Wolf and Owl - Sleepovers, School Friends And Insecurities

Episode Date: September 28, 2026

What was going on at the boys' high school sleepovers?! In this episode of Wolf & Owl, Romesh and Tom take a trip back to their childhoods and reveal some of the strange, awkward, and occasionally traumatic experiences that came with high school friendships. From imbalanced friend dynamics to outright strange parents and school rumours, the guys cover it all. Tom reflects on how our past teenage selves can still make an appearance today after bumping into people from high school, and Romesh deals with some old guilt, hopefully fixed by an inspired guided role play from Tom. It's a week of reflections from Wolf & Owl. Don't miss it! A Ranga Bee Production in partnership with Platform Media. Chapters 00:00 Intro 01:55 Childhood sleepover memories 11:27 Rom’s unaged drinking story 12:40 Tom’s sexy sleepover rumour 16:28 A Blue Lagoon issue 19:38 Rom’s friend went missing (briefly) 28:28 Resorting back to being a kid 37:47 A high school throwback role play 42:46 Tom's Outro Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Hello and welcome to the Wolf and Al podcast. Yo, what's up? Welcome to another episode of the Wolf and Our podcast. We're delighted to have you. My name is Ramesh Ramesh to have you. Yes, my name is Ramesh Rangana. Nath. My name is Ramesh Rangor Nathan.

Everybody knows your name. My name is Ramesh Ramesh, Nathan. And my name is Tom Davis. And we, together, we are the wolf and the howl. How I Oh, you're just showing your little navel Yeah, that's nice A little bit of a tease

Yeah Yeah, what do you want Beak or yours Feathers or fur Sharp teeth or feet with claws Whatever's prefer Just kidding every word in his songs About two grown men

Dressed up as a bird and a dog How are you? Yeah, good Slightly, look, we've had a bit of a feast Before the show Let's just get it out in the open Big shout to Shan sort of said with some KFC

I had a vegan burger delicious it looked Tom and John and Zoe from the office had about three to four kilos of chicken between them with fries and all the sauces I only had a little splattering of fries splattering I've probably had a potato

and a half of fries I'd say that's more than a splattering that's a big old splat that a potato and a half of fries I think you've done yourself a disservice I think you had half a potato Do you get about half a potato? Yeah, about half a day.

How many fries did you have, John? I had loads. John loves eating. He's a real good eating. Yeah. He's got a good appetite. The lithest of the three of us, I said. You know, if you went around someone's house when you're a kid?

Yeah. And that would be the description of their parents would say, he's got a good appetite. Oh, you're not inviting John around, are you? He's got a great appetite. No, no. I'll have to go down and we'll have to do the weekery shop a couple of days early. Philip doesn't eat, but you're John, he's got a good appetite.

I'm greedy little fuck's coming around. What are you like as a kid going on people's houses? I used to go around to people's houses for a sleepover and then I'd get homesick and then ask to be picked up Oh well that is cute It's not surprising but it's cute It's a bit tragic isn't it What time would it be?

Like as it was getting towards bedtime I'd start to get a bit nervous and anxious about staying over So you were like the kid who'd go down and have a cuddle with Whoever was it's mum's house So if you make care of it Would I go and have a cuddle with my mate's mum? You know like because they give you a cuddle because you were scared?

No, they didn't give me a cuddle. Oh, okay. No. But you did you sit? Did you used to cuddle your mate's mums? No, no. If you got upset and there was some bullying going on you. If I walked in and saw Lisa giving one of the boys' mates a cuddle.

No, not cuddle, cuddle, but like the arm round, like, yeah. Are we watching EastEnders, Ron? Do you want to, oh, bless him, he doesn't want to be upstairs with the other boys. Yeah. I think I'd last till after the end of EastEnders before I wanted to go home. But what, so it would be like 10 o'clock. Yeah. nine o'clock when it's starting to people are starting to talk about bed time i start to get nervous

i've got to sleep at nine o'clock everyone's going i was going to bed then well no you know you sort of move to the bedroom yeah yeah yeah you pack up all your loomber yeah and then you take all your sort of blankets and all the rubber you're kissing your mate on the back of the neck gimp mask and all that so and the wax what was it that made you so terrified i don't know it was like a phase i went through where i just started to were you a bedware no what are you doing you're trying to collect Are you trying to collect little bits about? No, I wasn't with you? Yeah, not until I was at old, but yeah, yeah, I wet the bed up until probably I was about, I don't know, six.

I imagine for, what, a kid of your size, you'd have to replace the whole house. Yeah. No, it's, like your dad looking up at the lights. I was six for two at that time. He's pissed the bed again. He's pissing in his cage again. No, it's like so. Boom, stop pissing, you silly.

Oh! Give him another baby Ruth. He'll be right. So what was just a phase? So you'd just be scared. Yeah, and then it was obviously embarrassing because you, you're really anxious about staying. Yeah.

I would, I would just be honest about that and go, I don't, I don't. That's incredible for a boy at that age. Well, it was very difficult. No, but you're 13. 14. I wasn't 13.40. How were you? Like 9, 10. Okay.

So I'd asked the phone home. Yeah. And I'd say, is it possible to come and get me? And the friend... I'm not going to go in here, because I actually think it's kind of... One of my friends... It happened a couple of times with the same friend. Yeah.

Obviously, he's a little bit of a loss. Because the other thing is, I then go, next time I'm going to stay around. And then I'm all into... So you're a tease. No, so then the next time, I'm all enthusiastic. Rom, are you starting to feel funny about staying over? No, no, no.

I'm totally fine. Nine o'clock comes around. Can I feel my mum Please Yeah but what's sweet though You weren't perturbed You went back You're all I was trying to get

This is a thing I didn't I feel sorry for your friend Yeah He's done nothing wrong Yeah But then he's become your test Yeah So you're practicing kissing with him

A funny story about that friend Yeah Many years later Yeah I saw him Yeah On Michael McIntice TV show Oh that was him

That was him Dylan Wow Yeah. And you know what? He didn't even say that's the secret about you on the show. No, I would have,

it is great of him to not go, Ramesh used to cry when you have to stay around my house. Remember me? Yeah, that was, or he'd just go, funny memory. Rommas used to say to everyone

that he wanted to sleep, he was a bit of like, you know, a tease and he'd go, I'm going to definitely come to sleep. I'm going to come and stay at your house tonight. Well, we've got an idea of how you view children. That's how you imagine young boys. No, you as a young boy

I can imagine you believe it Oh cool No, that's all right You'd find me sexy as a young boy No that clears everything I thought it was a bit sinister and weird But well done mate Got egg on my face

Absolutely outmanoeuvred me there So you Did you then just go and sit on the sofa Oh did you stay at the bedroom Until your mum came No I'd Do that's the awkward bit

When someone made that phone call to go home. Well, because you know it's that thing of like... It's very hard to sit in the bedroom with everyone else. Yeah, it was... Then you're embarrassed because the anxiety vanishes because you know you're about to go home. It's a bit like when... Do you know when you're agonising over...

If you're doing a job, you really lie. Yeah. And then you're gonna... You want to call in sick because you're feeling ill. Yeah. And you have a few... If you're in a job that you feel conscientious, sometimes you don't give a fuck.

Like some jobs you just go and from not coming in. But some jobs, you'd feel really bad about it. When I was teaching, you know, I was ill, I'd be really having this internal debate, because you know the knock on effects about, of not, you know, so you're sort of thinking, can I go, shall I go and shall I not? And you get really anxious about it, and then you think,

I'm too ill, man, this is too bad. You phone up. The second you phone up, you start feeling better. You start immediately feel better because that anxiety's gone. Then you start feeling guilty about the fact that you've called in sick. Yeah. You know, there's times where I think if I didn't think it broke, like, it didn't

make me look like a weird, I'd phone about half an hour later and go, oh, actually, I'm coming in, I'm coming in now. What do you know? That's the feeling of like when you're, so you'd be really anxious, really anxious, really anxious, can I phone my mum? Yes. Mom, can you come and get me?

As soon as she's on her way, I feel so stupid and I should be able to stay around here. But I, you know, it's just a bit. And I stuck it out sometimes and just didn't sleep. So did that happen to you as well? Yeah, no, but sometimes I'd just stick it out just because I was too scared. That's what I mean about respecting what you're doing. I'd just stick it out.

So he'd be feeling horrible. He's anxious all night and feeling on edge all night. Yeah. I remember going around my friend's house when I was a kid and his mom and dad having the wildest, maddest argument I've ever heard two adults have. And who and his brother, I was sleeping on the floor. I don't remember us being friends as kids.

And he and his brother were fast asleep and I was on the floor between them. Oh my God, so they're asleep. Yeah, and I was laying there. And his mom and dad started having this shout. He's a horrible little kid. Why did he say it was like going to stay around? He's eating us how.

How could somebody eat a whole box of potato waffles? But they were really shatting and screaming. Do you have any recollection of what the argument was about? No, I mean, you know, you can just hear swearing and, you know, and like, just laying there thinking, I really want to call my mum. Just you lying there with your little beanie on. I really want to call home right now. Yeah.

there's no part of me that feels like comfortable enough to walk downstairs. I think it would be that that would, listen, I think that's a big move to have heard all of that. Hey, it's right if I call my mum? Yeah, look, um, sorry to what's wrong? Um, well, it's just that you're clearly dysfunctional. You're clearly insane. So I was going to call my mum and then as soon as they get in the car with my mum, I'd probably go to a phone box and call the police because what's happening? Yeah, I don't think my friends are safe here.

it was utterly terrible and still remember that and then the next day I was going down for breakfast and everything was seemingly fine and then walking scored my friend I was like

just didn't say anything about it but by the way it wasn't even a fun sleepover before that well yeah it's difficult my kids like love sleepovers I mean obviously Theo's not doing sleepovers

no staring his girlfriend's else but like Charlie Sleepover Charlie and Alex do sleepovers yeah and they love it like, and then Charlie every night

sends me a good night text, right? That's sweet. Like, even if he's in the house, he'll just go, good night, dad, love you. When he's doing it, when I was, when I was, when, when I was, when, when he's doing a sleepover, he'll remember to text me before he's about to go to sleep. If he's doing a sleepover, I get those texts

at three in the morning. Wow. Those kids are fucking, I don't know what they're up to. Oh, yeah, but I wake up the next day 340, good night, dad. Oh, bless you. I've got a big day to right, mate. Yeah, yeah. What he's an actor?

He's part. So I'll just text him back going, wait until you get home you little shit. Mr. President, my company formed me of the explosion on our rig.

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It's so strange, isn't it? You sort of forget about it. Kevin Bridges did an amazing routine about going around someone's house. Do you remember all that house rice? Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.

And then sleeping over. He did such a good routine, by the way, in this world of stand-up. That's such a good routine. No one else can ever do a bit about sleep going to sleep. Oh, so good. He sort of just completed.

Yeah, all right, mate. Fucking hell. Why don't you clean his ring when you do in his podcast? If you have one, I'd be there. Yeah, I bet you would. Okay, Cep, sorry, Bob, good, it's Tom. Just saying, mate, look, I know you said you'd get back to me about coming on the

pod, but like, just whenever you need me, mate. I know you haven't got a pod yet, Kev. Just to reiterate, like... You've got a guest here, brof, as soon as it happens. What I thought I might do, I know you haven't got a podcast. I might, I'm going to, the next voice note is going to be what I would do on your podcast if you had one. And I'm more than happy to sort of big you up as much as you need.

I can do quotes from some of your shows. That's how I sort of first met Ramesh was very much in this way. it's such a weird thing I always think about that when like when the boys have friends over you just think of it as like they're just in your house but they're entering a whole new

like there's all this different set of expectations the family does stuff differently like it's just a completely different thing and like something like sometimes actually you know when you go you go hang out of another couple and the way they speak to each other

sometimes you're surprised about you know it's like we all have we all fall into these individual sets of codes of conduct do you know what I mean that you kind of agree and then suddenly you're like what the fuck so then when you're a kid that's when it starts you go to someone's house

and you go shit this is how they do this year people have different dinners yeah yeah I remember like I used to go around to this kid's house he's like his Turkish origin kid and his mom was his mom obviously was Turkish and she I don't know if she fully understood

the ramifications of what she was doing but I used to go around there when we were eight or nine she'd let us drink beer really? Yeah I don't think I think he was just pulling a fast one and he'd go Oh can we get some like tenets

And then I'd go around then We'd have fish fingers and chips And be in a bit Jesus I remember there was a boy I was at school with And he was Nigerian And like

Remember how strict his mum was Please let this be relevant to the story No but I just remember going around And loving it I don't think the Turkish was relevant to the story was that? No, no, no, but I love going on. I don't think it was. I think I'm a racist. I love to go around his

house because I just love the vibe there. Yeah. Do you know this is the one of our mate's school, I'm going to be really careful at the school. There was like, what they call it, like a rumour that goes around? Gossip. No, not gossip. You know, like it's a, I can't remember the fucking, I'm too tired to think of it. No sleep this week.

Whisper of East Asian origin? Yeah. No, no, no, no, no, no. It's like, it's like, so, but basically, if I tell you, you'll get what it is, my brain's gone. I think maybe we went two years ago, but it's slowly on the decline. Like, people go, have you been around, so, and I really haven't working hard not to name him, have you, if you've been around Sanchez, he asked for a sleepover.

Yeah, it must have been hard doing that. His mum walks around in really sexy lingerie. And everyone was like, what? And it was, yeah, apparently, like, this one of my mates went, yeah, yeah, basically, on one cup it was three in the morning. And his mum was there, and she was there. just wearing sexy underwear. Where was his mum at the 3 in the morning?

In the living room and they're all sleeping and he said, we still had a lot. Sorry, sorry, sorry, hold him a second. So the kids are all asleep in the liver room and she's wonging around in sexy lingerie at 3am. This is, right, so this is what I'm saying about like what people call this sort of story. I can't fucking know.

Urban myth? Yes. Urban legend. Right, an urban legend, yeah. Right, so he's like, yeah. So he was whispered. It was a bit like Jay Cartwright, I guess, in the way from in between it she's like

I woke up and she's just like you know she's in her sexy lingerie and she's just walking around I went like this yeah do I know what am I doing a bit now or am I fucking really in on this story that's exactly well that's what we're all like

yeah yeah and um and she just like you know and she just left some little bits of midnight snacks some chocolate bars or stuff so she came in in her lingerie and dropped off some snacks Yeah. So that became a thing of like, oh, yeah, everyone started becoming friends with this guy to go around and have a sleepover at his house. And then about two or three other people went around and said like similar stories. You know, one that was that she made their cereal the next morning and she was in like sexy lingerie and high heels. High heels. Yeah, like, yeah, I think there's a bit of embellishment now.

Yeah, but when you see his mum at the school drop off, she was quite a meek sort of sweet woman. And I was, but then, yeah, you never know, dear. But no one got. Did you ever go around? I got invited around once. Why didn't you go around? You used to tell me that you were the biggest perver in the school. That was my brag. Oh, I'm Tom Davis, by the way. I'm an ex-calford.

I'm trying to be a stand-up. Right away, I was the biggest pervert in my school when I was 12. I know what you're thinking. Was I the biggest pervert in school at 12? Just a bit. That was disgusting. Yeah. But there was nothing like that when I went around.

But then the other boys were... I bet you were going, just going to bed, go, oh, it's such a show me, go bed, peckish. I reckon I want something about 3am. I'm quite open-minded. I'm not scary, Zay. Never called my mum at one of these before. But there was no. But nothing happened?

No, no. So then did you then go around telling people that... Yeah, I was like nothing happened. Yeah. But also, by the way, all the... this is going on behind his back. Yeah. Yeah.

I actually think that's a decent thing to do. Because it's the same boy whose dad used to put on, there's an old movie called Blue Lagoon. Do you remember it? Yeah, it was like a soft, soft erotica. So he used to put that on for people to watch when they went around. What the fuck you're talking about?

This is true. So they used to watch that. Hold on, hold on. He wouldn't put it on for the kids. Yeah, he put on them to have to sleep on. You'd go around there. So you'd have... And sorry, mate,

because this is sounding a bit fucking... Yes, it's true. This is sounding like two people working in cahoots. Did all the kids come out of there? Yeah, all the kids go out. Did any of them, like, licking their chops or anything?

You know what? It's like the dad puts on Blue Lagoon and then the mum at 3M is wandering around the living room in laundry. Yeah, but this is the one thing about the laundry thing. Yeah, God. It's still to... It was a very specific sort of lad that was going around.

I'm not 100% sure whether that happened to this. But then that could be me being better. Because it's like which kids downstairs. Oh, it's Tom Davis. Yeah. I think I'll stay in bed for that one. I just throw some biscuits down the stairs.

Yeah, it's dinner at the dog bow. He'll be all right. Guess we're putting on the whole blue lagoon, aren't we? No, we'll be right. No, actually, no. Let's put on a documentary. That's what's dumb a dumber. Put a sedative in the fucking pudding.

Stick on a couple of videos. I want that episode of the A team. I think you'll be all right. I want that animal out cold. Are you sure you want to call your mum? You must be feeling a bit of hosting. It made you feel a little bit too welcome. Should we just drop you back just in case?

Yeah, it's a bizarre thing. Yeah, well, that is mad. Yeah. But at loads of people, people were queuing up to us. And he was a really like, yeah, it's quite a sort of sad lad. but people are queuing up to stay at his house Jesus

Years later I went around there to watch the Mike Tyson fight Not what Mike Tyson fight Yeah what a call addendum to that story Well I'm still his mum didn't Yeah So his mum didn't what? No it was yeah Yeah, all right yeah

Did you stay over then? Yeah we all slept around there Oh that's nice But 12 of us Yeah How old are you then? How old are you been 16? 16 17 yeah Yeah

Was it the Tyson Bruno fight Yeah Yeah Because that's when Jim's Sky magazine had the little scorecard on the front. Frank Bruno had been like really talking that fight up, hadn't they? Yeah, yeah, yeah. I invited a load of mates around to my house then. Mum was wearing something slinky.

Chanty walking around a little phone. Chanty's a ring girl. Round number three. Just walking around the bench. No, I did have a load of mates round for that fine. Did you? They mostly live over. I don't think they did actually because they all live quite low, like walking.

distance from my house. You know, that was like three, four at a morning. Yeah. That's how we rolled. Wow. Don't you wish you could just hit skip on the worst parts of your life? You know the same way you can skip an ad. I get it. I'm Siyaya and I live in Ice Cove. I've made some questionable decisions that didn't end up the way I planned and today I'm still figuring it out. Somehow things usually get worse before they get better. Apparently that's how I roll. So bundle up, and come along for the bumpy ride. Stream a new episode of North of North Tuesdays on CBC Gem.

I suppose you're a couple of years. You'd have been 20, 21 at that. Fuck off. Fuck off, you little fucking piece of shit. I remember once I was at somebody's house. Yeah. At a kid's house, when I was a kid. And he wanted to go for a bike ride.

Yeah. So I went for a bike ride in the woods. And he was just being a bit of a knob, right? As in like, what he would do is, because I didn't know the way, he would keep riding off ahead and like for a joke leaving me sort of stranded and so then eventually I'd find him or whatever and then he kept doing it

right and he's just getting on my nerves and then at one point he was like there was just like two routes and one of them I think I remember this right and one of them was just like fucking swamp like it was awful and the other was like quite clear and I said she would just go up here

because like that's yeah and he goes no I want to go here and he started to make a point of it I want to go up here I think this is the better bike ride and go well I don't really want to get covered in crap so can we just go this way he goes no we're going this way and he rode off ahead

and like powered through to try and force the shit so I just got fucked off and I rode back to his house I was like fuck this man this guy's doing my head in because he'd gone off like for ages yeah

so I went back to his house and I thought he'd clock and then just come back to the house and then we could just squash it or whatever yeah anyway I was back at his house and his mum was like

oh where's where is he where's Nathan yeah where's Nathan and I just said oh oh I just said I was going to come back to get because I was thinking what the fuck do I say? Oh my God you covered your tracks like a murderer I can't say your son's a fucking helmet

so I just left him in the woods He wanted a guy further in the woods down a track that I didn't feel comfortable going down So I'll come back home Yeah, all right And then she goes oh wow Are you a 30 year old man in an 11 year old's body Yeah but that's what you obviously were

Yeah I wouldn't express it like that Sorry but unfortunately your son wasn't properly respecting the choices I was making on the bike ride that's better than coming back and throwing him under the bus I didn't throw him under the bus I thought he's going to come back in a bit well okay at that point I thought I was not like many stories going

anyway 45 minutes goes by he's not back wow so I think fuck the mum's going out of the moment not really she didn't give a shit not in that way she's pretty chilled about it I don't mean she didn't give a shit about a son Crocodile tears on a news conference type thing

no I think if he was missing she would genuinely be upset it's a fucking mad place to take this Okay, I'm just saying. Yeah. 45 minutes and no one's heard from him. How old are you? I must have been 11, 12?

45 minutes are you, destiny, a hour no one's heard from him. He's on his own in the woods. Yeah, I mean, it's daytime. And the woods are like quite close to his house. I've managed to find my, don't look at John for verification.

John's of, what do you think, John? Do you think that's a long time? An hour. Yeah. Four to five minutes. 45, I think you said. No, I'm just fucking with you here.

Forty five minutes. Or half, I don't, Listen, I was fucking 12. I don't remember. It might have been 10 minutes. You got no idea, have you? Six weeks used to feel like three millennia. I don't know.

I don't know. He was gone for a while. Okay. Well, it feels an hour as you're backing down. I'm not backing down, but it's like... You say that Charlie now went for missing out for an hour in the woods and his friends come back to the house and Charlie's not going to see me from him. Yeah, probably wasn't an hour.

Okay. That's what I'm saying. All right. But it's the friend coming back that makes it worrying, right? Yeah. If the friend comes back and he's like, I've come back for a drink and you're like, where's Nathan? No, no. But they're like, where's Nathan?

And you're like, oh, he's just, he's decided to go on a little bit further. Yeah. It's like fucking Oats in fucking Captain Scott going outside. I might be some time. You know, look at a watch guy. It's so impossible to predict what your points of reference are going to be. Is Nathan back yet? And you're like, no.

Anyway, after a bit, I think I've got to go get him. Okay. So I get back on the bike. Did you, by the way, make a big thing of this? No. Okay. So that looks like you run away twice. Romish

Where is he Nathan's not back Half drunk glass of Robinson's So what you think They might think I've murdered him And then ridden off Or you've had an argument

You pit him Because you sort of didn't know Your own strength What like Lenny from Mice and Merle Yeah So you go back looking for him So I go back looking for him Anyway

As I'm approaching the woods I hear intense sobbing Oh my God And I get to the woods And he's just going Ramesh Ramesh where are you and he thinks he's just lost me in the woods.

Wow. And then, oh my God, this is a horrible story. It gets worse. Because I didn't have the hearts. Like, he was fucking crying,

man. Oh, no. What do you think? Oh, no, what do you think? You went home and left him there.

It's crying in the woods on his own. Yeah, then I've come back. No, no. So you heard him crying and you didn't go to him. No, I did. I went to him.

But, so I get there. He's, sobbing, he's looking for me. He must have found out this truth afterwards. And then I go, where the hell have you been, man? Oh, my God. Oh, my God.

Oh, my God. And he's literally, what a good friend, by the way. Absolutely devastated. Yeah, really sad. And I've been at home. I've been at home. I'm sitting there watching the Thundercats with a glass of squash and some biscuits. And Mrs. Jackson's walk parading around for you.

I can do not have a spin of the room, would you? Wish you action? It's bad, isn't it? And also, he would have found out that wasn't the case later on. Yeah, you'd come back home and, you know. The friendship quickly dissolved pretty soon after that. Were you close? That was my first experience of somebody being a bit too thirsty in a friendship.

I'd love to say it was my last. So what happened was, is he kept wanting to hang out all the time. I'm being serious now, this is not a bit. he kept wanting to hang out all the time yeah and it started to get a little bit yeah did you ever have that with people like that not that way around yeah yeah yeah so

I had so he was like a bit full on yeah and so basically naturally rather than I didn't know that's what I was I didn't I'm not realizing as a kid that this he's being too full on that's why I'm being pushed I just think to say I don't want to hang out with it do you know what I mean like yeah you're feeling pushed away but you don't know

I don't have the understanding to think why that is. And then he starts to get more upset that I'm so suddenly kind of, he's getting a bit, like, a bit funny about the fact I'm not knocking about of him as much. And so he, then he came up to me one day and he said, my dad says that I should just give you a bit of space. And then, it's really, it really got quite, because he was obviously, from his point of view. You're like, by the way, we've said, like, so your aspiration. for him as a friend.

No, I don't think... Come on, you must be. I don't think, no. Someone who's been an underling in friendships. No, I'm an underling. I'm a better. I've been in situations where someone might have been a bit keen. Never to the point where someone's ever, ever felt like they're sobbing in the woods

because they can't find me or they've got to... Well, I think that was particularly... That was totally engineered by my lack of consideration. To go to your parents and the parents be like, you know, look, you love Robert, maybe just give them a bit of space. you, that is quite, that's telling of that. That's such a sweet,

look, by the way, I'm not throwing you're, you're fucking 12, do you what I mean? I don't, look, I was, you know,

whenever you start doing podcasts, you think I'm undoubtedly going to say something that will eventually get me cancelled. I did not think it would be a story from when I went on a bike ride

at 12 years old that would be my undoing. But here we are. No, but, so how did it end? How did this? I was a prick. I just stopped hanging out with him.

Is the honest truth? There's a couple of other things that happened. Like, when he'd come around to my house and we were going to the cinema and my brother didn't have anything to do and so Dyn would be going, can I, you know, he's like annoying little brother. Can I come? Can I come? And then mum would go, look, can you take him?

And then my mate would go, I would actually rather he didn't come with us. Okay. And even though I sort of didn't want Dinn to, you know, like it's not. No disrespect to Dyn. But like... But we're talking about 10-year-old, Diff. Yeah. And so even though I sort of didn't want Dinn to come

because I wanted to just... I still thought that was... That still bumped me that he would say that, do you know? I found that a bit... Like, I don't... I didn't get why he was doing that. So all of those little things were like...

So it wasn't like I didn't go... I didn't go, I don't want to hang out with you anymore. I just didn't... Not in a sexual way, but like, you know... It got in the... When we made up in the woods, it got a bit like that. I had a weird thing

We're on holiday this year. Go on. This is incredible. I tell a story about when I'm on a bike crowd at 12. Tom thinks what equivalent story do I have? This year? No, no, no, no. Hear the story.

Okay. Okay. In Portugal. Catherine's in a wheelchair. It's weird to snigger before you say that. No, because it was a weird situation. I'm being very punchy. I'm sorry about that.

You know why? You feel vulnerable. I do. Tom, do you know what? You are so fucking, you're so wrong. I've gone, I've got my story, right, look bad.

And now I'm fucking, yeah, yeah. And now what you're doing is doubling down on being. Yeah, horrible. Yeah. And that's how bullying starts, you know. Well, that's how it finished for that.

Yeah. Let's do a little reset. Huh? You didn't bully him, did you? Did you? Just quickly. Because you... You think I'm a bully, don't you?

I don't think you're a bully. But I think also, boys of that age, everyone's got a bully in them. And also, we're talking about high school. school in the 90s. Right?

So it's kill or be killed. Sure. And you and him have got his sweet little friendship. Yeah, all of a sudden everyone's like, hey, why aren't you hanging around with Nathan anymore? And you're like, oh yeah, we cried in the woods because I went missing. No, I didn't do that. Okay, good.

I didn't do that. I did not do that. That's good. All right, yeah, tell me this story. So anyway, we go into the hotel lobby and this force goes, oh, hey, Tom, big man, Tom. And I'm like, you know, someone's clocked to out. I look around and it's just, this guy, Stuart White,

Stuart White was like the coolest kid He joined her school late in a Sort of first school Primary school Totally cool for you to give the full name, is it? Yeah, because even now You know the thing of like And I was kind of a Nathan to his

Womish Right He was like, he joined her school I'd sort of I guess I was a sort of goofy kid I wasn't like a cool You know probably by some saying you had a coolness about you I didn't have a cool

When Stuart White joined the school Stuart White was everyone was like this guy's joining a school he had a coolness about him he's so confident good at football and for whatever reason Sexy? Yeah, good looking Yeah

picking all the girls even in three years above I'd like Stuart White's name rang Really? Yeah he was so fucking Three years above he's got that kind of that level of risz He wore a pinky ring Right yeah I think literally yeah He was loafers to score

He just had that five to him Crazy Anyway for whatever reason Stuart White out of nowhere. He's looking for friends to make new friends at school and he picks big stupid Tom Davis. We hit it off. Stuart White, I'm literally like,

I was invited to his house for a sleepover. I'm like, wow, do I mean? Went to his house, lovely new build. Anyhow. Stuart White was at school, went for most of the primary school. We start secondary school. He does, I think, a year and a half, two years in secondary school.

And then he moves to maybe some beads or somewhere. Goes to another second year. I'm devastated. Yeah, he's the course. Because that must have been your ticket to everybody respects it. Yeah. Yeah, the older sister who was really cool. Yeah.

He just had a vibe about it. Yeah, and I was quite happy very much in my life now. Very happy about being known as just Stuart White's friend. Sure. In the same way, I'm very happy to be known as Romer Shrank and Athens friend. As you would do for in a car accident where we both died. Yeah. So, and then Stuart White leaves out of nowhere, right?

Right. Right. Terrible for you? Yeah. My stock at school goes fucking down. All of a sudden, I'm like, oh shit. Like, you know, a bit like, I don't know, Nemo. I'm finding.

I've got, fuck, I've got nothing here. I'm floundered. That's another fish in them. Jesus Christ. So, yeah. Okay, mine would whisk off to shit white every now and again. What did he do? What did he go into the shit?

I see him in this hotel. And straight away, I've become 12-year-old Tom Davis. And he's so sweet. He was sound as a pound. I mean, he still just, I think, thinks my wife is in a wheelchair. But he doesn't quite realize that she just had quite a bad accident and was in one for the weekend. But then I'd see him around, and then he would, he would just sort of like come over and start chatting to me.

And, you know, I just literally, I don't know what it is. We've moved on. I'm relatively successful in my own life, in my own right. But being around Stuart White, I became like, I went back to that kid again. Yeah. Yeah. And my wife was like, you don't have to go and say hello to him every morning.

But I was like, it was like, I feel the same way sometimes we've read that. I think that is such a great. and he by the way was as low but what I'm saying about Stuart White he was a good guy Okay all right Tom Yeah he does yeah yeah Are you in touch of us

Do you exchange numbers? Yeah no yeah No on Facebook and we just yeah When like You know like there was There were people in I don't have you had this I think everyone had this

When about where there was like The hottest bloke in your year group The hottest girl or whatever And like there was a group There was an elite group Of which I was not obviously never even Well that sounds like you were a lot I'm not.

No, I wasn't. I wasn't. I wasn't. Anyway, I am, when you bump into those people now, they immediately switched. Immediately you're back in that dynamic.

It's so mad. But can I say that? Most of the time, those people weren't particularly nice. Yeah. There's a lot of it. I don't think that's their fault, actually. No, no, no,

because I think there's a certain stigma and there's a certain pressure being put on being the coolest. Yeah, and you've got to be like a, like you sort of think, you know, power corrupts adults, right? So if you're a kid and you've got like this status in your school, the idea that you would still be chill and all that is just pretty unlikely.

I remember when I did my Brighton last tour show. Yeah. And before, I don't know if I've talked about it, something about it's on there before. And what someone liked from my secondary school text me, who was not a bullet that they were called, they were never particularly nice to me. And then they text me so I'm at the show. You know, good luck.

I'm always proud to see you smashing it. There's nothing at all, like aggressive or anything in the text, but a part of me became terrified of them being in the audience. Yeah, yeah. Like, you know, there's whatever, how many people are out there. Yeah, but now suddenly you're back to bait up. I literally was fucking, yeah. I literally was out of the side.

And all I could think of it is that I was going to walk out, and it would just be them sitting there going, oh, well, you got there. Yeah. So this is what you're doing. Yeah. Yeah. It's so bizarre that that is a, that, is that a callback? Yeah. Oh, okay, yeah, you fucking fat walling. It's such a weird thing.

I bet, is it a bloke? Yeah. I bet his recollection of your dynamic is completely different to you. Yeah, of course. I bet he probably thinks you're just mates. Yeah. Do you know what I mean? But I think that that's the thing, isn't it?

But that's also a trend of what people, not to say just all bullies, but that's what trend, like people forget details. And we're all the culpable of that. Yeah, yeah. But like you say, you say, that's it. You sort of don't know. what your role is in another school. Do you know what I mean?

For all I know, there's like some kid that's like, every time they see me on something, they go, he was such a fucking, probably Nathan. Yeah, Nathan will sit there. Nathan and Go. Stuart Whiteau said to me, he went, you haven't changed in school. Did he say that?

And I just thought, sadly no. But that's a compliment, yeah. Because you were mates? Yeah, we were sweet. But in my head, I'm like, no. You're one of the nicest human beings in that. But I genuinely was like, no, I probably haven't changed.

enough but yeah man but he but that was one of the few times where I'm like that's a real positive yeah but that's also like I think you know where you're like when I look at the incident with someone like Nathan though that is the thing that that's the trickiest time because like you like you haven't got the weather all there to think about how to deal with a situation like that because what he's done is quite the whole thing with Dinesh yeah the whole thing with the bike yeah because that's a essentially what he's doing is an element of power play yeah in your relationship right yeah I just I just think it's a bit, I don't know, I found it a bit uncomfortable.

I'm very, I wasn't into that. What, the story that you told or the fact that happened? Well, I don't like the story. I don't know how I come across in that story. Yeah, but we've all done, we've all been. But it's part of the thing where every now and again, I think about something I did that was a bit dickish as a child. Yeah.

And then when you think about the nature versus nurture thing, I'd like to think that was a nice guy now. I try and be a nice person. Yeah, yeah, but we've all been a dick. Then you, part of you, do you ever think to yourself at my core? Maybe I'm horrible. No, because I think that I think, I think genuinely, I think it's only really psychopathic fucking horrible pieces of work

that don't look and go on a helmet or I've been a dickhead. We've all been a dickhead. We've all right. There's been times where I look back and go, fucking old. I could have been better there. Could have handled something myself better. I could have been nice or I could have been, all of us think that you're saying. But I think, I think there's people like you and me that,

that you sort of reflect on it and go, I'm going to try and be better than that. And then you've got people that it doesn't even register for and you just think you are just fucked. Like John. John's a real bully. Yeah. This has been a lot more emotional

than I thought this is Jerry. I actually think we walk the line between emotion and humour and everything in between. Yeah. Pretty poorly. What would you, if you could see Nathan now, right? Let's just pay one last thing out.

Yeah. If that's okay, right? This is a role. play? Yeah. Okay. Okay. How many characters? How many characters are? I'm only going to be Nathan, maybe his wife. Or husband. I bump into you now. Yeah, so where are we?

Coming out of a cinema? Coming out of cinema? We've been watching Marvel, some sort of one of your superhero films. Yeah, sure. Okay. I've never been able to whistle. It's one of the things that annoys me most about myself. No, I can't talk to him. Sorry. I can't believe I drank a whole big Coke and ate a whole big popcorn on my own. Oh, you're so...

Nathan. Oh, wow. It's Ramesh, do you? Yeah, I know, yeah. Hi. How you do, man? I've seen you for ages. Yeah, what you've been up to?

Well, I've seen you on TV. Bloody, oh, you've smashed it, mate. Well, I don't know. You're always funny. I told you on you in. Bloody absolute legend. How are you? Yeah, good.

It's good to you, man. You don't look any different, really. I'm obviously a bit bigger. well yeah I'm a little bit bigger yeah I lost a few more strands of hair

let me tell you yeah you're still holding to it quite a few out I'm bloody trying to get older you yeah

are you trying to get oh you're trying to get yeah yeah no back at school I was joking oh right right yeah

yeah I work for Ryman's do you what are you doing there why is that so funny Nathan I'm area

manager oh that's good man that's sick so you're starting off just Is this your wife? Yeah, yeah, yeah.

For her sins. No, she's beautiful and good. What's her name? Clarissa. Clarissa. Hi, Chris, I'm Ramesh, I say. We know who you are. Nathan says you and are you, are you best friends at school?

Yeah, we were actually, yeah. Yeah? He said about the time in the woods. Yeah, he said you were missing. Yeah, I was a bit of a prick back then. Sorry. No, he said you weren't missing. Huh?

No one could find you for an hour and everyone was worried about you. and then Nathan tracked you down using his scouting skills and found you. Yeah, it was pretty... It was pretty... It was pretty incredible, actually. Yeah. You're bloody lucky to have him. Yeah, well, if she ever goes missing, I know, I'll probably try and find her.

Yeah, well, let's hope she doesn't, right, Nathan? It's a weird thing to say. Yeah, I know. So, yeah, it's a bloody TV. I was such surprised. I always knew you were headed for the stars. Yeah. Could you remember that song that you still sing at school?

What was that? You did all rapping. Fuck off Nathan. You were a little... Yep. Now, what's the thing you're talking about? You used to do all the bloody rap stuff. You absolutely loved it.

I didn't do any, I don't remember that. Oh, maybe I'm just remembering because I'm a juror biography. Which I wasn't mentioned in, my lord. Anyway, man, I'm going to head off. But look, hit me up on Instagram or something. Really? Yeah, sure, sure. Because how things went down at the end of this.

How things went down? Friendship. I thought you probably didn't ever want to be friends with me again. Do you mean 36 years ago? Yeah. Well, we're not going to, you know, just hit me up, man. It'd be good to catch up or something. What, like hang out and stuff?

Yeah, sure. I've got, like, a kid who's at the same age as Charlie and my daughter, Vanessa. How old Charlie is? Because I've read your autobiography and stuff. And my daughter, Vanessa, is the same age as young Theo. So I haven't got a kid of Alex's age, but my nephew is about the same age. You don't have to bring a nephew. Don't worry about that.

Yeah, I was just saying it. Yeah. It's weird how we've got kids at the same age. It's almost like we're on the same, you know, sex. thing. Same sex thing. We have sex at the same time. At the same time.

Yeah, yeah. That's mad. So no, no, yeah. Yeah, anyway, hit me up on Instagram. So yeah, definitely. Yeah. I mean, I'll get your number. Any chance?

Pardon? You get your number? Get your number? Yeah, sure, man. Okay. It's 7-6. Yeah. 1-9-8.

Should I call it now? My battery's dead, unfortunately. Oh, I just try on your watch. Well, this is, it's not an hour of watch. Oh, wow. Look at that watch. you are doing well

we can see your house in Crawley from our flat you can see it from your flat yeah well your flat must be in one of the trees nearby then

no we can see your house centre of Crawley but if we look out oh right well anyway I've got to go man but it's lovely to see it oh yeah well I hit you up on Instagram

for sure definitely man right hey and don't worry about apologising you know I get it cool all right man take care

hey see around yeah Absolutely. See you Lisa. That's it. It was nice. Yeah, it was nice. Yeah, yeah.

I could bring yourself. I don't think I would stay in touch based on that interaction. I think it was a sweet thing, though. Yeah. Okay, here's your three for today, Tom. Okay, cool. I'm not quite emotional about that. Bike ride?

Bike ride. Laundre. And chicken. Hmm. Hmm. there are many ways to get to the destination I wonder what the mode of travel will be in which your

central star is you can get there by helicopter airplane by a car by riding a bike the bike truth is we're all looking for something different some of us

are looking for or some kind of resolve for past memories, things that have gone wrong. Things that went right. A sap on the back from an old friend to say, hey, buddy, you just killed it, you nailed it. A kiss from an ex or a handshake with a guy that maybe you could have been better to.

Sat down, plate of chicken, just to scoff back. Like Jesus and his disciples on that last supper. Hey, you've done okay, buddy. Thank you. I'm cracking on. Truth is, sometimes we never get that resolve. Sometimes we never get that finish line. Sometimes we're aimlessly just bumbling around looking for it. Like a young boy going to his best friend's house.

I don't see a little glimpse with his mum in lingerie. Some things are just a story. A story without an end we'll ever find. What do we keep doing? Reading another chapter or closing the book and saying, you know what? That's a tale for another day. Thank you.

Thank you so much for listening to. and watching the Wolf and Out podcast emails to Wolfoutpod.gitjimel.com. We will see you on the email episode. Peace out. Nathan, get in touch. Stuart. Keep it real.