WEBVTT 1 00:00:00.080 --> 00:00:03.000 What's a moon bag of floaty? Is that even a thing? 2 00:00:06.559 --> 00:00:07.960 Do you want to know what floaty is? 3 00:00:09.080 --> 00:00:09.240 Oh? 4 00:00:09.279 --> 00:00:12.080 Go on, then floaty is is a dog. 5 00:00:13.519 --> 00:00:20.760 So floaty token was a new generation of dog coins. 6 00:00:21.079 --> 00:00:26.559 There's a whole host of crypto dog coins, and some 7 00:00:26.640 --> 00:00:31.239 of them do very very well, especially when we start 8 00:00:31.280 --> 00:00:33.960 to see that there's not much money in the system, 9 00:00:34.039 --> 00:00:36.399 and then there starts to become money in the system. 10 00:00:37.000 --> 00:00:40.039 People decide to invest. 11 00:00:39.719 --> 00:00:45.079 In in speculative assets in their droves. So things like 12 00:00:45.479 --> 00:00:50.880 doge coin and floaty and fart coin tend to do 13 00:00:51.000 --> 00:00:51.560 really well. 14 00:00:52.359 --> 00:00:55.920 So it's a crazy world we live in. 15 00:00:56.079 --> 00:00:57.000 You see, I'm. 16 00:00:58.320 --> 00:01:01.159 Come along in the journey. We will teach you. 17 00:01:01.200 --> 00:01:04.040 No, I don't want to go anywhere near that journey, 18 00:01:04.040 --> 00:01:06.280 but I do want to see. Rachel Reeves stood in 19 00:01:06.359 --> 00:01:09.920 front of an assembled throng of blokes who work in 20 00:01:09.920 --> 00:01:13.640 an engineering company and their bosses told them, Look, you're 21 00:01:13.640 --> 00:01:16.200 gonna have to stand behind that woman who's got sort 22 00:01:16.200 --> 00:01:19.840 of hair that looks like a motorcycle helmet. Who are Yeah, 23 00:01:20.040 --> 00:01:22.319 got to stand behind her, and she's going to talk, 24 00:01:22.400 --> 00:01:25.319 and you've got to look interested and don't pull funny faces. 25 00:01:25.319 --> 00:01:28.079 And they're going okay, and she stands up. She said, well, 26 00:01:28.359 --> 00:01:33.359 the government will focused on gaining growth and it's all 27 00:01:33.400 --> 00:01:35.799 going to be done through fart coin. Now, if she 28 00:01:35.920 --> 00:01:39.840 did that, I would suddenly have a new found respect 29 00:01:40.040 --> 00:01:43.480 for the Chancellor of the Exchequer. If she said, listen, lads, 30 00:01:43.959 --> 00:01:47.439 I'm actually going to go and put the Bank of 31 00:01:47.480 --> 00:01:52.319 England on fart coin, that would actually be a tick 32 00:01:52.359 --> 00:01:55.599 in the box finally for this labor government fart coin. 33 00:01:56.680 --> 00:02:00.640 This weekend, one of Britain's foremost nature writers asked me, 34 00:02:01.359 --> 00:02:04.719 have you listened to that podcast that Richard Nigus does. 35 00:02:05.120 --> 00:02:07.799 It's okay, but he talks about Rachel Reeves a lot. 36 00:02:08.879 --> 00:02:15.000 Obviously didn't listen that much, foremost nature writer, because he's 37 00:02:15.000 --> 00:02:19.360 talking about me. What a Well, of course I talk 38 00:02:19.400 --> 00:02:22.120 about Rachel Reeves because, and I'll tell you why I 39 00:02:22.199 --> 00:02:25.680 talk about Rachel Reeves is because I've come to the 40 00:02:25.719 --> 00:02:31.280 conclusion that she is, largely with her colleagues in the Treasury, 41 00:02:31.759 --> 00:02:34.319 is largely the cause of all our woes. You know, 42 00:02:35.719 --> 00:02:39.080 clearly Keir Starmo isn't actually the Prime Minister. He's just 43 00:02:39.120 --> 00:02:42.080 sitting there sort of what's that sort of coloring thing 44 00:02:42.240 --> 00:02:44.840 that you do that looks Mandela is it called or 45 00:02:44.840 --> 00:02:47.439 is that Nelson Mandela Mandola or something like? You do 46 00:02:47.479 --> 00:02:50.439 this funny coloring thing that's supposed to take your your 47 00:02:50.520 --> 00:02:52.840 mind off the fact that you know that your life 48 00:02:52.960 --> 00:02:55.840 is imploding, and if you do coloring is suddenly better. 49 00:02:56.199 --> 00:02:58.800 And so I think, what that's all Starmer does? He 50 00:02:58.879 --> 00:03:01.680 just sits in the corner doing all right, and he's 51 00:03:02.240 --> 00:03:06.599 put all the responsibility onto Rachel and she is now 52 00:03:06.639 --> 00:03:10.439 just sat there, probably listening to Callum for advice. I 53 00:03:10.479 --> 00:03:14.000 reckon he's got she's got Callum on speed dial and 54 00:03:14.039 --> 00:03:20.360 go Callum with fart coin. Yeah, I thought you did well. 55 00:03:20.360 --> 00:03:22.319 This is the peril of recording in the middle of 56 00:03:22.319 --> 00:03:24.120 the day because now I don't know if you're you've 57 00:03:24.159 --> 00:03:26.479 been day drinking, or this is you sort of in 58 00:03:26.479 --> 00:03:28.199 an unregulated mode. 59 00:03:29.080 --> 00:03:33.000 I've just had my first sip of sugar after six coffees. 60 00:03:34.000 --> 00:03:38.840 I've just had some gold blend. It's and that's it. 61 00:03:38.879 --> 00:03:40.960 Probably see most of the time when I'm when we're 62 00:03:41.039 --> 00:03:44.759 recording this of an evening, I've got a large whiskey 63 00:03:45.000 --> 00:03:47.319 which will go and calm me down. And now I've 64 00:03:47.360 --> 00:03:49.759 been off today this morning to go and look at 65 00:03:49.759 --> 00:03:54.039 some hedgerows at Willy Lott's Cottage, which those of you 66 00:03:54.080 --> 00:03:58.400 who are fans of the work of John Constable all 67 00:03:58.400 --> 00:04:03.280 know Willy Lot's Cottage quite well, that beautiful at Flatford 68 00:04:03.479 --> 00:04:08.599 there of his paintings. I was there, raced back, organized 69 00:04:08.639 --> 00:04:10.479 two more hedges to go and look out to people. 70 00:04:10.599 --> 00:04:16.959 Talked about the management of hedgerow margins with some people 71 00:04:17.079 --> 00:04:21.360 about how possibly of cutting regimes may go and influence 72 00:04:22.120 --> 00:04:25.959 overwintering insects. And now I'm here, you see, whereas usually 73 00:04:26.079 --> 00:04:29.279 I'm speaking to at night half drunk, and this is 74 00:04:29.319 --> 00:04:31.160 me sober. So how worrying is that. 75 00:04:32.480 --> 00:04:37.600 Relatively we're getting a different flavor? And I think before 76 00:04:37.600 --> 00:04:39.480 we go into anything for the rest of the episode, 77 00:04:39.519 --> 00:04:41.879 and going to drop a disclaimer in saying that we 78 00:04:41.920 --> 00:04:45.160 are recording this on Tuesday, the tenth of June, so 79 00:04:45.240 --> 00:04:50.639 tomorrow is the mid year spending review announcements from the government. 80 00:04:51.120 --> 00:04:54.560 So if everything has gone terribly wrong by the time 81 00:04:54.600 --> 00:04:57.519 this episode comes out to the public on Friday, the 82 00:04:57.600 --> 00:05:00.000 reason we're not talking about it is because at the boat, 83 00:05:00.040 --> 00:05:02.399 which it's just a fear, not a not a known. 84 00:05:04.560 --> 00:05:07.279 Yeah, genuinely talking about crypto. 85 00:05:07.600 --> 00:05:11.519 I am one hundred percent sure that at some point 86 00:05:11.560 --> 00:05:15.519 we'll put bitcoin as like something that we own, not 87 00:05:15.560 --> 00:05:18.800 just the all the ones that we took off naughty 88 00:05:18.879 --> 00:05:23.920 people and confiscated, but we will have on a balance sheet. 89 00:05:23.800 --> 00:05:26.319 Somewhere as a as a country, do you mean? 90 00:05:26.680 --> 00:05:27.040 Yeah? 91 00:05:27.439 --> 00:05:29.439 Right, not just on a road, just as a podcast. 92 00:05:29.480 --> 00:05:30.120 That would be good. 93 00:05:30.160 --> 00:05:32.920 Although I already have to declare my crypto earnings. 94 00:05:33.079 --> 00:05:38.560 You can donate via the kofee app. You could just 95 00:05:38.639 --> 00:05:41.160 I don't know, give us all, like ten bitcoin would 96 00:05:41.199 --> 00:05:42.839 be would be really nice. 97 00:05:43.079 --> 00:05:47.079 Just just ten bitcoin could keep Callum out of, you know, 98 00:05:47.120 --> 00:05:48.879 having to go and do any work for a year. 99 00:05:50.639 --> 00:05:53.600 I mean it's loose, I'd loosely describe it as work, 100 00:05:54.040 --> 00:05:58.120 but it apparently is well. It does sometimes pay the. 101 00:05:58.040 --> 00:06:00.600 Bills, Callum. 102 00:06:00.639 --> 00:06:05.480 Have you ever been paid for anything proper in bitcoin? 103 00:06:08.560 --> 00:06:13.040 I have never been paid in bitcoin. But in twenty 104 00:06:14.160 --> 00:06:18.560 fifteen a man gave me. He was part of the 105 00:06:18.600 --> 00:06:21.680 Ethereum Foundation, and I did a thing called Break the 106 00:06:21.759 --> 00:06:25.000 block Hakkathon, which was seeing if we could use blockchain 107 00:06:25.480 --> 00:06:28.680 to solve real world problems. And he gave me this 108 00:06:28.759 --> 00:06:33.639 little stupid card thing that was a crypto wallet with 109 00:06:34.439 --> 00:06:36.560 twenty peas worth of ethereum. 110 00:06:37.399 --> 00:06:40.360 So I decided at that point. 111 00:06:40.600 --> 00:06:45.040 To set up my crypto wallet with the twenty P 112 00:06:45.240 --> 00:06:47.160 and then he gave me another one just for good measure. 113 00:06:47.839 --> 00:06:50.600 So I was like, okay, no worries. I went on. 114 00:06:50.720 --> 00:06:55.040 I logged onto a thing called Kraken, set an account up, 115 00:06:55.160 --> 00:06:58.879 and then I tried to do the deposit, and then 116 00:06:58.879 --> 00:07:04.439 I had to uplin id and all sorts of very 117 00:07:04.439 --> 00:07:08.279 difficult things. So for it's not worth me spending no 118 00:07:08.319 --> 00:07:10.240 bear in mind, I'm charging a fair amount per hour. 119 00:07:10.279 --> 00:07:13.279 It's not worth me spending two hours to redeem twenty P. 120 00:07:13.720 --> 00:07:15.399 So I'm going to do it. I should put like 121 00:07:15.439 --> 00:07:20.079 one hundred quid in set it, forget it whatever, And 122 00:07:20.120 --> 00:07:24.120 I never bothered to actually put the money into the account. 123 00:07:25.079 --> 00:07:30.720 And then when crypto piques my interest again some five 124 00:07:30.839 --> 00:07:35.360 years later, I just out of curiosity googled what my 125 00:07:35.519 --> 00:07:38.959 twenty P would have been worth. At the point when 126 00:07:39.360 --> 00:07:42.600 Crypto had piqued my interest again, twenty P had turned 127 00:07:42.639 --> 00:07:49.879 into eight hundred pounds. Good God, And somehow, somewhere, I'm 128 00:07:49.920 --> 00:07:55.720 fairly sure I still have the wallet with twenty p 129 00:07:56.000 --> 00:07:58.600 on and all the codes that go with it. I 130 00:07:58.720 --> 00:08:01.040 just don't know where it is. I've moved house since, 131 00:08:01.079 --> 00:08:02.879 and I know it's somewhere in a box. I did 132 00:08:02.879 --> 00:08:06.079 have a rough look for it, but yeah, somewhere. I've 133 00:08:06.120 --> 00:08:10.160 got sixteen hundred quid on two little cards given to 134 00:08:10.199 --> 00:08:13.800 me by one of the founding members of the Ethereum Foundation. 135 00:08:14.319 --> 00:08:17.240 You're like the TMU version of that guy with a landfill, 136 00:08:17.279 --> 00:08:17.639 aren't you? 137 00:08:18.560 --> 00:08:18.759 Yeah? 138 00:08:19.240 --> 00:08:22.720 Or the bitcoin pizza guy. Do you know about the 139 00:08:23.000 --> 00:08:29.800 bitcoin pizza guy? So a man in I don't know, 140 00:08:30.079 --> 00:08:34.840 god knows, twenty ten or something bought a pizza with 141 00:08:34.960 --> 00:08:39.080 his bitcoin millions, and let's google so you can get 142 00:08:39.080 --> 00:08:42.080 an accurate amount of how much his pizza is worth 143 00:08:42.159 --> 00:08:43.759 in today's value. 144 00:08:44.000 --> 00:08:49.679 Live googling is always great podcast material. Yeah, but no, 145 00:08:49.840 --> 00:08:51.799 go on, No, we're keeping this in because we want 146 00:08:51.799 --> 00:08:53.000 to hear in basilic you are. 147 00:08:53.240 --> 00:08:53.559 Go on? 148 00:08:55.519 --> 00:09:02.200 So he paid one ten thousand, ten thousand bitcoins for 149 00:09:02.240 --> 00:09:02.759 a pizza? 150 00:09:03.840 --> 00:09:07.840 Uh? 151 00:09:08.360 --> 00:09:26.120 Yes, so ten thousand bit coins. 152 00:09:20.360 --> 00:09:21.039 Ten thousand. 153 00:09:22.039 --> 00:09:25.000 I don't even know how to I don't know how much. 154 00:09:25.320 --> 00:09:28.519 Where's the where's the decimal places go? In the eight 155 00:09:28.559 --> 00:09:33.480 o six, eight hundred and eight hundred and six million 156 00:09:33.639 --> 00:09:36.519 pounds currently at today's prices. 157 00:09:37.399 --> 00:09:42.000 I bet he also had pineapple on it as well. God, yeah, 158 00:09:42.000 --> 00:09:42.960 that's a lot of money in't it. 159 00:09:43.159 --> 00:09:44.919 I don't know what do you want me to google 160 00:09:44.960 --> 00:09:46.279 what type of pizza is? 161 00:09:47.360 --> 00:09:50.480 No, because I'm not actually that interested. But the long 162 00:09:50.519 --> 00:09:53.000 and the short of it is it's all mumbo jumbo. 163 00:09:53.120 --> 00:09:56.120 Although I did have a friend in Newmarket who did 164 00:09:56.120 --> 00:09:58.879 a similar sort of thing, which more our listeners will 165 00:09:58.879 --> 00:10:03.159 probably understand, is that he had a hot tip from 166 00:10:03.159 --> 00:10:08.559 the head lad of a certain of a certain of 167 00:10:08.600 --> 00:10:10.960 a certain yard and said, I've got hot tip here, 168 00:10:11.120 --> 00:10:13.399 and all sat around a table. Then he said, you've 169 00:10:13.399 --> 00:10:15.639 got to go and put put some money on this 170 00:10:15.720 --> 00:10:18.799 horse of ours that's running in a cellar somewhere like 171 00:10:18.960 --> 00:10:23.759 Lingfield tomorrow. And so he all collected the sort of 172 00:10:24.320 --> 00:10:26.799 ten pound notes off of everyone who sat around the table, 173 00:10:26.840 --> 00:10:28.240 and I think it made to about sort of one 174 00:10:28.320 --> 00:10:30.080 hundred quid to go and put it on it. And 175 00:10:30.120 --> 00:10:33.039 it was a twenty five to one shot, and he thought, 176 00:10:33.159 --> 00:10:34.759 he looked at the form and he thought, there is 177 00:10:34.919 --> 00:10:37.759 no way that thing is going to win. So he 178 00:10:37.840 --> 00:10:40.440 basically put it in his pocket, forgot about it and thought, 179 00:10:40.480 --> 00:10:42.080 I've made a hundred quid. I won't go and put 180 00:10:42.120 --> 00:10:44.080 it on, say sorry, lads, you know, didn't come in, 181 00:10:44.399 --> 00:10:47.159 and then, of course, to his horror, the twenty five 182 00:10:47.279 --> 00:10:50.159 to one shot came in and all of a sudden 183 00:10:50.200 --> 00:10:52.639 he's got to go and find two and a half 184 00:10:52.799 --> 00:10:56.480 thousand pounds to go and share around with his ten mates. 185 00:10:57.600 --> 00:11:01.720 And he did actually do that because he didn't want 186 00:11:01.720 --> 00:11:03.919 to get sort of beaten up, I think, because otherwise 187 00:11:04.120 --> 00:11:07.279 being a welcher was not a good thing. So, I mean, 188 00:11:07.519 --> 00:11:09.639 that's just one of those things. As far as I'm concerned, 189 00:11:09.639 --> 00:11:14.360 Bitcoin sounds like dodgy betting and magic beans. And I'm 190 00:11:14.399 --> 00:11:18.080 sure that a pizza could be worth nearly a billion pounds, 191 00:11:18.440 --> 00:11:21.000 but we know that pizza is not worth a billion pounds. 192 00:11:21.000 --> 00:11:25.799 So I don't actually believe in bitcoin, but I do, Calum, However, 193 00:11:26.279 --> 00:11:27.799 by your ideas. 194 00:11:29.240 --> 00:11:32.960 Economies work, I'm not sure that's how valuations work. 195 00:11:33.080 --> 00:11:37.720 But understood this mumbo jumbo. 196 00:11:37.879 --> 00:11:40.399 Well, there's a rural thing with with bitcoin and crypto 197 00:11:40.519 --> 00:11:44.320 very quickly. But when you go to county shows and 198 00:11:44.399 --> 00:11:46.679 game fairs and things like that, there are a few 199 00:11:46.679 --> 00:11:48.399 of these companies. 200 00:11:47.840 --> 00:11:48.519 That are. 201 00:11:49.919 --> 00:11:55.440 They sort of stand there with vague signs about investing 202 00:11:55.440 --> 00:11:57.279 in bitcoin and all sorts of things, and what a 203 00:11:57.279 --> 00:12:01.000 lot of these businesses are are basically they rent space 204 00:12:01.080 --> 00:12:03.320 on your farm, in one of your buildings, or if 205 00:12:03.360 --> 00:12:07.720 you've got renewables or energy generation on your estate. On 206 00:12:07.759 --> 00:12:09.919 your farm, they will say, well, can we come and 207 00:12:09.960 --> 00:12:15.639 park our crypto rigs, our machines that mine all this cryptocurrency. 208 00:12:15.679 --> 00:12:19.000 Can we park it on your land and take off 209 00:12:19.000 --> 00:12:22.360 some of your renewables and then we'll give you a 210 00:12:22.399 --> 00:12:25.440 share of the profits that we make from it. Which 211 00:12:25.919 --> 00:12:28.559 all sound really good, but I know of two places 212 00:12:29.240 --> 00:12:32.759 that where they've said, well, we need a constant power 213 00:12:32.759 --> 00:12:35.279 supply to these machines. If they go down, everything's lost, 214 00:12:35.639 --> 00:12:37.360 So we need to put it into the mains as well. 215 00:12:37.399 --> 00:12:39.360 And if it goes onto the mains, then you pay 216 00:12:39.399 --> 00:12:42.720 for that power. And I know of two places where 217 00:12:42.759 --> 00:12:45.799 they've put it right next to a hydro plant, had 218 00:12:45.799 --> 00:12:48.240 a huge shipping container running all these crypto rigs. It 219 00:12:48.320 --> 00:12:50.799 was going really well for a couple of months, and 220 00:12:50.840 --> 00:12:52.759 then there was a hiccup in the supply and it 221 00:12:52.799 --> 00:12:55.720 switched over to MAINZ and then carried on running on 222 00:12:55.759 --> 00:12:58.759 the mains for six months. Eight months after that. I 223 00:12:58.799 --> 00:13:02.279 think one place had a thirty five thousand pound electric 224 00:13:02.320 --> 00:13:05.480 bill for one month for what they were running on, 225 00:13:06.639 --> 00:13:09.480 and that pretty much wiped out the two years profits. 226 00:13:09.600 --> 00:13:10.279 Thank you one goo. 227 00:13:12.440 --> 00:13:15.840 Yeah, I see the trouble with being in a place 228 00:13:15.879 --> 00:13:19.200 where we have, like I think it's only behind Germany, 229 00:13:19.240 --> 00:13:23.399 we have the highest price of electricity is it's not 230 00:13:23.639 --> 00:13:29.360 very profitable. But countries that have got surplus electricity, place 231 00:13:29.480 --> 00:13:35.440 like Iceland and even countries in the UAE are using 232 00:13:37.000 --> 00:13:41.000 the low cost of energy to then add bitcoin onto 233 00:13:41.000 --> 00:13:43.279 the balance sheet and then sell the bitcoin off or 234 00:13:43.360 --> 00:13:46.720 keep it as a strategic reserve. So it works if 235 00:13:46.720 --> 00:13:54.159 your cost of power versus computational power is level, but 236 00:13:54.279 --> 00:13:57.159 if you have stupid electricity prices like we do in 237 00:13:57.200 --> 00:14:00.200 the UK, then it is rubbish. 238 00:14:00.240 --> 00:14:02.720 There we go. So what have you been up to there? 239 00:14:02.720 --> 00:14:02.960 Again? 240 00:14:04.000 --> 00:14:05.879 I've been up to well. I have had nothing to 241 00:14:05.919 --> 00:14:11.639 do with anything Krypto anything out. No, it's not because 242 00:14:11.639 --> 00:14:13.440 I don't know what it goes on. I've been to 243 00:14:13.480 --> 00:14:16.879 all sorts of exciting hege coin, edge coin. I have 244 00:14:17.759 --> 00:14:23.159 been though down to that there Southwest and twice actually 245 00:14:23.240 --> 00:14:26.039 since I last spoke with you. First of all, I 246 00:14:26.080 --> 00:14:31.159 went down to Cheltenham and to the Cheltenham Science Festival. 247 00:14:32.120 --> 00:14:33.559 You're very smart. 248 00:14:33.840 --> 00:14:36.639 Well yes, well one tries, you know. And what I 249 00:14:36.720 --> 00:14:41.320 did at Cheltenham was I was I did a talk 250 00:14:41.559 --> 00:14:44.200 and it was quite funny because as myself and Paul Lamb, 251 00:14:44.600 --> 00:14:48.960 who has written the other Hedge book of Thorn and Bryer, 252 00:14:49.519 --> 00:14:54.320 and what a fascinating man he was. Actually holy having 253 00:14:54.360 --> 00:14:57.240 met him, I think he's wholly legit and a thoroughly 254 00:14:57.279 --> 00:15:03.080 good egg and an interesting He lives was certainly lived 255 00:15:03.240 --> 00:15:05.440 most of the time in a horse box. And I 256 00:15:05.440 --> 00:15:07.639 said to him, I said, I'm not being funny, mate, 257 00:15:07.679 --> 00:15:09.440 I said, but you know, when I get in from 258 00:15:09.440 --> 00:15:11.559 work after Hedge lay enough so I wouldn't want to 259 00:15:11.600 --> 00:15:13.519 just go and kip in the back of a horse box. 260 00:15:13.879 --> 00:15:15.679 And he explained to me that basically what he'd done 261 00:15:15.720 --> 00:15:19.120 he'd split up with his partner, the mother of his 262 00:15:19.600 --> 00:15:22.639 two daughters. And he said that when he realizes that 263 00:15:22.679 --> 00:15:25.919 when they sort of split the money from his house up, 264 00:15:26.559 --> 00:15:30.919 that he hadn't got the wherewithal to be able to 265 00:15:31.519 --> 00:15:35.159 rent or buy a house in the area of the 266 00:15:35.200 --> 00:15:38.480 countryside where he lives down in the southwest there. So 267 00:15:38.519 --> 00:15:42.960 he basically kitted out an old Bedford TK horsebox really 268 00:15:43.080 --> 00:15:46.879 quite palatially and he drives that around a bit like 269 00:15:47.000 --> 00:15:50.679 these people do with narrow boats, you know, with quite 270 00:15:50.679 --> 00:15:55.679 a swanky interior and whatnot. So he just drives around 271 00:15:55.799 --> 00:16:01.679 the country doing in his in his horse box, which 272 00:16:01.840 --> 00:16:05.120 he showed me some photographs that are actually quite palatial anyway, 273 00:16:05.360 --> 00:16:07.720 So he and I went and gave a talk. We 274 00:16:07.720 --> 00:16:13.399 were interviewed by a lovely lady called Anita Setti who 275 00:16:13.720 --> 00:16:16.240 has written a couple of books and she sort of 276 00:16:16.440 --> 00:16:21.240 does stuff on what's it called spring Watch and whatnot. 277 00:16:21.639 --> 00:16:24.559 And it went down really well and we were sold 278 00:16:24.600 --> 00:16:26.440 out one hundred and seventy. 279 00:16:26.080 --> 00:16:27.240 Parce I saw her. 280 00:16:27.279 --> 00:16:32.240 Actually she posted something as a collaborator on your sister face. 281 00:16:32.360 --> 00:16:35.840 Yes, on Insta face it was, and yeah, it was 282 00:16:35.919 --> 00:16:37.919 very nice. I was, I'll be honest, I was a 283 00:16:38.000 --> 00:16:42.080 bit cautious because I thought, my god, Cheltenham Science Festival, 284 00:16:42.279 --> 00:16:44.240 you know, I'd just imagine there'd be lots of sort 285 00:16:44.279 --> 00:16:48.159 of people in lab coats or talking Latin, but it wasn't. 286 00:16:48.360 --> 00:16:50.840 So we went down an absolute storm and sold lots 287 00:16:50.879 --> 00:16:54.879 of books, came home and then I went down to 288 00:16:55.559 --> 00:16:59.559 the West Country again and I went to the Exeter 289 00:16:59.639 --> 00:17:05.119 Comedy Festival. I stayed with Joe Dimbleby, who's the head 290 00:17:05.160 --> 00:17:08.440 of comms for the GWCT in his place there and 291 00:17:08.519 --> 00:17:12.519 had absolute hoot staying with him, and then went to 292 00:17:12.559 --> 00:17:15.599 the Extra Comedy Festival, and I have to say I 293 00:17:15.759 --> 00:17:19.559 went to a sold out gig once again, although admittedly 294 00:17:19.599 --> 00:17:21.799 this was in a book shop, so it was seating 295 00:17:21.880 --> 00:17:24.759 for about thirty so it wasn't quite so hard to 296 00:17:24.799 --> 00:17:28.880 sell that one out, and talked about my book and stuff. 297 00:17:28.920 --> 00:17:32.000 And I did that with Will Adamsdale, who I think 298 00:17:32.039 --> 00:17:34.559 I've said in a show a couple of weeks ago 299 00:17:34.680 --> 00:17:37.079 about that was going to do with him. He is 300 00:17:37.480 --> 00:17:43.079 absolutely hilarious, a proper bona fide ee Perier Award winning comedian, 301 00:17:43.119 --> 00:17:47.519 an actor. And he said he was very interested on 302 00:17:47.720 --> 00:17:51.880 just how a slightly more mainstream rather than me being 303 00:17:51.880 --> 00:17:54.480 a comedian just sort of blithering away like we do 304 00:17:54.559 --> 00:17:57.720 on this and he gave the podcast a very good 305 00:17:57.799 --> 00:18:00.599 plug and said everyone had to go and listen to us, 306 00:18:00.720 --> 00:18:04.119 because you know, this is we'd see the unexpagated version 307 00:18:04.200 --> 00:18:07.440 of the Countryside if you listen to Country Slide and 308 00:18:07.480 --> 00:18:13.519 crypto yeah and stuff that no one understands. Yeah, And 309 00:18:14.759 --> 00:18:18.200 that all went well, and then I came back with 310 00:18:18.279 --> 00:18:22.079 a slightly roundabout route and I went to visit a 311 00:18:22.240 --> 00:18:27.240 wonderful man called David Hopley. And David was when I 312 00:18:27.480 --> 00:18:31.160 was a boy, was a huge inspiration to me. He's 313 00:18:31.160 --> 00:18:33.519 the man who taught me how to cast a fishing fly. 314 00:18:34.240 --> 00:18:37.880 He was. He taught me all about mink hunting. He 315 00:18:38.039 --> 00:18:41.440 taught me a lot of what I know about I 316 00:18:41.480 --> 00:18:45.480 suppose a lot of hunting. Really, he was an avid 317 00:18:46.880 --> 00:18:52.640 hunting type. He was master of a pack of Welsh foxhounds. 318 00:18:52.799 --> 00:18:54.640 He was a master of a pack of mink hounds, 319 00:18:55.160 --> 00:18:57.839 and just a thoroughly nice And he's now retired. He 320 00:18:57.880 --> 00:19:01.119 is in his late eighties and he lives absolutely out 321 00:19:01.119 --> 00:19:04.680 in the middle of nowhere in the quants. And my god, 322 00:19:04.799 --> 00:19:07.000 my ears went pop and my nose bled because of 323 00:19:07.039 --> 00:19:11.519 all the altitude sickness that I suddenly encountered. But it 324 00:19:11.640 --> 00:19:13.240 was beautiful to go and see him, And it was 325 00:19:13.240 --> 00:19:17.039 strange I hadn't seen him for thirty three years. I 326 00:19:17.160 --> 00:19:20.799 worked out. Yet we probably carried on our conversation where 327 00:19:20.799 --> 00:19:24.160 we'd left off, which was winging about government and they 328 00:19:24.200 --> 00:19:27.160 don't understand our country ways. So that yes, so basically 329 00:19:27.279 --> 00:19:30.119 one a tour of the Southwest armed with a book 330 00:19:30.519 --> 00:19:31.960 and a smile on my face. 331 00:19:32.240 --> 00:19:35.640 You know, the Exeter's like barely the West Country. It's 332 00:19:35.680 --> 00:19:38.640 still the South Really, Wow. 333 00:19:38.519 --> 00:19:41.119 That's set spoken like a cornishment, isn't it what you say? 334 00:19:42.240 --> 00:19:44.200 You could travel for another two and a half hours 335 00:19:44.279 --> 00:19:47.559 west of there and still be in what it's meant 336 00:19:47.559 --> 00:19:50.640 to be England. Yeah, you know it's that's like say 337 00:19:50.680 --> 00:19:53.079 an hours in the Far East by being in Sussex. 338 00:19:57.000 --> 00:19:58.839 I get what you're saying, and I have to say 339 00:19:58.960 --> 00:20:03.480 I think that's it's more doubt. No. Apparently where they 340 00:20:03.480 --> 00:20:06.119 never say what we are. We're either the south of 341 00:20:06.200 --> 00:20:09.440 England or we're in the Midlands. See, if we're a BBC, 342 00:20:10.119 --> 00:20:13.480 they give us this their area for sort of the 343 00:20:13.960 --> 00:20:19.559 look East. It starts in about Northampton and hey, what's 344 00:20:19.599 --> 00:20:22.400 that got to do? Or they'll start talking about bloody 345 00:20:22.480 --> 00:20:25.680 Luton or something something's happened in Luton. I think, what's 346 00:20:25.720 --> 00:20:27.519 that got to do with us? At least the ITV 347 00:20:28.160 --> 00:20:30.240 have got the good grace to accept that there is 348 00:20:30.279 --> 00:20:31.680 this place called East Anglia. 349 00:20:32.640 --> 00:20:36.160 I did a job a few years back in Falmouth 350 00:20:36.880 --> 00:20:42.880 and what what a topographical heuscape that is try and walk. 351 00:20:43.079 --> 00:20:46.160 Like imagine having a two pints and trying to walk somewhere. 352 00:20:46.240 --> 00:20:50.160 It is like you don't walk, actually, you climb. It's 353 00:20:50.200 --> 00:20:52.440 like lands a Rotti. It's got that same kind of 354 00:20:53.839 --> 00:20:58.240 nastiness that makes every kind of two minute walk an 355 00:20:58.279 --> 00:21:00.359 impossible venture to wherever. 356 00:21:00.480 --> 00:21:04.759 Either have you actually been anywhere properly hilly like the Alps? 357 00:21:05.079 --> 00:21:10.240 Or yeah, but it's nice there, that's the thing. 358 00:21:13.359 --> 00:21:16.359 Yeah, the locals are quite friendly. Whereas if you go, 359 00:21:16.480 --> 00:21:19.759 like to the Highlands of Scotland, the mountains of Wales 360 00:21:19.839 --> 00:21:22.920 or Cornwall, it's like, no, there's just people with sticks 361 00:21:22.920 --> 00:21:24.720 who are nasty, especially. 362 00:21:24.319 --> 00:21:28.519 If you just start grunting and bloody ship here, isn't it? 363 00:21:29.839 --> 00:21:30.400 What do you need. 364 00:21:30.319 --> 00:21:32.599 Steps about your own country? 365 00:21:32.640 --> 00:21:36.720 Isn't it exactly? See? I I have been. I've been. 366 00:21:36.960 --> 00:21:41.240 I've been to the Alps. I've been to the mont Blanc. 367 00:21:41.799 --> 00:21:47.799 I've been. Obviously, Yeah, I went up mont Blanc. It 368 00:21:47.920 --> 00:21:50.640 was a bit a bit scary. I think the problem 369 00:21:51.480 --> 00:21:56.240 is that I find them alien scary. I find mountains 370 00:21:56.680 --> 00:21:59.599 just and hills, even hills. I look at it, I go, 371 00:22:00.480 --> 00:22:03.640 but it seems alien to me. And is that a 372 00:22:03.680 --> 00:22:04.720 parochial trait? 373 00:22:04.960 --> 00:22:10.880 I don't know, but I absolutely love Lake Annisy, and 374 00:22:11.200 --> 00:22:13.319 I've camped there as. 375 00:22:15.519 --> 00:22:15.880 It is. 376 00:22:17.240 --> 00:22:19.200 It technically is in the Alps, but it's not like 377 00:22:20.200 --> 00:22:22.880 mad in the Alps. But the sun hits the rocks, 378 00:22:23.319 --> 00:22:29.400 so lots of people go. Is it paragliding, parasailing one 379 00:22:29.440 --> 00:22:31.079 of those things you just look up in the air 380 00:22:31.119 --> 00:22:35.960 and there's just loads of people hanging around because the 381 00:22:35.960 --> 00:22:37.319 thermal activity. 382 00:22:36.880 --> 00:22:37.440 Is really good. 383 00:22:37.759 --> 00:22:40.680 They stay up there for like hours sometimes well like 384 00:22:40.720 --> 00:22:43.680 forty five minutes an hour. They just they jump off 385 00:22:43.720 --> 00:22:45.960 a point at the top and they just stay in 386 00:22:45.960 --> 00:22:49.920 a fermal for a long long time. But yeah, I 387 00:22:49.920 --> 00:22:52.039 went on a hike. I took my son and he 388 00:22:52.079 --> 00:22:55.559 was three years old. We got all the way to 389 00:22:55.599 --> 00:22:58.000 the top of this thing and it is one of 390 00:22:58.000 --> 00:23:00.640 the most beautiful places I've ever been, and the waterfall 391 00:23:00.720 --> 00:23:04.240 right at the top, and then he decided to drop 392 00:23:04.319 --> 00:23:08.960 a nap on me at the top. So it said 393 00:23:09.039 --> 00:23:12.319 like a forty minute hike, but it ended up it 394 00:23:12.400 --> 00:23:14.759 was really hot, and it ended up being with a 395 00:23:14.759 --> 00:23:16.440 three year old, it ended up being about an hour 396 00:23:16.519 --> 00:23:20.079 and twenty minutes something like that. And then on the 397 00:23:20.079 --> 00:23:23.000 way down he drops the nap on me and I'm 398 00:23:23.119 --> 00:23:28.559 carrying a three year old down and mountain, which was challenging. 399 00:23:29.440 --> 00:23:34.039 It's very sweaty the heavy day, but it's such a 400 00:23:34.119 --> 00:23:34.799 nice place. 401 00:23:35.400 --> 00:23:36.119