Latest / DunkersPodcast / Dogs, Dating and Dunking | How Cold Water Changed Andrew & Clare’s Lives
Transcript
- 0:11Today, dear listeners, we're diving into something a little
- 0:15warmer than usual, the first official Abasot dunker's
- 0:19romance. Yes, between the splashes, the
- 0:23storms and the slightly steamy beach hot chats, love blossomed.
- 0:28Meet Claire, ex Army Donk handler, police K9 expert,
- 0:34adrenaline junkie and full time energy machine.
- 0:38From patrolling high risk zones in Northern Ireland to expertly
- 0:42wrangling canines and the occasional wire wire.
- 0:45Why? I'll say it in a minute.
- 0:47Wine, fuel, tail. Claire brings more than just
- 0:50discipline to the dunking scene, she brings sparkle.
- 0:54And then there's Andrew, early morning beach lover, dog dog,
- 0:59dad to Meg and the man who thinks a 3000 mile drive is just
- 1:04a scenic day out in the country. Once a motor garage boss, now a
- 1:09housing assessor making British homes warmer, Andrew's got a
- 1:13heart. A heart as reliable as his van
- 1:15engine. He's also a card carrying
- 1:18gentleman dunker, but we'll say no more about that at this
- 1:21point. Together, they're the Dunkers
- 1:24after after hours duo partial to a pub quiz, a long walk and,
- 1:30yes, a cheeky tipple. Their story is 1 of camaraderie,
- 1:34canine loyalty and the unexpected magic of seaside
- 1:37community life. TuneIn to see how our how army
- 1:42discipline met abbasop charm and whether falling in love in
- 1:45freezing water makes it all that more special.
- 1:49Andrew and Claire, hi. Hello.
- 1:52Thank you for joining me. And this is and there's Meg.
- 1:55Yeah, Yeah, we've got the background of Meg here.
- 1:59And that's absolutely fine. It's it's very much a chat round
- 2:03the kitchen table, as you know. So tell me, dunking, dunking.
- 2:08Andrew, you were into dunking before you met Claire or.
- 2:12Before I met Claire, but not before I met the Duncas in
- 2:15Abasot. I think it's four years this
- 2:18October. Have you been dunking that long?
- 2:20Yeah. I have, yeah.
- 2:21I walked down the lane from the beach one morning.
- 2:23I'm just having had a walk on the beach.
- 2:26The 2 ladies with towels wrapped around the hair obviously been
- 2:28in the water so I asked them have you been swimming and they
- 2:32said yes just come along every any morning. 8:00, 8/15 And the
- 2:35dunk was going in the water. Oh, so I think it was.
- 2:38October 4 years ago. Wow.
- 2:39I'm guessing that's probably Hattie.
- 2:42It probably wasn't Hattie and Emma I.
- 2:43Can't remember it was now, but I think you are just two ladies
- 2:46walking off the beach, right? So I think it probably was
- 2:48Hattie always used to have that turban, right?
- 2:51Yeah, yeah, yeah. It would have been, yes.
- 2:53And and that was four years, October.
- 2:55Yeah, this October, four years. But isn't it brilliant?
- 2:58Yeah, never wrote back since. Claire, how long have you been
- 3:00there dunking? Probably since July last year,
- 3:03OK. Why?
- 3:05But I actually thought you were all bonkers when I first met
- 3:08you. When Andrew first said that he
- 3:11did dunking down in Abersoch, I did think he was slightly mad
- 3:14and I wonder what I was getting into.
- 3:16And then I decided that I would give it a go on my 60th birthday
- 3:19last year, which is what I did. Brilliant, brilliant.
- 3:22What a birthday present. It was actually what, an
- 3:25initiation. Yeah, more, more of that.
- 3:28Yeah, exactly. Mind you, that's, it's not
- 3:31really such a big deal from what you've been through, is it?
- 3:33You've no, you've had lots of initiations, I guess.
- 3:36Yes, just a. Few, just a few, absolutely so.
- 3:40And obviously 2 worlds that have come apart come together rather
- 3:45on the beach and in the surf. Sometimes we get it really quite
- 3:50rough, don't we? But that never bothers you guys,
- 3:53does it? Doesn't mean I don't go, it's
- 3:55really, but the waves are quite high.
- 3:56I won't go in really. No, I do what Andy, Andy Cheek
- 4:00often says and make your decision on the beach and if
- 4:02it's really, really WAVY, I won't go in.
- 4:04No, no. But isn't it?
- 4:05It's strange how so often it's better on the beach than it is.
- 4:09Oh. Absolutely.
- 4:10Even from a short distance from both talking down, it could be
- 4:13not great at the top. If you get either be just feels
- 4:16a bit warm and a bit brighter for some reason.
- 4:17Yeah, it's strange. Yeah, yeah, it must be the light
- 4:20reflecting but and though up here in Minnatho because we get
- 4:23a lot of the mist, the the famous Minnatho mist, so the
- 4:28Anderte. Sunshine.
- 4:29And the Anderte Sunshine, Yeah, yeah, yeah.
- 4:31So Claire, do you have any pre dunk routines?
- 4:37Prepare yourself with three paracetamols and two eye brufen.
- 4:41No I don't, I just get up and get Andrew Biggs big cup of tea
- 4:43and then we walk down with Meg. Maggie's the driving force
- 4:46behind getting us out of bed in the morning.
- 4:49She's a three-year, well she's 3 next week actually.
- 4:51She's a Welsh colleague from Anglesey and she's the one that
- 4:55runs the runs the house and the show and if we are not awake in
- 4:58time and she will bark until she's allowed out the door and
- 5:02straight down to the beach. Yeah, she pretty much barks now
- 5:05when it's daylight now. 435 o'clock.
- 5:08She's barking. She wants to go to the beach.
- 5:10OK. She's really falling through
- 5:12routine and she loves chasing the ball down the beach in the
- 5:14morning. Yeah, sitting there while we
- 5:15swim and then dog ice cream footprints on the way back.
- 5:19A dog ice cream. She's lucky once.
- 5:21A dog ice cream. Dog ice cream?
- 5:23What? It's a dog ice cream.
- 5:24Oh, it's she's. Just discovered it.
- 5:26Hasn't she announced from the norm?
- 5:27A small tub of I don't. Know what's?
- 5:30In it, taste it. How to taste?
- 5:32It no Kathy tasted. I think somebody tasted it and
- 5:36said it would just taste like even ice cream.
- 5:38So yeah. But Meg loves it.
- 5:39And it probably. Is it's so lovely sitting at
- 5:41Footprints, isn't it, on a during the summer months, just
- 5:44sitting out there watching the world go by and have a coffee
- 5:46and chatting. Yeah, it's a great day.
- 5:49Yeah, yeah. We start the morning.
- 5:50So as far as dunking goes, have you dunked anywhere else besides
- 5:55have a single? Seat, my son had got married
- 5:58last year in Charter Bay and there was one of his her family.
- 6:02Haley's family member came from Cornwall and she's part of the
- 6:04Cornwall dunking scene. OK.
- 6:06And so we were the only ones out that morning in with hangovers
- 6:10in the rain in Charter Bay, right post wedding dunk right
- 6:14and it cleared the hangover ready for breakfast it.
- 6:17Does work, doesn't it? It does work.
- 6:19I was very skeptical, but no, I'm a firm believer.
- 6:23When you've had a good night, you must have a good dunk.
- 6:26Yeah, yeah, yeah, we dunked. In Tenby last week, didn't we?
- 6:29Yeah, yeah, called the island. Where?
- 6:31Sorry. Called the island.
- 6:32Oh, did you? Yeah.
- 6:33Yeah. OK.
- 6:34Yeah, took off someies over there with some strange looks
- 6:36and people getting off the boat. Oh, right.
- 6:38Did they? They didn't have a group that
- 6:39you went down to. No, no.
- 6:40It's just an island off the shore of Tenby.
- 6:42You on a boat trip? And then we had a swim while
- 6:44waiting for the boat back, didn't we?
- 6:46Brilliant. But I've not done, I've not,
- 6:48I've not my chicken on one of the group walks where people go
- 6:51and the Donkers stoning group go and dunk in the mountains in
- 6:54Snowdonia. Oh, right.
- 6:56OK, great events. I've always been working when
- 6:59it's happened right. So I'd love to that one you.
- 7:01That was probably one of your 3000 mile trips, actually,
- 7:04Andrew. Yeah, yeah.
- 7:06Your, your reputation proceeds you the amount of miles that you
- 7:10do just to get to a job. We'll come to that.
- 7:12We'll come to that in a minute. But so you must, yes.
- 7:16I mean, the bottom line is you've got to join us because
- 7:19while swimming is is great and The Walking path is obviously a
- 7:23a firm favorite of destination from here.
- 7:27Yeah, so, and we'll get Claire in there and into the running
- 7:30streams and into the little waterfalls.
- 7:33Absolutely, having done Snowden first.
- 7:36Oh yes, yeah, you do like walking, don't you?
- 7:39I like Snowden and I like the Canevi as well.
- 7:42Do you? The Canevi is less busy.
- 7:44OK. It's I think it's more
- 7:45interesting and it's a lot less busy with people.
- 7:48Is it farther to get to from here?
- 7:50I normally park in Labour and Greg in OK on the edge of the 55
- 7:54and just go Ridge hop from there.
- 7:56Walk to the top and just Ridge hop.
- 7:57Just pick a mountain on the OS map and head for it.
- 7:59Wow. Just like that?
- 8:01Yeah. Yeah.
- 8:02So tell me, why do you do it? What?
- 8:05Well, I, when I retired from the police about 8 years ago, I was,
- 8:08I was absolutely done in, I'd done 30 years and I'd had
- 8:11enough, right? And I retired, I'm from Anglesey
- 8:13originally and I, I went to the house in Anglesey and I just
- 8:18decided that I would head to the mountains for until it was all
- 8:21out of my system. Really.
- 8:22So I. Would wake up 1 morning and just
- 8:24pick a mountain and go for it or pick up if it wasn't if it was
- 8:27if the weather was bad because it's always important to look at
- 8:29the weather before you take out on these adventures.
- 8:31I I just open the OS map on Anglesey and close my eyes and
- 8:34just. Just put really somewhere
- 8:37essentially just pointed to mountain and that's how you go.
- 8:40My eyes. And just because Anglesey is
- 8:41beautiful, Anglesey's got some stunning rocks as well, right?
- 8:43Really, I love it. It's my as much as I love living
- 8:46here, it is my spiritual home. Yeah, Anglesey is.
- 8:48Yeah. Were you there long?
- 8:50I just brought up there. I moved there when I was two in
- 8:53a village called San Henadal near Valley.
- 8:55I went to Holyhead School and then when I left school, that's
- 8:58when I joined the Army. OK, so Welsh speaker.
- 9:02Dipping back, dipping back. I did it at school and had I
- 9:04known what I know now I would have.
- 9:05I would have paid much more attention.
- 9:07Would you really to male. Level, yes.
- 9:08Yeah, yeah, yeah. I'm sorry, this is Meg.
- 9:11Meg's the trolling round the table.
- 9:13Not looking like a tennis ball. And that's the that's the
- 9:16panting. It's not to Andrew.
- 9:17That's the so so tell me. I mean, I'm really intrigued
- 9:23about this. So it obviously was therapy for
- 9:26you after after 30 years to just say, is it was it the the solace
- 9:31that you were seeking or was it was it the, the excitement or
- 9:36was it what was it? No.
- 9:37I think it's the peace and quiet, was it?
- 9:39And they're not having the radio blaring in your ear and not
- 9:42having people shouting and yelling at you all the time.
- 9:44And not, you know, you can't please anybody, it seems, these
- 9:47days when you're a police officer, you know, it's just
- 9:50nice not to have that pull, you know, of.
- 9:53I was dying, Guildford in Surrey, and there wasn't enough
- 9:56staff on the rota. And it was just job after job
- 9:59after job. And you never got a minute's
- 10:00piece. And then you would work overtime
- 10:02and then you would ever get home on time.
- 10:04It was just a big pull. When you're young, I think it's
- 10:07fine. But when you get some sort of
- 10:08like, well, 56, it's a bit much rolling on Guildford's High
- 10:12Street with, you know, Duncan teenagers thinking, why am I
- 10:16doing this? Absolutely.
- 10:19And the drunken teenagers is asking exactly at the same why
- 10:21are you doing this? Yeah, yeah.
- 10:22So I think that was it. And also it was just the the
- 10:27exercise I because I love, I love the exercise.
- 10:30And quite meditative. It is very meditative.
- 10:33Is it really? And the people you.
- 10:35I walk in Snowden very early one morning and I met a guy there in
- 10:38his 70s and he lived in Bethesda all his life.
- 10:41And he would just once a week, once two weeks, walk up there
- 10:46and just. Really, that was that was his
- 10:48way of that was his. Way and I was up there on one.
- 10:50There was three of us up there. It was a very early morning.
- 10:52I had a different dog then called Bella and she actually
- 10:54went into his knapsack and ate his ham sandwiches, which you
- 10:58can't replace. That's no.
- 10:59Clearly it's. The morning, but he was fired
- 11:01about it because he had a collie as well.
- 11:04Yeah, and that collie ate yours, I hope.
- 11:06No. I don't eat mine by that, I eat
- 11:08my mouth way up. I couldn't wait do.
- 11:11You know, you just like soon she packs up for a lunch and then
- 11:14come 5 past 11 and she's into her sandwiches and into her nuts
- 11:17and goodness, there was what? So what did you find you were
- 11:21doing to sort of just chill off? Because joking apart 3000 miles
- 11:25or however many you did in a week was just crazy.
- 11:28Yeah, I just can't wait to get back here.
- 11:30Yeah, just just too long behind the wheel.
- 11:32It is, yeah. Yeah, I, I was probably like a
- 11:35lot of Dunk because a lot of it's just in my blood.
- 11:37I came here when I was one year old, stayed in a farm in clan
- 11:41anger for quite a few years and the B&B and then fortunate to
- 11:44have a property here. And I just can't wait to get
- 11:46back here. And I've always felt that way.
- 11:49I suppose really I've always wanted to live here.
- 11:51I knew I knew I was going to live here one day.
- 11:53Did you? Finding a way to.
- 11:54Get it was. Yeah, yeah.
- 11:56And. Bringing the bringing the when
- 11:58and how together, Yeah. Doesn't disappoint.
- 12:00I mean, I obviously know I travel all over the UK, I've
- 12:02been to Kansas, 6 S Coast, Portsmouth, Southampton, all
- 12:06over the different coastlines and there's nowhere as nice this
- 12:10past. Devon and Cornwall are lovely as
- 12:11well, but I've not come across anywhere like this.
- 12:14No. The beaches we've got and the
- 12:15cafes and the facility, it's just amazing place and having
- 12:20the dunkers has just made it even better because now you can
- 12:23walk down and you've got friendly faces, chatter and
- 12:25banter on the beach. It's just a great way of life.
- 12:29So your early, I mean, your early life was very much sort of
- 12:32things like the car trade, wasn't it?
- 12:34Yeah, yeah, yeah. Yeah, my dad was in the motor
- 12:37trade and he did well. So my brother and I thought,
- 12:39well, he can do it, we can. So we set up a used car
- 12:42dealership. Then one day somebody from Skoda
- 12:46came along, said would you be interested in taking a Skoda
- 12:48franchise? That was when they had the old
- 12:50fashioned Rapids and Estelles and everything.
- 12:53And we laughed and snegered for a while.
- 12:54Then we thought, well, that's probably not a bad idea because
- 12:56Volkswagen, we're about to take over, OK.
- 12:59So we thought, well, probably we'll get better cars, you know,
- 13:01they will improve. And so we took on Skoda
- 13:07franchise in the end and had several great years.
- 13:09Yeah, it was the law of the dealers were family owned,
- 13:12right. And these go on trips every
- 13:15year. So every year Skoda pay for all
- 13:17the dealers and the families to go away for a week.
- 13:19So it took us to Florida, it took us to Cyprus and didn't
- 13:22place us just on freebies. It was great.
- 13:24This was the time to be in the. Motor.
- 13:26So yeah, it's changed now. It's all corporates now and it's
- 13:28changed a lot now, yeah, yeah. But yeah, that's with a nice
- 13:32start to that. Because at that time the motor
- 13:34industry or certainly the motor retail industry was very much
- 13:38made-up of of entrepreneurs independence.
- 13:41Wasn't it? Absolutely, Yeah.
- 13:42The the big, the the big conglomerates never really sort
- 13:45of connected into them. No, no, no, even when my dad
- 13:49started in the would be about mid 60s.
- 13:53No about probably 1970 the new car dealers didn't sell used
- 13:58cars. They took apart exchanges and
- 14:00just traded them straight out to to auctions and other motor
- 14:03traders. So they'd sell new cars and not
- 14:05used cars. So it's that easy to go and find
- 14:08used cars to sell them. So he did well out of it.
- 14:11Very well. Yeah.
- 14:11Yeah. He had Toyota franchises and he
- 14:15went all over the world with Toyota.
- 14:16I was going to say that as part. Even then, that must have been a
- 14:19license to write to write checks.
- 14:21Yeah, yeah, yeah. There's no discount on any car.
- 14:23You had full margin on every car people just walked to.
- 14:25Can I have that one, you say? Yes, that's pricing.
- 14:27That was it. Yeah, Simple way of doing
- 14:30business. Take the negotiation bit out of.
- 14:33It absolutely. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.
- 14:36So they did very well. Good.
- 14:38And Paul Knight as well as well my brother and I.
- 14:39We as well, yeah. Yeah.
- 14:41And then things changed, didn't they?
- 14:43Yeah, they do. Yeah.
- 14:44We had a garage site which we needed to move to bigger
- 14:47premises. So we did found bigger.
- 14:49Just simply because of the success.
- 14:50Skoda told us no, Skoda. Oh, yeah, They got start to get
- 14:53a bit more dictatorial. So we start saying you've got to
- 14:55put these floor tiles down, just paint walls this color.
- 14:58You must wear these uniforms. And the same most manufacturers
- 15:01start to get more and more dictatorial.
- 15:04So our premises weren't big enough, so we had to move.
- 15:06So we found new premises and we were about to sell the old site
- 15:10and I thought why not build some houses?
- 15:12OK, this is in two. 1000 and six 2007 So I sat with an architect
- 15:17and we designed a scheme. We're getting 13 town houses on
- 15:20site and started building. Got halfway up and then the
- 15:24financial crash came in 2008, so all the money we would have made
- 15:28just disappeared out the window. Really.
- 15:30Yeah, absolutely. Just as dramatic as that.
- 15:32Dramatic as that. Yeah, on one day, off the next,
- 15:35completely. Wow.
- 15:36And I got interviewed because I think the local BBC Radio
- 15:39Nottingham wanted to interview somebody about housing crash,
- 15:42right? So they came and interviewed me
- 15:44and asked me how I felt and obviously felt disappointed.
- 15:47But then next thing they said, can you do a slot on the BBC
- 15:516:00 News with Hugh Edwards? Which you did.
- 15:54Which you did, yeah. Yeah, So trying to say, well,
- 15:57it's not too bad, but it was bad.
- 15:58It wasn't brilliant. No, I ended up working.
- 16:00I ended up working three years for nothing but not making penny
- 16:03really. I'm actually get out of.
- 16:04It. Yeah, yeah.
- 16:05Yeah, well, I do enjoy property developing.
- 16:08Yes, yeah. But that's.
- 16:09Did you not really enjoy cars as much?
- 16:11No, I didn't. No.
- 16:13I'm not really gone off the the the boil by that.
- 16:15Yeah, yeah. I'm not really a salesperson,
- 16:18but I I stuck at it for a few years.
- 16:20Yeah, I prefer property. Yeah, but then because I was
- 16:24doing a property with a young guy who was a builder, he'd told
- 16:27me about the retrofit surveys which I do now, and that enables
- 16:31me to work anywhere in the country virtually.
- 16:32So when I found the job in North Wales it was perfect.
- 16:35It was, wasn't it? Yeah.
- 16:36So again, because you could, you could live.
- 16:38Here make you live around the area and just travel back and
- 16:40come travel away and come back each day, yeah, two or three
- 16:43days away and come back. Yeah, yeah.
- 16:45Yeah, that's why I'm still here now.
- 16:47Well, and your previous life, Claire, was very much cotton
- 16:52Trust we did. We did discover that your garage
- 16:54was in Melton Mowbray and I was. I was in Melton Mowbray in the
- 16:57military at the time on my dog training course.
- 16:59No, really, we. Were both in Melton Mowbray at
- 17:01the same time. We said I think I was a bit too
- 17:03wild from at that. What you were although dog?
- 17:06Was so me, I was, I was 2122 at that point and I was still very
- 17:10much a bit of a party animal, so I think.
- 17:12I've been a bit OK. So, so when you to to to be a
- 17:16dog trainer in the military or the police I guess, but the
- 17:19military first, do you have to be an enlisted personnel first?
- 17:23You did this was this was back in 8485?
- 17:28No, it must be 8586. And I just left Northern Ireland
- 17:33and my major, all my boxes, all my kit was going out to Detmold
- 17:37in Germany. And he just walked in one day
- 17:39and I had about 3 days left over there.
- 17:41And he said, oh, you're not going there now.
- 17:42You're going to Milton Mowbridge to be a dog handler.
- 17:45And I just went, well, my kids in Germany supposed to get it
- 17:47back then. This is such a military thing,
- 17:49just get it back. He said.
- 17:50You won't need a lot in Melton Mowbray anyway.
- 17:51It's all this nuts. I couldn't believe it.
- 17:53And then I was sort of in three days I was on a flight back from
- 17:56Northern Ireland to Heathrow and getting picked up and taken to
- 17:59Melton Mowbray with hardly any kicks.
- 18:01What were you doing in Northern Dog?
- 18:03No, there's no advance notice then in Northern Ireland about
- 18:06being a dog trainer. No, well, no, I had three days
- 18:09and that that was, I was lucky that was, you know, yeah,
- 18:12normally you get about months of notice to to move, right.
- 18:16But this was he just said, well, I was one of the first three
- 18:19female dog handlers in the Army. And because the Army just
- 18:22decided at that point they were going to have female dog
- 18:24handlers. OK.
- 18:26He just walked. In because of pressure.
- 18:28I think the world was coming round to the fact that women had
- 18:30a place in the military, yeah. Cause up until then they could
- 18:33equally they could do any job more or less the same.
- 18:35Yeah, yeah, there wasn't that many women that stayed cause at
- 18:38that point in the Army, if you got, if you were pregnant, you
- 18:41couldn't stay in, OK, you'd stay in marriage.
- 18:43But if you had a baby, you instantly had to go.
- 18:45Really. Yeah, you're right.
- 18:46So if you were married and then and got pregnant, you'd be out.
- 18:49Yeah, you'd be out, but you'd. Be married and not have.
- 18:51Children stay in, but you couldn't have children.
- 18:53So the the fallout was quite high.
- 18:55Yeah. And so a lot of the military
- 18:58just thought we were just there for a couple of years and we
- 19:00weren't worth investing in. And then someone decided,
- 19:02actually we need to get ahead on this because this is not how it
- 19:05should be. No.
- 19:06No. And yeah, Major Hayes just
- 19:07walked in and said you're off to Melton Mobile.
- 19:10I didn't even know who it was, Right?
- 19:11I'd heard pork pies, obviously, but I didn't.
- 19:14Know I tasted a few. Yeah, yeah, yeah.
- 19:16And the next thing I know, I'm in Melton Mowbray learning how
- 19:19to be a dog handler. Right.
- 19:21So before you, before that you were still in the military,
- 19:24you'd been to Northern Ireland. How many tours did you?
- 19:26Do in. I did 1.
- 19:27I did 1. I did a two year tour.
- 19:29I did go back to Colchester from training depot, yeah, which is
- 19:32an exercise platoon and so I was never there.
- 19:35We were always out on exercise, living in the back of Land
- 19:37Rovers and and tents and all sorts.
- 19:40And then I got a week's notice for that move.
- 19:43I came back one day and it's post on orders.
- 19:45You go to Northern Ireland next week.
- 19:48So like the the military works I'm afraid.
- 19:49Yeah, Yeah. They don't give you a lot of
- 19:50thinking time do. They and you know, when you're
- 19:5218, you don't really care you just no, you're OK I'm often.
- 19:55With a lot of females in, I mean, we're just talking about
- 19:57females and about the fact that the, the, the, the sort of
- 20:01consensus of opinion was that the, the flag needed to be
- 20:04raised a bit and females need to be sort of put into positions of
- 20:08influence and, and, and obviously seen.
- 20:11Was that the same in Northern Ireland or was it the the did
- 20:14you have the same sort of visibility?
- 20:16I I. You know, I think the Northern
- 20:18Ireland's a whole different kind of fish.
- 20:19I think because of the situation up there in the 80s, I don't
- 20:22think anyone cared what sex you were.
- 20:23You all, it was all about looking after each other, right?
- 20:27Were the trouble still? Yes.
- 20:29Just still. In fact, it took me a long while
- 20:31to stop looking under my car. When I used to come home on
- 20:33leave, I used to check into the car and it was a good year, 12
- 20:36months when I was finished there that I would stop looking under
- 20:39my car, checking for anything that's underneath.
- 20:41Right, right. Because that was just the modus
- 20:43operandi. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.
- 20:45And and you were with whereabouts in Northern Ireland?
- 20:47I was in Lisbon and then I was in South Elmar.
- 20:51OK. OK.
- 20:52So the sort of places that you hear about or if you, yeah, of
- 20:55our age, you can remember you used to feature on the news.
- 20:58Yeah, yeah, yeah. So Meg's getting involved.
- 21:01In the YouTube, you stay there Meg, that's absolutely fine.
- 21:05I didn't know we'd have 3 guests today.
- 21:06But we've got 3 guests. She likes to be involved.
- 21:08Don't you, Meggy Moo? Yeah, yeah, yeah.
- 21:10So that was the just a part of your life.
- 21:12And when you came back and you went to Melbourne, Melton
- 21:15Mowbray, you thought, OK, here we go.
- 21:17Yeah. And that was interesting because
- 21:21because it was because we were the first three females to do
- 21:24it. We weren't well liked to be.
- 21:26We got there. It was a bit some of the.
- 21:29The animosity. Yeah, yeah.
- 21:31And some blessing. The kennel mates thought, well,
- 21:33this isn't fair because we, we'd look after these dogs.
- 21:35Why can't we be dog handlers? And like I, I got that, yeah,
- 21:38yeah. But we got, because, you know,
- 21:40we just got on with it and made friends with them.
- 21:43And yeah, there were a lovely bunch of girls, right?
- 21:47And, and the Household Cavalry trained there as well at the
- 21:48same time. OK, It's, AH, cavalier.
- 21:51And so it was horses and dogs. OK, OK.
- 21:54So you all had to pull together, really.
- 21:56Right. So yes, my perception would be
- 21:58that the whoever looks after the dog is the dog handler, but
- 22:01clearly not. Well, it's a training school, so
- 22:03the kennel maids helped the dog handlers bring the dogs on,
- 22:07right. And then handlers were coming
- 22:08from different regiments. They were trained dogs to go to
- 22:12Northern Ireland. I mean, my dog was trained on
- 22:14drugs. OK.
- 22:15So they were training dogs similar to police.
- 22:17They were training dogs because most of the army camps at that
- 22:19time had dog patrols to patrol. So there's a high Turner of
- 22:23dogs. What's that?
- 22:24That were gifted by by members of the public.
- 22:26Oh really? Yeah.
- 22:27OK. Oh, so this is not so dissimilar
- 22:30to Guide Dogs? And it's not dissimilar to a lot
- 22:33of police dogs really in this country, gifted as well.
- 22:36OK, so. Unless they start a training
- 22:38program. Sorry, police have got a
- 22:39training program, have they? But they still accept gift dogs,
- 22:44Labradors, spanners and Collies. So good not just you don't just
- 22:48have to sort of or you can't just only support the dogs by
- 22:52giving a donation, you can actually give the dog you.
- 22:55Didn't give the dog in. I forgot to pass the test.
- 22:57I mean, I, I had a failed drugs dog in Surrey and he was a
- 23:02chocolate Labrador and he was called, he was called Bilbo
- 23:04Baggins. And he just, they, they throw
- 23:07the tennis ball to see if they retrieve it.
- 23:08And he just stood there and looked blankly at this tennis
- 23:11ball and then looked at people throwing the ball and went, what
- 23:14do I do? So he didn't, he didn't make the
- 23:16grade. And then someone said, oh, this
- 23:18dog's going to have to go back to the rescue place.
- 23:20And I just happened to be in that unit at that time.
- 23:22I said, oh, I'll have him give him to me.
- 23:24So he was beautiful. So you're allowed to keep.
- 23:26Him. Yeah, I'd like to keep him.
- 23:27Yeah. He's loved it.
- 23:28Yeah, yeah, yeah. Which and that's, I get the
- 23:31impression that's what the the dog handlers very much do.
- 23:35They they sort of make them part of their lives.
- 23:36Don't they do? And, and I've got a friend
- 23:38actually who I was northern and with, he's now a retired police
- 23:42officer in Anglesey and she's a dog handler and she's kept every
- 23:44one of her dogs, really. When they retired, Yeah.
- 23:47OK. Yeah, and her husband did and he
- 23:49was a, a, a, a dog handler in, in Northwest police.
- 23:52They both, they had loads of dogs, a big garden and yeah,
- 23:55they would never let their dogs go anywhere else because there's
- 23:58a definite bond between dogs and their dog handlers.
- 24:01Yeah, it's yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, it's, it's right up there.
- 24:04Quite special. Yeah, very.
- 24:06Yeah, yeah. I don't know whether you know,
- 24:07but one time for a number of years, Sue and I used to do
- 24:13puppy dogs for Guide Dogs and we did 6 / 7 or almost eight years.
- 24:20And the Cherry who we've got now was the 4th 1 and she was a
- 24:25particularly good dog and they thought they were going to breed
- 24:28from her. And clearly, because this is
- 24:31what Guide Dogs do, they always, and they can only pick from the
- 24:34best. They put her through all sorts
- 24:38of different tests and examinations.
- 24:41And she appeared to have a weakness in the front leg, so in
- 24:44the joint of her front leg. So it's never manifested itself,
- 24:48but we got the opportunity to, to, to buy her from them.
- 24:53But yeah, we did 6 and it was a wonderful period.
- 24:56How long did you keep them for? We used to get them at 7 weeks
- 25:00and we used to keep them until 14 months. 14 to 15 months
- 25:03didn't. You get.
- 25:05Attached to that. Oh totally.
- 25:06We were just Claire what you could just see Sue and I wrecked
- 25:10every every 14 or 15 months. We'd just be in a real estate
- 25:15and after the first couple, then we sort of it was just self
- 25:18preservation and stuff. Well, no, we didn't actually.
- 25:22We actually never ever man up that much.
- 25:25But we just got rounded by insisting that we had another
- 25:28one before we lost the 1st. This one.
- 25:30Yeah. So before that one went, we'd
- 25:33got this other and then this puppy would be maybe 3 months
- 25:36old by the time the first went. And it softened the blow.
- 25:39But we, you know, we did keep in touch.
- 25:41And not all Guide Dogs or guide dog owners do keep in touch.
- 25:46But we were fortunate. Most of ours did.
- 25:49And yeah, and we tried to do it again.
- 25:51But they won't. They don't have a scheme down
- 25:53here in North Wales. That's the shame.
- 25:55Yeah, yeah, the nearest is, is Manchester.
- 25:58But yeah, so very varied, very varied.
- 26:01Did you ever do anything as radical as dunking when you were
- 26:04in the army or? Oh my goodness.
- 26:06We went when I was in Colchester in the exercise platoon.
- 26:10We went on summer camp in January because again, that's
- 26:12the military thing, because we're an exercise all for the
- 26:15summer. The OC decided we'd have summer
- 26:17camp. I went to Towin Mary on Earth
- 26:20and and we arrived and I remember the Guard came under
- 26:22saying what's she doing here? And, and, and the captain went,
- 26:26well, she's part of her platoon. He said.
- 26:28Well, we began laughing. I was here, she had to go in the
- 26:30officer's mess and then the officers went, which can't come
- 26:32in our mess. So I ended up massage's mess in
- 26:34a room my own because they weren't expecting women.
- 26:37And then we went, we climbed a mountain and then we had to
- 26:40there was a zip line going from the top of the mountain into
- 26:43this this lake and it was frozen.
- 26:46And I remember being clipped up in my bra and knickers and
- 26:49T-shirt, being clipped up on this carabiner and being sent
- 26:53down this zip line. And the guy before me broke the
- 26:55ice, thankfully. And then I couldn't get out.
- 26:57My Caribbean got stuff. I couldn't get out, so the
- 26:59somebody else had to come across the water to Get Me Out.
- 27:02Oh, it's just chaos. It's carnage.
- 27:03And it was cold. I think it was cold if there was
- 27:06ice there. Bitterly, bitterly cold.
- 27:08Yeah, yeah, yeah. So, yeah.
- 27:11So you literally broke the ice for the for that, sort of.
- 27:13Exercise it was, yeah. You were the Wim half of the
- 27:16regiment I'd. Rather not been the Wim of
- 27:19anything of that boy, I was supposed.
- 27:22Yeah, it was. It does.
- 27:23It does take a bit of doing sometimes, isn't it?
- 27:26Yeah. You know, it's, I've said to one
- 27:28or two people before on our podcast that it's the wind that
- 27:31catches you as much as anything. It's.
- 27:33Just not as difficult as trying to put your brow and knickers on
- 27:36really, with the towel and trying to not show the world
- 27:38world what you've got. And it's cold.
- 27:40OK. I find that apart from the fact
- 27:42that the water's cold in the morning, yeah, I find putting
- 27:44your underwear on slightly difficult and trying at times,
- 27:48Yes. Not that you know you'd be.
- 27:50Like, not that we were really that easy.
- 27:52I think that the hurdle of sort of, well, I'm going to go down
- 27:55dunking and who are these people?
- 27:57And I'm going to get undressed in front of them and then I've
- 27:59got to put my swimsuit on. And then you come out and you
- 28:02reverse the process. It's a bit.
- 28:04It says it's OK winter because you've got your dry Rd. bar and
- 28:07you can do all sorts under your dry Rd. but no one knows what's
- 28:09going on. But in the summer, slightly
- 28:11difficult, slightly more obvious what you're doing.
- 28:15Exactly, exactly. You don't go walking on one of
- 28:18your many hiking walks in your drive room, do you?
- 28:21No, I won't. No, I only, never.
- 28:22I'm only ever walk down and walk back.
- 28:24I've never been to Tescos. I've never been any shopping in
- 28:27there. You know, it's pretty chic if
- 28:30you lived in Manchester. Your dry robe, Bonnie.
- 28:33Whatever. Yeah.
- 28:35Can you not see yourself? Aren't you in the Arndale
- 28:37Center? In your dry robe?
- 28:39Yeah. Nice picture.
- 28:42Absolutely, absolutely. So just nipping back to Andrew a
- 28:46bit. So you're now really keeping
- 28:48people warm, aren't you? That's, that's what you, that's
- 28:51what you do. That's your mission in life.
- 28:53It's a it's a great mission. Grants are available from the
- 28:56British, UK government in Wales and England and Scotland, I
- 28:58assume. Well, this Scotland's I've been,
- 29:00I have worked there. If you qualify, you can get free
- 29:03solar panels, free heat pump, free insulation and it's a
- 29:07fantastic scheme. So yeah.
- 29:08How long has the scheme been going?
- 29:11I don't really know. I've been doing it four years.
- 29:13So he was going a couple of years before.
- 29:15That's probably about 5 or 6 years I'd imagine.
- 29:17Oh, right. OK.
- 29:18So yeah, the. Is this part of the Net 0 Green
- 29:21agenda? Yes, yeah, I think so.
- 29:23Yeah. So it's on ECO 4 now, so it must
- 29:26be an ECO 123 and 4. The scheme seems to change,
- 29:30qualification route seems to change as time goes by, but
- 29:33basically it's to improve the efficiency of a property.
- 29:36You've got a property with a very low EPC rating, FOG or
- 29:39something. They're trying to get it up to
- 29:40ABC so it's more efficient to run.
- 29:43Right. Anywhere off of mains gas really
- 29:47just about qualifies property wise because the mains gas is
- 29:50still the cheapest way to heat the property.
- 29:52Oh, even even with all this install the insulation except.
- 29:55So because if you obviously here there's no gas, hardly no apart
- 30:00from fairly, I think it's got gas in 1-2 areas, but there's
- 30:02not much gas around here. So it's all either LPG gas, oil
- 30:07or electric, right. And then all those properties
- 30:10are qualify because they'll have a low EPC rating.
- 30:13Right. OK.
- 30:14Yeah. So yes, as you say, tank gas or
- 30:19is. More expensive?
- 30:20Well, Maine's gas is still the cheapest form of heating.
- 30:23Do you think it will remain that because we we bring it in from
- 30:25all over the place now? I mean, we were bringing it in
- 30:27from Russia, weren't we? But we don't, we were, yeah,
- 30:29it's Finland now, isn't it? We get a lot from.
- 30:32A lot of gas, Norway. Is it Norway?
- 30:34Norway I think, right, because it actually is quite a large
- 30:37pipeline from Norway to Scotland, I suppose.
- 30:40Yeah. And there was talk about some
- 30:43the troubles are happening in the world at the moment.
- 30:45And if the Russians decided they could probably break that
- 30:47pipeline and there would be a bit stuck.
- 30:49So yeah, yeah, fuel security is obviously a big issue.
- 30:53It is, isn't it? Yeah, yeah, yeah.
- 30:55I watched something Salmon Reeve on the the BBC catch up and he
- 31:02did 3A series of three in Scandinavia.
- 31:06They are worth watching. And he just talks about the five
- 31:09countries of Scandinavia and, and, and where the leverage
- 31:12comes from. And it was, yeah, you're right,
- 31:14it was Norway. And they would, the irony is
- 31:18that they just took the our licences that we've got, we've
- 31:22found all this oil and this gas and they just took it on the
- 31:26basis that we're going to supply it back at a very discounted
- 31:29rate. And now, hey, you know, who are
- 31:32we beholding to? Yeah, yeah, it's, yeah.
- 31:35Anyway, but that's a government. That's that's my moment at the
- 31:38government indirectly at any one time.
- 31:41So the the what I really want to sort of know I've got a little
- 31:44note here. Can love bloom when your toes
- 31:47are numb? Oh.
- 31:49Actually, in fairness, we need to be honest.
- 31:50We actually met online. Oh, did you?
- 31:52Yeah. Yeah, we met online.
- 31:54I've been on this website for a bit and I I was cheesed off and
- 31:58I thought and Andrew was the last person I'd given up.
- 32:02And then Andrew contacted me on on the website chat and I and
- 32:06because his photographed it was Abasok in the background and I
- 32:10knew Abasok because I love them. Anglesey Right.
- 32:12I thought, right one, I'm going to give this one last go, one
- 32:14last go. So you, you were very much my
- 32:17last. Bless you.
- 32:19Well, your pictures looked like you were skiing in the Alps.
- 32:22You got walking poles and of course, she was throwing snow in
- 32:25the background. So she looks an active outdoor
- 32:27sort of person, right? Yeah.
- 32:29And you've always walked. I mean, your little walk down to
- 32:32the beach is about two miles, isn't it?
- 32:34Yeah. Yeah, well, the Claire's taking
- 32:36it to a new level now. The last few mornings we get up
- 32:39at 5:30 right, leave the house just after six, walk around the
- 32:42head, down Porthqueria, round the headland, walk to Mickey's,
- 32:45then the full length of the beach, swim, then walk home.
- 32:49Gotta up your game, haven't. You, you've gotta up your game.
- 32:52Really. You have got to up your game.
- 32:54Yeah, but you gotta have somebody walk with that.
- 32:56Mind you, Maggie, well, she, she'll just be there.
- 32:58Yeah. She'll be out again this
- 33:00afternoon. Yeah, she will.
- 33:01Yeah. Yeah, as you said earlier in the
- 33:03interview, she's the one that sort of drives your agenda each
- 33:06day. Yeah, thankfully she does 'cause
- 33:08she gets us out and she's a joy to be with when she's out, she's
- 33:10lovely. Yeah, Yeah.
- 33:12So if somebody asked you directly and said, OK, what is
- 33:15it about the dunkers, absort dunkers that really sort of
- 33:19makes it sticky for you, the reason why you keep sort of
- 33:22doing it? What?
- 33:22What? Well, I when I lived in
- 33:24Anglesey, I lived in a village, but there wasn't the community
- 33:27spirit there is here. OK, so you find that that's
- 33:31really that's. Lovely.
- 33:32Yeah. And, and as I said, you can walk
- 33:35round Aborsalk and not a day goes by where someone doesn't
- 33:38say hello to you. No, Right.
- 33:40You meet somebody or, or if we're sitting outside the vinyl,
- 33:43somebody will stop by and our visit to the vinyl is extended
- 33:47somewhat because people sit down and meet, you know, have a chat
- 33:50and maybe another glass of wine. Yeah.
- 33:52So that, yeah, I like that. And I like the fact I love the
- 33:55walk from the dunk to the to Jeff's, Jeff's groin, so to
- 34:00speak, and back again. I love that because every time
- 34:02you walk, you walk and be someone different.
- 34:06And and of course, the coffee. Who can forget the coffee and
- 34:08footprints? The coffee and croissants and
- 34:10footprints. Two islands in winter.
- 34:11And two, what? Yeah.
- 34:12And two islands in winter. Yeah, yeah, yeah.
- 34:14And talking of pubs, you're a bit of a pair for quizzes,
- 34:18aren't you? We do like the quiz.
- 34:19Don't. We do Wednesday night, no.
- 34:20You do like the Wednesday night quiz in the Sun.
- 34:22Yeah, absolutely. Yes, and she didn't start until
- 34:25August midnight, didn't I? That's crazy. 9:00 where is it?
- 34:28The Sun. Yeah, the Sun and then
- 34:29Klanangen. Yeah.
- 34:30Good quiz. This is a good quiz.
- 34:32Very good quiz. Yeah, it's one of the best.
- 34:34Is it? Yeah.
- 34:35And you're pretty. I mean, I'm going to shout about
- 34:38your Don't be too modest. Well, we have Nigel and Warwick
- 34:41hoping as well. They are very good.
- 34:43And Mystic Mark used to come as well as you.
- 34:45Think he will. At the moment he's working on
- 34:48the island. But when he stops working on the
- 34:49island, he's going to start coming in winter again, right?
- 34:52And he might. Have to wait a bit longer, You
- 34:54know they've offered him an extension.
- 34:55Well, are they? Yes, rude.
- 34:57He can't take that. We need him back on the quiz.
- 34:58He do need him back, yes. Send him a message, Claire.
- 35:03He has to be missing. Claire makes me laugh because
- 35:05you get the quiz sheet can be films or music.
- 35:08So I don't know anything about that first question.
- 35:10I know that one second question. I know that one she.
- 35:12Knows so much. I was going to say who's the
- 35:13most competitive between you? Marcus.
- 35:15Oh, no. Marcus.
- 35:17Oh, Marcus. Missing Marcus.
- 35:18Yeah. Is it really?
- 35:19Yeah, yeah. Yeah, yeah, but everyone's got
- 35:21the little air of expertise, aren't they?
- 35:23Yes, they have, yeah. Yeah.
- 35:25Yeah, and they're quite funny because Nigel Maurice got the
- 35:27pen. Yeah.
- 35:28She's in charge of. Paper.
- 35:30Well, she would be knowing more. Yeah, she's in charge, Yeah.
- 35:33And then if there's a gap, Nigel's Nigel will not hand the
- 35:37paper in with a gap you. Must have something in you.
- 35:39Put anything. Even if it's rubbish.
- 35:40Yeah, And, and Morag will say, well, that's not right.
- 35:43I don't get put something in. You can't believe that.
- 35:45Put something in. You never know.
- 35:46You never know. It's so funny, isn't it?
- 35:47Yeah, it's funny. It does make me Chuck.
- 35:48Yeah, yeah, yeah. It's a good night out, isn't it?
- 35:51They do spark off between each other very.
- 35:53Well, hilarious. Hilarious, yeah.
- 35:55So, final question, now you're living together, who's the most
- 35:59untidy? Oh, it'd have to be me, really.
- 36:03I don't think I am untidy particularly, but you are very
- 36:05tidy. Yeah, that's the army, isn't it?
- 36:08The police. Yeah, yeah, yeah.
- 36:09You're very if it's got a place, you're very order and I know it
- 36:12does the ironing because the creases have got to be just so I
- 36:14am quite. Fastidious is that is that why
- 36:17you have a nicely ironed and nicely creased swimsuit in the?
- 36:21Morning. I have everything.
- 36:22Everything is just so, isn't it? Occasionally I dare to pick AT
- 36:27shirt out of the unironed pile. She's that's not me night and
- 36:30you can't wear that. Yeah.
- 36:31You did that yesterday. Yeah.
- 36:33You hid it under a under a sweatshirt.
- 36:34And I have 9 now. He took a sweatshirt off.
- 36:37I said you have 9. I didn't.
- 36:40I didn't. The basket.
- 36:41And I thought I could fold a shirt, but when I Claire watched
- 36:43me fold it, I felt terrible because it was completely
- 36:45inferior. Gods.
- 36:48But I think the army trainee must teach to teach you that.
- 36:51I think we're both. Quite tidy, Yeah, I don't think
- 36:53I'm. On Meg's not Meg's, not tidy.
- 36:54No. Well, no.
- 36:55She drops her toys everywhere you.
- 36:57Know. Well, that's fine, that's fine,
- 36:58but who's going to tell her? She's the untidy 1.
- 37:00Yeah. OK.
- 37:01So we have a bit of a tradition before we end our podcast and
- 37:05that is that I ask you a question that our previous guest
- 37:09has left for you. So, and our previous guest, one
- 37:12of our previous guests, I won't tell you who it was, but I'm
- 37:16going to ask you your question when we get off air because I
- 37:19like to sort of surprise people. So.
- 37:22So your question is, if you could dunk anywhere other than
- 37:25Abbasot, where would it be and why?
- 37:28Anywhere at all? You go first.
- 37:33I got to think about this one. Oh.
- 37:34I have as well do. You know what, I think I'd go
- 37:38back to Ireland and have a Duncan Loch Nay, because when I
- 37:42was in service there we were never allowed to go there and it
- 37:45always looked beautiful. I think I'd go back.
- 37:48There OK, Loch Nay and yeah. Yeah, it's beautiful.
- 37:51Absolutely beautiful. Is it just well.
- 37:55Ireland, it's beautiful anyway, per SE.
- 37:57Island's Absolutely Fabulous, but I always thought that was a
- 38:00lovely place. We were never allowed to go
- 38:01there, so I'd I'd like to go back.
- 38:03There, Andrew. Difficult to think of a
- 38:06location, but I think as I said earlier, the up in the mountains
- 38:09during one of those dunkers strolling, the strolling dunkers
- 38:12walks just to go somewhere different, to go up in the lake
- 38:15or stream in the mountains. I think I'd love to do that.
- 38:18I can't think of another location.
- 38:20We could always go to Scotland to refine Nessie.
- 38:23Let's be cold there then. It was 8-8 degrees this weekend
- 38:27instead. An adventure, wouldn't it?
- 38:29Yeah. See always 2 for Not One for
- 38:32Adventure, 2 for Adventure. Thank you both very much indeed
- 38:35for joining us on the Dunkers Podcast.
- 38:37Thank you, thank you, and may the spirit of the Dunkers go
- 38:40with you. Thanks very much.