Midlife: Backpacking, Bad Decisions & Midlife Reflections

This week we're catching up on all things life, family and travel before taking a hilarious trip down memory lane with our old Australia diaries.

From new nieces and solo adventures to menopause chats and the reality of getting older, we cover the stuff that happens when you're firmly in your midlife era. Then things get interesting as we dust off our diaries from our backpacking days in Australia and relive some of the adventures, questionable decisions and unforgettable memories that helped shape who we are today.

Expect plenty of laughs, a few moments of nostalgia and proof that while we've grown up a bit, we're still very much the same people underneath it all.

Whether you're reminiscing about your own travels, navigating midlife changes or just fancy a laugh with two friends who've known each other for over 30 years, this one's for you.

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

Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:25

Hello.

SPEAKER_01 0:26

Hi.

SPEAKER_00 0:27

Do you feel professional?

SPEAKER_01 0:29

We have a new recording platform.

SPEAKER_00 0:31

We do. Well, it's not here, it's the one we used to use, but we're back on it.

SPEAKER_01 0:36

Well, do we prefer it? Do we think it's better? So far, so good. The countdown's better than me going like that.

SPEAKER_00 0:42

I know than you going three, two, one. Yeah, definitely better having a proper countdown.

SPEAKER_01 0:52

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 0:53

Yeah, I like it so far. I'm wishing, because I feel like this is a also quite good for posting video from, that I'd made a little bit more effort with my appearance today.

SPEAKER_01 1:03

Yeah, do you know what? I was just looking at myself. I look like I'd drag I've been dragged through a hedge.

SPEAKER_00 1:08

Have you got your ring piece on?

SPEAKER_01 1:10

I haven't got my ring piece on. No, but the sun's shining right in my face, so I don't need that. Oh. Put my glasses on, glasses off, glasses on. I can't see them. I know when you put glasses on, you should be able to see. Yeah. So that means that right.

SPEAKER_00 1:25

Are they your glasses?

SPEAKER_01 1:26

They're my glasses, but they've got like a big scratch on them. I don't know what happened. And they're annoying me. I need to get some new ones.

SPEAKER_00 1:35

What you need, my friend, is some very focals.

SPEAKER_01 1:39

Because you're so old. I'm not 80. Fairifocals are for eight-year-olds, aren't they? When I was younger.

SPEAKER_00 1:49

Do you know what the scary thing is though? You're as close to 80 as you are to 20.

SPEAKER_01 2:00

Oh god. You're supposed to cheer me up. God. Oh man.

SPEAKER_00 2:09

Well, it's midlife no crisis in the money.

SPEAKER_01 2:14

Oh yeah, if you've not switched off already, one minute in. We're clearly having a crisis because we're so depressed. Oh no, we're not depressed. We're not as depressed as we were when we were 14, 15. Let me talk about it. Oh my god.

SPEAKER_00 2:27

Well, we'll go. So excited about. I was quite nervous, but I'm so excited about this episode. Let me just give you a sneak peek because in today's main episode, we decided we were going to read out our Australia diaries and go through some of the things that we did. We've talked about our trip to Australia before and read through some of that. And then in finding our Australia diaries, we also found our 14-15-year-old diaries. Just look at this, baby.

SPEAKER_01 2:57

Wow. Oh wow. Wow. Look at mine. Classy. Look at you. You were a lady. For the purposes of the listeners, on the back of this diary, it says whiz 91.

SPEAKER_00 3:19

Mind of sense. It says private. Do not read with love. Private. Sod off. Private. Keep out of it.

SPEAKER_01 3:27

That's the same. Do not look inside this. Do not read this. Unless you have what does it say? Unless you have my permission. And you probably haven't.

SPEAKER_00 3:43

Oh dear me. Right. Well, we're gonna save those. That's the reason to listen to crisis talks later. That is a reason to listen to crisis in class. Oh, brilliant. A little insight into our 14-year-old brains for what it's oh dear.

SPEAKER_01 3:57

No one wants that. Good breeze.

SPEAKER_00 3:59

Anyway, before we go on to that, tell me how you've been this week. What have you been up to?

SPEAKER_01 4:03

Oh, I'm quite excited because I've got a new niece.

SPEAKER_00 4:05

Oh, I saw that on the social media. So is it Kaya?

SPEAKER_01 4:09

Kaya, yeah, Kaya. K-A-I-A.

SPEAKER_00 4:12

Yeah. Oh, and she looks so cute.

SPEAKER_01 4:15

And she's really cute. Yeah. She's quite big. I think I don't know. It was in kilos, you know. I don't understand kilos. Oh, about nine pounds anyway. On the bigger side. Wow. On the bigger side of babies. Um, yeah, she's cute. Yeah, she's good.

SPEAKER_00 4:32

And obviously, Andy survived alright.

SPEAKER_01 4:36

She survived, yeah. She's alright. I think we're getting out on Friday, so yeah. She was born yesterday. So yeah. Well, congratulations to the listen, Sandy, if you're listening. Probably very tired.

SPEAKER_00 4:50

Oh, yeah. I suspect it'll be about 3 a.m. and he won't have slept for four nights. And he can't wait to listen to us read out our Australia diaries. I bet he can't. I don't know.

SPEAKER_01 5:00

Definitely mentioned.

unknown 5:02

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 5:04

We'd have to have like a we'd have to have like a four-hour long episode though.

SPEAKER_00 5:09

What? The Andy Curry special.

SPEAKER_01 5:11

Just no, just my Australia diary, really. But he does appear quite often, yeah. Oh dear. But yeah, so I've got a new niece, so that's cute. It was quite sad because you can't actually see her. You just want to go around and like give her a cuddle, don't you?

SPEAKER_00 5:26

Smell her.

SPEAKER_01 5:27

She's too far away.

SPEAKER_00 5:29

Yeah, it's so far, Australia, isn't it?

SPEAKER_01 5:31

Too far, yeah. But yeah, so that's that. James is in Brisbane, so he's left Melbourne.

SPEAKER_00 5:38

Oh, yeah, yeah, you said that last time.

SPEAKER_01 5:39

So he's gone to Brisbane. Got to went to Brisbane for the sun, and it's absolutely pissing down. I was like, oh for God's sake. Oh no. Um, but but he did get the job that he went for. Oh, but they've emailed him. So the day he booked the flight to Brisbane because he was in a mood and he hadn't got the job and he wanted some sunshine. They emailed him to say that there was a position there for him. Oh no. And he'd be a good fit. But they've not they've said it's not available yet. So he's waiting. So it's alright. I just said, go and have a nice time, go and have a holiday. Oh yeah, just go.

SPEAKER_00 6:17

He can go and do the like the Gold Coast and stuff, can't he? And then go back and work when he's when he's ready.

SPEAKER_01 6:23

It'll work out, it's fine.

SPEAKER_00 6:25

It always works out. That's the perfect solution.

SPEAKER_01 6:28

Yeah, traveling, it always just does, doesn't it? It just happens to you sometimes, doesn't it?

SPEAKER_00 6:32

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 6:33

As will be evidenced in the Australia Diaries. Um, and what's Olivia doing? She's just applied for British Airways, a job at British Airways. Yeah.

unknown 6:45

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 6:46

Oh my god, that is so exciting.

SPEAKER_01 6:48

I know. Yeah, she's just done it. Wow. She was she was faffing around, like she was going through careers and various things. And um, yeah, she said, Oh, I'm gonna just apply, and she's just applied. So fingers crossed.

SPEAKER_00 7:03

Oh, that'd be perfect for us.

SPEAKER_01 7:04

She said, If if I get that, that means that I I'm not destined to go back to Australia. If I don't get it, that means I'm destined to go to Australia. This is how her mind's working. I was like, Well, I mean, in fairness, I think when she's on about going to Australia, she's on about going like till the end of her visa, which is January.

SPEAKER_00 7:22

Oh, right, okay.

SPEAKER_01 7:23

So she's not here.

SPEAKER_00 7:25

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 7:26

Which I kind of understand.

SPEAKER_00 7:27

Yeah, no, I guess.

SPEAKER_01 7:28

So yeah. So she's going to Copenhagen and Sweden at the end of the month. Yeah. Because she's obviously been here a bit too long.

SPEAKER_00 7:37

Needs a bit of a change scene. What what's it been like? Six weeks?

SPEAKER_01 7:41

Yeah, six weeks, yeah. That's the ultimate in how long you can last at something, put up with something. Um yeah, what else has happened? Not a lot else has happened. That's quite eventful to be fair, isn't it? For a week. But that's quite eventful.

SPEAKER_00 8:02

That is quite eventful. So, yeah, everyone's moving around and having babies in your world, then aren't they?

SPEAKER_01 8:07

Yeah, not me.

SPEAKER_00 8:09

Not you.

SPEAKER_01 8:09

Who's staying in the same place and not having babies?

SPEAKER_00 8:12

Okay, good. Yeah, no babies here, thank you. Can you imagine? What?

SPEAKER_01 8:17

No, no. I'm tired, even just talking about it.

SPEAKER_00 8:21

Well, I've been on a little trip.

SPEAKER_01 8:23

I know. Well, tell me all.

SPEAKER_00 8:26

So we um it was Mum's 80th on Sunday, and her and my dad traditionally spend the two weeks of the beginning of June in Portugal. They've got a timeshare, hence it being the same two weeks every year. And um, so she's always away for a birthday, and with her turning 80, she's quite um, she likes her birthday to be very special. I mean, we normally start planning it around December the year before. Um, you know, we kind of have a present list go in for the entire year and all that kind of thing. So me and my brother decided that we'd go out and see her for a birthday because we thought it'd be a bit miserable just her being with my dad on the room. Um and it grew arms and legs a bit, as these things do. So I went, I continued with the plan that it was just me and none of the rest of my family. Um, but my brother's son and daughter came. So Stephen and Ellie Mae came, and Ellie Mae brought her boyfriend Ewan as well. So it turned out to be quite a nice little party, really. And it was just it was just really nice. Like I was only there, got there on Friday night, and I flew back on Monday morning. So it was was a proper whistle stop, and it was nice travelling on my own. That was like a weird I was gonna ask you about that. Yeah, I've I've I've obviously done it. I mean, I've travelled all the way to and from Australia on my own, which when I think back to it now, I can't believe I did that.

SPEAKER_01 9:43

Um do you remember just a button? But do you remember I got you fake arrested or something?

SPEAKER_00 9:49

It's in it's in here, pal. In the diary. Well, we'll come back to that because that I was thinking that exact thing while I was landing. Um, so yeah, no, it was really nice. And I had like I had nice seat passenger company. Um, so the lady sat next to me going out, but they were both actually just the right amount of chatty, do you know, like not chewing my ear off and wanting to talk all the way there? But like we had little chats here and there, and we both had rose going out, which was nice. Oh yeah, bit of company, yeah. Bit of company for me drinking, company, but we did have there was um drama going out because they had to delay the plane taking off because there was someone who was really drunk. Because obviously it's Stagdo Central, isn't it?

SPEAKER_01 10:32

Who are these people?

SPEAKER_00 10:34

Oh, I know, and so they had to take this guy and his mate off, and then they had to find his bag, and it was all drama. And the um captain came over and kept giving you updates, and it and sort of once they'd got everyone off, he gave everyone on the plane a lecture about drinking on the plane, and um how you know, maybe you know, if you're on your way out, maybe just have the one on the plane tonight, you know, don't ruin the fun for everybody. We all want to get there safely. And and so, like you could tell everyone like properly deliberately didn't drink going out. Oh, yeah. Cup of tea for me, please. I would have had I would have had like a couple of bottles of wine, but like you know, the little ones. Um, but no, I just had one because I felt really paranoid. Really? Well, that did the trick then.

SPEAKER_01 11:18

Well done, that man.

SPEAKER_00 11:19

Yeah, guilt guilt trick worked for us.

SPEAKER_01 11:21

So how drunk was the man? What was he doing?

SPEAKER_00 11:23

I didn't see him. I was disappointed. Me and the lady next to me were like really craning our necks round to try and look at what was going on.

SPEAKER_01 11:30

It's right, it's when people start shouting and swearing and stuff, though. Like, just be just have a laugh, just be funny.

SPEAKER_00 11:37

I suspect, and I think I can't remember, I think it was maybe my brother who told me on because this was on jet two, and jet two are a bit of a better airline, aren't they? My brother said that it happened on Ryanair and they didn't take the passenger off, they just didn't serve any alcohol during the flight.

SPEAKER_01 11:55

But that went down a treat.

SPEAKER_00 11:56

I know yeah, but but yeah, no, so it's really nice. The weather was lovely, it was like nice, just not too hot, but just hot enough. And nice. We had lovely me and my brother and Stephen um walked down to the beach both days. My mum's not very mobile, so she couldn't do it. And then on my last day on the Monday, because I had to get up, not mega early, but I've just got up at my normal time as if I was at home. I was up for the sunrise, so I went down and walked if there's like a lovely like salt lake around, and I walked down there and I watched the sunrise on my own, and it was just super magical.

SPEAKER_01 12:29

Um did you optimise your life?

SPEAKER_00 12:31

Yeah, well, no, because I'm not Stephen Bartlett.

SPEAKER_01 12:35

No, oh no, he does optimise his life. Yeah, that's a whole that's a whole other podcast.

SPEAKER_00 12:40

I know we we said we would do a podcast.

SPEAKER_01 12:43

That'd be quite funny.

SPEAKER_00 12:44

Yeah, we've we've discussed the Stephen Bartlett affair before, haven't we? Yeah, um, but yeah, no, I had three glasses of wine and it didn't ruin my life for four days, so you know, I'm alright, Jack.

SPEAKER_01 12:55

Well, you're all right. You've got your life in order. You're not as pathetic as this man.

SPEAKER_00 12:59

I don't need to optimise, I'm optimised.

SPEAKER_01 13:03

Oh dear me. That word's going in the bin. That's going in room 101. That's one.

SPEAKER_00 13:08

Well, do you know what? When I was looking through our episode plan, I thought we haven't got a room 101 on the books. We need to do that definitely.

SPEAKER_01 13:14

That is next. We'll do that next.

SPEAKER_00 13:16

Definitely. So, how are your hot flushes?

SPEAKER_01 13:20

Awful. Oh no, it's really bad. I get them like twice a day.

SPEAKER_00 13:25

Oh, you're joking.

SPEAKER_01 13:26

No, it's like, um, maybe not twice, maybe once a day. It is literally like all you've you're absolutely fine, and then it's like blood boiling, like really, really hot. It's horrible. I don't want necessarily sometimes I sweat, but it's it's just like a real like internal heat. It's really hard to explain.

SPEAKER_00 13:47

What causes it? Do they know?

SPEAKER_01 13:49

I don't know. I don't know.

SPEAKER_00 13:51

I feel like I need to understand the science because that's like magic that you get hot for no reason, isn't it?

SPEAKER_01 13:56

It is really, but I'm so bored of the menopause that I just whatever. What's the next thing? Go deaf.

SPEAKER_00 14:02

I don't know. I I watched just as an aside, one of our other favourite people get insulated as well. Um, I did too. Yeah. Hooray for that! Well, you send me one, and then there was another one, obviously, because it then becomes your algorithm, doesn't it?

SPEAKER_02 14:18

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 14:19

Another one came up. Um, and she was Divinia was having a rant back at people about how everything's science-based and blah blah blah, about all this kind of thing. And I think this woman's maybe a GP or she's a doctor or something, and she's just sat there going, like, no, no, it's all bullshit.

SPEAKER_01 14:38

Oh, I I I don't, I honestly just saying, like, oh, people need a study, like slagging people off because they need a study. Well, yes, yes, I would I would like a study actually.

SPEAKER_00 14:51

Yeah, science. We generally as a as a population, we've based everything on science, so why would you stop now?

SPEAKER_01 14:58

So why are we gonna believe you? Because you and an army of brainwashed women are all going, yeah, it's amazing. I know. Anyway, don't get me started.

SPEAKER_00 15:07

No, I won't, don't worry. Don't worry. And I'm ditching my collagen as well, just so you'd be happy to hear.

SPEAKER_01 15:13

Good. I think I mean, in fairness, I do you know what? Some people say it makes them feel loads better. And actually, if it makes you feel better, that's fine. Take it.

SPEAKER_00 15:23

I think what it helped me with was my joints being slightly less sore.

SPEAKER_01 15:26

But other than that, yeah, so but if it does, that's what I mean. Like, I don't you should do, you should take it.

SPEAKER_00 15:32

But then I don't know whether that's the creatine and everything else that I take. I mean, I'm gonna stick with the creatine because that has got science behind it.

SPEAKER_01 15:39

Yeah, yeah. We don't know what we don't know, do we? Let's be real. I've stopped taking everything. I don't take anything now, I don't take a thing, it's made absolutely no difference. Six months.

SPEAKER_00 15:51

But six months, maybe that's what's maybe that's what it is.

SPEAKER_01 15:55

Oh, it's not that though, is it? Is it?

SPEAKER_00 15:57

I don't know.

SPEAKER_01 15:58

Oh, don't get me, I don't know. Like I don't take magnesium, I don't do any of it anymore. I stopped doing it. Because I was getting more annoyed with taking the tablets on the night than any kind of like anything that they were doing for me. So any benefit I was getting from it, the fact I had to keep taking all these tablets, I was getting really annoyed. So that was the end of that. I think it's fair enough. It's too much on an evening. It is too much. I've got enough, I've got enough stuff to remember. It's just got like too many things. It's like night time insulin. Take your progesterone tablets, put your retainer in on your teeth, um, put your night cream on. I'd I'd forget. Throw in five tablets as well, you've had it.

SPEAKER_00 16:48

I remember we used to sing a song at school called After the Ball Was Over, and I keep meaning to look it up and find the words, but it's basically like a woman who's got back from a night out and she takes off a wig and she takes out a false teeth and she takes off her eyelashes and she's like goes from a beautiful woman to like an old hag. And I think that's pretty much what we do every night, isn't it? Yeah, absolutely. Catfish. Yeah, catfishing everyone, aren't we? Should we move on? Because um I really want to get a good 20 minutes of these Australia.

SPEAKER_01 17:20

Right, yes, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. We've done our usual ramble.

SPEAKER_00 17:23

Ramble on.

SPEAKER_01 17:25

Right.

SPEAKER_00 17:25

So the as we said at the very beginning, I'm just gonna do that. The episode today is all about our Australia diaries, and it's comes off the back of you clearing your shed out, if I remember rightly, doesn't it?

SPEAKER_01 17:36

Yeah, it was. I found it, yeah.

SPEAKER_00 17:40

So did you start your diary straight away?

SPEAKER_01 17:45

Australia, yeah.

SPEAKER_00 17:46

Did you as soon as you got there?

SPEAKER_01 17:48

Uh let me have a look if it was. I think yeah, it was, yeah. Yeah. Woke up at 6 a.m. scared to death. I had an emotional goodbye and listened to Nick's mad tape.

SPEAKER_02 18:04

Ah.

SPEAKER_01 18:05

So Nick um went round at my leaving party and and recorded everybody on a tape saying goodbye to me.

SPEAKER_00 18:13

I didn't even remember that, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 18:14

And then told me not to listen to it until I was in the airport. Um 13-hour flight to Hong Kong with Vera Stephen Floyd. Who? Don't ask me, but I poor old Vera Stephen Floyd was stuck with me and Andrea Walwick for 13 hours.

SPEAKER_00 18:32

Well, you went, did you went to Thailand on the way or on the way home?

SPEAKER_01 18:35

No, this was Hong Kong. We went on the way.

SPEAKER_00 18:38

Oh, okay.

SPEAKER_01 18:40

Uh Hong Kong is madness. There are tall skyscrapers, because I've never seen anything like this before.

SPEAKER_02 18:46

Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 18:46

There are tall skyscrapers. Everything is too fast. There is every type of transport possible. Quantas is quite a good flight, though. Oh dear me. Uh what have I written here? Oh, there's just so much rubbish and like names of people I don't even know who they are.

SPEAKER_00 19:08

Well, this is something that I have noticed. I'm going to give you some names later and see if you recognise anything. So, my first entry is Thursday, the 18th of June. Oh, look at that. So, how many years ago is that? We're nearly however many years exactly. Arrived yesterday at 4:30 am. Katie, all the way through my diary, you are Katie. Katie, met me at the airport, but before that I got accosted by some random custom blokes who knew her. So we should probably explain that. So I'd been on a solo trip from the UK. I think I flew via Singapore, I think. So I had like a little stop off in Singapore for about five hours. So I'd probably been travelling for, I don't know, let's say 26 hours by the time I landed in Darwin. Literally completely delirious, no fucking clue what was going on, scared shitless because I'd come to this country on my own, didn't know whether you'd be there, like was just really worried. And I came through customs at Darwin Airport, and these two blokes stopped me and said, Um, we're gonna just have to take you to one side a minute, we just need to have a look through your bag. And I just absolutely shit myself. I honestly I could have cried, but I was so delirious, and I was just like, What the fuck? What's going on? Oh my god, what have I done? I've not done anything. And I'm thinking, if someone put something in my bag when I was at Singapore and all this kind of thing. Oh no, and anyway, it was it was you, my lovely friend, wasn't it?

SPEAKER_01 20:34

It was me, hilarious friend. What a Jun times. That's exactly the kind of thing that you just would not do to your friends now at this age. It's entirely.

SPEAKER_00 20:52

You totally would.

SPEAKER_01 20:53

I don't think I would. I probably would actually. I was there though.

SPEAKER_00 20:57

It was there. No, you weren't you didn't you met me, and it was because you'd been working at the airport, and so you know what?

SPEAKER_01 21:02

Yeah, yeah, yeah. And it was early in the morning, I seem, to recall. What day was it you got there? It'll be in my diary. I'll have a look and see what I said.

SPEAKER_00 21:13

All right, go on. It's Thursday the 18th of June, see if you can find it. While you find it, I'll read you a bit more. On the night we went to Mindle Beach Market, bought a skirt and a toe ring. Really nice market, the sort of place you could spend hours and lots of money. And we both still have our toe rings on, don't we?

SPEAKER_01 21:32

We both still have them. In fact, my I've mine's been on so long it's deformed my toe. Yeah, mine was as on. It's like the bones kind of groom behind it. I had to get up at 3 30 a.m. because I was going to meet Max at the airport. Did do a little bit of a wind up on her. I think she was alright. We spent all day, we spent all we spent all the days. Together. We had a nice time, but we did have to go to bed early. Oh no. Oh we went out, got pissed.

SPEAKER_00 22:15

Yeah, I mean, literally, there's a lot of that. Every single day says, went out, got pissed. Next day we put over. Um, I've written here as well, reading a very bizarre book called The Beach about Thailand.

SPEAKER_01 22:29

The beach, yeah. When we read it, were we over there? So when the film came out when we came back from Australia, because I remember going watching it in the cinema.

SPEAKER_00 22:38

Yeah, but I think it was a little bit after we got back. So do you remember a guy called Wade?

SPEAKER_01 22:46

No.

SPEAKER_00 22:47

Lawrence?

SPEAKER_01 22:48

No.

SPEAKER_00 22:49

Warren.

SPEAKER_01 22:50

Where's this?

SPEAKER_00 22:52

So these are all people that we were friends with in Darwin. I think we called them Warrants. I think there was a Warren and a Lawrence, and we called them Warrants.

SPEAKER_01 23:00

Warrants. That rings a bell. Warrants rings a bell. Was it other ones that were I think they were at the rattle? Was it called the Rattle and Hum? Was it that?

SPEAKER_00 23:10

The Rattle and Hum was in Cairns, I think. Was it Buzz Bar was in Darwin? What was that? I mean, there's a lot of there's a lot of attendance of bars.

SPEAKER_01 23:24

I mean, that's all mine is. Hung over, hung over. Um trolley night.

SPEAKER_00 23:31

Oh yeah, I found trolley night. Hang on.

SPEAKER_01 23:33

So trolley night was the was my last day at work, according to this.

SPEAKER_00 23:38

12 at night.

SPEAKER_01 23:39

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 23:40

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 23:40

My last day in work. I was actually on time. Yeah, I got it. No way. I was buzzing. Went and met the girls, got ready, and we all went to see the football. We had some champagne and vodka. Went to see the football, but what football was that? Was that the World Cup?

SPEAKER_00 24:00

No, well, no, I think because there was chat. Uh there was chat of the World Cup, but do you remember on a Sunday we used to go and watch the football on the playing fields and we used to go looking for fresh meat?

SPEAKER_01 24:11

Oh yeah, we did. That's what we were doing. Went to the Vic. Went to the Vic. That was that pub in Darwin, wasn't it? That one that we always went to. Um got totally smashed. Andrea had to go home early. So I've put I thought we we went to the rattle, met Peter. Who's Peter?

SPEAKER_00 24:32

Oh, I don't know. Maybe it was the rattle and oh, yeah. Sorry, I have got the rattle here.

SPEAKER_01 24:39

Oh, I don't know. It's terrible, eh? I can't remember.

SPEAKER_00 24:42

So I'll come back to the 12th, but the day before I've just noticed. Uh went to watch the sunset and then on to rattle. Very pissed that night, and Pavarotti had to put me in a taxi. Who the fuck's Pavarotti? Pavarotti? Oh no. Oh yeah. So on the 12th, on that 12th, I've obviously tried to I feel like I was trying to be a bit of a one day this is going to be published, this diary, when I was writing it.

SPEAKER_02 25:07

Oh yeah.

SPEAKER_00 25:08

So I forgot. Went to football at four, bought two bottles of champers. No wonder I was skinny. Went a Vic after, no fresh talent, unfortunately. Me and Katie tried our best, but ended up very trolleyed. In fact, we gave the word new meaning. We found a Woolworths trolley and proceeded to puss each other home in it. When we got to the top of our hill, Katie decided she wanted me to just let her go and see what happened.

SPEAKER_01 25:35

Wise not.

SPEAKER_02 25:37

Oh my god.

SPEAKER_01 25:38

Oh, I've got that. We went to Pinocchio's, apparently. And then I went all the way down the hill in them to the marina boulevard in a trolley. It was so funny. I am covered in bruises. Well, no wonder. I do remember that. I even remember going down and landing in that bush. I remember.

SPEAKER_00 25:58

I know I remember it. I mean, what ridiculous things we used to do.

SPEAKER_01 26:02

We went round a roundabout in the trolley with the trolley, like a proper big roundabout.

SPEAKER_02 26:08

Oh my god, we did. Oh man.

SPEAKER_01 26:10

Oh, what was wrong with us? Probably got called like stupid poms every five minutes.

SPEAKER_00 26:16

Oh, they must have hated us, mustn't they?

SPEAKER_01 26:18

They just must they actually did hate us, though. They did. I think they they voiced the fact that they hated us, didn't they? Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 26:24

Oh, yeah. We've got well, I've got the I've got the note somewhere that the people in the apartments put up talking about us. Do you remember that?

SPEAKER_01 26:32

Yeah. Noisy neighbours. Meeting about noisy neighbours. Um, I've got when we went to cakadu's a good one.

SPEAKER_00 26:44

Say that again. I was just looking for me note.

SPEAKER_01 26:47

Oh, when we went to Kakadoo.

SPEAKER_00 26:51

I know I've got the Kakadoo bit.

SPEAKER_01 26:53

Oh, we picked up at 7am, had a bacon butter, met everybody on the trip. Evan, Dan, Ali, Carol, Jackie, something group. Oh, nice group. Can't be alright. We drove to Kakadu. Kakadoo is breathtaking. I love it. Went to Barramundi Gorge, snorkeled in the ram. Went to Yellow Waters for the sunset. It's beautiful. There's a lot of beautiful and amazing can go on in this diary. I wandered off on my own. I was completely taken in by it all. But it's okay. Everyone waited for me. We had barbecue, crocodile, roux, and something else. Can't read it.

SPEAKER_00 27:38

Oh, and then we had a four sorts, didn't we?

SPEAKER_01 27:41

Buffalo, maybe. I don't know if it was, but I don't know. I can't read it.

SPEAKER_00 27:44

Yeah, we can't read it at Buffalo, definitely.

SPEAKER_01 27:47

Sat listening to Evan's Daft Riddles. I don't know what that was.

SPEAKER_00 27:52

So I think it was Evan that drove the boat when we went looking at the crocodiles in the Mary River. And I think it was me, Nikki, and Evan in the boat together where we got our boat engine gave out and we got stuck in the river and you lot all fucked off, and we thought we were gonna die with the crocodiles.

SPEAKER_01 28:10

Well, Nikki had a pike attack, she threw up, didn't she?

SPEAKER_00 28:13

I know, yeah. Fucking hell, I'm not surprised. There you go, you can't really see it, but there's the note. Oh yeah, there will be a meeting to all residents of 40 Marina Boulevard, Cullen Bay. I wonder if it's still there. There will be a meeting held on Tuesday, 30th of June, 1998, at 6 30 pm by the poolside regarding noisy tenants.

SPEAKER_01 28:37

We couldn't have lasted that much longer after that, though. When did we move out?

SPEAKER_00 28:41

Well, we moved when we went to Kakadoo, that was our we moved out.

SPEAKER_01 28:44

Is that the alright?

SPEAKER_00 28:46

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 28:47

Oh, so we were we were gone then, not a couple of weeks after that.

SPEAKER_00 28:51

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 28:52

Oh, well bet they were over the moon. So do you remember? Sorry.

SPEAKER_00 28:58

No, you go.

SPEAKER_01 28:58

Do you remember your getting your room, getting your stuff robbed?

SPEAKER_00 29:02

That's what I was just about to say. Oh, no way. That's so weird, isn't it? So I said it to you the other week, if you remember, and you couldn't remember it happening, but yeah, I found it in here. So it was me and Andrea that got robbed. Um Andrea Purse nicked, I think. And I had I had my pants knit, cargo pants nicked.

SPEAKER_01 29:21

CD player and CDs, I've written, so I wasn't bothered about your cargo pants. I was just bothered about the CDs.

SPEAKER_00 29:27

Well, I've put me and Anders were robbed, my pants, brackets army, with bus ticket in. And Anders Walkman and Purse, very pissed off.

SPEAKER_01 29:39

Where was that then? I don't think I've written where we were when we were.

SPEAKER_00 29:42

So that was our first night in Cairns.

SPEAKER_01 29:44

Oh, it was a bit rough, wasn't it?

SPEAKER_00 29:46

So we'd booked in somewhere and they didn't have our booking and we had to go and just find out what was available. I mean, do you remember doing that? We literally just rocked up. We very rarely had something permanently booked or properly booked for us.

SPEAKER_01 29:59

It said we arrived in Cairns at 1am. We weren't booked in the hostel and we had to stay at Caravela's.

SPEAKER_00 30:07

Oh, that's Caravella's.

SPEAKER_01 30:09

And that was and then you got robbed. Got up at nine o'clock. You've been robbed, bastards. I've written.

SPEAKER_00 30:15

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 30:16

Moved to internet.

SPEAKER_00 30:18

Two nights after that. What surprised Andrea went down to Sydney, didn't she? I've put Anders' death going tomorrow, so our Spice girls are splitting up for a couple of months. It's very sad.

SPEAKER_01 30:29

I put very sad. We had to go out for a family breakfast because she left at 8 15am. I've written. Oh no, very sad.

SPEAKER_00 30:41

Up top down under, that's where we spent the majority of our time at top down under. Up top down under.

SPEAKER_01 30:47

Yes, I do remember.

SPEAKER_00 30:49

We had a twin room there. Do you remember?

SPEAKER_01 30:52

Yeah, I loved it. They've got the wool shed, truppos, fox and furkin.

SPEAKER_00 30:58

Oh, fox and furkin, yeah. Went whitewater rafting today.

SPEAKER_02 31:04

Oh, yeah.

SPEAKER_00 31:06

Totally brilliant. All of us fell in. Shell fell in love with our guide. Drew. He's a bit of a typical A bloke, but extremely fit and nice guy.

SPEAKER_01 31:23

Typical A bloke. It's that Aussie bloke. Aussie bloke, probably, is it?

SPEAKER_00 31:28

Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 31:29

Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_00 31:31

Then because later on, like a week later, you and me, it says me and Katie went on a mission to crash the rafting party. We'd seen a poster for da da da. Went to the sports bar.

SPEAKER_01 31:44

Yeah, I remember that. Do you know what this is a really weird thing, right? But what I remember when we went in that sports bar, they were playing teardrop by massive attack. And I remember I think I do remember that. Yeah, and we were like going, no way, no way. They're playing teardrop. Yeah, it's weird, isn't it?

SPEAKER_00 32:02

Anyway, um so that was yeah, that was that. What else? So I messaged you, didn't I, about us having a fight? Yeah, why did we have a fight? I don't remember. Let's see if we can find it. 20th of August.

SPEAKER_01 32:15

20th of August, right? Let's have a look.

SPEAKER_00 32:18

So we got pissed up, ended up at the wool shed shed, met Tony there. Got fine, by the way. We started to play fights, she got really cocky and it turned into a full-blown argument. So I went home. Katie stayed out all night, and we cooked our disastrous meal. I don't know why I put that in. And then the next day, we've got Katie came back about 1 pm with a humongous hungover. She stayed in a hotel last night with Tony. Um, and she said she was.

SPEAKER_01 32:55

Tony the hotel guy. Huh? That's what that was Tony the hotel guy, wasn't it? Yeah, I don't know. Was that a different one? Don't know.

SPEAKER_00 33:03

I think it was a different one. She said, sorry for being a sad guy cow and threw in a drink over me. So I let her off and we stayed in and watched Sleepless in Seattle.

SPEAKER_01 33:14

I've got no, I've not written anything about this. I got fined by a ranger, it says here. Oh no, that's just September. I'm reading the wrong bloody thing though, because that would be really weird. But apparently on the 20th of September, I got fined by a ranger. I don't know why. I got totally sunburnt. Oh Max. Max sucked on me. I went home. Oh, I chucked a drink over her. Oh, that wasn't very nice. I was totally pissed. Can't really remember.

SPEAKER_00 33:54

Imagine you doing it though. It's like No, I can't either.

SPEAKER_01 33:57

That's that's not like me, is it?

SPEAKER_00 34:00

That must have been really annoying you.

SPEAKER_01 34:02

Sounds like I was the annoying one. Anyway, sorry, don't mean to do that. Oh, I put the same. We bought a bottle of wine, everything's fine. We sat in and watched Sleepless in Seattle. Oh god.

SPEAKER_00 34:21

Do you know what? That's the other thing I've noticed is that I've marked the days by whether we were pissed, hung over, and recovering, and what film we watched. And I've written like little notes at the top as to what film we watched that day and stuff. We must have just watched them off TV.

SPEAKER_01 34:37

And then it's funny though, because I don't even remember that. Do you? Do you remember watching tele? I remember watching a bit in when we were in um 28 for Apple in Sydney.

SPEAKER_00 34:46

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 34:47

I remember us all crowding round that tiny little telly watching.

SPEAKER_00 34:50

Yeah, and we watched because we had a few videos, didn't we, that we watched.

SPEAKER_01 34:54

Yeah. But I don't really remember watching films and stuff, but well, we obviously did.

SPEAKER_00 34:59

But I mean, there's like a whole three months, pretty much the whole of Sydney is blank. I think just because I worked, we just worked, didn't we?

SPEAKER_01 35:08

Yeah, we did. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 35:09

Um I've got the bit where I've got my job at channel seven because that was obviously incredibly exciting. Um god, I've lost it now. But I think I put something like um channel seven had offered me a longer um work placement. Met Flathead Fisher today.

SPEAKER_01 35:28

Oh sorry. I've got your um email address here, ktlomax at gateway.7.com.au.

unknown 35:39

Oh yeah.

SPEAKER_01 35:41

Oh, remember that. So you could have still been living there. No, we're not allowed to talk about that. We're not allowed.

SPEAKER_00 35:46

No, we're not, definitely not.

SPEAKER_01 35:48

Not allowed.

SPEAKER_00 35:49

No, it's funny, isn't it? I've got all the stuff, I have got all the stuff about when my mum and dad came to visit, um, all the funny things that happened when they were there. I've literally recorded everything. When I was in, for some reason in Melbourne, I've written the hours that I worked. I think that must have been just to make sure that I knew what I should have been paid for. But I was working, so this is what I was gonna say to you about the bar work. I had work 9 to 5:30, 6 till 9. So I must have worked in an office all day and then gone and worked behind the bar. I have no memory of doing that. What's in Sydney? No, this is in Melbourne.

SPEAKER_01 36:25

Oh, I was gonna say you didn't do that in God. No, that's quite a lot, isn't it? Did you not really you I've got a letter here saying Melbourne turned out to be topsters. Oh, from me, yeah. Why don't we bring back the word topsters?

SPEAKER_00 36:41

Topsters. I loved I used to loved it.

SPEAKER_01 36:44

Bring back that.

SPEAKER_00 36:45

I've just read on here on the 13th of March while I was in Melbourne. Got pissed with the lads. I think I spent a lot of time with the lads when I was in Melbourne.

SPEAKER_01 36:52

Yeah, you did, you yeah, you went.

SPEAKER_00 36:54

Um I don't remember any of these people. Me, M, Lewis, Rob, John, Stato, Phil, Phil, and Scott went to the metro. Very funny night. Ended up with John. Ended up with John.

SPEAKER_01 37:05

Those people are now you can't even remember who he is. I know. Oh no, yeah, you've got a letter here from you.

SPEAKER_00 37:13

Go on, give me because I've got Welsh girls flash.

SPEAKER_01 37:16

Actually, you you you talk about your parents being there, actually. Oh, do I? Yes. Someone called John, that'll be the John you're on about. Oh, yeah. He was nice, not my usual type, but he was nice. Sorry, I've overused the word nice there. Sounds like me, and then you've yeah, you're saying about going snorkeling and how amazing it is, and you're annoying me because you're talking about going snorkeling, and I'm at home in Bolton, and then you're saying, Oh, you've got to let me know what's going on with your life plan because you're moving to London. This is me. I was moving, I miss you, babes. Save me a spot in your new place in London. Well, I would don't know what like I was obviously hell bent on going to London.

SPEAKER_00 38:03

Well, this is the letter that says I'm going to London.

SPEAKER_01 38:08

I do remember this. We were talked about it. And also, don't forget our bar. Even if it takes up a few years, takes us a few years, I still reckon we can do it.

SPEAKER_00 38:20

That's it.

SPEAKER_01 38:22

This is what we should be doing.

SPEAKER_00 38:24

30 years later, let's do it.

SPEAKER_01 38:26

30 years. Even if it takes us a few years. 30 years. Oh, good luck with everything. Say hi to Dave and Dan. And Neil and Simon if he doesn't hate me too much. Sorry, Simon. Oops. What did you do to him? I can't remember.

SPEAKER_00 38:52

I was I was confused when I was in Australia. I didn't know what I wanted.

SPEAKER_01 38:56

Yeah, you were allowed to be confused. It's fine. You were 21.

SPEAKER_00 39:00

I basically wanted everything that I didn't have, and then when I had it, I didn't want it anymore.

SPEAKER_01 39:04

So no, well standard 21-year-old behaviour. He was probably wearing some weird socks or something. It was probably to do with that.

SPEAKER_00 39:13

Too nice. I think I've written somewhere in here about someone being too nice. I think it was Simon. Too nice. So your letter to me, your letter to me was it made me laugh so much. Um, hello there, how are you? I am currently sat in my bedroom watching this morning, and I am extremely bored.

SPEAKER_01 39:31

Obviously, because you're watching this morning.

SPEAKER_00 39:34

And then you started talking about looking, you're going back to work, are you looking forward to it? I've told you about London, haven't I? Well, I'm giving it a week here at work before starting to apply for jobs. And according to my dad, there's heaps of work down there. You say the word heaps quite a lot, very Australian.

SPEAKER_01 39:50

Oh, oh that was a s oh yeah. It was basically Australian.

SPEAKER_00 39:53

George, who studied help me out? And Newman and Simon are moving there as well. So I might see if they fancy having a member of the Bolton Mafia again. Uh, could be tricky exclamation mark. As long as I promise not to smack them in the face. I don't know why. Um, what else do you say? Uh I don't know about Simon, but I might see him this weekend because I'm going to Bristol, Capital Letters, to see the lovely Capital Letters, David Curry.

SPEAKER_02 40:23

Oh.

SPEAKER_00 40:25

Oh. And then you literally go on and tell me how grim it is up north and how everyone was really horrible when Dave came to see you.

SPEAKER_01 40:33

Oh yeah.

SPEAKER_00 40:35

And then you put Maxie in the house. There you go.

SPEAKER_01 40:38

Maxie in the house. Did I call you Maxi? You called yourself Maxie actually on the letter, which I don't remember. Don't remember upgrading it to Maxie.

SPEAKER_00 40:45

No, I don't remember it turning into Maxie. But then I found this other letter, and we I promise listeners will have totally switched off by now because I imagine this is incredibly boring unless you are but I think it's funny. Um, I got I'd obviously started to write a letter. So Emma Knight used to write to me. I've got, I must have 20 letters from her. Honestly, she was prolific, she was so lovely. Um, and so I'd started to write a letter back to her. So this is from me, 28 for Apple, Wallace Street, Walara Sydney, NSW 2025 was our host code. So I'd started writing it. How's your uh going on, going on? And I hope you're getting better now. And then I've got underneath that, good day, how are you? Give us a fair suck of the sauce bottle, mate. Fair dinkum cover, day vo. And then hello Emma, hello Emma. You sound right lovely, love. Eat a bum for me, love and o oh, that'll be Andy Curry, I'm imagining. I can't look at you, but I can smell you. I love the way your arse moves. Good day, mate. Love Dano, and then right at the bottom, good day, digger. It's Simo here. If you can't fly faster than a roller coaster drifting fly fishing mate, Sayo. What?

SPEAKER_01 42:07

Oh my good grief.

SPEAKER_00 42:10

I didn't send that. I thought I did keep it.

SPEAKER_01 42:12

So God. Good job. You didn't send it, but everyone was insane.

SPEAKER_00 42:17

I know.

SPEAKER_01 42:19

Oh god. Oh, it's quite nice going through it all though, isn't it?

SPEAKER_00 42:23

Do you know what? It was real. I was read it all. I sat in bed last night and I read it all, and I was like, there's bits in it where I read it and I think, God, you just didn't appreciate what you had. I spent a lot of time skint. I remember that. And my dad said that to me actually when we were away, when we were talking about it. He said they they sent me a lot of money. And I was like, I know, but I just I don't know where I spent it. And then I read it. This diary, I was like, Oh yeah, no, I do. Two balls of champagne. Two balls of champagne.

SPEAKER_01 42:52

Who were we? I don't don't ask me. We didn't care, did we?

SPEAKER_00 42:57

No. But it just it's every page apart from the three months where I wrote nothing, it's just such lovely memories, and it just reinforces definitely reinforces how much traveling I think is so important.

SPEAKER_01 43:11

Oh yeah. How great it was.

SPEAKER_00 43:14

Oh yeah, it was good. We had a good time. And now we've got a plan to open a bar which we'd forgotten we had. So yeah, I do kind of remember it.

SPEAKER_01 43:22

I'm sure it was going to be in Cornwall.

SPEAKER_00 43:25

Well, we can our campsite idea, we can include a bar in it, can't we?

SPEAKER_01 43:30

Oh well, we definitely will 100% have a bar.

SPEAKER_00 43:33

And we said live, I want like a little live music element to it as well.

SPEAKER_01 43:38

Like a mini festival campsite you want. Yes.

SPEAKER_00 43:42

Every weekend.

SPEAKER_01 43:43

Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_00 43:44

Oh my god.

SPEAKER_01 43:46

Oh. Well, thank goodness for keeping diaries. Or journaling, if you were going to optimise your life. Journaling does optimise your life, doesn't it? It actually makes me feel sick the word journaling.

SPEAKER_00 44:00

But not the kind of journaling we did when we were 14.

SPEAKER_01 44:05

No, we're gonna move on to that.

SPEAKER_00 44:07

We'll move on to that for crisis talks, but I think we'll stop boring everyone with our lives now.

SPEAKER_01 44:11

Yeah, I think we're boring everyone. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 44:13

Um, so uh yeah. Well that was nice. That was a nice little trip down memory lane. We'll we'll I'll try and dig out some more of the photos that I found, and we can stick those on social media because they're quite funny, some of those. Kind of sums up our trip.

SPEAKER_01 44:28

I've got yeah, I'll find I'll dig out some. I've even got one of you when you came through the airport as well.

SPEAKER_00 44:34

Oh, that'll be fun.

SPEAKER_01 44:36

Yeah, I'll try, I'll try and find it. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 44:39

Cool. All right, my love. Well, thanks for that. I enjoyed that, and um look looking forward to being mortified again on Wednesday in Crisis Talks.

SPEAKER_01 44:46

Yes, I'll be worse.

SPEAKER_00 44:50

All right, Delyn. I shall see you soon. Bye bye bye.