Oh What A Time... - #200 The Big Ep200 ‘Your Letters’ Special! (Part 2)

Episode Date: September 28, 2026

This is Part 2! For Part 1, check the feed!Here it is: our 200th episode and we’ve chosen to mark the occasion by celebrating you, our listeners, via the medium of your wonderful letters. It’s a special episode dedicated purely to a special set of correspondence we’ve been holding back for the big one.In this episode: More on tobacco-bum resuscitation! Isy’s alleged GWR-based affair! The Byford-Dolphin accident! And if you’re in the market for some tittle-tattle about the Gallagher brothers, boy are you in the right place.And if you want to add to our mailbag, please do get in touch: [e-mail] you so much for following us through the first 200 episodes, here’s to the next 200!And if you want more Oh What A Time and both parts at once, you should sign up for our Patreon! On there you’ll now find: • The full archive of bonus episodes • Brand new bonus episodes each month • OWAT subscriber group chats • Loads of extra perks for supporters of the show • PLUS ad-free episodes earlier than everyone elseJoin us at 👉 patreon.com/ohwhatatimeAnd as a special thank you for joining, use the code CUSTARD for 25% off your first month.You can also follow us on: X (formerly Twitter) at @ohwhatatimepodAnd Instagram at @ohwhatatimepodAaannnd if you like it, why not drop us a review in your podcast app of choice?Thank you to Dan Evans for the artwork (idrawforfood.co.uk).Chris, Elis and Tom x Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Oh, Whatter Time is now on Patreon. You can get main feed episodes before everyone else. Add free. Plus access to our full archive of bonus content, two bonus episodes every month, early access to live show tickets and access to the O Watertime Group chat. Plus, if you become an O Watertime All-Timer, myself, Tom and Ellis, will riff on your name to postulate

where else in history you might have popped up. For all your options, you can go to patreon.com forward slash O Watertime. Hello and welcome to part two of episode 200. Before we get into the show, we have just done a special episode on Fred Dibner. As a little treat, here's a little Alexa from that episode. I've been here too long already, you know, about three months and done now. Which in my eyes, I'm quite disgusted, but the weather's been outrageous, you know.

And no, we're in with a chance to get some at Dumb. We've got everything working according to how it should do, like the shoot at the bottom. is working well, which you can have a lot of trouble with them if you don't get the plates quite right. They keep getting bunged up and you're forever more waiting for the bloke at the bottom to clear out the bricks and you've got to make sure he's out the way because if you drop one down and it comes shooting out and hits him up back at neck, he's dead. Just a couple of my other favourite techniques he deploys. There's one where he's up a, I presume it's like Bolton Town Hall or something,

and they've got balustrades at the top of this really tall building, and he's been asked to check on them. So what does he do? He climbs to the very top of this enormous building, just tugs on them all. Whilst swinging around the edge of the building on what is essentially a child swing. Yeah.

Like it's just a piece of wood on some rope. It's amazing. This is what I'm talking about. That's what he, and that's how he cleans the face of Big Ben. Like a child swing hanging from the top of Big Ben. Do they still do that now, or have health and safety people quite rightly? Health and safety get bad pressed,

but I think if they have stopped that, I fucking love health and safety. It's healthy and safe. Why do people get so annoyed about the idea of being healthy and safe? Surely that's what you want, isn't it? An average of one workman died on British building sites every day in the 70s. It's a person a day. Yeah, yeah.

Dad was a person a day and dad worked on building sites in the 70s. His stories are like mad. Oh, and then so-and-so died. And we all got giving them the afternoon off. Oh, nice one. Goodness me. While I was watching him knock those bricks off the chimney

down the middle of the chimney, what it didn't make me think I'd die in a situation. What it made me think is that I would constantly be dropping my hammer down the chimney. Oh, yeah. Can you imagine doing that? Can you imagine?

And then you have to go all the way down the ladder to get your hammer up again. A couple more bricks. I'll definitely drop it again. You'd have to take a few up with you, I think. Do you think? You'd need to allow for a few. Because it would be so irritating.

How many hammers he's taking up then? 50. Now, if you want that full episode, go to pageant.com 4.0.0.0.0. Let's get on with the show. It's in full video as well, that episode as well. It is. Imagine all the senses. Glorious.

Right. More emails. This is from Becky. Hi, Tom, Chris and Ellis. Big fan of the podcast. It's my go-to while I'm running. And your recent conversation about the kooks somberger eating at the senator parade earned me a personal best running home to send this email. That'd be a service, Becky.

I live in Lincolnshire, famously home of the Dam Busters. And last summer, I visited the wonderful local ice cream parlor nearby during the 80th anniversary celebrations of VE Day. Now, this is completely bonkers, by the way, this. Imagine to my surprise to find out they produced out of respect for our fallen, as per the heavily poppy adorn poster, a commemorative Lancaster bomber-flavored ice cream. featuring no less than Maltesea bombs.

Oh my God. I can confirm it was delicious, but it did make me wonder what other weird, borderline inappropriate war commemorations might be out there. Love the pod, and thanks again, Becky. So there you are, Lancaster bomber ice cream to commemorate the dead. Thought?

I mean, you've got to ask yourself the question. Does the phrase, it's what they would have wanted fit. Apply. In your commemorative efforts. Yes. Are there other commemorative efforts, as Becky's asking here, that feel boardline inappropriate? I imagine for some reason Skull has seen them and bought them. I don't know why?

They liked a laugh, didn't they? They did, yeah, that's true. Boys in the REF in the 40s, they bantuck at them going. Do you know what I once bought from a charity shop? I do actually have in my possession a commemorative plate, Princess Charles and Princess Diana's wedding. At the time, I thought, I got the hysteria. around that wedding, like growing up in the...

It happened before I was even born, I think. But the hysteria around that moment growing up, it felt like such a big cultural moment. It kind of made me laugh how matter it was for everyone. And when I saw that in a charity shop, I thought, I'll buy that commemorative plate. Maybe one day it'll be a talking point. Can I say something really weird, Chris?

I also bought a Charles and Dineh commemorative plate from a charity shop. Really? And I don't know where it is. And now part of me thinks you've got my commemorative plate, and that's not a lie. Is it in a blue box with a sort of gilded gold edge.

Because if it is, that's my commemorative plate. They would have sold in their millions. Absolutely. I think my grandmother had them as well. That was the, I seem to remember her having that stuff. Big business. Absolutely. 1981 they got married.

If I'm honest, I've got this cupboard in my house, which is full of stuff that could one day be a very basic museum. The Prince Charles and Princess Diana plays in here. I've got my seat. But only stuff you find interesting. The Chris Skull Museum. I've got the actual plastic seat, which was my last season ticket seat at Upton Park is in there.

Have you? Have you? Yeah. I've got that in there, yeah. What in your shed? No, it's in a cupboard in my house. You need to put that out. I've got various passes from things down the years and...

No, do you know what? If I said to Izzy, Chris wants to make... He wants to like put it in a display case, the seat, his last seat from his season ticket at upton Park. She'd say that's not cool. It's just a plastic. It's just a plastic seat. I agree you shouldn't be in this display case

but I do think you should be out somewhere I think that's quite cool to be honest I actually do think that's quite a good thing I got it signed by Winston Reid who scored the last goal at Upton Park Oh wow that is good That is good isn't it God we're pathetic

What else is in it? That's really good That's so good I've got an England shirt signed by Kevin Keegan in there That is good No that's good That is good

Yeah yeah yeah So hey when my museum finally opens Talking of clothing that should be in a museum, our next email is titled Ellis's Pants. Right, okay. Ellis has visibly leaned closer to the camera, getting ready for whatever this might be. He's got fear in his eyes.

That's how I described. Well, my pants, Izzy made my pants famous on Taskmaster. Well, this is what this refers to. Yeah. Hello again, despite not being someone who emails shows, I find myself writing to you guys for a second time. Thank you very much. It's from Juliet at Weekly.

But I had to email in after seeing the lovely Izzy on the latest series of Taskmaster, and I couldn't believe my eyes when she unveiled her entry for the prize tart in episode two, which is a pair of Ellis James's pants. And not just any pair, but his lucky pants which she apparently wears for Wales games to bring them luck. Now, looking at them, I don't think they're doing the job, not as a token of luck, and certainly not as pants. In fact, if I might be so bold as I say, they may be having the opposite effect for Wales. Maybe it's time to update the lucky pants. I will never understand football fans, still loving the pod, Juliette Wheatley.

Over to you, Ellis. So you apparently have a pair of pants which are in such bad state, they barely can be considered pants anymore. They gusset less. What do you mean by that? The gusset's worn through. That as in like the underneath, the crotch, basically. So it's like wearing a tiny sort of mini-kilt.

But that can't be comfy. No, but, well, I must admit, they have been retired now. But they did, they did, bizarrely, I can't seem to throw them out. but they did see me throughout Euro 2016, Euro 2020 and the qualifying campaign for the 2022 World Cup with great success. I mean, they need to be retired to a furnace, Ellis. Yeah, Swansea winning the Capital One Cup as well.

Swanssey beat in Valencia 3-0 away at the Mistella Stadium. Amazing day. One of the best days of my life. They are absolutely disgusting. They have been retired. But since I retired them, our fortunes, I mean, we're in the toilet. I'm off to Portugal or Thursday to watch Wales play in the Nations League.

We are going to get absolutely battered. This plays in this squad I've never heard of. Oh my God, I've just realised that I retired my lucky socks early this year and West Ham got relegated this year. Yes. Is that true? Yeah. What's wrong with you both?

I had to get, so their lucky socks, it was a joke. They were not functioning as socks. Yeah, that's what the pants were like. The heel had completely. completely disintegrated. So there was like a little compartment for toes and then a bit, like a circular thing could put your foot through. The rest of it didn't.

And you're going to wear them all day. Yeah, and it's really uncomfortable. It didn't function as socks. But for some reason that feels marginally more dignified the pants that no longer function as pants. I think that's the lowest rung of things that don't function. I mean, if you put my pants up against the be a tapestry. Well, why would you do that?

You could chuck out immediately. And said which of these is always. older. The pants, definitely. Look at them. When are they from? These pants from the Battle of Hastings. Worst Nick than the Bayer Tapestry.

I would tell you, well, this is obviously the earliest material ever, I'm guessing. Yeah, yeah. The oldest material ever discovered anywhere in the world. This predates anything, yeah. But, El, you say they're retired, but they still exist, right? I've not chucked them out, yeah, which is why Izzy with, you know, took great pleasure and showing them off on Taskmaster. Could they be repaired?

Yeah, that is the question, isn't it? Now, that's a good question. The problem is... Take it to Saville Row. When is he was on Taskmaster? She kept saying to Greg, they are clean. And Greg said a couple of times, no, they're not.

And they are, I mean, they are clean. They've been in the washer machine. But it's quite grim. It's like occasionally you see pants on the sort of floor of a change room, or something, and they're just a bit disgusting to sort of pick up. Yeah, at least they've got a gusset. I was in Australia doing gigs for three and a half months when I was 29. And what happened was my other three flatmates were just basically acted like my room as a spare

room. So loads of people stayed in my room over the course of those three and a half months, you know, after nights out and stuff. And one friend of mine, I don't know how this happened, but he stayed in my bed and He's the same size as me, and he left his pants in my bed. And rather they give them back to him, I washed them, and then they were just my pants. I wore his pants for about five years. And every time I put them on, I'd think, these are Nathan's pants.

But they're mine now. It's so funny. Oh, my goodness, me. I've just had a memory. I remember being on a scout trip. I probably would have been 10 or 11 years old. And I had a pair of like wife fronts that with Hulk Hogan's face on the front. They were like WWF kid pants.

And at some point over the scout trip, they'd come out of my tent and someone hung them up the flagpole and said, and putting in the top of the flagpole and said, who's are these pants? And I outright denied it. I was like, not me. Not me. I have no idea.

Those pants stayed up that flagpole all weekend. And I did not. This is the first time I've ever admitted they were mine. That's class. Oh, my goodness me. I have one pants story, which Alice knows about. When I had an interview at the BBC, remember this? I was in Cardiff.

Oh, yeah. Remember that? And I went in for the interview with the head of Radio Wales, and yesterday's pants fell out at the bottom of my jeans. So there they were on the floor. I'd obviously got into it, sort of let out my jeans the night before, and the pants had stayed in the jeans. got into them in the morning, new pants,

and I didn't know that the other pair were sort of stuck somewhere down the leg and then emerged at the bottom. And I had to kick them under her desk. I remember that kicking it, just sort of like trying to. She didn't notice, in fact, she didn't notice. I wonder if we could track that person down who you were chatting to. No, okay, next email, next email. Next email.

I think we have, no, we have no. We shouldn't bother that, no, no. Let's get on the emails. You retrieve them at the end of the interview. Yes, I did. She didn't notice them. They were my side of the desk. She was her side of the death.

But you just picked them up and said, sorry, I'm just tying my braces. I think I probably pretended to do my shoelace, isn't like that. I didn't say, I'm just going to pick up my pants now. It's like something I have a John La Cary novel. And I pretended to do my shoe laces.

Right. Next email is from Danny. Hello, chaps. I have a prett story. So ongoing fascination on the show about whether you can get a free coffee when you go into Pret-a-Morgé. Danny says,

I was gifted a free coffee and a chocolate croissant. I think it was a pity freebie. though, because I walked in with my six-month-old and four-year-old on about four-hour sleep. I bribed my four-year-old to chocolate croissant so I could buy a coffee. I don't know if it was a general bedraggled sleep-deprived appearance or the sadness in my eyes, but the lovely server used this power. And when I went to pay, they said it was on the house. I almost cried and thanked them in an uncomfortable amount. I'm embarrassed to say that it happened again about two weeks later, an independent cafe in a garden centre again,

bribing my four-year-old to tea in the local garden centre after school. And again, I think it might have been my general bedraggled, sleep to private periods, and I again thank them and a comfortable amount. Thanks to the pod, I've been listening ever since the start. Danny, I'm sure it wasn't that. I'm sure they just sleeping like a lovely person. And I also completely get that feeling of feeling absolutely knackered, and bedraggled had two children who didn't sleep at all for about four years and it's hell.

So I hope you're out of that. Yes, and also the old bargaining bit of parenting. That's what you like. Yeah, if you get that. Yes, I know mum wouldn't usually let you eat one of those. But if I let you eat one of those and you don't tell her, can I have a cup of coffee? Yeah.

Just for 10 minutes, it's all I'm asking. Also, I remember when your kids didn't sleep, I mean, oh my God, awful. But you don't drink coffee. Yeah. I don't know. I'm very anxious. Yeah. You absolute monster.

No, sorry, just knack it all the time. I had that with my son and I just I just caffeinated myself for two and a half years. That's a very good point. If I am ever offered a free prep coffee, I won't be able to take it. So, you know, if anyone shouldn't be offered one, it's me. Do you drink caffeinated tea? Yes, I do drink caffeinated tea. I can handle that.

I'm tough enough for that. But the regrets come in when I've drunk a latte. Right, next email at Charlotte Lucy. You'll have to remind me why this has been brought. I've got vague memories. Cool rock band doing something uncool. Can any of you remember why that's been sent in? It's a funny email, but I just can't remember.

I think it's cooks adjacent. I think it is cooks adjacent, yeah. Okay, I think that's what it was. We were talking about the cooks and the burgers, and we thought, can you think of the idea of a cool rock band not doing something particularly trendy? And, well, we have three examples here from Charlotte. Hello, lovely boys.

Three cool rock bands doing uncool thing stories. Oh, these are stories. These are real things that she's seen. Oh, this is brilliant. Okay, fantastic. And you won't believe what the second one is. This is hilarious. Now I've realised this is real.

This is mind-blowing. This is about to create a real reputation for a certain rock star. Number one, Richard Ashcroft, taking ages to decide between Maltese or Rolos and a news agent. We chose Malteseers. I'm not sure what's the more rock and roll choice there? Probably Maltese. Rolos are very claggy. Yeah, yeah.

Although Maltese have got. sort of crunch, haven't they? I think crunches slightly more rock and roll than clag. Yeah. I've always said that. Second one. Now, prepare for the rumour mill to start.

This man is obsessed with this thing. Noel Gallagher enjoying an afternoon tea at the Royal Crescent Hotel. No way. And dropping a fully loaded scone in his lap. It's a second email in the same. Fully loaded. It's two emails in one episode

about Noel Gallagher having an afternoon tea. He's obsessed with them. The first one was Liam. Oh, was it? We've now done both Gallagher's. Oh my gosh. That's mind-blowing. What's happened?

They've changed, didn't they? Two separate emails about Oasis having afternoon teas. This podcast could organise the perfect afternoon tea for Oasis. No fish sandwiches, so you wouldn't upset Liam. And they'd be scones because Noel obviously likes them. There'd be plenty of serviettes on his groin so he doesn't get some sort of cream and jam on his jeans. But they have changed, haven't they? of their days

are just boys, lads from Manchester. Oh no, they were always into the cream tea scene. Cream tea excessive.

I was the first thing they did after they signed to creation was they all went for a cream tea. I really know the next scene

was about bonehead having a cream tea somewhere. Right. Number three, this is a good one. I like how short

it is Johnny Depp coming out of next. What is he doing in next? What's he gone in to buy? I don't know. What does he one from in Next.

Yeah. Every time I'm in Next, I think, like, what is this shop for? It's what it is. It's very sensible stuff. Yeah. Like, if I did an office job and I needed to wear shirt and tie, I'd probably get it from next. It doesn't scream Johnny Depp, does it, to be honest? No, not at all.

Who I imagine is sort of who wears like a feather earring and unbuttoned things and skull. It's kind of thing that if you wanted to buy a sort of leather wallet for your debit cards. You get like a decent one from Next. And a candle and a belt. And a candle and a washbag, an unbranded washbag. I did once buy some pants from Next and they were great. Yeah. Something maybe used to, Ellis, to be a fully honest.

Yeah, yeah, yeah. I'll do that tomorrow. Sorry, I know that we've basically been doing an advert for free for next for the last two minutes, about all of the cool wallets you can buy from there. But I've just remembered sort of, you know, thinking about Noel Gallagher spilling a cream tea sort of scone on his lap. And Richard Ashcroft not knowing whether he was going to buy Malteseers or Rolos. I made Julian Casablancus of the strokes very boring. I went to watch them. I went to watch them at the Club before.

which is a tiny little indie venue in Cardiff. It's before their first album went massive. They just released the first single. They'd been all that insane positive press in the music press. They'd been on the front of the enemy. They'd been bumped up. And then a friend of mine said, I think this is going to be amazing.

And I walked down to Spillers Records in Cardiff. And Ashley, you worked by the counter to still there, runs the shop, said that's the last one. So I had the last ticket to watch the strokes. And I'd only heard the single. Wow.

And it was unreal. It was like watching the sex pistols at, you know, the free trade halls. Yeah, yeah, yeah. And they all got carried around. There was a stage of vision at the end, and they got carried around the venue on people's shoulders. Right. And what they did was they invited everyone,

because Tom used to go there with me, there's three floors to Club Ivorbach. It's a fantastic place. So the middle floor was their dressing room for the evening. So I said, everyone come down to the middle floor with all have a party. So all the punters had a party with the strokes. No way.

What? This is the coolest story I've ever heard of us. But I know it has a twist. So we all went down to the middle floor. We all met them and hung out with them. And I made a beeline for Julian Casabankas. Back in the days when he used to wear that silver sort of grey suit jacket with his jeans. Oh, yes.

Yeah, yeah, yeah. And he used to wear a very light pink coloured tie. He was always in that tie. He was always photographed in the tie. Very naughty's indie look. Very naughty's indie. Well, he created that indie look, really. Yeah.

And it was very similar to sort of suit jacket and tie my dad had in the 80s. Here we go. Oh, brilliant. I said he basically dressed like my father, who was a quantity surveyor. And he went, oh, thanks, man, was a quantity surveyor. And I told him, it was some punishing detail. Explain to him. exactly what a quantity surveyor does.

And he just sat there drinking beer and listened to me saying. That's so funny. So then you get the plans from the architect, obviously is the quantity surveyor's job to budget. So obviously you'll be in cooperation. You'll be in a lot of communication, maybe with the foreman on the site, and you'll be talking about sort of what sort of,

you know, you might be offering three or four different tenders and all this kind of thing. And I just explained to him my dad's job. And then I was like, anyway, got to go. I sort of think, why did I have to talk to him about that? I'd be fascinated to know if he remembers that. I would be absolutely staggered if he remembered that.

A man cornering in him a bar and talking to him about quantity surveillance. Because it's quite different to what he'd normally be experienced, which would be drink, drug and partying. That would stand out as something other to the normal, so maybe he would remember it. Well, I was stealing his beer and I didn't offer him any drugs. Unless you count anecdotes

about quantity surveyors as some sort of high. Well, or it's like a sort of, like it's like a downer. I was basically giving himself chat ket. Do you know what? Like Julian Casablanca's in that moment,

his life would have been so crazy. Like a musician breaking through very much of the moment. He's at the crest of a wave. And suddenly he finds himself in an after party, learning about quantity surveyors to the first. Really boring Welsh guy. What? You know, that probably would have been the first moment in years

in which he really felt like he's slowing down. Maybe he would have thought, maybe it's not all glamour. Maybe this is what being a rock star actually is. As Ellis is pitching the song, New York City Quantities, Berries to see if he thought when I'd do.

You know that song you'd think. What would be better it is? Well, hell, I love that. Yeah. That's why the record's called Is This It? Yeah. He'd done so well. He'd written all those great songs.

And he talked to me. Talk to me about quantisvang. And I was like, is this it? Is this it? Really? The first album was called Is This It? And then I talked about Quantis The second album should be called, yeah, it was.

It was just, it really was that. It was me in Cardiff. Right. Final email, Gareth. Thomas. Key War stories. Good evening, you lovely boys. Hearing the good war subject reappear as I was catching up again this weekend,

reminded me that I started writing some time ago about my grandfather's time in the war. Born in the tiny village of, now I'm not even going to attempt to pronounce this L, C-W-M-G-G-R-S. Oh, Kungos? Oh, there you are. In the Swansea valleys in 1923, he was obviously too young to enlist at the breakout of the war. He left school at 16 to work at the bank, but as soon as he turned 18, he applied to the RAF as a navigator

who immediately rejected him for being under height and underweight, but he never reached the dizzying height of five foot tall. He was quite crestfallen by this, so signed up to the only option open to him, the Home Guard. And as he worked for the bank, he was made treasurer, was given the rank of sergeant, and naturally survived the war unscayed. Although he does remember vividly watching from his vantage point in the valley,

Swansea Town burning during the three-night blitz. My grandparents had exactly the same memory. They could watch it. They were from further west in Cumbgars. Because Cumb Gors in the Swansea Valley, they lived in the Gwendoza Valley. But they could see Swansea burn during the three-night blitz from the top of the garden. Wow. Anyway, towards the end of the war, he was chatting with his commanding officer,

partly about his guilt at not being able to join his friends in the fighting. I think this is a real thing for a lot of troops and people who weren't able to fight that actually that huge guilt. He had this guilt of not being able to join his friends in the fighting and also that he'd never even shot a gun and the captain offered to put this right and took him up the mountains. My grandfather's first mistake was taking off his glasses. His second was closing his good eye.

He then shot his commanding officer in the head. Oh my God. Fortunately, the bullet ricocheted off his tin helmet and after much swearing they were still friends after coming back down the mountain. Thank you. Not a glamorous war, but a bloody funny story, if you ask me. However, he always held a very strong sense of survivor's guilt, as like many other communities at the time,

a very high percentage of the young boys from his tiny village, never came home. He still has a rejection paper from the RAF because, yes, he is still alive and well today. His eyesight is even worse, and his hearing is pretty poor, but he still lives independently. The weekend just gone, the whole family, 30 strong. I'm doing we getting tingles about this, including direct descendants and spouses gathered to celebrate his 103 birthday. And even he concedes if he'd been accepted to the R.A.F. It's very unlikely those present would ever have existed. That's so true.

In the attached photo from that party, he is holding his first great-great-grandson, born a couple of weeks earlier and named after him, Haribach. Haribach. What's even more remarkable, he remembers his own great-great-grandfather, who came to the village from Scotland looking for work, married a non-English speaker,

but still managed to have 12 children. So my grandfather knew, remembers people who were born in the 1820s and 2026. Wow. Love the pod. Keep up the great work, Gary. What an awesome email. He'd almost certainly be a Welsh speaker

if he's from Cumgors and was born in 1923. Yeah, I'm sure he is. Part of the Swansea Valley. Absolutely. It's very near where Gareth Edwards grew up, near sort of Guinecar, Gerdwin and if you're a football fan, sort of Ben Davis, the Spurs player, grew up in that sort of neck of the woods. My grandfather tried to join the RAF,

and his eyesight wasn't good enough. Oh, really? And he worked on a farm. But I think he had similar sort of guilt. because his eyesight was bad but it was a reserve occupation because he was a farmer and my other grandfather tried to sign up

and they rejected him and he was a bevan boy so he worked down that he worked in the pit for the duration of the war yeah I think it was very all the lads from my sort of paternal grandfather's side they all ended up as desert rats

so he had about a very different experience if they'd let him in but no he was working uh he was at the cool face 39 to 45. Isn't that amazing about remembering people who were born in the 1820s and knowing people from 2026? What a spread of time

to have connected into your life? I would love to me, Talley Bach. So there you are. Gareth, thank you very much. And please give our warm regards to your grandfather. That's an incredible email and amazing story.

Yes, Pemberth Abyss. That's amazing. If anyone listening has any incredible family stories like that they'd like to share with us, have you ever seen a rock star do something not cool? Have you ever made a rock star ball?

Have you ever had a terrible conversation with a celebrity? Perfect. Yes, great. I've not many, but that's such a good question. Well, we'll do a full episode on that one day, Elle. Oh, my God. I've just got a piece of this. And then do get in contact with the show,

and here is how you do just that. All right, you horrible look. Here's how you can stay in touch with the show. You can email us at hello, at ohwatertime.com and you can follow us on Instagram and Twitter at Oh, What a Time pod. Now clear off.

Thank you so much for sticking with this podcast. 200 episodes now. Lots of exciting stuff coming up. Thank you so much. There's loads of special episodes as well on our Patreon. If you want to get more, oh what a time, patron.com forward slash oh watertime. Otherwise, we'll be back.

next week with a more normal episode. We look forward to that. We'll see you soon. Thank you so much. Goodbye. Bye. Bye. Bye-bye. Oh, what a time is now on Patreon.

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