Chapters at The Book Shop - Episode 9 - ROAD TRIP !!!!!!!!!

Join us for an unexpected road trip !!!

Credit to Muzaproduction :) 

Credit to ikoliks_aj spring easter music :) 

Transcript

SPEAKER_01 0:10

It's podcast day, it's podcast day, it is podcast day! Are you gonna do that every time?

SPEAKER_02 0:17

No, it's just because um it's podcast day! We didn't do one last week because we recorded the event that we had with Richard Foster. Yes. Do you know we found out what his nickname is? What? Foz. Really? It's not very imaginative, is it? No, it's not. What would your nickname be? Woody?

SPEAKER_01 0:38

Yeah, I guess. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah, definitely. Yeah. If it had to be name related, yeah.

unknown 0:44

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 0:45

What would yours be?

SPEAKER_02 0:46

Um my Scott's nickname he reckons was always Buzz.

SPEAKER_00 0:50

Nah. For Burroughs. He is not cool enough for his nickname to be Buzz.

SPEAKER_02 0:55

No, and then um when obviously when I was a Veal, it was always just Veely. Yeah. If I was a police officer, I don't know what my surname would. I don't know what they'd call me. Maybe they would call me Buzz. Hot Buzz!

SPEAKER_00 1:08

Oh my god.

SPEAKER_02 1:13

I understood the reference.

SPEAKER_00 1:15

That was not planned, by the way. She did actually just come up with that on the spot, and I'm very impressed.

SPEAKER_02 1:19

Well, that's one of the reasons why we thought maybe it's a good idea to do a podcast because we can be like that. So um just in case you can hear the hum in the background and you wonder what's going on, we are on our way to Eastbourne to Gardeners. Gardeners is the supplier that we use for all our books. We love them. Yeah, we supply the in they supply the whole country, so they supply WH Smiths, Water Zones, Amazon, uh they supply everywhere. Um, and yeah, they have the monopoly on that after Bertram's closed during Covid. We had a bit of an incident. Oh whoopsie. I ordered all the books for the book subscriptions last week, and they haven't arrived in time! Yay! So, Gardeners to the Rescue.

SPEAKER_01 2:09

By the way, the the books are supposed to be delivered on the 1st, and it is the 30th today, so we're cutting it very far.

SPEAKER_02 2:17

That's a very good point, yeah. We should have made listeners realise how how close to the wire they are. Normally we would leave, well, we are, we're gonna leave at 10 o'clock tomorrow morning to go out and deliver 90 plus boxes to our local area, um, the positivity boxes, and we have no books. We haven't even been able to make up the boxes yet. No, so we have I got in touch with gardeners this morning, and I said you have to help me, it's an emergency. I've got to deliver all these books tomorrow, and we haven't got any, and they have rushed through an order for collection, so we have to drive all the way to Eastbourne and go get them ourselves and go pick them up ourselves.

SPEAKER_01 2:58

We're talking about dedication, yeah. We're just over halfway, yeah. Yeah, just over halfway. Um, we left. Well, we couldn't even leave first thing because we had to give them time to actually do the order, yeah. Um, and we still haven't had confirmation that the order is ready for us. We're just arriving.

SPEAKER_02 3:16

Yeah, they said it'd probably be ready about 2:30. Yeah, so um, yeah, we should get there just in time for that, which is brilliant. Then we have to actually make the boxes, yeah. So we've got a little team on standby. Yes. Uh D D is in the shops tonight. Dungeons and Dragons role-playing game, and we have let's slip our little secret that we have got to go. We've got ready, yeah. That we have to go and get the books, and they've agreed to help. So we have a team on standby that are gonna pack all the boxes with us this evening, and then we will be ready to go off tomorrow at 10 o'clock without anybody knowing.

SPEAKER_01 3:53

Yeah, unless they listen to the podcast.

SPEAKER_02 3:55

That's very true. Well, then we'll know who listens.

SPEAKER_01 3:58

Yeah, that's true.

SPEAKER_02 3:59

Yeah. So we were having a little chat in the car just now about what we have been reading. I've just finished The Belljar by Sylvia Plath. I love that. So good. What a book! And it was published, it was well, she committed suicide before it was published. There's uh I was reading up on it, and um apparently they've tried two or three times to make a film out of it, um, and every time it's fallen through, either funding or somebody doesn't want to get involved. Um, and I think that's really telling that I really don't think that it should be a film. It talks about they reckon it's semi-autobiographical. What now that's a word, semi-autobiographical, so it's based a lot on her life. Um, there's lots of that are you know that are exactly as they were in her life, just names and places have changed, and it's just so dreadfully sad some of it, but my god, it is brilliantly written, you know. You slightly see her mental decline happen slowly during the book, and um like I was saying to you earlier, it's based on her when she was about 17-18 in 1950s America and just oh, it's fantastically written because everything else I don't think she wrote any other stories, I don't think she wrote any other novels, it was all poetry. This is the only one she wrote, and when I was looking it up, apparently there's March this year, I think it was. There are plans again to turn it into a film, it's gonna have Billie Eilish in it. Really? Yeah, I can't I don't know how that's gonna work. Well, it's such a good book. I suppose they'll take maybe a modern take on what's written, but I don't think it needs to be. Half the beauty of the book is how well she describes everything that's happening to her and going on around her, and I think if they try and put that in a modern setting, I don't think it'll work.

SPEAKER_01 5:56

No, but yeah, what sometimes classics just need to be left alone, they're classics for a reason, yeah, just leave them alone.

SPEAKER_02 6:05

Yeah, and it's not an old, old book. Um, yeah, I think it needs to be left alone, yeah, and that makes me think that that's why the other three, maybe two, two or three attempts to turn it into a book of fail uh turned it into a film have failed.

SPEAKER_03 6:21

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 6:22

So yeah, so yeah, I finished that last night. I read that very quick. I read that in about three or four days. I genuinely couldn't put that down.

SPEAKER_01 6:30

You zoomed through that.

SPEAKER_02 6:31

Yeah, and I and it was one of those that I carried in my handbag, which I really rarely do. Um, you know, I've I've got Jane Eyre with me all the time at the moment, but I've nearly finished that now. I've only got like three chapters left. What are you reading?

SPEAKER_01 6:44

I am still slowly making my way through Ford Wing again. Um I haven't actually had a a lot of time for reading recently because I'm so busy. Because I'm engaged.

SPEAKER_02 6:57

You can't use that forever, it's like Phoebe.

SPEAKER_01 7:00

With her her your are you comparing me getting engaged to Phoebe's mother killing herself? Okay.

SPEAKER_02 7:06

Yeah, you can use it once, but you can't use it, you can't use it for another two months.

SPEAKER_00 7:11

I can assure you I have used it plenty recently.

unknown 7:14

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 7:15

Got anything else on the go or anything you really fancy reading?

SPEAKER_01 7:19

I want to make my way through the whole Fourth Wing series and because I never actually finished it.

SPEAKER_03 7:24

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 7:25

I think I got halfway through the second one, and then someone from our book club said that it was like really political.

SPEAKER_02 7:32

Oh really? Yeah. Fourth Wing's the dragon one, right?

SPEAKER_01 7:36

Yes, you know, because dragons can be political. Um, but as soon as she said that, I was like, do you know what? I totally get it. Because I read the first one within about two days, and then the second one took me weeks, and then I just gave up on it, and I realised that it was the kind of political aspect that I was finding a bit boring, really. Oh, okay. So I did stop, but I'm um yeah, I'm trying to kind of power through it. Um, I really do want to get on to reading some classics, I just don't have the attention span for it.

SPEAKER_02 8:09

Yeah, I think you need to pick the right one. I think you need to start off with a small one. Do you remember I read Jekyll and Hyde and it was only 88 pages? You took that off me. Read that first.

SPEAKER_01 8:19

I actually took it off you and then ordered a pretty version of it. Yeah, you did.

SPEAKER_02 8:23

Well, you know, that happens quite a lot. People have reading copies and then keeping copies in the name.

SPEAKER_01 8:28

Exactly. So I yeah, I maybe I but the thing is we've also been very busy in the shop recently as well, and usually I do I normally either read when I'm at work, which I haven't had time to do because we've been so busy, or when I'm cooking, and it's too hot to cook at the moment, so I haven't been. Yeah. Um, it has been takeaways for me.

SPEAKER_02 8:48

And well, yeah, that's a good point actually. We had that massive heat wave last week, didn't we? Yeah. Just to put a timeline in the podcast. Last week was when the UK had reached its hottest day ever, yeah. At 36.1 degrees, and it was recorded in Gosport. Yeah. Obviously, Leon the Solent is part of Gossport, yeah. But yeah, the UK's hottest day ever. Yeah. 36.1. That's just incredible.

SPEAKER_01 9:14

It was unbearable.

SPEAKER_02 9:16

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 9:16

Yeah. So, yeah, it's just and it and even the ladies in our book club have said, you know, it's it's just too hot to read, it's too hot to concentrate, and I know there's been a lot of kind of debate of like other countries have it so much hotter, and it doesn't even bother them, but we are unprepared in this country.

SPEAKER_02 9:32

Yeah, our buildings and infrastructure are not built for it, are they?

SPEAKER_01 9:36

No, and also where I live, I live above a kitchen, so it's very, very hot where I live to the point where it has been unbearable. And it's actually cooler for me to just sit in my car with the windows closed than it is to sit in my flat.

SPEAKER_02 9:52

It's funny you should say that because on Instagram last week, did you see the photos that author Sam Holland posted on? She had to do a zoom call, so she took her laptop out to her car and sat in her car with the air conditioning on to do a zoom call.

SPEAKER_01 10:08

I don't have air conditioning in my car.

SPEAKER_02 10:10

No, but even so, I bet there are a lot of people that did that. Yeah. Um at one point I couldn't get the dog cool enough, and um I was quite worried because his panting was really fast, and I couldn't slow it, I couldn't slow it down by calling him, even with water and and you know, wet towels and all that business. And I mentioned this to Hannah. I got well, I considered putting him in the car and taking him for a drive with the air conditioning on just to try and cool him down. But I mentioned it to Hannah in our book club, and she really kindly got her husband to drop me around an air purifier. I know what a game changer that was. But you know, Puppy was so different after that, yeah, yeah. So, yeah, thank you, Hannah, if you're listening. Thanks, Hannah. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 10:55

See, we bought Theo a calling mat, yeah, and all the reviews said it was amazing, and everyone was very pleased with it. So we we spent like 40-50 quid on this calling mat for cats. Um, Theo's a cat, by the way. Um, and he has been laying next to it. Yeah, hasn't touched it. Yeah, he seems to like sitting next to it, but it it I think it only cools when he's on it.

SPEAKER_02 11:21

Yeah, there's a heat pad that does the same, it'll only warm up once it gets pressure.

SPEAKER_01 11:25

Yeah, yeah, yeah, it's one of those. Um and yeah, he's been laying next to it because he's a goblin.

SPEAKER_02 11:31

So well, we've just passed signs for Hastings now.

SPEAKER_01 11:35

Oh, road trip.

SPEAKER_02 11:36

Yeah, so the Battle of Hastings didn't actually take place in Hastings. Did you know that?

SPEAKER_01 11:40

I did not know that.

SPEAKER_02 11:41

Yeah, the Battle of Hastings actually took place in a in a a very small town that is now called Battle. Ah. Yeah, there's nowhere, it's not in Hastings at all, which is crazy.

SPEAKER_01 11:54

That is crazy.

SPEAKER_02 11:55

So, anyway, yes, we are on our way collecting the books. Um what have we got coming up? Oh, yesterday I went to Radio Victory and did a radio interview about the bookshop. Um that's going to be aired, I'm not sure, I think it's the 5th of July. Um that was really interesting. Had a lovely chat with Jackie Green from the Portsmouth Authors Collective. They have a radio programme that goes out once a week on um Radio Victory called Between the Lines. So, yeah, I really enjoy doing that. Um, and we also talked about up-and-coming events on there as well. And coming up, we have got a book bedazzling. Oh yeah, yeah, looking forward to that. I think there is two places left for that. It's a £20 per person, and basically, you bring along a hardback book of your choice. I wouldn't bring along anything because it's the first session, I wouldn't bring along anything too special just in case you mess it up. But basically, we give you your bedazzling kit, you can take that home with you at the end, and that comes with tools and glue and all the little gems. But during the evening, obviously, we'll give you refreshments, we'll supply you with loads of other different coloured gems, and um yeah, we'll all just sit around for an hour and a half and have a bookie chat and and gem up our books.

SPEAKER_01 13:13

Yeah. It'd be good, won't it? Very exciting. Is that the two places left? Is that making allowances for me? Or have you not taken me into consideration?

SPEAKER_02 13:20

I've taken you into consideration. Yeah, I've taken you into consideration.

SPEAKER_01 13:24

Oh, we were about to see one hell of a tantrum there if you had anything.

SPEAKER_02 13:28

Um what else have we got coming up? We've got Nick Clark coming in with her book called If the Shoe Fits.

SPEAKER_01 13:33

Oh, oh, she's lovely. Yeah, she is lovely.

SPEAKER_02 13:36

And her book is about how you sh how men are equivalent to a type of shoe. So I suppose if you've got a James Bond sexy type, he would be a red stiletto. If you've got a um a lovely man who is kind and cozy and colourly, and you sit and watch a film with him, then he would be a pair of slippers.

SPEAKER_01 13:57

It's that kind of that kind of like a little bit cheeky, but like you know, really fun.

SPEAKER_02 14:03

Yeah, it is just a bit of fun. Um so yeah, we've got that coming up. Um I think there's three or four spaces left on that. That's a fiver, but you get the fiver back when you uh when and if you purchase a copy of the book. And then we've got the big book swap. I think that's a week Thursday, 16th of July, I want to say. Um, and that is well, we should rename it Hungry Hippos for Books, shouldn't we?

SPEAKER_01 14:28

We should, that doesn't quite have the same ring to it though.

SPEAKER_02 14:31

No, it doesn't, no, it doesn't, and everybody was very well behaved last time. We put um all the we put numbered raffle tickets into a little pot and they picked one out and they all went up in order of their number to select which book they wanted. Yeah, it was much more civilised than the first time.

SPEAKER_01 14:48

Oh, everyone just went absolutely feral. It was a bit scary. Yeah, it was how I imagine, you know, like when you see videos of like Black Friday in America, that's how that felt.

SPEAKER_02 14:59

Oh how funny. So I'm trying to think now off the top of the head, what off the top of my head, what new books we've had this week. We've had the 10th anniversary edition of Milk and Honey, haven't we? That's um that beautiful pink hardback.

SPEAKER_01 15:13

It is, and I noticed when I looked at it a few days ago that it's actually got, I think it says it's got extra poems in it that weren't in the original, which is quite cool. Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_02 15:22

They're signed as well, aren't they?

SPEAKER_01 15:23

They are signed, yeah. I loved Milk and Honey. It was I think Milk and Honey was the first book that I bought for myself.

SPEAKER_02 15:30

Yeah, I think that's why it stands out for me. Yeah. Because I remember when you bought it many, many, many, many years ago. Well, must have been 10 years ago if it's celebrated his 12th anniversary.

SPEAKER_01 15:43

We're really good at this. Yeah, I remember being absolutely obsessed with milk and honey, and I remember going through it and like like um what do they call it, like dog earring where you um thingy the page doing that and being like, I'm gonna get this one tattooed and I'm gonna get this one tattooed. And if I'd actually done that, there would be no space left on me for other tattoos because there was like 20 that I was like, no, I'm gonna get this tattooed. This is a very good life decision to make. Yeah, and thank god I didn't. Yeah. But I still like there's still some of the poems in their apps. Well, they're timeless, aren't they?

SPEAKER_02 16:18

They still stand today as they did all those years ago when they were written. Yeah, so we've got that in. What else came in? Oh, Heckate. Is that how you say it? I don't know. H-E-K-A-T-E. I think it's by Nikita Gill.

SPEAKER_01 16:32

Yeah, I said I said it differently the other day when they came in, and Ellie, another one of our book club members, um, she didn't correct me, but she did pull a face. As if to say that's not how you say it. Yeah, and then Chelsea pronounced it correctly, and she was like, Yes, well done, Chelsea, you said that right, and I was like, Oh my god, I'm so sorry.

SPEAKER_02 16:52

That reminds me actually, we should say welcome to Chelsea because Chelsea is now gonna be our new Saturday lady. She's gonna be taken over from Donna because we're gonna be losing lovely Donna. Yeah, I'm gonna miss Donna. Um, but Donna is gonna come back and do some well-being journaling classes for the shop. We've um I've been in discuss in discussion as well with my sister who runs Turn in Tides therapy, and she now owns the Botley Clinic, where there are lots of lots of well-being people that come out of that chiropractors, massagers, hypnotherapists, counsellors, all sorts. And um, we're trying with the idea of having a well-being month. So one week John Donna who'll Jonna.

SPEAKER_01 17:35

Jonna?

SPEAKER_02 17:36

So one week Donna will do her well-being journaling, and that will involve a bit of meditation, some breathing, we'll work with some objects like shells and feathers and things like that. Um, and everybody will take home their own journal. At least oh no, I thought that's an ambient sense. And um and then another week Lizzie said that she will come along and do a group hypno hypnotherapy. Absolutely not. And um we thought we'd do a past life regression one. So that means that you as the individual, you don't say anything out loud, you just concentrate on what she's saying and see where it takes you. I've done it with her, I've done regression therapy, and it was fantastic. I really enjoyed it. So, anyway, that's a well-being month that might be coming up.

SPEAKER_01 18:22

So, we were saying about Chelsea.

SPEAKER_02 18:24

So, yes, Chelsea. Yeah, um, so yeah, welcome to Chelsea being our new Saturday lady.

SPEAKER_01 18:30

Yeah, and to be fair, if we had to lose Donna, I'm glad it's Chelsea that's replacing her because Chelsea is so so happy to be a part of the team. Yeah, um, she texted me earlier and said, Oh, I left something at work, and then I got a text following that saying about how excited she was that the word work now meant us. Um, and yeah, when we offered her the job, we we did it over text, and she was just most of her messages didn't even make sense. She was so excited, and apparently she was absolutely sobbing and well, she's such a brilliant little bookwork. Yeah, if there's anyone that deserves it, it's absolutely Chelsea.

SPEAKER_02 19:08

Yeah, we need somebody in the shop that is can talk and recommend books and will read voraciously and you know and can talk about what she's read. Yeah. So um yeah, she's a brilliant addition to the team. So um yeah, welcome to Chelsea. Welcome Chelsea, right? Right, we are 8.2 miles away from Eastbourne at the moment. So um can you think of anything else bookish related?

SPEAKER_01 19:34

Um no, normally we have like a list of things to say, don't we? And we'll have a stack of books to read out and like our events listing, but we're in the car, so we have nothing but our own brains.

SPEAKER_02 19:45

Yeah, we can't even play you any music as a copyright. Yeah. Um were there any other books that came in this week actually? We had Milk and Honey, we had the only other one was that Jeremy Renner. Oh yeah, we had Jeremy Renner, yeah, but that sold out really quickly. I think there's only one copy of his signed autobiography left.

SPEAKER_01 20:02

Yeah. Um yeah, like I said, we have had a very busy like couple of weeks really.

SPEAKER_02 20:06

Yeah, the events have kind of took over. We were doing all sorts, weren't we? We were doing book fairs and stuff like that.

SPEAKER_01 20:13

We had three book fairs over two days last week, which was just they were so much fun, but we were yeah, we had something on every single day. I think yesterday was the first day where we haven't had anything on for weeks. We've been very busy, which has been lovely. You know, we're very grateful and really lucky to be busy.

SPEAKER_02 20:34

Yeah, um, but although we did have one day last week where we did 17 pounds in a whole day.

SPEAKER_01 20:41

We did, yeah.

SPEAKER_02 20:42

I'm working on a new website at the moment. I don't know if that's news. That's news. As soon as that's ready, I will swap the domain names over so our website address will still say the same. Yeah, www.lee, bookshop.co.uk. That will still say the same, but obviously the website will be different. It's much better, it's much more user-friendly than new ones, so I'm looking forward to that. Right, okay. Well, let's um take a break and then when we jump back in the car to head back home, maybe we'll jump back on and talk about our experience in gardeners. Yeah. Okay, bye. And we've all launched a new one now called um which is a horror subscription as well, haven't we? That's proved to be quite popular. What did you just see a sign for? Uh Mitchland Priory. Ah, I've done ghost hunts there. I know you have. Um, for those people that don't know, um, for from about 2002, I think it was, when my sister got married. We went and stayed in a haunted house up in Blackpool. Well, Preston, actually, it was called Chingle Hall, and we stayed there for our hen night. Jesus. We did a we did a ghost hunt overnight for our hen night. Oh, look at the baby sheeps! Nice sheeps. Sheeps, and look at the sheepies. Um, and yeah, we stayed overnight. We had so much fun that um the next time we went, loads of we decided to go back, and lots of people wanted to come with us, and there was born the Southern Ghost Watchers Alliance. We travelled all over the country, we went to Michelin Priory, like we've just passed. Um, and this was long before Most Haunted even existed. I don't know if you remember Most Haunted. I know you were very young when I used to go ghost hunting.

SPEAKER_01 24:01

I was, and you never let me come with you.

SPEAKER_02 24:02

Yeah, you were too young. We used to stay there, but we used to stay at these places overnight. Did you say hate crime? I did. We used to stay at these places all night overnight. We did Bodmin Jail, we did um Madam Two Swords in London, we were invited there by um the team that run it. Um where else did we go? Derby Castle, um yeah, we did all the forts on top of Portsdown Hill. You went to Madam Two Swords, didn't you? Yeah, we did Madame Two Swords, yeah. And we had a medium, we used to take all sorts of equipment with us. It was fantastic, and yeah, Mitch and Priory was one of the ones we did. We did Wimmer and Manor in Cosham, did that, we did that quite a few times.

SPEAKER_03 24:38

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 24:39

Um and every time we used to take a team with us.

SPEAKER_01 24:41

And not your daughter.

SPEAKER_02 24:42

We used to split everybody up into different groups, or they were in the groups that they came with, give them a key a um clipboard, and then everybody would go off and do a vigil in different areas of wherever we were visiting.

SPEAKER_01 24:54

Yeah, and she stopped doing it just before I turned 16, which was the age that she said I could join her for them. Hate crime.

SPEAKER_02 25:01

It's because my sisters then had young children and every it just all stopped. Oh, so it's their fault. Yeah, I blame them. Um yeah, and we never we never went again. But yeah, really interesting years. Experience all sorts of business, all sorts of lots of evidence on video. Great, and all the all the reports that everybody made were turned into one big report for each location that we visited. Oh good for you.

SPEAKER_01 25:26

I'm not bitter about it at all.

SPEAKER_02 25:27

No, it doesn't sound like it. Nope. So um yeah, I have thought about doing some talks. Um I'm gonna do a serial killer one, um, then gonna do a witchcraft one, and um yeah, quite possibly do a one about paranormal.

SPEAKER_01 25:42

Or you could start doing ghost hunts again.

SPEAKER_02 25:44

Yeah, it's possible. I've still got contacts at these places.

SPEAKER_01 25:48

No, yeah, contacts from when you used to go without me.

SPEAKER_02 25:51

Yes, contacts from when I used to go without you.

SPEAKER_01 25:54

That's so rude.

SPEAKER_02 25:57

Right, okay, so yeah, we're on the road. We're on the road again!

SPEAKER_01 26:01

Oh my god I love it when you do that.

SPEAKER_02 26:04

I know. Isn't doesn't what donkey sings?

SPEAKER_01 26:06

Yes. In Shrek. Yes. What other films have a donkey in them?

SPEAKER_02 26:11

The greatest story ever told. And that is. Oh that's what it's called, the greatest story ever told.

SPEAKER_01 26:16

I thought you were just being somatic.

SPEAKER_02 26:17

No, it's called it's about the birth of Jesus. There's a donkey in that.

SPEAKER_01 26:22

Yeah. Unsurprisingly, I haven't seen that. When did that come out? Oh, Blimey. I think it had Charlton Heston in it.

SPEAKER_02 26:29

I think it's very old. Wow. Yeah. Yeah, I used to watch that every Christmas. Whereas nowadays kids watch The Life of Brian at Christmas.

SPEAKER_01 26:37

Life of Brian is a great film. Is people really watching that at Christmas? I mean I did last year, but it's Life of Brian.

SPEAKER_02 26:46

Yeah, exactly.

SPEAKER_01 26:48

It's a great film. Yeah, it's a great film. You quote Life of Brian all the time. Go on, say it. He's not coming out, he's a very naughty boy! I meant the aqueduct because you say that a lot as well. But well done, that was great.

SPEAKER_02 27:03

The aqueduct?

SPEAKER_01 27:03

We went because of the Romans done for us.

SPEAKER_02 27:06

The aqueduct?

SPEAKER_01 27:08

We went to Rome a few years ago and we were on a at like a bus tour, and someone mentioned the Romans building the aqueduct, and then for the entire rest of the world. And also when we went to Rome, you were about to go through the doors of the Vatican, and you're we were in the Vatican City, and we went to the shops that were in the surrounding areas, and I bought uh like a rosary because I thought it was cute and it was black, and I was like, oh yeah, that's a bit of me, I'll have that, because I was very much in an emo phase, so yeah, I bought the necklace and then I walked into the doors of the Vasican. There you go, that one clearly was paying attention, and it broke. Yeah, literally just and I'd been trying to Out Spawn of the Devil! I had been trying to get the the actual um like the little crucifix off the bottom of it because it was cramping my style, so I was trying to pull it off, but this thing was like welded together, there was no getting it off. I tried, you tried, we all tried to to take it off, remove it, and it would not come off. And then I walked through the doors, it didn't get caught on anything, it literally just broke into like a hundred little pieces and it made a very loud noise, and everyone turned to stare. And we left shortly after that, didn't we?

SPEAKER_02 28:32

Yeah, we weren't in there long, I have to say, but I think that's because you couldn't stand it for too long because you probably started feeling hot.

SPEAKER_01 28:38

Yeah, I was about to burst into flames. Flames so whenever Rome gets mentioned, mum loves to tell that story.

SPEAKER_02 28:48

Um so how's things going with the engagement party?

SPEAKER_01 28:50

You're all booked in, aren't you? Yeah, my invite's printed. I've decided to be really fancy with it, and they've all got a little wax stampy thing. Wax seal? Yeah, a wax seal, sorry, Jesus. Um and I did about 20 of them um and then realised that it was generally a terrible idea because it's taking forever. Oh my god, it took ages. I started doing them at about two o'clock yesterday afternoon, and I was still doing them at 11 o'clock last night. Oh, and I've still got about 50 left to do.

SPEAKER_02 29:24

So yeah, but you know, you've hand-done them and they're beautiful, and you kind of bond with each invitation.

SPEAKER_01 29:31

Yeah, it's nice. Yeah, it was it's it's fun, it's just very time consuming. Um, and as soon as I kind of posted that like on my Instagram story that I was doing it, I had so many people message me going, Um, do you know you can get them like pre-made?

SPEAKER_02 29:47

and just even so, just go through and stick them on, you might as well use a sticker. It's nice that you've melted the wax, poured them on, put the little thing, put the stamp in, let it cool down and remove it, and then move on to the next one. I like that.

SPEAKER_01 29:59

Yeah, some of them haven't turned out great, but my lovely fiance has assured me that those ones can go to his friends because they're not gonna care anyway. They're not gonna look at them, they're just gonna rip it open and go, yeah, okay, and chuck it to one side. Because they're boys, so if you get a bad one, sorry. That's it, really.

SPEAKER_02 30:18

It's a lovely idea. Thank you. We are now well, we're now driving back the other way. We're and I'm driving west towards Brighton. Yep. And um, yeah, it won't be long before we're back at the shop. We will have an evening of making up boxes on a production line, I should imagine.

SPEAKER_01 30:36

With our poor DD group who just want to go on an adventure and instead are going to be making boxes. Yeah, well, we'll see.

SPEAKER_02 30:42

I'll I'll do as many as I can, and if I feel like I'm not making any progress, then I will I will rope them all in for help. But um, yeah, I think that's about it now for all our um trivial chatter while we're on our little road trip, heading back now towards the shop in Leon the Solent. Oh my goodness! So last Tuesday, the day before the heat wave got really, really bad, we went and visited the micro pigs. They're in Amersham, they it's called Q Little Pigs Farm, isn't it? And we thought it's Q K E W. And we thought that meant it was in Q in Q Gardens in Richmond, but it turned out it wasn't. It was Q Little Pigs Farm in Amersham, which is at junction one of the M25, which is a good two-hour drive away, isn't it? Yep, but it didn't matter, it was nice to have a little road trip. There was probably about I don't know, 16 pens of little pigs that you could play with. Some of them were piglets, some of them were bigger, and we adopted the bookshop pig. We did. Her name's Daisy, she was adorable.

SPEAKER_01 31:53

Well, she wasn't, she was massive.

SPEAKER_02 31:55

Yeah, she was huge and she was fast asleep, but the bookshop now has a pig. Yeah. So if you ever want to go and visit her, you can go and speak to them at Q Little Pig's Farm and they will show you which one Daisy is.

SPEAKER_01 32:08

Because you know every bookshop needs a pig.

SPEAKER_02 32:10

Yeah, you can go and say hello to her. Yeah. Right, okay, so we're gonna say goodbye and we will catch up with you all next week. Yay! Bye! I was raving again.

SPEAKER_00 32:27

Bye!