Homespun Wisdom: Talks With My Neighbour

Better weather, other choices.

Paula Vennells is shedding fake tears and showing selective convenient memory and forgetfulness. Fully deserving of most hated person status. We go deeper into tears and their true meaning. Feeling sorry for yourself or other people. Calibrating tears: some people never cry and others are cry babies. Why Paula Vennells should have been forced to answer questions about other times she had cried so we could judge her better. Elvis Costello and “Suspect my Tears.” Daniel admits to crying and so much more…..

Dictator strategies. Talking to local people about brouhahas compared to hoo-has. How the public can get organised to overthrow dictators. It takes a crank to start a revolution. Being too scared to go first and say something critical. Journalists, lawyers and comedians as the prime targets of dictators. Importance of ridicule as a control mechanism. Lawyers are too slow or cowardly to be a threat. Comedians being cancelled is a danger sign for us all. Being tested to become robust and strong. Too much protection is not healthy. Bullies at work. Women on women tyranny. Avoiding confrontation because you are too scared and then stay and suffer or leave. Divide and rule operates by making us more concerned about race and sex. Bread and circuses in Roman times has become Pringles and Netflix to keep people quiet. Foreign policy distractions and war to get people behind strong leaders. Crowd control by water cannon and tear gas. Northern Ireland history. Kettling and women needing the loo. Daniel engages with a couple wrongly accused of analysis paralysis and so much more..

Episode recorded outside Heap’s famous restaurant in Greenwich. Hope you share our infectious enthusiasm felt during recording. Daniel discusses what he would do if diagnosed with a terminal illness. People who you might do away with. Would you kill Hitler as a baby. Getting off parking tickets. Daniel’s case in front of the Adjudicator. French jokes and annoying happy couples and so much more….

Beyoncé’s rework of Jolene gets serious consideration in a wider discussion of relationships. Sexual politics. Venting basic emotions or letting them fester. Football and bullfighting might be a good channel for bad emotions which will find an escape somewhere maybe more dangerous. Purge and catharsis. . Spain and venting against officials once a year. The Avon Lady calling…actually Amazon delivering toilet paper and washing up liquid. Max Factor was not involved. The Scottish Hate Law having perverse consequences leading to outbreak of hate. Confrontations as a way of correcting bad behaviour. Impulsive behaviour, seeing red and heat of the moment. Criminal courts and displays of emotion. Perfection of society by new laws running up against human nature. Why not make adultery a crime? What impact would that have and does society know some wrongs cannot be contained. Taking it out on the punchbag and so much more….

Luckily Sarah Steers Daniel away from discussing bleach and onto succumbent slumber, a totally new concept. Daniel tries to buy 4 rib eyes at all-camera Aldi. Enjoying things more when you get a discount. Getting a bit of a tickle or a little win. I’ll gotten gains….more or less enjoyable. Freebies give a disproportionate joy. Surreptitious succumbent slumber discussed. Leave things in your online shopping basket and wait for the discount code. Being strapped for cash and bondage. Uni grants back in the day. The Midas effect. Easy being good and moral with easy money but how would destitution affect the same people. There but for the grace of God go I. Surreptitious sublimated succumbent sleep. Tarte Tatin discussed. Buying things that fell off the back of a lorry or from a guy down the pub. Financial discipline with kids. Helping them get on the property ladder. Parental sacrifices and guilt vs over generosity and entitlement. Unconditional love but not unconditional money. Family companies and the problem with the entitled third generation. Easy come, easy go. Feeling cheated and squaring up. Being over-charged and how to respond. Ice cream scoops. Quarts of ice cream in America. Fixated by rules and forgetting to make the customer happy. Nobody wants to be taken for a fool or a ride even if the amounts are small. It’s about your self view and pride. Outdoor film projection. The wurst way to go and so much more…..

A wide ranging chat circling the tricky subject of complacency and the need to resist the lazy options in life. On the way parking, compressed air, kamikaze pilots and the Fukushima disaster, curved balls and many other idiosyncratic topics get a look in. Complacency in relationships and stirring it up. You will love it. One of our classic takes.

Sarah and Daniel discuss the true appreciation of the wonder of sight and capturing those memories and images on your camera/phone. But before they get down to business the issue of the day is bin outrage. Sarah has been on a family holiday in Togo in west Africa. The new “Ripley” discussed shot in black & white. Daniel gets caught cold by his Rabbi at Greenwich park while on a photo shoot. Le

The dangers of routine, habit and addiction in robbing you of your time. Is going to the gym so much better than a brisk walk in the park? Carving out time to be free and flexible and allowing for the unexpected and unpredictable. Learning to say “no” and save time from declining stuff. Like notifications on apps. The dangers of the phone. “Angriest Man in Brooklyn” discussed around having 90 minutes to live. Bus stop roulette explained. Hunter gatherer existence. Filling your life with maintenance of your stuff. Freedom of shedding possessions and so much more…

Daniel talks about the Waiter Race in Paris leading into a discussion about how a tray can make presentation and the theatre of restaurants so much more impressive. We discuss how to dress a tray and the joys of receiving a tray in bed. Find your perfect tray. Trays in pubs, canteens and McDonalds. Techniques and decoration tips included and so much more. You will look at the humble tray with new eyes and possibilities and impress your lovers and friends.