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Every week Richard and Ben explore what opened their eyes, share travel tips, discuss listener feedback and debate conundrums in 12 and a half minutes. Join us!
bravo charlie club
014 - What's in the middle of Australia? We've done all those dumb things (shout out to Paul Kelly!)
From racing bikes in the Australian outback to accidentally moving countries, we share the strange paths life sometimes takes.
- Richard's recent adventure racing through the desert corrugations of Alice Springs
- Ben accidentally moved to Canada for nine months
- Using Uber as a courier service to retrieve forgotten items from hotels
- Here's the link: https://www.linkedin.com/posts/andrew-pullen_winning-activity-7363826413075890177-Km_V
- A listener defends proper Italian cooking and weighs in on the great pasta shape debate
- And sharing our gift-giving philosophy - what items are too personal to give and alternative gift strategies
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Welcome to the Bravo Charlie Club podcast, making you 12 and a half minutes more awesome each week. He's Ben. I'm Richard. Let's go, ben. How are you?
Speaker 2:I'm well, mate. I've been reminded that it was my passion and promise that we were new listener countries to call out, and so Hong Kong's joined us. We've got listeners from Hong Kong now. So Neho which is actually quite formal. So we'll just go with Harlow, which has actually got quite an English sound to it, but it's a very Hong Kong word as well. So there you go, there you go yeah. Thanks for listening guys. Welcome, richard. You went to Alice Springs this week.
Speaker 1:I did. Yes, I've just come back from Alice Springs. I did a four-day gravel bike race around Alice Springs with Rapid Ascent, called the Shimono Gravel Master, which was fantastic fun For international listeners.
Speaker 2:just to put that in perspective, we live in Queensland on the coast, so you've flown for three and a half hours to central Australia to do a bike race.
Speaker 1:To ride my bike in the desert. The funny thing about the roads around Alice Springs is that, like in southeast Queensland, there's this, there's lots of gravel. The gravel roads are fairly tame and and you know, sort of like, maybe slightly fire trailing at the high end or sort of fairly tame gravel at the, uh, low end. But Alice Springs, the outback roads are just nothing like it Massive corrugations, huge pits of sand. We've all seen Crocodile, dundee, mate, exactly, exactly.
Speaker 2:So hang on. Just for perspective again. Listeners in the UK we've got many. If you fly for three and a half hours from Heathrow, you barely left the state. They would cross four countries. They could cross four countries. Yeah, that's nuts. And you went there for a bike race.
Speaker 1:I did. I went there for a bike race.
Speaker 2:That just sounds dumb.
Speaker 1:It was great fun. Yeah, it does sound a bit dumb. I was a bit undercooked on the training side too, leading into it and I went back five days out, undercooked, on the training side too leading into it and I went back five days out. So all the signs were pointing to pull out or cancel.
Speaker 2:but no, but you finished right. You finished yeah. Congratulations Everyone finished.
Speaker 1:Everyone who started the race finished the race Really, which was excellent. There was 80-odd people, 83, 82, something like that.
Speaker 2:We found 80 people to fly to the middle of. Australia to do a five-day bike race?
Speaker 1:Yes, 400 case End of my words, that just sounds dumb. 400 case of racing. Yeah, yeah, yeah, it was great.
Speaker 2:Oh, my goodness, Well done. Congratulations, so that was me.
Speaker 1:How about you, Ben?
Speaker 2:It probably sounds like the dumbest thing ever to most people. What's the dumbest thing you've ever done? It's the league leader. Oh, dumbest thing I've ever done. Uh, moved to canada canada is awesome canada is awesome.
Speaker 2:Canada is awesome, but not. Not moving to canada wasn't the dumb thing, it was the circumstances. So my wife and I were living in London and Australians are blessed we're allowed to travel to most countries, and we were living in London because of the visa availability and while we were there we discovered you could go to Canada. But also while we were there the age limit changed and we were no longer eligible, so we moved back to Australia.
Speaker 1:While you were in London, the age limit changed.
Speaker 2:Yeah, so to go to Canada.
Speaker 1:Oh right right.
Speaker 2:So we moved back to Australia thinking, oh well, we've missed that opportunity. And then the age limit changed again and I told Tanya about it and she was like, oh cool. And so she went off and booked tickets and and visas and worked everything out and I thought she wanted to go because she was putting all the effort into it and she thought I wanted to go because I'd mentioned it while we were living in london, so and we didn't actually know that we were going for the other person until we got there and she said well, I don't even like the snow, so I hope you enjoy the time here. And I was just like what are you talking about?
Speaker 1:I'm here because you want to be here I thought you wanted to go.
Speaker 2:You booked everything. And she's like, yeah, so, yeah, that was. That was pretty dumb and we were married at the time, wasn't like we weren't talking to each other, we just completely got that one wrong. Hey, yeah, so that's my. That's not a five-day trip in Alice Springs, that was like a nine-month trip.
Speaker 1:Yeah, that's a chunk of it's a big chunk of life.
Speaker 2:That one, yeah, but it costs more too, but the stories that we got out of it and the learnings that we got out of it were amazing. You know, travel is such a gift that we have in this world. We turned it into a fun time as you can. Awesome, fantastic, but definitely, if you ask Tanya now, she would go straight there. No-transcript, yeah, talking of travel though it brings, obviously we'd love to have a regular travel tip.
Speaker 2:I caught on a social media feed this week an awesome tip that I want to share and I'll drop the link into the show notes.
Speaker 2:But a guy he's not a listener, at least I don't think he is AP left his laptop in a hotel and he was in an international country on his way to the airport and he actually rang the hotel and said I've ordered an Uber Because you know you can use Uber for a courier. Yeah, and the Uber courier went and picked up the laptop and basically followed him to the airport, which I mean it's a very simple solve, right. But when you think about the stress he would have been under because no one goes to the airport, which I mean it's a very simple solve, right, but when you think about the stress he would have been under because no one goes to the airport too early. It would have been on a timeline to have the wherewithal to think that through order the courier ring the hotel, make sure the laptop was brought down to the lobby, hand it off to the correct person. Pretty, pretty, uh, great problem solving, I thought so um it's fantastic.
Speaker 1:Lots of moving parts in there and uh, and it lined up. Yeah, and I've done it I've done it.
Speaker 2:I actually left my laptop at the office in sydney and I was on my way to the airport and you, you know, I've got the device warnings coming up on my Apple phone saying you know, you've left something behind, and I usually ignore them because, you know, I've normally left my you know, my bag in the hotel room or something they ping off all the time. Yeah so yeah, that became a lesson to me when it said you've left your laptop behind.
Speaker 2:That I should actually you, you know pay attention to those sometimes in in this world, we have notifications and services that we have on and then don't use, and that was a lesson to me. So, having having been in the exact situation as this, this person and the way he solved it, I was, I was impressed. It resonated with me.
Speaker 1:Yes, yeah, nice, nice save, nice save indeed yeah.
Speaker 2:Hey, we've been getting some listener feedback. I think listener EL actually binge listened to several episodes because the feedback we got covered several episode topics, the first one being she was adamant that spaghetti cannot be used in lasagna and she was very worried about the nonnas of the world.
Speaker 1:Is that because it's not lasagna? If it's got spaghetti in it, it's something else. It's like baked lasagna or something.
Speaker 2:Yeah, well, we went with baked spaghetti in the end, but I think she just found that highly offensive.
Speaker 1:And contentious yeah.
Speaker 2:Both boxes ticked Did remind us that we hadn't actually solved what the best pasta shape was on that matter, and put in a vote for macaroni, which I completely disagree with. Macaroni is a kid's food.
Speaker 1:I think, well, macaroni is good for the impatient. I think, yeah, quite, because it cooks fast. Yeah, super fast Okay.
Speaker 2:But where do you sit on the best pasta shape?
Speaker 1:I mean, I think it depends what sauce you're having with it. Fancy, are you? No? Fancy, fancy. I'm a big fan of the homemade pesto, actually.
Speaker 2:Yeah okay, what do you put with that? I think it's usually homemade pesto actually.
Speaker 1:Yeah, okay, what do you put with that? I think it's usually a penne. Actually, yeah, that's a fair call.
Speaker 2:I like those bow tie ones. I feel like because you can stab them with a fork, because you're fancy. Yeah well, I think that's the first time I've ever been called fancy, but I like being able to. If I can eat a food one-handed, you know, that's the ultimate thing for me. That's why I love chopsticks.
Speaker 1:Right yeah, because you can just stab it with one.
Speaker 2:There's one when it goes really wrong yeah, that's right.
Speaker 1:Not so good with peas, but anyway.
Speaker 2:No, I'm actually quite adept with chopsticks now. So, yeah, that's why I love being able to eat this one-handed. I don't know why. Probably because I'm just completely useless with my left hand. The only thing I can do with my left hand is brush my teeth.
Speaker 1:Really.
Speaker 2:Which reminds me a dentist wrote in Richard.
Speaker 1:Uh-oh.
Speaker 2:Yeah said once a year is not enough for you to be dental flossing mate.
Speaker 1:Well, to be fair, I do get my teeth cleaned twice a year, so I flossed at least twice. Yeah, okay, it's probably the same rule probably applies.
Speaker 2:Yeah, we are held accountable by so many people, by so many listeners yeah, so if, if anyone wants to hold us even more accountable, certainly um shoot us an email or send us a text, join us on the inner sanctum and whatsapp. We've actually started to share some videos. Uh, there, yeah, of tips we're getting from from our listeners, which has been really cool. Hey, the conundrum of the week, mate. We alluded to this gift giving Gift giving yep.
Speaker 2:I've got this theory that there are things that are just too personal to buy for other people. Yes, right, and I just wondered you know, are you a gift giver? Where do you sit? On that? And I'll give you for context I would never buy anyone a watch or a wallet. I just think that they're so personal especially wallets, you know, because everyone's got different amounts of credit cards, or doesn't carry coins or doesn't like zippers or whatever. I just think that someone should be making that choice themselves. I know watches are regularly given, especially the higher-valued ones, and that's hard to sort of say no, I don't like that type of Rolex. Can I have a different one? Yes, so that's a bit difficult, but where do you sit? Is there a line in the sand for you?
Speaker 1:Well, there is actually, and so I guess where I see, you know it's really hard to triangulate what people have and don't have. So I think for me it's vouchers all the way, so like movie voucher or, you know, vouchers to a store or a shop, and then I can sort of get what I want. I've got all the stuff that I need really there's, and just you're just giving me more stuff. That that kind of creates that sort of almost creates anxiety, right, when you kind of get something from a, from a good friend, and they kind of give you something, you feel obligated to keep that thing even though you don't need it, want it or like it sort of thing. But you know vouchers, particularly for experiences, yeah, movie vouchers great love the movies, experience vouchers Is that a?
Speaker 2:sign of our age. It could be Younger listeners would be like what are you talking about? Just give me stuff. You know, yeah, how about you. Well, you've got a house full of things, and so I love to give wine, because if I know the person's a wine drinker or you know something that can be consumed, and then there's no evidence, you know, enjoyed once the evidence is disposed of the evidence.
Speaker 2:Yeah you know what I mean, though it's it's, you know, there's no sort of thing being left around that they have to pretend that they like or enjoy, or you know it's just, or hopefully you've got it right, because obviously a lot can go wrong with wine or whiskey or those types of things as well. But, um, yeah, that's where I sit. I um, yeah, the idea for me and my values are reflected in the gifts that I give, I guess.
Speaker 2:And you know, so giving experiences and things that I hope people will enjoy is where I've tried to position that part of my life. But whether I get it right or not. Well, someone can write in and tell me.
Speaker 1:But you better not, or you won't get another one.
Speaker 2:Don't write in. Thank you, I'm a grumpy old man. Hey, that's it, richard. Listeners have been BCC'd on our week. Next week we're going to ask in our conundrum of the week what's the appropriate amount of your neighbor's lawn that you're allowed to mow?
Speaker 1:So see you next week.
Speaker 2:Bravo, charlie, club Out, and that's the pod.
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