Oct 2019 – Not So Goldilocks

I don’t know about you, but there seem to be so many podcasts around right now. I am not complaining, as it means there is something out there for everyone… and they’re free to enjoy! I have come to an age where music sometimes doesn’t cut it during my commute. I need some other sounds. I need to be stimulated through my ears another way (oo-er). Enter the wonderful new concept of podcasts.

My brother and his girlfriend first introduced me to podcasts a few years ago when they told me how much they enjoy listening to Desert Island Discs while driving. I always said that I couldn’t concentrate on spoken word while driving, but perhaps that’s because my brain wasn’t ready for it! I love listening to spoken word now. Here are a handful of podcasts that I can’t wait to catch up on each week…

Desert Island Discs

Obviously this is the first on my list. I love it. Especially the Classic episodes. You find out so much about the celebrities and famous figures from all industries, even the ones you’d never even heard of before. If you listen to people you know from our generation, they will often have Nirvana’s Smells Like Teen Spirit as one of their choices… and all Brits seem to choose something by the Beatles, perhaps out of obligation. Both of my grandparents have been guests on the show, which are obviously my very favourite episodes (and, no, neither of them chose a Nirvana or Beatles song).

Honestly

Clemmie Telford is relatively local to me, and I first found out about her on Instagram. I went through a period of following all sorts of mummy bloggers and Clemmie’s blog, Mother Of All Lists, really interested me – It was so different and refreshing and, well, honest. When she announced her new podcast earlier in the year, I was in the virtual queue waiting for that first episode. And I now listen to each new episode religiously every Wednesday on my morning commute. The first episode on Marriage with Clemmie and Simon Hooper is still my favourite so far, but I have thoroughly enjoyed her discussions about other subjects such as death, periods and cancer. It is so refreshing to hear people talk about their experiences with such honesty and light-heartedness. It led me to write my post, Talking Honestly About Death, which was inspired by one of Clemmie’s podcasts. I have learned a lot from Clemmie and her guests, and I hope others will, too.

The Guilty Feminist

Needless to say, Deborah Frances-White is smashing it at the moment and using her profile and podcast for the greater good. She always has great guests and the podcast is laugh-out-loud funny. I remember Andi Osho telling a ‘toilet’ story about when she and her boyfriend were on holiday. You’ll have to listen to the episode to enjoy the story, as I don’t want to ruin it – She tells it so well. I was crying with laughter in the hair care aisle in Tesco. Check it out here: The Bechdel Test with Andi Osho.

I was lucky enough to see two recordings of the show earlier this year – One at Kings Place in Kings Cross, and the other at the wonderful Royal Albert Hall. It was my first visit and I enjoyed every flipping minute of the show, especially Hannah Gadsby’s stand-up. She was so brilliant. Plus, they got one of the ‘feminists of the future’ up from the audience to join them in their final dance – She was 12 and her father had bought her ticket and accompanied her to the Guilty Feminist show for her birthday present. Move over, Greta!

The Horne Section

Alex Horne and his section are awesome. I have been a fan of theirs since the very beginning when my brother invited me to see them perform at Soho Theatre’s downstairs space in a very rough draft of the eventual show. I knew there and then that they would go far. My brother knew a lot of the ‘section’, who are all good muso friends of his, and he even played guitar for them at a radio recording, which I attended. It was one of the laugh-out-loud-funniest things I have ever witnessed. I first heard about the podcast when I was in Malawi, and made sure I listened to all of them as soon as I could. They accompanied me on many evenings of cooking! Funny, witty, clever and musically sweet-as, this podcast is a must for everyone! You can also catch Alex Horne on Dave’s Taskmaster, and the whole section have been known to grace the 9 Out of 10 Cats Does Countdown Dictionary Corner once or twice. They also have some music videos available on their website – Bagface, Battleships (with the incredible Joe Stilgoe) and Barge Rock are my favourites.

I hope you all have your favourite go-to podcasts. Do let me know what they are and why you love them – I’m always open to trying new ones!

Enjoy,

NSG xxx

Cover Photo by Juja Han on Unsplash

Uber. So helpful, cheap and accessible, right? I have used them on and off for a few years, in the UK, USA and South Africa, and they have always been relatively reliable, presuming they kind-of know the area in which they’re driving and don’t ALWAYS rely on their sat nav app to get them to the destination.

I have recently had nothing but bad experiences with them, so have decided to delete the app from my phone permanently. The main reason being that I just can’t rely on them like I used to.

In my post ‘Rain, Rain, Go Away‘ I talked about one of the reasons why I am now feeling compelled to write this post. We booked an Uber on said rainy morning to take myself and Khaya to school. We had a driver accept the journey and he was making his way to us from our local train station, where he’d just made a drop-off. About three minutes before he was due to arrive, he cancelled the journey. Luckily, I was still able to walk/swim to the school to get Khaya there on time, but it was close! I was so angry that I complained to Uber and received some standard email in response, apologising for any inconvenience, etc, etc. Reason One.

Reason Two actually happened a few months ago. I went to our local Asda to get a big shop and I ordered an Uber to come and pick me up and take me home. I had limited funds in my bank account, so was shocked when they withdrew the upper amount of the estimated travel fee at the moment I booked the ride, rather than charging me for the actual trip fee at the end. It was a busy time, apparently, and the fee would be a bit higher due to high demand. I didn’t expect it to be as high as it ended up being, though. My driver arrived and dithered about which way he was going to get me home. He turned around a couple of times and eventually took a good back route, avoiding the traffic. When I checked the fare for the trip at the end, it was £9.21. For about a mile journey! I was so disappointed… More so because I probably could have called our local cab firm and got the same journey for about half of that price (A mistake I shall never make again!).

My grandfather always says he hates Uber and would never use them as they don’t have ‘The Knowledge’ of London like real cab drivers do. But, he also doesn’t agree with the ethics. I can understand all of this, but I always used them despite their problems, as they were so reliable and easy to use.

When we were staying in Johannesburg in 2016, we used Uber a lot. It was great – Cheap, reliable and efficient. I felt bad about not using the slightly-more-expensive cab driver that we had met, who worked for a smaller company, but Uber was so much easier. That was until we had a nightmare trip to Joburg Zoo and I realised that having no mobile data or wifi was almost life-threatening (or, at least, sanity-threatening!). We (Khaya and a pregnant I) arranged to meet a new friend there, but she didn’t show up. I had limited use of my phone, so tried to look around to see if any part of the zoo had wifi (I was even ready to pay for it!) so I could call her and/or order an Uber to go home again. No wifi at the restaurant, but there were wifi points all over the zoo. We made our way to the nearest one, which was next to the statue of the late Max, a gorilla who passed away at the zoo in 2004. I managed to send some iMessages to said friend, no replies (I later found out she left her phone at home). I managed to book an Uber, but I knew that as soon as I moved away from Max and towards the exit, I’d lose signal and have to HOPE that the driver met me at the right place, without being able to check if he was even still coming! Luckily all was OK in the end, but I wonder if the same happy ending would have occured in London?? I expect the driver would have just cancelled on me, leaving me high and dry, crying on the roadside after the zoo closed. Perhaps UK Uber drivers should take some lessons from the SA ones.

Reason Three is simple – I can’t ride in an Uber with my two boys without car seats. Either I carry two car seats around with me permanently in case I need an Uber in an emergency, or I leave the kids behind.

I rarely have the need for an Uber/taxi nowadays, and it’s always a no-go with the two boys. We have amazing public transport around us and we now have use of a family car when we need it. We’re all set without you, Uber, thank you. Now go and let down all the rest of London!

And… delete.

On another note, my lovely readers, I’d love to hear about your experiences with Uber and whether you have stopped using them and, if so, what was the clincher?

NSG xxx

Cover photo credit: Austin Distel on Unsplash