More Rosebud - Gyles's Diary episode 50

0:00Therapy's biggest impact doesn't show up in some dramatic breakthrough. It shows up in the smallest moments. You bite your tongue instead of escalating. You put your phone down instead of firing off that text. You say what you actually mean instead of what would hurt someone else the most. Nobody applauds those moments, but they quietly change your life. That's what growing feels like. And that's exactly what Grow Therapy is here for. Grow is therapy that works, covered by insurance. Sessions average$21 with insurance, and some pay as little as$0, depending on their plan. There are no subscriptions, no long-term commitments.

0:37You just pay per session. Grow connects you with thousands of high-quality, licensed therapists across the U.S., offering both virtual and in-person sessions, nights and weekends. You can search by what matters, like insurance, specialty, identity, or availability. And you can book a therapy session in minutes and begin in as little as two days, not the national 48-day average. See if you could pay as little as$0 for therapy in seconds at growtherapy.com slash ACAST. That's growtherapy.com slash ACAST. growtherapy.com slash ACAST. Availability and coverage vary by state and insurance plan. Hi, I'm Jack Ravici, Kramer, host of The Best One Yet.

1:20At T-Boy, we're always talking about small decisions that can have an outsized impact. One of the simplest is staying hydrated. Whether Whether I'm traveling, getting a workout in, or heading into a busy day, I keep Liquid IV on hand. It's clinically demonstrated to hydrate faster than water alone and contains three times the electrolytes of the leading sports drink, plus eight vitamins and nutrients. It's an easy addition to your daily routine and helps support hydration when you need it most. Shop now at liquidiv.com. Liquid IV hydration that goes wherever life takes you.

2:12Welcome to the world of Rosebud. It's a Tuesday when this is dropping, which means that this is more Rosebud. We don't mind when you listen. We're just thrilled that you are listening. I say we because, well, with more Rosebud, it isn't just me, Giles Brandreth. It's my friend, colleague, producer, Harriet Jane. Harriet, how are you today? I'm fine, thanks, Giles. How is, because we're putting this out in September 2026. Whenever you listen to it, that's when we're putting it out. How is September for you as a month? Oh, that's a big question. It definitely never goes away, does it, the September feeling?

2:53So that's interesting because I've been thinking about it because we're going on obviously today with my diaries. And my diaries are beginning a new decade as well as a new year. We're going to be starting on the 1st of January 1980 in a moment. But I've been reflecting this September that the year for me still, even though I don't have, I'm not at school anymore, university, neither of my children or even, well, my grandchildren are, but I still feel that the year sort of begins in September. Yeah, I think a lot of people do. And I think I do. And I have September collywobbles. I have a sense of apprehension, anxiety, anticipation.

3:32Some of it's quite exhilarating. Oh, we're going to get this done, that done. I began September in almost a manic state. And then at that week when I think a lot of the schools did go back, and certainly I was very conscious of it because I had grandchildren going back to school, going back to university and one of them starting his first job that is exciting well it's amazing he's a graduate and he got a job that is amazing i mean genuinely people have told me in this world and his parents and other people said take the job whatever it is take the job at least you've got a job and i saw him the day before he was getting his hair cut and he'd worked out he should wear a suit uh and he should wear a white shirt and take a pocket take a tie in his pocket it you know and he thought he was going to go buy tube and then take a bicycle and then he thought well yeah i don't arrive sweating on the first day so he'd take a tube and all that but the company were very decent because they said come all everybody come at 8am and all have breakfast together the new recruits so the 20 of them joining the company on the same day all getting so but that also added to my sense of oh yeah new term new beginnings are you a bit like that in September?

4:46Oh, definitely. Yeah, yeah, yeah. I mean, can I say something a bit depressing? Of course. I hope people, I know, I know. Sorry, guys, listeners. I don't mean to bring the mood down. I think I'm quite a jolly person. But also, as you know, in my past, there's tragedy. Yeah. My mum took her own life in September, on the 29th of September. And I remember someone saying to me that sometimes people do that at times of hope and and newness and renewal because they think i don't have that feeling or they feel unable or unable to meet it or to to yeah and i i often think of september as being a difficult time for people i mean yeah for if If you've got that sense of excitement and things to do and get on with, then it's a good time because you feel like you do.

5:48Productive and hooray, I'm going to pack my satchel and get my new school uniform on. And, you know, that's fun. Put all my pencils in color coded order. And if you're the sort of person that really enjoys all of that, then I think September is a good time. But I think if for whatever reason you feel your life isn't quite going as you'd like to, then it's a time of reckoning and of reassessment. And possibly for someone like my mum, she just thought, oh, my life really isn't where I want it to be. But sorry, can I say this on a podcast? It feels, I don't know, there are... No, can I say... I don't want to make anyone listening think, oh no I feel terrible about I don't know I don't want to well the reason I don't want to make people think really dismal thoughts at this time of year because I think September is essentially a great time and a time of potential and of getting things the 29th of September is also the 80th birthday of Patricia Hodge yes it's a good day too so it's a lovely day as well as being a heartbreakingly sad day yeah but that is life the complexity of life yeah and I always love admire and respect the way you talk openly about your story and your mother's story her name was Patience Patience known to her friends as Patience because she's still here yeah in you and in the way we talk about her and that is something that happened that you can't deny can't take away and I think your openness about it, A, does you credit and from the emails that we get, I think people find it more helpful than distressing.

7:35Yeah. And I think there is also something too, certainly my wife feels about September, nothing to do with the newness, but about the winter nights drawing in. Oh, absolutely. The end of summer, the fact that autumn is... A lot of people love autumn. They love the colours of autumn, the leaves and all of that. But other people feel it's getting darker. It's getting, you know. But I have to say, I think the three months before Christmas are very, very exciting. So I was looking, I was suddenly starting to think about Christmas, because you do, don't you, in September? I think the bad months of winter are the January, February, March, the after Christmas.

8:15The bleak, the bleak midwinter. There's nothing to look, well, you look forward to spring, but winter's too long by that point. but no September October November December it's all fun and games I have to say I'm hoping to persuade Michelle to start coming to church regularly with me again oh yeah um that's a good thing to do in the winter well also I love the idea of advent so do I you know and working up to Christmas and all of that and all the traditions stirred up Sunday do they do the harvest festival of course I love that and you get all the tins on the altar I know, it's so funny. A dinner baked beans and a pack of cornflakes.

8:51It's a funny idea, that. But also, what are those big orange things? Turnips. A pumpkin. Pumpkins. Turnips. You can see I don't know much about the countryside. But I love a turnip. You love a pumpkin? I love a pumpkin. Do you carve it? Of course I carve it. Oh, God. This, I have to say, we're coming up for some of the best months of the year. We are. We are. Halloween, bonfire night. Oh, I've got an objection to Halloween. Oh, OK. Only because it's an American import. It's now overtaken Bonfire Night. The fifth... Yeah. Remember, remember the 5th of December? November. Forgive me. That's correct.

9:26I mean, you can remember the 5th of December if you want. Remember, remember the 5th of November. How does that go on? Gun defyder, treason. Gunpowder, treason and plot. That's how the bus goes on. Yes. Guy Fawkes blowing up Parliament. That was the big thing. Now, Halloween, this American import, has rather overtaken it. No, but Halloween was a thing. It just wasn't the thing they've turned it into, which is a fancy dress parade. We are now agreeing that autumn, the season of fruits... Mists and mellow fruitfulness. Mists and mellow fruitfulness is a good thing. Oh, it's brilliant. We've got September almost out of the way.

10:05The stomach churning is done. We're coming up to October, November, December. Three literally golden months. Yeah. Wonderful. You can't beat it. But this is leading up to the 1st of January 1980. What I'm saying is that for many people, still in my head, the year begins with the academic year, even though I'm no longer at school. Agreed. So that's the way it is. Well, you pioneered the academic year diary, Giles. I did, as we read about in my diaries. I know. And there's going to be more of that in just a moment, of my little business ambitions back in 1980, when Mrs Thatcher was there, making us all feel...

10:38Oh, she just put a rocket under this country, didn't she? She turbocharged the country. That's our view. Other views are available. I don't know if that is my view. Don't tie me up with your politics. No, I was... I don't... I no longer really have politics. I don't either. I'm engaged with it because I have a daughter who's a member of parliament. And I think... I'm not. No. I'm not engaged with it. But you're taking interest in my family? No, no. No, I'm engaged with your family, but I'm not engaged with politics, really. Well, when we were in Edinburgh in the summer and I went to meet Count Binface, the runner-up in the Clacton by-election...

11:10Oh, tell us about that, John. No, but you weren't interested in coming. I said, come along to meet Count Binface. And you said, nah, one counts as much as another. No, I think I had friends there or something. Yeah, they could have come too, but it doesn't matter. Anyway, tell us. He was funny and likeable. And he had the bin on, did he at the time? Yeah, he was in full bin kit. Yeah. And he was amusing. And I told him I'm a swing bin voter. I hadn't decided, I hadn't made up my mind. That's fun. Did you make that up? I made that up on the spot. Oh, I love that. And I turned up with a big swag bag.

11:39He said, what's in the bag? I said, you're five million pounds. Because he was standing up against Nigel Farage. Oh. And I have to say, what I thought about him was why I like being British is having a sense of humour. Yeah. I love that we have these candidates. I mean, when I was an MP back in the 1990s, as I think I've told you, the monster raving loony party didn't stand against me. They said, we're going to give you a free run because you're our kind of guy. Yeah, you're a monster raving loony. But I like all that. But I think a politician without a sense of humour is not somebody we really want.

12:14I say that. No, well, Mrs Thatcher. Yeah, didn't have a great sense of humour. You know my favourite line about Mrs Thatcher. I do. Repeat it. Mrs Thatcher did not have a great sense of humour, which made me think, I must have made bringing up Mark quite challenging. Yay! We do comedy too. We're available. Not the two Ronnies, but Elliot and Giles. Yes. But we're continuing with my diaries. Yes. which is quite fun. And it's 1980. Feels like an exciting moment to be going into the 80s, doesn't it? It does. What a decade. It was an extraordinary decade and I was there. Tuesday the 1st of January, 1980.

12:53Welcome to 1980. A new year and a new resolve. We're going to get on top of our mountain of mortgages and start making some serious sums. We have a raft of good books planned for a widening range of publishers. Do you remember, Michelle, my wife and I, we had a sort of business creating books for publishers. We were called book packages. In the next seven days, I'm having lunches with Anthony Cheatham. He's planning to start his own business and needs a product. Tony Lacey from Puffin. Sally Floyer from Beaver Books. Nigel Hollis from Hutchinson, son of the spy. But was he, wasn't he? Even the sun doesn't know.

13:36Anyway, the aim is to sell at least a book a week, plus the diaries, calendars, games, etc. Currently, I have around 100 ideas on my list. I'll be writing less and packaging more. Onward. Domestic start to the new year. Yesterday, we took a party of children to Sooty at the Mayfair Theatre. Sooty still works for me, though Sweep is the star can't stand sue poor old sue she is a bit condescending isn't she i think she's just wet no i think she's patronizing i also think when i was a very little boy in the 1950s when harry corbett not matthew corbett was doing sooty sue wasn't on the scene no it was just sooty and sweep were they worried it was um no it was a bromance it was a bromance worried about the gay overtones?

14:29Why did they introduce Sue? I don't know. I imagine because they wanted a girl character. Yeah. Because Sooty and Sweep are clearly male characters. Oh, they are. So that's what they wanted. But Sweep is cute, isn't it? Sweep. Did you ever have a Sweep puppet? No. Oh, I still got it. I still got my Sweep puppet. And inside the palm, with your extra fingers, you know, you've got I never know what the fingers are called. You have one thumb in one paw. Yeah. The third finger. That's called the third finger, yeah. Oh, really? Yeah, I think so. The third finger is in the right paw. Yeah. And the...

15:00Index finger. Index finger is in the head. Peter Pointer. Peter Pointer is the index. That's in the head. And that leaves you with two smaller fingers. Yeah. What are they called? The ring finger and the little finger. The ring finger and the little finger. Yay! Ruby ring, ruby ring, where are you? Do you not know that song? I've never heard that song. Here I am, here I am, how do you do? Peter Pointer, Peter Pointer. Do you not know that song about the hand? The good news is, everybody... God, the winter nights used to fly by in Devon, I can tell you. It's fantastic. And next year, everybody, we are going to be on camera.

15:34So you could have seen her. She was actually doing little, with her hand, little dance movements. So you can remember the names of the fingers, Giles. That's absolutely delightful. Anyway, with the ring finger and the little finger, you press them against the squeaker. Oh, so you can make sweeps. Inside sweep. So sweep could squeak. Brilliant. Yeah. So, where were we? so every year Sooty turned up at the Mayfair Theatre and we used to go and it was great fun we've just driven Catherine and Charlie that's my niece and nephew back to St Albans where they live we're now going to the BBC to watch Simon Cadell recording his Heidi High pilot he plays a reluctant holiday camp manager at set in the 1950s he says it's very funny we shall see that's a landmark moment Yeah, so we were there.

16:27Gosh. And I thought it was quite funny. I loved Heidi Heist. Yeah, well, there we are. And it was created by David Croft and Jimmy Perry, and it ran, I think, right through the 1980s. And Simon, my friend, of course, then later married David's daughter, Becky, who you know, and who helps us out sometimes with Rosebud. Yeah. Anyway, it's said in the 1950s, he says it's very funny, we shall see. Alan Wicker sent me this little bit of wisdom with which to start the new year Judge a man by the way he treats someone of no use to him Good bit of wisdom Yeah I liked Alan Wicker Friday the 18th of January 1980 Recruiting new writers Martin Bergman and Rory McGrath came round Ex-Cambridge Footlights Not a load of laughs on the face of it, but we'll see I need someone to write the Irish Karma Sutra.

17:27Oh, crumbs. Recruiting new talent, I went over to 17 Balmure Gardens, SW15, to see Patrick Fyfe, also known as Dame Hilda Brackett. He has permed curly blonde hair and a very sweet way with him. He lives the life of Dame Hilda Brackett, lives it completely. His sitting room is all anti-macassars and Edwardian bric-a-brac and wants to write her autobiography. When he's being Patrick, there's something a touch pathetic about him. When he switches into Dame Hilda, he acquires a personality. He becomes funny and fun. Gosh. So was he, Dame Hilda, kind of in his downtime as well? No. In his downtime, he was Patrick.

18:14He was sweet. He was a bit down. But when he talked about Dame Hilda, he went into the voice. So he didn't need to be in the full costume. He would then become Dame Ilda. And then a new authority came to him, you know? Wonderful. Yeah. It's great having an alter ego, isn't it? It is. Well, I, can I say, I'd rather feel that when we're together on the microphone, we become a little bit different. Yes.

18:50Therapy's biggest impact doesn't show up in some dramatic breakthrough. It shows up in the smallest moments. You bite your tongue instead of escalating. You put your phone down instead of firing off that text. You say what you actually mean instead of what would hurt someone else the most. Nobody applauds those moments, but they quietly change your life. That's what growing feels like. And that's exactly what Grow Therapy is here for. Grow is therapy that works, covered by insurance. Sessions average$21 with insurance, and some pay as little as$0, depending on their plan. There are no subscriptions, no long-term commitments.

19:27You just pay per session. Grow connects you with thousands of high-quality, licensed therapists across the U.S., offering both virtual and in-person sessions, nights and weekends. You can search by what matters, like insurance, specialty, identity, or availability. And you can book a therapy session in minutes and begin in as little as two days, not the national 48-day average. See if you could pay as little as$0 for therapy in seconds at growtherapy.com slash ACAST. That's growtherapy.com slash ACAST. growtherapy.com slash ACAST. Availability and coverage vary by state and insurance plan. Hi, I'm Nick, co-host of The Best One Yet.

20:10You optimize your workouts, your portfolios, and that rando startup idea that hit you in the middle of the shower. But if you're not hydrated, you're already playing catch-up. So we keep a stash of Liquid IV in our studio. One stick mixed into 16 ounces of water is clinically demonstrated to hydrate faster than water alone with three times the electrolytes of the leading sports drink, plus eight vitamins and nutrients. Whether you're traveling, exercising, or podcasting, the best business news ever, Liquid IV makes it easy to stay hydrated wherever life takes you. So shop now at liquidiv.com. Liquid IV hydration.

20:39That goes wherever life takes you.

21:06All on the app. Thumbtack knows homes. Download the app today.

21:15Friday, the 25th of January, 1980. A long day in Stacton Trestle. That's the imaginary village where Dame Hilda Brackett and Dr. Ovadney Hitch had their home. Followed by an even longer evening at The Undertaking. Oh, this is the play that Kenneth Williams was in. It is open to the fortune, but it can't last. Drinks afterwards with the producer Bill Kenwright, amiable, the author Trevor Baxter, fruity, the star Kenneth Williams, morose, the leading lady Miriam Carlin, just normal. Gosh, I like that. She knows it's rubbish but hopes it works because she could use the money. It's a long time since the rag trade.

21:58Remember the series called The Rag trade yeah i don't i never saw it but that brought her to fame she was a really nice straightforward woman actually and great fun to know tuesday the 5th of february 1980 a ridiculous day i arrived at the office the ground floor of the house next door to find leo our new bookkeeper already there on all fours a wash mopping up a lake of water around her last night she worked late and left the taps running in the bath. The bathroom on the ground floor contains a bath. We've covered it with a board and use it for the coffee things, but the bath still works. Leo, bless her, is a Buddhist, and she likes to have the sound of running water in the background while she prays.

22:47Yesterday, she was here alone. I was with Kenneth all afternoon and then went straight off to supper with Jonathan Cecil. Leo finished work, then got out her prayer mat and her bells and turned on the bath taps. When she'd finished her spiritual endeavours, she was on such a high that she set off home without remembering to turn off the taps. The carpet in the bathroom, hallway and front office look ruined. Bah! Well, that is silly. Why did she leave the plug-in? No, I don't think she did. I think it would have been much, much worse if she had. What happened is she left the taps on because she wanted running water.

23:30It was running out, but the taps meant it was full. So it kept overflowing. It wouldn't have done if the plug was open. Well, I don't know. If the egress was not open to the ingress, more was coming in than going out. Anyway, maybe she did. She must have put the plug in. Maybe she did. Maybe she was trying to create a little... Anyway, what a nightmare. What a nightmare. These Buddhists, they're in absolute pain. No one ever says that about Buddhists. No, they don't. And for good reason. They're lovely people. And one of the reasons I gave her the job is I thought, well, I'm going to have an accountant who's a Buddhist.

24:08She'll be straightforward. She'll be honest. And she'll be committed. And she was. I didn't know she was going to take out her prayer mat and her bells at work and require hot and cold running water to pray by. It's a lovely idea, though. I might start doing that here. I'm just in from lunch with Hayley Mills at Sambuca. Well, it shows you how long I've known Hayley Mills, isn't it? This is 46 years ago. We've only just had her and her sister on Rosebud. Gosh. It really was ridiculous. I really was ridiculous. I told her how I'd loved her since I was 11. She smiled. Oh, God. We held hands. It was absurd.

24:51at every level. We were having supper with Chris Biggins, but he's just phoned to cancel. Tomorrow, I'm off to Norwich at dawn to record some epilogues for Anglia. Then on to Nottingham to see Simon in Private Lives. Funny life I'm leading. Wednesday, 19th March, 1980. I spent the morning with Larry Grayson. Gosh. We travelled in his chauffeur-driven white Rolls Royce to the photographer to get the pictures taken for the book. Larry was, well, he was happy as Larry. He always is. Kenneth is demanding, Patrick Fyfe is needy, but Larry is just grateful. He sat in the back of his car, a cashmere rug across his knees, simply beaming.

25:40Isn't the snow lovely? Isn't life grand? Aren't you a pretty boy, Giles? Pity about the wife and kiddies. He is so thrilled with his sudden late-life success. What a surprise! What a gay day! His act is limited, but his charm is infinite. Oh. And he is entirely at ease with his homosexuality. I don't think much happens, but I doubt that it bothers him. Kenneth, on the other hand, talks about his non-existent sex life all the time. The last time anything happened in that department, so he says, was after the war in Salon with a young Sikh. It was only fumbling, just the Barclays Bank. Kenneth is tortured.

26:23Guilt, desire, disgust. They're all there, bubbling away. Patrick Fyfe is not so tortured, but he is unhappy. He's not brooding about sex, I don't think. He's hungry for love. He wants a companion. He wants to be a good man's wife. and the photographer has love but won't admit it. He has a boyfriend but we never see him. He was there this morning, the boyfriend, I'm sure, but locked away, hidden in the bedroom with the key turned. Yes, the photographer's boyfriend was literally locked in the closet while Larry Grayson was camping it up in the front room. What a gay day. And that's 1980 and I remember the photographer well.

27:10He was a good friend. and he had a boyfriend and because of his age he was a generation of two maybe older than us and came from a time when being gay actively gay was illegal he just got into the habit of keeping it hidden strange only 46 years ago Sunday the 20th of April 1980 Sunday morning and the end of our week in Wickham it's been a good week The children have loved the picnics under our tree in the New Forest by Bewley. We have loved our dinners here. Last night, l 'avocat fermant, avocado with poached egg and sauce bernese, served hot. Followed by blanquette de veau Alsacienne. Glorious desserts.

27:59Wonderful pudding wines. Bill to match. 651 pounds, 94 for the week. Crumbs. But that's a whole week and meals like that every night. Today, we're lunching with Desmond and Jennifer Brown at Stansted House, home of the Earls of Bespera, kin of Desmond's of some kind. We've been before. His aunt lives in a wing where it's dark and dusty and rather drafty, and there's newspaper covering the lino on the kitchen floor. These aristos all live like this. Their cuffs are always frayed. At number one and number two, Camden Hill Gardens, where the completely middle-class Brandwitz live, we will be returning tonight to find the new playroom completed.

28:43The new hall carpet arrives on Thursday. As I write, I'm sitting on a hotel bed with a coffee and the papers. News of the week, the Union flag has been lowered in Africa for the last time. Our colonial age is past. Rhodesia is now Zimbabwe, and the new Prime Minister, Robert Mugabe, is looking for reconciliation between black and white. If yesterday you hated me, today you cannot avoid the love that binds you to me and me to you. If the photographs are anything to go by, the outgoing Prime Minister, Ian Smith, has his doubts about this. In Zaire, nine worshippers have been trampled to death trying to catch a glimpse of the Pope.

29:32In London W1, I've been on Start the Week, interviewing Gerald Campion, the actor who played Billy Bunter. He still looks and sounds exactly like Bunter. Michael Palin was also on the programme. He's doing a kind of Greyfriars spoof called Ripping Yarns. We all agreed that anyone who could create Bunter and translate the complete works of Gilbert and Sullivan into Latin has to be classed a genius of some sort. But we couldn't quite put our collective finger on what it is about the world of Grapefriars that remains so compelling. I got home full of all this and Michelle said, Can we move on from your childhood, please?

30:15That's amusing, isn't it? Because funny enough, I mentioned Billy Bunter to you earlier today. Yeah. So here I am 46 years later, still talking about Billy Bunter, who's a schoolboy. You know that? Yes. Know what he sounded like? No. Yarrou! Oh, crikey! I say, you chaps! I love butter. Later. The Iranian embassy siege is over. The SAS have stormed the building in spectacular style. Nineteen hostages rescued in an operation that lasted eleven minutes. We drove past. It's only five minutes from here. The front of the building is blackened. There are cordons, armoured cars, police everywhere. As we drove by, Michelle mused, the SAS.

30:59I think that's what we call real men. Now, Giles, do tell me some more about Billy Bunter. She clearly had the measure of me, didn't she, in those days? Wednesday the 14th of May, 1980. My back has gone, but I'm struggling on. Michelle says, isn't this what I came in? she's right. I think the last time I had it this bad was 1968. When I do too much the back goes. That's it. The trouble is there's so much to be done. I'm laughing at this Harriet in 2026 because clearly you say you know me well and you clearly do because nothing seems to have changed. No but people don't change do they? I mean I had a bad back this summer just before our show opened.

31:47I mean, it's ridiculous because I was doing too much, getting anxious about it. Oh, I'm ridiculous. I'm still talking about Billy Bunter. I still can't look at my childhood. Here I am reading my diaries from 46 years ago to you. Oh, well, never mind. On we go. It's good, Giles. Thank you. Lunch with Gail Rebuck. Worthwhile. We have 10 projects with her and more in the pipeline. And then tea with Julian Slade. The creator of Saturdays lives in the basement of a beautiful house in Priory Walk. His mother lives upstairs. What is it about these middle-aged homosexuals and their mothers? Kenneth has his mother, Louis, living in the flat next door.

32:26He finds her increasingly tiresome, but he can't keep away from her. He goes to have supper with her every evening. He hates watching the TV programmes she wants to watch, but he can't keep away. Julian is very sweet and very sentimental. My beauty and charm overwhelmed him. He cried several times during our time together. But he loves the idea of the A.A. Milne musical, and we're going to give it a go. This is not a play about Winnie the Pooh. This is a play about Alan Milne, writer, husband, father, a man all his life trapped by his own creation. Today is the TUC's Day of Action. It has not taken the nation by storm.

33:08Mrs. Thatcher is our captain now. The world has moved on. and Michelle and I off to the Pomme d 'Amour for a light supper. Wednesday the 28th of May, 1980. Lunch with Anna Ford at Odin's. Absurd. I wanted to get there first so that I would already be seated and she wouldn't see me bent double because of my bad back. Unfortunately, we arrived at the same time. I hoped to be taken for an English Robert Redford. In the event, I escorted her to our table looking like a disabled Quasimodo. And she is so beautiful. So beautiful. I did not seduce her, nor even, I think, amuse her very much. She is a cool customer and quite conscious of her own worth.

34:02We are going to Wickham for half-term. I've just phoned the agents for the Playhouse Theatre. I'm going to see it next week for the second time. I want to buy it and develop it, using it as a conference centre by day and as the home of the London Repertory Company by night. We shall see.

34:39off that text. You say what you actually mean instead of what would hurt someone else the most. Nobody applauds those moments, but they quietly change your life. That's what growing feels like, and that's exactly what Grow Therapy is here for. Grow is therapy that works, covered by insurance. Sessions average$21 with insurance, and some pay as little as$0 depending on their plan. There are no subscriptions, no long-term commitments. You just pay per session. Grow connects you with thousands of high-quality, licensed therapists across the U.S., offering both virtual and in-person sessions, nights and weekends.

35:16You can search by what matters, like insurance, specialty, identity, or availability. And you can book a therapy session in minutes and begin in as little as two days, not the national 48-day average. See if you could pay as little as$0 for therapy in seconds at growtherapy.com slash ACAST. That's growtherapy.com slash ACAST. growtherapy.com slash ACAST. Availability and coverage vary by state and insurance plan. Hi, I'm Jack Cravici, Kramer host of The Best One Yet. At T-Boy, we're always talking about small decisions that can have an outsized impact. One of the simplest is staying hydrated. Whether I'm traveling, getting a workout in, or heading into a busy day, I keep Liquid IV on hand.

36:00It's clinically demonstrated to hydrate faster than water alone and contains three times the electrolytes of the leading sports drink, plus eight vitamins and nutrients. It's an easy addition to your daily routine and helps support hydration when you need it most. Shop now at liquidiv.com. Liquid IV hydration that goes wherever life takes you. Acast powers the world's best podcasts. Here's a show we recommend. On the eve of your 30s, you will look for a man you've never known. We think that you might be our biological father. The search will take you across coasts and into the veiled landscapes of love, family, and memory.

36:37Just because you're happy doesn't mean you get to erase your whole past. I'm Sarah Quevedo, and this is Reaching Out. Literally, when should I apologize? In the past? Before I said it? An audio memoir from Futudo and KCRW. Out now, wherever you listen. Acast helps creators launch, grow, and monetize their podcasts. Everywhere. Acast.com

37:05Saturday, 28th June, 1980. Sweeney Todd at Drury Lane. Well, the audience loved it. The house was packed and they roared. Suddenly, the refrain is haunting. Attend the tale of Sweeney Todd, the demon barber of Fleet Street. But all the bloody grand guignol and strangulated shout singing did not do it for us. Simon Cadell and Stephanie Turner enjoyed it more, but not much. We all loved meeting up with Biggins and Peter Policapu at Joe Allen's afterwards. Now that was fun. Lots of important things to report but I'm too squiffy now. It's one in the morning. Michelle's in the bathroom and tomorrow I'm working on our plan to develop Peter Rabbit.

37:52Take him beyond the Beatrix Potter books while remaining true to the Beatrix Potter values. Michelle mocks my obsession with things childish, but it's making us the loot. Also, loan arrangement with county bank progressing. Unemployment in the UK, now the highest since the war. But here on Camden Hill, we are busy and thankful for it. Good night. That's a good place to finish, I think, Charles. Yeah, maybe it is, because the next episode begins with one of your heroes. 3rd of July this morning Leonard Rossiter yes in cracking form so so that's good you're you're being successful as usual yes and no I'm being ambitious and full of energy and I'm needing money and I've had the idea it's interesting that in one of the episodes that we have on a Sunday for the Rosebud family, we've been talking about games.

38:54And you talked about loving a Peter Rabbit game, a Beatrix Potter game when you were a little girl. Yeah. And it could have been at the time that you were playing this that the game began. Or maybe it was earlier, I don't know. Because they were very loath, the Beatrix Potter estate, to let people do things. And we had to jump through all sorts of hoops to be allowed to do what we did. So we took, this hadn't been done before. previously these books had just existed as the Little Beatrix Potter books we took them and turned them into diaries and calendars and colouring books so I pioneered all of that gosh Charles that's good did they do well?

39:34they did do well but we needed things to do well because we'd pushed the boat out and bought this second house next door which was a buy too many yeah because on the way out of Groven House when we walked past the hairdresser salon there are some little cabinets on the wall and they've at the moment got Beatrix Potter's stationery and it looks so pretty and I was thinking I'd love to get a set of that and all that began in that era in this era we're talking about now into the 70s, early 1980s so it was a fun time but I tell you, you know how I blub all too easily the bit there that I was going to blub at was just Michelle and me going to the Pomme d 'Amour, which was a lovely restaurant in Holland Park.

40:24Just supper, the two of us. Lovely. A nice supper. And we drank wine in those days, and we'd have had, you know, a lovely start. And probably, we only had two courses. Probably except if we were pushing the boat out. Just a lovely supper. Yeah, that is a nice thing to do, isn't it? Those are the best times. Yeah. what for you are the best times? Oh, that's a big question. Well, then maybe we'll leave it for another day. You sometimes drop in a real sort of fundamental question. They give me the collywobbles, those questions. I know they do. Yeah. We won't pursue it today. I don't know about...

41:02I mean, I could probably answer that, but I don't think I can answer it at the drop of a hat. The drop of a hat was one of the best times for me. It was a musical done by Flanders and Swan in the 1950s. Oh, yeah. Michael Flanders, Donald Swan, the drop of a hat, and then a drop of another hat. Yeah, they were brilliant. Yeah. Yeah. Good. But no, the best times, I mean, you know, I like to be on a dance floor. Ah, exactly. The best times for me. But also it's just lovely sometimes being with your family at the supper table, isn't it? Yeah. Tell you what we did on Friday or Saturday night, can't remember which now, maybe Saturday.

41:40We had raclette. Oh, I love a raclette. Yeah. I used to have those in Switzerland. It's where you have cheese. It's melted. Yeah. So we've got these things at home where you put three tea lights. Yes, I know exactly. Underneath this little tiny frying pan, which is really cool because you're cooking at the table, which is fun. My dad doesn't approve of that, but I do. And then you put the raclette in. We've got this Swiss cheese shop in Crouchon, so you can buy raclette. And then you melt it and then you have crudités, bread, potatoes. And it was so fun. and Belle's boyfriend was there and we had a really fun time doing that.

42:18And even that can be, that's the best time. But that's exactly what I mean and I want people listening to think in their heads, what for them is that kind of best time? Yeah. You will find, featured somewhere in the diaries, I think it is in the 1980s, we bought our first raclette set and had those sorts of evenings. There was also something where there was sort of hot oil and you dipped bits of cheese or bits of lamb cut into squares. If that gets on your clothes, hot oil, it ruins... You've got to wear a napkin or plastic sheeting. I've got the age. It's always good to have that on hand. Well, I've got to wear plastic sheeting anyway.

42:58Yeah. I mean, a bib. Or a bib. Can I just finish this episode with a disgusting image for everyone, which is that my friend who shall remain named she might be listening her son had you know those plastic bibs which have the curved bottom curved bottom which you give catch things yeah which you give to toddlers because otherwise the food goes down the bib and then ends up all over their trousers so quite a good invention her son wore one of these very sensible but at the end of the meal when all of the food had collected in this trough the first course and the pudding so you know all the puree whatever terrible things you feed a toddler she would then get her spoon and scoop the food from that trough all mixed up so it could be a lamb casserole and apple puree and custard and feed it to her son who ate it and i would watch on horrified by that and i'd say to her anyway it still gives me the creeps now but curiously i think she did the right thing i know she didn't waste it and it all ends up in the same tummy anyway doesn't it but i am squeamish and I found that really hard to watch.

44:22Well, if you have views on any of that or if you want to share with us those moments, those lovely special moments, do drop us a line because we love to have your emails of your early memories. And our address, as ever, is simply hello at rosebudpodcast.com. Yeah. And if anybody wants to join us on a Sunday afternoon, we have the Rosebud family where Harriet and I get together for Sunday afternoon conversation. So do join us there. If you want to do that, you simply join the club by going to patreon.com forward slash rosebud. That's p-a-t-r-d-o-n dot com forward slash rosebud. I'll be back on Friday with a very, very special guest.

45:12Really, she looks good. You'll want to watch this one on YouTube. Oh, yes. Well, I'm saying that. If it is who I think it is, she looks sensational. So watch us on YouTube, but listen to us, wherever you listen to us. Enjoy being with us, whether you're in the bath, on a walk, sitting in bed, running on the treadmill, whatever you're doing, it's your rosebud time. And maybe send us a line saying, actually, for me, those good times are simply listening to rosebud. For us, the good times are being with you. I'm Giles Brandreth. Harriet Jane is the producer we just think you're very special if you are in the bath don't forget to turn off the taps please any Buddhist listening we respect you, we admire you but please, keep the running water under control yes

46:07cue the music

46:16Thank you.

46:54That was another episode of Rosebud, produced by Harriet Jane for Plain Jane Media, presented by me, Giles Brandreth, and recorded at Grosvenor House in Mayfair, London. Hi, I'm Nick, co-host of The Best One Yet. You optimize your workouts, your portfolios, and that rando startup idea that hit you in the middle of the shower. But if you're not hydrated, you're already playing catch up. So we keep a stash of Liquid IV in our studio. One stick mixed into 16 ounces of water is clinically demonstrated to hydrate faster than water alone with three times the electrolytes of the leading sports drink, plus eight vitamins and nutrients.

47:31Whether you're traveling, exercising, or podcasting, the best business news ever, Liquid IV makes it easy to stay hydrated wherever life takes you. So shop now at liquidiv.com. Liquid IV hydration that goes wherever life takes you. Your sausage McMuffin with egg didn't change. Your receipt did. The sausage McMuffin with egg extra value meal includes a hash brown and a small coffee for just$5. Only at McDonald's for a limited time. Pricing participation may vary. At QVC, shopping is more than just checking out. It's discovering something new every day. Start with today's special value. Then, explore exciting finds across the brands and categories you love, from beauty and fashion to home, culinary, and outdoor living.

48:21Shop now at QVC.com.