Transvox - Cruises, Holidays and Work Life Balance

[00:00:07] Hi, hi, hi and welcome back to Transvox and for the first time in ages we're sitting resplendent in front of me in a giant pink sparkly onesie. There's my old friend Jenny. How are you Jenny?

[00:00:20] I'm very good thanks Gill. Yeah it's cold enough for a onesie now. I might even have a Tuesday. It has gone cold now. It's turned. The weather has.

[00:00:28] I must admit I've never liked onesies. Have you found they're really uncomfortable?

[00:00:32] Yeah it's not really a joke but yeah it's not really a somewhat restricting when you're my size I guess.

[00:00:41] I have to be honest I've got one of those onesies that's like a it's a jokey one I think but it's a full sized one and it's got like bears ears on it.

[00:00:53] Yeah that's cool that's a look. Yeah that's it.

[00:00:54] I know it's really lovely and I saw someone say to me what are you wearing I say I'm not I'm not I'm just being I'm just in bear mode.

[00:01:04] Fair enough.

[00:01:06] Oh bless.

[00:01:06] You'll have to come off you'll have to come on the podcast to wearing that one day.

[00:01:10] Do you think so with the ears on?

[00:01:12] Yeah yeah yeah.

[00:01:12] Ears at work.

[00:01:15] How are you Gill anyway?

[00:01:16] How are you first of all because I haven't seen you for ages.

[00:01:18] Well you go first because I I'm I'm fine but you've come back from excitement from a holiday.

[00:01:24] How's that been?

[00:01:24] Yeah yeah yeah.

[00:01:25] Well I thought it'd be interesting to talk I mean it's perhaps past the travel season but I think for some people it's worth starting to think about holidays and things.

[00:01:33] So I've just come back from mine and there've been lots of pre-recorded episodes of the podcast of real people talking about cancer and screening and surgery and all sorts of different things.

[00:01:43] But I thought it'd be nice just to do a short one saying we're back and talking a little bit about travel and and what it's like and how it's different and such like so.

[00:01:52] So I've been on a cruise ship.

[00:01:55] Wow.

[00:01:56] Which is.

[00:01:56] Oh yes of course and I made that bad joke about cruising didn't I before you went.

[00:02:00] You did.

[00:02:00] I did.

[00:02:01] No.

[00:02:02] And how was it.

[00:02:02] How is it.

[00:02:03] I mean I know you like.

[00:02:04] Yeah I know you like cruising you're a big cruiser.

[00:02:06] I have.

[00:02:08] And.

[00:02:11] So what's interesting is that.

[00:02:14] I think cruising is a brilliant.

[00:02:17] Brilliant occasion for trans people I think it's a really safe.

[00:02:22] If.

[00:02:23] Potentially a very very safe holiday to have because I think you go into a very.

[00:02:29] What's it called a very safe community on the home.

[00:02:32] Yeah.

[00:02:33] It's a community that backstage and front stage supports LGBT people.

[00:02:38] Yeah.

[00:02:38] Because in fact they have groups.

[00:02:40] Specific cruises I think.

[00:02:42] Yeah.

[00:02:42] Yeah.

[00:02:42] Yeah.

[00:02:42] Well specific cruises but every every cruise ship has a specific LGBTQ group.

[00:02:47] Oh is that right.

[00:02:48] I didn't know.

[00:02:48] Yeah they meet every day whichever the cruise line is always there's always a friends of

[00:02:52] Bill and used to be called friends Dorothy but now it's it's just called an LGBTQIA often

[00:02:58] meet up and it's a place you can go and and you can meet different people and and it's actually quite nice and relaxing because often those people are in the single groups as well and often they're not so.

[00:03:09] So I had no idea.

[00:03:10] I had no idea.

[00:03:11] Yeah.

[00:03:11] And this is why I think it's a really lovely holiday for trans people.

[00:03:14] However one of the things you have to do like everybody is you have to know the cruise line

[00:03:18] you're going on because some of them are quite rednecky because it's Americans who seem to really populate the vast majority of cruise ships.

[00:03:28] Um out of England you've got the pain a pain a sort of brand.

[00:03:31] Yeah America you've got all the rest of them and and you just have to be careful a little bit.

[00:03:36] But but I I I actually met another trans person on the cruise I was on bizarrely enough.

[00:03:41] And we were chatting about we chatted about the fact that the most difficult thing about the whole thing have been the flights because of course you have the thing about flights and you may have a specific gender on your passport.

[00:03:54] But yeah, when you go through the scanning devices, they often find things which are let's just say that cis people don't have if you're a trans woman or lacking things that is a cis man might have.

[00:04:09] So, um, you cannot you still get into the more it's become mechanized.

[00:04:13] This I think that the more problematic it can be getting through flight security.

[00:04:19] So, but but of course on a ship there's no security like that.

[00:04:22] You just basically rock up you show your credit card and you're on and and it's a great place to go.

[00:04:28] And of course, it has this depending on the cruise line you're on you have all these different events.

[00:04:34] Um, I mean you can really glam up and you can really yeah definitely a place if you like rocks out.

[00:04:39] Yeah, it's because I had it.

[00:04:41] I I maybe it's my prejudice sort of imagine that most of the people were of a I don't know a certain ass or snobby or something about cruising wasn't very egalitarian in some ways maybe but you know the captain's table all that sort of stuff.

[00:04:57] But it sounds like you're saying it's much more welcoming than that much more inclusive.

[00:05:02] Yeah, you've got very different.

[00:05:03] So people forget that what cruise ship is is a hotel on the sea.

[00:05:08] Yeah, so like like you would when you're anywhere in the world and you decide to stay at a different hotel group if you've got a bunch of kids you probably want to stay in the Disney Hotel if there was one.

[00:05:16] Yeah, of a certain age and of course there are Disney cruise lines.

[00:05:19] And if you're if you're very posh and you're a bit older and you and you want the finest life you go to the very very best hotels and that's the center cruise ships.

[00:05:26] And you've got a big family and you want to go rampaging around the hotel and it's got theme parks and it's got, you know, pools and all sorts of stuff you've got cruise ships which are like that as well.

[00:05:37] And so what's interesting about it is that it really does spread right across the community.

[00:05:45] Now Regent is a cruise ship that's a six star cruise ship and it's very well regarded known in this sort of wider LGBT community.

[00:05:54] And there are a lot of groups and there are a lot of those specific gay courses, queer cruises that run and it's usually on Regent, but I thought I was on Princess, which is very appropriate, I thought, and they were great.

[00:06:09] And there was there was no trouble.

[00:06:10] There's no side.

[00:06:13] What was interesting.

[00:06:14] There was a it was a peculiar cruise because I had loads of influences on and they were an absolute nightmare.

[00:06:19] So getting on and doing the tick tock videos and such like.

[00:06:21] But I really do think if you're and it's something you can do with some cruise lines, you can do it on your own as well.

[00:06:29] I was going to say, yeah.

[00:06:30] Yeah.

[00:06:30] And that's where it comes really lovely because of course you're you're in this community.

[00:06:34] You're safe because you're on board.

[00:06:37] Everybody.

[00:06:37] There's horrible people and there's lovely people.

[00:06:39] You know, cruise communities are no different to that.

[00:06:41] But it's all organized.

[00:06:43] And within within seconds, I mean, it was because it was obvious that people were sort of mentioning what I was doing.

[00:06:49] And because obviously people would look at me and they go, oh, it was be like, oh, you're the you're the queer person.

[00:06:55] Oh, yeah.

[00:06:55] Or something. You know what I mean?

[00:06:56] It was obvious I was trans.

[00:06:57] And so it was it was obvious people were talking.

[00:07:00] But, you know, the people behind the scenes are OK.

[00:07:03] However, if there are some issues, some of the staff members, because, of course, some of those people work in places where queer and LGBT rights are less than welcome.

[00:07:13] So interesting that. Yeah. So you would think for, you know, for these these commercial big commercial companies, they would absolutely not want to reputation for our community.

[00:07:24] I mean, a bad experience because that would spread quite fast, wouldn't it? If people would.

[00:07:28] It was so. So, yeah.

[00:07:29] I mean, I guess you could always get that with some staff, but you would think with training, I think that that would be.

[00:07:35] I think I never thought about that as for a single person, because we are as a community can be quite isolated.

[00:07:40] Many of us. I mean, I'm single.

[00:07:42] And one of the reasons I don't want holidays, I don't have the motivation to go on myself.

[00:07:47] And actually a cruise in that respect sounds quite appealing because you can find that sort of a safe space and then meet people.

[00:07:53] It sounds a place where you would, you know, you haven't got to force yourself to meet people in a sense.

[00:07:58] You haven't got to. It's not like going up to somebody in a bar or something or even in a hotel and to a stranger, which I always find difficult on a cruise or something that maybe bonds you differently.

[00:08:09] I think I think that's really interesting.

[00:08:12] Yeah, I really, I really reckon. I mean, I've done lots of cruises and I like them.

[00:08:15] I do like I like holidays of description land holidays and gardeners was, but I think it's that as you say, it's that thing about being safe.

[00:08:22] I think once you're on it and if anything does happen to you, you know, if there was a if you've got a bit of abuse or anything, you go straight to guest services and it would be remedied.

[00:08:32] Right. And that's what's really important about this.

[00:08:35] That what you have to remember about the cruise ship is that it exists for one purpose and one purpose only.

[00:08:41] And that's to make money. And and if you and if you go in, say, you know, this is what's going on.

[00:08:47] And I will publicize this, the LGBT community. They would not be happy about that.

[00:08:52] But no, it's great. It's lovely. It's it's nice to be able to sort of, you know, dress down and just sort of trudge around.

[00:08:59] And, you know, yes, yes, yes, scumbag stuff, which is lovely. Yeah, yes, sweats and things.

[00:09:04] And then if you want to glorify yourself up and spend hours preening yourself and then just go and have cocktail or two or something and have.

[00:09:10] And there's no captain's dinner anymore because it's all an individual dining dining rooms.

[00:09:15] But you have people like Virgin, who, of course, run cruises, which are completely different.

[00:09:19] And and you've got your traditional cruise lines as well. The old ones.

[00:09:23] There's one or two which are very famously populated by the older generation.

[00:09:28] Yeah. I remember a friend of mine, which is an apocryphal story, is that one of those things where they rocked up and they're in the 60s.

[00:09:34] They rocked up to go on this cruise line and they turned away again because everybody getting on was carrying their own oxygen tanks.

[00:09:40] They were really tanks, I should say. And they were really worried about that.

[00:09:45] But I do think those places and I think beaches and I think samples and I think, you know, those hotel groups are nice for trans people because I do think there is a degree.

[00:09:56] It's that thing about you belong to the community whilst you're there.

[00:10:00] And I think that's nice.

[00:10:01] That's really interesting. You know, I haven't really been on what it's transitioned other than, you know, visiting places in the UK just because of lack of motivation, I think.

[00:10:15] But it does start to appeal to me, you know, the way you described that.

[00:10:19] But you said that the flying could be the one thing that could be tricky.

[00:10:22] Is that more if you're going to small?

[00:10:25] You would have thought bigger airports and things would bigger places wouldn't have such of a problem.

[00:10:30] They would be well trans people, wouldn't they?

[00:10:32] You see, and that's really interesting, isn't it? Because I think the more mechanized it is, it's where it becomes more obvious.

[00:10:38] However, what's really interesting is there's someone on LinkedIn, Emma somebody, I can't remember her surname, and famously a trans person who was head of security at Manchester Airport.

[00:10:49] Oh, right.

[00:10:50] And she regularly talks about, you know, how you help people go through security and such like, and you just have to go through.

[00:10:57] And in fact, recently I was listening to Joanne Lockwood talking, who's quite a noted trans speaker, and they were talking about going through security in this heat spots that you get when you go through the scanners.

[00:11:08] And it was exactly the same as I found as well. You know, I was asked and you know, to take a search and it was interesting.

[00:11:15] And what was relaxing is that it was the female attendant that came up to me and said, I need to search you because there's a heat spot in a place.

[00:11:22] There shouldn't be one.

[00:11:23] Yes.

[00:11:24] And all you have to do is explain and okay, that's understood.

[00:11:27] They're not really worried about what you're carrying in your pants as long as there's not a sticky diamond.

[00:11:31] No, no, no, of course. I mean, I've only flown the once since the transition to which was but to Belfast for union meetings that we did have to go through security.

[00:11:40] More formal. I don't know.

[00:11:42] Rabbit beat a fine.

[00:11:43] I think I was too worried because I, despite me flying a number of times, I still distrustful flying as a concept.

[00:11:50] And I studied physics at university and still think the idea of this massive thing flying in the air is counterintuitive to my brain.

[00:11:57] So I still just distrust it a little bit. So I think I was probably more worried than that, than the experience of going through customs and stuff, which I think went absolutely fine.

[00:12:06] So yeah.

[00:12:08] Yeah, no, that's awesome.

[00:12:10] And you feel well refreshed after your holiday. You've made the most of it.

[00:12:13] You don't.

[00:12:14] Well, it wasn't the best holiday I've ever had, but it was good.

[00:12:16] And I always think it's quite interesting though, isn't it?

[00:12:19] It's this thing about within about 25 seconds after returning from a holiday, you can't, you don't really realize you've had one sometimes.

[00:12:27] Yeah, I guess.

[00:12:29] Yeah, it is.

[00:12:30] You come back to some of the same pressures and issues.

[00:12:32] I mean, you're more refreshed and you are more capable of the perspective you had.

[00:12:36] I was, I was chatting to a wonderful friend of mine this morning, who's, who's famously queer and runs a, has head of strategy for a very large medical organization.

[00:12:49] And they'd said that they'd been on holiday and they'd had a long think about life, the universe and everything.

[00:12:55] Well, well, still in Tahiti, and they decided to resign.

[00:12:58] And I think that happens a lot to a lot of people on holiday.

[00:13:01] I think that's that point where you sit back and you think.

[00:13:04] Perspective.

[00:13:05] Yeah.

[00:13:05] Am I, am I working to live?

[00:13:07] You know, and I remember, I remember years ago, I was working on a contract and I hated it so much.

[00:13:12] I had to have lots and lots of holidays.

[00:13:13] And then in order to fund this lifestyle of having lots and lots of holidays, I had to do this work.

[00:13:18] I really hated it.

[00:13:19] And it was, it was my own coach who stood me back and said, do you think there's something going on here?

[00:13:24] If you, if you stopped at the holidays, you wouldn't have to do that work.

[00:13:26] You wouldn't need the holidays.

[00:13:28] That sounds like a hamster wheel of, yes.

[00:13:32] I think we get lost in work sometimes, don't we?

[00:13:35] We do.

[00:13:36] I mean, I mean, personally work is everything to me, so I don't feel lost in it, but I can, I can get, I can absolutely get that.

[00:13:44] I mean, I love my job, so I'm lucky in many ways.

[00:13:46] And it's a job with a lot of variety in it as well.

[00:13:50] But yeah, I mean, I'm, and I'm not good at switching off.

[00:13:53] So I, I would find it impossible not to check me emails, even at work.

[00:13:58] I just, as a, as a general worry, I would find myself switched off.

[00:14:03] But the holidays I used to go, when I was married, we did actually have a few holidays, mainly because Carol and my wife was motivated to book us on holidays.

[00:14:12] I had some lovely holidays, you know, Cyprus and Corfu and things.

[00:14:17] And that's some great holidays and great times, which I'd never got the motivation to do it because I was such a worrier because I, the traveling always worries me.

[00:14:24] So I think of a thousand things that are going to go wrong, you know, and things.

[00:14:28] So I need to change my mindset a bit.

[00:14:31] And you're starting to persuade me really, Jill, whether I ever get on a cruise or not, but it does sort of appeal to me.

[00:14:38] Yeah, I think.

[00:14:39] I like small spaces.

[00:14:40] So a small cabin wouldn't bother me.

[00:14:42] I quite like small spaces.

[00:14:43] So I'd be quite happy in a tiny room.

[00:14:46] We'll have to, we'll have to, we'll have to have an episode of Transvox from the sea.

[00:14:51] You think?

[00:14:52] Well, there's a, there's a thought.

[00:14:54] There is a thought.

[00:14:55] You don't get seasick on a cruise ship, do you?

[00:14:57] Is that right?

[00:14:58] I don't know.

[00:14:59] Is it too big?

[00:15:00] Is it because it's so big?

[00:15:01] It doesn't.

[00:15:02] They're enormous.

[00:15:04] Yeah.

[00:15:04] I mean, the thing is, you look at the cruise ships and you think, how does that stay upright?

[00:15:07] You talk about how does a plane go off the ground?

[00:15:09] You say, how does it look?

[00:15:10] They do.

[00:15:11] They have become ridiculous looking.

[00:15:13] Oh, yeah.

[00:15:13] They have become almost sarcastically big, haven't they?

[00:15:16] Yeah.

[00:15:16] It says, I do like watching YouTube videos on cruises, some people going on cruises.

[00:15:21] Yeah.

[00:15:22] Living vicariously.

[00:15:23] And the funniest thing of all is that you get these people who live very mundane, ordinary

[00:15:27] lives, who go on these fantastic experiences with, you know, which are beautiful experiences

[00:15:32] and they are five or six, you know, the levels of service and food and such like.

[00:15:36] And not always, but in 99% of the time is brilliant.

[00:15:39] But they can spend their entire holiday having a miserable time finding misery wherever they

[00:15:46] go.

[00:15:46] And you just, and you look at them on the Facebook groups and things and you look at

[00:15:49] it and think it's very hard if you're a new cruiser looking at a ship thinking, how

[00:15:54] do I get an objective source of information?

[00:15:57] Yeah.

[00:15:57] Because a lot of people are on there having a miserable time, but they would be on there

[00:16:00] having a miserable time if it was free even.

[00:16:03] Yeah.

[00:16:04] I mean, that's true.

[00:16:05] Yeah.

[00:16:06] That's true.

[00:16:07] I've written that story.

[00:16:08] Isn't that some cruise ship?

[00:16:11] I think it's still in Belfast.

[00:16:12] It's broken down.

[00:16:13] And they're on a three year cruise.

[00:16:16] Yeah.

[00:16:16] That's becoming the vogue now.

[00:16:18] People live on them.

[00:16:19] They live on them.

[00:16:20] Yeah.

[00:16:21] I don't know how much rich it must be to afford to actually live on a cruise.

[00:16:25] Although I suppose you'd get rid of your house or Airbnb it and then.

[00:16:28] Yeah.

[00:16:29] Yeah.

[00:16:29] A lot of people, a lot of people do this thing now, especially the cheaper cruise lines.

[00:16:35] So, so what you do is that the tactic is quite straightforward.

[00:16:39] If you imagine you go on a cruise ship and you're in an inside cabin, so it's a small cabin,

[00:16:44] but, but you don't spend any time in it.

[00:16:46] So you're basically out of it all the time, or even a small balcony cabin, all your food's

[00:16:51] provided, all your heat's provided, any health care you need is provided.

[00:16:54] You have to pay a little bit for it, but sometimes it's there.

[00:16:57] All your entertainment's provided.

[00:16:59] Everything's provided.

[00:17:00] So a lot of people will do this thing instead of going to Spain for six months, you know,

[00:17:04] they'll go and sit on a cruise ship for six months and they'll wonder, and they'll

[00:17:07] just plow their way round and round and round a bunch of islands in the Caribbean.

[00:17:11] And they're very, very well looked after and not always that expensive.

[00:17:18] It's something ever, it's not a world that sort of never, never thought about.

[00:17:23] If you've got disabilities, it's absolutely fantastic because they've all got motorized

[00:17:27] scooters on them and you can pick those up.

[00:17:29] You can take your tent on, they're accessible cabins and everything's flat.

[00:17:34] So what you'll see is tons and tons of tons of people galloping around with the motor

[00:17:37] scooters.

[00:17:38] And, you know, that's quite funny.

[00:17:40] Yeah.

[00:17:40] I've often thought they should have a race for some of them because it's quite amusing.

[00:17:43] That'd be cool.

[00:17:44] Yeah.

[00:17:45] Can you imagine?

[00:17:45] Are you good at, it's interesting to me though, are you good at packing?

[00:17:49] I mean, I remember when I first went away when I hadn't fully transitioned, so it would

[00:17:54] about 2004.

[00:17:55] And I had to, I took so many stuff because I was taking two, two genders worth of clothes

[00:17:59] and not knowing, and I was always a terrible packer.

[00:18:02] I packed far too much because I could never decide before ago what I wanted to wear,

[00:18:05] you know, as always.

[00:18:06] Are you good at that now?

[00:18:07] Have you become?

[00:18:08] Well, and not necessarily.

[00:18:09] I did go down to an organization that we're both very fond of for three days recently.

[00:18:15] And I did take 14 pairs of shoes from me because I couldn't have thought I was going to wear.

[00:18:19] 14 pairs of shoes?

[00:18:21] You took down to our charity?

[00:18:24] That's, that's crazy.

[00:18:26] What else are you thinking of doing?

[00:18:27] Well, of course we had an event one night, so I had to change those and I had, you know,

[00:18:31] I was doing four days work with them.

[00:18:33] So that was at least four, that's six pairs.

[00:18:35] And it's that thing when you, you know, it's that thing when you're with different people.

[00:18:40] I know.

[00:18:41] When you're with your working colleagues all the time, the same people that with, you get used to what you wear.

[00:18:46] You end up, whether you're in a uniform or not, sort of having a uniform.

[00:18:50] Yeah.

[00:18:52] And I'm not very good with casual clothes, so I tend to dress a little bit more formally all the time anyway.

[00:18:57] So, you know, what can I sell? Like shoes?

[00:19:02] I just, I get like his shoes, but I get liking them to 14 shoes for a couple of days away.

[00:19:09] I know.

[00:19:09] I mean.

[00:19:11] And of course, I only wore three pairs, but you know, sometimes, and I think this is the thing about, you know, I watch cis women packing.

[00:19:19] And in the same way, I suppose, cis men packing is, it's, you know, you know what you're going to wear because you know what you do in this situation.

[00:19:28] And of course, as a model, that's, that's absolutely it.

[00:19:32] That's, that's absolutely it. That was it when I first, so my, my experience would be similar was going to conferences with my union.

[00:19:39] And at first I didn't, I would take far too much because I didn't know what was going to feel appropriate in certain circumstances, because I would have had a night out.

[00:19:48] So, and I, I did like that. I mean, I didn't take 14 pairs of shoes.

[00:19:52] I don't think I ever owned 14 pairs of shoes that I could comfortably wear anyway.

[00:19:58] So, so I didn't quite get that far, but I did end up taking far too many clothes because I'm, and ended up deciding when I was down there.

[00:20:04] But I suppose, you know, I don't think that's the case now.

[00:20:06] Now I'm sort of more comfortable than what I wear.

[00:20:08] I just probably don't care less, which is a shame really.

[00:20:11] Yeah.

[00:20:12] Well, I think that's, I think that's part of it, isn't it?

[00:20:14] And you know, I make a conscious effort.

[00:20:17] I don't like wearing black particularly because I think, but, but actually blacks are really good, great colors.

[00:20:21] So yeah.

[00:20:22] I end up wearing a black skirt and of course, everything goes with it.

[00:20:26] And then, well, that means you need black shoes, doesn't it?

[00:20:29] So, but it is, it becomes, yeah.

[00:20:30] I go through the, I've been through many a cycle of going, I'm going to embrace color and then going, oh, it's just easier to wear black, especially for work and stuff.

[00:20:39] And then, and then I think, oh no, I should be embracing color that whole, you know, this is crazy, you know?

[00:20:45] So it's.

[00:20:45] And then you've got, and the thing is with this sort of fashion is you've got different seasons, you've got shoulder seasons.

[00:20:50] And then, you know, I'm someone that puts on the losers weight quite, quite a lot for all sorts of different reasons.

[00:20:56] Shoulder seasons.

[00:20:57] Hey.

[00:20:58] Yeah.

[00:20:58] What do you mean shoulder seasons?

[00:21:00] The seasons between seasons.

[00:21:01] So, you know, they, they fit between.

[00:21:03] I thought that was like a season where you got your shoulders out.

[00:21:06] I didn't quite get in the context.

[00:21:08] You're so last season.

[00:21:10] You're so last century.

[00:21:11] A shoulder season.

[00:21:13] So that's what the twixt seasons.

[00:21:16] Twixt season.

[00:21:16] Yeah.

[00:21:17] Yeah.

[00:21:17] Yeah.

[00:21:17] That's okay.

[00:21:18] Yeah.

[00:21:19] So I don't know how you work that out because everything seems so weird with the weather

[00:21:22] now anyway.

[00:21:23] So yeah, I mean exactly what do you, I mean last week, well up here we've had so much rain

[00:21:30] that I don't, you know, basically.

[00:21:32] Yeah.

[00:21:33] I mean, it's like someone's pouring buckets of water out of the sky.

[00:21:36] Yeah.

[00:21:36] And now we've got sunshine and it's beautiful day today.

[00:21:39] And yeah, same here.

[00:21:40] We've got sunshine.

[00:21:41] We've had a lot of rain, but thankfully the city I live in is made of hills.

[00:21:45] So we don't get much flooding, thankfully.

[00:21:48] But yeah, you've had a lot of rain.

[00:21:50] That's good, isn't it?

[00:21:50] You've had a nice holiday, good weather and come back.

[00:21:52] You've made the most of it.

[00:21:53] It always seemed to me to go in the middle of August when the weather's likely to be

[00:21:58] the nicest here.

[00:21:59] You're not making the most of it.

[00:22:00] Yeah.

[00:22:02] And you get to Barcelona.

[00:22:03] It's lovely and it's 80 degrees and you just sit in the evening and you're just wearing

[00:22:07] a light skirt or something and no leggings or anything.

[00:22:11] And you've got sandals on.

[00:22:12] It's just absolutely fantastic.

[00:22:13] And it's just great.

[00:22:14] Proper summer.

[00:22:15] Ah.

[00:22:16] Yeah.

[00:22:16] Oh, no.

[00:22:16] Good for you.

[00:22:17] Well, I'm glad you come back full of energy and stories.

[00:22:22] Ah, that's great.

[00:22:23] You're starting to change my mind around cruises.

[00:22:28] Yeah, do it.

[00:22:28] I've become cruise curious, maybe.

[00:22:32] Yeah.

[00:22:32] I don't know.

[00:22:34] We'll see, but it sounds like a great time.

[00:22:35] And some cruise ships allow you to take dogs with you.

[00:22:41] I'd have to buy a dog first, but I'm happy to embrace that.

[00:22:46] I'm sort of tortuously winding my way around to cruising and dogging.

[00:22:50] So that's all right.

[00:22:53] Yeah, I guess.

[00:22:55] Oh, come on.

[00:22:56] And it's so taking aside the actual dog.

[00:22:59] Do people make relationships on cruises?

[00:23:02] Do you remember that the love boat in the 70s?

[00:23:04] Was it the 70s and 80s?

[00:23:06] Is it a bit like that at times?

[00:23:08] No.

[00:23:08] Hello.

[00:23:09] I suspect there are many, many occasions of people who have met partners in cruise ships.

[00:23:15] No doubt about that.

[00:23:16] Yeah, I suppose.

[00:23:17] And I think a fling or a romantic liaison is definitely something that's possible if

[00:23:23] you're single.

[00:23:23] No problem with that at all.

[00:23:25] What happens on the cruise stays on the cruise.

[00:23:28] That's cool, cool.

[00:23:29] Well, I'm jealous about how much you've had fun and stuff like that.

[00:23:33] So I've definitely got to think about that.

[00:23:35] And I put on tons of weight.

[00:23:36] And that's one of the reasons your weight need different shoes, because your feet get

[00:23:39] bigger, don't they?

[00:23:39] Well, you should do.

[00:23:40] You should embrace it.

[00:23:42] I do.

[00:23:43] Embrace putting on weight.

[00:23:44] As I said, I basically decided that I'm not overweight.

[00:23:47] I just should be eight foot six tall and I'd be fine.

[00:23:50] I'm not overweight.

[00:23:51] I've just got to make everybody else come up to my weight.

[00:23:53] I've just got to convince the rest of the world to put on weight.

[00:23:56] And then it's then I'll hit the median maybe eventually.

[00:24:00] So I encourage you to eat.

[00:24:01] I encourage you to indulge.

[00:24:03] But of course, your first day back and you're back with a thud and it's everyday life again,

[00:24:08] isn't it?

[00:24:08] Oh, we still haven't.

[00:24:09] We haven't stopped indulging yet.

[00:24:10] It's a way the brakes have not been reapplied yet, but there really should be some.

[00:24:17] All right, we'll actually see you on next week's episode.

[00:24:19] Yes.

[00:24:20] We're going to have to.

[00:24:22] Yeah.

[00:24:23] Maybe somebody could suggestion what we might want to talk about.

[00:24:26] Might want to do a news one maybe, but we'll see.

[00:24:29] Yes, we'll definitely see you next week.

[00:24:30] And it's great to have you back, Jill.

[00:24:32] It feels odd when we're not, we're not podding.

[00:24:36] It does.

[00:24:37] It does.

[00:24:37] It leaves a little bit of a hole in my week.

[00:24:39] Take care everyone.

[00:24:40] Bye bye.

[00:24:45] Thanks for listening to this episode of Transvox.

[00:24:49] It's been a joy to have you with us.

[00:24:51] If you want to make contact with us, you can contact us at Jillian at transvox.co.uk.

[00:24:59] And if you'd like to support the work we do, please go to Patreon and go to page Transvox.

[00:25:05] And all of our money goes to our nominated charity.

[00:25:08] And Jen, you've chosen the charity for the next number of episodes.

[00:25:12] Which one have you chosen?

[00:25:13] Our charity is called Beyond Reflections, which is a charity that provides support and

[00:25:19] counselling to trans people, non-binary people and their friends and their families across the UK.

[00:25:24] An amazing charity doing some amazing work, really important.

[00:25:28] So please, if you can give.

[00:25:30] Great.

[00:25:31] And if you want to go and have a look at Beyond Reflections, it's beyond-reflections.org.uk.

[00:25:36] But as I say, if you'd like to make a contribution to what we're doing, because we love to help the people who help us.

[00:25:41] Again, if you've got ideas for the show, things you'd like to ask us, questions, comments, applause or brickbats,

[00:25:49] feel free to send it all in to Gillian at transvox.co.uk.

[00:25:54] Until the next time, goodbye.

[00:25:56] Bye-bye.