Jono, Ben & Megan - The Podcast - What Megan witnessed in Thailand...

Episode Date: February 27, 2024

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Welcome to the untamed realm of the World Wide Web. A swirling vortex of weirdness, bullying, and self-obsessed social media posts. In this digital jungle, Jono and Vienna are your fearless guides. Leading you through the wildest parts of the Wild Wild Web. This is the Wild Wild Web. It is the Wild Wild Web It is the Wild Wild Web You've done it again Sorry, too loud

I'll stop it there Because then you'll just be talking loudly over the music It didn't sound as loud I listened to it back yesterday And it didn't sound as loud as it did in the room Yeah, in your ears it sounds very loud Listen, these are behind the scenes technical issues That the audience don't need to be aware of

We could have ironed it out We could have ironed this out But we've done it two days in a row. Someone's not learning from their mistakes. That's me. That's me. I'll take the hit there when she says someone. Megan, lovely to have you here.

Ben Boyce, always a pleasure to have your company as well. So what we do every day is one of us brings an article or something we've seen online to the rest of us. So this is a real news story that's making news around the world that's captured our attention from the web. And Megan, you've got something today. This is actually something I mentioned in the news and it sounded so bizarre.

Obviously, I only gave you like a couple of lines out of the news. I thought it was worth a deep dive. This has happened in Scotland. If I said to you a Willy Wonka immersive pop-up situation, would you think that would be fun to go to? A factory? Yeah, like the Wonka factory.

Yeah, I think that'd be awesome. And immersive means you're going to have to do interactive. Swim through a chocolate river. Yeah. You know, like there's big candy canes, I imagine. There's lots of colourful things. I imagine it would be pretty impressive, right? Yeah.

Blow up like Violet. Was she the one who ate the thing? She blew up like a balloon? Yeah. Violet, you're turning violet, Violet. A lot of kids went missing in the movie, right? In the original, the OG movie, which to watch now is kind of odd. Not only are the kids just disappearing,

but also just the weird song with the candy man at the start. That was like, well, this is, and it's slow. It is a slow movie. Do the kids turn up at the end? I don't know. Or are we always like, did they die? I tried to get my kids to watch it. I was like, oh, we should watch this.

And we got midway through just after the candy song. And we're like, oh, this is a bit creepy, a bit weird. Let's watch the new one. Yeah, a typical chow mein. It felt like a definite grooming situation there from Wonka. Yeah, or even the candy man guy who was selling candy in the store at the start. I was like, there's something going on here. Has he got the little spectacles?

Yeah. Who's with the spectacles? His evil counterpart. Is his name Square? He was the nemesis. And the grandparents, they were stuck in bed, but then suddenly he can walk after. Oh yeah, suddenly he gets a ticket to the chocolate factory. And he's all up and about.

And got out of bed for months. It's a lot of holes actually. There's three couples in that bed. There's a up and about. He hadn't got out of bed for months. It's a lot of holes, actually. There's three couples in that bed. There's a lot of couples. It was. It was definitely a bed shit. It's a lot to unpack. Every morning you're unpacking yourself. Have you seen the new one?

The new Wonka? Wonka, Timothee Chalamet. I loved it. I thought it was really good. No one tells you it's a musical, though. Going into it. I think they did tell you. I went in there and I was like, ooh.. I went in there and I was like, ooh.

Straight away, he starts singing and I was like, ooh. Oh, okay. Is this what it's going to be like the whole time? And yes, but it was really, really good. And a lot of people were like, ooh, I bet Kylie Jenner's got the ick now after seeing him in that. Why? I thought he was great. It was actually really well done.

So it's kind of like the prequel to, it's kind of like how Wonka got his factory in his journey. I thought it was really, really clever. I would go as far to say. It falls under the musical category. I feel like from the trailers though, you watch a trailer, the ones I saw, I felt like they tried to hide it. Kind of like the new Mean Girls movie where they didn't really. Tell you it was a musical.

Again, I was like, oh, we're singing. We're singing in this. I would go as far to say that one is my favorite of all three. Of the Wonkas? Wonkas, yeah. I'll go along with that one as well yeah it was really good um so hugh grant's in it yeah he's an umpala yeah where have you been i feel like he was the main selling point he's really good in it too because he's kind of like

dry he's kind of hugh grant it kind of feels like he's like i've started singing now i've got to keep singing he's got he's like oh yeah and that's kind of his character, like a little bit grumpy, a little bit of, yeah. And I thought it was really good. They were probably just all outtakes of him on set. It probably was, actually. Yeah. So this is an immersive Willy Wonka chocolate experience.

It's how they sold it. But the police were called in because this is kind of a fire fest situation. They sold it as something amazing. And when people turned up, there wasn't even chocolate. There was a couple of displays but it was actually quite creepy. It was a big warehouse.

There was a couple of lollipop stands. Oh, and that's it? And yeah, so police got called because people were so upset. They'd brought tickets, they'd brought their kids along. They'd paid money. And do you know what the organisers' excuse was? The organisers in Scotland were like, were so upset. They'd brought tickets. They'd brought their kids along. Oh, so they paid money along. They paid money. And do you know what the organisers' excuse was?

The organisers in Scotland were like, oh, yeah, sorry. Turns out it's quite stressful to organise an event. So they said they were too stressed. The first review of it online that I've clicked on says, Willy Wonka immersive event leaves kids in tears. It looks like a meth lab it is a big white warehouse it does quite empty they've kind of tried to fill out look at this this woman standing behind one of the um no she looks like you grant in that movie she's a bit

like her she looks like she's questioning her life choices to be honest yeah look yeah it could have been pretty cool like the idea yeah, they've got a side by side of what you think it could have been and then what it actually was and it's pretty bleak, isn't it? It's pretty bleak. Yeah. They've given it a bash. What's been the bleakest attraction you think you've attended in

your travels overseas? You went to a sex show in Amsterdam and you've been in the poor fella couldn't get it up. Many years ago on a Contiki tour and yeah, poor guy. Poor guy. We got kind of locked, swept up in the Contiki thing and we're in Amsterdam. We're like, we'll go along and watch and then

kind of win it. I would not have picked you to do that. I wasn't leading the charge. I wasn't like going, hey guys, you know where we should go? But I was like, you're experiencing other cultures, you're seeing other things the quiet ones and you're like well good let's go you know like young young early 20s it's fine he was by himself it wasn't weird only other couple i know that have done that in amsterdam are also like the straight edge one's an accountant

one like there's a very big group of us all went i was on a contact and we went along with the whole group and yeah midway through it was a bit yeah, midway through, it was a bit weird. To be honest, the whole thing was a bit weird. Yeah, no doubt. And then the guy, yeah, unfortunately on stage, things weren't going well. It wasn't going well for him. Maybe he'd had a big day at the office.

He's like, this is my 10th shift. Or maybe it could be the hundreds of people watching. And he sort of turned around and was trying to get things going again. And I was like, this is really awkward. But then one supportive guy who wasn't part of our group just American guy was starting going come on man you can do it like that's the ticket he kept yelling out that's the ticket you know it definitely wasn't the ticket a supportive coach dad on the sidelines you can do it did uh it end up happening in the end? No, not while I was there.

And then I was like, hey, guys, I'm going to go meet you outside. It was a bit weird. And some of the other Contiki people stayed. And I went outside and sort of went to a bar or something with another guy. You know when he was turning around just trying to get it going? Was he like whacking it? What was going on? I don't know.

It was one of those things where you were like, I don't feel like I should be watching this now. I feel like this is his own. I feel like that would be me from the start. It's like his backstage prep routine. He feel like that would be me from the start. It's like his backstage prep routine. He's having to do it in front of house. Yeah, it was a bit, it was a bit, it was odd. It was odd, but anyway.

What were you expecting? Were you expecting him to come out all guns blazing? I don't know what I was expecting, to be honest. I was just like, oh, we're going along, you know, to this. Was he like, this doesn't usually happen? He didn't really say anything. He had lovely long hair. I mean, he looked like Fabio. Fabio.

He was like a real Fabio. Like, good physique know like that but if your job all day is just banging eventually some stages you're gonna be like the novelty where the excitement is off partner he goes home at night it's like chefs they don't want to cook at home he's like oh honey i can't i can't be bothered so yeah that was interesting what are the other person on stage what were they doing to fill in time Were they kind of Smoke screening there I don't

Yeah yeah I feel like they were Just sort of They were just there Did a little Interpretive dance Doing a lot At that stage

But yeah I was actually Surprisingly I had A few drinks So it was all A bit hazy But I was Yeah

I was Similar vein In Thailand Went to one of those Ping pong shows Did you Yeah And I was like blown away.

There was like a dart being shot. Oh, wow. To pop balloons. Producer Taylor, you've been to one too, have you? You're agreeing. Yeah, I saw like birds fly out. That's where I was coming to. Birds.

I had a bird. There was a bird. Like a sparrow. That's when I tried to leave and we got absolutely screamed at by one of the waitresses, who was this older Thai woman, because she was like, you can't leave without buying a drink. That was, yeah. How dare you disrespect the arts.

And I was like, lady, I just saw a budgie come out of places I never thought I should, like, I need to go. Oh, so you had to buy a drink. So it was free entry, but little did I know, you had to buy drinks while you're in there. And the drinks are so expensive. That's the thing. I go to Las Vegas, they go to a club, and you have to buy drinks to sit down.

Yeah, right. I was supposed to want it in a seat. They go, have you bought a drink? You had to buy a bottle of something expensive. I was again on the contact. Well, she's like, you've seen the budgie now. You need to buy the drink. The bloody poor old budgie would have been coming out gasping for air.

I know. How did they get them up there? The canary in the mine sort of situation. Oh, it doesn't bear thinking about. And so does the dart like. Fudgy smugglers,

is that where the term came from? Maybe. Oh my gosh. But that's the way for a male. That's for a male, isn't it? Oh, well they could stick it somewhere.

It's a piece of trick from a male, but yeah. Oh my gosh. Now tell me, the dart, have they got a board that they're they could stick it It's an impressive trick from a male, but yeah. Oh, my God. Now, tell me, the darts, have they got a board that they're aiming at and it comes out like...

It's a balloon they're aiming at. Oh, they're popping balloons. They're popping balloons. Yeah. And they're really good at aiming. I mean, that's an impressive party trick.

Yeah. Take the budgie out of it. The budgie's probably... Yeah, yeah. Too far. Yeah, but the darts, the ping pong ball, what are they firing

the ping pong balls at? No, to the audience No the competitor Playing a game No it was another girl On stage The ping pongs Were going to

In your show Imagine if they caught One's catching one With the other one Wow Firing it back Did they ask for Audience participation

In your one No What to get out there and get involved? Yeah, she was roaming the stage looking for someone to bring up and I turned to Marcel and I said, I swear to God, if you get asked to come on stage here, I'm done. Like, I'm so done. If he went up on stage.

If he went up on stage. Oh, was she looking for a male? A male to bring up on stage. I thought she was looking for another female to give it a go. Oh, yeah, that's what I was thinking too. I was like, jeez, you've really got to be like, well, okay, yeah, I'm going to do this. So what was the male supposed to do?

They go on stage and do all sorts of things with them. Oh, does it get quite... It does. It does. The show we went to was weird, though, because ping pong was like just the teaser. Then it turned into a full-blown, like, sex show. Like a man came out, a bed bed rolled out you can do it too early yeah wow where did we start oh we're quite wholesome

i was just going to say the uh the craziest museum i've been here was like a timber museum you guys are blowing me out of the water you know the timber museum that we passed, yeah lovely, what do you see? wood, timber, the history of timber around the I mean guys, I can't come off what you've just been talking about

I've lost the audience I was the opening act, you guys were the headliners done it the wrong way around anyway well that was is this thing in Scotland still going now or is it closed down no I think it's being shut down

it's for the best yeah no probably for the best okay well there it is good way to bring it back yeah the wild wild web today you never know

where you're going to end up with these conversations some of them quite regrettable it is yeah see you tomorrow