Transcript of BEP Bonus Ep 8 Pt. 1 - Academy Version .mp3

Charlie:
Hello and welcome to the British English podcast, the show all about British culture and British English with your host Charlie Baxter, that is me and I am joined with Harry today. Harry is my co-host on the YouTube channel, Real English with Real Teachers. Harry has agreed to do this podcast with me out of the kindness of his heart. And we're going to be talking all about our ideal trips abroad. I haven't even told him this topic, but there we go. What do you think about that topic, Harry?

Harry:
I like- I like the topic. Yeah. It was- took me by surprise. I like the way you said it. And we're going to be talking about this. It sounded like, but we- I don't know what we're talking about and then I- I remembered. Well, it's your podcast. Of course you make the plan. So, you know, just take me with you.

Charlie:
Yeah. You can sit back, relax and- well, I will need your imagination, though, because I'm going to be prying into your deepest, and darkest err no no- into your imagination.

Harry:
Oh, dear. Yeah, that's good. Well, I will try to be relaxed because the imagination is at its best when one is relaxed. So I will try to stay calm.

Charlie:
Yeah.

Harry:
And mindful and give you my best and yeah. Hope my imagination can serve you guys.

Charlie:
Brilliant. Yeah, yeah, relax away or relax away, and we can, you know, edit out any thoughts if that needs to be done to relax, truly.

Harry:
Ok. Yeah, or when I gulp from my shake.

Charlie:
Yeah, I mean, that doesn't help relaxation, so I feel like it's not necessarily needed.

Harry:
Sure.

Charlie:
In the process of relaxing

Harry:
Although- but there are some good vitamins in there.

Charlie:
It's true.

Harry:
It's all good for the body and good for the mind.

Charlie:
What did- what did you put in your- in your shake?

Harry:
Glad you asked! Today, we're going to be talking about Harry's shake. I've- it's quite a complex shake. I start with- I fill up half way with some kind of milk. Normally oats milk. But today I went with coconut milk and then put two heaped tablespoons of oats in. Just, just oats, normal rolled oats, a heaped tea- tablespoon of peanut butter. Yeah, with no added sugar. And then a heaped, lots of heaped things. A heaped, kind of like one of those, you know, when you put the detergent in the washing machine, one of those kind of spoons, those kind of plastic-

Charlie:
Yes. Yes.

Harry:
I think I lost yours when I came to Australia. You- you were like, yeah, you used my spoon, but can you make sure. Yeah. I want you to wash your clothes, but make sure you give me my spoon back. And I lost it.

Charlie:
I knew you'd lose it. That's why I was so restricting in lending it. Oh that was really funny.

Harry:
So a heaped one of them. A medicinal spoon of hemp powder protein. So it's a whey protein made from hemp, which comes from weed, from cannabis. So I'm flying. What else? And so it goes on a while this- and then a whole- a whole banana. Whole banana, which I chop up. Frozen berries. So I got raspberries in there, blueberries. Superfood. Yes please! And blackberries, all frozen. And then I just pop it in here and whisk it up and beat it up the- the blender. And it's wicked, it's a wicked little blender, and you could just drink, drink straight from the the thing. You don't need to-.

Charlie:
Yeah.

Harry:
Dispense it. Anyway. I love it.

Charlie:
It's very nice. Yeah, I would say it might be a bit of a bitch to clean.

Harry:
Yeah, it is a bit of a bitch. Although we've got this technique, you just put it, you fill it up halfway with water and a heaped teaspoon of of washing up liquid and then put it back on the- you know, on the blade.

Charlie:
Oh, you put it on the blade.

Harry:
Yeah. And then that cleans it. Or kind of cleans it and then you just give it a scrub. And bob's your uncle, you've, you've got a clean shake thing.

Charlie:
I thought you're going to say "And you've got a fairy liquid shake."

Harry:
Yeah. Down that and get to work.

Charlie:
Down that and shit your pants in an hour. I wonder what would happen if you drank- or you just vomit, yeah. Anyway. So. So yeah. We're not just going to go into your imagination and, and start imagining your favourite trip. We've got a structure to this episode.

Harry:
Oh, you're so professional nowadays.

Charlie:
I know, I know. I've turned over a new leaf. I'm a new man.

Harry:
And I have a plan. Not just- is it- on a Google doc or notepad?

Charlie:
I do have a Google doc in front of me and actually a a student that we both have lessons with helped me create this plan. So I set her a homework of creating a podcast similar to the podcast called Off Menu, which is all about food. And they go through their favourite restaurant, you know, the starter, main, pudding, drinks, ambience, location, all those kind of things. And they've got a set of questions.

Harry:
Ambience.

Charlie:
So I said, let's turn that. Yes, sorry. Ambience.

Harry:
Sorry, I wasn't correcting you.

Charlie:
Well, yeah, I like to say "ambience", but sometimes I feel like I need to, you know, be less pretentious sometimes.

Harry:
Yeah. It's quite nasal, isn't it. With that, got to be careful not to-

Charlie:
Well, actually, to be less pretentious, I should probably just not use that word, shouldn't I?

Harry:
Yeah.

Charlie:
It's quite a pretentious to-.

Harry:
Say "atmos".

Charlie:
So we're going to explain the "atmos", right?

Harry:
Yeah.

Charlie:
And to do that, we've got a couple of questions that will take us through it.

Harry:
Lovely.

Charlie:
So if you will. Welcome to the Off the Beaten Track podcast episode.

Harry:
Lovely. What- I don't know how I'm supposed to react to that. To that-.

Charlie:
Off-.

Harry:
Was that a- was that a-

Charlie:
The Beaten Track.

Harry:
That as a pun.

Charlie:
Show.

Harry:
Ok, now instead of 'off the menu', 'off the beaten track' show. Oh, because it's travelling, yes!

Charlie:
What'd you mean?

Harry:
So sorry. Yeah, no, I missed the joke- it's very good. That's great. Sorry. Yes, do you want to say that again? I'll react better-.

Charlie:
No, that's fine. Sure, yeah, yeah, we'll keep both. Yeah, definitely. Welcome to Off the Beaten Track podcast.

Harry:
Both witty and topical. Carry on. Yeah, well, thank- good to be here. Good to be here.

Charlie:
Good. Okay, well, I'm sure you've thought long and hard over this, this idea, because I've given you a lot of time to think about it. So, yeah, let's just imagine you're able to go away and you're in your own way, do whatever you want and be with whoever you are with in the- in this imagination. But firstly, let's discuss whether you're- how you're getting there. And I'd like to ask you. Driving or flying? Driving or flying?

Harry:
Well, at the moment, because we are in a pandemic still, I think I'm probably going to be driving. I want- while I want to use the extent- full extent of my imagination, I want to be practical and safe. So- and realistic in these times. Otherwise, you know, I'll get depressed. So I'm going to say I'm driving there. I'm driving.

Charlie:
Ok?

Harry:
Although ideal- no it's about ideal holidays isn't it? It's ideal. I mean, ideally, I'd rather fly somewhere-.

Charlie:
Yeah, you-

Harry:
To be honest.

Charlie:
Yeah, your- your best imagination. Right.

Harry:
Nah, I'm flying, I'm flying, although I might drive to the airport. Although the parking, the price of parking at airports is just through the roof, so probably probably be catching a bus or getting a train there. Or better yet, ask Dad to drop me off.

Charlie:
Oh, very good. So the ideal start to your holiday, is your dad dropping you off at the airport? Ha ha.

Harry:
Yeah, I've got low standards. Alright?

Charlie:
Well, no, the ideal situation-.

Harry:
With your dad driving me there. And just trying not to, you know, to get him to stay awake because I know he has a tendency to fall asleep at the wheel.

Charlie:
Yeah, he does. Yeah, very good. To fall asleep at the wheel. Don't put your jerrycan of gasoline at the back, or petrol, if we're British. Ok, so with that ultimatum. No, not ultimatum. This or that kind of question, I was tricking you to see if you wanted any other mode of transport. Uh, boat? Magic carpet.

Harry:
All right, well, I guess I'd like to fly, just use my wings. That's my ultimate dream. I think I, I often have dreams where I'm flying and it's like and everyone's watching me like, 'Wow, God, he can fly!' And it's not even a big deal for him. And I just kind of fly around fluttering about the streets of Bedford. And it's great. And honestly, this is quite- they're good dreams. They're very good dreams.

Charlie:
You sure you don't plummet to your death? Halfway through the dream? Wake up?

Harry:
Because normally I just kind of start levitating in a very normal situation, like maybe standing in the line in a bank and I just start kind of levitating and everyone's like, 'What the fuck is this guy doing?' And that's yeah, that was kind of a good dream for me. And then I just start flying around. But I- in the dream, I don't quite understand that. I'm like, what? When did I learn to fly? And I've got no wings. It's not like I've got wings in the dream. I'm just- just kind of floating about.

Charlie:
You're defying gravity. I don't know why I want to know, but what were you hoping to do at the bank?

Harry:
Probably just cash a check, I don't know. But-.

Charlie:
Do you still get checks?

Harry:
Yeah, birthdays. I'll get a check. Yeah, I'll get the odd check. Yeah.

Charlie:
Wow.

Harry:
Do you not get the occasional check?

Charlie:
No, even my granddad has now updated his payment methods to-.

Harry:
His payments-.

Charlie:
Bank accounts-

Harry:
Is that- is that a birthday present? Methods? His payment methods? Hi. as you know, Granddad, that it's my birthday coming up, if you'd like to just transfer me, you know, from 50 pounds and above to this bank account. Swift number.

Charlie:
Oh, my God. Well, it's a Christmas, and I shouldn't assume it, but I do assume it. And he gives all grandchildren, nine of us, 250 British sterling pounds.

Harry:
Oh, my God.

Charlie:
British sterling pound. British pound sterling.

Harry:
Yeah. Pounds. Yeah. British pounds.

Charlie:
Pound sterling. British pound sterling. Yeah.

Harry:
Sterling. Just say sterling. Yeah. Wow, that's a lot of money for nine- nine people.

Charlie:
At eight people-.

Harry:
That's that's that's 2000 pounds.

Charlie:
Yeah, is it?

Harry:
About that.

Charlie:
No. Nearly. Um, over. Yes.

Harry:
Oh shit a brick.

Charlie:
Yeah, it's a lot, but it's his way of evading tax after he dies.

Harry:
What?

Charlie:
Because inheritance tax is 50 percent, I think, 40 to 50 percent. Or maybe 60 percent. I think it's 60 percent.

Harry:
Oh, wow. Really?

Charlie:
So he's trying to give the younger generations some money, which is very nice-.

Harry:
How depressing is that? You're not even free from tax, even when you're dead. It's the only thing you can't outrun, like, tax. It's all right I'll be dead and then they can't tax me. Yeah. You'll have 60 percent tax, granddad. It's going to go up-.

Charlie:
Yeah, it's pretty extreme.

Harry:
by three fold.

Charlie:
It is- it- it is extreme, but I actually think it's quite good because it allows there to be less extreme poverty and wealth gap.

Harry:
Well, not if you're poor and your dad leaves you 20 grand and 60 percent of it gets taken by the government. What the- that was his nest egg. Thanks very much, Boris. You prick.

Charlie:
Good phrase, nest egg, what's that?

Harry:
It's- it's an amount of money or something worth a lot that you hold onto, that you can use later in life to do nice things with or give to your children. Nest egg.

Charlie:
Let's go with that. Yeah. Yeah.

Harry:
Then I'll give us-

Charlie:
I'll double check for the academy members, but I reckon it is.

Harry:
Yeah, I would. Yeah, yeah.

Charlie:
Okay. So, to- to travel solo or not to travel solo? That is the second question.

Harry:
Oh right. That's a very good one. Yeah. So I love travelling on my own. I really love it. So I think ideally I'd want to go on my own. But it depends on the kind of holiday, like if I want to go on a trip where I'm going to different places, travelling. If I'm travelling, I want to go to a couple of locations and just get to know the place, the people, the culture, soak myself in it. Or soak it- soak as much of it up as possible. I'd rather go on my own, but especially if I'm really interested in a place. Like I wouldn't want to go to Cuba with Marina because she's- she's not as into, like, the culture as I am. Like, I would just want to go to a bar and sit there and listen to music all day. And I know that she wouldn't be as into like Latin jazz or whatever as I am. So I'd feel bad and it would take away from my experience. I know she wouldn't have a great time. But then there's other holidays where I'd much rather go with her, like a really nice beach holiday in Thailand or something. Then I would definitely go with Marina. So it really depends on the location.

Charlie:
Nice. Yeah, that's- that's fair. Fair answer. It makes me want to help you experience this trip to Cuba. Sounds like you'd love it.

Harry:
I would love it. I would love it. It's my- the last couple of years I've done nothing but play the bongos and listen to Cuban music. And I watch a lot of documentaries. I just- I love it. Just the music, in particular. I'm not so much all about the Caribbean food and stuff, but yeah, I've- man, I would love it. I've got to go.

Charlie:
Should this be your, you know, location, that you're thinking of for this imagination? Imaginary trip?

Harry:
Quite possibly, yeah. Yeah, I think yeah, I think so. It scares me a bit. The idea of going next. I know it is quite, quite dangerous, but it's just such an iconic place and- yeah, I love- I think I'd have a really nice time there. But also, Spain is really important to me. I love, like, travelling around Spain. I feel really- I feel safe there as well. So I was thinking about doing the Camino de Santiago. That- you know, the big pilgrimage-.

Charlie:
The Walk To Santiago? Is it 'to Santiago'?

Harry:
I think it ends in Santiago, not the Chile, but in Galicia, yeah, I'd really like to do that. Didn't you do, like, a section of that? When you-

Charlie:
I saw people walking it when I was cycling to Pamplona. Pamplona.

Harry:
Pamplona, right.

Charlie:
Pampalona or Pamplona?

Harry:
Yeah, Pamplona. I think that's right. That's where they do the bull run, right?

Charlie:
Yeah, I think there must have been some people going that way because there were people walking with sticks on the high on- not the highways, but like the big roads. And I was like, what are you doing?

Harry:
Get a life.

Charlie:
Yeah, some people mention that. Yeah.

Harry:
What the hell are you- oh, my God. Pilgrimage? Pathetic. On your bike! Oh God. Losers

Charlie:
Out the way! Bing, bing! Okay, so you're going solo.

Harry:
Yeah, I think I- I think- I think so. I love going away with Marina, but, you know, I'd like a little trip on my own. Oh. Thank you. Just a note from my dad. He said, 'Piping. Come and tell me if it's too loud, Pete'. I think he's going to do it downstairs, but should be fine, I'm-.

Charlie:
Brilliant.

Harry:
I mean- you can tell me if it's too loud, I'll go and tell them it's too loud.

Charlie:
So is he doing his own plumbing?

Harry:
No, no. Bagpiping.

Charlie:
Oh, wow.

Harry:
Yeah, yeah, bagpiping.

Charlie:
Oh, right- I think, yeah. I- Ok, I would assume that bagpiping would probably be pretty horrendously loud.

Harry:
It's very loud.

Charlie:
I'll let-

Harry:
Let me know.

Charlie:
I'll let him-

Harry:
Let me know. Yeah. If not, I'll just tell him like, yeah, dad, wait an hour and then he can do it. He's pretty loud. But he's- he's been doing a lot of bagpiping during the- the lockdowns. So you know the Thursday NHS clapping that everyone was doing here? He would go out onto the street and parade the whole street playing the bagpipes.

Charlie:
Amazing.

Harry:
It was, it was brilliant. It was really good. He'd marched the whole way and the neighbourhood loved it. It's- there it goes. Can you hear it? Yeah.

Charlie:
Yes.

Harry:
Maybe just for the podcast, hear a couple of seconds of it. There you go. In fact, maybe I'll go and tell him to stop and I'll take the mike down and you hear it get louder and louder for the podcast.

Charlie:
Yeah. Nice, nice.

Harry:
I. I'll go and I'll go and tell him to wait an hour. We'll be good in hour right? Or less.

Charlie:
We'll be done in 20 minutes.

Harry:
Oh wow, okay. Ok, sorry I'm yapping on a bit. See you in a sec. (bagpipes playing loudly) Hey, dad? Do you reckon you can wait just like, half an hour? I'm recording with Charlie, I'm sorry. And then- thanks for asking. Yeah. Half an hour. Thanks very much.

Charlie:
Got to love it. Got to love the Gyles family.

Charlie:
Oh, I love that ending. The bagpipes. That was perfect. Absolutely perfect. So that was the end of Part One for you. I removed the sponsor for this because you are a member and this is Part One of three for you. Just know that the sponsor is italki.com and they are offering 140 US dollars worth of credits for anyone who signs up now or if you are currently a member of italki.com, then you can like, post about your story about how italki has helped your English or your language learning progress and you get another hundred and forty dollars worth of credits. So I'm putting it in here because I feel like I'd be doing you a disservice of not telling you about this because it's free credits for lessons.

Charlie:
So, yes, go over to italki.com if you're interested in getting, well, if you're really clever about it, you get 14 lessons off of a rather affordable teacher or maybe four or five of a more established teacher. So, yeah, go and check out italki.com if you wanted to, but that's the end of Part One. We will see you in Part Two where we continue the conversation where Pete, Harry's father, has finished the bagpipes or put the bagpipes down for now for us to carry on in peace. But, yeah, hope you enjoyed the first part and see you soon.