Now, here’s a thing…

This podcast is not total improvisation. Yes, and occasionally we do prepare what we are going to say. Yes, and we are also comfortable with winging it. Yes, and today was a mixture of both inspired by "Whose Line Is It Anyway?". Then we turn to a troubling matter, well for Tracy anyway. Lateness. According to this article Heather found, being 5 minutes late isn't really late..... hmmmm. Apparently no one will bear a grudge or be annoyed. Really? It becomes apparent that maybe Tracy should consider therapy. Or maybe everyone needs to make sure they are on time ;) Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Welcome to "Now Here's a Brian Thing".This week Heather shared the top ten songs that have been scientifically proven to make us feel happier. We are not convinced, but we are not scientists. See what you think.Tracy wonders about the new blue economy, ie seaweed farming in Wales. Is regenerative ocean farming as good for nature as it is expected to be for the economy? We do hope so.And finally, Heather is delighted with her new Ring camera (and her neighbour Brian). Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Heather is expanding her gardening experience with the help of Charles Dowding, her neighbour Brian (secret garden elf) and a calendar gifted to her by her husband. I can't believe she's not watching Gardener's World yet though. Her Friday nights are sorted from here on in.Poorna Bell wrote an inspiring book about women's strength which I can highly recommend but that wasn't my thing this week (although we need to give a quick nod to the inspiring Joan Macdonald). Instead, I focused on GoodGyms founded by Ivo Gormley, where participants combine volunteering with getting fit.Now we're off to lift weights and grow some spuds. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

It's still series 1 and we have no plans to move onto series 2 at any point. It's easier to keep track of how many episodes we have published ;)Raging Grannies captured our imaginations this week thanks to Sharon Blackie, author of Hagitude. Social justice activists who dress up and sing protest songs. Sounds right up our street but there don't seem to be any gaggles in UK and we can't sing (but apparently that's not a requirement). One to think about.Having read an article in The Guardian about a rocket scientist who started acting professionally in her 60s, Tracy was interested to understand what drew Heather to acting at a more mature age (apologies for title Heather, I am not suggesting that you are elderly, honest!). I am hoping that Heather doesn't read this blurb....Heather's thing is an article with 38 images that change the way we see women, for better and for worse. Of course images don't lend themselves to podcasts, but she has a good attempt at describing these Protestors, Popstars and Pioneers.And then Heather wondered who decided that a sandwich and crisps is THE lunch food? And when did that happen? Beware nostalgia incoming.Right. Let's revolt! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In the absence of any credible preparation by Tracy on account of her being totally pre-occupied by a book she's reading, what and how we like to read is the first subject we explored this week. If any of you know what a "novel reader" is, as referenced in the actual novel "Spellbreaker", then please do contact either of us on social media. So far we have drawn a blank.And Heather brings up the subject of Swedish Death Cleaning which she read about this week. She did some actual prep work. Nice one.Finally, Tracy identifies Heather as a psychopath because of an uneaten chocolate bunny sitting on her desk! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week Heather has been triggered a couple of times this week and here you'll find out what Heather experienced 50 years ago which has caused her to the the butt of a joke in her family since then and stopped her joining the police force. And please don't offer her the role of a male character in a play!Please do let us know if you see a police officer jumping 1 metre on the streets.Tracy shares that one of her childhood crushes was Adam Ant dressed as a dandy highwayman. It is important to note that he was not a socially inferior footpad, oh no! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Inspired by an article about an avant garde mother in The Observer, Tracy & Heather explore the nature of what it means to be an artist and when you can call yourself one. We also learn that Heather is often surprised to realise that she is indeed an adult. We both need to read this book called "When I grow up" by Moya Sarner just so that we can be prepared!Heather's "thing" this week was a social group event that she attended and was deeply moved by. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

You may be disappointed when you hear that a slap around the face wasn't one of our "things" for this week. Nevermind, we proceeded to discuss the complicated languages of flowers and fans. That geraniums represent folly did not surprise us, but orange lilies meaning hatred did. But then we blew our own minds trying to negotiate the scenario in which you were presented with an upside down bunch of them! But trying to cool ourselves down by wafting our fans across our faces only made mattes worse - who knows what message we were sending.Then, inspired by the Apple TV programme Severance, we ponder on the benefits or otherwise of having no memory of life outside of work whilst working, and having no memory of work whilst not working. No clear decision is made apart from that Heather has no intention of watching the show. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Heather goes mad for royalty this week and Tracy exclaims a little too much (not being a massive fan of the concept) although admits to being slightly intrigued by the court circular and the finer details contained therein. And we were both enthralled/horrified/amused by the etiquette guide in Debrett's. And now we know the dangers of calling your child Richard (Dick) Head.It's good to know that no societies have been found to have no sense of humour at all (although some individuals may be lacking in that area). And so, humour is universal, but also culturally specific. We then explore the cultural differences in humour in our own special, clumsy way. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Welcome to the podcast with the signature hum/buzz/drone!When we get over this annoyance we chat about animals, specifically medal worthy animals such as Simon the cat. We learned that the PDSA Dickin medal is the highest award any animal can receive whilst serving in military conflict. No longer do we underestimate the significance of carrier pigeons.And then we wonder what is good for the soul and then what is a soul...? Then we meander around until we end up exploring what an idiom is. It's a wild ride this podcast!Finally we hear that Heather had a disappointing weekend but at least she learned something new about peacocks. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

To say that these two subjects are diverse would be quite the understatement, as it would also be to say I (Tracy) was annoyed with the background hum that I have tried but largely failed to edit out of this episode. One day we'll find out what is causing the hum and we'll do a whole episode on that!What movements bring you joy? For me it's open water swimming and yoga. Heather puts herself in the hands of her personal trainer for her joyful movement.And then we contemplate human destruction of the world and end on a downer. Heather also swears. Sorry folks! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

What is your earliest memory? And is it real or learned? Tracy smells a wendy house (pretty sure that's real) and recalls throwing her toys off a balcony (this could be learned from a mother who remembers having to deal with it!). Heather remembers being told off for getting lost at the seaside. Heather brings some weird stories to the pod this week plus a tv show recommendation.Tracy lazily brought the research she had done last week but didn't have time to talk about. Leaving her more time to crochet instead of researching. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Returning after an extend break for Christmas and New Year Tracy (me) is ready to stay snuggled down under her new blanket. It's weighted don't you know. But words fail her when trying to name the fabric it is made from. But in case you are concerned, I can now confirm that the fabric is in fact breathable MicroCool™ Fleece.Heather then eulogises about pantomimes and delves into the history of this very British form of entertainment. Very interesting. Oh yes it is! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

White coat syndrome is a real thing according to researchers. As well as chatting about what this is, we reveal the guilt that we always feel when walking through the "nothing to declare" channel even though we are totally innocent.And a day you perhaps didn't realise you needed is teeny tiny Christmas, the day before the day before the big day where the big day is actually the day before the big day in UK. Confused yet? You will be! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

I (Tracy) did very little (no) prep for this podcast but we still managed to talk at length. When you are winging it you can talk about winging it!Heather's thing is better researched but rather scarily leads us both to have a got a singing. Winging or singing. Which is worse? And if you are older than Gen Z then you want to listen right to the end because we'll be teaching you a new word. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Anyone for cow cuddling? Grandma Snowflake and Cuddlepuff are Highland Cows ready and willing to offer solace at times of need.And then you can look back on the whole experience with rosy retrospection, but only after a little time has elapsed.Eclectic discussions once again! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The the event of surviving an apocalypse, the skills of foraging and, importantly, how to cook your finds so that they don't kill you will probably be valued quite highly. Thanks to Harvard University you can spend 14 weeks learning how to cook microbes and fungi - for free. You could also listen to this podcast but I wouldn't fancy your chances of surviving much beyond the apocalypse based on our scant knowledge.Heather also found, and went on to sign up for, a free online course on the Science of Happiness. We'll give her 8 weeks and demand she shares all that she has learned, shall we? Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

If on average we tell 30 lies a day (we as in humans, not just me and Heather) how many did we tell during this episode?Everything we said about Epistemic Vigilance and the Nietzsche Thesis was the truth as we see it, courtesy of bigthink.com. They also provide us with three useful tips to improve our lie detection skills.Heather then shared her learning experience with a group of submariners (pirates?) in a boozer in London last weekend. Random? Yes. Fascinating? Yes. Unusual for Heather to chat to strangers in pubs? No. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

No tricks, just treats from us two this week.Heather digs up some more of our old memories talking about superstitions (this podcast is starting to become a nostalgia-fest). And we have a question - do the younger generations have the same superstitions as we did?And I got excited about the history of witches and didn't tell the stories quite as quite as Ronald Hutton or Susannah Lipscomb. But I am looking forward to reading Ronald's book. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This episode is not about poo samples and I did my best to remove the humming sound that appeared from nowhere. Apologies for the residual rumbling - which at least is not as loud in the podcast as it was in the room on the night.What we did talk about was the council of Hull passing a motion (fnarr, fnarr) to grant the "right to grow" on unused council land, thanks to community organisation Rooted in Hull. This led us to a chat about the Incredible Edible network. Both organisations have a vision to connect communities through food. And after the apocalypse the skill of growing food will be invaluable.... Do you remember the first movie you saw in the cinema? The first live music concert you attended? We do, and you can find out what they were when you listen in. Also, I shared a bit of trivia about The Haunting in Venice (was this humblebragging by proxy I wonder?).And we finish the podcast with one big question - why would you miss 15 minutes of a film to get a coffee and then return to the auditorium to watch what was left of the film? Preposterous idea, no? Someone didn't think so. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.