Episode 23: London

[00:01:11] Intro & Music. 

Mike [00:01:16] Welcome to another edition of the English Waffle. My name is Mike and I'm joined today by very special guests. In my house in London, we have the co-host of The English Waffle, Owain. 

Owain [00:01:30] Hello. 

Mike [00:01:31] We have Martin, his son. 

Martin [00:01:35] Hello. 

Mike [00:01:35] And we have Martin's mother, Sandra. 

Sandra [00:01:38] Hello. 

Owain [00:01:38] She's also...also my wife. 

Mike [00:01:44] And also Owain's wife. Yes. Thank you. We've had such fun, haven't we, in the last few days. 

Guests [00:01:50] Yeah, yep. 

Mike [00:01:50] We've been... 

Owain [00:01:51] It's been brilliant. 

Mike [00:01:52] We've been dancing around the flat. 

Guests [00:01:54] Yeah. 

Mike [00:01:55] We've been trying on...we're all wearing different hats right now. 

Sandra [00:02:00] Playing instruments. 

Martin [00:02:03] Yeah. Yeah. 

Mike [00:02:07] Playing instruments. Somebody is excited. We've been cooking, eating, drinking, but most of all, we've been sightseeing in London, haven't we. We've been out and about sightseeing in London. So, Martin, let's begin with you. What's been... what has... what has been the most special thing you've seen today in London? 

Martin [00:02:34] The London Eye. 

Mike [00:02:36] Okay. The London Eye, any any particular reason? 

Martin [00:02:40] Because...I know it goes slowly, but I do like it because...because it's tall and they did fireworks. 

Mike [00:02:52] Nice. Good reasons. Sandra, what's caught your eye in London today? 

Sandra [00:02:57] This is my second time in London and I love fashion and I think you can find a lot of people from around the world and they wear things and clothes that I have never worn. 

Mike [00:03:15] Yeah. 

Sandra [00:03:15] But I like... 

Mike [00:03:17] Yeah. 

Sandra [00:03:18] ...to to see these clothes on those people. 

Mike [00:03:23] Yeah. Yeah. 

Sandra [00:03:24] It's really interesting. 

Mike [00:03:25] You know, they say Milan and Paris are the capitals of fashion, but I think London gives it... 

Sandra [00:03:29] London is...is a...one of the fashion capitals in the world. 

Mike [00:03:34] Yeah. And what about you, Owain. What's caught your eye?

Owain [00:03:38] Well, actually, I saw something today that I'd never ever seen in my life before. 

Mike [00:03:42] Oh, yeah? 

Owain [00:03:43] I saw a fat Canadian. 

Mike [00:03:45] A fat Canadian. 

Owain [00:03:47] A fat Canadian, juggling. 

Mike [00:03:49] Yes. 

Owain [00:03:52] A hand grenade, a pirate's sword and a chainsaw. 

Mike [00:03:58] It's not something you see every day. A fat Canadian juggling a chainsaw, a grenade....I mean,... 

Owain [00:04:06] No, I was quite surprised. 

Mike [00:04:06] No. Where...I live in London and I don't see that every day at all. Where was this in London? 

Owain [00:04:14] Well, as many people may know, there is a place called Covent Garden and it's really famous for its street performers. So, he was a street performer. 

Mike [00:04:25] That's great. And Martin, what's the most iconic thing for you about London? Iconic means when you think of London, what do you think of? 

Martin [00:04:38] I think of big London Bridge and lots of other things: buildings,...

Mike [00:04:48] Yeah, yeah. 

Martin [00:04:50] ...restaurants,... 

Mike [00:04:50] Yeah. 

Martin [00:04:51] ...shops,... 

Mike [00:04:51] Yeah. Buses? 

Martin [00:04:55] Trains. 

Mike [00:04:55] We went on a bus, didn't we, today. 

Martin [00:04:57] And trains. 

Mike [00:04:58] Yeah. 

Martin [00:04:58] Lots of stuff. 

Mike [00:04:58] Because where do you live, Martin? 

Martin [00:05:00] Spain (?). 

Mike [00:05:03] Right now? Where do you live? 

Sandra [00:05:07] Leicester (whispered). 

Martin [00:05:08] In Leicester. 

Mike [00:05:08] Ah, Leicester. Do they have buses in Leicester? 

Martin [00:05:10] Yes. 

Mike [00:05:11] Do they have red buses? 

Martin [00:05:14] No (whispered). 

Mike [00:05:15] So big red London buses are spec...special for London, aren't they? 

[00:06:38] Commercial break. 

Martin [00:06:38] I think of the beach... 

Mike [00:06:41] The beach? 

Sandra [00:06:44] Yeah, we saw the beach. 

Mike [00:06:48] Oh, we saw it. Yes, we went to the South Bank and we saw a little bit of sand. Yeah, we call that the beach because we don't have a beach in London, so we we yeah...that was like...the nearest thing that we have to a beach was the South Bank. Yeah, you're right. Okay and Sandra, what do you think of when you think of London. What's the most iconic thing for you. 

Sandra [00:07:07] Iconic. I like fashion, again,...

Mike [00:07:11] Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. 

Sandra [00:07:13] ...but I saw something today on the beach...a...a sculpture, a sculpture doing a sofa with the sand. 

Mike [00:07:23] A sand sculpture? 

Sandra [00:07:25] Yeah. 

Mike [00:07:25] How cool!

Sandra [00:07:26] Oh yeah. 

Mike [00:07:27] How cool! 

Sandra [00:07:27] And I think it's was a woman and she was doing on a sofa. 

Mike [00:07:33] Great. 

Sandra [00:07:34] But a real sofa. 

Mike [00:07:36] Yeah. Yeah. 

Sandra [00:07:36] Yeah. 

Mike [00:07:37] It's really impressive, isn't it? 

Sandra [00:07:38] I love it, yeah. 

Mike [00:07:39] And Owain, what about you? What's...what do you think of when you think of London. 

Owain [00:07:42] Well, I think like many people, I think of the River Thames. It's just that great experience when you get the river and you can look both ways and see all the interesting buildings, the sights along the river. It's fantastic. 

Mike [00:07:56] There's nothing like, is there? For sure. And Martin, what was the silliest thing that you saw in London today? What was the thing that made you smile, the most? 

Martin [00:08:07] The silliest thing was when when I when I saw the...the guy's...the guy who was just doing, like, the juggling, erm... 

Mike [00:08:24] The fat Canadian? The Canadian with his top off? What was he juggling do you remember? 

Martin [00:08:31] I know he was juggling a sword of cutting trees down? 

Mike [00:08:35] Yeah, yeah, he was ju...juggling a chainsaw. He was a bit mad, wasn't he? 

Martin [00:08:40] And and and a pirate sword. 

Mike [00:08:45] And a pirate sword. It was...that, that's not something you see every day, is it? No. Sandra, what about you? What was the silliest thing you saw, something that brought a smile to your face? 

Sandra [00:08:56] I know. I have seen Claire the dinosaur in the crystal park. 

Owain [00:09:03] Ah, yes. 

Mike [00:09:03] Claire the dinosaur, ah yes. 

Martin [00:09:06] Which Claire? 

Mike [00:09:06] Claire is...So, I live next to Crystal Palace Park, which has...it...which in which there are dinosaurs that live. Not real ones, but kind of almost real. They're big and they're very lifelike. And there is a dinosaur called Claire who lives there, who has very white feet. And we saw them, didn't we? We saw them yesterday. 

Owain [00:09:30] Yep. 

Mike [00:09:30] And Owain, what about you? What was the silliest thing you saw in London? 

Owain [00:09:33] Probably Martin's knock-knock jokes. I would say. The silliest thing I heard today. 

Sandra [00:09:39] Me too. 

Owain [00:09:39] And I'd love to hear one later on if we have time. 

Mike [00:09:41] Yeah. Well, I mean, I think there's no time like the present. Martin, can you tell the audience your best knock-knock joke? Just one. You've told us many today, but just pick your favourite one and share it with the whole world. 

Martin [00:09:56] Okay. 

Mike [00:09:57] Nice and loud, so you can hear the mic. 

Martin [00:09:59] Knock, knock. 

Owain [00:10:00] Who's there? 

Martin [00:10:03] Horse. 

Owain [00:10:04] Horse who? 

Martin [00:10:06] Horse who, who runs over a train. 

Mike [00:10:20] Well, if you can beat that knock-knock joke, guys, we want to hear from you because that's made us laugh all day today. Martin, you're a natural comedian. Thank you very much. And with that, we'd love to hear your comments about London. If you've been to London or if you haven't been to London, what do you most...What are you most excited about seeing when you come to the capital of England? Thank you very much, Martin. Thank you, Sandra. Thank you, Owain. 

Owain [00:10:47] No problem. 

Sandra [00:10:47] You're welcome. 

Mike [00:10:48] And we'll be back again next week with some more waffle chat. 

Mike [00:10:51] Until then,... 

Martin [00:10:53] Yey! 

Mike [00:10:54] That's excitement for you. Have a good week! Bye! 

Martin [00:10:57] Bye bye. 

Sandra [00:10:58] Bye bye. 

Martin [00:10:59] Bye bye, mistletoe pie.