Bootleg ft. Jasmine Hale

[00:00:00] Hello! Hi!

[00:00:01] So just to let you guys know we've got some very exciting news. We are going to be performing

[00:00:07] a exclusive one-off live show as part of the Cheerful Earful podcast festival in October.

[00:00:15] It will be on the 20th at 5pm at the Bedford pub in Ballon. Nice tickets are £6 and we would

[00:00:23] love it if you could come. Tickets are linked in all the social media. Enjoy the episode.

[00:00:31] Oh, come on, come on, now! Now please the right one! No, no, no!

[00:00:37] What's wrong with you? I think she feels like Lotto.

[00:01:00] Hi friends, it's Elsie here. So this episode is with me and Jasmine, friend of the pot.

[00:01:11] So you'll probably remember Jasmine from the My Parents Are Aliens episode.

[00:01:17] So we recorded this, oh I don't know, maybe eight months ago or something ridiculous like that.

[00:01:24] I've literally been sat on this episode for months. The reason for that is because I knew at some

[00:01:32] point the three of us would need to take a week off to do whatever. I just knew that eventually

[00:01:41] I would need to have an episode to put out while we do other things. It turns out that

[00:01:47] that other thing we are doing this week is preparing our live show. We're very, very excited.

[00:01:55] We know a bunch of you have already bought tickets. They're still available. So if you're

[00:01:59] in London in October then maybe check that out. So that's what we're planning today.

[00:02:08] We're writing our show. So this is a very old From the Vaults kind of episode.

[00:02:15] So I really hope you enjoy and thank you so much to Jasmine as always for being a wonderful

[00:02:23] guest. Had such a fun time recording this with Jazz. She is someone without a podcast but I've

[00:02:33] always said that she should have one because she always has something really interesting to say.

[00:02:39] And this I think is a really interesting topic. It's a strange little piece of media

[00:02:46] that I wasn't even fully sure was real until I re-found it. So yeah, bootleg, enjoy. And Megan

[00:02:55] Laura will be back with me in two weeks. Don't know with what yet but we're gonna be back because

[00:03:02] we are right in the middle of season four. So yeah, thank you very much for continuing to

[00:03:10] support the podcast and I'll see you soon. Hello, this is DJ Jimmy Jazz and you're listening to

[00:03:17] The Best of the Seventies. Next up we've got the police. We are joined by very special

[00:03:41] returning guest, friend of the pod, Jasmine Hale. Hello. It's so nice to have you back.

[00:03:49] Thank you. You recognize Jazz from my parents' Aliens episode. Yes, I hope you don't.

[00:03:57] That is the episode that got the attention of one Mr Tony Gardner on Twitter. TV zone. TV zone Tony

[00:04:03] Gardner, comedy's Tony Gardner. So thanks for that Tony. We're back. We're back. It was an

[00:04:09] all right episode. What do you think? You weren't that pleased with it, right? Oh, I just sound

[00:04:13] so nasal when my voice is recorded. I'm so sorry. It's not going to be any different today. I'm

[00:04:17] always just a little bit congested. That's all right. They're used to that because in the

[00:04:22] horrible histories episode, I just sounded so unwell. We're fine now and we're here to talk about

[00:04:27] we've been planning this one for a really long time. Yeah, I'm so hyped. I mean, this still

[00:04:33] doesn't mean I listened to the full audio book like but we've still not said what it is.

[00:04:40] So basically there's a TV film or possibly mini series, but it kind of works as both and I

[00:04:48] think it was put out as both a mini series on CBBC. It was like a made for TV film called bootleg

[00:04:55] yeah based on a book that was published the same year this film was made. Yeah, and I was obsessed

[00:05:01] with this book as a child and it's really funny because I also suggested it and I was like,

[00:05:05] wait, they made a film of that? I loved that book as a child. Like I absolutely loved it.

[00:05:10] I think I initially got it out from the library because the cover looked like a chocolate bar

[00:05:15] and I think it was a very tactile nice book cover that you just want to eat. But it's such a good book

[00:05:21] we've been listening to the audio book and it's so well written like the prose. It's so good.

[00:05:29] There's a bit where they were like he was as cold as the clay in the cemetery. Yeah, like it's actually

[00:05:35] very well written and engaging. Yeah, yeah. It's funny and the audiobook is written by

[00:05:42] sorry read by Martin Jarvis who you you'll have heard his voice like he's done so much

[00:05:49] voice acting and audiobooks. He did the I know him from the Big Bear Little Bear

[00:05:54] very young children's audiobook. He's like a very comforting presence and he's got a very

[00:06:00] distinguished theater actor. Yeah, he really does. So I about five years ago in uni

[00:06:08] I said to my flatmate, Sean, do you remember there was a TV movie? And I don't know what it was called

[00:06:16] and I don't really know what happened but I very vaguely remember it. And it was about

[00:06:23] a world in which chocolate had been banned and two boys start making underground chocolate.

[00:06:30] And the only bit I remembered from it was them coming up with the password

[00:06:35] for the little bunker they made the chocolate in.

[00:06:39] Who's for seconds? Hang on. What now? We've got to talk about security. Yeah, how are we going to

[00:06:44] stop people finding out? Well I thought of that as we're going to be coming here quite often

[00:06:49] we'll need a cover story so I'm helping out in your shop and smudge us doing your paper round.

[00:06:54] Now in case anyone tries to follow us we'll go the long way around by a blossom lane.

[00:06:59] About the smell got detective bands remember. Well I thought of that too. Toast. Toast. Burnt

[00:07:04] toast. Six white slices on setting eight creates a stench that wipes out everything for two hours.

[00:07:10] I tested it when I made my mum breakfast in bed this morning. Next we only sell to approved customers.

[00:07:16] How will I know they're approved customers? Ah well I thought of that. We'll have a code phrase.

[00:07:21] The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog. Okay great. Thanks for everything didn't you?

[00:07:26] No. The quick brown dog jumps over the lazy fox. I switched it to be extra short. Try it.

[00:07:32] It's fine I know it. Now you don't go on. It's easy. The quick brown f- no fog. I mean dog jumps over the

[00:07:41] lazy frog. I mean fox. Fog. What? Come on smudger. Which was the quick brown dog jumped over the lazy

[00:07:54] fox and there was one scene where a girl was given some chocolate some like contraband chocolate in

[00:08:00] a playground and says to this boy. Oh Hadley I miss it. I miss it so much. I just miss it so much.

[00:08:12] And those were the only two bits I remember and it stuck with me

[00:08:16] but I didn't really know what it was. So me and Shan decided to I think she remembered it as well

[00:08:21] so we googled it and we found out that it was on YouTube so we stuck it on and we howled

[00:08:26] laughter. It's so funny and then I told you about it and you were like oh I know the book.

[00:08:35] I read that book. But you didn't know that it was a film. No I read that book

[00:08:39] so many times as a child. I loved it yeah. So shall we talk about the brief plot of what happens?

[00:08:49] Yeah yeah. So how it's like a fictional UK we have to assume. Yeah although I do I mean in the book

[00:09:01] it's definitely the UK but I do kind of theorize that they made it vague enough in the TV film

[00:09:08] that it could have been like intended to be Australia or the UK because it was filmed in

[00:09:14] Australia. It was so there are quite a few well two quite distinguished British actors

[00:09:22] in the film and then the rest are Australian right all the children are Australian obviously it

[00:09:31] would be cheaper that way but there are UK flags dotted about the place and it also really looks

[00:09:37] like Australia. Yeah yeah I mean also though Australia does have the UK flag in its flag.

[00:09:44] Yeah that's true. I mean I'm pretty sure it is meant to be the UK but like the

[00:09:51] because Alex Shearer who wrote the book is from the UK. Yeah yeah but I do I just wondered if

[00:09:56] maybe they made it broad enough so that it could be Australia if they're putting it out for both

[00:10:01] audiences I don't know. Yeah yeah I actually don't know if it broadcasted Australia I have no idea.

[00:10:09] Yeah that's probably something we should have looked up but anyway it starts with two boys

[00:10:16] Huntley and Smudger. Yeah Smudger more. Yes Smudger more and Huntley Hunter. Huntley Hunter or

[00:10:24] it can't be Hunter Huntley Hunt Hunt Hunt Hunt. Well his first name is Huntley but that's his nickname.

[00:10:31] Yeah his actual name is Richard Richard Hunt Richard Hunt yeah Smudger more

[00:10:38] and they're walking down the street it's like a quiet suburban area and then fucking armoured

[00:10:44] vehicles like 20 of them like roll down the street and squad like troopers yeah like these troopers

[00:10:52] all like so many of them like jump out and like run into the shops and start like sweeping everything

[00:10:58] off the shelves. What are you doing? I call the police. We are the police. Like it's very in your

[00:11:09] face it's very on the nose yeah because what I thought when I watched it five years ago

[00:11:19] and what I thought when I was listening to the audiobook yesterday was

[00:11:24] it's very funny it's almost a parody yeah like it's so in your face. Who would have

[00:11:31] thought they would actually do it? Don't blame me I didn't vote for them. You didn't vote at all.

[00:11:36] Well they're all as bad as each other. That's what half the country said and look where we are now.

[00:11:41] A one-for-one comparison with like a fascist government. Yeah yeah and when we watched it

[00:11:47] yesterday I was like it's actually yes it is that but it's not it's done quite cleverly. It's like

[00:11:58] baby's first overthrowing a fascist government yeah which at first I thought was like a very funny

[00:12:04] concept but watching it it's actually kind of obviously not aimed towards us but it is

[00:12:10] quite a good way of getting children to understand certain concepts. Yeah we held

[00:12:16] on to this stuff when we sold the grocery shop. You had a grocery shop? In Chestnut Lane.

[00:12:21] Well Bronx one of those super stores now. That was some fight and they came to knock it down.

[00:12:27] Pitched a tent in the road. Should have seen the spear by Harry in our sleeping bags being

[00:12:33] scooped up in the air by that bulldozer. Made a stand that was the important thing.

[00:12:40] Over to you now. I will say in the film the humor's not quite as funny. It's not quite as...

[00:12:51] I want to say like a parody. I know there's a word for it but I can't figure out what it is.

[00:12:58] Okay this is not something to mention now but I feel we have to mention it now.

[00:13:02] One difference between the book and the tv show slash film is that in the film they have to be like

[00:13:12] okay I'm moving my arm up putting it in front of me not in like a

[00:13:16] seagull but just like in front of my chest parma and I'm like good for you.

[00:13:21] Good for you. That's how they greet each other. But in the book and I can see why

[00:13:26] they didn't do this because it's so stupid but it's also like I wish they had the official greeting of

[00:13:33] the good for you party that's taken over the UK. Is um I say to Elsie um crunchy apples to you

[00:13:42] comrade and I say juicy oranges to you. Have a banana. Yes. And that's how you greet people.

[00:13:50] Juicy apples to you comrade. Crunchy apples no crunchy apples to you comrade.

[00:13:55] Juicy oranges to you citizen. Have a banana.

[00:14:25] It's happened. And the only exemptions will be those with special medical names on prescription.

[00:14:32] And Dave who's Dave that's vandalism. So Dave that's so over.

[00:14:39] She may think that's myrtle but I'm just asserting my right to free speech.

[00:14:45] So they've banned chocolate they've banned sugar now this is we'll talk about the nutrition

[00:14:53] aspect of it in a minute. It doesn't quite add up all yeah we're two maintenance phase pilled.

[00:14:59] Yeah but basically the two boys they have a local shop that they go to all the time run by an older

[00:15:07] lady called Mrs. Bubby and she she's going out of business obviously because it's like a

[00:15:12] confectionary shop. Yeah one of their dads is a baker and he's going out of business.

[00:15:18] Yeah one of their mums is a doctor and people are like queuing up outside to get prescribed

[00:15:25] chocolate. Yeah making up lies to get prescribed chocolate like oh my god I don't think this

[00:15:31] is in the book but in the in the film one guy is like and you had this how long? Ever since Somalia

[00:15:39] last month the blackouts too. I was doing a report for news break and our food convoy got

[00:15:47] ambushed by militia a stinger exploded right above my head. Really? What I'll do is refer you to it.

[00:15:53] Actually there is something that stops it. No. Chocolate. Chocolate?

[00:16:00] We were stranded in the desert with the usual rations water biscuits

[00:16:05] chocolate bar and the moment I ate the chocolate it stopped. Really? Maybe it triggers the

[00:16:11] I don't know. So you're telling me that your post traumatic stress syndrome was alleviated by chocolate?

[00:16:19] Honestly. 100 milligrams. Thanks how many times a day? Once. Oh my god.

[00:16:37] Like he's making his hands shake. She writes them a note anyway. She does 100 grams once daily.

[00:16:45] But yeah so they feel very bad for their friend who runs this shop and also their classmates are

[00:16:57] being taken away by like sniffer dogs. Like it's very Fahrenheit 451. One of their classmates gets

[00:17:03] taken away for reeducation and doesn't reappear until like half the form later.

[00:17:10] Yeah. Yeah. He's different. It's okay I'm fine. We know it must be weird being back.

[00:17:20] We've got something for you. We've been busy while you've been away. He's on the house.

[00:17:29] So that was Dave Chang I think he's called. Dave Chang is so the way he's introduced in the

[00:17:40] movie is he vandalizes a good for you party poster and a character called Myrtle who will come on to

[00:17:49] says Dave that's vandalism. That is so over and that's how you know what sort of film it's going

[00:17:56] to be and Dave walks off like you might think that Myrtle but I'm just asserting my right to

[00:18:01] free speech and it's like oh this is the kind of era of the 2000s that we're in. I understand

[00:18:11] so Dave is like kind of flaunts the rules. He's flagrantly eating chocolate in assembly which you

[00:18:18] wouldn't even get away with in a normal school and in the current regime. He's chewing on it for 10

[00:18:23] minutes to really build up the tension like that guy has nothing in his mouth but it's

[00:18:28] cutting between him and a sniffer dog. Yeah. He's like arm and like tanks outside the school.

[00:18:33] Yeah. He's ready to pound. It's a full-on authoritarian state like they don't go lightly

[00:18:39] on it. It kind of happens in a day as well like yeah. A generation ago when I was on the beat

[00:18:45] we were called pigs. Kids hated us. It was war. Vandalism, graffiti, delinquents everywhere. Now

[00:18:55] at long last it seems like we're on the same side. Kids have grown up. You're caring,

[00:19:03] constructive, community minded. In a word you're sensible. You young people realise

[00:19:09] there's nothing cool about breaking the law. Now as you know our government has passed a new law

[00:19:18] prohibiting the sale and consumption of chocolate long overdue in my opinion. I was just going to

[00:19:25] say like in a way they wouldn't do it in real life you know because this government's obviously been

[00:19:29] in for a few months introduced this regulation but it you know I think they would phase it

[00:19:35] out if they did it actually but in this it's like it's very on the nose. They're clearing the shelves

[00:19:42] there like putting all the chocolate on a wood chipper. Okay so there's like the main guy he's

[00:19:54] kind of the what would you call him? Like it's very Fahrenheit 451 in that they have lots of

[00:20:01] high- Oh the chocolate inspector. Yeah yeah the chocolate inspector like there's like all these

[00:20:05] all these machines to detect chocolate but like a TV detector van. Like a TV detector. Yeah so I have

[00:20:12] opinions on I'll get into later. There's lots of like not direct references but like it's quite

[00:20:18] Orwell, it's quite Raymond Bradbury, it's very Clockwork orange even. A little bit yeah. The

[00:20:27] aversion therapy is straight out of a Clockwork orange. Yes because when Dave comes back they show

[00:20:34] him some chocolate and he throws up. Yeah yeah yeah they go into more detail about this in the book

[00:20:39] and it's like full on like hideous aversion therapy but yeah you know people come out different.

[00:20:46] Yes this ban was introduced quickly because the good for you party was elected to take firm

[00:20:52] and decisive action to make our nation a tidier, politer and healthier place. Look at the fall

[00:20:57] in graffiti and litter and look at the rise in politeness levels up to 82% in the last six months

[00:21:05] making us now the third politest nation after Finland and Denmark. The boys are seeing all of

[00:21:13] this happen to their classmates, they're seeing you know their parents jobs changing and they get

[00:21:18] sold phony chocolate on the street which is actually sawdust yeah. Yeah so they pay 40 pounds

[00:21:24] for some sawdust so there's drug references as well. Yeah like it's a long time sorry it's so

[00:21:31] much to cram into 90 minutes. Yeah I miss milky moments, caramel halos Brazil bars,

[00:21:40] chocolate bubbles, rock. Who wants some chocolate now? Are you serious? No things are looking up,

[00:22:04] meet me outside the forum in 10 minutes. Maja what's up? I'm not over the phone.

[00:22:11] Um they also like get so this is not in the book but it is in the movie there's a

[00:22:19] like they hear a rumor about it in the book and then go and search of it but in the movie he's like

[00:22:24] on a chat room. Yeah smudger is on the chat room but he's like hey would you someone's like

[00:22:30] would you like to know where to get some chocolate? So they go into this warehouse. Yeah they follow

[00:22:35] a strange man into a warehouse. So dodgy in the book they follow a strange man into the back of a van.

[00:22:43] He's like quick as you like boys and then he gets caught like they get pursued by the

[00:22:47] chocolate inspectors but yeah they get away it's fine. One of them gets the big idea to

[00:22:54] in fact he's in the library reading about prohibition and he decides oh we can make our

[00:23:01] own chocolate so he gets his friend Huntley and they go to Mrs. Bubby and Mrs. Bubby is like

[00:23:11] kind of a prepper. Yeah a little bit. She's got an underground bunker so they go down there and

[00:23:18] they oh they get a chocolate recipe because obviously like books about chocolates have been banned

[00:23:23] yeah yeah there was a bit at the beginning of the book where some librarian is like

[00:23:27] but you can't take away the books. Yeah they're burning books. And so they go into like the old

[00:23:35] town and they go into this old bookshop that's not been like investigated yet and they meet

[00:23:42] film. No I can't remember his name but we'll call him Martin Jarvis. Yeah because he is Martin

[00:23:48] Jarvis who also narrates the audiobook which is a nice touch. Oh good grief.

[00:23:53] Um look here's 10 pounds no 20 pounds please don't tell anyone. We're warning you they spot things like

[00:24:03] that. Oh they use kids like you sometimes. Thanks blades. Freddy blades. Are you sure you're all right?

[00:24:14] When will this ever be over us grown-ups we miss it too. So he

[00:24:22] realizes the boys are trying to find chocolate recipes so he's like okay um I'll show you it.

[00:24:29] Can I please taste it once you've made it because he's like he's a distinguished old gentleman. Yeah

[00:24:34] he's a connoisseur. He's a connoisseur of chocolate he has like a little monologue in the film about

[00:24:39] dark versus milk. Yeah. Mr. Kirke the art of chocolate thousand chocolate recipes baking with

[00:24:50] chocolate chocolate the definitive guide. These any good too? That's the chow bean the finest chocolate of all

[00:24:58] rich round with hints of ripe red fruit and plums delicate aftertaste just a touch of acidity. Cocoa

[00:25:06] butter cocoa powder dried milk sugar that's the porcelain almonds and olives intense yet

[00:25:14] tantalizingly delicate. But that's dark chocolate we like milk. Milk oh smudger such young palates.

[00:25:20] Punching stir the mixture in a folding or wave motion for a number of hours. Trust me in time

[00:25:25] you'll climb the dizzy dark aromatic heights with him a lair of cookies. And so yeah he pulls

[00:25:32] a book on the top of his bookshelf a bookcase slides out to reveal a secret room which

[00:25:38] spoiler alert later turns out like to be his war room. Yeah so yeah yeah yeah so he is working

[00:25:45] with the in the book it's the eat drink and do what you want party. No no it's it's not that's

[00:25:52] the opposition government but he's not working for them it's like kind of the chocolate and

[00:25:58] freedom party. The chocolate freedom party it's like a little not a splinter group but like an

[00:26:02] independent party that he's working for and he's got he's got some friends and those friends are

[00:26:08] kind of like people that used to work in the media and got pushed out because of their ideals

[00:26:13] like yeah yeah it's all very middle-class people and chocolate people though I think people

[00:26:18] you've like lost stuff yeah. Yeah so the boys and this guy and Mrs. Bubby played by Emma no

[00:26:28] Gemma Jones. Gemma Jones yes um Bridget Jones' mum yeah she they the four of them make chocolate in

[00:26:37] the bunker and they um oh the the guy doesn't make chocolate with them no but he knows what

[00:26:42] they're up to yeah yeah invites invites them all to the party meetings yeah but the boys kind of

[00:26:49] distribute the chocolate amongst their school friends and get a little bit rich and famous

[00:26:53] doing it yeah they well they um more diesel on the bootlegging they're making it in the basement

[00:27:00] of the shop they're burning toast to cover the smell which is really funny because they're burning

[00:27:06] so much toast in the film they would be like getting carbon monoxide poisoning in my opinion

[00:27:11] no literally and it would be it would draw more attention to the shop because there's

[00:27:16] smoke everywhere yeah but um yeah so there's a secret password the kids need to use

[00:27:23] to buy chocolate from under the counter which in the in the film is um the quick brown dog jumps over

[00:27:32] the lazy fox which you know they've swapped it around very clever in um in the book it's um

[00:27:39] like oh i'm looking for something to keep me going what kind of thing oh something to hit

[00:27:44] the smart that's that's the uh code yeah oh aspect of the story we've not spoken about yet is the

[00:27:50] young pioneers oh the young pioneers they're basically like Hitler youth yeah for the um good

[00:27:57] for you party dress like boy scouts but they're yeah they are the Hitler youth i don't want no

[00:28:02] chocolate bar i don't want no chocolate bar keep my ballasty dinner jar keep my ballasty

[00:28:10] oh no frankie crawley deep breath you're not gonna be sick

[00:28:16] good morning guys the jury's out on that lighten up you ought to join the young pioneers there's

[00:28:23] nothing like spearing trash to start today it gives you a real buzz i'd rather stick my finger in a

[00:28:28] socket we're recruiting this afternoon come along what don't fizzy drink hey i lead they have

[00:28:38] like a choir in the school and they just sing songs about like broccoli and yeah they pick up litter like

[00:28:45] you always see them picking up litter which is like to conflate that with being a fascist is quite upsetting

[00:28:51] i think like they are just being good citizens at those at that point yeah kind of like um good

[00:28:57] citizens in a smarmy way though very much yes like in the book it's frankie crawley he's the main

[00:29:06] leader of the young pioneers and there's myrtle yeah and myrtle in the book is not that sympathetic

[00:29:13] like she's kind of the female version of frankie yeah myrtle in the film is a friend of smudger

[00:29:21] and huntley that gets sort of drawn in by the environmental aspect of yeah and also her

[00:29:29] dad's like high up within the party so she kind of has to yes and um yeah frankie is a right like

[00:29:36] little shit in the um in the what's it what's it called book yeah that's he's like a perfect

[00:29:42] peter kind of yeah and he's he's still a bit of a twat in the film but he's actually a lot more

[00:29:47] like because he's funnier in the film he's just like he kind of reminds me of the guy in

[00:29:52] rushmore he's just kind of everywhere doing everything yeah he's so funny he plays the character

[00:29:58] with such a plomb yeah like the way that he conducts the choir is just it's glorious i just think it's

[00:30:05] it's always very charming to see a little boy conductor choir isn't it you know like the

[00:30:11] choir conductor in or the the lead of the choir in good edgy sorry sex education no oh okay

[00:30:19] he's a bit like that i mean he looks a bit like him to be honest i've actually served that actor in

[00:30:23] my shop anyway it's fashionable for people when they receive awards to play down their achievements

[00:30:29] well i won't this is brilliant and no more than we deserve it used to be cool to show disrespect

[00:30:36] it used to be cool to eat junk food and sweets well we're changing all of that

[00:30:42] and i'm proud of it really proud he's really good the girl that plays myrtle is a half english

[00:30:50] half australian actress called so she's called heli simpson and she was in the saddle club and she's

[00:30:56] so posh she's got such a posh voice she really does and you know those like kids that look like

[00:31:04] the adults they're going to grow up to be like there's a scene where she's arguing with her

[00:31:08] father and she's wearing like a pencil skirt and a turtleneck jumper and it's like very her

[00:31:14] minigranger of her oh she's very her minigranger in the film yeah yeah you had me followed

[00:31:21] electronically tagged yes why mom found chocolate wrappers when she put your jeans in the wash

[00:31:26] then she saw you with a hunter boy oh so you used me as bait myrtle that's not well i hope

[00:31:31] you're satisfied those are friends of mine and they're behind bars now friends myrtle give us

[00:31:37] a break you're so easily led this would never have happened if you'd stayed with the pioneers and

[00:31:41] frankie crawley so why not just lock me in my room till i'm 21 you know with my job there have to be

[00:31:45] sacrifices we have to tow the line all of us and that includes telling me who to be friends with

[00:31:50] so but she's like she's on the side of good so the way that they end up overthrowing this

[00:31:57] government is there's this secretly recorded footage of the government all gouging themselves

[00:32:04] on a licit sweet treat such a government meeting and an unknown sorry an unnamed female extra with no

[00:32:14] no lines really she has a couple but like yeah she's just a female staffer a very small part

[00:32:21] she's seen really recorded this this gets into the hands of myrtle's dad and myrtle the legend

[00:32:27] nixit yeah passes it on to hunter and smudgerley who then pass it on to martin jarvis yeah and my

[00:32:34] my favorite thing about how this all gets resolved is basically martin jarvis and his friends are like

[00:32:47] a little girl has done something extremely illegal for us and has like sold out secrets of the state

[00:32:54] and we have friends in the media because we used to work in television centre so we're going to

[00:33:00] we're going to infiltrate the building and broadcast it to the country let's face it we still

[00:33:06] don't know for sure what the feeling is out there on the ground the level of support there is

[00:33:11] but if we were to show them this the battle's half-wired how could we do that

[00:33:17] broadcast it i used to work at tv centre i know my way around get this onto every screen in every

[00:33:25] living room people will rise up but you're blacklisted the troopers all over the building

[00:33:28] but they broad they infiltrate the building by all disguising themselves as members of the

[00:33:35] young pioneers choir including these 60 year old men it's so good it's so good it's like

[00:33:43] might as well have like drawn on freckles yeah like oh my god yeah so that's that's how it

[00:33:49] happens and at the end like everyone's running out into the streets because they can see that the

[00:33:56] party lied to them it's like the covid parties yeah it really is but also you know if we didn't

[00:34:02] do anything about that no if the british people actually had it in them to uprise you know

[00:34:07] yeah it's like that so at the end you've got martin jarvis and these two boys and they're

[00:34:12] like climbing on top of the armored vehicles and everyone's like chanting and like cheering for them

[00:34:17] and then there's like a little montage at the end where you can see that mrs butteby's back in business

[00:34:22] and on the front window she has martin jarvis for he's like campaigning to be prime minister

[00:34:28] and it's a nice ending but like something that bothered me is that the people that did the

[00:34:34] actual risky work of the women like this staffer who filmed the meeting and this girl that

[00:34:42] nicked this tape from her dad yeah like they deserve to be up there as well and mrs bubby

[00:34:47] she's actually so when the bunker gets raided she's sent to a re-education we've not mentioned that

[00:34:54] they were they're having they're running a basically an eat easy in the um basement of the shop

[00:34:59] in the book it's actually much cooler in the book it's an abandoned air raid shelter yes but

[00:35:04] it's just basically they're having a rave in the basement of the shop oh it's such a vibe

[00:35:10] honestly the outfits are so good they're very like y2k but like the sort that is very trendy now as

[00:35:17] well which is really impressive because everything that was made in 2002 doesn't actually look to our

[00:35:23] eyes now as like oh that's very 2002 but it actually really is like it's kind of like they knew

[00:35:29] what exactly what era they were in which no era is especially within its era like now you

[00:35:37] i couldn't tell you what is especially 2024

[00:35:41] i don't know but but this is really set where it is set

[00:36:17] yeah yeah so all these school children are in this bunker and having like a chocolate rave

[00:36:25] and it gets um well it gets raided oh yeah because they've in the um in the film they've put a

[00:36:33] on myrtle and myrtle goat yeah yeah and so mrs bubby and smudger get sent to reeducation hunt

[00:36:41] yeah gets away then mrs bubby is kind of in there until the end yeah she pretends to be mad to

[00:36:49] um get to avoid reeducation oh that's right she's in like a institute in a straight yeah

[00:36:55] and she gets them all out at the end and you're just thinking like some of those people

[00:37:01] probably actually are in there for a reason like now they're all like on the streets

[00:37:07] like i get it i do but you know we need to figure out this guy's name yeah we do hang on

[00:37:14] john blades wait no that's not right oh i'm reading the anime i'm reading the cast for the anime

[00:37:20] oh yeah they made a manga and an anime out of this and we started watching the anime before we

[00:37:27] before we were recording and it actually is really good it looks like they've translated the tone well

[00:37:33] and incorporated giant chocolate detecting robots who can smash through walls yeah it's it's it was

[00:37:40] very good actually i don't know if i'll finish it but it was very good yeah martin javis's

[00:37:46] character is called john blades we've finally got to the rave yeah

[00:37:50] are you for sure this is right this doesn't look like a mr b type of place i don't see any

[00:37:55] other western street do you excuse me um we're not sure if we're in the right place i don't know if

[00:38:03] you've seen the guy we're supposed to be meeting is largest about six foot tall and a magnanimous

[00:38:08] disposition come on shall we talk about um were we going to talk about a few differences between

[00:38:16] the book and the film i mean we have already spoken i think i was just saying that he becomes

[00:38:20] the prime minister but i forgot to say that yes the book is one of those it well you you've read

[00:38:26] it so you you tell us like the ending oh yeah i mean it was implied at the end of the film as

[00:38:34] well because he was like putting a vote for me poster in the window of mrs bubby's shot but in the

[00:38:38] i think he becomes prime minister in the book i'm not entirely sure but i just remember it was

[00:38:44] really funny um in the in the book it's one of those kids books that gives unnecessary details

[00:38:50] about the ending so i'm pretty sure that like mrs bubby and mr blades get together through the

[00:38:56] sparks are flying yeah jemma jones and martin jarvis like in the one sort of exchange of words

[00:39:05] because miss bubby she has a dead husband yeah her story is that they used to go on protests all

[00:39:12] the time and she's talking about her i can't remember his his name but talk about harry her harry

[00:39:18] and when they're like do you want to do you want to make underground chocolate with us mrs bubby

[00:39:22] she's like oh i don't know and she goes upstairs and looks at a picture of her husband yeah and

[00:39:27] turns around like tears streaming down her face it's so dramatic and she's like what would harry

[00:39:34] do oh my god yeah it's not like that in the book in the book they're just like do you want

[00:39:39] to make chocolate and she's like yeah but yeah in the in the book at the end it's like oh yeah

[00:39:46] she dies a few years later and then he dies a couple of years after that my god why do we need to know

[00:39:52] we don't literally we don't we don't quick brown dog jumps over the lazy fox sorry the quick brown

[00:40:00] dog jumps over the lazy fox you're on medication mrs b it's okay he's our friend from the book

[00:40:07] shop sorry frederick blades voice told me all about you they told me all about you

[00:40:16] i love the way he voices myrtle like i don't know it's so like teacher reading a story and

[00:40:22] doing the character's voices yeah also um one character in the book that very sadly is not

[00:40:27] brought into the film is the chocolate man a former actor he used to be in chocolate adverts

[00:40:34] um but has obviously been blacklisted since the party took power but um very red scare yeah

[00:40:40] yeah martin javis does such a good voice for him that is so matt berry i would yes you know i just

[00:40:47] sing a wonderful kind of half stereotypical homeless man and half former posh actor yeah

[00:40:56] i think the film could only be better um i mean you know it's not the only way it could only

[00:41:01] be better it would be great if matt berry were in there playing the chocolate man

[00:41:08] oh yes so yeah it's like a there's a scene in the book well i guess it's not a scene is it

[00:41:16] it's a chapter where this guy is on the street and frankie the hitley youth guy

[00:41:33] panic persil discs retten den tag mit ihrer kraftvollen formel beseitigen sie selbst die hart

[00:41:38] neckigsten flecken für tiefen reine wäsche einfach die disk in die trommel werfen und der rest

[00:41:44] das macht eine waschmaschine weil du immer dein bestes gibst probier jetzt die besten discs

[00:41:49] von persil außerreichweite von kinder aufbewahren ja ist gut ich komme so einer einer in den

[00:41:59] no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no not

[00:42:01] what is wrong with them i think that feels is lotto

[00:42:11] this feels do with lotto bayern lotto bayern nimm dein glück in die hand in

[00:42:15] de

[00:42:16] see

[00:42:16] to annamestelle und auf latubayern.de

[00:42:19] Spielteinarmab18, Glücksspielkern süchtig machen, Hilfeunter bzga.de

[00:42:22] Lato Bayern wünscht viel Spaß mit folgendem Podcast

[00:42:28] The guys like have you got any spare change or whatever?

[00:42:32] And Frankie does the whole like oh how do I know what you're gonna spend it on like that kind of thing?

[00:42:38] So he's like here have a banana

[00:42:40] It'll be healthy for you and get you back on your feet

[00:42:42] See more of those and you'll be right back to where you are

[00:42:45] and he leaves feeling all pleased with himself

[00:42:47] and then they rope in this chocolate guy to basically be the bodyguard for the book

[00:42:53] Yeah the look out, the look out

[00:42:55] Yes, he's a great character

[00:42:57] Yeah yeah

[00:42:58] And I like the sort of commentary on how homeless people are treated

[00:43:04] It's so like it brushes over topics in a way that is like

[00:43:10] Ridiculous

[00:43:11] Ridiculous but also if you are eight years old and you're reading this book it's actually not

[00:43:16] It's kind of it walks a really good line

[00:43:21] It's implied that certain things are like banned or on the list to be banned in the film

[00:43:27] But in the book they state it out right?

[00:43:30] So it's like white flower sugar

[00:43:34] Like maybe butter not not

[00:43:37] It's not really said specifically but like loads of that kind of ingredient

[00:43:43] But also it's not mentioned whether like alcohol and cigarettes are banned

[00:43:49] Which seems wild that the good for you party might not ban them if they were banning chocolate

[00:43:56] Because like alcohol like prohibition is mentioned in the film

[00:44:00] So alcohol is mentioned

[00:44:01] Yeah in the film it actually shows the adult characters drinking whiskey at one point

[00:44:06] Which I feel they would not be able to show on something aimed at kids nowadays

[00:44:10] It seems like a bit of a no-no

[00:44:12] This was 2002

[00:44:14] But like somehow yeah alcohol and cigs are not banned

[00:44:18] But there is also a scene where in

[00:44:23] They're in the classroom and a boy is like holding an empty box of chocolates

[00:44:29] And he's crying cracking up and just saying the names of the individual chocolate

[00:44:36] And the teacher like a kindly teacher walks up to him and he's like come on now

[00:44:40] I know it's empty no and he's like trying to like fighting over this empty box of chocolates

[00:44:46] Margaret Thatcher's evil head teacher comes and takes him away

[00:44:51] And yeah she's got hair like silver black cross Margaret Thatcher

[00:44:54] Yeah so she takes the kid to her office to have a talk

[00:44:58] And he presumably gets sent away for re-education

[00:45:02] Linda Haywood

[00:45:03] Yep

[00:45:03] Mike Hunter

[00:45:05] Yeah

[00:45:06] Dave Husson

[00:45:12] Mattle Jackson

[00:45:13] Praline Ripple

[00:45:13] Yeah

[00:45:14] Yes no no

[00:45:16] Michael Fudge Sunday

[00:45:17] Yes

[00:45:19] Derek are you alright?

[00:45:20] No caramel whip

[00:45:21] Oh yes

[00:45:22] Yes

[00:45:24] What are you doing?

[00:45:26] No

[00:45:26] No don't please

[00:45:27] Let me have it please Derek it's empty

[00:45:29] No leave it it's mine

[00:45:30] Derek I know it's hard believe me

[00:45:32] No leave it

[00:45:33] Just cut his master

[00:45:41] Well in the book that character sorry in the film that character is the brother of Frankie

[00:45:46] and it's what gets Frankie to

[00:45:48] Oh really?

[00:45:49] Yeah yeah yeah so that's what gets Frankie to become like sympathetic to Smudger and Huntley's cause

[00:45:54] Oh I didn't realise that I thought he I thought his brother was like into chocolate dealing or something

[00:46:00] I think maybe in the book like we find out something like that about Frankie

[00:46:05] We never have a finished the book but I think maybe Frankie changes towards the end of the book I'm not sure

[00:46:14] Yeah I don't know but there's a yeah there's lots of references to like chocolate abuse

[00:46:20] and like abusing substances

[00:46:24] Yeah

[00:46:24] There's a lot of that

[00:46:25] There's also something that I mean this just kind of adds to the whole tone of

[00:46:32] how hard they come in in the first act

[00:46:36] When so they on their way to school they stop off at Mrs. Bubby's house

[00:46:40] Not house shop then on their way back from school when the band has fully taken effect

[00:46:44] She walks out of the back room and her arm is broken

[00:46:47] Yeah awesome a sling

[00:46:49] What have they done to you?

[00:46:53] Mrs. Ben are you all right?

[00:46:55] They came just after you left so much for those Taekwendo classes

[00:46:59] Well there were six of them

[00:47:00] Oh Smudger our shrine and they've desecrated it

[00:47:04] Oh it's left now as newspapers and rubber bands and greetings card

[00:47:09] Literally it is just like a straight up like authoritarian state like and they it's like very

[00:47:17] Nasty life

[00:47:18] And another thing that we kind of just lost our goddamn minds out was the owner of the bakery that

[00:47:27] Smudger's dad works at

[00:47:29] He's German

[00:47:31] He's Austrian

[00:47:32] Oh Austrian yeah

[00:47:32] And he actually says

[00:47:35] My father came here in the 30s from Austria to to escape fascism

[00:47:40] It's like

[00:47:41] Oh yeah

[00:47:43] No it's

[00:47:45] It's a lot

[00:47:45] It is a lot

[00:47:46] It is a lot

[00:47:47] Not only do they talk about the reeducation camps

[00:47:50] But they also talk about fat camps

[00:47:53] Like there's a kind of

[00:47:55] So something in the the chance of the young pioneers like about not wanting to be fat

[00:48:03] Like there's some fatphobia

[00:48:05] In fact, there's a poster that Huntley's mum is required to put up in the doctor's surgery

[00:48:12] It's like a black and white picture of a fact kit

[00:48:14] And it says chocolate it really screws you up

[00:48:18] Like what the fuck

[00:48:20] Very 2002 as well

[00:48:22] Yeah

[00:48:23] But this whole sugar band thing

[00:48:27] It doesn't make a lot of sense

[00:48:29] It's true

[00:48:30] And also sugar itself cannot be detected by the chocolate detector vans

[00:48:35] They only detect chocolate

[00:48:37] Yes, yeah

[00:48:39] So once it's been made into chocolates they could detect it

[00:48:43] Yeah, but not if it's inside you to me

[00:48:45] Yeah, and it can't penetrate human stomachs or lead

[00:48:48] Yeah, yeah

[00:48:49] But it's just it's just wild they wouldn't detect sugar

[00:48:53] Like surely sugar is a more obvious like thing to detect

[00:48:58] See I have big opinions on this

[00:49:01] And I know that you do as well because we're both avid listeners of maintenance phase

[00:49:04] Check it out, it's an amazing podcast

[00:49:07] So I work in a shop that is a it's a refill shop

[00:49:11] So it's like an environmental bulk foods thing

[00:49:13] But also we sell certain things like

[00:49:17] Um lots of organic things

[00:49:19] And so people think that we're a health store and we're absolutely not a health store

[00:49:24] No

[00:49:24] We're really not

[00:49:25] And people come in like I mean I'll say it stupid people come in

[00:49:29] And they're like do you have any sugar-free chocolate?

[00:49:32] And we're like no

[00:49:33] Mmm

[00:49:34] Uh no

[00:49:35] Like we have these vegan organic like gummy bears and they're like does these have sugar in as well

[00:49:40] Yes, yes they do

[00:49:42] We have people coming in saying things like I can't have E numbers

[00:49:46] And I'm like you don't know what an E number is

[00:49:48] No

[00:49:49] Like there's like a hundred E numbers that are organic

[00:49:51] They're just like numbered additives aren't they

[00:49:54] Yeah like additives can be something like tumeric

[00:49:57] Tumeric is an additive it makes things yellow

[00:50:00] And it's labeled with an E because it's under the European additives

[00:50:04] Yeah, yeah

[00:50:06] These yeah I have opinions about like

[00:50:10] Wee-wee health people and this book does a kind of it does a pretty good job of not

[00:50:18] thinking too deeply about it

[00:50:20] But I must question is this a world without stevia

[00:50:24] Like

[00:50:24] You have to question

[00:50:26] Literally because they have these hideous good for you like chocolate substitute bars

[00:50:33] Which mention carob

[00:50:34] It's like what's wrong with cocoa powder?

[00:50:37] There is nothing inherently wrong with cocoa powder

[00:50:40] Literally and like I thought that carob was like a fairly new fat

[00:50:45] Oh no there are seven C's apparently

[00:50:47] Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah it's a it tastes nothing like chocolate people think it does

[00:50:51] It doesn't

[00:50:52] What was that?

[00:50:53] Chocolate free chocolate

[00:50:54] Chocolate free chocolate extract of tofu, carob, sea kelp and concentrated alfalfa sprout

[00:51:01] But like chocolate free chocolate is just a delicious liella bar

[00:51:06] Yeah, yeah, I've I've got some dairy free chocolate in my bag that I'm going to give to Jasmine

[00:51:11] In a minute. It's oh my god. It is the best I've ever had

[00:51:15] Oh it's so good

[00:51:18] This is so good

[00:51:21] I took my headphones off for that I didn't want to hear it

[00:51:25] You're gonna have to edit it

[00:51:27] I know

[00:51:27] I know

[00:51:28] I know

[00:51:29] Sorry, did it go to say it well?

[00:51:30] Yeah, that's fine you you enjoy that it's like a praline dark chocolate vegan truffle thing

[00:51:35] And she's just trying to keep me occupied

[00:51:37] Yeah I am

[00:51:40] But now as I said I'm a bit of a dark man so it's been quite a few years since I've tasted milk

[00:51:46] Smudger

[00:51:47] He's tasting

[00:52:02] Oh wow

[00:52:03] I never thought I'd taste that again

[00:52:06] You geniuses

[00:52:07] You heroes

[00:52:08] Smudger bad news

[00:52:10] Huntley

[00:52:11] We've made chocolate

[00:52:12] Mr. B thinks it's tops

[00:52:14] There is no bad news

[00:52:15] Yes there is

[00:52:16] Where else have cocoa powder and cocoa butter?

[00:52:19] We've used it all

[00:52:20] Search for yourselves

[00:52:24] Cocoa powder, cocoa butter you say

[00:52:29] I have a group of friends with certain contacts

[00:52:32] One of them might be able to help

[00:52:33] Who Mr. B?

[00:52:35] We meet on Mondays at 8

[00:52:37] In fact I think it's time you all came along

[00:52:40] John Blades description of dark chocolate is the dizzy dark aromatic height

[00:52:47] It's like I've not had milk chocolate in a long time

[00:52:51] Oh such young palates

[00:52:54] But see if you're going to appreciate the dark what is it the dark dizzying aromatic heights

[00:52:59] The dizzy dark aromatic heights

[00:53:01] Sorry

[00:53:02] Oh I've also got a great quote from the prime minister who is this like Faraj-esque like super-gammon

[00:53:09] Oh yeah he's so gammon

[00:53:10] But he's also like his staff is like trying to make him appear more human

[00:53:15] She's the one who like in the end like records their secret footage

[00:53:19] But she's like can you try and see him a bit more human

[00:53:21] He's like I am human I'm wearing a cardigan

[00:53:25] What more do you want?

[00:53:27] Me all the time

[00:53:30] I find I've found a new found

[00:53:37] Appreciation for Martin Jarvis

[00:53:39] Like he always held a special place in my heart because of the big bear little bear audio book

[00:53:44] That I used to listen to going to sleep at night

[00:53:47] But to actually look at him what you said he was like a sort of

[00:53:52] Bargain basement Stephen Fry

[00:53:54] Not bargain base but but he's all that ilk

[00:53:57] Like I thought him and Mrs. Bubby are kind of very similar to Emma Thompson and the Stephen Fry

[00:54:04] Kind of like an Aldi version and therefore better

[00:54:09] Better value for your book

[00:54:10] Honestly I he's like a cuddly teddy bear I was so I was so charmed by him

[00:54:16] Like he had the potential to be really annoying but he wasn't he was so he's just so nice

[00:54:22] Yeah, I love that for him and on the topic of Mrs. Bubby

[00:54:28] My dad's older brother my uncle if you will

[00:54:32] As a kid had a imaginary friend called Mrs. Bubby

[00:54:37] And my dad's older sister had an imaginary friend called

[00:54:47] Hang on

[00:54:52] Mr. Mr. Manjunk

[00:54:56] Mr. Manjunk

[00:55:01] Man J-O-N-K Manjunk

[00:55:07] My dad didn't have an imaginary friend but he always tells me like when he was a kid

[00:55:12] If his siblings were arguing they would be like I'm gonna go tell Mrs. Bubby on you

[00:55:17] Oh, well, I'm gonna go tell Mr. Manjunk on you and they would go to their respective corners and talk to these people

[00:55:25] So funny

[00:55:28] I wanted to talk a bit about parallels to the banning of chocolate

[00:55:34] You know outside of places like Nazi Germany

[00:55:39] Um, but also, you know, they're coming for our elf bars

[00:55:44] They are they're coming for our elf bars if I want to destroy the planet

[00:55:49] You know the difference between I mean you said this yesterday the difference between banning chocolate and banning elf bars

[00:55:55] Is that everybody that uses elf bars is like oh, yeah, they definitely should ban elf bars

[00:55:59] Definitely like no one is for the cause of elf bars. No. No all lost marys

[00:56:05] No or any single year's made

[00:56:09] I can't name any of this even the even the really cool ones shaped like an energy drink with a straw in the bottle

[00:56:15] And other ones that are so obviously aimed for children. They're so obviously aimed at kids. There's one called um

[00:56:23] A straw nana black currant and it's like pink and it's like a strawberry banana black currant flavor

[00:56:30] It's like that is for children. I mean all these ban them

[00:56:34] Oh, you get similar like shaped like a water bottle. They're so cool

[00:56:38] But they're definitely for like children and um adults with an inappropriate sense of whimsy

[00:56:46] Yes, I'm so glad that's not me

[00:56:48] couldn't be me

[00:56:51] Yeah, I mean that is that is a parallel and obviously like I think has it just been announced that they're going to

[00:56:56] raise the age where you can buy tobacco by year every year

[00:57:00] I mean, I mean I totally agree with it because it's like tobacco is terrible for you

[00:57:05] But it's also so funny the idea of being 38 and having to send your 39 year old friend to the shop

[00:57:12] to be to buy tobacco

[00:57:15] Yeah

[00:57:16] But are we now because we are you and me at 25 and are they gonna start at 19?

[00:57:23] I don't know for the rest of our lives going to be able to buy tobacco if we want to

[00:57:27] Did we escape that?

[00:57:29] I'm I'm not sure. I mean, I'm always happy to buy cigarettes for children

[00:57:35] I'm not really I'm not really let the record show

[00:57:40] What about elf bars though?

[00:57:42] I am just joking. I know you are don't worry. I know you are so do our listeners. I hope so especially stupid

[00:57:51] No, we don't have stupid listeners. We have really really bright intelligent. We love them. Yeah

[00:57:56] We love you. Yeah, I was also going to take this opportunity to um dunk on Jamie Oliver

[00:58:03] Please because although I welcome any opportunity too

[00:58:07] Like ridiculous to like outright ban chocolate

[00:58:10] They are you know with the introduction of the sugar tax and stuff they are like

[00:58:15] Taking measures to crack down on sugar

[00:58:18] Like, you know a few years ago like all your favorite fizzy drinks just suddenly became worse because tax

[00:58:25] Yeah, big companies were not going to pay to put sugar in them

[00:58:28] So they upped the sweetener content in a lot of them

[00:58:31] And I know Jamie Oliver is doing a lot of lobbying to make

[00:58:37] Sugary and fatty foods even more difficult to get at the height of the cost of living crisis

[00:58:44] Yeah, what did you say about?

[00:58:47] When you were a kid and you were reading the book even then you felt that it was oddly libertarian

[00:58:53] Um, yeah, see I'm not getting it half as much from reading it now

[00:58:58] Same

[00:58:58] Like because like reading it as a child. I I kind of thought like oh, this is like very anti

[00:59:04] The state but no, I think it's just anti authoritarianism

[00:59:10] And yeah, yeah

[00:59:12] the government um did introduce

[00:59:16] HFSS a few years ago

[00:59:18] HFSS stands for high fat salt and sugar

[00:59:22] Um, I know this because I work in a shop, but these rules mean the um unhealthy foods

[00:59:29] You know like crisps and sweets and that can only be like displayed in certain areas of shops

[00:59:35] I guess to kind of make them less eye catching

[00:59:39] So that's why you won't get like certain foods at the front of a shop anymore

[00:59:43] And the Easter eggs are a bit more hidden away and this is a part of a

[00:59:48] government scheme to

[00:59:50] Restrict the promotion of less healthy food and drinks products as part of the government's pledge to reduce obesity and improve health

[00:59:59] Yay

[01:00:01] Just like votes for women

[01:00:03] Just like the abolition of slavery

[01:00:06] This is the latest in a long history of glorious campaigns that have changed this country's destiny

[01:00:14] There is a a bit where John Blades is making his speech and he um

[01:00:21] Likens their plight to uh

[01:00:24] Votes for women and the abolition of slavery

[01:00:27] so

[01:00:28] That's good. Oh, oh, Elsie Elsie. Um mention about how they had to disguise the secret meetings

[01:00:36] on the

[01:00:37] yeah, so, uh

[01:00:40] Basically they're holding like a party political meeting. Yeah, John Blades is reading it chocolate freedom party and

[01:00:48] They someone has tipped off the investigators and they burst in and find all of these

[01:00:57] rebels doing

[01:00:59] Zumba or something sort of like aerobics kind of thing. They're moving to music

[01:01:05] Yeah, and they're chatting chanting chanting like, uh, oh what is it rather have some broccoli?

[01:01:12] Chocolate is not good for me or something like that. Yeah

[01:01:15] Young pioneer s and yeah Elsie called it revolutionary zumba and I loved that

[01:01:22] I mean, I think

[01:01:24] something I

[01:01:26] I mean, I don't take issue with it because I understand but like

[01:01:29] Something that I did notice is just how

[01:01:33] middle class this revolution is

[01:01:36] because the the whole

[01:01:39] Solution is oh, I have some friends in the media

[01:01:44] It's just the one guy, you know, no, I know it was like they they break into the tv centre

[01:01:51] Yeah under the guise of being the young revolutionaries choir. No young pioneers choir

[01:01:57] Um

[01:02:27] Now this government would have us believe that it cares for its citizens

[01:02:32] That it acts honorably in our own best interests

[01:02:36] Well sit back and watch good people and judge for yourselves rotate

[01:02:41] Well the chocolate ban has surpassed all our expectations

[01:02:46] Apart from a few furries of profiteering

[01:02:49] Isolated pockets of resistance the troopers have done the job

[01:02:53] The mice are well and truly back in the mouse hole

[01:03:17] Actually prime minister there are a few of us around this table who aren't comfortable with this

[01:03:22] It's okay. No one's watching aren't we supposed to lead by example?

[01:03:26] Stop it. I'm such a young pioneer

[01:03:28] I mean, I love the optimism that you could have incriminating footage of the government and it would actually inspire a revolution

[01:03:37] You can't imagine it. Yeah, I can't imagine that

[01:03:40] Um, there is there was a bit that prompted me to ask if you've ever seen the

[01:03:45] film lives of others

[01:03:47] Oh, yeah

[01:03:49] There's so many cultural references in I mean on purpose or not like

[01:03:55] There was a moment where we were like, oh, that's very Orwell like their memory holding chocolate. Oh, yeah

[01:04:00] They removed it from the uh encyclopedia. Yes. They've taken it off the internet. Yeah, like a 2002 version of wikipedia

[01:04:08] Yeah, well google an encyclopedia. Yeah. Yeah. Um, so there's like that. There's 451 with all the detectors

[01:04:16] Move it now. Good for you. Good for you

[01:04:19] Hey

[01:04:23] Um, Jason Moore

[01:04:26] Over here hands on the air now I don't mind it here

[01:04:42] It's past the deadline

[01:04:44] No, the penalty is now for eating chocolate. I made a mistake. I meant to grab a muesli bar

[01:04:50] But I was in a hurry and I grabbed the wrong one. There's the reference to his father moving out of Vienna to escape tyranny

[01:04:56] There's there's a lot and there is a bit

[01:05:01] That made me ask jazzy if she'd ever seen lives of others

[01:05:05] So this is a film that my parents were like

[01:05:08] Trying to get me to watch for years and one day I just had a free afternoon and I was like, oh, yeah

[01:05:12] I'll watch it and it's like one of the best films I've ever seen. I showed it to meg and Laura and

[01:05:19] Meg

[01:05:20] Said that she's like

[01:05:22] She was crying by the end. She was so she was so upset

[01:05:27] It's got a sad ending. It's no, it's I think it's got a really happy ending. Oh, that's good

[01:05:32] It's basically so when smudger comes out of the reeducation camp

[01:05:37] He's pretending that he's brainwashed, but he's actually fine

[01:05:41] Yeah, the reason that he's pretending is because somehow he knows that his house has been bugged

[01:05:47] Yeah, people are just it's it's a not it's quite annoying to me because how

[01:05:51] Blase people are about just like having chocolate and also speaking so openly they like

[01:05:58] Despite kind of being in the middle of this authoritarian regime. They really don't seem to suspect people might have been bugged or whatever

[01:06:06] Yeah, they're very blase. Yeah

[01:06:09] Oh cheer up, Huntley. You look like a wet weekend. Smudger

[01:06:13] It's you

[01:06:14] Yeah, I think so last time I checked. I mean you're okay

[01:06:18] You look normal. You just told me to get out. Why did you shout at me like that?

[01:06:23] You're about to say mr. Blades the floods bug what?

[01:06:27] Everyone who was at missus bez has had their place white yours too. I nearly told mum about him

[01:06:31] Just be careful what you say

[01:06:33] I'll have to keep up the act with mum and dad until the coast is clear. Come on. Where are we going?

[01:06:37] Somewhere no one's listening, but yeah, there's a in in this

[01:06:41] um film it sat in east germany and it's about uh surveillance basically

[01:06:48] and

[01:06:48] A playwright and his girlfriend their flat has been bugged

[01:06:52] Um, and it's about the guy that's listening to their tapes and he kind of gets a bit

[01:06:58] Involved he kind of gets a bit sympathetic to them

[01:07:01] He kind of likes them as people and he sort of stops writing down things that could be incriminating and he

[01:07:07] inadvertently

[01:07:08] Helps them out. No, sorry not inadvertently. He um, he secretly helps them out and

[01:07:14] Uh, this playwright has absolutely no idea why he is getting away with so much and it's just a

[01:07:21] Beautiful beautiful film. It's so brilliant and I really recommend it

[01:07:26] Cool. Yeah, I mean it's I showed it to them in the same month that I showed them Goodbye Lenin

[01:07:32] Which is your dad's favorite film my dad really likes it. Yeah, yeah an amazing film

[01:07:38] We've I I swear I've spoken about this film before on the podcast, but yeah, goodbye Lenin. Yeah, yeah, and lives of others are so good

[01:07:45] I watched Goodbye Lenin when I was like 12 and I was not old enough to find it funny

[01:07:50] I just found it really depressing. It's not a sleepover movie when you're

[01:07:55] Did you watch it? Did you watch it her sleepover? That's so you

[01:07:59] Well, I didn't really have a nice time

[01:08:02] But you know when you're invested in the plot

[01:08:04] Oh, just like one of my friends and like I I don't know. I think she fell asleep halfway through

[01:08:10] It was like just not the vibe. Well, it's it's a foreign language film for one

[01:08:15] Yeah, it's about the division of eastern west Berlin. Yeah, I mean

[01:08:22] It's it's funny. It's emotional. It's clever

[01:08:27] It's the performances are amazing

[01:08:29] But watching it when you're 12 at a sleepover is an insane thing to do and it's so you that's so funny jazz

[01:08:36] I'm so sorry. I tried to read 1984 when I was about 11 because my dad told me to but

[01:08:42] Oh, god, I I'd never finished it because it freaked me out, but I would get home

[01:08:47] From school. I'd hidden it away in my room

[01:08:50] I would like to my bedroom door and I would like

[01:08:53] Read and reread the sex scenes

[01:08:56] Oh

[01:08:56] Yeah

[01:08:58] That's that's so funny. I was gonna say like are you were you trying to like

[01:09:03] Get into the vibe of the book by hiding the book or but no, you were just hiding it because there was sex in it

[01:09:10] Um, it felt like a very scary book to me not just because of the sex

[01:09:15] But like because of the themes like I agree really I I never finished their book

[01:09:21] But it like left a lasting impact. It really like freaked me out. Yeah, I

[01:09:25] read it when I was I think 13 and

[01:09:28] honestly, I had

[01:09:30] The best time because what people don't talk about is that Orwell was a fantastic writer

[01:09:35] Like not I mean he wrote a great story. He wasn't just like the politics. Yeah, fine

[01:09:40] Whatever, but he it was a genuinely entertaining book

[01:09:44] I raced through it

[01:09:45] It was really fun and they were like, you know, sometimes you get lines in a book where it's like, yes, that's it

[01:09:52] That's the feeling like I know exactly what you're saying. I didn't know it could be put into words

[01:09:57] Yeah, 1984 has a lot of that. It's very atmospheric. It's very it's very beautifully written

[01:10:03] I've only read it the once but that there are bits a bit that really stuck with me that actually had nothing to do with

[01:10:10] What people say it's about like I never finished it because I was too scared of it

[01:10:15] But um, I remember like reading yeah, like when I was like trying to read it

[01:10:20] Um as a child I'm just being like wow. I'm seeing this everywhere every single piece of media takes inspiration from this

[01:10:28] Which um, you know a bit much but it really does have that

[01:10:32] Well something that people I don't you know something that is in the culture about 1984 is that it's about extreme surveillance

[01:10:39] But it's actually not it's about um

[01:10:41] language

[01:10:42] It's about how because I mean there are so many words that came from it like um, double double thing. Yeah

[01:10:50] memory hole

[01:10:52] There is a point that they're at in that society where they don't need to surveil people because they've got them

[01:11:00] Brainwashed like it's about language that is used. Yeah. Yeah

[01:11:03] They don't really need to be watching people because it's the way they speak to them that has got them

[01:11:07] Shame Orwell actually um, was an informant to the secret services. Was he? Yeah, tell me more

[01:11:14] So he started off as um, you know being quite sympathetic to

[01:11:20] communism and socialism

[01:11:23] but um, he kind of didn't really like the ussr like became much more skeptical of it. Um

[01:11:32] And yeah, he did end up

[01:11:35] Um, you know, he he went well this article is um the georgia world paradox from spy target to informant

[01:11:42] And I believe he yeah did inform to mi5 on some things. I I barely know anything about him to be honest

[01:11:49] I know that he was like

[01:11:51] some

[01:11:53] privately educated

[01:11:54] eccentric

[01:11:56] Kind of loner. Um

[01:11:59] But yeah

[01:12:01] That's that's kind of my extent of my knowledge of him

[01:12:05] Okay, maybe not mi5 but um

[01:12:08] Yeah, Orwell listed the names of suspected communists who might betray britain if they were hired to work as writers in the propaganda unit. Whoa

[01:12:15] Yeah

[01:12:17] Yeah, that's an informant

[01:12:20] You know exactly what i'm talking about. It's much of mrs. puppy have gone down. It wasn't me. Why did you do it frankey?

[01:12:26] Were you jealous? I swear for the kicks

[01:12:29] You've been stripping on us from day one, haven't you frankey? It was you who followed us to the glass market, wasn't it?

[01:12:33] You followed us to mrs. puppy's came to cake. I've been following you

[01:12:36] The police said if I helped them

[01:12:40] If I passed on information about stuff going on here at school, they'd let my brother out early

[01:12:46] But I didn't tell him about mrs. bobby's. I swear what happened crow welched on the deal

[01:12:55] Now he says derrick's going nowhere

[01:12:56] I bought into the whole thing the party the pioneers

[01:13:01] What they were trying to do but after what happened to derrick I sold them for what they were

[01:13:05] I didn't tell the police about the party

[01:13:08] Proudly god's truth then how can we find out who did?

[01:13:12] There might be a way come with me. Do you know what is an absolute barp?

[01:13:16] What informer?

[01:13:17] Informer by snow

[01:13:20] You do know it

[01:13:22] Yeah, I don't know the I don't know the names of songs. We get this frequently. Yeah, we do

[01:13:27] It's such such a good song. Hello jason

[01:13:30] Or do you prefer

[01:13:33] Smudger, but on wait since I saw you last wonder why

[01:13:39] Oh, yes

[01:13:41] Under section 1b of the prohibition of chocolate act it is declared a criminal offense to either buy or sell or eat

[01:13:46] Or store or manufacture chocolate in any form milk plain or dark

[01:13:51] You've committed all five

[01:13:53] That's what we call a grand slam

[01:14:00] I want the names of every person who visited bubby's news this evening

[01:14:04] So, yeah, I don't do you have any like final comments on this piece of media?

[01:14:10] Um

[01:14:11] Well, it's not on this piece of media. I would I just wanted to say about tv tv detector vans

[01:14:15] I think tv detector vans are for the most part propaganda

[01:14:19] Like, you know, there's some evidence they could have picked up from very early

[01:14:24] TVs and stuff, but I I think they're fake

[01:14:27] I think tv explain what a tv detector van is

[01:14:32] um, a tv detector van is a van that drives around

[01:14:37] um, kind of looking to pick up

[01:14:40] Um evidence of people using a tv without having a tv license because obviously here in the uk

[01:14:47] Okay, yeah, you okay

[01:14:50] Yeah, they're strict though tv license people

[01:14:54] Then they're not

[01:14:56] Are they not you've got like no chance of being taken to court over

[01:15:01] Not having a tv license. I mean a lot of people just use their tvs for using like

[01:15:06] Online streaming and not watching live tv anyway

[01:15:10] But even when people are illegally watching tv

[01:15:15] um tv licensing people have no right to like come into your home and search or anything

[01:15:22] Like so how do they enforce it by sending scary letters? Yes the scary letters. Have you ever had one?

[01:15:30] Yeah, I've had loads of letters because no no because um, they just send them to like all our student halls and every

[01:15:36] They just like automatically send them out and um, I think a lot of the time it's to kind of convince like

[01:15:43] Maybe like international students and just people who aren't like wise and onto it that they need a tv license

[01:15:49] Like even if sometimes they don't but they like to send them threatening letters

[01:15:52] And then you're meant to like go online and tell them you don't need a tv license. I mean

[01:15:58] It's good information for people to know. Oh, so also

[01:16:02] okay, here's

[01:16:04] Here's some advice because multiple people have done this who I know

[01:16:10] and um

[01:16:12] Even after having me after even after I have told them about this

[01:16:18] You cannot use the same email address

[01:16:22] To tell them you don't need a tv license that you use for bbci player

[01:16:29] Really? Yeah, because yeah

[01:16:31] Yeah, because it's the bbc like if you're using your you know, if you're watching live programs on bbci player

[01:16:40] You know with your i player account and that's your email address

[01:16:43] You cannot use that same email address to tell them you don't need a tv license because you're not watching live tv

[01:16:49] Okay. Yeah, that makes sense. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah fair enough. They get yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah

[01:16:55] Um, do you have a favorite not necessarily one you believe in but do you have a favorite conspiracy theory?

[01:17:01] Oh, because I do

[01:17:03] Oh, I'm I'm interesting. I'm interested in hearing yours

[01:17:07] So I don't know if I believe it or not, but I like because I think this is quite a harmless one

[01:17:13] I

[01:17:14] like the idea that

[01:17:16] The moon landing happened, but the footage wasn't interesting enough. I love that one. I love that one

[01:17:22] Yeah, so the footage was too bad. So they got Stanley Kubrick to just shoot some more anyway. I like that

[01:17:27] Oh, that might be my favorite as well. Although I I also I like the theory that tv detective vans are fake

[01:17:37] It's comforting to think that they are right

[01:17:39] I

[01:17:41] What's that?

[01:17:44] Promise me you'll keep this to yourself

[01:17:47] There's a resistance movement the chocolate and freedom party

[01:17:51] It's getting bigger all the time, you know me and smudge have been going to their meetings in fact

[01:17:57] We should be there now

[01:18:00] Oh, that was some party brave mrs. B said after me that was magic you three

[01:18:06] How old are you again mr. B 45 next year you can come to my floor tiff here on the house

[01:18:15] Thanks, Mike. Thanks for letting me come

[01:18:17] We've got chocolate people

[01:18:21] Guys guys guys keep it down. Let them have their moment hunt me. See ya

[01:18:28] We've still got to be careful. We've come this far. I don't want anyone to blow it. That's a bit rich coming from you

[01:18:33] What did you mean a bit rich? I didn't like you inviting my I told you

[01:18:38] She's finished with the pioneers. She's okay. You should have checked with me first. She could be a security risk

[01:18:44] Security I think I'm the one who knows about security if it hadn't been for me

[01:18:48] We'd have been caught by traitors weeks ago if it hadn't have been from me

[01:18:51] We'd still be moping around school scrubbing walls with Frankie Crawley. What's that good to do with it?

[01:18:55] It just seems it's always down to me to come up with the ideas

[01:18:58] Hang on. It was my idea to have passwords and alibi. I'm talking about the big ideas

[01:19:02] No, no, no, no, it's been a long day. We're getting tired and emotional

[01:19:06] Because you and I like when we were first like when we first met our first sort of shared

[01:19:15] Fandom thing was welcome to night veil. You're the one that got me into welcome to night veil

[01:19:19] And that's I find that such an incredibly comforting show

[01:19:24] I find a lot of horror things very comforting and this is one like a town in which every single conspiracy theory is true

[01:19:31] Like they just don't question

[01:19:34] The blacked out vehicles that drive around their town. They don't question the mysterious lights

[01:19:39] They don't question anything and the reason I find it so comforting is because yes, it's very creepy, but they don't care

[01:19:45] It's just like average local news to them and I just find it very

[01:19:50] It's a very comforting listen. I like it. Nothing's ever gonna touch them. Like yeah, everyone keeps dying around them

[01:19:55] But it's like this is our home

[01:19:58] If we'd gone to that freedom party meeting that night

[01:20:01] None of this would have happened

[01:20:03] We forgot about the big picture. This whole thing was never just about us getting chocolate or making money

[01:20:09] Serves me right. Hey, it was my fault too. You were right to be suspicious of my all along

[01:20:13] You went to know old man, etc

[01:20:17] Do you have any final comments on

[01:20:19] Um

[01:20:20] The piece of media that is bootleg either as a film or a book or an anime

[01:20:29] Um fantastic book you should read the book or listen to it because then you get to hear the dulcet dulcet tones of martin javis

[01:20:36] Yeah, and um eat chocolate and please fight against our corrupt

[01:20:44] Incompetent tyrannical government. Yes. Yes, but oh no, sorry. That's something I wanted to say actually

[01:20:49] right at the beginning and this is in the book and the

[01:20:54] movie it's a very

[01:20:56] Soapboxy moment where the grown-ups the parents they they heard their parents talking about this

[01:21:03] that um

[01:21:05] There was someone driving by uh with a car sticker saying don't blame me. I didn't vote for them

[01:21:12] This person probably voted for the eat drink and do what you like party, but they were outnumbered

[01:21:19] No, sorry smud smudges dad didn't vote at all and his mum said oh, you're the reason they got in because of apathy

[01:21:28] It's like okay. We get it calm down like

[01:21:31] Yeah, this is repeated verbatim in the film

[01:21:33] Yeah, I know a lot of people think like voting doesn't matter because nothing will ever change for the better

[01:21:39] but the thing is um

[01:21:41] Things can and do change the worst and it's kind of all our duty to

[01:21:46] maintain it

[01:21:47] Yeah

[01:21:48] Stubbers off sliding into an outright fascism. Yeah, I mean I do I agree with the message in it, but it was very kind of

[01:22:00] These are

[01:22:02] I don't know. It was like a learning moment for children in a it was bizarre. It was bizarre to watch

[01:22:07] It's like it was strange to hear in a children's book

[01:22:11] that oh this person didn't vote and

[01:22:14] And their their their wife disagreed like I don't know. It was it was funny. I agree, but it was funny. Yeah

[01:22:26] Yes, my good friends along with 90% of the nation the difference is these people here are ready to fight for it

[01:22:34] Welcome to the chocolate and freedom party

[01:22:38] So, yeah, I

[01:22:42] When I watched it again about five years ago

[01:22:44] I appreciated it for how

[01:22:46] hilarious and on the nose it was and how

[01:22:49] How big it was and how you know, it gave us the chance to see some armored vehicles and like

[01:22:57] squads of like troopers

[01:22:59] running into the suburban streets and clearing chocolate bars off the shelves

[01:23:04] I appreciate that image. I think it is hilarious, but watching it and listening to it

[01:23:10] Now like yesterday

[01:23:12] It's not as stupid as I thought it was. No, it's actually it walks a very fine line between

[01:23:21] bizarre and

[01:23:23] kind of

[01:23:26] outlandish

[01:23:27] Outlandish but also

[01:23:30] You know it could have been too serious. It could have been too soapboxy. It could have been too clever

[01:23:35] It could have been too ridiculous, but it's actually it works and it's good and I appreciate it

[01:23:41] And it is still very funny. Yeah

[01:23:46] This is what it's all about. Huh, please

[01:23:48] Smiling faces, you know the best thing about what we did

[01:23:52] Not the chocolate's back. No, not the fact that we're just a little bit painless now

[01:23:58] The fact that we did it because it was the right thing to do and you know, it somehow makes the chocolate taste even better

[01:24:12] Oh, I had this wicked dream last night by the way. We were running the country on me. I like it

[01:24:17] I was prime minister. You were chancellor. We were doing the budget. You were prime minister. Yes

[01:24:23] I see. Well someone asked after big ideas

[01:24:35] Jasmine, thank you for thank you for having me. Of course

[01:24:39] It's always a pleasure to talk to you about the the more niche elements of British

[01:24:45] It's been so nice to have you back. Don't know when this one's gonna come out. I mean

[01:24:50] To be honest, I recorded this so that um

[01:24:54] I could put it out when we want to break

[01:24:56] Nice

[01:24:57] No offense to you like it's gonna be a great episode

[01:25:00] Listeners, thank you again for joining us. Uh, if you haven't seen bootleg

[01:25:04] I'll give yourself just treat yourself. Yeah

[01:25:08] It's on youtube couple of hours. Yeah, it's great

[01:25:11] If you ever see the book in a charity shop get it. Yeah or listen, right?

[01:25:16] Um crunchy apples to all listeners

[01:25:19] Juicy oranges to you jasmine

[01:25:21] Have a banana

[01:25:53] Oh