S12 EP24: Chantel Nash

22:59Two kids. Two kids. I do that. Two kids at that age. Yeah. I thought they were wrong. Yeah, but you can't swim. Exactly. It's nuts to me.

23:08Josh Widdicombe:I would take them up in a plane on my own. So would you take two and four-year-olds swimming? Yeah, I mean, if, like, Lou was there, it would be helpful if she came, or sometimes she'd come and she'd sit in the cafe and then I'd bring them back out to the centre. But I would happily go, if I had them for the day, I'd take them swimming. Wow, super dads. It's fun. I love the pool, and then that ties them out. Super dads. Mental to me. No, I'm a very weak swimmer anyway. Well, I think the issue you two got here is you can't swim properly. You can't swim. You can't swim properly. But no, I can't.

23:41But with the swimming, he was like, I'm going to teach them to swim. I'm their swimming coach. And, you know, Etta would learn to kind of swim on her tummy, underwater, roll over and breathe. Roll over and breathe. That's how we did it. And I was like, do you think they should have proper swimming lessons? Learn a stroke? And he was like, excuse you? I'm their coach. They can swim. How would you know? You'd never been in a pool. They could swim fine. and I was like, okay. I got really offended at the mention of swimming lessons.

24:05Josh Widdicombe:So is he quite a, I'm going to push my kids? In a way, he just has immense faith in them. He doesn't believe there's anything they can't do and it's not pushy in that regard but it's just like, here are all the things you could do or if they show any kind of mild interest in things. Like they were, Etel and Otis were, Etel was in boxing club from two and a half and Otis was in boxing from three. Like together, they spar. I bet me and Richie will get old. They spar. They spar, yeah. they went to a um a boxing gym in um chapelst mary and they it's a really good boxing gym um and they'd go and they let the kids get head guards you have mouth guards you know heads and stuff and let the kids spar um but where is there knockdowns when they're sparring yeah there were it's young for sparring two and a half that's far like well otis would that people would have to like um otis would have to attack and they'd have to block otis so nobody was able to punch him it was more like but where etta was six um she'd do the proper sparring and i remember she went daddy i want to do the spa and i want to do it i want to do it it's like you sure so you're going to get punched in the face because in this boxing gym there were lots of um young kids from the traveling community yeah which great who were like but they're brilliant that's part of their culture is the fight on it right and i said you sure you're going to get punched in the face yeah i want to do it so went on like amazon you have to bring your own mouth guard so um gum shield sorry so she uh got her a gum shield got everything hey gonna get in the get in the ring she did and she was just chasing her around basically and then she got one swift doomp to the face and then she kind of stepped back and she was like went back in ringing the bell saw it through the end and then it finished the kind of little round was like you know 30 second round were you watching well yeah i was like oh my god god that must have been 10 and um she the bell went and she came over to the side i'm like you okay so she was like yeah i'm okay but i cried Daddy says, push through the pain barrier.

25:58Oh, God. No. Bless her. But she loved it. And so the kids were like. The other kid there with a vest on, bare knuckle. Yeah, bare knuckle. Absolutely loving it. It's amazing. Yeah. And then at home, they're like, can we spa? And they get their gloves out and they have a little sparring match. Not because we're like, fight each other. But they're like, can we please have a go? And you're like, yeah, right. We only hit when we're in boxing and it's controlled. Yeah, and you learn. You learn all your things and she knows her uppercut and her jab and her defences and she's, you know, both footed. She can, it's like, it's really good.

26:30Are you tempted to learn to swim now that they're swimming? So for holidays and stuff like that? I mean, I like the out, Rob. I'm not going to lie. Because you've already got the out. I've already got the out. I can't swim. I would if I could, but I don't swim. I'll drown. Do you want me to drown? I did try swimming lessons. My little sister's an amazing swimmer. And I tried to learn and we would go every Sunday. It's like a little thing to bond. and it got to a point where she's like, some people aren't built to float. She was like, you can't do it. It just doesn't work. And I was like, I'm okay with that.

27:00You know, I don't intend to ever be on a cruise ship.

27:03Josh Widdicombe:No. I've seen your stand-up. I think it's only going one way. Thank you. Thank you, Josh. What was your question about stand-up? Sorry, I interrupted you about swimming. Oh, you started stand-up really soon after having a kid, right? I did, yes. So I started stand-up in 2022 and my son was born in 2021. want so I started stand up um because of um postpartum depression effectively yeah never diagnosed but you know when you're feeling down and you know you know you know when you're not 100 percent um and it was after obviously covid and I've been on furlough and you know just been at home what was your job at that time at that time I was um an events producer at the royal opera house oh wow so a really amazing job and obviously very creative and in the arts so it's you know it was a nice job it was a really nice job and then obviously because of everything stopped and was on furlough so i wasn't working and i had you know etta who was 18 months at the time so i was kind of just at home potty training a child and being very much um a parent and actually listening to this podcast when it first started was like it's so trippy that i'm here actually if i really really deep it's really really trippy because this has been going longer than you as a stand-up yeah you started in 20 2022 yeah so it's very much like 2020 lockdown Yeah, you started in 2020 lockdown.

28:17So basically, yeah, so I was on furlough, decided to have another kid, because we were like, why not? There's nothing better to do. Still get the mat, leave, it's all right. And so we had another one, and then it got to like, he was born in the October, and it got to the January, and Richie was like, oh, do you know what? You've been doing loads in the house, like, because you've been off. I'm going to, you know, help out and do some stuff. And him, that change of like him trying to help threw me off so much, because effectively what I'd done is I'd put so much emphasis on my role in the home and being a mum.

28:48You was the main default parent doing everything. Yeah, him helping, I was like, I've lost my purpose. I don't know what I'm doing. And I don't have a job. I don't even do the washing anymore. What am I here for? I've been looking after the kids now because Richie's doing more of it. Yeah, like, what am I even here for? And I had a complete, like, just breakdown, basically. And I said to him, I'm really not okay. I don't know what to do. and he was like okay well what's your what's your wildest dream and somewhere in the back of my mind I never really thought about this as a career of a job he was hoping swimming wasn't he he was hoping swimming lifeguard was his hope I was like to be a stand up do stand up comedy to be a stand up comedian he was like okay well go and do that then that's your challenge and so because I'm like I've said something now I've got to do it I've decided I should finish I went and I found a comedy course that you can do booked it didn't tell anyone I was doing it other than Rich it was like every Sunday for six weeks in like the in about eight years Easter time and then I did it and then at the end you have like a sharing a showcase thing with you know friends and family come it was a backyard comedy club in Bethnal Green I didn't invite any of my family none of my friends and nobody knew I was doing this it's just for me and I went and I did it and it was really good she wasn't there either just no one she wasn't there nobody was totally your totally my thing and I went and I really enjoyed it and my comedy teacher at the time Mr C um before I went on he was like before you go on he was saying nice things to everybody caveat this he was like you have to do this you don't have a choice you're too good to not so just enjoy this but you've got to carry on which is a nice thing to hear he might have been said it to everyone to be honest but it was nice to hear but you walk out shoulders up and then he goes now you you've got no choice you've got no choice you have to do this yeah um and so i was oh i really enjoyed it that was fun i'd like got some laughs it was it was good it's a safe environment and so then i did um a few okay this would be my thing I'll do one like open mic gig a week just to keep my finger in.

30:42Like doing Pilates. Yeah like doing Pilates exactly and so I did that and I just had random gigs on you know comedy Facebook groups looking for stuff open mic things.

30:51Josh Widdicombe:Did you enjoy those gigs more because you weren't thinking of it like I imagine when we both started quite swiftly we were like right this is what I'm gonna do and we're doing loads of gigs it wasn't like a whole we weren't let's do one a week like Pilates no because I had nothing else in my life I think well if you had so many responsibilities and a job and a family it was an escape for you yeah there wasn't there wasn't a hunger to be a stand-up comedian it was just like oh this is the thing that makes me happy and I think I'm okay at it I'm going to just do this thing that makes me happy I think I can do um and so I did that and then that was it like the June and then in the September I was okay well I'll be doing like the kind of pub gigs how do you get on a proper club like how do you get a spot and the one of the ways to get a spot at a proper club is to do a gong show or like a comedy you know competition thing where you go up and you've got five minutes if you make it the end of the five minutes without somebody waving a dildo in your face or literally smashing a gong you um well the audience members get given cards so if three go up you have to get chucked off the stage that dildo on a real example yeah that was a real one at the time i can't remember what it's called so there's everyone lifted a dildo if they wanted you to leave yeah the audience got given massive dildos and they're just kind of waving yeah lou does that sometimes i have to leave the bedroom it's my time now rob this is my pilates three men holding cards in the corner you can leave time to pull in the big guns time for phone for me to enjoy it yeah this is for me now time to get the job done

32:22um yeah so i did i applied for one of those um and i did okay but the thing is with with me Richie, my partner, works nights so I have to be home by certain times so we can go to work. So what are his hours? He works, he leaves for work at half ten and he gets home at about six in the morning. So it's actually quite difficult to do stand-up comedy with a man who works nights because it's quite, you know, a late-night profession comedy. I think you're the first comedian I've met whose partner's got less socially acceptable hours than a comedian.

32:54Josh Widdicombe:How does he work the weekends? Does he re-adapt? kind of barely it's killing him Josh if I'm going to be honest it is but it's not easy how long has he been doing it for? he's doing shift work so we do like five days on nights five days off five days on days five days off switch it and then he went to four nights I think about three years ago and so he yeah he leaves work at half ten gets back at six and then his working week is Sunday night to Thursday night and he's off Friday night Saturday night so that's his week that's an intense Brutal, isn't it? And so because he works nights, he does school pick-up, taking the kids to clubs, doing dinners, getting them ready for bed.

33:35Because I get home from my regular job at about seven. And so I'll maybe do bedtime or whatever. He's desperate for the youngest to go school full-time, isn't he? Yeah. So he'll get a couple of hours, Kip. Well, he's already at school full-time. Oh, so he's in a nursery full-time. He's in a nursery full-time as well. Oh, good, that's good. So he gets his sleep.

33:50Josh Widdicombe:So when does Richie sleep? So he sleeps. He gets in at six. He'd normally stay up for a little bit to kind of like wind his brain down. And then he'll get into bed. And then I'm up out of bed at about quarter to seven-ish to get the kids ready for school. So everyone's like, I get dressed in the dark every day because he's asleep. Yeah. And then, yeah, he sleeps. I can tell. Am I right? Wow. Come on. Come on. This? Come on. What's wrong, Patricia? Yeah, I do like that. I do like that. I appreciate it. Somebody made this for me. Is that a couple? Is that bouquet? Yeah. High Simph bouquet t-shirt.

34:24She's my spirit guide. Yeah, so that's when he sleeps. He sleeps from about... And you drop the kids off. I drop off. And then you go to work. Then I go to work. And then he gets them from school. Yeah. So he's got... He sleeps, has a bit of food, whatever, then gets them, clubs, whatever, puts them to bed. Yeah. Then he goes to work. Then he goes to work, yeah. Brutal, that, isn't it? It is brutal. It's put your last leg schedule into perspective, hasn't it?

34:45Josh Widdicombe:Well, I'm always... You know, I'm a no-buffer life, but I take it, Rob. I don't tend to complain. He doesn't wang on about how tired he is. No, you're not at all. You're not a master in any way, Josh. Not at all. We're tied for people with cushy jobs. We're not real people working nights. Working nights on the... This episode is brought to you by Peloton. Break through the busiest time of year with the brand new Peloton Cross Training Tread Plus. Powered by Peloton IQ. With real-time guidance and endless ways to move, you can personalize your workouts and train with confidence. Helping you reach your goals in less time.

35:16Josh Widdicombe:Let yourself run, lift, sculpt, push and go. Explore the new Peloton Cross-Training Tread Plus at OnePeloton.com. New Maybelline Serum Lipstick. Maybe it's not just lipstick. It's lush color with endless possibilities. It's serum infused with a hyaluronic acid and oil blend for eight-hour plumping moisture in tone-enhancing shades. It's more than the shade. It's who's wearing it. you new maybelline serum lipstick maybe it's maybelline tracks and so i did this gong show it finished really late i did well i got through it and then they're like oh you've won a bottle of prosecco and i was like okay great thanks i grabbed it and then ran off home because i was late and then they put a clip of that show on socials and it went kind of viral yeah um at christmas time remember being at my mother-in-law's my sister text me i was like you're going viral and i was like i'm glazing a gammon i don't know what you're all about what does that mean um and And it did very well.

36:18And then off the back of that, I got invited to do like a five by five comedy thing.

36:24Josh Widdicombe:What's five by five? So it's like five new comedians get five minutes each. But I had no idea what that was really or what that meant. I was like, okay, sure, I'll come and do this gig. And so I went and I did it and that went well. And then they messaged me and asked me, oh, we'd love to come and see you again. And I was like, weird. I was like, okay, where are you gigging? Losers? Yeah. Have you not got lives? Why me? and so I was like I'm gigging at this you know open mic in a pub wherever it was and then two people came down and they're like we'd love to have a coffee with you and I was like yeah I can do you're going to have to meet me at my office though and they're like yep we'll come and so they came to the opera house and I had a coffee with them during my working day and you had no idea what was going on I had a clue by this point I'd kind of done a Google but I was like I didn't really know like I was like okay but what does this mean like you're not like are you are you going to sign me well because most people We'll search for agents and tap them up and ask for it.

37:18But they're hunting you down. Yeah. And I was like, okay, are you going to sign me? And they're like, well, not officially yet. We're like, we want to give you some work and help you out and develop your career. And I was like, okay, cool. And I remember actually listening to this podcast, obviously mention of flow is, you know, the elusive flow. Josh's therapist slash agent. Therapist slash agent. and so these two people from we're also bringing our colleague Flo and I was like not the Flo

37:46Josh Widdicombe:oh could you no by that point I'd done a bit of googling and I was so and Flo has this energy of like she's like a mob boss but in like the nicest way yeah she's got a very calm very calm but like boss energy and she came along and I was like hello do you want to sign me or what and they're like whatever we'll give you some work and then oh long story short later that year they signed me proper which was insane so it's an unconventional route into comedy and not by any means the standard and I'm very very fortunate to have done that You're in this mad position though because that's so soon to be all these things you're doing is amazing you're so talented and it's well deserved but it must be quite overwhelming and juggling it with real life Because it's a weird time in your life as well like this is the time in your life where you're like okay these 10 years are the most intense 10 years because how old are you do you mind me asking how old are you yeah I'm 33 33 I'm so young yeah oh thank you well no he's young he's young to have like a 7 year old you know most people are having kids a little bit later and stuff yeah it's true you know I was 29 when we first had kids and that especially in comedy yeah they're all like they're all basically nutcases and have a kid at about 45 no offence I'm joking Josh is one of the normal ones which is a worry it's just about concerning concerning no yeah Yeah, it's true.

39:06It's a strange time. And so ultimately what I'm trying to do is be a comedian and do that stuff whilst also learning how to be a comedian, actually. Yeah. What a lot of people experience you gain for five years, 10 years doing it, working the circuit. I've kind of fast forwarded to a point and now I'm kind of not playing catch up because the material is there and whatever else, but in terms of my confidence, that is, I'm still like, you know, as a woman, it's a black woman, especially the imposter syndrome is so real of course and it's like they're gonna suss me out any minute yeah they're

39:38Josh Widdicombe:gonna work out that i'm not supposed to be we have that as a white man i'm joking so difficult for you for anyone listening i didn't agree to what josh said then i shook my head i went no no josh a joke's a joke and so it's it's quite interesting because you've got that situation with your kids where I really had no dependents, nothing to lose. I was kind of single. I had no kids. I had a job I didn't really. And no bills properly apart from just a flat share. No bills. I was renting a kind of, like, in a flat share. Yeah, so it was much easier. I remember when I started, people who had proper jobs, it was a huge disadvantage.

40:26Yeah. And also you've got a cool job that you enjoy, I imagine, compared to doing a job that is not of interest at all. You're working with theatres already and museums and stuff. Yeah, it would be easier if I had a job that I hated, but I have a job and a career, effectively, that's actually very nice. So I work at the minute at the London Museum. It opens in the autumn, come down. Was it in the museum? Yeah, it was formerly the Museum of London. It closed. They're moving to Smithfield Meat Market. And it's going to be the Museum of London? It's going to be the London Museum. They've had a rebrand.

40:56The London Museum. And just stuff about London. Stuff about London. It's a, yeah. Oh, my God. Who is that? Oh, that's said now. Is that the word? No, that's Richie. He calls me about seven times a day. Does he? Get him up. Get him to say hello. Yeah, if he wants to speak. Oh, my God, it's hilarious. Richard?

41:13Josh Widdicombe:Yo. You're on Parenting Hell Live. Do not swear. Oh, how's everyone doing? You all right? Yeah, you're good, Richie. Oh, my God. Let me get out of here. Let me get out of here. Put down the phone. Put down the phone.

41:29What did you want? Ask him why he takes some swimming on his own and if he enjoys it. Why do you take the kids swimming on your own and do you enjoy it?

41:38Josh Widdicombe:Well, I like to do a lot of things on my own with the children because it makes it all my choice. There's no one to disturb me. Oh, wow. He's coming off. Come on, Richie. Why so much smoke? I'm trying to raise the kids my style, my way. You psychopath.

41:56You've gone so strong here. Why have you done that?

42:00Josh Widdicombe:I'm joking. Right, I'm going to go. I'm just trying to say, you know, I'm running late. Bus doesn't turn up. 10 minutes behind where I need to be. Just, yeah, drive. Okay. Try to get a train, mate. Then you'll feel the pain. I need to get a car before I get a train. Buy a train. Okay, good luck. See you next time, everyone. Bye. Bye. Bye. so there's a lot of problems at home then massive problems at home apparently I didn't notice news to me so he's late for the kids he's late for the kids and also so what I love about that that's a classic I love how strong he came in also I do this as well why do you need to phone someone to say you're late for the kids he knows you're either working at the museum job or on this and he knows you're doing this today how are you going to help him in this situation this is my exact point and what would you like me to do about that Richard how can I assist I can't.

42:50No. I think it was more probably just to vent about the fact that he's running. Yeah, yeah. It doesn't make him any quicker. No. No, no, no. No. If anything slows him down. But anyway, sorry about that. No, that's funny. So what's your sort of plan? Have you got a plan for the next few years? Or what would you need to be earning? You don't have to go into details. But earning or achieving or level to then maybe not do that job. And then, but it's because we had John Bishop on who had the same issues. Yeah. I don't know if you listened to the episode, but he was earning a certain amount. but if I go and be a comedian, then I can't afford to do this and that.

43:22It is. It's a weird thing. You've got a kind of like, lots of people will be like, have a job, a regular nine to five job. And then if they're in a position, we'll take a fixed term, low key, like job you don't have to think about, more flexible to do more comedy. And you kind of transition in slowly. Like an admin job of random stuff. Yeah, something low key. But now I can't make that leap. At some point, I'm going to have to maybe make that leap into the unknown and just hope. but it's there is no the plan is just keep getting really good at comedy that's it just keep doing it keep checking in on myself to make sure I still love doing it and obviously there will come a point when you've got kids you're in different phases aren't they you think when you're in the newborn phase you think this is the hardest thing in the world you'll never have time ever again I'll never do it and then you move into the next toddler phase and it's like it's hard in a different way but it frees you up in other ways so like even now my kids are at school age that's kind of another level of chaos which you've been late for school but it's actually freed me up in another way.

44:17So there will come a point where it's naturally comfortable to the lifestyle. It kind of makes, it fits a bit better. I feel like, I mean, I don't know your full background, but like imagine you coming from a sort of like lower middle class or working class background where there isn't as much opportunity or connections and money. So we spoke a lot about the social mobility of it all, whereas like the truth is you're super talented and you're brilliant at what you do and you've got this opportunity now, but you can't always grab that opportunity if you haven't had the privileges in life of growing up where, you know, if you've come from a different kind of family and you had, you know, family members who could go, look, if I just had 50 grand, then we could, you know, Richard could stay at home and work, I could probably go for comedy and I reckon by this point I'll be able to achieve that and you're on this amazing journey with this support network and safety net, that doesn't exist, so you've just got to go at it and people always say, why are there not more sort of different voices or working class voices or people from different backgrounds or ethnic minority and it's like well a lot of the answer is money and connections of being able to do that kind of stuff so it's like it makes it tough and you're doing amazingly so keep ploughing on but it does it can be frustrating yeah it can be frustrating and eventually I'd love to do a tour and like just perform to people who want to hear me you will though and that will happen that will happen and if I keep being really good that will definitely happen but it's like there's no I think with comedy thankfully it's quite an equitable art form where if you do want to start comedy you can join a Facebook group you can find a gig you can get on it how to make money of comedy is a different thing and it's tangible if you're there and you're funny everyone's laughing and you can tell my background so my stepdad owned a bit a print business and so had a quite comfortable upbringing he didn't believe in the internet which wasn't helpful what do you mean?

46:06yeah he was like this internet thing is not going to take off like he worked in print like print sales yeah I think the leaflet is gonna die he didn't see it coming so when the recession hit things got a little bit more tricky but and so my mum always took us to like shows and I just didn't believe in the internet it's wild from print media and so she'd take us to like the theatre when she could and so I never felt and kind of not able to access the kind of the arts in that way. But being black in those organizations, I'm always the only one in the room, usually in meetings or wherever. That's not uncommon.

46:45And to kind of have your, I've been in meetings where I would say something and then it would be like, no, no, no, that's a terrible idea or whatever. And then a white man in the room would say the exact same thing and it would be like, oh, absolutely great idea, we should totally do that. And you're like, really? So it's just -

47:00Josh Widdicombe:That's why I like to be on tour with you. I could pass a lot of your stuff off as my own. Absolutely. The pink dick stuff, you really enjoy that. I do like that. You really enjoy it. That one stole your dad's idea, though, about the internet, did they? They left that one. That was a ticket. Noah took it. So is that, you know, because that's always said as a throwaway thing of, but you've experienced that a lot then with people just saying it's being repeated by someone else. It's a real thing. You're just kind of invisible and overlooked and whatever. But it's, so there are things to navigate in both worlds.

47:29but I think I've learned a lot from working in the theatre and in the arts and in those environments because it's not too dissimilar to the comedy industry in terms of like oh okay I know you I know what you are I know the deal here yeah but in terms of access to things you're right no one's going to pay for me to go and do a month's stint in Edinburgh and also there's no safety if there's not a strong safety net that's the thing yeah I can't fall back well I could ask Etta for a loan I could well yeah you could start speaking from your own children I could just skim some off the top Send her out again will you for another advert Come on Rich And so will she ever do a

48:08Josh Widdicombe:When would she do her first boxing fight Oh see I don't know I don't know I don't think I wouldn't like it to ever get to that level I feel like that would be like oh my goodness Richie absolutely would Fire man smoke No I don't know Maybe she loves all things she's very um both my kids are very kind of which is i'll give them everything get them to do everything and so they do boxing they do dance class gymnastics swimming football they do it all um but she's very much a girly girl my daughter like she's a she's a performer they had career day at school and she wanted to go in as a singer because my older sister's a singer songwriter and i had this wig in the house that um i was using for a sketch it's like an auntie wig like a black bob wig made for like 50 year old women and she found it she put it on she's like money I love this wig can I please wear it to school on Friday because it's my birthday and I was like I don't think I can so it wasn't a dress up singing part of the singing careers thing just a random Friday wants to wear a wig it was random Friday I want to wear a wig I didn't realise that random Friday also happened to be career day later on in the week but I was like should I let her go to school in the wig just for lols and then it turned out to be career day and she did wear the wig to school what else did she wear to be a singer so she wore a very sparkly dress and she wore some fingerless gloves that she'd made herself.

49:27A little bit of cocaine. She was trapped in a terrible contract. A little bump. I was trying to do TikToks to break through. She went to school in this kind of middle-aged woman wig and got home and said, did you have a good day? She said, yeah. Some of the kids did laugh at my wig, but I didn't mind because I really liked it. That's the spirit. Do you know what? I think that's such a good way to do it. We had some flowers in a jar that was like from Lou's book launch thing and then she went, can I take you to my teacher? And I was like, and that fucked me. He was like, he's done with the kid that's fucking terrible.

50:01But I didn't tell you that. Because I'm thinking of going to a rough school in South East London where if I turned up with flowers as a teacher, you'd get your head kicked in. So I have to try and push all that down. I'm rightly so. And then so I'm like, yeah, if you want. And then she's just walking around with like this jar of flowers. I'm like, bless her. And then I was like, did she like a flower? She went, yeah, did she like them? and I was like, what a lovely little joyful thing. It's my own problems that's adding anything. That's a beautiful thing to do. Exactly. And let her do it and let her find out how she feels when she experiences that.

50:32Exactly. Yeah, no, it's good. I just love the kids when they're just so carefree. I'm like, let's just do that. So carefree. Dress up and be silly. So carefree. My daughter is insanely carefree. So obviously we live in East London and she went to school. There's a huge South Asian... Did you all grow up in East London, around that area as well? So strangely, I grew up... I'm from Essex. So I grew up in like Thurrock, which is like near near Lakeside yeah just over the bridge Costco, Ikea absolutely racetrack yeah all that good stuff so I'm from there but my grandparents and my mum all lived in East London Bow, Manor Park Forest Gate is where they all lived and so when me and Richie were looking to buy a house the only place is he from Islington ah right Islington Islington that's how they say Islington is that how they say it well yeah they don't go Islington that's what the media elite say oh you go from Islington Islington Islington Islington like Joe Swat yeah if you meet someone who's properly sort of like Islington but like Council of State Islington they'll go Islington Gary Camp we'll ring Richie back when Richie rings in a minute to tell you that the bus is on time now yeah no reason absolutely no reason at all I'm from Essex but my family from East London and then we've ended up living in the same area that my grandparents lived when they came to the UK so it's kind of a weird cyclical thing like I've come back to my ancestral roots of Forest Gate find a question yeah I feel like we know Richie really well now I've brought you a little bit more.

51:49Well, better than I did. What is the one thing he does as a parent? You go, oh my God, I'm so happy. Me and Richie have got kids together. He's an amazing dad. And what's the one thing he does that if or when he listens to this, it annoys you and when he hears, you'll go, yeah, she's got a point. Things I love about Richie is his unwavering confidence in our kids and his commitment to them just being like, absolutely. He's their enabler. You can do anything, be anything. He says to them, oh, I'm too old or too young to do this. No, no, age isn't a thing. it's just about confidence and skill so it's like you know when I drive a car no because you're probably too small to reach the pedals but you know you could probably drive a small go car or whatever he always empowers them in that way which is great I feel like he's done that with you a little bit on your journey absolutely it was him giving me the kick up the bum to try a thing things I can't stand about him he's moved swiftly onto that really the way he started clearing his throat is becoming an issue oh okay interesting Yeah, just, I don't know, he pulls a face and it just, it seems really like forced.

52:53Is that an age thing, do you think? I don't know. How old is he? I don't know, is he 38? I think he's 38. That's about the age you start getting a weird throat cough. I don't know, just every time he does it, I want to punch him in the neck. I make noises sometimes, like, oh, and Lou's like, I hate the noise. Yeah. That pathetic, like, I feel tired. Just have sex with me silently, please, Rob. Rob, leave me with my dildo in peace. I'm holding the dildo, leave the room. you know what this means get out so is that yeah and I just I want to punch you in the face and where there have been a lot of like bugs going around because I've got kids it's just constant I will kill you

53:30Josh Widdicombe:don't cough near me don't cough so it's the cough it's the cough bear in mind he's working in a dusty tunnel from like 10.30pm till 6am I don't care and he's empowering all the important people in his life do they have lunch in the middle of that I don't actually know oh yeah of course you do we don't eat all night I don't know yeah but how does it work do you just sit in a tunnel no on the drive back I think they go to like a McDonald's or whatever I think a Burger King on the way I think that's how it works I don't really know you don't get a shit either I don't get as long as he keeps working the night so he can do school pick up that's that's the one that works for me it's been a joy thanks what's your Instagram oh yeah absolutely we've got to do that or TikTok I don't TikTok no no okay do Instagram yeah Instagram Chantelle Nash does funnies give us a how you doing the funnies YS or IES IES IES yeah I started the Instagram trying to kind of hide I did comedy so I picked the most kind of complicated name yeah so I've kept it Chantelle Nash does funnies love it yeah and can we see you live anywhere or you've got no tour at the moment I've got no tour I'm doing some whips I can't remember work in progress oh god speaking the language don't speak in acronyms look at you four years in she's in the biz yeah work in progress gigs that I put on my Instagram.

54:45So give me a follow. Give Chantelle a follow. Cheers, Chantelle. Thanks so much. Thanks, guys. And cheers to Richie. Oh, yeah. Fuck that guy. Fuck that guy. Fuck that guy.

54:58Josh Widdicombe:Chantelle Nash. Absolutely great. Loved her. That was great. She's lovely, isn't she? She's lovely. Yeah. Absolutely lovely. And out there, before we started doing this, she's got a laptop out doing a bit of work. She still works. I know. What a machine. What a machine. Josh, to see you next week. See you next week. Same time, same place. That was cool.

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55:52Josh Widdicombe:Hello, Parenting Hell listeners. Recognize that voice? Yes, it's Josh Whittacombe here.

56:00Josh Widdicombe:I have got a new podcast, Josh Whittacombe's Museum of Pop Culture. And I'm going to say it, I'm about 85 % sure you're going to love it. Here are the reasons why. Number one, I'm confident if you're listening now, you don't hate me and possibly think I'm funny. Number two, I'm confident if you're listening now, you like podcasts. Number three, I'm confident if you're listening to me and Rob, you prefer pop culture to people talking about things, let's be honest, boring things like history, economics, or politics. I know I do, and that is why I made this podcast. I wanted a show that tells the stories I love from popular culture in the way other podcasts do for drier topics.

56:38Josh Widdicombe:See above. Basically, I wanted a podcast that realised Milli Vanilli were more interesting than Elizabeth I. Join me as I give the definitive, or at least the funniest, takes on Mr Blobby. When Ghostwatch convinced BBC viewers ghosts were real. When a band burned a million pounds for a laugh. The Spice Girls, a truly catastrophic Spider-Man musical with music from U2. And David Hasselhoff, Baywatch and his part in the fall of the Berlin Wall. All of them are real, by the way. Either you know what these things are and you're about to learn far more about them than you ever realised you wanted to, or you don't, and you're about to be introduced to some of the maddest things in modern or ancient history.

57:16Josh Widdicombe:Stiff necks will learn, loose necks will laugh. New episodes available every Wednesday and Saturday, perfect to fill those gaps between your weekly doses of parenting hell. So go on, you might as well listen, subscribe, and follow wherever you get your podcasts now. Museum of Pop Culture with me, Josh Whittacombe, available everywhere on the 1st of January.