn't it? Sums up so much. Old school northern. Old school northern, huh? Oh dear. Yeah, so my week's been alright. It's been, yeah.

unknown 12:20

Good.

SPEAKER_03 12:21

Put my head down. I've had some like nice updates from the kids there having a whale of a time.

SPEAKER_02 12:25

Oh are they on the camping outward trip now?

SPEAKER_03 12:29

Oh, it looks amazing. It looks amazing, yeah, yeah. And they were like sending me videos this morning of James like backflipping in the sand dunes and oh wow. Oh yeah, they've been surfing and loads of kangaroos and yeah. Oh, proper expensive. It's nice when you wake up. Oh no, isn't it nice? Yeah, I think they've got on each other's nerves. I mean they have had those. So they're like sleeping outside, they're sleeping in swags. And um, yeah, Olivia was just sending messages. Jane snores so much. That was it. That was it. It's like, you're right, Livia? Next time. Loud so loud. Why do people snore? I was like, actually, snoring can go in with one-on-one. That's a good one.

SPEAKER_02 13:14

Oh my god. Why have we not put snoring in before?

SPEAKER_03 13:17

I don't know.

SPEAKER_02 13:19

In fact, pause that because I feel like we can do a whole crisis talks on snoring. Right, okay. Oh, well, let's do it. Oh, I know, I know, I know, because I've got another one. I've got another one to go in. Crisis talks can be specifically on annoying noises. Yeah, oh yeah. Because I've got another one. Oh my god, I've got one as well.

SPEAKER_03 13:38

Okay, good.

SPEAKER_02 13:40

Yeah. Right, I'm just gonna move our notes around while we talk about the rest of the stuff. Annoying noises.

SPEAKER_03 13:46

That is such a menopausal thing as well.

unknown 13:49

I know.

SPEAKER_03 13:50

Oh god, why does it annoy you so much though?

SPEAKER_02 13:54

Don't know. But I had a I had a mega one when I was particularly grumpy last night, but we'll talk about that in crisis talks. Yeah, good.

SPEAKER_03 14:02

It makes you like I can sit with like my fists clenched.

unknown 14:06

Oh my god.

SPEAKER_03 14:07

And you're like, it's an it's a noise, right? Anyway, crisis talks, we'll save it. We'll save it, we'll save it. Obviously, we planned it like really well.

SPEAKER_02 14:14

I know we're a bit out, we're a bit out of practice, aren't we, with our planning, but it's fine, it's all fine. Yeah, we have got lots of 101s anyway, and we've got some contributions as well for 101s.

SPEAKER_03 14:25

We have, yeah, we've got contributions, lots of people moaning. Just general, yeah.

SPEAKER_02 14:32

Yeah. Um, right, so I'm gonna go first because I'm the mooniest person this week, and and it's it's leading on from the corporate guff conversation quite nicely. It's what you can call a segue into into my oh a segue.

SPEAKER_03 14:47

That's a bit of a core. Is that a corporate guff word? Segway. No, it's people like that, don't they?

SPEAKER_02 14:52

I feel like it's a broadcasting word, and as we are professional broadcasters, we should be using words like that, shouldn't we?

SPEAKER_03 14:59

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 15:00

So my uh my first one for room 101 is the phrase don't ask for permission, seek forgiveness.

SPEAKER_03 15:10

Oh do you get that? What in work?

SPEAKER_02 15:14

So there is a very it's a very common statement, I think, particularly in my team, but particularly one person. What is it again? Say it again, I forgot already. Don't ask for permission, seek forgiveness. So, so the reason why it really got my gun the other day, which I had to write it down, is because the way it was used. So there is one particular guy who uses it a lot in our team, and it's normally I kind of get it. It's a bit of a I had to just make a decision. So I've just gone with this rather than coming and consulting with everyone and checking, I've just done it. So I'm sort of saying, I've not come and asked if it's alright, I'm just telling you I've done it and I hope that's okay type of thing.

SPEAKER_03 16:01

Yeah. It sounds quite condescending in some ways, though.

SPEAKER_02 16:04

But but it's becoming because it's used so much now, particularly by this one guy, although it wasn't him that irritated me this week. Um, it's almost become like a bit of a catch-all for I can't be asked asking anyone else, so I'm just gonna fucking do it. It's become a bit of a arrogance, arrogance, exactly. And the way it was used to me the other day, which really irritated me, was um someone was talking to me on the phone about something, and they said, Well, I was gonna ask, I was gonna ask for permission, but then I decided to seek forgiveness instead about this thing. I went, Well, you've said it now, so you might as well ask me. So he then went on to went on to tell me what he wanted to do, and basically what he wanted to do was completely disregard something that I'd asked him not to do and do it anyway. And I was like, But you arrogant little prick, because that is just you just got it about you this week, I can tell you're making him laugh. But that isn't that though, that is just someone using a nice little trite phrase, trite that time, not trite, um, that is covers you because if you go in and go, Well, it's alright, I just I thought rather than ask for permission, I'll beg for you.

SPEAKER_03 17:19

But it's not forgiving anyone.

SPEAKER_02 17:21

It's just an excuse, it's just a cover-up for it is a complete and utter disregard for someone else's perception of an event or thoughts or opinions or and it it's just shit. So that phrase, please, I'd like to go into room 101. Yeah, corporate golf. Corporate golf.

SPEAKER_03 17:42

Can we put people in room 101? Well, we put Donald Trump in. Can we put Davinia Taylor in? I feel like it might be controversial. I mean she popped up on my bloody Facebook again and I just want to throttle her.

SPEAKER_02 18:04

It's because we were talking about her when we were together.

SPEAKER_03 18:07

I know it is, it is. But she's popped up again and she's flapping around with her bloody sachets of whatever it is.

SPEAKER_02 18:15

Gets on the nerves. Did the did the one come up about um the GLP one where you're on the job?

SPEAKER_03 18:22

That was the one which I yeah, because you we couldn't find that, could we?

SPEAKER_02 18:24

We we couldn't find it when we were talking about it, but it just popped up.

SPEAKER_03 18:28

So you have a sachet of yeah, you have a sachet of powder and it replenishes all the nutrients that you're not eating because you're having your injections for fat loss.

SPEAKER_00 18:42

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 18:43

And she completely understands that people have to have it.

SPEAKER_02 18:48

Yeah, yeah, yeah, she does. Yeah, she's she's all over that shit, isn't she?

SPEAKER_03 18:52

I thought I just anyway, she's going in. She was getting on my nerves.

SPEAKER_02 18:55

Um straight in there. Joe, it's funny because we did talk about it, didn't we, at the weekend? And um I mean, when I felt like it's a really tough one, isn't it? Because we we did vaguely know her when she was younger and had some interaction with her a long, long time ago. And when I first read her book, like someone Joe had read a book first and she was talking about it. I was like, I can't read it because I found her so irritating when I knew her, I can't bear to give her the money for the book that I've written. Um, but then I ended up reading it, and maybe I got it on like Kindle Unlimited or something, but I ended up reading it anyway, and it was actually quite interesting and quite useful. But she's done that thing that people do when they become influencers, which is they take it too far because they start to make money out of it, yeah, and suddenly it becomes an opinion that you're paid for, so you go extreme with it, and it's just like that's what it feels like to me.

SPEAKER_03 19:54

Yeah, I'm not actually against what she's doing because she's actually, I think her overall message is you know, good. I think it's like women being healthier and what have you, what have you. I mean, you know my thoughts on all the powders and the bloody stuff, snake oil, but um, yeah, but yeah, I I don't like the way she goes about it. I think she's quite um look at how normal I am. I'm just a normal, normal woman who hasn't got like money and really good genes, and do you know what I mean? You two could look like me. It's a bit like that.

SPEAKER_02 20:29

I find uh but that's what she's being paid to do, and I suppose that's the irritating bit, isn't it? It's like the the authenticity has gone. So when she started out, it was a very authentic message that very much came from her own experience and heart. But it's like anything when you're an influencer, and you see it with everyone like everyone I've ever liked at the beginning as they've gone on and on and on, and they become more extreme versions of themselves because that's what they're being paid to be.

SPEAKER_03 20:59

Yeah, that's exactly what's happened, yeah. Yeah, you're right. It's probably a lot of other people as well.

SPEAKER_02 21:05

It's a bit like the Manosphere documentary, isn't it? Those guys started off, probably, and it if you watched it to the end, didn't you? Where they showed them as little boys doing YouTube videos and stuff.

SPEAKER_03 21:20

Oh no, I didn't watch that because I want a lad to watch it till the end. Oh, maybe it's sort of stomped off.

SPEAKER_02 21:24

Right at the end, they showed I think it was all of them that he'd interviewed through the course of the programme, as they were when they were little boys. Because that's the the point that he was trying to make. It's not the creators, it's not necessarily the content, it's the platforms that are in the because these these little boys who you would recognise as your own children, yeah, yeah. Sitting in front of a YouTube video putting marshmallows in his mouth and trying to say whatever it is that that that that game is. Because they wanted the fame of YouTube and then. When they started to get recognized for saying the odd, stupid, extreme thing, suddenly they got more fame, so they said it more. So they got more fame, so they said it more. So it becomes like a thing that they don't caricature of yourself almost. Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 22:15

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 22:16

Exactly.

SPEAKER_03 22:16

That is how I feel she is. She she's she's almost she like plays on the northern normal skull next door. Oh, the rave. Yeah, she's been to has she been to the rave a rave before? Did she go out in the 90s?

SPEAKER_02 22:40

I don't know if you if I talked about it at the time when like when the hacienda when the um John Lewis video came out, I said hacienda then because our thing was did John Lewis even go to the Hacienda? Um when the John Lewis video came out, there was a a thing on her Instagram of the first time she watched, and she was literally crying her eyes out. Oh like and I mean I did cry the first time watched it, but not in a kind of kind of way, which is what she was doing.

SPEAKER_03 23:17

No, exactly. Say no more about it, yeah.

SPEAKER_02 23:23

Okay. Should we rather than putting her in, should we put extreme influences in? Yeah, we'll put extreme okay, yeah.

SPEAKER_03 23:30

Yeah, a bit bad putting just her in. Yeah, yeah, I think that's probably tight, isn't it?

unknown 23:34

Quite nean, quite quite nean.

SPEAKER_02 23:37

So uh yeah, gone. We should we go with one of our um contributors? Contributors.

SPEAKER_03 23:42

Yeah. What about Dan's? Yeah, Dan's is a good one, isn't it? Yeah, quite yeah. 24 hour news cycles.

SPEAKER_02 23:50

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 23:51

So this is BBC, well, is it 24 hour? Is it called BBC 24 hour news?

SPEAKER_02 23:57

Well there's just like a there's a new BBC news channel, isn't there? Is it Al Jazeera as well? There's CN News, there's Sky News, there's there's multiple news channels, aren't there?

SPEAKER_03 24:10

But just goes on and on and round and round and round. And if you didn't see it the first time half an hour ago, you can see it all again.

SPEAKER_02 24:18

But I think it's also when we were talking to him about it, it's the uh the availability of news, isn't it? And by that it's like in the olden days. When how was all that? In the nineties. In the nineties, when I went raving. Did you go raven? Oh yeah, this June. Have fun in the nineties. Um something would happen in the world, and unless it was a news point in time, like a 9 pm time or a 10 pm time when the news was on, you likely didn't hear about it till the next day, did you?

SPEAKER_03 24:54

Yeah, no.

SPEAKER_02 24:55

By which point they would have all the news and all the information and they would report the story properly. Yeah. But what happens now is something happens, and that's the news that you get. Something has happened. And then you're like, Yeah, yeah, yeah. Okay, so something's happened, now what? And then they'll like a bit later they'll go, so something has happened, and we believe allegedly that this is it. And they're like, but is that it? And then it's like, yeah. So something has happened, and we reported earlier it was this, it's actually this.

SPEAKER_03 25:25

You're like, for God's sake, make your mind up. We've got someone on the ground who's still stood there, yeah.

SPEAKER_02 25:32

Who's not really knowing what's going on? They're going, I'm here to report something has happened.

SPEAKER_03 25:40

I just can't be doing with the new. I don't really have a lot to do with the news. I kind of unfollowed it, and I just I I it's too depressing, and I do think you're better off just not knowing. But then what are your thoughts on like not following the news? Because there's a lot of people who seem to think that if you don't, it's a bit ignorant. Um I kind of got don't two trains of thought on it, really.

SPEAKER_02 26:04

I don't follow it, I certainly don't follow it like I used to. As part of my whole year of de-stressing, which I've been on, yeah. Um, I very rarely open the news up, and it was one of the first things that I would always do in the morning is see what's happened in the news, and I don't do that as much anymore.

SPEAKER_00 26:20

No.

SPEAKER_02 26:21

Um, and I don't I don't really look at news as much. I'm I'll catch the odd news story. I always kind of know what's going on in the world, but yeah, I don't obsessively follow things, and then I don't know.

SPEAKER_03 26:38

I know. I just yeah, I think if you if you do follow the news, like read the news, go online to do I it's it's too much. You're not getting a lot of cheerful news. Nope. It'd be alright if you had like, right, we've got one crap story and one really good story, one crap story, one good story. It's just not, it's just the barrage of shit.

SPEAKER_02 27:02

Like definitely murder and with all the 24-hour ones, isn't it? I think some of the the news shows, like the regional news, is still sort of the old-fashioned format, isn't it, of the big stories, little stories, sport, and finally, here's something funny that's happened recently.

SPEAKER_03 27:22

Something funny or little old lady in a maiden like garden or something.

SPEAKER_02 27:28

I think all news should be like John Craven's newsround. Yeah, yeah. It was proper news, but it was done in a really simple way that didn't like scare the shit out of you.

SPEAKER_03 27:42

Yeah, is that because it was John Craven though? Yeah. He was quite a chill bloke, wasn't he? Yeah. He's still alive. Oh yeah, he is. On Country File. He is on Country File.

SPEAKER_02 27:53

His calendar. He loves his calendar.

SPEAKER_03 27:54

He's pretty good actually. He's pretty like sprightly because he must be old. He must be the eighty. He must be eighty.

SPEAKER_01 28:01

He must be old.

SPEAKER_02 28:01

You're gonna Google it now, aren't you? I am gonna Google it while you continue talking about him.

SPEAKER_03 28:07

How great he was.

SPEAKER_02 28:09

Is oh how old how old do you think he is?

SPEAKER_03 28:15

Uh well uh 80. He's the man is 85. 85? Yeah, yeah, he looks good for 85. He looks brilliant, doesn't he? Yeah, and he's still going with his country file. Yeah. He's still got that very calming kind of demeanour.

SPEAKER_02 28:34

Yeah, he's from Leeds, you know. It's the northern thing, isn't it? Yeah, that kind of thing. Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 28:41

Northerners are great, aren't they?

SPEAKER_02 28:42

People trust northerners, don't they?

SPEAKER_03 28:44

Yeah. They're Raven in the 90s. John Craven definitely didn't go wrong. Well, we maybe he did.

SPEAKER_01 28:53

Did we ever see him in the hands of the lead?

SPEAKER_03 28:56

We might have gone to back to basics. Yeah. No, I don't think he did. I don't think that was his vibe.

SPEAKER_02 29:05

Okay, so 24-hour news cycles. We've just got too much news, basically. I think was Dan's problem, wasn't it?

SPEAKER_03 29:11

Yeah, too much.

SPEAKER_02 29:12

Too much news, too often. Yeah. Too depressing.

SPEAKER_03 29:16

Had enough. Had enough of just what's going on in the world. I think that's probably what the vibe is. Constant reminders.

SPEAKER_02 29:25

I suppose the counteract to that is the um that happy, is it happy news? I can't remember what it is now.

SPEAKER_03 29:32

Yeah, it's happy news. Yeah, we've talked about happy news before.

SPEAKER_02 29:35

Oh, I love happy news. I love happy news as well. I love just licking through it and just like always mitz and smile.

SPEAKER_03 29:44

It does. But that's what I'm saying. Why can't you just get a couple of happy newses? Normal news, happy news, normal news, happy news. Actually, why is it normal? Why is it normal news? Why can happy news not be the normal news?

SPEAKER_02 29:56

Yeah, just news is news, isn't it? Yeah. Um right, yeah, I can go in, Dan. Dan, you can have that. Well done, Dan. Dan who doesn't listen to the podcast can have that in.

SPEAKER_03 30:06

Talks about it and just laughs that we do it and never listens to it.

SPEAKER_02 30:12

Um, right, so do you want to do Marie's next?

SPEAKER_03 30:16

I'll do Marie's, yeah. So Marie, lovely Marie. Spoke Marie to her before. Cruising Marie. Oh, yeah, Cruising Marie. I called her that. Yeah, we send each other voice notes. She's like my voice note pal. Ah. Yeah, she's the one who made me get do voice notes. Um anyway, she can't stand people who go to the self-checkout in a supermarket, scan all of their stuff through onto the weigh-in thing or whatever it is, and then get their bag out and put it all in and pay for it. She said, you can put your bag down, weigh your bag, and then put it all in.

SPEAKER_01 31:00

Save your time.

SPEAKER_02 31:02

And what is it a time thing that irritates her?

SPEAKER_03 31:05

I think it's a time thing, yeah. Yeah. Which I kind of I kind of understand. I think if you it depends how much stuff you've got, doesn't it?

SPEAKER_02 31:16

Yeah, I mean I I think I've been one of the people that irritates Marie, which is why I'm being quite quiet about it. Oh no, are you? Because sometimes like if you've not got a bag to hand and you have to go and grab a bag, sometimes it's easier to scan it through then go and grab your bag and chuck it in.

SPEAKER_03 31:34

No, you need to be more organised than that, I'm afraid.

SPEAKER_02 31:36

But if no one's waiting, it doesn't matter, does it?

SPEAKER_03 31:40

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 31:41

And in Aldi, particularly, you have to ask for a bag. Can you have a bag, please? They have to give them to you. Not take your own bags. Well, if I'm shopping in Aldi, it's normally because I've forgotten something in the big shop and I have to just nip in.

SPEAKER_03 31:56

Oh right. So you don't have your own bags? Not that disgrace.

SPEAKER_02 32:00

I went through a phase of trying to keep them in the car and then that didn't work.

SPEAKER_03 32:03

Oh no, I've got them in the car. I have got a shopping bag which folds into a little yes, don't look at me like that. Look, don't because it's great, honestly. Stay with stay with me, stay with me. It's a material bag and it folds out into quite a large tote bag.

SPEAKER_02 32:22

Okay. I I did used to have one of those, but you have to Yeah, but where do you keep it?

SPEAKER_01 32:29

In my bag all the time. But I don't carry a bag all the time. Why? Well, I don't need one, I just have my phone. Everything's on my phone. Oh, you'd what have you lost it?

SPEAKER_02 32:40

If I could have a magic bag that fitted in my phone, then that would be if my phone would turn into a bag. That's all they're asking stuff. Do you not take other stuff with you throughout the day? Water. Yeah, I carry that in my hand. Don't need a bag.

SPEAKER_01 32:56

You don't have a bag.

SPEAKER_02 32:58

This is weird. I do sometimes take a bag, but and then I feel like I'm making stuff up to put in it. Like, well I'll take that because we've got a bag.

SPEAKER_03 33:11

You've always got a bag. I don't I'm not sure I believe you. I don't swear you've got a bag.

SPEAKER_02 33:16

So I had a bag when I came to you in Bristol because I was going on the train and I needed a few things out of my main bag. Yeah. But like if I was going to the pub now, I probably wouldn't take a bag with me.

SPEAKER_00 33:31

Hmm. Mm-mm.

SPEAKER_03 33:35

I mean, I have a bag with me all the time because I've got to take my insulin with me, I suppose.

SPEAKER_02 33:39

I know, yeah.

SPEAKER_03 33:40

So I suppose for me it might be slightly different. That's why I'm looking at you like you're completely insane.

SPEAKER_02 33:44

I can see that you think I'm completely insane.

SPEAKER_03 33:47

But this stuff you need, like what about I don't know, like a lip balm and a I don't know.

SPEAKER_02 33:54

Pockets. What pockets are for?

SPEAKER_03 33:57

I don't like putting things in pockets, mate.

SPEAKER_02 34:00

I mean it gets more difficult in the summer, I'll be honest, when you have less pocketed items on and no coat normally.

SPEAKER_03 34:08

But that that annoys me about summer, not having a pocket. Yeah. You've got to get dresses with pockets in though, haven't you?

SPEAKER_02 34:16

Yeah, and I keep um to be fair on all my Instagram influencers, whenever they show you a dress, always go, and it's got pockets.

unknown 34:22

I'm like, oh.

SPEAKER_03 34:23

Yeah, you do you need them? Especially at our age, and I don't know why. You do need it. You didn't have to have a bag when we were younger. We've already had that conversation, aren't we? Empty packet of fags.

SPEAKER_02 34:36

Yeah, fags and a tenor rolled up inside. Right, let's move on to another one. Yeah, Marie can have that one. Um I do get it. It is about people not being organised, isn't it? Um oh, we're not gonna have time to do all of these. Pick one, which one do you want to do?

SPEAKER_03 34:54

What mine? Litter because it was annoying me the other day. What why do people just chuck shit on the floor? Because people are scumbags. I d uh it is though, isn't it? That's the only reason. Why in I do not know why you would just like eat summer and then chuck it on the floor, chuck the bag on the floor. No, I don't either. What world do we live in that people think that that's alright? I don't know. I d I don't know. And then the worst part is when people like chuck stuff out of their car window. That I mean the anger that comes out of me when people do that. It is pure rage. Yeah, it is. Like, no. And a car thing is it I think it's quite common because you see it, don't you, on the side of the road. The side of the roads, yeah.

SPEAKER_02 35:42

I hate that. And when you see, particularly one of the worst things I hate is when there's like a takeaway bag, so like a McDonald's or a KFC bag. And you see it going along. So either you've got like the chip packet and then the burger packet, and then the main bag, and then the drink, and they've obviously literally like done it as they've gone along, and you're like, you scumbag, absolute scumbag. Yeah, or if you're at a junction and it's just there's a bag of shit at the junction because someone's obviously stopped at a junction and want it in their car and just dumped it out of the door, yeah.

SPEAKER_03 36:14

And I just think, well but is it because they don't want it in the car, so they don't want like a takeaway bag in their car. Yeah, or laziness. Because obviously their car's so clean, because but they're a dirt bag, so it's fine.

SPEAKER_02 36:26

I think it's an ignorance thing, I think it's a lack of respect. Oh my god, I feel like an old woman. Um, a lack of respect for their surroundings. It's primarily young people that do it.

SPEAKER_03 36:37

Is it?

SPEAKER_02 36:38

I think, yeah.

SPEAKER_03 36:41

Well, if my kids did that, I'd be. If they're listening to this, they know. I do not have any truck with that. No truck whatsoever. No truck. Yeah. Um, anyway, yeah, litter that's going in. Litter. Um, what else? What do you want? Go on, you put another one in.

SPEAKER_02 37:01

Uh right. Well, there's a couple that I could choose, but the one I'm gonna go with because it has particularly irritated me this week is meal planning and food shopping. Honestly, if someone could just save me from that life, I I hate it. I hate every week thinking, what am I gonna feed my family this week? That's different. That's every mum's hate. Honestly, and it I'm with a fussy eater like Lottie, and I'm there trying to be a bit different, trying to mix things up, because I'm so fed up of eating the same things over and over and over and over again. But knowing deep down, as I write out the new option that she's gonna like it, won't eat it, and it ruins the whole day because she's still in that world of asking what's for tea first thing in the morning, and if it's not something she likes, awful, she's awful, she won't speak, so then so it's the meal planning and then the actual shopping for the meals afterwards as well, and it's like I hate shopping anyway. I find the whole thing so depressing, I hate it so much.

SPEAKER_03 38:06

I hate it. That's one good thing now about not having any kids or any like we just don't do any of that. We just go like what do you fancy? We'll just go to the shop on the way home or whatever. Yeah, it it's but you don't realise until you get that what a burden it is.

SPEAKER_02 38:22

Oh god, it hurts my head. Just thinking about it now hurts my head.

SPEAKER_03 38:27

It is horrible, that can definitely go in. It is horrible.

SPEAKER_02 38:30

Yeah, it's just a bad mum job, that isn't it? It's one that It's awful, yeah. And I Neil's quite good, really, because he does do it and he will go shopping as well. He doesn't mind going shopping, but um, I don't know if anyone's noticed, I'm a bit of a control freak, and um he always gets the wrong things, it kills me, I can't deal with it, so I'd rather do it myself.

SPEAKER_03 38:52

Well, no, you've got to relinquish some of that.

SPEAKER_02 38:54

I know he does do a lot to be fair, he does quite a bit of the as well, so I can't complain.

SPEAKER_03 39:03

I think it's annoying when you just think, well, I'll just have a sandwich, I don't give a shit. I'd I will eat the sandwich for my tea. I do not care.

SPEAKER_02 39:10

And yeah, and you and then you're like, oh no, I've got to cook something vaguely nutritious, and like I think I'm trying to get veg into it, and I'm like, how can I get veg into this meal so that oh no, so you just want a ham butter. Sorry, bless you.

SPEAKER_03 39:26

I think I've got a hay fever.

SPEAKER_02 39:28

Anyway, we are coming up to the house.

SPEAKER_03 39:30

Anyway, that's the end of that.

SPEAKER_02 39:31

Right, that can go in 100%. Meal planning.

SPEAKER_03 39:33

Everyone, every listener across the country will be agreeing with that.

SPEAKER_02 39:38

Cool. All right, well, I enjoyed that little moan. We'll be back for practice talks on Wednesday for specific noise-based irritations, noise-related irritations.

SPEAKER_03 39:51

All right, my darling. I'll see you then.

SPEAKER_01 39:53

See you big then, like a proper loser. Oh, yeah. See you later. Oh bye, bye, bye.