(music) #1243 Thanksgiving Day - Let Me Bore You To Sleep (28th November 2024)

Hello and welcome to Let Me Bore You To Sleep. My name's Jason Newland. Please only listen when you can safely close your eyes.

Today I am going to do... What am I going to do? I'm going to talk. Really? You're going to talk? Yeah, I'm going to talk. I'm going to talk about... Thanksgiving.

Now I understand this is... I don't know if it's a Canadian thing but it's predominantly an American thing. It might be in Canada as well. But I thought I'd talk about it because I like the idea of Thanksgiving.

I like the idea of doing it in my country but we don't. It's just the idea of Thanksgiving, giving thanks. It feels quite nice.

So I thought I'd talk about that today. Now, whether or not I do actually talk about that is another thing. Because some may say that I don't always stick to the subject.

So it's a happy Thanksgiving Day to all my American listeners. I'm going to ask actually, where in the world is Thanksgiving celebrated? Celebrated. It might be in other countries.

Thanksgiving is a national holiday celebrated on various states in October and November in the United States. Wow. Okay.

I didn't know this. So Canada. So sorry, sorry people listening Canada.

I might have known that in the past, but I'd forgotten it. So United States, Canada, St. Lucia, Liberia, and unofficially in countries like Brazil, Germany, and the Philippines is also observed in the Australian territory of Norfolk Island. Wow, that's interesting.

I genuinely didn't know. Genuinely didn't know. I mean, generally, I mean, normally, you know, I pretend to be ignorant, but on this occasion, I'm not pretending.

Okay, I never pretend. Countries are celebrating Thanksgiving in 2024. It falls in November.

In America, it's today. Thank you. In Australia, Thanksgiving was started after being brought over by whaling ships from America.

Okay, I'm guessing that wasn't last week. Thanksgiving is held in October. In Canada, sorry, Thanksgiving is held in October.

So I'm a little bit late for that one. Sorry, Canada, and is used to show thankfulness at the end of the harvest season. Grenada, wherever that is.

Thanksgiving, Grenada, Grenada. Is that where they make grenades? I don't know. Is that in the? Is that like South America, Grenada? Thanksgiving holiday isn't related at all to Thanksgiving, or thanks, thankness, thankfulness or harvest.

Instead, it's held on October 25, the same day that a US led invasion occurred in 1983. Okay, so that's not really the same thing. They're thanking the Americans for invading them or something.

I'm not sure. In Liberia, Thanksgiving started in the 1800s as a celebration of the colonization of freed African Americans. In the Netherlands, Thanksgiving is celebrated in honor of the penguins that lived in the city of pilgrims that lived in the city of Leiden or Leiden before heading to the New World wherever that is.

There are other nations also have festivals and holidays that are similar to Thanksgiving. This includes Ertandanzkfest in Germany. I'm not sure where that is.

Labor Thanksgiving Day in Japan. And Japan is in France, isn't it? And the harvest festival of Thanksgiving in the United Kingdom. We do not have a Thanksgiving in the United Kingdom.

So I don't know where they get that from. Why? Where are they getting this from? I mean, if there is, then why haven't I been told about it? So here it is about the United Kingdom. So I'm interested in this now.

Thanksgiving in the UK is not widely celebrated, and there's no specific name for it. It's not really a holiday then, is it? If there's no name for it, there's no date for it, it kind of doesn't exist. Maybe the Wiccans, you know, the Wiccans celebrate it, the witchcraft people celebrate it.

I don't know. Good for them if they do. And I imagine giving thanks for harvests and stuff.

I mean, that used to be a very, that used to be kind of the religion before other world religions came over here thousands of years ago, and was forced upon the people that lived here. It literally was, they didn't have a choice. Bless them.

A celebration of the harvest and food grown on the land in the United Kingdom. But it wouldn't be called the United Kingdom back then either, would it? It was Britain. England, Britain, United Kingdom.

I don't think the United Kingdom was even a thing until about, I think, three years ago, I think. Maybe not. How many countries celebrate Thanksgiving? 11 countries around the world celebrate their own day of Thanksgiving.

Each country has its own reason for celebrating, often to mark a commemorative event in national history. So, why does America celebrate it? That's something I don't know. I'm going to, let's go through the different ones.

I'm going to go to America first. Thanksgiving in the United States, typically celebrated on the fourth Thursday of November, which is today, is a national holiday marked by gatherings with family and friends. To give thanks and enjoy a national meal featuring turkey, stuffing, cranberry sauce, and pumpkin pie.

Now, you might not know this, but in, in, I'm going to say England, because I don't, I've not really lived anywhere else, not, not like at Christmas. Turkey is the standard meal, like the, say traditional. Turkey, that meal that they have there, apart from the pumpkin pie, is a standard meal in England for Christmas Day.

Turkey, stuffing, cranberry sauce, gravy, rose potatoes, perhaps some broccoli, some peas, brussels sprouts, maybe even sausages, what do they call them? Egg, not eggs in baskets. Sausages and pigs in, pigs in blankets, that's it. Pigs in blankets, that's a sausage wrapped round with bacon.

That's probably not great cholesterol-ally. I mean, it's just a weird United Kingdom. Thanksgiving in the UK is not widely celebrated.

There's no, there's no specific name for it, and no specific date. It doesn't exist. Okay, so Rwanda, Rwanda celebrates Thanksgiving.

So what do they celebrate it for? Women, it's called a Meganura Day, celebrated on the first Friday of August, marks the start of the harvest season. Also called National Harvest Day or Thanksgiving Day. It honours Rwanda culture with traditional dances, music, and food.

That sounds like fun. Netherlands, though not a bank, no, not a public holiday. Thanksgiving is observed by unorthodox Protestant churches in the Netherlands on the first Wednesday in November.

Those who observe the day either go to church in the evening or take the day off and go to church on this day. And the Philippines celebrate Thanksgiving like the US until 1986. After President Marcos Alster, after President Marcos Alster, after President Marcos Alster, I don't know what that means.

As of 2022, Thanksgiving has regained popularity as a commercial and cultural holiday, though it no longer holds official status. Okay, so did I don't know why. St. Lucia, I had a girlfriend from this one of my first girlfriends was from St. Lucia in Trinidad.

The nation of St. Lucia celebrates Thanksgiving on the first month in October. The Liberian, Liberia, Thanksgiving is celebrated on the first Thursday of November with different customs from the US, ranging from religious ceremonies to relaxation. Some seeing it as an American imposition, while others reflect on peace after the Civil War.

That's not an imposition. And yeah, so I guess there's a lot of political stuff connected to this and I don't, I don't understand what it is. So not only do I not understand political, I can't spell it.

So Brazil National Thanksgiving Day was established by President Caspar Dutra, or Caspar Dutra, later set for the fourth Thursday of November, same as America. While it's not officially celebrated, tradition is observed by various American origin families and Protestant Christian denominations. Okay, so we've done Australia, Germany.

In Germany, Thanksgiving is an autumn harvest celebrate a celebration called dank. Dank is kind of a word for like stale and smelly. In this country, dank or so dank in here.

It's almost like moldy or that that's what kind of we use that word for in this country. Harvest Thanksgiving festival, the observation, the opposite, the observance usually takes place in September or October, depending on the region. So I need something bothering me, I need to find out what it is.

No, not what's bothering me, but just what is the difference between Okay, right. It's all this Protestant Catholic thing, because it's what I don't know what Protestant is. So Catholics, the Catholic Church, she teaches that both the Bible and the the teachings of the church, church's father and authority of the Pope are sources of divine revelation.

The Pope is considered the supreme authority on matters of faith and morality. Okay, Protestants, Protestants typically emphasize solar scripture. Okay, scripture alone, meaning the Bible is a sole authority for matter of faith in practice.

They do not accept the authority of the Pope, or the same traditions upheld by the Catholic Church. Is that it? Is that really the only difference is Protestants believe that Jesus is the only head of the church and the Catholics is the Pope. That can't be the only change only difference.

Catholics, Catholicism teaches that salvation is achieved through achieved through faith, good works, and participation in the sacraments such as baptism and all that stuff. Grace is received. Okay, Protestants, I'm skipping X, I know about Catholics.

I used to be one Protestants, many Protestant denominations teach solar feed, which is faith alone, I'm guessing solar means alone. Meaning that salvation is received solely by faith in Jesus Christ and not by works. While good works are important, they are seen as a result of faith rather than a means of achieving salvation.

I can see, I can see, you know, if I'm stepping back from this, I can see kind of why Catholics would not be happy with that, I suppose, in a sense of, we're doing all this work, and I don't know, maybe that's how they used to see it. I don't see a reason for dividing people, but it's weird. Mind you, I know some people that think that it doesn't matter what you do in your life, you can be as nasty and as horrible as you want.

But as long as you believe, as long as you believe, just before you die, just before your last breath, as long as you give yourself and you believe, then you'll go to heaven. Now, that's not fair on all the people that try and live a good life. That's what I think, it's not fair.

Whether it's true or not, I don't know, but it's not, surely. Like, you know, what's someone on there, someone going to the, had a death sentence, you know, in a prison, as long as they sort of say, I believe that they'll be fine, no matter how many people's lives they've ruined. No, that doesn't seem very fair.

Doesn't seem fair, really. I mean, they should at least, I think you need to believe for at least a month, you know, give a month's notice, a trial period, see if you like it or not. From both sides, you know, you can test it.

God can kind of see whether or not he thinks you're okay or not. It's like, you know, I mean, Jesus wasn't always the most tolerant, was he? He wasn't a big fan of people selling stuff. He wasn't a big, big fan of that stuff.

So I'm just wondering how patient he'd be with some of the prisoners. I don't know. So that'd be interesting, like a cooling off period, just for a month.

Like, just sign up for a month, see how we get on. See if you can be good for a month. So I guess really, it's just, it's like Buddhism.

See, Buddhists are different all over the world. And the original Buddhism came from India. And bearing in mind that the Buddha came from like a Hindu background, and he went through his whole kind of, for a long period where he was living on the streets, trying to learn, trying to find a guru, really trying to find someone that could teach him.

And he went through lots of different teachers, learn yoga, learn all these different things. I don't know if he learned yoga, I'm making part of this up. I'm making most of it up.

I always do. And I don't even know what Buddhism is. I've heard it once, and I just thought, okay, I'll just pretend I know something about it.

And then he decided he wanted to be enlightened. And he sat under a tree and said, I'm not gonna, I'm not gonna move until I gain enlightenment. And then a coconut fell on his head.

And he realized, yeah, he discovered gravity. So that's my memory of it. And then he created the wheel.

And there's a brilliant. So there was a Padmasambhava is a Buddhist that took the teachings of the Buddha to China. And it basically got spread the Buddhist word, the idea of Buddhism and enlightenment and all that stuff.

It's different everywhere. It's different everywhere. So when he took it, when it was taken from China, to Tibet, Tibet will always it basically, okay, how do I explain this? Whatever the person's tradition was originally, they incorporated Buddhism into that, knowing that it would be very difficult for someone to completely change, you know, change lane, change belief.

So they incorporated it into what the other person already kind of believed. And then, you know, push their idea onto it, their idea of Buddhism and stuff. So some parts of the world, they ring bells, and they chant, and they, they light incense, because they were already lighting incest before, before Buddhism came.

So incest was already there. But they just like decided to, and to incorporate Buddhism into that. Some people, some countries have taken on, they've got more the Zen way.

Some people, you know, where it's just Zazen, or Zazen, where you just sit. And it's no bells and whistles, really. Other people have gotten more the Western route, Western route, if you want to call it that.

And when I think of that, I think, well, as far as I know, there's never been any like big issues between the Buddhists, they just all get on. It might not be true. But as far as I know, it's, there's, there's crossovers.

So there's certain things, there's certain mantras, there's certain, I don't want to say prayers or whatever, that you can say anywhere in the world. And you can you can talk along to it. Because it's in Pali.

Because basically, you've got two languages that the Buddhist teachers were in Sanskrit and in Pali. It just seems kind of weird, the idea of people, I can't, well, I don't understand it. But I can see how people of completely different religions would be going in different ways, you know.

But that was my impression of two different religions, disagreeing. That's why I hear when I say meh. But I would say, personally, I always found that Catholicism was much more, they seem to seem to be a bit more stuck in the Old Testament.

Not so much the embracing the New Testament as much. I mean, the New Testament's included, but it's really, for me, the New Testament was the only book that I was interested. I've read both.

I got gifted Old Testament. Yeah, I got gifted, it might be an Old and New Testament, I don't know. Because even the New Testament's pretty old, to be fair.

You know, it's not like I was like, 10 years old, and I was getting all excited. In English lesson at school, what are you doing in Jason? Why are you so excited? I just can't wait to go home. Why? The New Testament's being released today.

No, it was already out. So I had the New and Old Testament in one big book, which was passed down to me from relatives, someone. And it was old.

I kind of wish I had it, but I got nothing from back those days. Back those days, those days, back then. And then I got the New Testament when I was at school, it was the Gideon's Bible.

I said, it's not anymore, it's now mine. Yeah, I was full of jokes back then. Everyone laughed, and they just held me up above their heads and carried me around.

Screaming, Jason is great. Jason is great. Yep.

Do you ever sit in a room on your own and just think, just sniff and think, I don't remember farting. That's what it's now. I don't remember farting, but there's a smell.

It's definitely a smell. And I'm clean. I mean, you know, as clean as I'm ever going to be.

I'm kind of clean. Externally. I don't know what that means externally, but I know what externally means.

But I don't know what I mean when I say I'm clean externally. I mean the skin, the outer layer. Well, I mean, it's not my mind.

Ooh. So yeah, my name was a Catholic. She never, ever got into the conversation about Protestants.

Because I think I might have asked her, and she said, I don't care. So why not? She said, I'm a Catholic. What about Protestants? What about them? I wasn't interested.

It didn't, had no effect on her. Which is weird because she was Irish. But her family came from the south of Ireland.

So I don't think it was as big an issue as in certain parts. But I think it's been an issue in different, I think in other countries as well. It's weird when you consider all this stuff came in, and was forced upon the population that was there.

Buddhism was never forced upon people. It was introduced. I mean, there was Dr. Bedika or something, went to India.

And he was, I think he was from, it might be from Pakistan, or maybe he went to Pakistan from India. I know they're two completely different countries with no connections at all. Unless, of course, you go back 75 years.

But I, when they were the same country, I was, before the partition, I, what he did is he converted thousands and thousands and thousands of Indians to Muslim, to Muslim, to, no, blimey, to Buddhist. Because they had the caste system where they were living. So to take them out of the caste system, they became Buddhists.

And the weird thing about it, they had, they had to, had to make two agreements in order to become Buddhists. So I've been christened as a Catholic, I've been christened, not christened, I've been the equivalent of being christened as a Buddhist. So I've gone through, it's not like full ordination, but it's a thing that in the West that I did was part of where I went to, which was becoming a Mitra, which is a friend.

And it's, it's a ritual, it's a ceremonial thing. And it's, you know, something that I've done. 20 years ago now, it was 2004.

And I still like to go back, but I'm a bit scared, to be honest. Just the idea of being around people, a little bit, a little bit, a little bit. And it's weird, because when I do go back to the Buddhist center, people don't know who I am.

It's the opposite to being a regular at Cheers, where everybody knows your name. What was weird, really, for me is I went back, it's a couple of years ago, went back on a, I think it was a Friday. Anyway, I went back, and someone didn't know my name, didn't know who I was.

And I said, it's me. She said, who are you? I said, it's Jason. Oh, I don't remember you.

Now, that was a bit upsetting, because me and her were quite close. For years. I mean, years and years from, let's say close, good friends.

So like from 2007, well, let's say 2008, all the way up to, let's say I was still seeing her in 2014, 15. So I hadn't, and I wasn't going regularly after that. So I went and saw her, yeah, so 2015.

And then I moved here. So I didn't see her very often. And then I went maybe the period during lockdown when I didn't go.

And after lockdown, I think it was 2022. Was it? She didn't remember me. And she said, Oh, I see a lot of people.

I said, I literally been around your house. I know your daughter. I've known you, I've known your daughter since she was 17.

Now she's in her 30s. It's like, didn't didn't didn't remember me. Weird.

Just I mean, I understand it could be a reason a medical reason for that. But I don't think it was. I think it's just always that unforgettable.

That unforgettable. It doesn't even make sense, does it? Forgettable. That's it.

The things I used to go and see her sometimes. Daily. So I'm saying it wasn't like I'd see her once a week or once a month.

I'd see her nearly every day. I worked with her in a shop. I saw her every week, multiple times for years.

And she forgot me. And she was one of my favourite people. I'm gonna start crying.

It's weird. Strange. I guess that just shows you how little is going on in my life.

Because I remember people. I don't always remember their names, if I'm honest, but I do remember people faces usually, if I've got to know them. There's someone that I met in 1997, called Lara.

And I contacted her last year, just to say hi, and she didn't remember me. And you could say, Okay, fair enough. That's a long time.

It's just a fair point. It doesn't seem like a long time to me. But I guess it is a long time.

97, 2007, 2017, 2027, 2027, 2026, 25, 24. It's over 15 years. So it's it's 27 years.

Yeah, which is over 15. I remember her so well. It's really because I kind of fell for a bit.

And so that's really why it's a long time ago. And she's married. She's got seven kids now.

So I just but I just remember because I got a little job in the club, just like, like a small temporary thing, which is to try and help her out. I used to speak to her on the phone quite regularly. She was on the comedy circuit with me.

And I used to go and see her doing gigs. And I remember once she phoned me up when I was working and she said, well, I phoned her up and she said, I had a dream about you last night. So and then that wasn't really that was Yeah.

I didn't tell her how I felt. I think she knew she just wasn't interested. So which is fine.

But it's strange. She just and the last time I saw she came into the club into the comedy club, and she was with her sister. And though I celebrate it was a birthday celebration as a few of them.

And then sister left early. And I never got a chance to really say hello to her. I said hello to her, but I didn't get a chance to speak to her.

And that was the last time I ever saw her. And that was probably 1999 2000 time, probably, maybe 2000. And I met her in basically what has happened is my friend who owned the club.

He asked me if they had a film crew coming in during the day, during a week day. And he was upstairs. Anyway, he's running the club.

So he basically he asked me if I'd come in and keep an eye on the people, especially the box, the bar was all open. So anyone could just help themselves and stuff. So he said, Can you just keep an eye on everything? Keep an eye on the bar.

And, you know, I said, I said, cool. Okay. So this film crew is there.

And there was I think there was Billy Connolly was there. He was part of the film. I can't remember who else.

I lose a little bit of track of time. But it says, Billy Connolly was definitely I can tell you the name of the movie. Billy Connolly movie hasn't been in that many, is he? Many 1997.

Here we go. Mrs. Brown. No, really? 1997.

So I'm thinking maybe there was it maybe it was it was released 97 and it wasn't made 97 wasn't it? So let's have a look. Pretty Billy, Billy, Billy, Billy, Billy, Billy, Billy, Billy, Billy, Billy, Billy, Billy, Billy, Billy Connolly. Billy Connolly.

He has blimey he's been in a lot of films. I didn't realise he'd been in so many. I'll take that back.

He's been in lots. 1978 was his first movie. And the last movie was 2016.

So 1997 1998. So if I look in the imposters, let's use in that. Okay, I don't know what the name of the movies was then.

I really don't know. Maybe it was Mrs. Brown. Maybe it was.

It might have actually been beginning of 98. But I don't know 100% sure. Not 100% I know how to figure it out.

No, okay. Um, no, that's the wrong one. Okay.

I don't know. I don't anyway. I just saw him there.

I'm getting paid. Not a lot of money, but a few quid was good to just stay there and just keep an eye on the bar. And just make sure that they didn't trash the place and if they needed my friend and I could just go and get him and stuff.

It was just for the afternoon. And then they asked me if I wanted to be an extra. Because there was they're just filling the bar for the people to stand around and drinking a little lemon, I don't know, just drinking, you know, whatever.

And they brought their own alcohol is probably alcohol free, but they bought it themselves. They had crates of it. So they were using the glasses from the bar.

And I remember I was queuing outside to get myself signed up. And that's where I met Laura. And yeah, that's where I remember it.

And it's like, okay, there's a lot of things I don't remember. And maybe the fact that maybe because I talk about stuff every single day nearly, I make recordings. And that's why I'm more maybe have a few more memories.

Perhaps. And I remember going to see a gig. She did.

And I was trying to tell her that I liked her. I just didn't know how. I didn't, I don't know.

I just didn't feel very confident. But I just, she's one of these people, you know, when you meet someone, you just like them straight away. Just yeah.

I mean, it's under 50 years ago now. Yeah, that's weird. I don't know.

Just that I'm just I don't want to talk about her. And what was I originally talking about? Buddhism? Oh, yeah. So this Dr. Bedika, I think his name is.

He converted people from in India, I think there's about 10,000 might have been 100,000. It was a big amount anyway. He converted them to Buddhism.

He offered them to become even like forced them. But it was really so they could no longer be part of the caste system. And they were lower caste.

So they they went through the process ordained in as Buddhists. I guess I don't really know how how the process was. And one of the one of the things that they had to promise as part of the ceremony is that they would no longer be aggressive towards their wives.

Which was kind of, I remember hearing that and thinking, what? Why would you? Why? What? In what world is that normal to be? Is it? Would you? What? It just didn't register with me. It's not, you know. But I think it was both ways.

I think it wasn't just men against women. I think women against men as well. I actually lived in a house.

Wow. I lived in his house. And the yeah, I think, yeah, the man and a woman, they lives opposite me.

And then about 100. Now quite a few people moved in afterwards from Jamaican or Ghanian, Jamaican. But these these two, this man, this woman, they were, they were from India.

And I got on really well with both of them. Individually. Individually.

So the bloke was a security guard. He looked like he was about to drop any minute. Honestly, just he he looked very, very drained.

And it's ironic because I ended up being a security guard. He and this was back in 1989. He was really calm and laid back.

Really chilled out. I got on really well with him. I also got on really well with his wife as well.

She was not laid back or calm. But she was funny. And I even went to her workplace to try and see if I could get a job there.

And she was working basically in a sweatshop. I couldn't I've never seen a sweatshop before. And it was almost, I'm not sure how many people there were even legal, which is why they were being taken advantage of.

And they were you know, they were getting paid practically nothing. And they didn't want they didn't want me because they didn't, they couldn't afford me. They you know, they, they didn't, they didn't need someone like me to work there.

Because they had a never ending list of people that were willing to come and work for very little money. So, but I got really well with both of them. But they didn't get on with each other.

And the house would be really quiet. And then he'd come home from work. So I'd get home from work about four, half four, something like that.

And I'd be sitting in my room, you know, maybe watching a bit of TV. I don't know. I can't remember.

It's a long time ago. Doing something. I was like 19 at the time.

Just turned 19. I was a teenager, man. Nice quiet house.

It was in the winter. So it was dark outside. I'd hear him come in quietly.

He'd walk upstairs. He'd open the door to the bedroom. They were sharing just a bedroom together.

Had to cook downstairs and everything. So it was a shared bathroom and stuff. He'd open the door quietly, walk in.

And the second he closed the bedroom door, she started literally shouting at him. Like from the very second he closed that door. And she would keep going for hours and hours and hours and hours and hours and hours and hours.

It was weird. I'd never really, as an adult, I don't remember hearing that before. Not like continuous.

But individually, they were fine. Together, not so much. Yeah, but he did a good fair share of shouting as well.

But the weird thing about it, I don't like shouting. Not a big fan of it at all. If anything, it's the, it's one of those things I really, really struggle with.

I have done in the past. There was something about their, I don't know, something about their shouting that made me laugh. Sometimes.

And it's, I don't know if it was a big high pitched squeaky voice. But it just, it was kind of funny. And it just, I don't know.

Because I couldn't really understand a lot of what they were saying. At the only time they seemed to speak in English when they were arguing was when they were swearing at each other. It was weird.

It was really strange. But as an individual, they were really nice. I liked them.

Wow. I don't know. I wonder how they are now.

I don't know. I would, I would guess that he was in his 50s, late 50s then. And maybe she was in her 40s or maybe she early 50s.

It's hard to tell. But he was definitely, he'll be retired by now. And ironically, seven years later, I was a security guard.

Well, 1996. That's seven years, isn't it? 89 to 96. Seven years.

What's that got to do with Thanksgiving? I don't know. I still have this memory though of that place. Just living there and getting back from work.

Going in and there was a, there was a phone on a table at the bottom of the stairs, like a communal phone, probably a pay phone, I guess, but you could receive calls. And downstairs, there was two African girls that were students. I don't know what they were studying, but they were best friends or they might have, as far as I know, they were always together.

And in upstairs, there was, I don't remember who else was living up there. I know, I know someone moved in, one person moved in, and then he, was he Jamaican? I think he was Jamaican. He moved in.

And probably within a week, they're getting letters. No, he was African. He wasn't Jamaican.

He was African. Just remember the name. So yeah, he's, he's, I think he's like Ghanian, I think.

And I got on well with him. I got on with everyone. There was a couple that looked at me that didn't, were a little bit wary of me, I think, because he literally had people coming and going all day long.

There was a good 30, 40 people in and out. I actually knocked on his door once, and the room was full. There must be at least 25 people in there.

And I got a funny look by one of them, but the rest cool. I said hello to him. Just hello.

I mean, I guess I didn't need to say hello. You know what hello sounds like, but I think a few days to a week after he moved in, he was getting mail, which was not for him. There was, it's like, oh, he's like, you just because you don't understand the names.

Trust me. I actually opened I didn't know the mail, but I looked at the mail once. And there was quite a few completely different names, all with the same address, all for his room.

Because I had like ABC, whatever on the doors of the rooms. It's like, okay, obviously dodgy stuff going on there. And I remember once, I think it was him.

And he was trying to sell me gold jewelry. Because all had loads of gold jewelry, but I think it was fake. It was like that.

There was a thing in the 90s, late 80s, 90s, where people walking around with this with gold chain, but it wasn't real gold. It was fancy costume gold. But they try and sell it to you.

And you can still go in some countries and try and people try and sell you gold. It's not really gold. But it does look nice.

And he's trying to sell me some, he said, Oh, the gold chain, it's a gold chain. It's, it's 84 carats, five kilos of a chain. And I said, he said, it's a great chain.

It's authentic. It's the it's gold is how much for you 10 pound. I was like, Okay, I'm not sure if it's real.

And, and you can test you can rub a coin on it, but they don't like it when you do that. I find I think I find that with anyone that's selling something, they start rubbing the paint off. They get a bit annoyed.

Yeah. Basically, any retail situation, any situation involving rubbing really tends to get frowned upon. So what other things Thanksgiving Why am I thinking of that, though, I don't understand why I'm thinking of that room.

There was a time it might have been in the new year, because I was there from September ish, roughly till about April the next year 1990. And my dad used to find me every Friday evening. When I was trying to watch Mork and Mindy.

And you might be thinking, wait a minute, Mork and Mindy was on in late 70s. Those of you that know, but no, it was a reruns on. I don't know if it was BBC two or channel four.

I think it was channel four. We only had four channels back then. And I get this like shout upstairs.

Jason, there's your daddy on the phone. It's okay. So I go down, I'm standing on the stairs like, what do you want? Every every Friday evening, he'd phone me up to see how it was.

It was a he'd never done that before. I mean, maybe because in the past, he wasn't very far away from me. We were in the same town.

He was never more than five minutes away really in the car. But now I was in London. And I don't maybe he wasn't sure how I was going to get on.

And I think it was the beginning of 1990. I've got some glasses. I mean, it might have been the end of 89.

But I think it was a beginning of 90. I've got some reading glasses, some new reading glasses. And for the first time, I could see a bit better.

It was just for reading nothing else. And I mean, that's a weird when he says next just for reading the glasses just for seeing nothing. Obviously, they're for seeing for reading.

I didn't need them for distances or for sewing. Although if I was a sewer, I might have needed them for sewing. But I've never really been into sewing.

So it is hard to really know. Although I used to like doing that. Is it cross stitching? Oh, my goodness, I love cross stitching.

In junior school. Loved it. Loved it.

Loved it. Loved it. Like really loved it.

To the point where I might take it up again. It might be something I could do while I talk to you. I might do something like that.

I might start doing. I mean, I could technically film myself doing the cross stitching. Another thing I was thinking, I don't really want to film my my face.

But for like YouTube videos, maybe if I did some jigsaw puzzles. Something like that. I don't know.

Maybe. Right now I'm not too worried. I post I do upload the audio version onto it, make it convert it into a video and put it onto YouTube.

But it's not it's not I don't get a huge amount of people listening or watching on YouTube. But it is handy to know, just in case you want to listen to something from last week and you want to listen to perhaps you don't know where it is. On a podcast, you can just go to YouTube.

Hmm. I did think about learning to knit. When I sort of knit, knit, isn't it? Not not knit, knit.

And I don't I don't know. I thought about it. I'm not sure.

You know, I mean, I just I don't know. Yeah, I'm not 100% sure. I'd like to because I've heard that it's good for your brain because it activates both sides of your brain at the same time.

I'd be like, I guess playing a piano or I guess anything that use you both and anything where you both your hands. I mean, I suppose some of the things I will use one hand with I could use two hands, I suppose. I don't know.

But the thing is, by playing the piano, if you got a choice between playing the piano, learning to play the piano or learning to knit. Knitting is probably at least at the end of it. If you learn to do it, you got some gloves or scarf.

What have you got if you learn a piano? Oh, maybe it was a show that Billy Connolly was on. I'm sure it was a film. I don't know if it was ever released.

It might have been something like that. That wasn't. It's definitely him or someone else.

So, yeah, I don't know why I was thinking of that room, though, because I don't think of it very often. I mean, I lived in London and then I moved away. Then I moved back to London the next year.

Oh, I've got glasses. And I remember I was so excited and I went there to collect them, spec savers, and I took them home and I was in this little room, bed, wardrobe. That's pretty much it, really.

And the first thing I did when I got home is sit down on the bed and I sat on the glasses. The first thing I did was sit on the glasses as soon as I got home, which was a bit annoying. And then I ordered two books from a bookshop.

I don't know if it was a bookshop in Stratford, or I had to collect it from the West End. I do not 100% remember. I have a feeling it might be in the West End.

And they sent me a letter saying that the books were in. But it was two. One was The Third Wave by Alvin Toffler.

I think the other one was The Road Less Travelled. Yeah, The Road Less Travelled. I think.

But then there was another one, The Art of Motorcycle Maintenance. That might have been. So it's one of those.

It was definitely The Road Less Travelled. It was definitely The Third Wave by Alvin Toffler. Didn't understand a word really, but I read it.

And the other one was either The Road Less Travelled, or The Art of Motorcycle Maintenance, or Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance. And I remember, I think, yeah, it would have been the beginning of the year, kind of spring. Because once you get to February, because this country here, this old country of mine, it's not too bad really.

We get cold weather. We do get some pretty severe weather at times. But as far as like temperatures go, where I live anyway, we don't get it too bad for too long.

So it definitely, it gets really cold this time of the year outside, especially at night. You know, there's no way around it. It gets very cold.

Then you've got December, which is next, was it 28th today? 29, 30, 31. So it's, it's I think Saturday is the first of, no, 28, 29, 30, 31. I think it's 31 days in this month, which means Monday will be the first of December.

And it's, yes, it's pretty cold through December. And in January, it's pretty frosty and stuff, you know, pretty chilly. And in February, it starts to get nice.

I mean, there's even nice days in November. There's nice, there was a nice day today. Nice days in December.

Nice days in January. Like nice days where it's okay, it might be cold. But it's bright and sunny.

It might be, it might not even be particularly cold. You know, it's, we have days like that. And then come February, because now we've already had the longest day.

No, the shortest day, sorry. We've had the shortest day. Well, technically, we've had the longest day and the shortest day multiple times.

So we've had the shortest day. So the nights, the days are now getting longer already. And it's not even December.

It's starting to get lighter earlier, starting to get lighter and go dark later already. Which is amazing, isn't it? Really? I'm making this up. I wonder when it is? When is shortest day? Shortest day, Saturday, 21st of December.

Oh, slowly, I, it's actually not for a month. But forget what I said. Once we get over, once we get past December, the 21st of December, the days start to get longer.

I was kind of querying that myself. And when I said it, I thought, I wonder if any of what I'm saying is actually accurate. I really don't know.

I'm really not sure. And it turns out that nothing I say is accurate. Brilliant.

Very pleased. I wonder if there's a list and show sunrise. Sunrise, UK.

Okay, I want to see if it's we've got the dates. So at the moment, sunrise is one minute past eight in the morning. Okay.

And, but let's have a look at this. Yes, I've got a list here. Sunrise tomorrow is 653.16. Why was I saying eight o'clock in the morning? That's, oh no, blimey.

This won't go down. What's going on? That was the 1st of November. Blimey, so in just one year, one, one month, it's gone up.

Change a month to December. Right. Okay, good.

Let's let me do this. So, December the 1st, sunrise, twilight star, sunrise is 7.42am. Okay, 7.43, 7.45, 7.46, 7.40. It's like an, it's one minute and 20 seconds later every day. Wow.

So it's December the 31st. So 25th of December. Did I say 21st? No, 21st of December.

So if December the 21st is the longest day, how come sunrise is 8.01.50 on the 21st and it's 8.02.18. So that doesn't make sense. So let's go to 20, 2025, January. So once we get to January, ah, January the 7th, then it starts to get earlier.

I wonder why. I'm sure it said the longest day was December, unless this isn't the UK. This is England.

So according to this sunrise, 1st of January is three minutes, just, just under four minutes past. I swear, honestly, this computer is just doing his own thing. Ridiculous.

8.03. And then as the month goes past, it goes down. Blimey, it doesn't go down by much. But the day starts earlier.

And the day finishes later. It finishes later by about an hour and 20 minutes, a minute and 20 seconds each day. But the day starts earlier.

According to this, a, yeah, about the same, I guess it's going to be the same, isn't it really? My stomach's gurgling. So really by the end of January, so January starts off at three minutes past eight and 54 seconds sunrise. By the end of January, it's 7.37. So it's like half an hour earlier.

And in the evening, sunrise, and sunset, sorry, 4.28 on 1st of January. And then by the 31st, it's 4.50. So it's five o'clock. And then, and then we get to February.

It all changes even better. Starts off it's two minutes past seven, 7.36 rather sunrise, twilight starts, so it does start to get lighter, doesn't it? But then 4.51, 57 seconds sunrise. By the end of February, sunrise is 6.45am and doesn't get dark until 5.40. And it's like an hour.

So every month, it improves by an hour, gets lighter an hour earlier within a month, and it gets, it stays lighter for an hour longer as well. Isn't that exciting? And in March, 1st of March, 6.43am, it's light until 20 to 6. It's just, it's just in that short period of time. And then by the end of March, it's light at 6.35am and it doesn't go dark.

Sunset is until 7.33am. That's absolutely ridiculous, isn't it? But then the clocks go, do the clocks go back or forward, don't they? Sometime in March. Oh yeah, gotcha. So March 29th, the clocks go forward.

So instead, instead of early, all right, okay. So the early morning, it's light at 5.39 and 58 minutes. 5 minutes, 5, yeah, 5.39am on March, the Saturday 29th, 2025, March.

But then on Sunday, the day doesn't start until 6.30, 7am. However, on Saturday evening, 6.30 is sundown. But on Sunday, the 30th of March, 7.32am. So literally, when you think about it, Mark, what is it now? November, December, January, February.

So another eight months. But it'll be, it'll be light, start to get light soon. A few more weeks.

So for some reason, I'm being super positive. I don't know what happened. I changed my electric and gas supplier today.

So that's something I did. What else have I done? Oh, look at this. The perfume shop has chosen me.

It's weird though, this is a perfume shop. Yet the email address is some weird email address that's got nothing to do with the perfume shop. It's almost like it might be a scam.

No. So have I got any emails? Nope. Right, so I've joined yes, I've got a noun with a different energy supplier.

So I'm hopefully going to save myself. Hopefully, I've got I've got a tariff of a standard tariff, monthly direct debit amount of 96 pounds 69. So I've actually managed to get it down.

Hopefully, I think that is I think it's yes, a fixed tariff 9669. Then regular payments for the first of the month starting. What? Okay, your first direct debit payment is the 12th of December.

Then the 1st of January. Yeah, because I wanted them to come out on the first of the month. So the first the payments payments for the first of the month of 96 pounds 69 every month.

And it's a year fixed free year, which is 12 month fixed. I needed that as needed to but then it's saying, send us a media reader now submit this anytime before midnight on Thursday, the 5th of December. So I've got the key, you know, the is it Alan, Alan, Alan, Alan, Alan key, Aaron, Emily key, Alan, Alan, Alan key, Bobby key, Stevie key, I don't know.

Stevie queue. I went to a neighbor, she didn't have hers, couldn't find it, knocked on another's door. And she said you gave it to me.

I said, well, I want it back. She said, but you gave it to me. I said, I want it back.

Now, give it to me now. I didn't, but she did give it to her. Apparently, for some reason, I felt I didn't need to use it anymore.

And I was wrong. Looked at the meters. They're all those smart meters.

There's no I don't know how to get the media reading. It's just it's a keyboard on in there. It's not like he's press a button and the media reading comes up.

I don't know how to get a media reading. I just figured I just thought I might need to go online to find that out. Anyway, I've got an email from the previous electric gas and they've it's quite funny, really.

Okay, so they got this morning. They were hassling me. This is this is funny.

Let's have a look. Oh, okay. Just okay.

So the give me two seconds. I got a message from the same. Get extra support with your bills.

Okay, so this is what it said. Get extra support with your pills. We're here to help.

That's the heading. Hi, Jason. We know love.

We know life sometimes gets in the way. So we we're reminding you to pay your balance of £119.91 for this energy that you've used. Please pay today.

It's like in capital capital, but like, you know, bold letters, bold writing. Where's the way to help? Which is how they started off. And they've been there must have sent me three messages already this morning.

Or today saying need to pay it, you need to pay it, you need to pay it. Like, okay. It's got two weeks late.

It's not like you know, I mean, I've been with them for nearly 10 years. And yeah, I didn't. And then it's like, you need to pay now.

Please pay today. Seriously. And then underneath there.

The quickest way how to pay the quickest way to pay is online. Now, please log into your account now to pay the outstanding at the outstanding amount now straight away. And then underneath, we're here for you.

If you're worried about how you pay for your energy, with loads of payment help and advice. Below includes links to payment support. You can get help from mind the charity you can get a joinee, you know, contact the energy fund advice sits in the vice bureau.

We parted with pay link. And you can get in touch with us all kinds of ways. Now pay now pay now straight away.

Okay. Wow. I think the bedside manner.

Oh, wow. I tell you what. I had because I'm going through some debt advice.

I had a phone call from one of my creditors. And I'm down with them. So I phoned them up the other day.

Explain to him what I was sort of doing trying to get advice, you know, financial advice and how to try and sort out my situation because it's affecting me. And they are really good. are really, really good.

Like you couldn't. You couldn't ask for more. Honestly, I'm saying this and I'm genuinely, I was so friendly, so patient, so calm, so kind and helpful.

And then I got a phone call. And I couldn't take it back. I got back to them.

And I was put through to someone. I got through to someone said, Oh, I understand. We're just not sure what's going on.

I understand that you're a vulnerable adult. And you're we've got you down with mental mental health issues and stuff. I said, Yes, I'm going to I'm just going to put you through to the to the dedicated team for the mental health team.

I said, Okay, thank you. Put me through. And there was a bloke on the phone demanding why I hadn't paid.

So why haven't you paid? What do you mean? He said, We've already you've got a payment plan set up. I said, Yeah, I set it up with you six months ago. So what's the problem? Why? Why are you not paying it? I said, What is it? Why are you getting financial advice? I said, Well, I've spoken to step change.

Why are you speaking to step change for? For those that don't know, step change is a charity. I think it's a charity. And they help people that have got financial difficulties.

And give advice. So they go through your budget, go through all the incomings, outgoings, debts, ongoing stuff like that, and try to figure out a way to, I don't know, sort it out, I guess just to, you know, kind of way to do something to make to ease ease the financial burden on the person. And they get, I get millions of calls.

They've helped millions of people. They're really, really good. They've helped me before a long time ago.

But this bloke who's saying, Why are you calling them? Why are you talking to them for? You've already got a payment plan. Now, this is the department for men, people with that may that might have emotional vulnerabilities and stuff like that, that maybe need to be treated a little bit. I think everyone should be treated gently and be treated with respect regardless anyway.

But this was a specific team to deal with people that have got severe mental health issues. And he was, he wasn't shouting at me, but blimey. He was really like, almost a little bit confrontational.

Why are you calling them? Why are you dealing with them? Why are you not paying it? Why can't you pay it? And I said, I had to stop and I said, Hey, stop. But I'm gonna explain it to you. And I explained it to him and he apologized to me.

And I didn't complain about him. I didn't didn't take it any further. But it was ridiculous.

He just said, Well, I didn't understand what was going on. Because apparently, they thought someone listened to the call of the other person. And apparently, the person that listened to their call, just to monitor the calls to make sure they happen to listen to our one, which is a very long conversation we had with this lady, two days previous.

And according to this man, she had given me the wrong information. And they, he seemed to be under the impression that this lady had advised me to file for some kind of she had advised me to contact step change. And she wasn't allowed to do that, apparently.

And I said to her, I said to him, she didn't advise me I'd already contacted step change before I even spoke to her. I was advising her about what I'd done. You know, because I'd already contacted step change.

She didn't advise me to contact for financial advice. I was telling her what I was doing. And I was just letting them know because it because everyone's been so good.

And he said, Oh, he wasn't aware of what was really going on. And he said, Oh, she was new. So she shouldn't be advising you to get advice.

She didn't advise me. I think she might have said that there are places I can go to, like mind and citizen advice Bureau and which is a standard thing to give people. And also they said in the email didn't know you can contact you can get help with mind and that, which is a mental health charity.

It was just like, he was almost I felt like I was worried he was gonna hunt me down. I was like, please calm down, man. What have I done? And in the end, I had to shut him down like stop and got him to listen.

And he listened. I don't know if it was my tone of voice, but he listened. And he apologized to me.

And I was, I got very serious. I just like, I thought, okay, I got focus now. And I explained to him in very, very clear language, what was going on and why what was going on is going on.

And there was a way after that. It was strange. It was really a shock because I'd literally come off the phone.

At that point, having spoken to one of the debt advice people. I'd had an appointment. I said, yeah, I had an appointment.

So I'd already already been in contact with him and I had an appointment at two o'clock on the phone. And it's just weird. It's like, he's like, it went from everyone being nice to suddenly, why aren't you paying? Wow, take a step back.

And I did want to pay. That's the thing. That's why I set up a payment plan because I did want to pay it.

But sometimes it's got a face reality. So yeah, it's just, this is just a bit of a blab along about nothing really. It's just about what's been going on here.

Happy Thanksgiving. And what was that? Yeah. I don't think there's anything else.

Is there anything else? I did I tell you that I contacted the Open University and they told me it's fine. So I can just continue as long as I get a certain amount. As long as I do the other assignments and get above 40% overall for the year.

It's fine. And this year is not even going to count towards the overall mark for the degree just has to be completed. I have to get that score, that mark for at least, you know, the entire year for at least over 40%.

And this, the first assignment I didn't do only counted towards 10% of the overall mark. So for that one, I only had to get 40% to pass that. And it's still only counted towards 10% of the whole overall year.

See what I mean? So it's kind of it's, I mean, I didn't do myself any favours by not doing it and whatever else, but it's done now. So I'm trying to go forward with that. It's just there's some subjects, topics that I've never really seen before.

I think the problem sometimes with when I study something like I mean, when I read books, you know, generally, I don't always go in at the beginning. Don't necessarily go in to. Yeah, it's just different.

They're talking about stuff that I've never really heard of. I'm not sure how to explain it. I think what it is, it is because it is the start.

I mean, it's the first literally the first module now on a second, second module of let's have a look study activity. It is module activity. So I'm now on what T, TMA one was the first 21st of November.

So that's gone. So I've got to do three more tutor marked assignments. TMA.

The next one is on the 30th of January, that's got to be in the one after that is the 27th of March. And then the last one of the year is a 27th of May. So the second one is week 15.

The third one is week 23. The fourth one is week 31. So I just got three left.

I haven't done any yet, but I got three left. So that'd be interesting. So I've got plenty of time still got two months before I have to do that.

It's just is this certain things that I'm having a little bit of not finding easy. It's just something I don't know just some of the stuff it like how academic writing I need to figure a way to learn how to do academic writing because it's not the way that I a communicate in a written format. I'm very first person oriented.

And with the academic writing, it's third party third person, almost discussing what is being said and who said it and where it came from and referencing and so I suppose I do understand it a little bit when I think about it, but it's it seems to be that you give as much information as you can in a short time as you can in a short space as you can with a very brief description.

But with a reference so that the person can then go deeper and find out more by going to that reference. And it's almost like a summary summarizing a subject.

But without making sure you've got the most. I don't know how you decide what is the most important information but making sure that the really relevant stuff is in there. But summarizing and I suppose not making a sentence is really long just to get the word count up.

It's almost the opposite to that. It's trying to get the word count down and fit as much into it as concisely as possible. But at the same time, making sure the word count is correct.

I'm still looking at it. I keep going over the first week, I've been going over it last couple of days and been reading the chapter that I got to read. I'm just trying to figure a way to do it that suits my learning style.

And I don't know what my learning style is. Because really, well, I kind of do but I've never when I learn something, I'm not tested on it. Generally, you know, I can read as many books as I want on any subject, but no one's going to test me.

I can watch videos, I can watch, you know, endless videos, psychological videos, maybe on or philosophy lectures, even university lectures, but no one's going to test me on that information, whether or not it's actually gone in or it's just literally just hit the wall behind me. Or an audio book, I spend over 100 hours a month listening to audio books. But how much of that soaks in how much of that is actually in my brain?

Is this not? I don't know.

I really don't know. I like to think I tell you what I remember. It stuck with me for my whole life is that scene.

Do you know Superman? When and you're probably wondering where the hell is he going now? Okay, the very first Superman movie, 1978 or 77 or whatever it was. So Superman. So your Princess is his father's name, he sends him out.

Your Brenner and Aretha Franklin, they send him out of the because they're on a planet and so they launch him into space, little space shuttle. And so he's traveling for a long time to get to Earth. But during his travels, you see, actually, it's quite like a big conquer, isn't it is spatial, like a conquer, or pep, you know, with the little spiky bits around it.

And he, you hear inside, he's a baby, but he's being talked to. And it's telling him all about life and all about the planet and all you know, so it's giving them all this information. And I like to think that I've been kind of doing that for myself or with myself.

Sort of listening to that listening to things in the hope that maybe I'll become slightly knowledgeable, maybe or intelligent or something. I don't know. It hasn't worked yet.

But what I've what I have been listening to, I listened to this yesterday. What's it called? Let me have a look. The Republic by is it Plato? Yeah, the Republic by Plato.

I was listening to this last night. And I don't know how I probably listened to it for three hours, probably. Maybe four hours.

And I was hearing words. I really like is that was that from the original book? Plato, there's a word he said, that they use silly Billy. Now, that doesn't make sense.

Why would the word silly Billy? Be used in silly Billy. It just seems like a weird. It doesn't sound like something to be really old.

I'm looking and it's not in here. The famous quotes, what does play say about X? Okay. Now I was thinking, am I am I hearing things? Why would they use a word like silly Billy? Yeah, it was definitely in there.

So silly Billy Republic. Summary significance and facts. Plato, the idea that the dialogue, the dialogues on Republic, Plato's dialogues on Republic.

The Republic is one of the most important dialogues of the ancient Greek philosopher Plato. It is Plato's intent in this dialogue to establish philosophically, the ideal state, the ideal state, a state that would stand as a model for all emerging or existing societies currently functioning during Plato's time, and extending into our own times. The Republic is renowned for its detailed expositions of political and ethical justice, and its account of the organisation of the real, of the ideal state.

I just, I just want to know the full, was the word Silly Billy used in Republic? In Plato, Plato Republic. Right. It's not here.

Maybe I mean, do you think maybe they just changed it around just for a laugh? Greek text with facing vocabulary and commentary. Yeah, I just found that weird. I think they might have just changed the words.

I'm pretty sure Silly Billy isn't. It just is. Yeah.

Unless, oh no, you don't think they've changed it in order to maybe there's something in there that would be a not a popular word today. Sort of took it out and changed it for Silly Billy, or with Silly Billy. It's been bugging me, not in a bad way.

I'm just like, really? Is it really? It's interesting though. It's an interesting book. I find the conversations good.

I like conversations. So listening to a conversation is very interesting. Dialogue and hearing the arguments and not really arguments, but it's really how he shuts down people.

Who, yeah, it's just interesting. Yeah. I sometimes think maybe I should have studied philosophy, not psychology.

Because I think I'm more of a philosophical kind of person than a psychological kind of person. Maybe. Or maybe I'm just more of a watch television kind of person, a chocolate kind of person.

And on that note, I'm going to say au revoir. So thank you for listening. Remember to be kind to yourself.

Be gentle with yourself because you do deserve to be happy. Lots of love. Bye.