S2 Ep 2 "From the Pit to the Plate Pt2" Alan Hamiltons Story

Pit Yakka: you Hi everyone, welcome to another episode of Paint the Yard to Crack. Today is the follow-up episode, part two, with Alan Hamilton. Enjoy. I rang recently, someone put me onto a fella called Len from Asington, he's the last, apparently he's the last person alive who was down the mine when the Asington mining disaster happened in 1951. So I ring, he lives at Rutherford House at Asington. So I ring and they said, he's out. He said, but give us your number, and he'll ring you back. And he's like, Is he 90 something? This fella. Anyway, I get a call. He said, is that Sonny? I says, yeah. says, Lenny, from Asian. Have you been trying to go old with me? you know what I mean? I said, hi Lenny. So I explained to him what it was and he was like, I know your family. So anyway, I had a bit of crap. And he just starts telling me loads of stories and I felt like saying, this is not it. This is not the thing like, you've got to wait, you loads of stories. But if he's in his 90s, mean, all this will be so foreign to him. but the baby, say you're doing a documentary on him. So do know said to me? said, I'll tell you what, son, I'll have a word with the lads at the baby saying I'll get back to you. So yeah, and he hasn't got back, but he told me a story right now. It's like brilliant, so your dad went down at 15. Right. So this, this lad, he's the oldest of, think it was something like 10, because there were big families then, so he's the oldest of 10. Didn't go to school because the mam needed help around the house and all that, so didn't go to school. So he gets to 14 and it was the school holders. His dad says, get yourself down the pit, easy. Get yourself down that pit down there, get a job. So he says, I was in my school shorts. I go down the pit and I want, I get a job? He says, I won't let you. He says, 15. He says, I am on 15. He says, well, I'll tell you what, son. Go home, tell your mam to change your out of school shorts and come back tomorrow and I'll give you a job. He went back the next day and gave me job. 14 year old working down the I had a paper wrong first and then I was a milk lad. I had the greatest times. And that's hard, know. My mam, bless her, she would get up at four o'clock with me and I would be a 13, 14, 15 year old. I did the milk for a tiny few years. Brian Rowland was my old boss. He was a great man and I learned a lot from him. And you get up at four and me man would make his ready brick to warm his up. And you go out there and that was when it snowed. I remember there was about three milkmen in the village and like we were for Brian. There was another crew and another Derek Fanon and Brian Webster and Brian Rowland. That was the three and Jimmy. So there was four. There was four milkmen in our village alone and the rivalry you had, because you would have a transit with a flatbed and you'd have to step on the back. mean, 14, 13, 14 year old hanging on the back, he's going around, ice roads, know, sometimes the snow, was like it was freezing. My mother would knit as me a balaclava. God, I you wouldn't be seeing dead anyone. I not the balaclavas they get now. And when it got wet, it's... And the only... All we had was anoraks. And I'll tell you what, as I got older, pit gloves. Remember the pit gloves with the honeycomb Yes, we had. That was great because when you picked the milk bottles up, that's silicon that wasn't slippy. And I'm talking about the old fashioned milk bottles. I did that with my cousin, Geoff, Gary Dance. There's a one that's that's a sad story. Gary Dance worked on the pit with Peter Thexton and that and Gary was a good friend of mine and we lost him in Majorca. He was on the news and he'd fallen from the balcony right on his 21st birthday and I went there we went to Aranel and there was five of us and it was his birthday. Such a sad story and still to this day like it's like why did that happen you know? He fell from the balcony. He didn't die instantly, but he was on life support. he was one of the characters. I think Gary wouldn't have adored him. I'm not sure. I was 18 years old and I'm 62 now. Anyway, with respect for his family and all that, Gary was a lovable rogue, they called it. And he was the oldest one of our group. And you know how you talk about the pit? mean, all of the lads who were older than me went down the pit from Belmont. Not many didn't go down the pit. Even lads in my class went to the pit and my dad stopped me. But we had some, you were mischievous, but you'd be up at four o'clock, the milk lad, the milk man would pick you up at that past five and you would finish at eight o'clock just in time to get changed and go to school. And then I would fall asleep in class. Hamilton, Hamilton! You're any, paying attention. Yes, sir, yes, sir. You'll be falling asleep and all that, you know? But I made good money. And that gave me the thing. So I liked having money. Used to be able to go down to Southern and buy my little seven inch singles. And I used to buy, we used to get the Geordie jeans, canvas jeans. So I liked money. I always liked, I knew you had to work for us. And then... Brian, bless him, he said, do you want to hire my van? When the milk's finished on a Saturday, we used to do taties and stuff. And he gave us the opportunity to start off on my own. So I don't even know if he charged us for the van. I don't think he did. So I would go to the farmers and I would buy the four stone sacks. then me and Alasdair would together since we were bairns. So like when we were living together and all that, I had this like mobile shop, but it was like the milk float. And then it got on to where I had a Nissan van, but I would sell, so from what I can remember, Four Stone Sack used to get 11 five pound bags of tape. You know the little five pound? And I bought the tape machine where you used to snap it shut. And then I saw Lowcox Pop from Middlesbrough because we used to deliver down there. like I said, the Dalton and stuff and there was the pop lad and I told him that I do these taties and I did eggs. I bought eggs from Linsehall eggs up in Sunnyside way at Tantobi. So I was selling eggs, was selling taties and then I started selling low cox pop and the amount of young lads who I knew who would come and join us and I would pay them. There's a story. Young Bulshy, we hadn't been out that long one night. And he'd come in late, come on late. Because I used to do it Saturday morning, but I missed the football. So I started doing it Thursday and Friday night. And I could make as much money off me little shop, my little mobile shop, as what I was getting paid off my dad. And this is about the work ethic, because my dad made them decisions. I sort of like, I think he was quite proud that I... I did this all on my own. So I was making good money, nearly as much as my dad was paying us. And there's no tax men watching this. I was only like 18, 19 or so, but I had a good little round around Carville. And I even went to Sherbourne Road and I went to Sherbourne and we sold all that stuff. And the lads that grew up, let's say I was driving or so, and I would have like, the lads would be like Pissford Dixon, John Balsh. Andrew Meakin, all, four or five lads worked with us in the time I did it. And, but that one day, and the lads still, they still won't let me forget, but Pulsie, Pulsie's doing well now in his own right. But he says, remember that time when I came late and we finished early? And he says that wasn't really that, it was only, he only had a piece about one pound 50 or so. He says, you give us a lump of cheese. I love the cheddar cheese, which was £1.50 worth. And they still bring that up now. Yeah, he won't let me forget that one. I mean, I made some mistakes. then I knew it was the end of the mobile shop when Tesco's opened there, 24 at Dragonville. people like, I'll say, no, do you not want your air? Alan, I had to go to Tesco's for some mushing up liquid. So I've got some eggs and I've got some pop there. And I finished it, for the years that I did it, made us a good living for me and the wife. that's excellent, What would you say? A few questions to get to the end here, Alan. So work-wise and personally, what's your proudest moments? That's hard. Yeah. Proudest. I'm quite proud of the fact that I did that little thing because of the encouragement and the chance that Brian Rowland gave us. I did that on my own. Because you know what, there's always going to be people, my sister tells us, she says, no matter what you do, people are going to say, well, you've got to help and hand off your dad. But there's things that I've done on my own. The proudest, I don't think like that. mean, it's just because of my work ethic from my mom and my dad, you just had to work. You know what I mean? So. It's the kids and our loss who will say, don't give yourself enough credit. So it's hard for me to give credit and say how proud I am. I'm proud of my dad more than anything. without his vision, without his risk-taking, we wouldn't have this. You know what I mean? And then my kids are benefiting from that. And as a family, we've all benefited. We have nice holidays, a decent house, decent car, and that's all down to my dad's visionary thing. But again, I could have been that son who paid it all up against the Yeah, for sure. So proud that I carried on my mom and dad's work ethic. Yeah. I think that's more I like that. like that. And legacy wise, you obviously, like you say, all right, your dad started, but... It doesn't continue if you don't pick up the, if you don't learn the trade and do your time and then pick it up, change things. Cause if you don't change, you're ended, aren't you? My dad was against me going to tell you sales and my dad was against us doing the whole sale as our competitors. But it's worked. And again, I made decisions and there was no, there was no guarantees. I just felt as if that was the right thing to do. I'm a bit of a chip off the old block with my dad, really, when you think about it. Well, if you're talking about visionary and that, and making forward-looking decisions, the ones your dad made, right, we get them. But the ones that sounds like you've made, they've allowed you to keep going. Because if you didn't do those things, it might be over now. If we hadn't manufactured, then that was my dad. But then, they tell us, you're right, because in our game, what we do, if you just think about it, We have a van and we sell to the local shops. I mean, the butchers were everywhere. And the butchers went. Delis, you don't get the delis now. And you haven't, we still only just sell your basic cooked meats and your bit of cheese and your bit of salads and stuff and all that. But there's a lot of places now that are competing with me, but they sell everything. They'll sell the hand towels. They'll sell the bleach and stuff. They'll sell your cooked meats and everything, but they'll cater for what everybody wants. We just, I've always said, I'm just gonna stick to what I know best. And that's me cooked meats, selling and stuff, manufacturing. Like I say, these dips, this is visionary. But it all came from me dad wanting to flavor piece pudding, and we laughed at it and it didn't work. But then Jamie, my manager, this is his baby. And next week when we go to the NEC and there's 15,000 people and I'm going to do the hard sell on the peace pudding as well as the dips. They're not getting away with it. We're going to have to let them know what peace pudding is as well. And like I said, two years time in 28, we'll celebrate our 50th. I hope my dad's still here because he's feeling in his health, but I hope he's still here and I hope he's still, cut us, us all that he can appreciate. the 50 years. I'm doing this for the recognition of me dad because he's had, there's been no recognition, what's the word I'm looking for, there's been no recognition from Durham. With Durham Foods, and then the second company that we, it's not a separate company, but it's under another name, where the Riverbends promotes Durham, Durham Foods promotes Durham. We've sold online, a put into Belfast, the Isle of Bute, Jersey, and that's all Durham Foods in boxes of Durham Foods. No recognition from Durham Council or anything like that. And my dad's employed people for nearly 50 years. Local lads have worked through their lives, their working lives for Durham Foods. And this is my little way of... of getting my dad recognized more than anything else. And he should be. We did an article, I said we had BBC News came out. I told you this one when I met you. BBC and ITV came out and did two different things. And they said, my dad did the first one. And they said, so Alan, so how much peace pudding do you do? And my dad says, we do 2110, right? I never thought nothing of it. Went down to the workman's club, think it took a few days before I out. So maybe it was at the Friday. And we went down to Belmont Workman's Club and all his mates were sitting there waiting to take the mick. Alan, Alan. My dad called Hammy. They dropped the H as well. Hammy. I'm not Hammy, I'm Hammo. Hammy. what's this 21 10? And then it's 21 ton man. So my dad refused to do the news. Well, he said, I'm not, I'm not doing it again. You'll have to do it. And I said, my dad. So it might've been the time tease one that came out and a man of mine goes, did you overcomments? I says, look, I'll tell you what it is. Right. The ribbon that my dad got when he called it 21 10. So I just thought I don't want the put a posh voice on it. I'm just going to talk. You know what I mean? So our flat ears and stuff, accent. So he says, man, he says, when you did the interview, he said, you think you just come off the cold face? Because he says you're overcompensated. So I don't know why we do 21 ton like you know. And he says, and I'll never forget, Steve will say to us, says, You think you'd just come off the cold face. He says, your dad went all posh. He says, and you went all picked. Yeah. Yeah. I'll you what he reminded me of there. It was a joke in your dad's thing there where he saying, you go down the pub like, and all the lads would say, well, who's your dad? And one of the other lads would shout, some soldiers. Some soldiers. And everyone would laugh. And another one would go, they were German and all. And then he says, Everyone would laugh. He says the German bit was getting an even bigger laugh. He said, but that's all it was. Bit of fun. And he says there was never any malice meant, you know, it was just... Do you know what the sad thing is? All those guys, my dad's outlived them all. He's got no, there's only one guy left, Dennis Robinson. And I said to Dennis, I says, look at Dennis, says, you outlived my dad, mind. I says, I'm going to do a roll call of all, because I can name all of the guys from... My uncle Brian, Ronnie Graham, Bobby Brown, Jordy Moat, they all died. Bobby Dixon was just recently, these are all proper family friends. You know when you said uncle, you could call them Uncle Bobby and all that. They weren't your uncle, they were, you went on holiday together. Caten Bay, what was it, Wallaces, Caten Bay down in Scarborough. The whole clan would go. It was just one big family, know. And my dad's out. then died, some of them fellas died 20 odd years, 30 odd years ago. And my dad's the last one standing apart from Dennis Robinson. So I'd set the dead, he says, how's your daddy? He calls in to say my daddy's the only one left, him and Bobby Heartland. And he says, look at Dennis, if my dad goes before your mind, I says, I want to do a roll call. And I says, when I call you then, I want you to stand up. I mean, it sounds a bit morbid, but the thing is, my mom's was, when my mom died, it was devastating. my dad, I'm going to celebrate his life because I mean, he's 84, he's still here with us. He give us this opportunity in life. And all I can do is honour him by, because he was such a trickster, he was such a prankster and all that, you know. I mean, there's one thing he told us, and we haven't covered on there, but you never lifted a stone, a big stone in the pit. You'd never turn it over. I don't want to go into detail, but... It used to hide some pretty awful things, didn't it? Yeah. there's no toilets. I think that was in there, you know. He was talking about and funnily enough, the guy who's been on the show, John DeVine, who's an ex-minor, I gave him a lift home on a knife from the game and we were talking and he was talking about a thing your dad says in the memoirs that back then the bath used to be hung on the wall outside. Yes. No indoor bathrooms. So get the bath, take it in the house. boil pans and everything, fill it up and they'd get bathed in there. So all that stuff that your dad was talking about, about outdoor toilets, we were talking about outdoor toilets, they were still there when we were growing up. I know there was indoor bathrooms then, they never got rid of the outdoor toilet. You know, you could still use it. I mean, it was the call house and that was the shed. I'll tell you something about two eyes straight, another claim to fame, right? Bob Paisley, right? Hetting lad. So my dad, you know, when you talk about these friends, my dad was good friends with Bob Cass, who was a reporter for, I think it was the, it was the Dalton paper. Bob Cass lived, he was a Dalton supporter, Bob. And my dad's like five foot six and nothing, Bob was a little bit littler, but they both have big heeds. Right. So one of the lads used to say, I got big age used to look like carpet tucks. And that's what they're referring to Bobby Brown when he said about the Germans and all that, you know, so that I remember the banter in that little snook and my dad's friend was Charlie Newton, who the shot get Carter at his house. Yeah. When Michael Kean goes into the house, my dad's good friends were there with Charlie and all that. So Bob Paisley, so Bob Cass, that's where I was going. Bob Cass used to do the sports writers down in the County Hotel or the Three Twins in Durham. And my dad was there for Brian Clough. And Bob Paisley was one of them that was honored. my dad was just saying something about, because ours was just a two-bedroomed house, made me sister shared a room till I was like a teenager. And my mom dad said, look, we're gonna have to convert the loft. And I was sent up in the loft in it. It's still there now. You can see it from the car park, my old room. And when we'd done this conversion, we'd found a really old hammer, little stubby hammer, right? And my dad just put it in his tow collection. It was crapping on to Bob Paisley, who, like I say, was a Hetting lad, and he was an apprentice joiner or so. People might be able to put his right, but I don't know if he was a roofer or a joiner, but he worked on... the high street in Carville. And my dad says, I live in two high street. He says, I worked there as an apprentice before I became a footballer or whatever. And I'm sure there'll be people who know about Bob Paisley better than I do. But he made a joke and he said, and my dad had said something, he I found a hammer. He says, it's probably my hammer. I lost a hammer. That's what Bob Paisley said to me. So yeah, I mean, there's a famous guy from Hetting and he, He helped build, because that was a Coral Rehore, two high street. Carville High Street was, I think it was like all bungalows or so, then they extended them and that, but there's one or two still was bungalows in the high street. Right. Good story. So what about you Alan, how long do you think you'll sort of, know, health aside, if you can keep going. And you've obviously got your kids coming through. It would be nice to keep it in the Hamilton name. Aye. It would. But there's one thing I've got to be honest with you. It is getting harder. The next couple of years, think personally, I need to change the government. They are not looking after your small businesses. And I'm not really affiliated to any political party. I'm disappointed with some people and some parties. But at the end of the day, we're not getting help at all. if we can survive these next couple of years and then a new general election, let's see what comes of it. I don't want to go into political things because I'm not that... All I'm thinking about is what my business is going through at the moment. And it's hard. We're not finished by any stretch of the We're still making money. What we're doing is we're making money, but it's going in one hand and cutting out the other is quick. Energy crisis is killing places. was a lass who had a similar thing. Her mom and dad worked in the bakery in Gateshead and she closed shop and Alan goes, you're doing so well. She says, Alan, she says, we had to go into a new contract and she says it wasn't sustainable. She says the money that we had to pay for the new contract on the electric, they closed down a family business in Gateshead, a profitable family business. once the new contract came in for the electric, it wasn't worth, and I mean, they worked hard. That was a mother and father and two daughters and bakers, they were in there at three o'clock in the morning and stuff. And I've seen this happen to quite a few. Durham Foods has established, we all right, we've got the supermarkets, as long as people still like peace pudding. And if these dips take off, we could do very well as well. But yeah. I would like to be sat in 20 years time and looking down and seeing what my kids are doing. I know my dad, we have good days and he'll say, I'm proud of you. And I say, well, I'll be honest with you, all I ever did was try to get your approval. And it sounds really, really silly but like it wasn't about me sort of thinking I've done well here. As long as I've got my dad's nod of approval. or little wink or something like that. That drove me more than anything. Even in the football when he used to take us to the football and watch us playing football, if my dad wasn't there, my game wasn't as good as I was trying to impress. know what I mean? I do, yeah, He's the most, like, of central. Lost my mom. God almighty, that was devastating and that. But my dad's still here and now to see him, the guy who had all this vision, And his highlight, it was on Facebook, as the home do all these exercises and little things for the residents. And my dad's been in there three years now, and there wasn't as many dementia patients when my dad went in as what there is now. And now to see my dad on a video on Facebook, throwing a bean bag to knock a balloon, and I get it. I know why they're doing it, they're trying to keep them moving because he's got Parkinson's and stuff. But it's just like, is that what we're all going to finish off where my dad did this legend, he was the legend coming out of the pits and doing this. And it's resorted to where to keep him exercise now, he's throwing bean bags at balloons. I'm not having to go to the care home. They've got a duty of care to keep them moving and stuff. But it's just like... That's what you're going to get though, so you know what I mean? I went to see my wife's grandmother. She had dementia in care home. She's since passed, but went to see her in the care home. And all of the people in there were quite far gone. There's old women, they've got dolls. They're playing with the dolls. I'm like, what's going on there? And they're like, they go back. to the childhood, they're playing with dolls, you know, and things like that. And when they get to the point where, got no idea who you are, got no idea who That's what I'm worried about. I say this on camera now, so my kids see this, if this ever happens, right? I don't want to be that person. Find a way to get me ended, like, because I don't want to be that person. I've said that, and now that you've said it, I'll say the same. I'll look, in the day. My mother, my mom was cremated, but if she she was about she'd be spinning in our grave now, because she worked her fingers to the bone to leave a lot of money to me and my sister and over a hundred thousand pounds, but she'll be going, you spend a hundred thousand pounds on looking after him. But my dad needs all round, all round care. You know, he needs, he even finds it hard to feed himself. Luckily, my sister and my brother-in-law and me and my wife, we go in as much as we can. In fact, my dad gets visited quite a bit. it's the least we can do, but I've said, I would like to voice this now where they should bring like the dignitas that you've got. They should bring that to this country because it's all right people. again, it's political and I don't want to get into it. It's just my own personal views. I don't, my dad was, I've never said this, but. He's my dad, he's my boss. He was like a big brother. He was like a hero. He was best friend. Everything evolved around my dad. And to see my dad like that now, it's the first time I can actually say, don't want to be my dad. And just what you've said, I, so my dad's birth mother suffered from Parkinson's and Lewy body dementia. My dad's got that. If it's her. If it's passed on to me and I know I'm going to get that, then I should be able to say, no, I don't. And I don't begrudge going in to say my dad, it's lovely because I was reading these memoirs to him the other day and it got emotional. And I had to get Linda, my wife, to read the rest of it because I was breaking down. And he was like, sort of like, when I said people's names down the pit and all that, he remembered them. when he was like 15 to 20 year old. He could remember them names. But if I asked my dad what he had for breakfast, not a chance. Didn't know what he's had for breakfast. I don't want to be that person. And something should give because there's so many people must be suffering from dementia and the families. What did they say? There's one of the lasses that said, don't feel sorry for the patients that we have in here, the residents. It's the families. Because you lose them twice. That's what's been said to me. You lose them twice. One when the mind totally goes, and then when they go. I mean, would you sort of want to live in that? No, definitely not, without a shadow of a doubt. Just don't get the... And you're right, that whole sort of... If it was... I think the way to put it is, if it was a dog, you'd deal to do that a few years back. Archie, I had two patadels. And Archie was the last one and he wasn't right and he wasn't eating very well and he was deaf. And I've got a pond with some coying and a herring came down. Now, normally him and his brother, a little rattles like a little terriers like, know, lived outside. the proper dogs and the herring came down and landed on the other side of the pond. And I'm looking out the kitchen window and I'm going, go on then, go on. Get at him, get at him. And he just looked at the heron and the heron was wearing the dog out and Archie just put his head down and I thought, nah, he's not right. And I decided then he started vomiting and stuff and it wasn't pleasant and I thought, I've got to do it. So I took him to the vets and I literally, she said, I've got to ask you one more time. Are you sure you want this? And I was like, and I lifted him up on the table, bring a dog to about your height and his nose. And I knew he was hard of hearing anyway. And his nose was just millimeters off this white plastic sheet on the wall. He was just like staring at her. And she goes, love. Yeah, she says, gone. says, do you think he's got dementia? goes, dogs can get that. Yeah, she's, and I says, as I says, he's not himself at all. And I said, you know, I've lost a mom. How emotional can this be? And we sit, my daughter's with us Ainsley. she'd gone along for moral support. says, man, I'm all right. When you lose a mom, dog means nothing compared to, nah. They shaved his paw. She says it'll take five seconds. I says, as quick as that. goes, She gave him it in his paw and his head went down, his eyes shut. And then I watched him take his last breath like I did with my mom. And I got emotional there. She says, I'm gonna go out and pay the bill because I didn't wanna be there for them last minutes. Yeah, so we've decided at our age, we've got grand benz, got five grand benz. I've got some fish in the pond. If the heron doesn't come back and take them, our last is that's the last of the pets we have. No more dogs because we like to go on holiday. It's too upsetting. Yeah, we had three and we've lost all three now. There's a few fish left and once they go, if the heron comes back and takes them, that's it. No more pets. And we pretty much said the same and then we've ended up with a new cat. And I've never had a cat in my life. but a cat doesn't look... It looks after itself. It does look after itself. Honestly, it's like... You've got a nice house here, I would say. The thing that brings a squirrel or a bird It'll find someone out there. It'll find someone to bring it in. We've got a dog and I lost my dog two years ago and we had to make the decision. I'll tell you one of the things though, and this is not for the... We'll just crack it on, aren't We got it done here. So she had cancer and we knew it was the end and we'd been to the vets and the vet had said, she needs to go like, do you wanna do it now? And I was like, no, couldn't. Because I'd only took that about her. I hadn't prepared. And she went, I'm sorry, but there's nothing we can do. She had a lump in her foot and it was cancer. There's nothing we can do. Do you wanna just do it now? I was like, hell no. Like that's too much like, so we brought her home and she... Actually, she was having an epileptic fits as well. was a dog to Bordeaux, know, like Turner and Hooch. yes. Big slumbering. She was brilliant. Like, wow. So she was having epileptic fits and I was having to sleep on the night. I was up to sleep downstairs because when she went, if I wasn't there to keep all of her, you know, when she was... Big dogs as well, aren't they? Big dog. And in the end, we got the people to come here and do it here. In our home. And then... shortly after they leave you for a little while and shortly after the people come pick her up and take off her from the mission and that. And I've got to say that was a lot easier than being out in public. Because I've done it like that as well. I've been in the vet and you're walking out, know, through a waiting room full of people. Breaking your heart, you know what I mean? Like I said, I get emotional about my mom and my dad and all that. And I thought, the dogs. Yeah. If I can handle my mom, I can handle anything. But it still gets to you. massive for you, man. You can't be so hard. You get emotional, like I said, there's a couple of times in this interview I could have gone. You know what I mean? Just thinking about my dad and what he's done for us and all that. And he has, he's both parents. was lucky. Because, you know, I just take it for granted that everyone has a great relationship with their parents. But it's not. You talk to some lads and all that and they say, My dad was a... You know what I mean? Or I'd never got the affection from my mom. And I thought to myself, well, no, because my parents were five star. They're not five star parenting. And it's amazing though, Alan, right? That's, you know, the whole nature nurture thing, where it's like, are you born like that or are you sort of made like that? So your dad gets adopted into his family and they look after him and they make him into the man. that he is, you know what I mean? And it's got no deal blood. But when we met his birth mother, my sister looks very similar to her. And my dad's characteristics, I look like more of my mom's side. But she was a strong woman, we found out. So he had that part of him as well. had that part of him. And my dad had also said, says, if Bernard and Jesse hadn't adopted him, they'd been left in the system, he said, I would have... Right. Yeah. He said to me, he said, I would have done anything to be a winner. And I goes, what do mean by that? He says, anything. He says, if I had been left in the system, let's face it, in them days, you know, it wasn't that nice. was abuse of all sorts going on, neglect and all that. And my dad's shown that he had this mentality that I'm going to be a success. he said, he says, if I'd had to turn to crime. to succeed, he says, I would have. He says, nothing would have helped me, but I had this burning ambition to be successful. And that's what drove him on. It's incredible, isn't it? It is. incredible, aye. And then to see him like he is now, it's upsetting. But like I say, we've already discussed that. I don't want to be that man. No, no, I've only once, our grandmother got it in the end, right, just before she'd passed. He never went into a home or anything. But she would, you'd go around and she didn't know who you were. And at one point she was watching the television, but it wasn't even on. And she's describing, hey, look at this. She's talking about, must have been in her mind, you know, something was happening. It was not on the, and you're just like, I don't want to forget my kids. You know what I mean? And they're turning up and I don't know who I am and I don't know who they are. That's... That person's gone, you're right, you go twice I've got three kids and the youngest one. I said, don't, she said, well, I'll help you, Dad. I thought you were after my money. Lewis and Ainsley, like, no, Dad, that's the wrong mother. But Kirstie, she's a tough little bugger and she says, I'll help you, Dad. said, well, maybe that was a bit too quick of a response. You want to do it next week? Yeah, but like I say, and a mention goes out to my wife, because like I say, we met at school at 12 year old and we both 62 this year. She was with us when I had my stroke. I've got to say she actually saved my life, got me into the York hospital in 50 minutes. And that's how I've made the recovery. Like I say, I get a bit foggy brained and all that, which is it's coming back. But to look at it as you wouldn't, I mean, I know people who had strokes and they're never the same again. The guy I was telling you about earlier on, Stevie Jones, same thing happened. had a stroke and they he was just never, never the same again. And then he's He was always a very vibrant. Yeah. Again, if I hadn't made this recovery and I'd been sort of like, I don't know if I'd want to be here if I'm not myself. Yeah. I mean, it's unfair on the family because my wife, Linda said, She says, you can't be like that. You've got to think about your family and all that. And I said, well, I am, but you know, you're thinking about yourself. She says, because even if you were in a wheelchair or the communications weren't good, you would still be there for the kids and the grandkids. but I've got to say, she will remind me for the rest of my life that she saved my life and all that. And she does tell people she needs a medal the size of a dustbin lid. For that amount of time. So is it 12? We were 12 year old women, I. On and off boyfriend and girlfriend and that. Got engaged at 17. Got a house at 20. Moved out to my mum and dad's house, 2 High Street. Yeah. At 20 year old. Moved into Sherbourne opposite the Crosskeys. Got married at 22. Had Ainsley, our first one. And then nine years it went by where she couldn't, a like my grandparents. We couldn't get on that miscarriages. So we had IBF and that's how Lewis and Kirsty were born and all that. So we've got a strong family unit. I've got grandkids now, which I'm absolutely like, it's much better than having kids, grandkids. Yeah. So I haven't got any grandkids yet, but I've got a three year old and I'm 51 with a three year old and because I'm not the grandparent, I kind of give them. kind of give her back, you know what I mean? It's hard at my age, running about after three. And you know what it is, it's harder because the kids are different, but you try to pass that on what was passed on by me, mum and dad to me, and then we passed it to our kids, and then our kids are getting them on to the grandkids, but there's so many distractions. And also, kids are... Kids and grandkids are so opinionated now. We weren't allowed to have much of an opinion. I remember, right, going to people's houses and being told outside, when we get in here, sit down, shut up. You know what I mean? And you had to go in, to just touch anything. you had to sit there, didn't you? I was told that at a 20-odd-year-old when my dad took us down to Manchester to the bar, and he said, sit there and see how it's done. And they don't say nothing unless the buyer talks to you and all that. So I was, I was, that's how I was taught. It was, good as well. Cause my dad would go in there for about an hour and talk about football. And then last five minutes to talk about business. But that was the old days. Now it's all portals and stuff. And it used to be email. I like to pick up a phone and talk. Cause you might've, you might've seen that I do like to talk, but the emails and it's not even emails now. portals and you've got windows and tickets and stuff and it's just grown. That's why the kids are more probably better advanced with this sort of stuff. And do you think obviously you've got the two kids now they're in the business. Is Kirsty in the business? Kirsty's in our last year of midwifery. She's down at Sunland and she's enjoying it and then Ainsley is a trained counselor but she still works for us and Lewis Lewis has been working for me, Lewis Hamilton. He played out when he gets that name. I said, well, the racing driver wasn't famous when you were called Lewis Hamilton. But he's been there a bit like me and my dad, 15 year old. He's worked at Durham food since he was 15. He's 29 this year. Kirsty. So I guess the next generation is there then, aren't they? And it might be that it might be like you did when you had to take that next step into. moving away from the traditional way your dad had been doing it and moving it to tele sales and moving it to wholesale as well. The next step might be digital with them, you know what I mean? Do you know what, if these dips take off down in the NEC and stuff and that opens up the next thing. Never start, one thing, it's such a cliche, but if you stand still, you go backwards in business. You have to keep on reinventing yourself and all that. I've had a few barren years where there's nothing really came that I... But the dips, where the river bends, can you imagine like people, because I'd said I wanted to call them Dernfield's dips, or Dernfield's spreads. And the advertising company that I used said, no. So it's a different logo, where the river bends, like a raffle ticket. And it looks good. And you can, know, Google it, go on our website. you can't, you asked me the question, where can you get it? You could get them in a card or a pull that might go back to a card or a pull. Aldi have given us a slot in January. I think it's called Veganary. It's vegan. And because these are the vegan, but not just vegan, they're alleging free. They're free from. So I'm hoping that the slot that we get in January 27 with Aldi, all the other supermarkets look, if it goes big, you'll see the achievement. It my dad's idea, but me and Jamie took it a bit further. And that would be a good issue. It just prolongs Durham Foods because we've saturated the Northeast with peace pudding. unless you can get the rest of the country, and this should, just because it's peace pudding, right? There's one guy who I'm working with, and the man says, I think it's the pudding. If you see a piece putting down south, think of it as a dessert. So I said, well, we could call it yellow split pea spread, something like that. None of us in the Northeast would call it anything else. But down the South, could be, and all they're bothered about, it's vegan, it's allergen free, it's protein and fiber, there's hardly any fat in it. So it ticks all them boxes that if you're a vegan, you're looking for something new to eat and all that. don't see why. I think to get it down south, we would have to call it something else. And I think it might be yellow pea spread or something like that. But the next evolution then is keep going with what you've got. All those years ago when it was peas pudding that drove you forward, when Walter Wilson said, you make your own? This could be the next. The next thing, it? It could. It would be nice. It nice to leave it and leave it in a better position than I've got it in. But I mean, my dad had done a hard work. Never ever take it away from the fact that if he hadn't come out the pit, if Walter Wilson hadn't asked us to do our own piece putting, and my dad got it right first time. First time. And I've got to say it and people come up to me all the time, yours is the best piece putting out there. The tin stuff. I wouldn't give it to them two terriers of mine. I'm not going to. My dad always said don't slag your competitors, but the tin stuff is. And what happens is they've done it on Ladbible. Have you seen it? the Zacker tried it and Ryan Reynolds. So they're doing like a Canadian one or a British one. And every time they've even done Ant and Deck and they've given it the tin stuff. anyone who's I don't know how they get a sale for it, but I've tried it and it's nothing like the pudding that we make. It's made in a tin and all that. So no wonder whenever it's been compared against the other thing on the table, the Ladd Bible, they always choose the other thing because it's not very nice in the tin. Yeah, You supply a little, do you? Aye, I'll... I was going to say, like, you know, if anyone's saying, missing up, I should have brought some stuff for now. You gave me some last time. You desperately tried the dips. Where can you get it? You get it all over, can't you? Yeah, mean, Independence, we sell to the wholesalers. You might be eating piece pudding and it might not have our name on it. Might be one of our wholesalers that we put in there. But I know our crew mates and all that. go to a range of hospitals and schools throughout the Northeast. So again, we recognize for Peace Pudding, but a lot of our cook meats and that will find their way to universities, hospitals and all of that. I'm quite proud of that as well, because there's a one, I'm gonna call me daddy, he did say the Peace Pudding's so big now, I think we should stop doing the cook meats and just concentrate on the Peace Pudding. actually dug my heels in and I was a bit older and a bit more wiser. I said no dad because that's putting all our eggs in one basket. And it would have worked man because I mean like we're still doing very well with the Peace Pudding but as running as a business you've got to have another outlet and now the dips are, I would like to think that the Peace Pudding is just going to keep on going, the Coop Meats we're doing well with and if I can introduce the dips as well it's creating a very successful company. You know, yeah. And then it's heartwarming that the 17 year old starting on Monday and it's the sister's brother, but never didn't really send them down the peace put and have a look because it's a very different environment working in a factory. Yeah. And especially coming straight from, well, school and further education. Yeah. You're going to find it. And it's not it's not suitable for everyone, I like to give a fair wage. No one gets bullied unless the done something really bad and I just let them get on with it. Do the job, produce the best peace pudding in the country, clean down afterwards, stay clean, stay hygienic. Just remember that this is going out to the Northeast and all that and we want a good reputation, which I feel we have, but like I said, as a restaurant, the only is good is the last meal that you've done. Northeast, but number two. on the charts for the podcasters, America, and number three was like Singapore or something like that. People watching the podcast, So it's probably people who have ex-pats, isn't it? Yeah, mean, that's very interesting. mean, and like I said, there'll be people... Where we're trying to connect with in the beginning of the conversation, we're talking about the 60s and the 70s. and the history and all the chapters and all that. So hopefully this podcast hits a few nerves with some of our age group. I mean, I'm a bit older than you, but you still remember all that. And then once you start getting younger, what we're talking about is a different world, isn't it? But it cycles, innit? So some of it will be popular, then it'll go away for a little bit, then all of a sudden it comes back. And those people who bring it back, I they're the first ones here, Whoever thought of it, you know what I mean? And it's all cycles and it's years after. Music, fashion. Fashion is one of the big ones. It's years after. Stuff's come back out, it's been really expensive. I'm just going to import a new pair of Oxblood Dr Martens. yeah. And you probably had some previous. I've got them on me. It's a long... I've got the... We'll do this one thing, but how many managing directors have a Durham Foods? That's brilliant. And the tattooist goes, Alan, are you sure? says, tell me anybody else who will have a tattoo. It is unique. And I think that's me saying, well, I don't care if you think it's silly or whatever. It's, my dad started that business. I've got a tattoo of me, my dad, I'm eight year old in a, in all the old photo booths. And there's a lad who does my tattoos lately, Ganley, and I trust him with anything. And I says, my dad's got dementia. I want something that is permanent. So we did this little photo booth one. It was black and white, but Lee did it all up, put it onto my calf there. And I went in there and I said, dad, who's this? He says, I don't know. And he was messing with us. He says, who is it? He goes, wait, it's me and you. And this was a couple of years back. And he says, where was this in Scarborough? goes, no, it was Blackpool. And it was hoeing down. He says, my hair's wet. And that was good because he saw that and he goes, what made you put that on? I says, wait, I just want to keep on reminding you who we are, father and son and all that. And he says, well, I do, but maybe he isn't thinking how this is going to get worse. So I got that on. And then I just had a bit of skin left and I thought, I like to be different. I like being controversial. I haven't been controversial in this. No, I've tried to stay mainstream, but I just thought I'm going to get, I'm going to. And then I was in Benidorm with the lads just a few weeks ago and unknowns to me, this woman took a photograph of me leg of the Durham Foods, sent it to me daughter or sent it to her son or her daughter and said, Hey, look at this. I've seen a guy with a Durham Foods piece putting on his, on his leg. I wonder if he's related to Kirsty. So Kirsty's friend got in touch. He says, it's me dad. He's in Benidorm with the lads. world, it's a good job you weren't up there. No, I'm a good lad. But yeah, yeah, it's caused that. And then somebody else said Lewis plays football for Belmont United and I was sitting in the stands because they're in two finals and they could win the league. I'm not sure if they got beat yesterday. And someone took a photograph of me, unknowns, and took a photograph and went back to the pub and showed it to the goalkeeper. And he says, look at that. Someone's got a food piece putting on there. And the goalkeeper goes, show this lad here. My lad, Lewis is the captain of the football team. And he says, how'd you get that? He says, I took a photograph. There was a fella sitting in the stands. I said, that's my father. That's mad. Excellent. Right. I've got two questions for you to finish. One is, if you go back. In time, what advice would you give to young Alan? What advice would you give to yourself? this is a dead easy. Should have stuck more into school. wasn't thick. I wasn't the brightest pupil, but I had no interest in learning, whatever. I hated history, right? And now I love history. yeah. We go, we went to Croatia to Dubrovnik and that, and I'm looking at the... the architecture and all that went to Venice and just you don't appreciate it when you're young. mean, I was a punk, I was a skinhead, I was a boo boy. You know what I mean? And all of that, that's all I was bothered about and stuff. my advice would have been, I would have been more cut out for this if I just stuck into school a bit more. But I've never really pushed education. Me and my wife both left at the same time without any... qualifications at all. And I know lads who were head prefects at school and very clever and they're not doing it out. I'll be honest with you, you've got to have the vision like my dad. You've got to have the balls. But I'll also say you've got to be lucky. Nobody can actually turn around and say, planned this. My dad had a vision. but it could have failed. And I could have been the son who got Darren Foods off my dad and peed it up against the wall, or I could have made some bad decisions. I think it's because I value money so much that, you you work so hard for it and you value it that I've never wasted money. I've never gone beyond my means. So I would say you've got to say that we were lucky as well, because a lot of people work hard. A lot of people have got visions, but they don't always end up being successful. And we've been successful through my dad's vision, a bit of luck and a good workforce. That's it. And hard graft. Yeah, yeah, yeah. You what I mean? You've grafted over the years, you? The family in there, the staff will probably say I don't graft as much, but I've had a stroke, so that's my excuse. I don't go in and have pass five anymore. I've got a son to do that. And sometimes I go in at nine and sometimes I don't go in at all. It's been 62 and having a stroke, can actually say, and people are saying, you need to take it easy. And it doesn't take that much. I've done this since I was a paper boy first, delivering the son and echo at 11 and 12. I didn't have the tomahawk then I had a racer then. Then there was the milk, then there was working for me, dad. yeah, it's been hard graft. Get your head down. point the finger and blame anybody. If something doesn't go all right, you take it. You suck it up and you take it. I think that's fantastic advice. Like, because it links me to things I've said to my son when he was at work and things weren't going particularly well, or I'm sick of this and I'm sick of that. I just, I said, get your head down, take it on the chin, move on. So what matters is you get into where you want to be, because he wasn't qualified at that point. I'm like, you need to just keep going. He's got a career there though. It's a good career. So just get your head down, take it on the chin and move on. That's what you've to do sometimes, isn't it? And do you know what? I've got friends who are doing very well. I've got friends that have fallen on hard times. But after what we've talked about, if I had to say one thing, if you haven't got your health, you've got nothing. Absolutely. I know people who have got a lot of money. and they've got their problems with health and stuff and all that. it means, the money means nout if you haven't got your health. Alas is suffering from arthritis now. Her joints are getting harder. She loves walking. We've got a place up at Bambra. Nothing Linda likes more than getting up early in the morning, walking down. It could be the summer or it be the winter. It could be like a windstorm in the sun. But if you can't do that, if you can't get up and do it. She says, what am I going to do if I can't do it? And he walks and all that. then we travel a lot. Yeah. Yeah. And you're not immortal. mean, we're 62. My mom died at 69, but she was poisoned by asbestos. My dad's 84, but he hasn't got his health now. So at the end of the day, you've got to find a time. I mean, I could retire now, but I don't want to. At the end of the day, I'm lucky. I'm lucky that I could retire. I've got people who are working for me who will probably work until every time in time. Like I said, Tom retires in November. He's been with us 27 years. You know what I mean? And if you haven't got your health, you've gotten out. I saw this interview. So the interviewer was a guy, let's say he was 40, right? And he's interviewing this fella for a bumping money. He said, well, he said, I'll tell you what, to the interviewer, he said, I guarantee you, because this interview was the guy where he's got... He's loaded like, but he said to him, said, I guarantee you that in 25 years time, you'd give every penny you've ever earned to be as healthy as you are right now. You'd give it all up. Yeah. mean, your cars and your home and everything like that, even the holidays, you get to the point where, well, I've been there. Well, the simple things in life. And it's easy for us to say that while I'm 62 this year, it seems to be easy. If someone had taught what they did, people give you advice when you're young. It didn't take. don't. You don't. You don't take it. But I can really appreciate the way my life's gone from my dad, from the work sense. Family. Family is very important to me anyway. Like I say, I know I've taught the lads who didn't have that love. or the connection with the dad or the mom and that. And I feel so sorry because I think the two most important things in life is your health and family. then you'll get the people who throw and say, it's all right for him because he's done all right. And it means some of the happiest people I know have gotten out. You you create your own little bubble, don't you? It's fine. we actually, we talk about this forever because I love that. I love that side of it where People start talking about things don't really matter at the end of the day. Don't you know what I mean? After all said and done, things don't really matter. We've been in that house for 20 odd years and we've got an MFI kitchen which was falling to bits. I mean it was, it's 20 year olds or so, falling to bits. And I didn't realize how much kitchens are and I'm not going to banter how much I've spent, but I've got a kitchen and it looks Gorgeous. It's not finished yet. It's going to look gorgeous. I'm doing it not because we need a kitchen. I'm also in the business. I'm thinking, well, when we come to sell the house, kitchens and bathrooms sell houses. You know what I mean? So I said to Linda, said after this stroke, changed my attitude of it because lads will be lads from my village who say, he's the tightest man in Carville. You know what I mean? I didn't part with me very easily, you know, but I'm After this stroke, I thought to myself, know, what's the old saying? There's no point being the richest man in the graveyard. Yeah, yeah. I mean, I'm not the richest man, but at the end of the day, you've got to start thinking to yourself, I've saved that money for a rainy day. This stroke was a wake up call. I've promised Linda to finish the house for so many years now. And I just thought, right, we'll get a kitchen. I got a shock how much the kitchen is. You know, they're very expensive. But she's and that says, right, we're not going to stop. We're going to finish this house. You've never had this house finished in within 20 years. And I'm going to finish that for you. But I'm also thinking it'll help sell the house when we do our exit plan or so, you know? It's a big house. We don't need there's only the two of us, but the grandkids come. We've got a nice big garden. The kids run up and down and I mean, I mean, with the back street. Yeah. You know what I mean? My grandkids have got a tiny big garden. that they can play all day long in it and all that. We had a shared yard. Didn't we share with a neighbour? My mum and dad didn't even have a garden. had a yard and then there was Mrs. Mr. Mrs. Conner next door and their garden was a big garden and my mum couldn't, she had nowhere to hang her clothes out or washing. So they taught Fred and Mrs. Conner and they let my mum use the garden. to hang out, washing out and all that. Because that high street, there were, I don't know how it happened, but, number one, didn't have the first garden. Number one, the Presto's had second garden. Mr. and Mrs. Conner, who were number three, had the first garden. We lived in number two, we didn't have any garden. You know what I mean? And it was weird because that, and then, so the way it was sold and all that, like, well, they've got a double garden, but. Shouldn't that have been next? But happy memories are all the same. memories, totally different. I know. And that, you are about saying an advice you get when you're younger that you just don't listen to. There's one in there, people say constantly, I take it with you. People say it all the time, don't they? But it doesn't mean anything when you're does it? Look at my dad. mean, my dad has been a successful businessman. We invested his money wisely. Yeah. I went... through people like that. I didn't necessarily go to a big company that promises the... I used guys who I played football with and it's their job to do this. You know, your financial advisor. And I went to people who I trusted everything to me. I hate liars and I hate thieves. Because your dad always said to me, says, bringing you up, I brought you up too honest. Because he says, when I was a salesman, you had to be very streetwise and stuff. Down the pit, was the camaraderie ship. You know, like the football, like you were a team. Being a salesman, you were on your own. And my dad says, I'm not proud of it, but you had to fiddle. You had to fiddle because the wage wasn't that good. So the older guys who had been doing it long time would say, well, that's how you do this and that's how you do that. And my dad says, brought you up to us. There's a story where he says, me and your mother could always tell you when you're lying. He says, just, and I will ask him. I will ask him tell when I'm lying. They won't tell us what characteristics I give away. but my dad says, I brought you up to be honest to be a managing director. And I just do not like liars and I don't like thieves. you, but you're dealing with them all the time. And that's why I went with someone who I knew and my dad's money thankfully is doing all right. where it's very expensive to be in that home, but we can sustain it. it's just like, you've got to be sensible when money, I know people who making a lot more money than me and they just poof, float all that. I still have that value where I really hard for that. So if I'm going to spend a lot of money on a kitchen, it's because it's going to improve the resale of that. It's not just a flamboyant sort of. Spend... Like say, I've got a nice car, I've got a nice house, but I've worked since I was 12 year old. Yeah. No one should begrudge that. And the kids are living a quite modest, mean, Kirsty, like I say, can't pay Lewis a lot of money because there's not that much money in the business, but he's got responsibilities and things will get passed on to him. Ainsley's got our... Counselling. Counselling and she's worked for Dunfield and Kirsty's got our midwifery. And once she's done that, she might be able to say, I think she wants to come back and do two days a week. So the three kids still want to be in the business. And I'm just going to make sure that I leave that in a very healthy state. If I decide to walk away from it, you know what I mean? Legacy in it. what is it that you're sort of handing over? What we call Lewis, put, I had to put the Allen in, so Allen Hamilton, Allen Hamilton Jr., Ami, Hamo, and then Lewis is Lewis Allen Hamilton. and he gets hammer on the football field as well. the kid, I didn't tell you as well, but the grandkids, I didn't want to be a granddad sort of like, don't want, where's your granddad? So if I go and pick them, the kids up at the school, the nursery, the oldest one's 11, the youngest one's four or something. So sometimes, man, I'll also go and pick them up and the teacher won't go, and where's your granddad? It's not my granddad, it's Hamo. I am, our last gets called Nonna, like Italian, because we've got some Italian friends. So it was Nonna and Nonno. And then I actually slipped that out of the way and I said, you just call me Hamo. So all my five grandkids call me Hamo. That's interesting. I like it. I it. And I'm the same, you, I'm sort of, grandfather was Sonny. Dad's Sonny, I'm Sonny and my son's Sonny as well. Yeah, it's all passed down. And then, like I said, the first I'd heard of Sonny's was Sonny Hardy. He's just passed. He pauls me mate and his dad's just passed. He's a bit older than me dad. But they were brilliant. They were coal merchants in Carville High Street and all that. the three people that you looked up to when there were businesses. was Charlie Newton's Scrap, Taylor Made made your sheds and stuff. then Sonny Hardy had the coal merchants and all that. Them three were the people that you looked up, they were rich and successful businessmen in Carville. And like my dad's never moved out of Carville. I mean, even now he's in that home and it's Brumside and Carville was made up of Carville, Brumside and then Belmont Crew. So my dad... Never ever lived anywhere but Carville. Yeah. I think his house just as over the border in Belmont now, Brumside. And my mom, like I say, I'm proud to say that I was born in Hauntley Spring, me and my sister. Yeah. You know what I mean? So we're outsiders. Yeah. I think you've got to be proud of your identity like you used to, lads. Massively, man. Like, if you're not proud to... of where you're from and your history and all that. You've got to be, haven't you? No matter how, like, we've got Nout, you know what I mean? Our family grew up in Easington. We had Nout growing up. But you can still be proud of that. You don't have to be like... I think it keeps you level. And then if you make it, like I say, there's hard work, there's... You kind of... My dad didn't know that that was going to work. You know what I mean? And when we lost Walter Wilson, which was a third of our business, we took a pay cut. Me and Alas had only just got in the house. She was pregnant. And my dad turned around and said, we're going to take a hundred quid less because Durham Phil does make enough money. So I thought, it's all right for you. And Colin, you can afford to take it. I can't. I've got a mortgage. I we bought our first house for 15,000 pounds. We a mortgage. Alas was, I don't know if she was working at the time. part-time in the corp or something. And Linda's a trained hairdresser. But she cried. And I says, she says, but Alan, we've just got a mortgage and we've got a bend on the way. I says, I'm sorry, but I just put total trust in my dad. And if he says, we need to take a pay cut, we take a pay cut. We'll just not buy as much or we'll not have a holiday. And cut your cloth to suit. And it's so easy now, isn't it? So easy not to. There's so many ways you can just get yourself into. It's social media and what the kids think that's what life's about but it's not. It's not. Never be jealous. Jealousy can really burn you up and all that. At the end of the day, I look at people and they've done well and I'll say well done because I've been there and I've done it. But the people that are struggling, it's not always their fault. It's circumstances. I've got to remain the fact that Durham Foods was hard work and luck and good stuff. know about social media? There's so many times, I've said it to my kids, they look, he's doing well, isn't he? How do you know? Because he's put a photograph on social media. And then you find out later. some of these people who pretending to be on the beach on holidays and all that, they're green screen and stuff. I think that's so sad. It's very sad, isn't it? But it's influenced a whole generation of people in it. I was on Facebook and I used to put a lot on and I don't do it now. But if I'm away and I'm away with the lads in Benidorm or I'll get me towel out with hammer on and then me on a beach in Mauritius. I got it out for the Great Barrier Wave because we went to Sydney. I mean, like I say, that's if that's my one advice is now is, is I like my football. I like my beer. I like my holidays. Yeah. And that's that's my advice. And everyone should be. I feel sorry for those people who are really at the bottom and struggling. Doesn't mean to say that the lazy or the no good for nothings. They've had hard times and it's the gap's getting wider and wider. And I like to say we're not mega rich, but we do all right. I've got a good standard of living. And I'm thankful for that every day. Every day I do, I realize that. I want to give more to my kids, but I can't. But at the same time, I don't want to spoil them as well. You know what I mean? Well, then there's no learning, there? You know what I mean? I think one of the... I mean, I can show you one of the words I wrote when I was reading that thing and I was doing my research is adversity. Like nothing... has happened to your dad and to you during foods, the outcome of it, without adversity. know what I mean? to go down, having to find out your life didn't start off the way you thought it did. Losing your dad dying and then someone else coming in and being your father, getting injured, to go to the pit at 15, getting injured down the pit. Having to decide you're going to leave the pit because the danger in the life's not for you. All of those things all the way through, all I read was, He's just got through adversity. But if you go further back like that in the 50s and say there was more adversity then than there is now, it's a different adversity. It's people living up to what they think is normal. Like you said, these people who check out, it's so sad that they think they're not worthy or they haven't got what, and it's so sad. Like I said before, you haven't got your health, and mental illness. Like I say, my daughter says, I've always said, like we used to go to Horton Feast. Yeah. And I don't know anyone who remembers Horton Feast, but used to get the black balloons and they had their feathers on the top. And it was like an Indian sort of thing, a black alien balloon. Yeah. I got a goldfish from there, which you can't get now, but when a goldfish called him Peter, he was there. He lasted about 10 or 15 years. Yeah. And that's all memories. I always remember and my daughter Ainsley saying, dad, you've got ADHD. And I says, well, you might be right. But at the end of the day, when I was getting on the carousel at Haunton Feast, and it was muddy and cloudy all the time, it always wet in October. And I'll be on the carousel, I'll be going round and I'd only done one lap on the carousel and I'll be pointing over to the dudgems. I want to go on the dudgems. And I used to get smacked because I... My mom would say, I want, I want, I want. That's all you go on about. And that resulted in a good smack going up the Scarborough. You know Scarborough front where they sell the Winkles and then there's them, I always call them the exorcist steps. Steps up. Going up to the back of the Scarborough and all that. Ronnie Graham told me, he you're a little sod. says, think your father smacked you on nearly every step because you were twisting and being naughty. And says, your legs were red raw at the end of it. It wouldn't happen these days, but did it harm me? Maybe some people would say yes, it just made me... In fact, I don't even think about it, but it's just the stories I've been told. Did it hurt me at the time? Did I cry? Probably. It hasn't scarred us, but I'm probably lucky. Some people might have come out and been very emotionally scarred out of that, but it did nothing wrong. Because... Even though I got a smack and my father would smack us and probably lose his rag with us because I want, I want, I want. And Ronnie says, yeah, it was so funny that you wanted to be on the Dodgings, but you hadn't finished the ride on the castle. Yeah, I think I was so lucky that we had such a great parents that the smacks and that who I mean, my kids know that that's wrong. My wife was her dad never raised a hand. to her, she says he just had to look at us and that was enough. Whereas me, suffering from, not suffering, having ADHD, I didn't suffer from ADHD. I had ADHD, which wasn't diagnosed then or so. My father must have, it must have been hard, I must have been a little sod, like they called us a little sod. But they dealt with it the way they dealt with it. I accepted it the way. I accept it. It's not acceptable. And times were different weren't they? No one's saying that it's okay to do that now and people have their own opinions on it. out there. You have your own opinions. You bring your kids up the way you want to bring your kids up. But this is a joke that I heard the other day and it's just a joke for anyone listening who's going to go, I can't believe you're advocating that. This was the joke. This guy who I've only just sort of clicking through stuff and once you want you... watch once comes up like more, the algorithm brings more up. I'm watching this comedian and he's an older guy and he's quite funny because his jokes are short. Sometimes I go to listen to someone. not the guy who's the one liner, is it? No, but I do like him. I do like him. So he's on about, he's on about growing up in the seventies and he says, do you know what he says? Not only do I believe that you should be able to hit your kids. He said, I think you should be able hit other people's kids and all. It's funny because like I say, when you went down to the club on a Saturday, you got those comedians. I mean, listen, I know smoking killed the pubs and all that, but I wasn't a smoker. And you just accepted it. When you came out of the club on a Saturday night and the turn had been on, you got home, all your clothes had to get washed. Hair stunk and all that. Even to the point where me and Al last... didn't smoke and you go to a restaurant and you'd be just sticking into your chicken in the basket or something like that in the eighties and that. But you'd be eating that. But the couple that got there 15, 20 minutes before you, finished their meal, finished their dessert. And the first thing they'd do is light up a tab. And you would sit there and you'd be eating, this is nice. And you just accepted the fact that the smoke going in your eyes, going in your hair. And again, it's... probably one of the best things they ever did for the people who didn't smoke. I'm not saying it was a good thing for the people who smoke, but yeah, little things like that, you're accepted. You're just accepted because it was the norm, weren't it? But now people can voice their opinions about anything and everything. Have ever watched an old show and they've been in the pool somewhere and they're having a tab on that? It seems really strange to you now to watch it when they're smoking in... It's funny because in Benidorm with the lads and like if you're on the like a tourist, they smoke and all that. And I'll tell you, I went into a casino in Switzerland. We crossed the border from Italy to Switzerland and you went into the casino and there was a section of the casino, a lot of Chinese people there was and that's, I'm just telling you as it is, a lot of Chinese people in there and all of them were smoking and you had to walk through this thing and like it was very strange. because like you just don't, you accepted it before and you dealt with it before. Now, a little bit of smoke and you can smell it in your hair. No, no. Yeah, but you raging doing it as well because you're not used to it anymore. No, no, no. And somebody's blowing smoke at you or whatever. The vapes, they are kind of, I just don't understand that. People now, it's got to the point where if you were going somewhere, right, and you were doing something, people didn't light up and have a tab, right, at work. For instance, writing in office environment. I've been in office environments where people are like... They kind of stop, like it's it's constant, like... I'll worry about that because I mean, like I say, I'm not an expert, you read between the lines where this could be just as dangerous. I'm glad, I mean, I have got an addictive nature for certain things, never fancied smoking. Maybe I drink a little bit too much, but yeah, that's one of the little pleasures in life that I... the devices, you know. Yeah. That's what you said some earlier on, right? Your mom, she grafts, the cleaning and all that. She doesn't she's not in an industry, you know, so she doesn't think she's being exposed to asbestos and all that. So she grafts all her life, looks after herself and then dies of something totally unbeknown that she was getting involved in. Right. So you can go through your life doing the best you can, not smoking, not drinking. eating, gym, all that and keel over. You know what I mean? Yeah. There's no guarantees. know lads who have been fit as fiddles and gone. I'm lucky because that stroke could have been a lot worse. So I feel lucky I've got a second chance, but I've already forgot about it because I went out on Friday and got well and truly drunk. The first time I really got... mortal since I had me stroke and all that and it wasn't good. So I promised that I'm not going to get them sessions like I used to. And I remember as the guys got older in the club, you you'd go down the club on a Friday night or so and you'd have six to seven pints, wouldn't you? Federation Neil and stuff like that. Going back a long way. But then you saw the guys and they would have, they'd just go out and have three pints on the night. It three pints. What's the point in that? We're going for it. Finished with a couple of whiskies and all that. It inebriated. But I'm getting to that point now where it's like I say, I went out on Friday and I got too drunk. But now you sort of like you keep it checked. And I think when I look back at the older guys, my dad would say when he was like this age now and I was like 20 years younger or so, my dad said, well, what do you so much for. I said I'll go out and from the time we go out to the when we come in I might have three or four pints and I think as you get older that that I don't I don't think I'll go out all night and just have three or four pints but it's a case of like the big sessions have to stop. yeah yeah. promised I'd do that. Hangovers get worse as well. They do either days. But I'm on statins and I'm on glutinous and that's the problem was I never suffered hangovers ever. So therefore there was no discouragement to drink at session. Because if you're away with the lads or something on a stag do or a football do, you get up in the morning and by 10 o'clock if you're abroad, you're on the source again, aren't you? But I'm finding since I've been on the medication, I am suffering severe headaches and it's not good. probably put you off having the big sessions again. Yeah, for definite. I remember growing up, you'd be in the pubs and you'd be like, what are you drinking? Like, what is it? 4 %? Drink 4 %? What, 5 %? 6 %? It was all about how strong can you get it? Because you wanted a... Norseman Lag was about 2%. 2 % like... Two Borg, Norseman Lag. I used to get them out of the Vaux pubs and all that. My first one was, drank Brown Hill, Castle Brown Hill, but McEwen's Best Scotch. That was my dad's was IPA. I couldn't get away with exhibition. was too sweet. McEwen's best scotch. Then many years I've drank Guinness. And our last, I came out of the hospital, she got me Guinness zero zero. I'll be honest with you. I've tried that. I mentioned Sonny Hardy's funeral, my mates, dad's. was at Belmont Club for that. And I was drinking with my mate, Mickey. He was on John Smith's and I was driving and I had five pints of Guinness 00 and I finished off with one proper pint and there wasn't that much difference. I'll be honest with you, I could have done that because at a funeral, you're sitting and you're catching up with people that you haven't seen for a long time. And Mickey was drinking his John Smith's and I was drinking me zero, but I still felt a bit giddy. It was like a placebo effect. Yeah. Yeah. And it good. So it's a nice drink. But if I'm not driving and I'm not going anywhere to Godel, I'll just drink the alcohol. Yeah. I'll ask you one more question. One more question before we wrap it up. What's your favorite tipple now? If you're having a drink, what's your? I like my single malts. And I can tell you now. I've got a lot of whiskeys down in, I've got a bar and a gym at the bottom of the garden. And I do like my single malts and I'll try them all. I don't like the peaty ones. I found one called Spear Whiskey. Spear side is called Spear Whiskey. Right. And the Chairman's Choice, I last never liked whisky and it's got all the vanilla and the stuff. Yeah. And it's very, very palatable. And the Chairman's Choice Spear Whiskey, you can get it. online, but you can buy it at Aviemore. I went to find, we were driving up in Scotland and I found the distillery and the fellow, two fellows there, was, what you doing here? was, is this the spirit? I says, we've been shooting now about three or four months. We had a 25 year lease. He said, how did you find this? says, there's a sat nav, you know? And I got down a little porky road and I've got a defender. So I didn't mind going down this like uneven road. and they couldn't believe I'd get in there and he goes, and he let me take the photographs of the distillery. And I go, so can I buy some whiskey? He goes, no. He says, but if you go back to Aveymore, go into the little hub in the shopping center at Aveymore. And I went in there and they give us a few little tipples. And I bought about three bottles of different ones, but the chairman's choice, I can honestly say that's my favorite whiskey at the moment. I like a Rioja, a red Rioja. I was like, you this. And even though I'm Italian friends, I said, try this. And I haven't, I don't think I've had French one. I like me red, I last liked white more. She liked Sauvignon. But I like me Rioja. If it's a beer, it's a Guinness. And if it's a whiskey, then I like gin and tonic as well. I mean, I like the whiskeys and very much the smoother ones, like the Spearside Trail. You know, but then tried some of the like the Orchid Toshin, some of the others one, I can't remember the name of it. Not LeFroyd. LeFroyd. so I tried it right. It's like it's like medicine. TCP. TCP. My mate bought me it from me 40th or 50th, I can't remember, it was down Durham. He got me that. It was LeFroyd. He likes it. And for the first time ever, I went to the toilet and I thought I'm going to be sick. because it was just so, so Leads the taste on you and your mouth and that as well. I was but no, but I mean, I've got mates who love stronger the peat the better. It's not my taste. Spare, spare whiskey. Chairman's choice. That's the one right now. yeah, yeah. And like I say, can get it, you can get it online. In fact, the door was up, first it was up, have you more? And I asked her to call in and bring. Two bottles have gone already. That's the problem isn't it? Like home pours on your whiskey and that. Worst thing they ever did was bring them perfect drafts out. So you get a keg and it's got like 10 or 12 pints in it. And I was finding because of lockdown, come in, we were open all the way through because we were producing meats for the supermarket and that. And you're coming home and our last would have the tea ready. And it was just. and I had the perfect draft in the kitchen. And I was finding myself having two pints of Stella with me. I'm the type of lad who I'll go out and I'm like a session drinker. So me and Davey will go out and nothing of being on the session and having 10 pints, 12 pints, big session. But I'm not the type of guy who will go to the pub every night and have a couple of pints and all that. So I was finding myself where I could go a week without a drink, because I'm working. so hard and I'm driving and stuff, so you don't have a drink on a night, don't have a drink on a weekend. I could go sometimes 10 days without a drink, but when I get out and it's a football game or something like that or somebody's party, 10 or 12 pints. But that's stopping now. I've always been a kind of five pint head. Five pint, six pint is normal, yeah. But if you're out all day and that's it. If you're on an all day session. What about you? What your tip be? I'm a lager. Lagermann, just the normal Karl and Foster's. Aye. I'd rather put me own piss. I can't drink Lager's. But you were professional footballer, weren't you? I'm not a good drinker. I talked to Kevin Ball and he said, I'm not a big drinker. think when you... My brother-in-law, he never liked drink. He was a bit of a boxer. He never liked drinking, he drinks cider. I'll be honest with you, I said about Guinness and all that, but at the wake on Friday, it was just nothing but Stella or Madri. I don't mind Madri, Madri's alright, Stella's too strong for me. My dad, I mean my dad, that's all he drinks, he loves his Carlin. I know, it's a best seller, but I wouldn't thank you for I wouldn't, I'd rather not drink. Stella Parmen. That was like treacle. It's so strong and all that. I mean, at the end of the day, it's and what did I used to do? Black velvet. was Guinness and cider. it was the poor man's black velvet because black velvet should be champagne in Guinness. would have cider. used to do them as well. Remember when you wouldn't get served snake bite because they said, it makes you go off. I do remember that in the king's head. They wouldn't serve you snake bite. I'll tell you, you get snake bite at the Angel at the top of Crosscut in Durham and all that. The Angel would do a snake bite. It was a biter's pub and all that. But you ought to snake bite in Durham in the 80s and 90s and all that. It wouldn't serve you because they said it made you go crazy. I remember them stopping it in the King's Head when they stopped you. You couldn't get a snake bite. I why? It was half a cider and half a lime. was the same alcohol volume, you know what I mean? But my, so my tip of right now, single malt. various ones, but actually just started getting into bourbon. Don't mind a nice bourbon, which is different to the single most. I like me Jack. Aye. I like me Jack. Jack go and then you get, there's different Jacks. Uphill trees. Gentleman Jack. had one a few weeks back. And then my daughter, Bullard. Aye, yes. Bourbon. And to be honest, right, I do the cruises. I like the cruises and there's nothing nicer. because you eat like a king on the cruises. I've never had no bad food on the cruises. But I like to finish with a brandy. And if you think whiskey's strong, a brandy, you know, you get a good brandy and you kind of swig it. mean, you sip it. A brandy is good for the digestion as well. And then lager-wise, neck oil is my favourite. I like a Beaver Town neck oil. Never tried it. Have you not? No. I do. When we go to the game... We go to the fans museum for the game, you can get a neck oil there. And then we're in this place called the vaults, museum vaults or something like that. Next to ISIS. Yeah. Yeah. We're in there. What in there? I know, tremendous thing. My mate said, I said, where we meeting the lads, he said ISIS. went, you what? No, no, it's crazy. I mean, I remember all Sunderland, Sunderland, drank in Newcastle when the Tiffany's and Madison's in Newcastle for the nightclubs in Sunderland. I used to like the London Derry, it's not the core of the London Derry, now it's called the Peacock. It had one of the best jukeboxes, you could still get the pistols and the clash and the jam on it in the London Derry and all that. Yeah, some good pubs closed, mean, and I'll tell you, we've just gone to the cocktail, but it's now called Falowar or something like that. Something like Game Ho. Bobby Kerr used to have it. It's changed hands a few times but there's an Italian tour over and we went out and had a lovely meal there. Like me Indians, like me Thai, just like food. But not crap. I wouldn't thank you for calling in your big burger places. I've got to be desperate and hungry to get something like that. I don't like that. And that's why I can't understand how I had the stroke. Don't smoke, don't eat processed food much. You know what I mean? Yeah. And that's why I'm saying like you can do all you can and you deprive yourself of any vices. You say I'm not going to drink, not going to smoke. And I've never smoked. I tried it once when I was 16 and I was sick. And that's good that I know, you know, I couldn't smoke. I tried. But I do drink and I do like my whiskey and I do like my red wine. White wine gives me heartburn, but I do like my red wine. And I like it. I don't like lager in the house. Just blow to me, just sit there. I'll have a glass of wine I'm in the garden, and like I say, I've got a nice garden, if the kids are all playing and we're down in the bottom where I've got a barn and all that, it's no better than a nice, cold lager. I wouldn't have Guinness at home. I'll tell you through my Italian friends, Aperol spritz. I like an Aperol spritz. But it reminds me of like, am brewing stuff and all that because... It's the same colour and basically I drink it like pop. Because it is like pop, that's a problem isn't it? It's very sweet like Can you remember what was it, the stuff that came out when the kids were there? I think we bought pops. Alka pops. Alka pops. Wigging that. It was lower than one then. Hooch and Alka pops and all that. I like the taste of don't like, what's it called? You know gin, you get gin and it's a flavored gin. I like the taste of gin. the taste of gin, yeah, With the tonic and all that. I make it too strong now, last years. Yeah. You know? And then when I was in, we were in Hawaii, I like Elvis, and I always remember Blue Hawaii watching that with me mam on a Saturday and all that. And fun and that, the pulp gun stuff. Yeah. So we went there, we got off the cruise and we went to Honolulu and Waikiki beach. And I remember. We met an American couple, they were a great couple and they stayed with us. And I was in the big sports bar just off Waikiki Beach and he says, can I have two Jack and Cokes please? And I'm talking to this American lad and I come back and I just go, excuse me? I says, he asked for Jack and Coke. Yeah, you got Jack and Coke. Doesn't look like Jack and Trouble is with you Brits, right? You get a Jack and Coke and they'll give you, you get your little Jack. If you don't get it doubled, it's a little bit, and they give you a bottle of Coke or a can of Coke or something, and it's drowned. And I learned then, it's just like a splash Coke. It hardly changes the colour of the I learned from that. So from now on, like you said, and you can taste the Jack. You put a bottle of Coke into a Jack, what's the Coke in it. It's really cool. So I like to taste the Jack. I like to taste the gin. The stronger the lager, the better for me. And like I say, I just like alcohol. There's very few I don't like, if I'm honest with you. I wouldn't drink Carlon. Or Foster's, no. Or was it Castlemain? Castlemain Forex. I don't think you can get that, can you? Years ago when I was in the place, know, they used to call... A lot of the places you were going... these people were sort of struggling, you know what I mean? There were the rough areas and it was always Karl and you know what I mean? White Star. White Star? I think it White Star Cider. Was it? Big bottles. White Lightning. White Lightning, aye. And they used to call Karl and Council Lager. Yeah, but I mean, like said, your dad and that. I completely love Carlin, but it's just mine. like Estella. When they brought that Stella Prammer out, which is really, really strong. but the glass is different, isn't it? It's got the handle and that. They serve that in the Hilton, just outside the stadium and all that. they do. The place in Springwell, know, Washington, Springwell, ship in there and it was always famed for its Stella. people should go there, just have a... Is that a big white pub? Aye. Yeah, I deliver the news there and it's opposite. Aye. And I don't know, this was years ago when I worked in Washington, but people would go there just for the stellar, And people do for Guinness, don't they? There's various places where Guinness... I travel to Ireland sort of a week every month I'm over in Ireland. Yeah. I always make sure I have a Guinness when I'm over It's right what they say, because we went to... I'm forgetting that we flew to Cork. Then we went down to, I forget the name, it right down on the south. And me and Davey, ended up, in the holiday session, the families were those. Our last, the kids and all that. And he got the 16 points in Guinness. And I mean, this was starting from 11 o'clock when it opened and we managed to fit in the Italians in a bottle of wine in between us. And Davey got 16 points. I I stopped at about. 12 or 13 or something, but Davey's six foot two and bigger than me. So I did all right. It's quite heavy stuff and all. Yeah, but I just, I just think it's like a slim, it's like a slim fast or something. But it was gorgeous. And that's when I went, had to go on and said, Davey, there's not enough room left in me. I got Jack and Cork to finish off. Trying to think of the name. He's he's cousin's lad. Ran the place, the football team. I forget what it's called, just down from Cork. This is again, me memory, pause. That's the biggest one we've done, about 16 points against now, I about 13. I mean, you don't need to eat after that. No, definitely not. There'd no room to get anything else in if you 16 points against. I wish I'd been taller, I could have gotten a bit more in. So Alan, thanks very much, it's been brilliant. The time's just gone away from us. think we've been going for three and a half hours. The time's just gone. It always does when we're chatting on. I feel sorry because you're going to have to edit all I've got to all that. You'll be going, come? Three and a half hours? You just put a 40 minute... Let me see what I mean. I don't know what you... I mean, we're backwards and forwards, we? But at the end of the day, it was more about my dad. And I was going to say, Darren Foods was born from the pits and I didn't actually... Say that in the feed and I won't Do you know the name for this episode that ChatGPT gave me? What? From the pit to the plate. That's brilliant. So is this a like an AI thing? It's AI. Yeah, so I typed in, you know, I'm doing this episode with Alan Hamill. the to the plate. From the pit to the plate. Brilliant. Isn't it? So that's what this will be called when it goes out. From the pit to the plate with Alan Hamill. How long does this come out? I'll tell all the family and friends. I'll let you know though. I'll say, look, I'm going to release on this date. I'll give you a bit of notice. I've mentioned a lot of names there and all that, so it should be good. I didn't cry once, there you go. You did well, because before we went on air, you were just about gone. I was gone a few You did well to get through that, mate, so well done. So thanks very much, thanks very much to you. Yeah, thanks again. Fascinating. Another great episode. We'll have to meet up at the match and get a drink. Definitely. Like say, I was with Davey, I said, there you are. He says, I'm on my way home, I was just picking us up. I mean, when you're starting to see two of everybody... There's a problem there now. But the best thing is we could have done with two jackers. You were saying there we could have with two. We could have done with a... But I think if we do another episode I think we should do it in Alan's bar by the way. I agree. With them single mulch and lagers. them cakes. we could try. I'll get some callin' in for you. And I'll have our last coming down with the hammer and piece, putting the strutties in the slice of the beetroot. The beetroot. I mean honestly... And them dips. yeah. we were doing 3,000 of them to take to the NEC. it's about getting it out there. But what you said was, and it occurred to me before. we've done this arse over tit because basically we should have somewhere to sell it. So when these 15,000 people come in and a third of them buy our product, love that and they will. They can't get it again, can So that's why I said, Jamie, we might have to go back to Ocadro. goes, they were the arse on it as well. He says we might have have somewhere to sell. You can't wait till Aldi do it in January and known supermarkets the way I know them. We were supposed to be in there for this summer and they pulled the plug and said it was going to be January. And I said, and I don't have much hope that it's going to happen in January as well. Everything's full of promises and they have the mandates then and the procedures. The two buyers that loved it, he went to Durham University, he's a southerner, but he went to Durham University so he knew what Peace Puddin' was and all that and she was just a young lass. and she loved the jalapeno. I like, you going to leave some for somebody else? And then you've got the feeling like the upstairs, the higher act, he just said, no, we're not going to do the summer one. We'll do the vegan. We'll wait and see. Yeah. Well, it's all a success in the world. definitely. Darren Foods and Weather River Bends. Weather River Bends, yeah. I'm going to start getting stickers like the day we had that Tuna Army and Sunland on there. Yeah, Weather River Bends. I might leave a bit of this for the weather. Keep some skin for weather if it bends. Get a jalapeno dip. The jalapeno and the roasted red pepper is really good. Thanks very much. Right folks, that's us done for another episode of Pit Yak A Crack. Massive thanks for watching or listening. We'd love it if you'd give us a follow, subscribe, maybe give us a share. All the usual places, Facebook, Insta, Spotify, YouTube. Just search Pit Yak. You can also join the Facebook subscribers crew for a bonus bits and behind the scenes crack bit of extra content if you wanted to really support us. Thanks again for being on the journey. See you on the next one.