Rob Beckett and Josh Widdicombe's Parenting Hell - S7 EP6: Annie Mac

Episode Date: August 11, 2023

Joining us this episode to discuss the highs and lows of parenting (and life) is the brilliant DJ and author - Annie Mac. Annie's latest book 'The Mess We're In' is available now. Parenting Hell is a Spotify Podcast, available everywhere every Tuesday and Friday. Please leave a rating and review you filthy street dogs... xx If you want to get in touch with the show here's how: EMAIL: [e-mail] INSTAGRAM: @parentinghell MAILING LIST: parentinghellpodcast.mailchimpsites.com  A 'Keep It Light Media' Production  Sales, advertising, and general enquiries: [e-mail] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Hello I'm Rob Beckett and I'm Josh Willicombe. Welcome to Parents in Hell the show in which Josh and I discuss what it's really like to be a parent which I would say can be a little tricky. So to make ourselves and hopefully you feel better about the trials and tribulations of modern day parenting each week we'll be chatting to a famous parent about how they're coping or hopefully how they're not coping and we'll also be hearing from you the listener with your tips advice and of course tales of parenting woe because let's be honest there are plenty of times where none of us know what we're doing whoa what are you listening to this for wait who's talking you know you're driving a 2024 ford escape with available alexa built in so you can change the music oh yeah alexa change station to 99.2 see purchase a 2024 escape st line all-wheel drive

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Bud Beckett. And can you say Josh Widdicombe? Josh Widdicombe. Well done. That was cute. There we go. There we go. Bit of interesting trivia. couldn't download it on my

phone so michael could you tell us who that is okay hi rob and josh here is my son alfie three today i've listened from the start and thank you for getting me through lockdown pregnant and two daughters at home yes i'm one of the mad ones who decided on a third keep being your sexy selves nicky spree 455 months uh henfield near brighton yes nicky spree nicky spree nicky Spree, 455 months, Henfield near Brighton. Yes, Nicky Spree. Nicky Spree. Nicky Spree, that's a good name, isn't it? I like that.

Thank you very much. And, yeah, thank you for still listening. And I find it very heartwarming, all the people that have listened from the start. Yeah, so do I. Because it's weird as well. What a journey. What a bloody journey. I was saying, though, it does feel like it needs a third and final act.

So if you and Rose want to get divorced, you remarry. And I think what this show needs is if you go on Strictly, marry one of the dancers and have an affair, we'll ride out the bit of everyone hating you for a bit, but I think I'll still be the good guy, family man, and that will keep people in. And they'll go, oh, I don't listen to that anymore because of what Josh did. Yeah, but Rob is a good guy, and it that will keep people in and they'll go oh i don't listen to that anymore because of what josh did you know yeah but rob is like a good guy and it's quite interesting

actually to hear about josh's new life it sounds awful he lives in a penthouse apartment in soho with a dancer that he doesn't really love but now he's got three kids with him and i just think if we can even if rose has to go in on it and it's like a big lie. And I think it could be just, if I'm doing a Kris Jenner approach to the arc of this, that's what we need from you. And I'd also quite like if you stopped sort of being quite mentally well in a way. Yeah, yeah, yeah. I mean, stop meditating and stop being calm and doing your CBT. Because obviously it's great for you.

You're in a great place. However, I do think it does liven it up a little bit if you are manic. But as a friend, I don't want to see in too much strife. But we both do like, you know, earning money. The issue is obviously I'd lose half my money halfway through. Well, that will give you a bit of fire in your belly. I think one of the issues. Yeah.

With that plan is what? Obviously, the main issue is I love Rose and would never do that. But put that aside for a second yeah but if you fell out of love with her you might so that there's an opportunity

not that you'd never do that to her you're in love with her so you'd never do that with her so if you actually fell out of love you might do that no I'd never do that what if she cheated on you first

and never knew about it and it was like just between you two what and it was a revenge thing yeah the biggest revenge of all I've got a good story about that but not about me.

I can't tell it on here. But it's about, beat this out. Anyway, let's... Go on, carry on. I don't think I'm fit enough for Strictly Dancer to be cursed with me. I don't think either of us are fit enough to do the training and have an affair.

The thought of having to do sex after eight hours of rumba. The guys that get cursed, and the women, they're always as sexy as the dancers. It's never like, you're never like, oh, John Sargent, the curse struck him. Do know anyway no well let's let's put let's park that as a strategy going forward i just don't know how much

common ground i've got like cultural references with an attractive 25 year old russian who spent her life learning to dance do you like the new blur album like the venn diagram of what our interests are and what we talk about you'd have to dig deep on russian football um anyway well let's not do that then oh josh let's not do that let's not do that i don't think it's for you two things I think I'm going to try and get my kids to play the Switch more than play on their iPad oh yeah

they play proper games then like Mario Kart and stuff rather than them awful game in app purchase games where it's just like a terrible way

just to get money out of you yeah yeah yeah I'm thinking about that but is that is that cool I worry that is Mario Kart

the kind of thing that old duffers like us play? No, it's... A Nintendo Switch does sort of transcend the generations. Okay. And, look, you can't get away with it. They're going to want to go on screens, but I'd rather them play an actual game that's been designed well or have got a story to it, like there's a Mario Odyssey game,

than them play these awful games where it's like you download it for free and like or Roblox and all that stuff but it's all online and Minecraft and rather they do something that's like a game and a challenge and something they get better at rather than like wandering around just chatting to let's face it paedophiles so that's something that's going on the other thing Josh is my daughters said to me, Dad, what happens when you die? Oh. Tough question. They've seen you on Nevermind the Buzzcocks.

Watch me on What I Lie To You. Never been rebooked. I also would say one of the most relaxed, comfortable, and I'd say efficient panel show performers in comedy. Chat me on any panel show. I can normally deliver. I've found my niche. I'll get a couple. I'm not going to say I'm the best, but I will get something away, and I'll back myself on any panel show, I can normally deliver. I've found my niche, I'll get a couple,

I'm not going to say I'm the best, but I will get something away and I'll back myself on a panel show, right? Your Champions League panel show, and I'm quite happy to say I'm Everton. However, I was very much Plymouth mid-90s when I went on, would I lie to you? Were they rubbish in the mid-90s, Plymouth?

Yeah, we've always been rubbish. Anyway, so they asked me about what happens when you die, and I think I've got a good answer. Tell me what you think about this and pick holes in it, because I was just there with kids and I thought, this is good. So I said, what happens when you die? Is it horrible? Is it scary?

Is it bad? And I said, well, no, not really. I went, when you die, do you go to heaven? I was like, well, it depends what you think heaven is. If you're a Christian, you think heaven is God and the pearly gates and up in the clouds and stuff like that. Whereas other religions think heaven's a different place and you get different things.

I'm not religious, but where I go when I die will be to nothing. And there will just be nothing. And it will just be gentle and floaty and just nothing there. But nothing, what will that be like? Will it be horrible and i go well when you're dead you're not alive anymore okay so before you're born you're not alive so what do you remember from before you were born and they said nothing and i said well was it scary was it bad how was it how did it feel and they said well we didn't feel anything there was

nothing and i said so when you die you won't be alive the same as you weren't alive before you were born and it wasn't bad then so why would it be bad when you die there'll just be nothing and it was fine before so it'll be fine again it is nice and they were quite happy with that but i can't stop thinking about nothing forever i'm busy I am at the moment, I'm quite looking forward to it. But not in a Lilo, watch me, like suicide watch me. I'm happy. I'm very content. But it's like

you know, it's not nothing but also in the afternoon or nothing I'm doing a voiceover for Rob and Romesh. But for stuff, for new things to arrive, old things have got to go go and i'll be an old thing one day and i'll be gone who cares it's inevitable um but it'll be fine it'll be just nothing same as it was before do you think it will be yeah i think it'll just be just there'll be nothing do you not believe in reincarnation rob i believe in sort of um your energy and your your you have a spirit and your

body your body's sort of like a vessel for us. I don't know if you might just be floating around in the ether, but the body will be gone. But I don't know what happens to your spirit, mind and energy, but probably nothing. Probably just rot into the ground and be gone. This is Annie Mack.

Is that an intro? Oh dear. Good episode this actually. Well, it is a good episode she was great i love annie mack her book's out now here she is annie mcmanus hello hello lads it's great to be here talking about parenting with two experts you know two experts yeah do you know what i've just realized why you're annie mac why i just thought your name was annie mac i didn't realize you've shortened no one's shortens their surname normally it's the first name i know it's my old boss because when i got my first show on radio one he was like why not make it snappy i mean it's such a radio dj cliche is it i haven't like man i think it's cool i like annie mac do you like think it's good I think it's better than Annie McManus

for a DJ yeah exactly for a radio DJ it's grand and I've kept it for DJing as well but for writing literary fiction Rob

I don't know Annie McManus just didn't feel have another name have another name because also as well you were I imagine was you sort of

making waves in radio around the time of Michelle McManus would have been the most famous McManus because she won that singing competition who was Michelle McManus. It would have been the most famous McManus because she won that singing competition. Who was Michelle McManus?

She won Pop Idol. She won Pop Idol? Come on, Anna, you're not into your music. So there's Mick McManus. Mick McManus, the wrestler. Famous wrestler. Michelle McManus won Pop Idol in, let me find it. About 2003. Was it 2003? It was 2003.

Was it? 20 years ago. Wow, Josh. Just to be clear, I guessed that. No, he knows it. He watched too much telly when he was down in Devon. Let me look up Michelle McManus. Oh, I remember Michelle McManus.

Yes. So I didn't know if it was too close to. No, no, she didn't. Like her existence did not sway that. Right, okay. It was a long shot, but I thought I'd if it was too close to... No, no, she didn't, like, her existence did not sway that. Right, okay, that's a shock. It was a long shot, but I thought I'd give it a go. And when you're Annie Mac or when you're Annie McManus, is that like two different characters, like the character of Stuart Lee?

No, I mean, I'd love to say, like, I go into a telephone box and, like, come out with a cape on and then I'm Annie Mac. Nothing of the sort. It's exactly the same. So it's not a Sasha Fierce situation? No, I suppose Annie Mac is like how I'm perceived in terms of radio and DJing, which is kind of fun and hedonistic and a bit bonkers, whereas Annie McManus is a bit more serious and thoughtful.

Yeah, Annie McManus feels like she's going to read the right act to me. Yeah, does she? I feel like you're a tax accountant and I'm fucked up and you're going to give me both barrels. Which is the parent? That's the question. Which is the parent? Oh, the parent is definitely the latter it's definitely they don't really know that Ali well they know me from the radio I suppose they know I'd head off and then they'd hear my voice on the radio so do they listen to your show so I'm not on the radio anymore but when I was they did yes

because I was on a dinner time so I missed dinner for six years so they'd put that on so you can hear mum so yeah mum would be there in the background and tea my husband would be cursing me while I did hottest record interviews and he was trying to do bedtime so how old are you kids how many you got what's the sound two sons Oisin is 10 and Riley is six Riley just lost his second front tooth so he's walking around looking like a pirate he's got no front teeth at all so that's a great phase but I'm also quite emotional about it because I feel like that's the last bastion of baby-dom when they lose their baby teeth it's really like oh god. And also you've got boys and boys tend to just fuck off for years don't they

and is that something that's stressing you out? That's the danger of boys. Yeah, I mean, I'm sure there are. I haven't allowed myself to think that far ahead yet, to be honest. No, so I'm getting in your head. No, no, but I also think

that boys actually like, in teenager, I mean, this is all myth stuff that I've chosen to believe, but that they kind of stay closer to their mums as teenagers. Like, as in they, there's not that kind of like

hormonal like conflict. Yes, the anger,, there's not that kind of, like, hormonal, like, conflict. Yes, anger, yes. Right? Because I've got two girls, I know already when they get to that age, they are going to hate each other

and I'm going to be the guy in the middle going, calm down a bit, please. Whereas my boys, like, beat the shit out of each other, but it's quickly healed. Yeah, yeah, yeah. It's quite remarkable

how in a flash they can go from you know abject misery to being grand. It never fails to stand. I find men

when they've grown up with their mum they're either like totally dependent and just off. You hardly see them to the point

the mum gets the ump or still their mummy's little soldier getting their washing done. Which were you Rob?

Which were you? Yeah which were you? I've gone. You've gone. I would say I'm the loose sheep of the family. From an objective perspective I would say it's probably better for them to go

but it doesn't make it any easier from a mum perspective I just didn't want to say I'm the best one basically just wanted to imply it and let them work it out but yeah he's 10 so I have to start really appreciating and being around while I can, you know. Has he started to have teenage tastes? What's teenage tastes? I don't know, like getting into music and getting into like things that are perceived as cool rather than things. I hear you. Yeah. He's developed his own taste in music.

He's got an old iPod of mine from when I used to, used to judge the Mercury Prize, you know, that music prize. And you always get given an iPod with all the albums on it to listen. Yeah, steadily. So I gave him my old iPod, which has got like 100 excellent albums on it. But it's funny, the ones that he gravitated towards. So his musical tastes are all from the exact same year. Yeah. He's just into the 100 best albums. From 2016.

Yeah, from 2016. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. But he's also like, his dad is a music producer and his dad makes rap music so there's a lot of rap music around and t my husband he's not the type of dad that would like sit cross-legged on the ground and like build a castle out of lego he's just not that guy but what he does do for fun with them is they'll be bored and be like can we make a music video dad or can we make a song and then he'll sit there and he'll sample them and they'll pretend to rap and then he'll make a proper rap song out of that so they have this whole kind of discography of them from childhood oh that's cool that's cool on rap songs which is

kind of cool but i also think you're so privileged you're so lucky like like you can be around your mates house be like what do you mean we can't make a rap song what do you mean your dad can't sample me they're used to that which is kind of a bit strange, I suppose. The things I could offer my daughter are so, so uncool. One of the coolest things that happened to me when I was a kid was that one of my dad's mates came to a barbecue with some McDonald's patties frozen that had been stolen that we cooked on our barbecue. That was exciting. These are actual patties from a McDonald's that are frozen that we are on our barbecue. That was exciting. These are actual patties from a McDonald's

that are frozen that we are cooking now. But it's amazing, isn't it? There's different networks. The children can be around. Rob, that would go down so well in our house. They're obsessed with McDonald's. No, I'm not saying that. But your family's all music and pure music.

So if your kids got into music and were an artist, they'd get loads of grief for that because of who the parents are and things like that you know what I mean it's mad isn't it whereas if you'd worked in McDonald's Rob

people would go they'd be like this guy knows how to cook already because of his dad's mate this isn't fair this is nepotism this guy's employer of the month month after month

after his history with these frozen patties do you take your kids to festivals then? No. No. I'm not that kind of person. Those people are unhinged.

Festivals are for me. The ones I choose to stay at. I've seen too many screaming children and pissed off looking parents at festivals to feel like I want to do it. Now, I am about to contradict myself because I have a festival next Thursday in West London, which is where I live. Yeah. And they've been more and more curious about me.

And I thought I could bring them in for an hour and they could just see me DJ. And then, but we're not camping or. No, thank you. And there were people at our gig at Glastonbury that had a three month old baby,

right. That they brought to Glastonbury and they were very proud to tell the whole room that that baby was conceived at Glastonbury last year. And I just thought, you two are fucking disgusting. And I said that out loud. Did you? Yes, I went, this is disgusting. You're not normal.

What did they say? I don't, I wasn't listening. I've got a microphone they haven't that's how I like it Annie they turned around and walked out in tears do you know what I'll lose them

no do you know what if someone comes to a Rob Beckett gig that's what they want turns out that's what they want they just want to be abused they just want to be abused they're verbally abused

no I agree I actually I have friends who have conceived children at Glastonbury but they definitely haven't brought the children so no

rephrase that you've got ex-friends, people that used to be friends until they became disgusting people. I can't imagine conceiving at Glastonbury. In today's economy, saving money is like an extreme sport. Coupon clipping.

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Yes. Is there stuff like that where your kids are like incredibly impressed where you're like i'm just off to hang out with harry styles in dublin for the day they didn't give a shite i don't think they even are that aware of who he is yet yeah so no i didn't impress him there i actually have to do careers day in school tomorrow oh do you yeah i've got to go in and talk to the year fives and sixes about my career. And I said to Oisin this morning, I was like,

so who can I say that I've interviewed that will like, people will be impressed by? Like if I say Stormzy and Dave. Oh, you see, we won't be embarrassed. Rob Beckett.

You get stuck, you can say Rob and Dave. It's a free one on us. Okay, thank you. But I don't really know what them lot are into Stormzy surely I'm going to say

Stormzy and Dave yeah Harry Styles I'm going to say Dua Lipa Taylor Swift Dua Lipa Adele

George Ezra George Ezra they might know yeah Dead Like Him Adele I don't know if they'd know Adele might be a bit depressing for a 10 year old

yeah yeah true the teachers would love it though yeah they would because you see the sadness in their eyes after a long term. I bet they'll be listening to a bit of that. It's going to impress both of them. And how long is your talk? The talk is half an hour, which feels long.

How much prep are you putting into something like that? Or are you just going to riff it? This is the prep. This is the prep. I might wheel out a few photos later. Ah, yeah. Oh, yeah. If in doubt, PowerPoint.

A couple of photos of some famous people. I don't know. I haven't thought about it, guys. I really need to. We'll see how it goes. I just have to not embarrass him. I'll be all right. A couple of photos of some famous people. I don't know. I haven't thought about it, guys. I really need to. We'll see how it goes. I just have to not embarrass him and I'll be all right. He's going to be in the... Awful.

I know. That is stressful. That's the hardest bit, isn't it? Because also if you're dying on your arse, if it's not going very well... Don't say that! And your son's staring at you, Annie. I'm sorry.

Oh, God! But that was just the kind of stuff you've got to consider, isn't it, surely? I think the way to do it Yeah Is go in hard With a couple of jokes About your son

To let them know Who's boss early doors Oh my God I suggested that this morning And Oshie was like Can you just pretend That you don't know me That's what you do

Oh God Are you going to be Annie Mac or Annie McManus I don't know I haven't thought about it Oh no You're going to straddle Both worlds

Oh God I don't know They'll be talking about DJing So I'll be Annie Mac Yeah okay so i did a talk when there was a teacher she used to teach in a school in thamesmead very rough school yeah and she's actually seen some of her ex-pupils on them like 24 hours in custody i love those shows yeah but it's like she sees the kids she taught it's bad they also as well he's technically out of her wonky glasses and they stole her ipod once poor old blue anyway they asked me I'd done like

one year on I'm a Celebrity get me out of here nobody knew who I was the spin off show of I'm a Celebrity and I'm on it for like 10 minutes

because it's mainly Laura Whitmore interviewing the people in the jungle and they wanted someone off the telly to go and do like a speech and I'm not saying this is getting you

Ed and Emac it was the worst 10 minutes of my life because they didn't know who I was and i was still driving a nissan micro at the time and they saw me pull up and i was like who the fuck listens to anyone driving a nissan micro about careers oh and it was tough well who's sorry now yeah yeah you should go back now and go look at me look me. But I would say whipping out people that you've met

and things you've done at the top to establish why they should listen is key. Yeah. Because other than that, you are just someone's mum. So if you go, I'm so-and-so's mum, however, I've also done this. I supported Harry Styles and I did this. Yes. And it feels very anti-British sort of like, oh, no, but you've got to just go balls deep with this is what I've done.

I've done pretty well, actually, from this background and this is how you can do it. And just be go balls deep with, this is what I've done. I've done pretty well actually from this background and this is how you can do it. And just be unashamedly, this is what's going on. Yeah. Could you get a voice note from Harry or Stormzy to introduce you? Oh shit, a voice note to introduce me? Say hello so-and-so school.

This is, I want to welcome Annie Mack. You should make sure she listens. She knows her shit. Maybe not shit. Oh my God, that's a genius move, Rob. Exactly. So look what happened here, Annie. I got in your head, I panicked you, but now we shit. Maybe not shit. Oh my God, that's a genius move, Rob. Exactly. So look, what happened here, Annie? I got in your head, I panicked you,

but now we've come to a resolution. I'm going to thank you tomorrow. That'll be great. You'll smash it. What time do you talk? I have to be there at 10am, I think. 10am? Yeah, yeah.

Are you active on the school? No. So I basically joined my oldest kid's parent WhatsApp group when he was in year four. Really? Okay, wow. I actively did not have anything to do with that world. A bit like Italy during the war.

Yeah, I was kind of like, I'm busy. I've got a really big career. I mean, everyone must have been like, fuck it. Oh, you said I'm too busy for this shit, you fucking losers. I said that to T. I said that to T. I was like, you need to do the WhatsApp group. Take one for the team.

Oh, right. Sorry. Okay. Yeah, you said it. You can do that. I thought you said it to the group I was like, you need to do the WhatsApp group. Take one for the team. Oh, right. Sorry. Okay. Yeah, you said it. You can do that. I thought you said it to the group. Guys, I'm pretty busy. Sorry, guys.

You two waffle on. I'm too busy. Leave. I just didn't join it in the first place. And then at year four, I finally just kind of came in. It was like, hi, guys. Yeah. I hope you don't mind that I'm joining now.

And everyone's like, eye roll emojis. Someone's like, right, you need to bake flapjacks for every school fair for the rest of the time your kids are in school it's like they went in hard no they were joking but it was kind of funny but i'm better with the second kid because i think i'm a better parent now like i think with the second kids you get a bit more chill and a bit more yeah totally we didn't have a fucking clue what we were doing when our first kid was born no when i brought oisin home as a baby this is the kind of joke in our family t actually said to me so what do they eat anyway babies why should we get something in the fridge i could fucking eat the milk from like i kid you

not that's how clueless we were he didn't have a clue well i didn't know they weren't allowed water didn't you I was like she's not had any water should I give her some water no she said don't need water

I was like what is it a fucking seal what do you mean don't need water and so how clear did you have the stuff

yeah we had some of the stuff we bought some of the stuff yeah had you read a book I'd read a couple of books

I read this book that Sarah Cox gave me that Davina McCall gave her oh here we go here we go drop this in your bloody careers talk that's your me that Davina McCall gave her. Oh, here we go. Here we go. Drop this in your bloody careers talk.

That's your opening. Who did Davina get it off? Annika Rice from Cilla Black. I don't know where the chain began. Female presenters down the line. But Davina McCall basically had all her babies at home, right? This is the stuff of legend amongst women. But she does famously live at hospitals, doesn't she?

No, she doesn't. She lives in a bath Sarah also had like really good births so I was like okay I'm going to listen to these girls and see what they have to say

and they come from the school of like nature nature medicine's there of course if you need it but you should try and do it naturally Sarah Cox is out

on her horse in the fields all day isn't she she's that kind of person yeah the book that they gave me is a book from the 70s in which every man has a huge beard and it's all about like a band of horse in the fields all day isn't she she's that kind of person yeah the book that they gave me is a book from the 70s in which every man has a huge beard and it's all about like a band of travelers

right like a nomadic tribal people in america and this one woman who was the midwife for all of them and she wrote the book so it's all pictures of like how you should snog before the birth because it what's the word beginning with oh? Help me out, lads. Oxytocin. Oxytocin. Thank you. Fucking hell, how did I get that? Where's that from?

Yeah, well done, mate. Where's that buried away? So at what point of the birth are you snogging? Sorry. Beforehand. So in all the lead up, you're supposed to snog and he's supposed to like feel your boobs and you're supposed to get all a bit sexy, actually. He's supposed to get a bit sexy.

He's getting a bit sexy. If I said to Lulu, I've read a book, I've got to give you a kiss and grab your tits and it helps with the birth while she's in labour yeah while she's in labour

get the gas in her mouth come here imagine being in the hospital and you're getting off with your wife while she's giving birth surely the nurse would say something

all I know is that I didn't really follow any of the advice right poor old T the labourer was the most stressful and All I know is that I didn't really follow any of the advice. Right. Poor old T. The labour work was the most stressful and ferocious experience of my life.

Wow, was it bad? Do you mind sharing? I fucking love it. Let's share it. Okay. So basically, I woke up at 6am on a Monday morning. My mum had come over to stay. I went down to my mum and was like, it's on.

Something's happening. We dragged T out of bed. And then he was in charge of timing the contractions. Sure. Yeah. The classic. Give them a purpose. Got you.

He's a producer doing it on BPM probably. Exactly. Right. He fucked up bad. And he kept forgetting when the contractions started. So the timings were all over the place. I was trying to stay calm. I puked up in the kitchen sink.

My mum was like, this looks like it's happening quite quickly. I think you should go to the hospital. And I was like, no, no, it's fine. We're only on four minutes. It's grand. We need more. And I was going so quickly, delirious. It was pretty painful. Actually, it was getting painful.

It was getting scary. It was getting like, I'm scared now because this is sore and I don't really know. And I'm not in control. So T then, it's his job to call the taxi calls an addy lee it's late oh my god not a taxi it's monday morning right at 8 a.m so we then drive to the hospital which is half an hour's drive away it's rush hour okay i am sitting in the back of the car on a folded towel right because my Because my water's still having broken. And I am cursing every person under the sun. How's a cab driver dealing with this?

Not very well. I make everyone in the car say the Lord's Prayer. Absolutely messed it. I heard the driver trying to Google it. I mean, the poor driver. I made him break the law. We were in a traffic jam. I was like was like you're gonna have to fucking drive out on the wrong side of the road all the way down this traffic jam until we're able to turn this corner you have to do it and he did it good on him still to this day feel awful and i had my tent you know what a tens machine is yeah it's the electrics

thing yeah it gives you these little electric jolts and they happen at the same time as a contraction and it kind of distills the pain a little bit. And it was working pretty well. And then we got out of the cab and at this point it was fucking agony. And we got into a, I don't know what happened to the poor taxi driver. My mom looked like she'd seen a ghost. She sat outside. She started knitting a baby's cardigan while I went into the labor ward.

And I walked into the labor ward and apparently this is what i said i kind of burst in the door and went let's get this fucking show on the road like off my head and i was couldn't get my trousers off and was panicking and shouting just bellowing at people and cursing. T, you had to apologise for my cursing. They've heard it before. Surely they've heard that. Yeah, I should hope so. And then finally this little lady, this little Spanish lady came up to me and just kind of grabbed me by the shoulders.

And I think she was the head midwife. And she went, shouting isn't going to get you anywhere. You're going to listen to me now. And you know when someone just takes control and I nearly fucking kissed her. I was like, thank you. That would have helped. The oxytocin. It might have helped the oxytocin but somebody knows what they're doing yeah yeah I'm okay and then she got me in the bath 50 minutes later the baby was born I was

nine centimeters dilated upon arrival in the neighborhood oh my god I nearly had the baby in the cab it was no wonder the cab driver didn't know what to do. If he's looked in his mirror, it's nine centimetres dilated. I swear to God, nine centimetres. Oh, man. So actually getting in the water, all it did is slow me down and calm me down enough to get the baby out. I mean, that's a good birth, apparently. That's a good birth.

I mean, it's stressful. I would have liked to be at the hospital a bit earlier. And for the second one, I was. And that also, the baby arrived in like five hours the second time. But let me tell you what happened the second time. Good DJ to time. Yeah.

The baby arrived a second before the news was read out. Yeah. And you'd cleaned yourself up, travel had finished, you're back in 303. Just for the intro of the song, but not over the first line of the song. Just the instrumental 12 seconds. Up to the vocals, then back to breastfeeding. So the second time we went of the song, but not over the first line of the song. Just the instrumental 12 seconds. Up to the vocals,

then back to breastfeeding. So the second time we went into the baby, whatever it's called, the labour ward, not the ward, the nice bit. What's it called? There's like a childbirth unit

that isn't the labour ward, where it's like sofas. The birthing unit. It wasn't a private hospital or anything, but we had our own room and I swear there was like little electric candles. It was all white. I was like, this is amazing like this is amazing for looking in a hotel I mean this little scanty midwife just one little girl who looked like she was about 19 and I was like this is mad

but whatever and then again it happened really fast T brought his big fancy camera and took photos of the entire I'm surprised he didn't get like a wallop in the head with the camera I can't believe I let him take photos all the way through. Do you ever look back at them? I do. And it's so emotional and mad to see them. I'm glad they exist, basically. Yeah.

They're good. But when the second baby was born, again in the bath, you know the, what's it called? God, I can't remember the name of anything. The thing that people eat that the baby- Placenta. Placenta. Thank you. Jesus, what's wrong with me today?

The placenta came. I don't know what's right with me though I can't stop I'm on the fucking chase I'm going to keep testing you all the way through

so this is the thing that no one told me about labour not even the book that you give birth to the baby and then you give birth to the placenta

I didn't know about this either which is disgusting and looks like alien so I gave birth to the placenta in the bath after and then

it turns out there was a knot in the rope of the placenta like the bath after and then it turns out there was a knot in the rope of the placenta like a big fat knot the umbilical cord thank you the rope

fucking hell what are you on a ship the rope the blue rope tied around the back of a caravan have you recovered from Glastonbury, Annie?

Stay poor, no. Can I get a ticket to this speech you're doing tomorrow? I'll be the back shout in the rest of the... Help me out, kids. What's the word for it? School. It's Stiles. It's Harry Stiles.

School, yeah. Store. Sorry, what's my name? Oh, my God. The umbilical cord had a huge knot in it. Yeah. And the midwife was obsessed with this knot. So I was lying.

I don't know if this happened to your lovely partners, but after you have a baby, you shake like the engine of a car. Yeah, yeah. When you have it in the way that I did it anyway, which is quite fast and furious. So I was lying there shaking. They brought me my toast.

The baby was born. It was safe. It was all fine. But then they laid out my umbilical cord on the floor, on a towel, right? And it was enormous with the placenta. It was safe. It was all fine. But then they laid out my umbilical cord on the floor on a towel, right? And it was enormous with the placenta. It was enormous. And it was blue.

And they got every midwife in the entire birthing ward to come in and look at it. So T has this picture of this blue slimy thing with six women all kneeling around, staring at it. And me just in the corner, like the whale. And the whole thing is just so surreal. So why were they so into it? Because it had a knot in it. Because it had a knot in it, which apparently is very dangerous because the knot could go around the baby's neck.

So obviously I was feeling very lucky, but also what the fuck? Yeah. Can everyone leave now? I'm going to have to have my toast. And you weren't tempted to keep the umbilical cord and placenta as a... Not for a second. I was so happy to see the end of it. Don't want to keep the ropebilical cord and placenta as a... Not for a second.

I'm so happy to see the end of it. Don't want to keep the rope. Get rid of the rope. Yeah, get rid of the rope. Get rid of the rope. Yeah, yeah. Will you rise with the sun

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Yeah, very, very much was. There was other people who were parents there. So I didn't feel like totally isolated or anything for being a parent. The bit where it felt very strange was DJing. So suddenly where I felt like I used to be kind of a bit on the level of the people I was DJing to, I'd have a couple of vodka tonics, be a bit loose and wouldn't really be thinking about anything. Now I was thinking about breastfeeding. I was thinking about baby at home. You'd look into the audience and you'd see these adults who now I saw essentially as children. I was like, you are 19. And is someone helping this girl? Because she looks fucked. And suddenly I became this kind of protective maternal person who was worried for everybody's welfare and kind of freaked out by how wasted everyone was.

And I don't know, you just see it in a whole different light. When you're responsible for keeping someone alive, then you're kind of looking at everyone else thinking you see the child in everyone, I suppose. And also you're just not really like when the kids got bigger, I'd be DJing, remembering I hadn't packed their school lunch. Thinking this is not what I should be thinking now at 2am in Bournemouth. I should be thinking how wild this is and whatever. So for a while, I just felt like I wasn't on a level in a way that wasn't okay.

Yeah. But it all kind of balanced out a bit. Did you find, because I struggled with, maybe I only really just got a handle on it in the last year or two, was the losing my social life and stuff like that and did you find that because obviously you're working in an industry that's full of exciting parties and all that kind of stuff did you find that so my job was so social

and I was lucky in that my friends all knew when I was DJing and for them it's an easy night out straight up guest list, free rider. So whenever I had a gig, I would always have friends about because they would just come. So I was very lucky in that way. I didn't really have to orchestrate much of a social gathering. So I didn't find it too hard socially. Your social life does just change. But I just don't give a shit anymore.

I quite like sitting indoors. Yeah, no, I hear you. I don't know if I'm weird and I've given up or it's just what you have to accept you know i mean but i quite enjoy that i'm with you more than ever but i have to say i felt weird socially as a mom and i think a lot of women go through this you have this kind of sense that you should be friends with all the other moms and we should be besties and we should be talking about our babies and what they're doing now and blah blah and, blah. And I found that stuff kind of like repellent. I didn't like the whole compare and contrast culture where they're like, oh,

what do you mean little Jimmy isn't doing this yet? Like, oh, whatever. Oh, it's toxic. And when you're kind of, I don't know, if you don't know people really well, well enough to go, I'm fucking miserable. I hate this. What's going on? then you have to put on a front yeah and you get the sense that everyone's doing that and no one's really being honest so because of that I did step away from that a bit I was one of the first of my friends to have a baby so I did feel like I didn't really have anyone really close to me that could really get it actually Sarah Sarah Cox was amazing she lives up the road and I have a sister who was a bit ahead of me, so that was good. Yeah, I didn't really go for the mum groups very much.

What was Sarah Cox like as a kind of, not shoulders to cry on, but like as a... She's the best. She's very chilled. We spoke to her on this. Did you? She's always been very inspiring to me and her husband, Ben, because they are like amazing parents, super caring, super committed, but also just trust their kids.

And their kids are such good kids. Like their middle kid is, I think he's 15. And I go up there with my two little boys and they're just like, they love him. And like a 15 year old boy is probably like, oh, get out. This guy plays football with them in the garden the whole time.

And it's just like, you're so good. You're 15. You should be up playing PlayStation. And they don't even have to tell him to do that. He's just that kid. So I always find them really inspiring. And also I kind of look to them a lot for advice because they're just a few years ahead of us.

So I know when Oisin hits 13, I'll be on the phone to her going, help. What do I do? And also she's someone who's a really good example of how to work and parent and do both well and sustain it. Well, you're both now authors you're not dj well you are djs yeah but you're the classic author djs this is a dream job right it's mad yeah it is mad we share a lot of frustrations about writing do you i bought your

book for this that's so nice of you we should have fucking sent you one at least no thank you i'm really enjoying it i've started reading it after Glastonbury well it's perfect it's perfect my friend brought it on Kindle to Glastonbury which I thought was bizarre because she said

it's just the right type of book to read at Glastonbury and I was like fair because there was a lot of hedonism in there the mess we're in what's it about give us the rundown

it's about a young one young Irish girl who moves to London and lives with a rock band 2001 did you have to do a lot of research into that character

to sort of get really into the head of her so she is London and lived with a rock band. 2001. Did you have to do a lot of research into that character? To get really into the head of her? So, she is not me. Every interview, not me. But thematically, the whole writing what you know was definitely something I wanted to do. Because I did live with my brother's band

in 2001, so that was a mad time and it was definitely something I wanted to write about, but band in 2001 so that was a mad time and I it was definitely something I wanted to write about but also remember yeah so it was a good exercise in having to talk to people from that era and just kind of remember what it was like and also just being an Irish person in London which is something I'd never really had time to think about before now and that was definitely something I wanted to explore there's loads of scenes in an old Irish pub Rob with loads of old fellas. You know those fellas you see in Irish pubs

who like stare into their pints? Yeah. They're kind of relics. So there's a lot of them. And that was fun. I had to make friends with my local landlady in my local Irish pub for that.

And now I'm a proper regular there. Oh, for research? Yeah, I interviewed her two or three times. I'll start writing some more if it means I can get shit-faced and chat to the landlady. Listen, what's not to love?

Just write another book, Lou, I'll be back at 1am. Yeah, yeah. Did you enjoy it, writing? Yeah, I did enjoy writing, actually. Very much enjoyed writing it, yeah. Is that something you've always wanted to do or did it creep up on you? I did, like, English Lit at uni and stuff. So I've always been into writing and reading.

I've always read loads. But then, like, radio radio came along so you're not going to want to do anything else when you do that it's like life is great like this is the fucking dream career and djing like but it was only when i was 40 are you guys 40 yet i'm 40 no i'm not i'm sort of shockingly young actually are you what age are you 24 20 shut up 34 no 37 actually so not that much younger at all just a bit fun so when i hit 40 i i don't know if this 24 20 shut up 34 no 37 actually so not that much younger at all

just a bit of fun so when I hit 40 I don't know if this happened to you Josh but I definitely he had a full breakdown Annie I kind of really had

like the classic midlife like you know you see those guys who shave their heads and have affairs and buy Lamborghinis I empathised

did you what did you do I took a writing course he took a drawing course. He took a drawing course. Yeah, I did. Do you know what that is, though? Because your job is like, most people get to 40 and they go, I haven't been hedonistic enough.

But if you're Annie Mack, you go, I need to calm myself down. I need to do something in the office. I'm not acting like a 40-year-old. So what's your excuse? Me? I'm bloody hardcore, mate. So you're so hardcore you need to do something in the office. I'm not acting like a 40 year old. So what's your excuse? Me? I'm bloody hardcore mate. So you were so hardcore you had to do a drawing course.

What kind of drawing? Was it live drawing? Like what do we kind of draw? No it wasn't live drawing. You had to draw a mug and a scarf on Zoom at 8am.

No I didn't have to draw a mug and a scarf. I chose to draw a mug and a scarf. Like sketching. Sketching a mug at 8am on Zoom with a pre-recorded video. It wasn't pre-recorded at 8am on Zoom with a pre-recorded video.

It wasn't pre-recorded at 8am, but it was always pre-recorded by the time I came to it at 3pm. I think there's like a desire to learn something new. That's what I have. I was like, I fucking love my job. It's been amazing. But I want to push myself. I want to learn.

I just want to do something different. Do you think that's the turning 40 made you want to do that? Yeah, you're forced to look at yourself and look at your life and you're forced to look backwards and you're forced to kind of come out. Those milestone birthdays, they just make you be like, okay, fuck, who am I? Where am I? What's life look like?

Do you think, though, it might be because you two still live in sort of quite cool areas with young people near you, right? No, my area is entirely parents of young children it's so not cool that was my idea with josh was because he still lives in like east london you're very cool and young you feel like when i go around see him i feel really old whereas i live in kent and i feel good i feel young i feel pal like you feel vibrant that's why you're comfortable sitting in at night in your slippers. I feel so young. I feel like there's so much ahead of me when I see the old people that live near me.

But if you are with other parents, then maybe 40 is just a time people reflect on their age. But I thought Josh was panicking because everyone was younger. I'm not panicking at all. I'm just finding out who I really am. Rose started making him dress smarter. Did you change what clothes you wore at 40? No, she didn't start making me dress smarter. I decided to dress a bit smarter. No, no. Rose was unhappy of how he was dressed no that's not so she made him put on

these hush puppy shoes no that's not and a blazer puppies that's not true no but them little brown suede shoes looks like they're nice shoes they're from crockett and jones he's dressed like a dad watching his daughter get graduated from uni right kind of outfit and it's fine it's oxford shirt brown jacket but that's what I mean you do start seeing yourself from a remove I suppose so did you start

dressing worse as well or did you still dress normally oh come on now Rob come on now I don't think I did I don't think I drastically changed how I dressed

did your husband make you change your clothes most of the time I made the decision myself let's be very clear on that. My husband is seven years younger than me. Oh, respect, Annie, actually. Well, sometimes he's six.

I prefer those times. But mostly he's seven years younger than me. So I've always been super conscious of how much older I am than him. So 40, I was like, oh, God. Because when I met him, I was like, when I'm 40, you're going to be 33. But actually, it's grand. It doesn't matter. She says that like, when I'm 40, you're going to be 33. Yeah. But actually it's grand. It doesn't matter. Yeah.

She says that. Wait till I'm 70. 70. 63. Fuck it. Who cares after 60? Do you know what I mean? Yeah, maybe.

It's all muchness. How old were you when you met him? I was 30 and he was 24. Oh, yeah. Which meant that he became a dad at 28. He became a dad quite young. Well, it's not that young at all. No, I was 29 when I was a dad. I think it's a good time to became a dad at 28. He became a dad quite young. Well, it's not that young at all. No, I was 29 when I was a dad.

I think it's a good time to be a dad. I think it's just in the kind of world we live in, in the kind of TV and radio world, people do have kids much later. Much later, especially around where I am in northwest London. Like you get loads of women in their 40s having their first kid. It's pretty normal. One more question on the book.

Yeah, sure. Because it is full of drug taking when i read back the first draft i was like oh god there's a lot going on there for me it was like important to normalize that as being really just ubiquitous it was everywhere and when you work in the music industry and your friends are bands yeah so the book's set in 2001 rob so we're post oasis right post the 90s that kind of culture where every fucking cover of heat magazine is celebrities falling out of clubs wasted it's that whole culture of getting wasted as being aspirational so when you're in a band around that time what i saw anyway was you not only feel like that is something you should be doing

being in a band like all the music press glorified it as well yeah but also you're everywhere you go you're facilitated like every record label every person at the label everyone and that still goes on but not as glorified in the sort of music industry not as overtly i think and i think jen zenas and also the fact that we are all on screens and everyone presents their lives through the prism of a screen and social media means that you just can't be as wasted anymore you have to look good or if you don't post for two days i know you're getting on it exactly i'm fascinated by that like even the rise in festival culture like you know how everyone goes to festivals now that's because it looks good on instagram yeah who wants to go to a dark sweaty nightclub at 3am you can't take

photos in there not me not you Not you anyway. Absolutely not. I don't want to shit on someone's shit. That's me. That's one of my most famous sayings actually. That's where nightclubs are done. What's your approach to drugs for your kids then when they become teenagers and they go to festivals? Because you can't really hide away from it because it's sort of the industry you're in and the book you've written. What's going to be

your advice? I'm hoping that it'll be the kind of Safi effect, you know, from Abfa. Oh, that there'll be a couple of squares that well she will end up being an accountant who's deeply embarrassed of me no I don't know we'll see how tomorrow

goes at the talk yeah exactly I think that he'll blatantly end up doing that stuff and I think for me it's just much better that it's out there and being talked about

so I can say like it's part of the conversation without it being like sit down we need to talk yeah of course you know what I mean I definitely want to be that mum where like all his mates come over here I can say like, it's part of the conversation without it being like, sit down, we need to talk. Yeah, of course. You know what I mean? I definitely want to be that mum where like all his mates

come over here. Like this is my little office here where we are. I'm fully willing to dedicate this when he's 14 to him and all his friends just to come over here.

If they want to like smoke weed, smoke it here where I can see you and I can bring you nibbles. But you don't want to be rolling the joints or ordering it in for them. Of course not.

Oh my God, no. There's always one alcoholic caring that'd be like, yeah, come round to mine and nibbles. But you don't want to be rolling the joints or ordering it in for them. Of course not. Oh my God, no. There's always one alcoholic caring. They'll be like, yeah, come round to mine and have drinks. We're like, you just don't want to drink alone, dear. Now you've got children. Yeah, yeah, yeah. There's a kind of undertone of sadness.

Yeah, exactly. Like my husband, T, he's sober. So that's very cool in that they kind of have one of each. Like I love a drink. They always see me like having a glass of wine here and then, but he doesn't. So they've got a bit of both.

Do you think you'd like them to read the book? What age would you go? I think this is for you now. I don't know. I think you'd have to be teenager, 13 maybe. Ideally older. 35. Yeah.

I'd make him read them in order. Like so Mother, Mother, my first novel is nowhere near as hedonistic. So I'd make him read that first order like so Mother Mother my first novel is nowhere near as hedonistic so I'd make him read that first and then maybe he'll be shut off and he'll think it's boring and won't want to read it and then the third one you're right

he has to read it whilst on an E yeah full circle yeah that's what I'm going to do I don't know how the drugs chat is fascinating.

It is fascinating. Yeah, it really is. It's an interesting one, isn't it? I think you just need to talk as long as it's something that is not taboo. Yeah. Not encouraged, but not taboo. Yes, exactly.

It's interesting, isn't it? Because I find the thought of those chats mortifying, but I know they're the right thing to do, if that makes sense. I think definitely. I think the key is to not make it a chat yeah or try and be like too chilled about it like yeah so like but you know what was interesting when we took oisin to his first oisin to sheffield united supporter because his dad's from sheffield we took

him to brown malay for the first time and we were sat opposite the away stand yeah and it's the first time he's seen a kind of concentration of really drunk people yeah and he was pretty scared he was like god he's so aggy and we've never been to a football match it was quite a lot but actually concentration of really drunk people. Yeah. And he was pretty scared. He was like, God, this is so Aggie. And if you've never been to a football match, it was quite a lot. But actually, it's really good training for him to know how drunk people behave and act and they're loud and they're leery or whatever and not be scared of that. And it's not going to encourage you to do it if you watch your football fans on an away day. Totally.

Totally. Yeah. And I bring him down to Maggie's. I bring him to the local Irish pub now and they sit and watch football and and eat crisps and i was brought up in pubs i remember so i've got really sensory memories of a kid sitting in the pub waiting for my dad to finish his smithics and like drinking orange or whatever so i think it's good for them to be around different types of people and understand that's the real world you know because they're a lot of younger people now they're totally not into drinking and drugs and all that kind of stuff.

It's a really different culture, isn't it? Yes. Your children might be into the gym. Oh, my God. They'd be all hench. Meatheads. It's so true. Like, I don't know what I'd rather.

Then you're going to have to talk about taking steroids. That'll be the drug chat. Just, like, inject it in your ass. You and your mates come round here. 20 years old. Get your asses out. If you and your mates want to all be round old get your arses out if you and your mates want to all be round here

doing the steroids at least I'm here I'll varnish you I'll put all the varnish on for you I mean but both are so extreme like

it's like my friend has her she's got a daughter in second year year eight and suddenly they all just want to go to the gym

that's just like they just want to get the gym membership brilliant when I was at school of going to the gym was so far from my idea of what i was going to do with my time there wasn't such a thing as a gym you go to it would be like just go for a run or something or jump up and down in the garden just go down the wreck and play football yeah exactly yeah gym culture wasn't as you just play sport for the sake of playing sport it wasn't strategic was it

it wasn't yeah yeah And the whole phone thing, like when do you guys think you'll give your kids phones? Secondary school. Secondary school, probably. First year of secondary school is a sort of not confirmed plan, I think, but...

Has your son asked yet? Oh, yeah. He's been asking for a few years now. And I just say, you are going to be the last person of all your friends to get one. And that's all I'm telling you. Oh, God, I tell you what,

you're in a tough deal if you've got another parent doing that. I know, right? Yeah, it's true. What I've decided to do is maybe try and like link up with some other parents and all kind of make a pact

and be like, right, if we all decide we're going to hold out till 13 or whatever, then at least they can't be like, well, everyone else has one because we can go, oh no, they don't. Right, yeah.

Louis and Johnny also don't have one. I think you'll find out. Feels like a bit of an insider trading, though, doesn't it? Feels like some sort of legal hedge fund plan. I don't know. I went for my first visit to the local secondary school, and that was mad because he's going to secondary school next year, which is scary, but they actually don't allow smartphones

for the first, second, and third years. Oh, really? Yeah. Oh, that's a win for you. So you're going to have to get them a Nokia? They said Nokia's grand, like a burner, a little one is fine, but any sort of smartphone, not okay. They said they think they're too young to deal with them.

But they can have a phone that, you know, cross-county line drug deal. They can play Snake. They can drug deal. They can drug deal and play Snake. But no WhatsApp. No WhatsApp's a bad one. Do you want to ask the final question, Josh? Yeah, we always finish on the same question which is

it's a two part question first part is if there's one thing that your partner does that's an incredible piece of parenting that makes you so happy that you're with them

that they're the father of your child and the second part is the one thing they do parenting wise that annoys you but you haven't brought it up but were they to listen to this

this is your way of God I wish you prepared me for that we do think that every time we do think we've got to start you but you haven't brought it up but were they to listen to this this is your way of god i wish you prepared me for that we do think that every time we do think we've got to start thinking about that now i quite like people being put on the back foot we just put on the spot yeah i like the feeling of people panicking well enjoy the feeling rob because it's happening right now i would say the thing that i like is that he's a fucking Egypt in the best possible way. I mean, yeah, asking what they eat, should we put something in the fridge did panic me, to be honest, when you first told me that. That is insane.

No, but I mean, like he was an Egypt about parenting then, but he's just silly. So there's a lot of joke and stupidness. And I think I enjoy seeing them soak that up from him and feel like they could be Egypt too, if you know what I mean. So there's a lot of jokes that's a good thing i think because dad sometimes in the past was like they sit in their chair with a paper and they there's no emotion so yeah i do think that maybe we're doing it wrong and being too silly going too far the other way but when i was growing up there was always an uncle my dad was really silly but there was always like an uncle or men as it were like older men just sit there miserable drinking or and you kind of see them over the top of the paper,

just kind of like, yeah, no, completely. So he's definitely not that guy. I would say the thing that I think, and we would all agree in the family, probably including him, is just the phone. Like we've had to have a couple of interventions where he just has to get off his fucking phone. Oh, yeah.

And it's like, I know it's not malicious. He's got addictive tendencies and phones are addictive so he's sober but he can still be addicted to your phone well do you know what you need to do

just leave your phone I mean I've put his phone in the bin before like I really have that's an expensive way to deal with it that's very expensive honestly

but I just leave it upstairs for a few hours they live in a bungalow Josh so think on I mean you'd think that would be simple he would just go up and get it I just leave it upstairs for a few hours. They live in a bungalow, Josh. So think on.

I mean, you think that would be simple. He would just go up and get it. Like sometimes. You know what? Checkmate. Checkmate. Just go and get it. Fuck off, Josh, with your silly ideas, mate.

He's just going to go up and get it. Just go and get it. I'll just make an excuse, go to the toilet, and then end up sat in the toilet for 35 minutes on WhatsApp. No, but it is hard because it's built to get your attention. I always addicted to this bubble shooter game and i was just on it all the time to the point where i had a bad thumb but like you know when you see parents out with kids i say you're at a restaurant you see like a dad and his daughter this happened to me the other day so a dad and his daughter and it was really cute she must have been seven or eight and they were sat on the other side of the room he fucking sat on his phone the whole time i wanted

to go up and get his phone and fucking drop it in his drink. I should. She's there. Like, what does he say to her? And that's the thing. But we're as bad. In his defence, talking to a seven-year-old for a long time is hard.

Sometimes they just chat shit and you're like, fuck off, mate. Honestly, if Romano's done a here we go on a Declan Ryerson Arsenal. Like Oisin is that, but with football. Are you into football? I've become. I mean, I could tell you football. Are you into football? I've become. I mean,

I could tell you everything about Sheffield United. I've become so into football inadvertently because of him. That's what my mum did with Plymouth Argyle. There's a limit to how much I want

to talk about it. That's for sure. Or speculate. There's too much speculating in football, 100%. Yeah, totally.

It's been an absolute joy. The book is called The Mess We're In. It's out now. joy. The book is called The Mess We're In. It's out now. I'm really enjoying it. I'm really enjoying it. I really appreciate it. Let me know how you go.

And I really hope it doesn't make you become a drinker again after reading it. It works so hard to be sober. No, no, no, no. But I haven't bought it yet, Annie.

And when Josh has finished with the book and read it, I will let him tell me what happens. Perfect. And then we're all on the same page. He could just give you bullet points. Exactly. Then I will let him tell me what happens. Perfect. And then we're all on the same page. So he can just give you

bullet points. Exactly. Then I know and I can just next time see him, oh, that bit in the book. And then we'll be best mates and it'll go from there.

Next time you've got a book out, you come on, Rob can go, I've got to praise you the last one. Oh, that seems... Then we're away. You've got a great understanding.

I do the research. Rob gets in your head about your chores. You're so jammy. I love it. You've got such an understanding. I do the research. Rob gets in your head about your chores. You're so jammy. I love it. You've got such an easy end of the stick. I wish someone sat on my podcast and read all the books. Annie, I've not read any of the books. Not just yours.

Anyone that's come on with a book, I've not read it. Josh normally does. He's into that. But if he didn't, I still wouldn't. I'll read the top title and then get a gist and then I'll blag it from there have you ever bluffed it Annie on Changes

I can't which is an excellent podcast people should listen to Annie can I tell you now start bluffing it will change your life oh my god

imagine not reading all those books because some are good aren't they your one's good some aren't I actually had a meeting with the producer the other day

and she was like you know you can just ask them what the book's about. Yeah. And I was like, oh. Did you not hear me earlier? Give us a little rundown of it. Tell us a little bit. In one line.

Not too much. Don't spoil it for us. I don't have a pitch. Don't spoil it for the other guys. Brilliant. Cheers, Annie. Thank you so much. Good luck with it.

Thank you so much. It's been a joy. Thank you, guys. Annie Mack. I've never met Annie Mack before. I like her. She's a good laugh. She's actually a joy thank you guys annie mac i've never met annie mac before i like her she's a good laugh she's actually a good dj we're sometimes djs on radio one she's actual dj dj isn't she she like does sets you went to see her at glastonbury no it was too late do you reckon you'll do it next year glastonburybury? Or have you got it out of your system sober? I got a new way of experiencing it through being sober.

I was in the healing fields at 8.30 in the morning. I was unbearably... Chipper. I don't think I'd do it three days, but I only did three days because Elton John was on on the Sunday. Yeah, you probably would have just come home on the Sunday morning. Come home on Sunday. I wouldn't as much as I enjoyed Sophie Ellis-Bexter. And she was excellent. But Annie Mack, the mess we're in is out Sunday. I wouldn't, as much as I enjoyed Sophie Ellis-Bexter. And she was excellent.

But Annie Mack, the mess we're in's out now. Listen to our podcast changes. Rob, will we be back on Tuesday? Can you confirm that? Always. Always, mate.

Death taxes us on a Tuesday. Bye. Bye.