That Gaby Roslin Podcast: Reasons To Be Joyful - Show n Tell with Andrew Hunter Murray

Episode Date: April 5, 2024

QI Elf and bestselling author, Andrew Hunter Murray, joins Gaby to show her the object that brings him joy. We've NEVER had one of these on the podcast before... Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

So here we have our extra nugget of joy, our show and tell. Lovely Andy, who has made me want to go back and read all my favourite books again, and I can't wait for your book to come out. April the 25th, say the title again, please. A beginner's guide to breaking and entering. Fabulous. But now you're going to share with us something that brings you joy. Yeah.

I have it in a canvas bag here. I'm, of all the people that have ever been on, I hope it's the most extraordinary thing ever. Oh, I'm sure it is. I don't think you'll have had one of these before. This is what you said before recording said. I don't think you've had one of these before. I hope not, right.

This is... I hope it's not a kangaroo. It's not a kangaroo. Or a pig. It's a kangaroo. If people didn't listen. Yeah, if they didn't listen to the... Please go back and...

Yes. Okay, right, I'm getting it out now. This is a Dr Nelson's improved steam inhaler. Fabulous. I love it. I love it, love it. Have you seen one of these before? I have.

Have you? I absolutely have. Yes. Fantastic. Nobody's brought it in and we've had loads of singers and broadcasters. Oh, so for people who don't know what this is, explain. It's a strange. All right, it looks like a bong, but it's not a bong.

It's a small China pot which has, it looks a bit like a weird shaped teapest. pot. Without a handle. Without a handle. It's got a spout out the side and it's got a opening at the top where there's a kind of strange rubber and glass mouthpiece. The whole thing looks like it's about 120 years old. It looks like it was made.

I love things that have survived beyond their own time. You know, I think, I think, you think, when was this? This was probably made about 10 or 15 years ago, but it looks like it's from the late 19th century. And what it is, it's for people who need to improve. their voice or their larynx or whatever and you pour in boiling water and then you breathe in through the mouthpiece and that's it. And it just warms up your vocal cords and your larynx. And I've brought it in because it's a kind of nostalgia thing for me because I used to do the

Edinburgh Fringe every year and I have a really pathetic voice. I lose my voice rapidly. Oh, I see. And if you're at the Edinburgh Fringe, often you stay up late shouting and drinking too much and that for some reason after a couple of weeks of that, your voice... Really? There's a surprise. So there's this, you know, you get kind of what they call fringe flu. And my friend Amy, who I've been in comedy groups with since I was about 19, said, you need, and Dr Nelson's improved inhaler. And I would sit at the kitchen table in our shared flats in Edinburgh in the shows that we were doing,

just breathing in this steam through this weird-looking device. And it just reminds me of that time. It just reminds me of, you know, being young, broke, at the fringe, having no voice left because of all the staying up late. and trying desperately to do something because you've got a show at 3pm and another one at 9pm and you're in trouble.

And so that's that. I love that you brought that in and I love that you shared such a personal story as well. And thank you. What a joy it is to spend time with you. Thank you so much. Thank you.