Rum Doings Episode 22
by John Walker on Mar.26, 2010, under Rum Doings, The Rest
This week in episode 22 we’re not discussing: Is Britain now too much in the thrall of the celebrity culture? Which is harder to say than you might imagine.
Joining us this week, as a special guest, is non-celebrity and friend of ours, Martin Coxall. Nick and I have known him for almost as long as we’ve known each other, so he’s a natural inclusion into this nonsense. Martin sits in the creaky chair, and provides the creaking John would more usually offer.
Things begin with criticising John’s road rage, then criticising John’s pronunciation of years, and a quick insult to the pope. Then we open the mysterious bag containing a mystery rum gift from Victoria, Nick’s wife. What will it be? Will it inevitably be horrible? But then, calamity! An entire pint of coffee is spilt on the carpet, and gets dangerously close to dominating the entire recording.
Which is better for you? Special K, or Frosties? We reveal the TRUTH. We rant against the sanctimonious nature of breakfast cereals, the fear of buying tampons, and then more criticising of John for knowing about periods. That of course brings three men to discuss periods to a depth you probably didn’t want.
What brought down the Romans? The shared bum-sponge we reveal. We complain about QI, ponder the life of the hobo, and confirm the importance of clotted cream. Then of course it’s time to criticise John some more, this time in a reprise of berating him for his consumption of margarine. Sorry about the volume at this point, and your ear drums. Martin exclusively reveals what doesn’t cause cancer. And here’s where you can find out what does and doesn’t cause cancer according to the Daily Mail.
We then have an email about Nick’s dislike of clouds, which somehow becomes an explanation of how wretched Facebook is. Next, thunderstorms. Then religions and the census, and how one might go about being unbaptised, before we dissolve into a rather boring discussion of Star Wars, pleasantly interrupted by a sophisticated criticism of the French language.
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March 26th, 2010 on 20:48
Meat Circus? Yay! You’ll need to work in some gaming discussion for his next visit. Or is there a rule against that on Rum Doings?
March 26th, 2010 on 22:31
Martin Coxall was great; less yelling would be nice though.
Down with insidious, ubiquitous vegetable spreads. VOTE BUTTER!
Again, I make my demand that rumdoings.org be utilized.
March 27th, 2010 on 00:38
I forgot to add: you read my email! Thanks. And yes, I get the Master Bates joke often enough… To be clear, we both like the podcast; it’s always a good time. Genuinely listenable.
The experience of a forest rainstorm is fantastic. There are few occasions in daily life when you’re totally surrounded by a (relatively) uniform sound. It could be compared, I suppose, to standing in the surf or the center of a busy metropolis. The storm is unique in that the transition between stillness and the all-encompassing pitter-patter of rain is often quite quick. The transition itself is neat to behold, and the way in which your mind gradually accepts the background noise is strange and interesting. Summers aren’t extremely rainy in central Indiana, but whenever the chance for a rainy hike arises we usually give it a go. We try avoiding the massive, dangerous thunderstorms… with varying levels of success. That can become scary.
I’m an atheist; I was baptized as a Catholic. I’m still culturally a Christian, as Nick would point out; I’ve simply shed the supernatural beliefs of the church (and various beliefs about marriage, gender roles, child-rearing, etc).
March 27th, 2010 on 04:35
You guys aren’t the only ons weirded out by Special K. My cousin who moved from the States stocks up on the stuff when she visits us in Canada because it’s so different.
March 27th, 2010 on 17:51
Is Special K marketed as a general-purpose cereal in the UK? In the US, every ad I’ve ever seen, and the box fronts, all make it very clear that Special K is for women ‘of a certain age,’ and certainly not for consumption by self-respecting men. Admittedly, I don’t really watch TV anymore, so they could have rebranded it, but it sounds like it was never that way, in the UK?
Other than that, and my questioning of the sanity of anyone who uses toilet paper rather than paper towels or actual towels to mop up spills, just wanted to say that this episode was much fun and I’d be delighted to see Mr. Coxall return as a guest.
March 28th, 2010 on 00:45
I’ve got into a routine with Rum Doings. As you usually release it on Friday or Saturday, I find myself downloading it to my mp3 player, and listening to it whilst I undertake my weekly food-shop.
I now fear that I may have to stop doing this, as after Martin Coxall’s impassioned rant against Facebook I found myself insensible, giggling loudly like an idiot next to the dairy section; shoppers must have thought I found 1% milk an absolute joke. (It is, but still)
Brilliant episode. I salute you, sirs.
March 28th, 2010 on 21:58
The coloured plastic boxes were tampon carriers: designed to protect and disguise your tampons whilst in your bag.
There is an argument that Tampax should not be allowed to do a hard sell assembly to teenage girls and that they might benefit from knowing about the alternatives.
April 1st, 2010 on 16:16
Far, far too much fat in this episode. I’ll give 23 a miss also. Return to the old recipe please.
April 3rd, 2010 on 08:38
As regards QI… I very much prefer an amusing contestant with a put n anti-intellectual outlook as opposed to a dull, well-informed one. Of course, a combination of the two would be the best.