Starting a Podcast Book Club

I was trembling like a beautiful forty nine year old woman who is trying to regain her strength Physically, emotionally and mentally. whilst having to battle through S Adversity. Not sure if that's the right word, of living with a man who's going through a midlife crisis. Wh what are we going through Hello and welcome to another episode of Extra Lush with Helen An Heathcliff. Yeah, I was listening to a clip of you the other day on this podcast and you'd gone in with a very deep voice. It was very nice. Oh what on Heathcliff? Yes. No, not saying Heathcliff, but then you started talking, I was like good Godd, you're even deeper than normal which I thought was very good. Anyway, let's get straight in. We've got some voice notes so let's have our first one Hi Johanna. Hi James. This is Tony from EXA I absolutely love this podcast. I listen to it every week and on Fridays as well and you have your special little episodes as well. I still really miss O thetey, but this is great and I'm so glad you've got this to listen to. I am a huge fan of you, Joanna. I've been for years Gavin and Stacey obviously is well, what it's incredible. Love actually, shif the fr prettyty much everything you do. I mean, you crack me up, even interviews, you just make me laugh. And I recently watched the whole film with you in, which I didn't even know you're in until I saw you on the screen was very Annie Mary. actually it's really, really good Recently I came across a program called Between the Sheets starring your husband, Mr. James Thornton. I mean, I knew he was an actor and I knew he was an Emmadaell and all that, but I never watched Emmadaell or anything like that, so never really seen him do acting. But Between the Sheets was really, really good I told my mum as well and she's now watched it and think it's absolutely incredible. And my question was, after seeing you in that, James, do you plan on doing any more acting or is voiceovers your main sole job now? because you were really, really good at it? And what would actually be even better is if you and Joanna did more acting together I'd love to see that. I think it'd be really funny. Anyway, great pod, you guys, love it. This is Tony from ExA. Thanks. Oh Tony Thank you so much. That is such a lovely message. I'm so, so glad that you love the podcast, that you're listening. I mean, there's's just really lovely. Really nice and it's love. Really lovely. So yeah, what do you think you think you're going to do more at wouldould you like to Um, You know what? I don't like auditioning for sts, right? That's why I really don't like that act And But the kids of this age now You know, when you go off acting, you you can be away for months, can't you? And so voice oververs are really great because it's here, I can now I can do it from home And it's been really great for family life and being around for the kids and stuff. But yeah, I think do you know what I was thinking yesterday actually, I'd like to do there again. Be when I was young that's what got me into the whole thing in the first place. Theatre and then drama school and it was all theatre based And then you leave drama school and then you start auditioning for tele jobs, don't you?' it's atally different discipline actually. It's completely different,n' it acting for Tle. And I'd quite like to do a theatre show where You know, you know all your lines, you've been rehearsing it over and over again and you do the same show every night, but obviously find different ways to do it And there's rels into it. Family and a bond as well kind of with theatre, isn't there? Becauseuse you've already spent about six weeks in the rehearsal room with each other, you know, trying out different things, doing different exercises all sitting together, watching everybody else rehearse. and then when the show starts, you're all there together and you're all in. Whereas with Tarley it's so bitty, and if somebody comes in and you do that scene you might go and film something and you might never ever scene with anybody. It's not got the same feel as that? Yeah yeah. It's difficult, Telly, isn't it? Be You're generally doing it away from home. Whereas if it was like filmed around a corner from here and you went into the studio filmed it back home afterwards Well when you were doing in Ammdale, if we had because there was a point when we thought about moving up to Le and we went and looked at somewhere in Harrogat. Yeah we did. And if we'd have moved up there, I mean out to do and Shift the Thrift and fermen in Harrogate, I was like, good God why the hell didn't we move up here? It was gorgeous.. But we'd have moved up there and then you could have gone and done Ammerdale during the day and then come back home at night, I mean, that's perfect, isn't it? That would be lovely. We just couldn't know because you needed to be in London Well, you could have done your job if you were so far away from London all the time. What was it like doing between the sheets? Between the sheets, it's quite a racey that. That's the K melodrama Yeah. I remember What was it about and what did you play? Oh I can't remember all the story now. Wh was? I was Alan Armstrong's son He was having an affair with somebody. Wasn't it Gaina Fay? Gaya Fe. And wasn't she the person who was running a lap dancing club that he owned? Yes. And then my I found out that that was what my dad was doing We got really upset. It wasrender Bling. Brendnder Blessing She was your mum, Alan Armstrong was your dad. Yeah. He was having an affair with Kay Mella, but weren't you also having an affair with Kay Mella? or were you not? Yeah, there was something that I think we were both having an affair with the same Were we married then or not? No, when you were I think when it first came on, because I remember just as we were we'd filmed it just before we were getting married, and we'd got married and I was filming something at the same time and I remember getting to this hotel in Manchester and walking in through the door and then turning the TV on and literally seeing you in the middle of doing a sex scene Ontirely with somebody. I saw you naked b and I was like I was going a And then my friend Sarah ph me straight away and said, o my God, I'm watching your husband having sex with somebody on the teley and I can see his bam and I was just like, o my God, this is just this awful. So as you know like the wife of an actor, and when you're young and you've got to do those roles, it's really hard Because you know yourself how awful it is to do with sexy. It's not sexy, it's embarrassing Everybody feels uncomfortable and you just have to get on with it and you make the best of the situation. Hopefully you're working with somebody who's really nice and you can like you know make a joke of it all and whatever. So I know what it's like to film them, but it still doesn't make it any easier knowing that that's what your husband is doing Do you remember, right? So you've gone and filmed it and then I think it might have been before we got married and you must have been filming Redcaap Because we went, I think it was Tam and Autthwait's engagement party. Yeah. and I got very, very, very drunk, which doesn't take a lot because I'm small and I can't handle my drink And then you said to me, Oh my god, look, there's the girl there because there was a girl who was an actress. Oh ye She was a girl who'd given you a lap dance. So in the scene, she'd had to take off like all of her clothes. I think she was just in nicket. She didn't literally take off her clothes. It was a full on scene, right? And because I'd said to you, I don't want to know anything. I don't want to know who you're filming with. I don't want to know anything about the lap dancing because it's really difficult right. And you went, Ohh my go. And I think you said hello, She was really sweet. Yeah was she wasn' horrible She was love flavour. mean she was a nice person. She was really sweet She was nice. She was really sweet. I was drunk, I was feisty and I was very Welsh. Do you remember I went mental? I was really drunk, I went no God, no, not with her with you. because I started crying and in the end I think you just had to just get me the hell out of there because I got really jealous and I just started shouting at you and crying. So basically So basically Tony, between That's why I don't act anymore. I've been banned from acting Joe won't let me. when thats people would't think that' true, That's true. Basically Tony, right, that was our experience of betweenetween the sheets. It was a really good drama, but that is actually the reality then of working with somebody who's got his ars out, is doing sex scenes with someone and then you meet the person he's been doing the sex scenes with Ill tell you what though whens when the kids are older, I would like to get into a bit of acting again, I think. Yeah. Okay. Well, Tony, we've cleared the air with a barny that we had years ago, which I don't think we ever ever cleared the air. I can' remember it so I've obviously wiped that from my Oh it stayed with me, I was mortified. A long time ago. That was a long, long time ago Let's have another ice note. Hi Jerean Jones. I'm just listening to your pod where you're talking about fififty things to do before you turn fifty. I've just turned twenty seven and you've kind of inspired me to do thirty things before I turn thirty. Nice. I've got a few years to do them all, I feel like your things are all pretty scary and a bit torturous. Whereas minea like go for afternoon tea, spepend a night in a hotel room on my own and get a f night' sleep. I've got a four in a one year old. Yeah and I'm still breastfeeding my one year old. so Yeah, mine definitely sounds a lot nicer and a lot more relaxing, quite frankly than yours does Joe. So I do think you need to add some nice things onto your list. But yeah, I just wanted to say that I really, really love your podcast and I think it's just nice to kind of sit and listen to people who are also in the middle of absolute chaos with their children and It's so lovely how normal you guys are and how and funny. L I just yeah, I really, really love the podcast and I hope you have a lovely time doing your fifty things before you're fifty. Oh, thank you so much and I do think that your list does sound really, really nice and I should start doing some nice things like yeah, going for afternoon tea Lots and lots of people have been saying that I should do something nice like traveling on my own or go and stay in a hotel on my own and do just something nice and calm and relaxing like that. So yeah, I might add on going somewhere for nice afternoon tea because we've not done that in absolute ag. An the last time I think we went for afternoon tea was when we signed the papers. I think it was either for moving into Lavender Cottge or moving into Eter Ege. Was it Lavender Cottagege And I think we went to the Charlotte Street Hotel because there's a photo of us and we sat down and we had afternoon tea together. Do you remember? Yeah I remember yeah, I remember. And we've not done it since And then also I'm going to put in there as well bit of serious traveling, which isn't too serious because I don't want to be going around somewhere on my own where I might get like you know, kidnapped or something Yeah What is kind of like And then I want to finish the whole thing off by going to Disneyland for my fifty year does that make me look like I a' weird? You's just gonna take the whole year up Yeah It's nice thow in. Do you know what I'd like to do with you? Is it race across the world? It's race across the world? Oh yeah I would like to do that with you So And I'd want to do stuff other than just getting on a bus or a train. I'd go, comeome on, let's walk. How long are they away for? Oh my gosh. I think it's I want to say five weeks, but I've made that up, but it sounds like it should be right It's a long time to be woruckid And how Both of us godly, I didn't think about that both of us. you both away something then Yeah Oh when they're old They have to do it when they're when they're older when they're all in university, I't it Oh my God, But Bozo you' miss you We can't wait ten years before we could go and do it. I know we'll have to be a d over the hell of then and they won't want hobble in Hobble across the world Do you know what? I don't think we'd argue or we bigicker because we're very good when it's you would need I don't Yeah, because they end up in really quite stressful situations, don't they? I think we both get quite W is the most intense and pressured and worrying situation we've ever been in when we were on holiday or travelling together Oh, Ill tell you what it was when I arranged us went we went on holiday as a family and I hadd arranged the airport transfer Oh It didn't turn up and it was the first time we'd arrived in that. part of Spain And we were in the airport and it was my responsibility and we had the kids And I'm responsible for the kids And I'm like, I don't know I don't know we're going we're supposed to be finding this transfer And I didn't even know how to say how to get there. I was just panicking about it. I know, but doesn't that I supp I wish we were in that sitation. We got a taxi We should have just gone and got a taxi. because you remember when we went to Greece was it or Tenerif And we got off the plane and the transfer just wasn't there And we just went and got a taxi. I mean, that shows how justpathetic we were at that. It was a long it's a quite a long drive. I would have said when we went to Sri Lanka for I remember when we went to look those herb garden things in Sri Lanka And it all got a little bit dodgy they wanted to massage us. and then we went and we were sat then opposite. We were just taken to this man and we were sat opposite him. and I just remember he was very big and wide. And I had said I wanted to buy everything and I had got so many things and it came to about a thousand pounds. That's ridiculous I wasn't looking at prices. No weren't. And then he started demanding money from us. And you started getting quite freaked out. and I was a bit freaked out. And then we had a driver who'd been takaking us to different places and he started getting freaked out And I just remember being sat in front of this man and then the fellow who was with us looked at me and he was trying to motion something with his eyes. Then he started trying to nudge me under the table and the situation got weird. And then I just kicked into swanie girl mode And you remember I stood up and I just went, I'm sorry, this is ridiculous. No, we are leaving. And I got very as if I was the head mistress in a school, didn't I? And I told everybody off and I said, Come on, we're going and we just I got you all up and we walked out And I think we kind of got out of looking back. I think we got out of there by the skin of our teeth because that I think was a dodgy situation. And we didn't argue, did we? No We didn't argue Or let's have another voice note Hi Joe and James. It's Laura here from Northamptonshire. I would like to know how you keep your children entertained on long journeys without resorting to just giving them a screen the whole time When I was a kid, it was basically look out the window, listen to a walk manan, read a book but I feel like kids are different these days and they kind of ask for a bit more I don't want to fall into the trap of just giving them loads to do all the time. I want them to learn how to be a bit more still and content to be just gazing out the window a bit more But how do you get the balance? And also, how do you stop them arguing in the car because that is a nightmare? And we have that lot We actually we're taking our kids on a plane for the very first time this summer. It's only to Italy so it's a three hour journey They're a bit nervous. so if you've got any tips on taking children on planes Any of that sort of thing, it would be great to know any advice you have. loveove you both so much and just love the pod. Thank you so much A thank you for your message. I would say straight away if you're going on a plane or any long kind of journey, any journey really, they've each got their own ruck sack First of all, They have a brand new book put in there. It's along the same themes as something that they're reading or like say, you know, it's suden You know, the comicy kind of ones that Noah reads. what are they called? Dog cat Bunny, whatever on he loves. Dogm. Yeah. Kid's reading goosebumps at the moment. he's got a whole load of scary sort of ones and Eva is really, really into Judy Bloom. So a brand new book straightay Then they always have a brand new noteepad and then they have some nice you know new pens. You don't have to have new pens but it just makes it all a bit more exciting. But like a notepad, a pen so that they can write stuff in or they can do some drawing. Th I normally get just some loose A four paper Shovel a load of that in there as well and feltip pens, that's good. Pl dough, one tub or two tubs of play dough, that's always really, really good. Stickers, especially for somebody Bose's age, stickers, if you're on a plane, those like stickers, which aren't like the paper ones, but the slightly plasticy sort of whatever stickers that you can stick on stuff and then it comes off straight away so they can pop them anywhere Um o, quizbx like, you know, like um well, yeah, kind of like wordll or you know like Sadoku or those little puzzly type things like a book of word searches or a book of crosswords that like aimed at children. Also books. can you notice how much I fill the racksacks? and I don't think you've ever filled a rucksack in your life And alsoso books like you know follow your own adventure. If you want to follow the vampire through the door, get to page seventy two or those things. And then also I'd say other good things are the Sherlock Holmes sort of books where you've got to, you know solve the puzzle. and if you've got it right, you turn to the number you've got to turn to that page and then the adventure continues thingsings like that An other sort of little magnetity type things where any puzzles where they kind of like stick together. So all of those things to keep them occupied. And then on the trip, we always play things like you know Ipy is really good, any other sort of like spot we've got a game which is the mini game. So if you're on a drive, it's spot the mini car Oh yeah. then we've gotten his gone down like absolutely amazingly. So every time we you have to have a colour as well so it might be It's harder mini. Yeah. And then you might be driving and Beow now thinks that all cars are minis. I spy with Bau is really good But she will do something like I spy with my little eye, something beginning with and then she might go red and might just do a colour or she'll go something beginning with And then you're going P And you'll do that, right? and you'll be going for about fifteen minutes and then you'll go, I give up I give up. and then she'll just go Dog and so you feel like you're going mad. Also their music, they just love music. but if you're go in with music, it's normally because it's on a small little iPad and they can get into their music things. But we always have like they've got all of their playlists and everything for all of their music, but also they have got a load of audioobos So stories, audioobooks, that stuff being played. Yeah. What else? I remember one time we went on holiday we were on the plane and you'd got a little bag of Those little, you know, little plastic toys that you can get for party bags in the supermarket So supermarkets sell them, don't they just sell little things for putting into kids' party bags Goody bags And there are only little things aren't there that's really cheap, but just random things. Yeah putut them in so that it just distracts them Yeah. That works really well. I remember because Beo was having a meltdown and you get it out and she wass just like, Oh, what is that? But you save it till later on. Don't get it out straight away until it is absolutely necessary Don't even show them it. G it out when the shit hits the f. Yeah. Whenever you go anywhere, always take a pack of cards because that will just keep you all entertained for ages And then what oh, and also I just love the game when you've got like a piece of paper where somebody writes the first line, so you make a story up So somebody writes the first line, folded over, hand it to the person sitting next to in the cart. someomebody writes the next line, fold it over. And so you've got to be like right, you've got to start with the name of a person, where they were going to, what happened and you end up you know doing a story. ine Hangman. Hangman's also really good But then also inevitably, we do end up taking iPads with us. So you get all of those things and I keep you know, like the iPad and everything until back until the very last minute. And then then also if you're going on a plane, make sure that you've downloaded some episodes for stuff because there is nothing worse than when somebody is having a meltdown and you've promised they're gonna watch my little pony And then you go, oh, I've got no internet and the download runan out. and then that's like, oh god. Th then there's lots of walking up and down the plane. Oh my gosh. But we've never ever done a long plane journey. We've always kept our plane journey now to about an hour and a half We all did Gron Yes, yes. and that's the longest you've ever done. But with, good God, two tubs of playdough and feltip pens and some paper that keeps her entertained for hours, doesn't it But I would say that's our advice and then making up stories once it's got really horrific, sitting there giving them a culture and stories and also lots of little bags where you've got lots of little snacks because sometimes They get bored or they get tired or it gets really bad because they're just hungry and they just need a little snap and a few little sweets, which I know I'll give a sug a high, so it makes them all a little bit bouncy, but some little treats which they wouldn't normally get. And then when that all goes wrong Hand them over to James and just go go on, you can haveer Yeah. I grew them upp and down the aisle. I grew four of them. It's now time for you toping on to everybody as I'm trying to get on aisle and knocking everybody's stuff And then people are like laughing at me because they can see how much I'm struggling And it's not working and Bo's progressively getting more shouty No daddy. No daddy. No. I remember that time ag that we were in Ppper Pig worldor right? And we'd been up that ride. I think it was the Royal carriage. And then me and the big ones, we all walked down the steps so we were standing at the bottom of all of these long steps And you were at the top, right? And Beao was in the middle. It was a narrow stairway. She was in the middle of the steps, you were behind her and then the rest of everybody trying to get off the ride was behind these two. And me and the other kids stood at the bottom watching and she went Bazoo. No daddy, no daddy. she wouldn't move And you were like, come on Dunger. and then you tried to pick her up and then she started freaking and everybody was standing behind you were laughing. We were laughing. and then you got her eventually to the bottom because we decided to stand there and just enjoy it and watch you. And then you went, o look This u Sarah Rabbit or something, you said or Susie sheep and she went No daddy, it's for Rebecca Rabbit and she went a memento with you. Oh my god it I ever saw. Oh my gosh. She went mad did so stressful. everybody's watching you and you're so self conscious and you're like, well, I don't want to shout because I don't to look like I'm like Mr. Shouty dad. And then I don't want to be really too soft because everyone's watching going, he'sn't got much authority over his kids. And you just like feel totally judged Everybody. Oh, it's so it' stressful God. It was so funny Yeah So that is what we do. Good luck on your holiday. Yeah, good luck have got a message for our fifty thingsings to do. Fty things before you are fifty. Oh, start a book club on your podcast. I would love to hear you and James discussing books. The banter would be amazing. loveove you both, oe. Zey, right? I think that's a really, really good idea, but I am working with a man who has only ever read One book in his entire life Well I know you've read the Handmaid's tale when you were in school. What was the other book? The Day of the Jackal. Oh my Godd. didid you read the Day of the Jackal? Yeah. Was that in school as well? That another one in school, yeah. See good books are good. Oh, they are good. I just can't sit and read. I feel like I should be doing up and doing something physical or manual or That's probably why you're so damn antsy all the time that's probably why you're so damn stupid Now I can see why I think that when you get to retirement, I think you'll start reading them Yeah. But yeah, you always want to do something physical. So say I'm reading a really good book I can't talk about it with him and I can't share it with him because he doesn't read full stop. He thinks it's a waste of time. He thinks it he thinks it's a waste of time. You want to get up, you want to be physical, you want to build, you want to do whatever. So I'm either going to force you to do it with the new Alan Partridge one, the new Steve Coogan one. was there a new one? No, I'm talking about the old one, which was the new one for you. I said to him, you've got to read it, you're going to love it. I bought him the book Christmas or something. You read the first two pages and you were like, I love it, it's brilliant. I'm just not going to be able to sit down and read it. So I made you get the audio book. Yeah, listen to the audio book, which is brilliant because it's him actually reading it. Yeah in character. I've bought like all of Miria Margalliz's books and I've read them but I do like listening to the audio book of her books because she does it and' fab when you listen to someone. But I think that we should do that. should do And you should just haveree. Yes, we need to force ourselves to do these things so we spend time together. I'm now reading, right Lena Dunham's book Fame Sick and you know what? I'm going to make you read it too so that you can see what The life of a young twenty year old woman In LA, but I think she was in Boston is actually studying is like Fame sick. Fame sick and what she has been through and you know, what everything that she's been through, I think you'd find it quite inally good. I've just started reading it and I think it's really I'm really enjoying it. I like it Right, okay. Yeah. Zoey we're going to start our b club And our first book is going to be Lena Danam's book Famesec I think I've read the first chapter because I bought it I started reading it and then I've got about oh my God, I've got about twelve books on the go because I like dipping in and also since having children right, I can't sit down and focus on one thing for too long because my heads always racing because there's so much going on that it's quite hard to just sit down and sometimes when I go to bed at night I can't sit down and just like look at my book. sometometimes I do just want to sit and scroll on Instagram because I can't put anything else in my head. But the other day and because I'm going away for Glasgow for the week quite soon. I thought I do want to take more than one book with me, but I can't carry it in my luggage. So I don't think you even know this.. I've gone and bought myself a Kindle H you? Yeah. I've held off right for ages because nothing beats holding a book in your hand. You know, having the pages and I turn down the pages and I write in them and I do also you know, I keep a scruffy book and I love it. And I thought I'm reading Lena Dunham's one, I've got about two murder mysteries on the go. I've got this other thing they've got loads of different things on the go And with a Kindle life bought, you can fit six to eight thousand bucks on it. And I thought, you know what? I'm going to give it a go. It's waterproof. And so now when I'm on holiday, I can dip into whatever I want and also I felt like having a treat I' ale They range from you can get an older sort of one. they' were four to choose from and I think it ranges from ninety six pounds up to about two hundred fifty nine or something or two hundred and sixty nine or something depending on the range of stuff. Oh there was one which was even more expensive, which was like a big one with a scribe that you couldn't like write it and I didn't go for anything like that. And I also bought myself a new pair of trainers because I thought I deserve a treat so I'm having one. Well, that's quite good. We've already got some new things now on the list didn't tell you this. Yesterday for my fifty things to do before turning fifty, it's fifty press ups and I hadn't thought like how many I actually can do now and yesterday I did some for the first ever time and I managed fifteen So I've got another thirty five, fifteen plus thirty five is fifty, isn't it? Yeah. So I've got another thirty five to work my way up to. Yeah. And then that's one of my things then ticked off. Yeah. So when you got to fifteen, what was that mean of your arms were they shaking like mad? Trembling, shaking. I felt sick, couldn't push myself up anymore and I thought sow this for a laugh, No way, no way stopping. And then I went in and I'd start work and my arms were just my arms were trembling. But saying that, physically this morning, I feel fine. Trembling like a . Oh, you were gonna to say like a fitting dog then, weren't you? When I was I stopped myself is the adult I stopped myself and I don't shift through my arms. so no. Let's check off because our stomachs are rumbling and we obviously need some food. I might make you something in the air for I to play cards, right?leas. Okay. See you next week. Bye. Be