The Rising’s Growing Together Podcast - The End Of The World? Celebrating Spanish Culture & Bedroom Makeovers & Growing Vegetables! Ep14

Episode Date: May 12, 2025

This week on Growing Together, Billie & Charlotte shares real stories about the day the whole of Spain lost power all day due to the power outages and parenting projects that they got done at the same time. In this heartfelt episode, Billie & Charlotte opens up about the week’s adventures, including a Flamenco show, a Minecraft-themed room makeover, and managing a home during an unexpected power cut. They reflects on parenting responsibilities, creative ways to involve kids in home projects, and her growing interest in sustainability and self-sufficiency. If you enjoy these real-life chats, don’t forget to: LIKE this video COMMENT your favourite moment SUBSCRIBE for new episodes every Friday SHARE with a friend who’d love this too Follow us on Instagram: @therising1111 Watch more episodes:  @TheRising1111 

Welcome back to another episode, growing together. Welcome back. How have your week been? Good. Well, we've had, we've still had the holidays, haven't we? So last weekend, we were still in the kids east of holidays. So we did. We went camping again.

Yeah, so it's worth not packing stuff away. Yes, we did anyway now, to be fair. It's definitely packed away now. So after the summer. Yeah, till after summer. So, yeah, we went camping. That was lovely. we still had one of the days

you know what it's like with commitments to come back Lexi had rehearsals for flamenco yeah she's got a performance yeah she's got

Sevianas Sevianas in Pilar this week so what is Seviana Sevianas is I think it's like a it's a traditional flamenco dance

I think originated in Seville and then it's celebrated mostly I can't believe I actually know this so please say it I feel like this is very, but it's genuinely not. Actually, I think, I could be wrong, but it's all about confidence, isn't it? Yeah, safety.

Yeah, same confidence in the people who believe it. Yeah, and it's mostly celebrated at the fairs. I think it's like the Mayfares. Because with the horses, yeah, so they have, so it's usually a couple of weeks after Easter. So the Mayfares, the horses, the carriages, they have the little casetas, which are all like little tents set up with little bars made, and they do, tapas and obviously drinks and music and then there's flamenco dancing traditional saviana dancing guitars the boxes um so is that always on the first of may i don't think

it's always celebrated on the first of first because today well the first of may yeah is usually it's actually a holiday for the workers yeah yeah de lauraos yeah So the celebration of the Mayfair, I think it's just the Mayfair. I don't know if it's just fooled on this week. Yeah, it's just, I was just thinking because you said like the performance or the show or whatever it is, is it at 10 o'clock tonight. And it's like, so today's the bank holiday, but tomorrow is things back to normal. So it's like the kids are at school. So why do they not do it last night?

Yeah. Because today's that, yeah. It's so Spanish, isn't it, though? I feel like. Save it for the weekend. Yeah, but I feel like we're the only ones who have kind of. question the time for them it may be generally didn't eat dinner till that time do they yeah so for them it's not so late yeah i get it i don't know i get it i know that i think it's late i've

had to have lexie have obviously a siesta prepare for like 10 o'clock of orban i get that's like spanish typically dinner later and their kids generally stay up a bit later but to go to like a show like as an adult and as a kid at 10 o'clock it starts yeah there's no where you're home and in bed and asleep before 1 o'clock. Easy, because she's got, should the, like, 1 o'clock in the morning is late. Yeah, then she's got to get up. And she's at a digital course at school, actually, so she's there from 8 o'clock. What's that?

Just this digital course thing that was offered. Yeah, it was just offered to like so many students and she wanted to do it and she's got in. And it's like a month's course where she goes an hour before school and does like a digital course learning computers. Oh, that's cool. Yeah. 8 in the morning's not cool. Well, I don't. I don't, Mitch takes her because he does the gym anyway, so it works that well.

But she's fine getting up. Obviously, tomorrow is going to be a bit touching go. Yeah, of course. But the secondary school starts at 8 here, doesn't it? Yeah, it does. It's early. And 10 to 8 or 5 to 8, like, I don't know, that 10 minutes makes a difference. Yeah, yeah, yeah.

Yeah, yeah. I remember thinking, like, when I moved here, like, geez, that's early. Yeah. Yeah. And it's been, it's been, well, it is, it's commitments anyway. So it's leaving a lot coming up to, which I understand, because they have to rehearse and they have to, you know, they've got dress rehearsals and then they've got position rehearsals. Obviously, like general rehearsals and da, da, da, and then, and then we're preparing for this week then because we're going away again, saying going away again. We're taking the kids back to England to watch a football match.

And that is like an early birth. J. President. So that would be nice. We're going to London to watch West Ham, a football match. I've never been to one, so that would be exciting. Like, you know, like a... Yeah. One like that. Yeah, it's not just a trip back to England. Like, you're going to do something like together. Yeah, yeah. So that would be nice. Morgan's asked if he can go on a double-deck a bus. Bless him. Casey did the same thing. And we went back. I think it was like the January before last. And we went to London. Oh, we, I'd gotten tickets to Blippy. Yeah. Like.

of this might have been two years ago. No. Dog. No. You're thinking about Brum? Was it Brum? That old car show. That was from when we were younger.

Oh, it was blippy then. A drain? A train. What is it? A man. Oh, the man with the hat. Your kids are old and I'll let you off. That's so bad, in it.

Oh my God. That wasn't even cloned. This must have been probably more than two years ago, actually. It was the year before, it was the January before I got pregnant. So, yeah, we, Kaysen loved Blippy on TV, YouTube, whatever it is. And then I'd seen that he was performing in London in, like, a small theatre. So I booked us tickets. Rick actually ended up coming as well.

So we all went back to London for two nights. But yeah, we went to Blippy. What else did we do? Did we go to Frozen then? We might have even gone to Frozen on stage or it was either, frozen or we'd gone to elf, actually, because Rick was with us. Did you get on it? Yeah, we

did, yeah, because he wanted... Is it good? We went on the bus because we went near Buckingham Palace and stuff. So yeah, we we found a double-decker baths and then we went on the tube but we went on like loads of different types of things. We did this when Mason was very young. We went back to London and did all the typical touristy, you know, attractions of London and we did we did and we were lucky actually when we was at Buckingham Palace there was a helicopter

that had landed well imagining it like watching a helicopter come down no it wasn't this was me and Mitch holding on to Mason because it was that obviously strong oh yeah you forget about the wind yeah it was fair enough and literally we were holding on to Mason onto these railings

watching it like wow yeah wow a good memory but yeah we did all that that typical thing And it's funny how they want to go on like a party. Yeah, so yeah, Morgan did say he wants to do the double-decker bus. Again, I know it sounds stupid, but I'm imagining it how it was when I went with Mason. And although it wasn't so long ago, it was still like 15 years ago. Well, it is actually quite a time ago.

And a lot could have changed since then of how I remember it last as well. Do you know what I mean? So, yeah, I'm a bit apprehensive of that because obviously we're in a, you know what I'm like? You know what I'm like? You know what I'm like? I'm like, I'm going to have a comfort zone. We're in like a city, aren't we? This is not camping. So yeah, we've got that to come.

So I'm really excited. It was a bit of an arseate, to be fair, with the match because, you know, they say plan ahead. You know, do all that. So we did. And flights and all that. And then the match date changed. That's so annoying. So because of that, I had to then look for new flights because it didn't coincide with the match time and us leave in.

And you knew five flights? It was long. Well, four of them. because Mason's not coming into this one to be fair but it's still enough so that was long but anyway it's done and you know it's not going to ruin it

because we'll have a nice time but still it's there yeah very annoying so no we've got a lot to look forward to but at the same time it's a lot like it's nice but it's I feel like I'm not got time to just sort stuff out

and wash and you know and sort my house out and that kind of thing. Yeah, because you just got back from campus and then you're going. Yeah, it's like a, you know, like that sort of thing. And as much as I try and hold it back, like, oh, it's all right, you know, don't worry about it. It does my head in. Yeah. It drives me and it is hard to, when you just don't feel like you've got everything together and you just feel rushed.

And there's nothing worse than going away when you feel rushed and things aren't sort of. Well, we said that before, didn't we about how we like to tidy up before we go. Yeah. When you come back, you got enough to do it. But yeah, I just feel like I haven't had enough time with, you know, different holiday days, the kids off, us going away. And I don't want to take the fun out of that because we're going away and, you know what I mean? But yeah, as much as I have tried to do the, oh, there's more important things in life than, you know, that's clear and tied in. Yeah.

Of, in reality, I've got a, I've got to keep on, you know, or not just me, we all do it as a family, but we've got to keep on top of it because it just doesn't mean it. And that's the truth. Like, there is more important things than a time. tidy house but for our own sanity like for us to be okay and to relax

and be happy and go lucky whatever it is it's hard when the house is a mess and some like say it depends what mood I'm in because some days I'm like oh well

I can do with it for a day or two like whatever but then some days it's like I literally just want to explode the house is driving me mad exactly that and then I'm just going to one with everyone like that but I'm lucky enough to be fair that, and I think

you are really, that Mitch is the same. Yeah. Mitch can't sit still in a messy house kind of thing. You drive him insane too. So sometimes we have days where he's more doing stuff and I'm not and I am and then he's not and sometimes ditching we both get on it and just smash it. Yeah, it's true.

Like you say, if like, because I hear people moan about it all the time like their blokes don't help and it's like you just unless you're if you're a stay at home mum, that's a little bit different but then at the same time watching kids is a bloody full-time job as well so but if you're both working you're both looking after the kids you should both take like you know take the chores like

like you say it's not all well you're team same because even last night Liam mended up cooking and putting everything away doing the dishwasher and putting case into bed um so I definitely definitely did less last night. But then this morning, I got up and I cleaned the whole hat. So it's like it comes and goes. He's like a tag team thing as well as doing it as a joint thing or whatever. But yeah, it certainly helps having that team member to help it. You know, because it would be longer, if not, wouldn't it?

And sometimes it helps me to motivate me too. Yeah. You know what I mean? Because if I'm more or less, I can't really be bothered, but I know he's really getting into something. I'm like, you feel guilty? Sometimes I don't. Sometimes I'm like, oh, well, I'm not feeling it.

So he can get on with it. Or sometimes I'm like, right. Come on, Charlotte. Yeah, I'm the same. Sometimes I'm like, you know, I've had enough. You do it today. You've practiced on this week, haven't you? Yeah, we've got loads done this week.

So Kaysen's actually just been in London talking about London. Well, for a lot. Not. Just not fun of his holidays by himself. No, so obviously he's banging to Minecraft at the moment. It's been all he's talked about for probably six months or more. He's got the bag, the shoes, the clothes, the Lego, the everything. he's just obsessed

on the PlayStation and everything so I mean I like that they're into something and stuff and it's quite creative he builds all these different things he's got this village on his PlayStation that he's created

and it's like he's even built like like this a bit like a roller coaster and it goes all around his village and comes back and he's built a big chicken shop and a prison and a house

and yeah it reminds me of like do you remember when we used to have like roller coaster tycoon all this Yeah, it's literally like proper old stuff going like that. I mean, Liam can't stand it purely because of like it just looks like an 80s game. It's so blurry because of the blocks. Yeah, yeah.

Like, so he don't like the pixel-lating thing of it. Yeah. That's it. That's what it is. So it's like it's not going to change. But yeah, no, it is quite, it's good like for creative and stuff. And like I say, he's proper into the Lego sets. And he's doing like 10 age plus Lego sets all that stuff.

He showed me when I came here, didn't they? Yeah. I've clearly no idea when he goes, what's this? I was like, I don't know, duck. He was like, no, it's a chicken jacket. I know I've learned loads of words and all the different types of materials and ingots and iron pickaxes and all, yeah. Anyway, so they created this like Minecraft experience, but the first one we saw was in Texas. So obviously he's like, oh, I'd like to go Texas to go to.

Oh, I thought you meant you went to one. No, no, no, no, we didn't go to one where it was like. Me and Liam went to Arizona, but no, he'd seen that online that this, they've created an experience in Texas. Of course, we'll just pop over to Texas. So I was like, yeah, well, so maybe. And then my mum called me. Nanny, for the rest of you.

Yeah, a couple of weeks ago. I was like, I've just seen that they've opened one in London. So like, does he want to go? Can I take him? I was like, yeah. So she literally, the day she saw it, I think she booked the flights to go straight back to to England so. Brilliant. Yeah. So she messaged me dates

and we kind of lined up a little bit with with Easter and it was nice because my auntie and her daughter who's six months different to Kaysen that lives up in Barcelona she went back as well so they all went together. So yeah he went back to England with my mum for

three nights and they literally every time I spoke well I didn't even really speak to him because he didn't even really speak to him because he didn't want to talk to me but every time I was messaging her they were at the park. Oh yeah, because it's been nice over there Yeah, they've had nice weather

And they got like an Airbnb right next to a swing park Like a proper English big park You know, because we've got the weather And we have crap parks It's so bloody annoying But yeah, he was just constantly at the park Which was really nice And then they went to this

They actually went to Portsmouth as well So the day they got there They got the train down to Portsmouth They went to Sima Nana and Granddad They saw Rick and Connor My brother because he just bought his new house So they went and visited his new house. So, yeah, they went to Portsmouth, then they come back up to London,

went to the experience and stuff, which he said was really, really good. Yeah, and then while he was away, we done up his bedroom for him. So all Minecrafting. Yeah, there's like, of his Minecraft. Obviously, so when he come back. So, yeah, no, that was, it was really nice, actually. Like, I'd been, I'd had the idea to do it for his birthday, which isn't until August. And then when I knew he was going away for a couple of days,

I was like, now's the best time to. do it because I can't do it overnight while he's asleep like there's stuff that needs to be done and it would ruin the surprise because he's not probably not going to be away and I didn't know what was the plan around his birthday so I thought no I'll take advantage of him being away for a couple of days so I've been watching things for like weeks and putting things in like my baskets and stuff and I was really excited that's like proper up my street I like doing things like this so um yeah I've got um I've got him like a green rug that looks like a grass block yeah and then we're what else did we get up I'd had a couple like shells and things I'd just never put up and like

for Christmas I think I've got on a PlayStation controller like fluorescent light that we just never put up and stuff so I mean first and foremost I had to clear all the crap out of his room like all the toys that he don't play with so I did that like a week or two before he was clearing and then there was this was like empty every drawer like take me like two three days like cleared all his all the toys that he's just too old for now um so So, yeah, I did all that first, and then I was able to move things around, put things away properly in the right drawers. And then, so I got him Minecraft duvet, and then we put something on the wall to put all his toys on. I'd got him a new, it's actually a bookshelf, like one that got a lot, but so he can store all his Lego.

So when he builds them, he doesn't have to take them apart. So he's, it displays all his Minecraft Lego. That's a good idea. Yeah, I thought that was a good idea. Yeah, that is a good idea. rather than because they've got them like Calax units from Ikea with all the drawers. But it's like if he put something in there, it's just going to fall apart or smash. So yeah, I went for a bookshelf in his like little walking wardrobe.

And then I got him new bookshelves as were actual like the bookshelves because he, we had good ones in his bedroom. But in the walking wardrobe he had like the shelf ones that they just all fall off. So we did that, put up a mirror. But yeah, I made him because he's got like a walkway into his walking wardrobe. wardrobe um i had the idea because i'd seen it on pinterest uh to make it like the it's like a portal in the in this game it's in the nether portal so i got the like this party string that you get they go over that go the doorway string and then i made a sign uh it took me bloody age out to

cut all the card out cut all the left yeah that's good so obviously i bought the string though like the fluorescent purple string um but then yeah to buy like the black card the purple card and then I traced the letters and then had to cut it all out and put it together. It is good. It's good. No, I made that. I'm going to just a look at you. It is good. So he's got that over his doorway which looks really smart. And just the idea of it, you know, like, for him, like it's walking through the portal. Like, yeah, no, exactly. And then I've got the two torches that he always puts on when he builds things that go on the wall. I nearly, nearly paid 15, 20, quid per torch and then found the monsoon for like 899 each there you go I was like

perfect and they're great because he can like hook it off the wall and like walk with it and then it can hook it back on the wall that's good and then um a sword and a pick act which again we've put so he can hang it on the wall and take it off to play with it so yeah and then what else oh I bought um like wooden letters from the Chinese shop like they come all cut out and like the thick yeah they're already yeah yeah I know what you mean and then I hand painted like different shades of green blocks all of them. Did you paint that? I can't believe that she's actually done this. Yeah. Have you? Yeah. Every evening while he was away I'm sat like crafting putting all this together. That was really good. That is really good. It actually came out pretty

decent, I must have it. Yeah, it is good. Yeah. I didn't do that with my kids ball. I just bought him a sticker over graffiti. I was like, yeah, I'm going to get someone to graffiti on it. It took long enough on I'm just going to buy the sticker. So I just bought a graffiti sticker. Yeah, yeah, yeah. There's all things like that as well. Not like the you. My mum probably wishes I am because she's really graphic. Yeah, your mum's really good as stuff like. I am not. I am if I've got the stuff and sometimes things pay off and they come out good

but I have tried a few things and it's just flopped. So it is hit and miss and in my head I was going to get all the different pots of green paint and paint the creeper like the green head thing on the wall. That was my idea. But then when I was looking on Sheen I found like a material poster. So then I ended up just buying that which was. was so much better because even hand painting them little letters, you can't get everything perfectly straight.

So, yeah, I saved myself doing a massive job. That was good, yeah. So, yeah, doing all that and putting it all out. It looks really smart. And then we filmed his reaction when he came in. He was like, oh, my God. So it's great because at that age, they do still get really excited for stuff. Yeah, we've done a few, yeah, like makeovers.

You know what I mean? And they've really, really loved it. It's their space. Yeah, I used to love it. Yeah. I swear when I was younger, probably only a little bit older than Kaysen, because I actually vividly remember doing this a little bit in England. And obviously I moved to Spain at 11.

And I definitely did it when I was here. It's like every now and then I just move all my furniture around. I'm not so bad at that. My sister-in-law is a bit like you with that. Yeah. Every, like, change, every time I go around there, something's changed or moved or painted or decorated or whatever or whatever. I'm not so much.

You know, I've lived in my house like 12 years and I think I only put a frame on the wall like two weeks ago. I'm not that I'm, yeah, no, I'm not that bothered by it. You have done like the kids' rooms. Oh yeah, probably more than the house. The kids' rooms have been done multiple times to be fair. And it is nice. I do like, I do like doing it.

Yeah. And sometimes I like up, what's it called upcycling stuff? Yeah. You know what I mean? Of whether we've got something in the house. like a unit or whatever, you know, and you do something with it. And I think, oh, that was it.

Morgan had this shelf thing he had and he used the colours of what we'd painted on the wall and he wanted to do something on the shelf so he'd painted and then he'd like flip white, you know, like just his own little thing. But, you know, yeah, I think sometimes things like that where you've painted those things. It's a nice feeling too.

And when their reaction comes in and they just absolutely love it. Love it. Yeah. It's their space. Well, I did panic because the nether portal is the entrance to like, the underworld, the dark bit where the, like, the monsters are. Oh, well, you do you want to burn into.

What if, like, I'm just going to give him nightmares now because he thinks of like all the monsters on the other side of his wall. And I thought, shit, after I'd put it up, I was like, this could go bad. The other way, yeah. This could be bad, but luckily. He's going to be scared of it through. Literally, as he got home, I was thinking, oh, shit, that wasn't a good idea. But no, touch with it, it was all good.

He's happy. He's enjoying it. Yeah, but even, well, with the clear-out, We, I'm, whether it's clothes or toys or, which I try to keep on top of, but again, it's, they've just got so much. Never anything. I, I, we do car boot sales actually. We do you? Yeah, we really enjoy it.

Where do they do in there? They've got one, I think they've gone that way towards, like, Guademar way. So you can just rock up? Well, no, you can't just rock up. Luckily, we know someone who has like a pitch and can get a pitch, but I think it's usually, just to get like random pitches because these people who go like every week

they pay for like monthly for their little area do I mean? Right. I think you can if you pre-talk with someone. Do you know what I mean? It's a proper English thing in there. It is and that. I don't get wrong. There's nothing like that. It's nothing like England when you've got like bouncy castles and burger bands. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Oh yeah. Just that's the best.

But it's not like that. But yeah, no, we do. We do do do it because they just have so much stuff and we like to to and a lot of it is decent recycle isn't it in a way so a lot of it is decent so whatever they you can sell stuff it's better than just been in it yeah yeah I and we enjoy it the kids enjoy it yeah um yeah they actually really do enjoy it um and then come by and counting how much they've earned from their stuff yeah yeah because most of it is their stuff yeah yeah and then do they keep that well usually they'll keep some of it yeah

And then some of it will obviously go towards the buying them new stuff. Yeah. You know what I mean? Because that's the whole reason we've had the clear out. Yeah. You know what I mean? And then we need to kind of sort out what else. Not necessarily toys because they kind of get accumulated over time,

whether it's gifts and birthdays, general gifts, Christmas, that's all. I might have to get some more information about that then because I've done the clear out in my hallway. For probably the last three weeks since I cleared his room out, there's about seven bags of toys. I've already put three big bins worth of stuff away for Hayden to keep. But then it's like, I look in his room and it's really bare. And then I'm like, that's nice because things can be put away. But then I'm also thinking, have I, you know, when you're in their moods and you just want to clear it? Have I overly chucked too much stuff away?

So I'm like, yeah, so I'm like doubting myself a little bit. So I've left it there. I mean, he hasn't even gone over to it. So. Well, usually, they end up picking things out. And it's like, you haven't played with that for five years. What are you on about? I love this toy.

You're not throwing it out. You didn't even know it was in there. You've never asked for it. But luckily it's there. So I was just going to put it all on Facebook. I've actually took all the photos before I even put it in the back. I was going to say social. That is the next best thing.

I put a lot of my clothes. I never used vintage. Honestly, Bill. If I, I haven't got my phone. I've got my phone. But if I went on my app, and I'm not very good with it, to be fair. But what I've put on there. So basically, I give, like, my time a time limit.

So I'll put it on vinted. which I didn't realize only because my sister-in-law told me because she's got obviously younger kids and Vinted for toys she's bought like I don't know Spidey bits or whatever they are I didn't realise even that

like a big thing like that so even that could go on there somewhere like Vinted but yeah sorry I was going to say so yeah I usually kind of give my time try to give myself a time otherwise you do you end up with bags everywhere

do you know I mean and so I give my time of it going on there of what can go on there do you know I mean and then I'm like right we need to a car boot and try to smash it out and get rid of it

our kind of rule is we don't come back with anything. Yeah. It's gone. We're not putting anything back in the car I come home with. It is going. So what if it doesn't sell? I will sell it. Oh, right.

Do you know what I mean? It'll be at the end like a proper Dell boy like right? 50 cent. You know what I mean? Like literally it is gone. You get the deal today. Yeah. Because by the end, yeah.

And a lot of them know that. They're there every week. So they know by the end if they just wait. I don't care in a way because that's fun. We're only need to benefit and we will. I love. I love to clear out. like especially when like things just pile up and then you almost can't even put things away

because you just don't have the space anymore so it's like to clear loads of crap out the way but like you say at the moment I'm in between of clearing it deciding what to do with it um sometimes I'll give Liam a bag and he'll drop it a cherry shirt um or sometimes I'll just put it in a bag by our bins because we get the guys that drive around and there's one guy we always talk to so if I see his car I'm like oh got some stuff yeah yeah and and give him bits I don't want to throw a lot of it away because some of it is like it's just we don't want it anymore

it's not because it's crap obviously there's a lot of bits of toys and stuff so anything that's like broken or missing stuff then that will go in the bin but everything else I do try to to give yeah but like a lot of his stuff's like it's all poor patrol stuff so it's like yeah

I could actually sell that and get something for it so yeah that's the plan but the thing with the clear I was just thinking then with clearing out when you were saying about keeping stuff with Hayden And that was one thing I found quite hard when it came to some of the boys' things because things like wrestlers and Hot Wheels cars that I've had since Mason was tiny that we've kept through the years and added on to Mason growing up and Morgan grown up.

And then when it came to a time of, no, I don't want to play with them anymore, I don't want them. I was like, sorry what? Like obviously Morgan because by then I was obvious Mason didn't want to. to play with them. And I was like, you don't want to just keep them just in case, you know, like if Lexis playing Barbies, you might want to, you know, like get your rest. No, no. You're sure. You're like, you're sure you don't want to give them. And it's like, organs probably get into the age where like toys just get smaller and smaller and like they don't really have much toys anymore. It's all other stuff. So like their rooms become empty. So that was a hard thing to

actually get rid of them. You know what I mean? Because you know they're there, but then like you say, you've got to come to a point of clearing out, you know, and sometimes. that I can't keep just boxed. I've kept the cars because of my nephews to play and I think I might give

the wrestlers or the hells, you know, them kind of thing, you know what I mean? But that was hard. It's hard. That was hard.

Some of the sentimental stuff, yeah. Yeah. But it's like even the clothes. So it's like Kaysen's growing out of stuff and like you say, we kept some of like the more expensive stuff

or the stuff that he never really wore. So I've got bits that I'm getting back out now for Hayden. But Kaysen's now. like six, nearly seven, his age closer like seven to eight, if he's grown out of something, am I really going to keep that for the next four or five years

until Hayden grows into it? Asen and Morgan were six years. So what do you do? I think I give a box. You gave me a box of stuff. Loads of stuff. But that was after Morgan had already got older. Oh then I don't know. Maybe I'd kept it. I thought what's the point in this? Just do it. So, yeah, at the moment I've got a few bits of... Some stuff I've kept actually, I haven't

actually done it yet, but I have kept some stuff from all of them I haven't done it yet to make a blanket yeah so they've got a bad there back there and the intention yeah it was to

get a blanket made obviously it was really when they were younger to have the blanket but now it would just be more to fold up and kind of keep away in my memory it would be for you more than them yeah yeah yeah no I kept a few things for Kaysen and my nan made a pillow

so he's got a pillow he's got a pillow in his bedroom, two pillows in his bedroom, but one specifically with all bits of his clothes for when he was like a baby. Exactly like that. So, yeah, I've got a handful bits and bobs here and there for that I'm putting away, but I just don't see the point of keeping case and stuff now. And look, if it's something nice, then fair enough. But like, a lot of it's just like bits and bobs.

Cheap primate t-shirts that he's growing out of that have been washed 100 times. Sometimes there any point. Sort of like keeping it, but sometimes. the time you go to use it, the time you get them out, they're actually, you know what I mean? Yeah, they're banking. Yeah, exactly. So, yeah. No, I think, like I say, I'll just put away some bits.

But then it's also remembering where you've stored them, bringing them back out of the right age to the fit. It's like, it's actually hassle. Yeah, I've done that before. You know, like the change. I missed it. I'm down. It doesn't meet you. Exactly.

It's so annoying. But, yeah, so I feel better now. His room's all cleared out. And we managed to get all that done because of the. Blum and blackout we had. I know. Luckily, Liam had his power drill. The world was ending.

And he had nothing else to do. So I was like, get in that bedroom and put up. Get in that bedroom and get your drill out. Yeah. Get your battery's in and get your drill out. Exactly. So he put up like a hundred screws in his room doing all that stuff. But how weird was that?

That was, well, I'll tell you my experience. Yeah. Because obviously we've all got a competitive, like obviously our own little thing of how we kind of realize or came across it, wasn't it? So I was at work, obviously, bearing in mind my work, everything I work with uses electric. Everything. So it wasn't the fact that I was

I was treating a patient and it just went down. It wasn't even like that. I was kind of oblivious for a while. So I must have just finished treating a patient so I'm not using anything of electric if that makes sense. And I've kind of just speaking to her about after the treatment and come out of the room. And it was only coming

out of the room and looking into the reset. like that's when I'm more noticed it was dark because I'm on the front so it's quite a light natural light room and I was like oh it's dark and I said oh yeah the electric in the area's off well in Spain it's not you know it's not new that happens every now and then someone's electric flicks down or an area or house or whatever so I was all right okay as kind of that went on the next five minutes it came that it was all of Spain and I was like oh like okay and then A few minutes later, someone mentioned, oh, and it's some of Portugal as well. I was like, okay, this is a bit weird.

The whole whole of Spain was strange, but this is getting a bit weird. Well, they all said anyway, there was no, they don't have any cover on their phone, like signal or anything like that. I didn't have a phone. I forgot to take my phone to work. So literally, I've got nothing to even try. I mean, it came with anyone. Yeah.

So I was like, right, well, obviously can't work. So left work, went home. No one was at home when I didn't have any house keys. So now I'm really thinking, like, is this like a dream? Because I feel a little bit like, you know, on my own. Yeah, like really lost, you know. And so, yeah, so I couldn't, I could do know what to do. So I was like, right, I've got a few auction.

So let's go to a few different houses, see if I can find anyone. And on the way, I did end up, like, crossing Mitch, which was lucky. So we ended up meeting each other and going back home. Got home, got into my own house. And he then tells me that Lexi has gone with her auntie and her cousin's two, like a little theme park well my heart has just dropped you think the worst are the worst

don't you? So the point you found out she'd already gone for a while so for all you know they could have travelled there while the power was still on and it happened while I imagine she's there in upside down on the roller coaster I'm even imagining a roller coaster that isn't even there

you know like the highest of the highest of the world she's allowed up I'm thinking like it's not even possible really But again, she's stuck. The thing is, I'm imagining she's on her own. She's not going to even feel on her own, is she? So all these worst things that you can imagine.

Obviously, that was the worst thing for me was the no communication. You can't even reach, Ashley. So I couldn't, I couldn't communicate if anyone. We had ideas of obviously just flying up places. Like, we can't just be driving around like nutters, do I mean? Let's just stay in one place. I think that's the safest thing to do is stay in one play. Yeah.

Mitch had already seen Mason driving around. So we knew he was all right. Yeah, still working. I don't know how because it's just done with it. I don't know, I'm joking. You obviously had stuff to do. But he was still, obviously, had to do his stuff. He was okay.

So I was all right. Let's just stay in one place. So we kind of tried to relax, if you know what I mean, and just think, you know, there's nothing we can do, you know. And anyway, she was fine. Later on, she was, we, she was, they'd gone back home. You found, well, yeah, she found out that it happened as they got there. So that's lucky.

Having to got there, obviously, didn't, uh, auntie decided, obviously I'm not going to go in. Yeah. just go home. So she just went. She thought the same thing. Let's just go home. Yeah. Do I mean? So that was that. Everything was okay. Everyone was safe and actually wasn't stuck in the air. And then it was kind of a realization of, oh, we've been away. I haven't been shopping. We've got nothing to eat. Like, even if we had some in the fridge because it's off. You know, is it going to be okay? We don't actually have anything. So people freaks out a little bit. So when I got to, when we did go to the shop, it was a bit like, oh, mayhem.

Yeah, like there isn't anything really to buy. Do you know what I mean? Luckily for us, I think most people in Spain, I think, have a barbecue. Cold gas. We think, I don't know. So that was an option for us anyway. I know my in-laws didn't have the option. I think theirs was like ready-made salad wraps.

You know, like... Whoever doesn't eat chicken. Exactly that. But it was a little bit of a strange feeling of what's going on. Yeah. Like not having... For me, the worst thing was the signal at the phone. Other than that, it could have carried on for days.

You've got quite happy. I was just that communication, to be fair. I think once all my lot were home, I was better. It was my mum and dad. I think I was a little bit. I don't know why I was worried because what's going to happen? Really. Yeah.

But it's just that weird feeling of not being able to reach people. It is. It was a bit. Yeah. It was strange. What, like, because your work is obviously, so was it while you were working? Was it? Yeah.

Yeah. So I had meetings all morning And I had planned meetings all afternoon So in the middle of the day I took like an early lunch break Liam went out And because he had one job to do So I was at home with the baby

Because obviously Kaysen's in England So yeah It was just me and Hayden for a little bit And then we were watching TV And then I took him in the garden And then when I come back in the TV was off So I thought it just turned itself off Because it's got like a time

Yeah like an energy save So I'm pressing the pressing the person And I couldn't get the TV back on. I thought that's weird. Maybe the batteries died, so I'm using different remotes. And I'm like, God, the TV's bloody broke. I was like, TV didn't last long. We only got that like a year ago, whatever it was. So I'm thinking, oh shit, the TV's actually broke. So nothing else, like to say that all the blinds are up, the light is the middle of the day. So I didn't realize with anything else. And obviously, I'm with Hayden, who's at a really annoying age.

You can't, you can't even do anything else but be with him. So you can't even look away that I'm yeah literally like and having to chase chase him everywhere because he's like crawling like everywhere so yeah it took me ages like the TV I can get the TV on and then I wasn't looking on my phone because I was saying I was with the bathing so then what happened it was probably about another hour no not even that long probably maybe about half an hour and I went I come into this room to grab nappies and I flick the switch and the light didn't come on. And I was like, oh, the power was gone. This one TV network. So again, in Spain, electric going. Didn't even. It's not really a thing of, oh my good, my

electric's got. No. The electric's tripped. All right. And then I thought, normally it's when like you're plugging something in that house trips. It's not normally just goes off by itself. So I went and looked at the switchboard thing and none of the switches were down. So I was like, okay, it's weird. So I switched them all off, switched them all back on. It's like, this is weird. Can't get it back on. I was like, oh well. And then I tried to call Liam. And, and it wasn't ringing. I don't think at that point I realised I had no signal

I think I just thought maybe I haven't got credit or something and then oh then afterwards I realised I had no signal because I tried to call him on a normal call

and then I tried to call on like a Facebook call and it didn't work and then I could see that there was no signal so I was turning my phone on and off aeroplane mode and I don't think

I've like thought to myself why do I not have signal I think no because I think it maybe it's like a so process realisation for form wasn't it? it like and i thought well if i've got no electricity i've probably got no wi-fi so i didn't even click so anyway half an hour whatever it was uh it's about an hour in total Liam come back

through the door and he went um i went oh the electricity's gone and he went yeah and i've just come from mercia and all that it's all down there and i thought oh it's not just here it's not these streets it's as far as mercy and i thought oh god so um yeah sat there with nothing and then i was like right you know trying to refresh my phone trying to get get on my computer for work, couldn't, and then it was coming up to times I was having meetings and I was like, well, there's nothing I can do. And then I, and then we had, that was it. Then I was like, right, well, grab your, grab your drill out. You might as well, get in the room. So we were actually in Kaysen's room and we heard banging on the front door. So we've come out and it was

Amazon, obviously, because our doorbells I work. So luckily we heard him banging. And then Liam spoke to him and he said it was Spain and Portugal. Because at this point, from the minute we had no power we had no signal yeah because some people actually had signal for a little bit longer how are they even I didn't know this I didn't have we I had nothing yeah nothing and even when I went on to my WhatsApp to try and you know message just if someone got people like you say people going in and out yeah think sometimes I was at least I can just try to message my mom are you okay so you can message yeah thumbs up or whatever my WhatsApp needed updating well obviously I've got no clever to even download anything then I had I had nothing it was only the

the next day I could see people like in the work chat talking saying oh power's out so some people had signal but I literally had nothing so then we were like right okay now we know it's bigger than just here it's Portugal or else I thought that's really weird what's going on but I thought like say Spain Spain whatever and then this was all probably at about 12 o'clock this all happened and then like say we spent a couple of hours of Jason's bedroom sorting all that out and it got to about half five and I was like how don't normally cut this long right this is getting a bit extreme now like when's it coming back on um and obviously case is in englander or mama i can't even check that he's okay but i know he would

be okay and then um i said to him i was like if this is for the rest of the evening we've got to eat and we actually don't even have like torches or you've got the odd candle i think we had a lighter you've got to light on this wait obviously everything come on i'm just what i'm gonna do then so and the hayden was getting rest of so i was like do you know what i'm just going to shove them in the car, I'm just going to go to the Chinese shop. Not even because I was panicking, but purely just for something to do. Literally get in one out. Yeah, like you're crawling everywhere.

Just stick you in the car. So I went to the Chinese shop and they brought trolleys to the front of the till so that you weren't walking in the shop. Like, they brought trolleys of everything that people were going and asking for. And there was like, it was busy. People were buying coal. People were buying torches, candles. People kept coming and asking for radios. Like, it was busy.

busy. And I was like, I was only going to like, for something to do, not even really taking it that seriously. And then I was a bit like, oh shit, like people are panicking and people are like mass buying stuff. So I swung back past home and I said to Liam, I was like, maybe we should probably go shops and get some food. Maybe we should panic. Maybe we should panic. Because again, like, say I just assumed at some point it's going to come back on. We weren't really panicking. Yeah. I wasn't panicking. I wasn't panicking. Should we buy as much as everybody else? Yeah. But then I thought, we actually. actually don't have anything to eat and we've pretty much eaten all our crisp we've got

no snacks either so I was like I'll go to the shop like I say something to do went to the shop and again like I went past on the way back from the Chinese shop I saw Audi had close so I was like oh shit okay am I even going to be able to get stuff luckily I went to masimass in San Miguel and that was open and that still had lights they must have had generators and stuff so yeah I just wandered round and grabbed bits and I thought to myself actually Liam you're that fussy, apart from Kristen chocolate, there ain't nothing, there's nothing holes that you eat, like

he eats, obviously, ham sandwiches, but all the baguettes had gone, most of the bread had gone, so I just literally got snacks. There was nothing more that I could really have got. Luckily, Kaysen was in England because, again, he's fussy, and he probably would have had a meltdown without internet for that long.

Morgan was having a little bit withdrawers. Yeah, by the night. By the night time. I don't think, but it was, but he was like, Oh, where we're going to do? There's no telly. And then 10 minutes there is that, my belly hurts, my head hurts. Oh, does it?

Like I say, so I'd got back with the bits and I was like, apart from it being that a bit inconvenient, like I said, I wasn't that bothered until I was like, I actually can't make a hot bottle for the baby. Oh. Like when it first happened within an hour or two, I made a bottle because we've got them water machines. So there was still a little bit of water in the compartment.

So we managed to get one lukewarmish, one. out by the evening I can't do nothing and we used to have gas in the kitchen now we have a luncheon so I was like actually we give him a hot bottle yeah and if he's fussy which he probably is then what are you going to do yeah what are you going to do I mean I actually tried to give him one that evening but I think he'd had a little bit of actual food food and he'd been a bit he had a bit of a temperature actually on the Thursday and the Friday and he was a bit off and I think Teven and stuff so he didn't really want his bottle

or maybe he didn't want it because it was cold one of the two but either way he was happy enough to go to sleep so he went to sleep and then just after he went to bed then it all come back on yeah it was it did that made us laugh because we Lexi obviously was supposed to have rehearsals it wasn't on and as we were leaving my sister in not's house

they were, was like, right, we're going to the shop this and the other, and she was like, look, we've got chicken because we can't cook it, so do you want it? Do you know what I mean? I was like, well, we'll take that then. And I know she was really excited for this certain dinner of the chicken, do you know, and I'm taking that chicken because I can use it in my house, like

I'm almost on the barbecue ever. And as soon, I was like, we're going to get home and it's going to come back on, you know, and I'm going to really enjoy this chicken and it literally, it did. As soon as we got home, it came on and I'm like, oh, shall I run this chicken back? or not. Well, I, even though the electricity come back on at about eight, half eight,

whatever it was, I still didn't have very good signal on internet until the next day. It's because it was dropping it in and out. So I still wasn't able to do much. That was the same with that kids as well. They were like, is the internet? They couldn't quite get that the electric was back on. But I couldn't obviously really quite get. But obviously it's a big thing.

You know, the electric's on. But obviously nothing else is really good. going yet, do you know what I mean? Forget the kids, so I'm trying to put the TV on and I was like, oh no, you're the internet. Like, oh, I'll get by, oh no, no, I'm like, it's annoying. That was a funny thing. Mitch even said, this is when we need a DVD player or a tape player.

Yeah. You know what I mean? It literally, he was a bit, it was a bit of like a lesson from Mitch. A little bit of all these things because he's very cashies king and, you know, like, no, no to electric cars and, you know, like, you know, all these Xbox online games and stuff like that. Do you know what I mean? He's like, so what are you going to do now then, eh?

What are you all to do, you know? I have to play your offline game because there's no internet. You're going to have to use your cash because you can't. It was like, all right, all right. It's true. Like, like I say, I wasn't even panicking and we laughed it off. But if they decided to quadruple the price for electric, we'd be fucked. It was a bit of a realisation, wasn't it?

And like if everyone went and bought all the shit from the shops and this happened for like a week, what the fuck would we do? At some point, we would run out and we would. would starve. Yeah. So, yeah, it's a bit. It was a bit like that. I can't think about it too much because it does freak me out.

Yeah, but while I go up and down like this anyway, because of different things, I think I watched it before, I'm probably from COVID, you know, when they say about storing with jars and tins and that sort of thing. Yeah. But I'm such a, like, I don't know if it's this British thing. I'm such a meat, potato kind of salad-y. Well, we don't really have, like, countries, you know, like America's just have. I seem to just, yeah, like, yeah, I don't know.

I mean, it helped that I came back from camping, so I had, I had all my gas stuff. You know, I mean, if I needed it, but obviously we have the barbecue, but it was a bit of a realisation of how. Yeah. I feel like we should probably learn to do some things ourselves. But electric's a hard one, to be fair, because of...

It's impossible. You can't live without electric, but it did make me think, maybe we should have a solar panel. You know, that's the first thing that Mason said when I came for the door. You're all right. You got solar and I was like, you know what I mean? But he is right.

Do you want to install it? Our garden was great because all our garden is covered in solar lights. So our garden was lovely and bright and outside, yeah. No, it would have been, but it was the legch. It was back on by then. But no, the solar definitely would have. But it is. It's definitely a realisation for me of learning to live, like,

like less dependent, I suppose. I know, again, electric is a huge thing. That's a huge thing. That's a huge thing to say, not to depend on. The only people that survive is the Amish people that like make their own butter and everything. Yes. Like, because they actually know how to do stuff. And like some of the older generation might know how to do things.

But it's like we wouldn't even know how to wash our clothes. It's because we're in such a clean things. Digital world, I suppose, aren't we? Is that the word to use? Digital but also just like since the, what's it? the industrial revolution where everything's machine. Yeah, exactly.

And then electric and then digital. It's like we can't actually do anything for ourselves. Yeah. And then it comes to the... Because Liam was like, I was like, oh, we should probably get some chickens in the garden or so get some vegetables. So at least we've got something. And he went, yeah, I'd be all right.

I went, you tell him that you know how to de-feather and cut up a chicken? No, you don't. Like, you can cook, but you don't know how to go from that to that. That's like, that's another level. You'd grow the veg to keep the chickens. wouldn't there do anything with the chicken. Well, yeah, he wouldn't eat the vegetables to start with. And he wouldn't even have to, like, you could tell him you're going to chop a chicken's head off.

No. No. I wouldn't be able to eat meat. That would be, I just wouldn't be able to eat. I'd have to have the eggs and that's it. Yeah. Do I mean? Mitch is already on that anyway.

You know, he wants chickens. It's just finding a safe place to have them in my house. Not in my house. In my garden. Yeah. But, yeah, no, I'd have, I just, no, I couldn't, I couldn't do that. No. That's the thing that, I know that sounds so stupid, but that's where I'm.

I'm a little bit like, yeah, I eat me. But I don't want to know where it comes from. No, I just... It's so funny, isn't it? As a little big childish in a way, but I'm just like... No, no, I just like it like that. I don't... That's different.

There are two different things, aren't there? Yeah. But our friend had chickens and she couldn't eat chicken when she had the chickens, could she? Yeah. She does eat it now, though. I think so. Yeah, no, that's what I'm saying. She said that just having chickens as a pet.

Yeah. She couldn't then eat chickens. Well, we had chickens growing up, and they used to lay eggs. for us in my mum's house. But you use them as it. You didn't use them as chicken. I didn't kill them to eat the chicken. Yeah, but obviously in a world when we're talking like,

we're going cave girl a bit to be fair, aren't they? No, I think we should know a little bit. Like, we know nothing. Like, if it got to a point where we actually did have to start having our own stuff, we wouldn't even know where to begin. I couldn't grow a plant, let alone fucking fruit and vegetable. That's actually quite too. Like, I do actually feel like, even before this happened,

I did want to, like, get something small and stuff, you know, I agree. Experiment, not actually for a real thing to use and live off my own lap. Well, no, because, yeah, not as, we don't really have the thing here. But same as you, I'd like to do something. I think at the same time as, you think you've got her on there, that Stacey Solomon, she's doing a lot with that Sam's grow food or whatever. She's really informative of how to do stuff. And it does maybe, oh, I really want to do that and be educated on how to do it.

Yeah, I think for me it did start from that COVID time. You know what I mean? Not whatever I did. I have bought pots and I've bought seeds and I've got soil. So you've got everything and you've just not done it. No. Again, you know me. I think about it.

I'm the same though. I'd be in the shop. I'd buy it all. But then because I don't know what I'm doing to actually then go and do the learning and plan it all, that would take me. And now I'm like... That's it. I want to do it properly. So if I don't know it all, I just won't do it.

And now I'm like, I think it's too late in the year now. I think, I don't know. I think, you know what I mean? I'm like, it's like, yeah, I would love to do it, but I'm not. Maybe we should learn together. That could be, yeah. Can I help us? Let's learn together. Let's get some green fingers. Let's get the kids involved. Mama's fair grills. So that they could learn something and we can survive the apocalypse. Yeah, exactly. Exactly that. Who needs electric? Oh, God, but hopefully it didn't affect you all watching at home too much because I was thinking about hospitals and stuff like that. But that's what I imagine a lot of places have done. generated and stuff. So yeah, let's maybe learn some stuff about growing our own stuff. But thanks for watching again, guys, another week. And yeah, please do continue to like and subscribe. Thank you. The support means a lot. It does. And we'll see you again next week.

See you on next. Bye. Oli.