'A story about using a cat as a hot water bottle' with Mick Elliott

This week Mick Elliott joins us on the show to talk about pets and parenting. To find out more about Mick you can visit his website...

https://mickelliott.me/books-by-mick

Please review, rate, subscribe, follow and like the show. Your support will help us keep this podcast going.

To find out more about R.A. Spratt visit raspratt.com
To find out more about Jacqueline Harvey visit jacquelineharvey.com.au
To find out more about Tim Harris visit timharrisbooks.com

Transcript

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Rachel Spratt: okay, let's just get into it. And then we can just start talking silly stuff. Okay? Here we go. Hello, and welcome to real stories with random writers. I'm RA. Spratt, and I'm here with Jacqueline Harvey and Tim Harris. And today's special guest is Mick Elliott. Yeah.

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Rachel Spratt: Mick is the author illustrator known for the Turner series, The Squidge Dibley Series, and his picture book, Dads and Dogs, and his most recent book is mums and Mogs. Welcome to the show, Mick.

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Rachel Spratt: Thank you. So.

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Mick Elliott: Thank you so much for having me. I mean, you guys have had such amazing guests on this show. You've had Tristan Banks and Alice, and tight and Debell you you must be really scraping the bottom of the barrel.

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Rachel Spratt: Up to Mick. Don't worry so much. We'll carry.

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Jacqueline Harvey: Not what we thought when we, you know. And and you've got to realize, Vick, I'm the talent booker here, so you know, I go to. You know. I I look at that very carefully and think these guys.

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Rachel Spratt: They cut.

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Jacqueline Harvey: There must been such.

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Rachel Spratt: He's like, what handsome dude do I want to hang out with online this week? Yeah, we know, Jack.

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Mick Elliott: And yet you got me. There we are!

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Rachel Spratt: You do look fabulous in your lighting state listeners. You don't know this, but Mick's home in the interior of his home is delightful. Okay, anyway, we're all book creators. Which means we're storytellers. Normally, we write our stories down. But for this podcast when you get see, I got excited.

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Rachel Spratt: But for this podcast we're going to tell them out loud instead. And today, we're going to be telling tales about pets and parenting. Let's get into it. So who did we decide was first.st It was Tim. Hit us with your story, Tim.

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Tim Harris: Well, just before I get into the story, just a little update. You know how we have the black rabbit.

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Jacqueline Harvey: Yes.

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Rachel Spratt: Yes.

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Tim Harris: Black Rabbit is really healthy and doing well for those listeners who may have missed the episode. I can't remember what got us onto the topic, but I was sharing that there is a local wild black rabbit who comes and regularly hangs out in our front garden.

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Tim Harris: but still kicking strong, and we're heading into the colder winter months now here in Sydney. But Black Rabbit is now a daily appearance on our steps. Our front doorstep.

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Jacqueline Harvey: I was on our gardening episode, Tim, I think, with James. So a good update to hear that your rabbit is alive and well. Unlike many of the rabbits around my place.

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Rachel Spratt: Especially with all the inflation and food prices. You know you've got a large family, and Bunny is delicious.

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Tim Harris: And I don't know how to make a good stew. So it's a combination. But that's not the story that I would like to share today. The story I'd like to share today is about it's about an unsuccessful

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Tim Harris: goldfish pets. Now, straight away. You know where this is.

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Rachel Spratt: Yeah.

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Tim Harris: The tool.

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Rachel Spratt: Toilet.

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Tim Harris: Yeah, that that? Well, not quite in this story. So the years and years I was really interested in keeping

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Tim Harris: pet fish, and I used to have a job at Cole supermarkets when I was at university learning to be a teacher, and one of the girls I worked with was dating a guy who worked

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Tim Harris: at an aquarium like one of those places that sell, you know, really nice fish. Yeah.

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Rachel Spratt: Yeah, yeah.

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Tim Harris: I went to went to sort of see him in his environment, in the, in the fish shop, and I just fell in love

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Tim Harris: with aquarians because they had beautiful backdrops. It was relaxing to watch.

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Tim Harris: And then I discovered as well, there's a television show in America which is a video of a someone's fish tank and people tune in like literally hundreds of thousands of people tune in to watch fish.

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Mick Elliott: I'd watch that.

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Jacqueline Harvey: Lasting.

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Rachel Spratt: Hey? Have you ever you live in? You live in? I'm gonna reveal where Tim lives. You live in Epping, have you? They used to have a really cool aquarium shop at Irmington. Did you ever see that? And they sold coral like you could buy like Great Barry Reef kind of coral and stuff. I used to just go like it was like going to the Zoo or something. I just go marvel at the things.

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Jacqueline Harvey: That is what is wrong with our great berry.

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Rachel Spratt: Holy Birming total, and I mean.

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Tim Harris: So that's right. Yes.

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Jacqueline Harvey: So continue, Tim, tell us about your your foray into fish.

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Tim Harris: So for years. I was, you know, really interested, and I got myself a nice tank for my 21st

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Tim Harris: mom and dad shipped in, and it sort of sat in my bedroom, which was not a particularly sunny room, but it did have one of those lovely

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Tim Harris: bright light, so you could illuminate the fish, tank.

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Rachel Spratt: Yeah, yeah.

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Tim Harris: It just it was beautiful. And so I sort of had this thing going for about 3 years, where I had little silver sharks in there.

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Rachel Spratt: Right.

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Tim Harris: And sometimes they would give like birth. They were live bearers. They weren't.

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Rachel Spratt: My gosh.

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Tim Harris: And it was like a little documentary. I I found myself becoming David David Attenborough, as I was, you know, cheering for these little newborn fish as they.

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Rachel Spratt: Newborns.

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Tim Harris: They do as they go.

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Tim Harris: and then then I discovered, going back into the fish shop that you can buy like a little floaty device to put your baby fish in where they won't get eaten.

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Rachel Spratt: Yes.

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Tim Harris: Ish.

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Tim Harris: And so these.

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Rachel Spratt: Had really good like water quality cause like, that's always the thing, isn't it? Maintaining the right bacteria levels is really hard.

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Tim Harris: You had to do all these, you know, all these tests, all the Ph tests, and it was a regular thing, you know. Clean, clean it out, you know, every every week or so.

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Tim Harris: anyway. So then I moved out of home, and so the fish tank

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Tim Harris: had to sort of well, to put it nicely, I had to wait for them all to pass away.

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Rachel Spratt: The 4.

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Tim Harris: I could shut it down, and I think there was one fish that was hanging on for a little bit too long.

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Tim Harris: And then. So I moved to the Blue Mountains, in Springwood, and it was a renting house, and they weren't too keen on the big fish tank, and so I thought.

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Tim Harris: Well, how about we go for just a little good old fashioned

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Tim Harris: goldfish bowl on the kitchen bench, and so we had one goldfish, and it was doing really really well.

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Tim Harris: Except

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Tim Harris: as the weather changes, so do the sunlight patterns.

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Tim Harris: and you have to be careful where you put a fish bowl.

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Rachel Spratt: Oh!

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Tim Harris: Day

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Tim Harris: the cooler months came around, and suddenly our poor little fish was just getting. No.

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Tim Harris: you know no natural light, and this beautiful goldfish passed away, and it was. It was just floating on the top there.

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Tim Harris: and it was the exact same night that I discovered a comedy show called the office with Ricky Jabez.

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Tim Harris: And so I'm watching this show with a good mate.

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Tim Harris: Craig. Hello, Craig, if you're listening.

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Tim Harris: and we got laughing because I I remember just not laughing as hard at. You know the the office is a very special show. I was laughing so hard, and when you get into a laughing mood.

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Tim Harris: You kind of do silly stuff.

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Tim Harris: You know how you sort of forget all your inhibitions, and

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Tim Harris: because, cause hey, life is good, we're laughing.

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Tim Harris: and

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Tim Harris: it got to the part of the episode where Gareth finds the

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Tim Harris: his styplate in the jelly

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Tim Harris: brilliant, insane.

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Tim Harris: And I'm thinking, Okay, that's a prank.

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Tim Harris: And so I said to my friend Craig.

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Tim Harris: Alright.

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Tim Harris: 50 bucks! If you eat the goldfish.

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Rachel Spratt: You ladies.

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Jacqueline Harvey: Going. I knew this was going in this direction.

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Tim Harris: Jacky, you are. You are good storyteller, and I had a feeling maybe, to look in your rock. I see the little fish floating around. You're right.

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Tim Harris: And so Craig.

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Tim Harris: egged on by the laughing that had been.

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Tim Harris: He did it. He picked up this little goldfish by tail, and I remember it just sort of like flopping around almost like it was still alive. And I thought, Surely he's not going to do this. You know this. This is a pretty big thing to do.

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Tim Harris: But but he did

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Tim Harris: the fish from the from the toilet, and he he ate this goldfish right.

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Jacqueline Harvey: Shame! It's ashamed. Well, it didn't.

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Mick Elliott: Up in the.

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Rachel Spratt: Toilet. Eventually it just got processed first.st

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Tim Harris: Oh, wow!

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Mick Elliott: That's that.

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Rachel Spratt: Him sick.

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Tim Harris: It will. This is the thing right? So a couple of years later, I was reading that someone

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Tim Harris: ate like a dead goldfish, and got really really sick. But Craig Craig didn't, so he he was very lucky, and he, you know, we got a good laugh of it. Now it makes a great story.

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Tim Harris: but thankfully he was all right.

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Rachel Spratt: Yeah.

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Jacqueline Harvey: And and we we don't recommend the kids that that you do this at home. If your goldfish passes away like.

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Rachel Spratt: You.

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Jacqueline Harvey: A thing. Have a ceremony around the toilet bowl. Yeah, go to the children.

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Rachel Spratt: Chocolate, have a chocolate.

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Mick Elliott: Yeah, that backyard burial for the fish kids did not do what Tim made his friend do. There's so many more. This is actually an ethics class story. I think you've actually just given us there. Tim Harris.

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Rachel Spratt: Actually, ethically, it's the right thing to do, because, you know.

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Mick Elliott: Gofish.

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Rachel Spratt: No to eat and dispose of the waste thoughtfully. So it doesn't go into, you know, the stormwater system. I remember being told off for flushing a fish. I can't remember why it was a very righteous woke person was telling me that I was destroying the environment by flushing a dead goldfish. So yeah, maybe eating it is the more responsible thing we'll feed it to, you know. Just put it outside something wild.

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Jacqueline Harvey: Put it in the garden, just bury it. Bit of compost.

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Mick Elliott: Does that? Does that same approach extend to all pets when they pass away like a casserole out of our little pup?

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Rachel Spratt: People, don't you, that like live off roadkill like.

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Mick Elliott: But that's true.

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Rachel Spratt: But I think the thing is how it died would be key. Wouldn't it like how much back.

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Mick Elliott: Tearing.

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Rachel Spratt: Is in there, I mean, by the way.

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Jacqueline Harvey: People who get their pets taxidermy, though there's some people who like have their pets live on in their lounge room and.

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Rachel Spratt: Yeah. Jackie.

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Rachel Spratt: yeah. Olanja.

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Jacqueline Harvey: Oh, don't you even go there, Rachel? That's not a pitch.

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Rachel Spratt: That's.

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Tim Harris: Was her second cousin.

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Rachel Spratt: Yeah, yeah.

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Jacqueline Harvey: I've got a a a quick can I just add to your goldfish story? Because goldfish do have a you know they they don't tend to to do well in many situations, and I thought my 1st ever class that I taught year 5 nice group of kids. I promised them we would get some class pets, and you know we weren't allowed to have a class cat or a class dog, or you know. So we got goldfish.

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Jacqueline Harvey: and I remember bubble and Squeak were their names, and the kids that name them. The kids love them. They looked after them. We had a little bowl in the classroom. Anyway, I had these 2 boys in my class, Christopher and Martin, who? Yes, Hello, Christopher! If you're listening, cause you quite possibly could be

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Jacqueline Harvey: loved these little boys, but they were really, you know, they were like, I guess they were adventurous kids. And they decided that I I said I need someone to volunteer to clean the fish bowl out for me, and so, you know, we very carefully put the fish into some plastic into a plastic bag, and we tied it up, and we sat it on the bench, and the boys came back, and they cleaned it, and it was, you know, not a speck of Ali, or you know anything on it, anyway. Put the

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Jacqueline Harvey: fish back into the tank.

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Jacqueline Harvey: anyway. The next day I came in, and both of them, you know, floating on the top did. Anyway, the kids came in and I said to the boys, What did you clean the goldfish ball with? And I, said, Sprian, wipe.

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Rachel Spratt: Oh!

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Jacqueline Harvey: You're by people.

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Rachel Spratt: Yeah, cause that's the thing. When I was at school we had class golf fishing, and we had a big tank, and we loved them, so we would like clean the tank while.

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Rachel Spratt: And replace all the water. But you're not meant to do that because they actually need the bacteria in the water. They thrive on.

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Jacqueline Harvey: Yeah.

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Rachel Spratt: What we would consider dirty water, but for them it's got all the stuff they need in it.

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Jacqueline Harvey: The needle.

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Rachel Spratt: Basically like systematically killing the guy.

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Jacqueline Harvey: Was like to get a good new goldfish.

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Rachel Spratt: Anyway, that was.

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Jacqueline Harvey: My only foray into fission. That was, yeah. I like catching them and eating them. But from the sea or from the.

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Rachel Spratt: Fish right here in my office, but I got like I had goldfish, but I got totally sidetracked by the snails like I bought some plants for them, and I didn't realize those snail eggs on them. So I ended up like, I've just, you know, like in a game of thrones. She's like the mother of dragons. I am the mother of aquarium snails. I just breed so many aquarium snails, and I'm fascinated by them. I've got this microphone a microphone.

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Jacqueline Harvey: Like.

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Rachel Spratt: Attachment for my phone. And I like, I, I take videos of the eggs hatching. And yeah, it's it's it's kind of sad, really.

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Tim Harris: There. There is some really popular Youtube channels of just people maintaining their aquariums, and they.

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Rachel Spratt: Yeah, have.

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Tim Harris: Millions of views per video. It's it's unbelievable.

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Rachel Spratt: Maybe I should get out of writing books, and just, you know, become a blogger for my snails.

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Mick Elliott: Yes.

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Tim Harris: It would work. I'll subscribe. Okay.

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Rachel Spratt: Ok. Mick.

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Tim Harris: Scalpish.

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Rachel Spratt: It was your genius idea to set us all off talking about pets.

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Mick Elliott: They play such a huge part in our lives? Certainly. And yeah, I mean, I'm I'm obviously I've been delving right into the whole world of pets and parenthood with the recent books. But I just I really wanted to tell a story or a few stories about cats. Because I mean, let's face it first.st We we wouldn't have the Internet really without cats. It exists

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Mick Elliott: for cats and cat videos and cat stories. But what what I realized as I was prepping to have this lovely chat with you 3 today was that I actually grew up surrounded by infinite

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Mick Elliott: cats. You know you. You always think that you're in Charleswood.

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Rachel Spratt: Like a nightmare parallel universe, the universe of infinite cats.

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Mick Elliott: My mum was something of a cat magnet

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Mick Elliott: you know you. You treat your own childhood as being normal and just like well, everyone did but my, my mom had this sort of situation where if a cat wandered into our yard, it was ours. And yeah, it's it's quite. It's distressing to me that I I can't remember the name of someone that I've just been introduced to, but I can still name chronologically.

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Rachel Spratt: Yeah, yeah.

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Mick Elliott: Single cat we ever had. You know there was. There was Pepper, there was Peg Leg, there was Manito, there was Fiji, there was Caesar. There was Clara, there was Chloe, there was Atticus, there was Misha th so many cats, and at any one stage we had at least 5

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Rachel Spratt: Wow!

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Rachel Spratt: Did they put inside the house or outside the house? I asked. This is someone who's severely allergic to.

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Mick Elliott: Yeah, look, we, there was actually something of a class system with our cats, because we had a couple of

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Mick Elliott: just regular moggy, tabby type cats. But then there were the Siamese cats, and the Siamese cats were actually the upper class.

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Rachel Spratt: Yeah.

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Mick Elliott: And so they had a kitty with a tray. And yeah, I have to say, got better food. They would get, you know, the Kentucky fried chicken off off cats when we'd finished dinner, but the rest of the cats just had dried food out in the yard.

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Rachel Spratt: Really, it's like racism, you know.

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Rachel Spratt: They're Siamese. So they're thai. So basically, you had a racist society where thai people were dominant.

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Mick Elliott: Why, it was a it was a whole you know, model for our world as it is today. Really, I learned so much. But what what I also realized, looking back, is that my my dad particularly was let's just say notoriously tight. He didn't like to spend money on anything that might bring his children joy or happiness.

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Rachel Spratt: Yeah.

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Mick Elliott: So we we we didn't really have we didn't really have sort of electric blankets or hot water bottles and things. This is back in the early eighties in the suburbs, and so at bedtime myself, I had 2 older brothers. The 3 of us boys at bedtime, after we'd said good night to the parents in the middle of winter. What we would do next was we would go and then find one of the cats, and basically take the cat into bed with us.

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Rachel Spratt: I did.

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Mick Elliott: As a sort of living hot water bottle, and there was some cats that were really up for this. They would happily like nestle under your armpit

352
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Mick Elliott: for the night. Others would like crawl right down to your ankles, and others would just tear straight away. And and you knew if you didn't get to bed first.st You you know the selection of cat water bottles.

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Jacqueline Harvey: You're not getting the right cat.

354
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Mick Elliott: No, that's right. It was always a bit of a bummer when you realized that your brothers had actually gotten one of the good hot water.

355
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Rachel Spratt: One, for.

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Mick Elliott: Oh, yeah, yeah, absolutely and and at at Christmas time we

357
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Mick Elliott: again, because my my dad was notoriously tight when we went on summer holidays we

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Mick Elliott: wouldn't go to well, anywhere, on a plane or anywhere exciting that we every single holidays we would pack up the car. The that's in Sunny, and we would pack everything in, and we would drive down to my grandfather's place at Port Kimberly in woollen gong.

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Rachel Spratt: Yep.

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Mick Elliott: I did. I put Kimball. It's a lovely, very cosmopolitan place, but back then.

361
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Rachel Spratt: Place.

362
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Mick Elliott: It was famous for the

363
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Jacqueline Harvey: So works day.

364
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Mick Elliott: Still works, and and the stinking Illorra Lake.

365
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Rachel Spratt: If you stand with, you're back to that. It's still spectacular.

366
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Mick Elliott: Give me!

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Rachel Spratt: Beautiful on the beach, but you turn around, and it's quite the industrial landscape.

368
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Mick Elliott: Oh, it really is, it really is but some. So we would pack up the car and but once we got the Siamese cats. We couldn't leave them at home, and

369
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Mick Elliott: Heaven forbid that we would pay to board them somewhere.

370
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Mick Elliott: so we would take the cats with us.

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Mick Elliott: you know, if there's 1 thing that cats would hate more than water well, it would certainly be being packed into a cardboard box

372
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Mick Elliott: in a car in the middle of summer for 2 h down the highway.

373
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Mick Elliott: and we we hadn't even really backed out of the the driveway before the the cats had shredded the cardboard box, shredded my mom's legs.

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Rachel Spratt: And.

375
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Mick Elliott: And pretty much started a sound which went something like this.

376
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Mick Elliott: We're about 978 times.

377
00:29:18.150 --> 00:29:20.370
Tim Harris: Sound that Craig made when he was eating the goldfin.

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Mick Elliott: Yes.

379
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Mick Elliott: yeah. So 2 h later, you know, we all sort of emerged from the car covered in blood and cat sick.

380
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Mick Elliott: What a wonderful Christmas. We weirdly my my parents separated not too long after that.

381
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Rachel Spratt: I'm sorry, but I think.

382
00:29:38.690 --> 00:29:41.440
Mick Elliott: Think I might have, I might have found the root cause.

383
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Rachel Spratt: He just wanted to get away from the cats.

384
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Mick Elliott: Maybe, maybe. But look and probably

385
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Mick Elliott: out of all the cats like the the really, the the grand cat of them all was a like a giant Siamese cat we had called Misha

386
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Mick Elliott: Mitch Misha was.

387
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Mick Elliott: I mean. He was like a mixture between Garfield and the fonts. So a reference for all the parents listening just couldn't care less.

388
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Mick Elliott: And Mish's favourite thing to do was in the middle of the night.

389
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Mick Elliott: He would basically suffocate you in your sleep with his rear end.

390
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Mick Elliott: So you would. You would wake up literally gasping at 3 am. Like with your mouth just full of cat backside, because you would just come in like nestle himself, not not under your arm, paid or not on the bed, but actually on your face. And this cat was huge. He's absolutely massive.

391
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Mick Elliott: And I remember once I had in about year 8, I desperately, desperately keen to be popular. I was quite an introverted kid. I decided to have a whole bunch of friends over

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Mick Elliott: for a slumber party. And I do. I do. Just this is my sort of final story here, and I do want to apologize to everyone listening because it is going to get a little bit gnarly in a moment.

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Jacqueline Harvey: Even gross, not than a cat's bomb in your face.

394
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Mick Elliott: That's a me part of the story, anyway. So so I begged my mom if I could have this slumber party and have a bunch of friends over, because I really wanted to impress them. And I especially wanted to impress this guy. And I'm not gonna use his real name. But I'll I'll just call him Huxley for the purpose of this story. Potentially, he's listening because he he was one of those really extroverted life of the party. Everyone just wanted to hang out with him, he what he said and so I thought, I

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Mick Elliott: yeah, like a team, Harris. I guess maybe I should have called this character Tim. Anyway, it was a real person. But I just we wanted to have him over to my slumber party to to, you know. Show what a awesome, hilarious person I was to hang around.

396
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Mick Elliott: So Huxley, as it turns out at this party 8,

397
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Mick Elliott: pretty much an entire bowl of cheese twisties

398
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Mick Elliott: as you do when you're 13 and a boy, and you do that. Look how much I can eat. Everyone.

399
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Rachel Spratt: My husband does that every weekend. But yeah.

400
00:31:58.390 --> 00:32:02.612
Mick Elliott: Right. Maybe your husband is Huxley, anyway?

401
00:32:03.580 --> 00:32:08.830
Mick Elliott: At about 3 o'clock in the morning Huxley woke up, terrorized.

402
00:32:09.100 --> 00:32:10.420
Mick Elliott: because not only

403
00:32:10.460 --> 00:32:11.890
Mick Elliott: not only was there.

404
00:32:12.490 --> 00:32:12.840
Mick Elliott: Pat

405
00:32:12.940 --> 00:32:14.450
Mick Elliott: sitting on his head.

406
00:32:16.240 --> 00:32:17.439
Mick Elliott: but the cat was

407
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Mick Elliott: eating the bright orange up chuck which Huxley had vomited.

408
00:32:26.059 --> 00:32:31.990
Mick Elliott: I'm I'm I'm sorry if that's really triggering for you guys.

409
00:32:31.990 --> 00:32:32.850
Rachel Spratt: Oh, I I.

410
00:32:32.850 --> 00:32:35.460
Mick Elliott: I know this has probably happened to all of you. We should, anyway.

411
00:32:35.460 --> 00:32:37.519
Rachel Spratt: And no one was eating. Well, they listen.

412
00:32:39.505 --> 00:32:40.120
Jacqueline Harvey: Surprise.

413
00:32:40.120 --> 00:32:47.520
Mick Elliott: To say that. Yeah, Huxley and I did. It was always awkward between us. After that his parents had to be called because he was so traumatized.

414
00:32:49.093 --> 00:32:59.109
Mick Elliott: I I've infinite more cat stories which are far worse than that. But I mean now nowadays I'm a dog person. Because my my wife is desperately like allergic to cats.

415
00:32:59.542 --> 00:33:12.540
Mick Elliott: And, in fact, the 1st 1st Christmas we ever spent together at my parents place her eyes swelled so badly that as she was leaving she she crashed her beautiful orange volvo into the gap. But so now.

416
00:33:12.540 --> 00:33:16.176
Rachel Spratt: Sorry. Let's unpack that your wife had an orange bulb.

417
00:33:16.860 --> 00:33:18.139
Jacqueline Harvey: Do you know what.

418
00:33:18.140 --> 00:33:26.280
Mick Elliott: I mean, this is such a tangent. But she had this beautiful, massive like late 19 seventies, Volvo. No power steering. This thing was heavy.

419
00:33:26.280 --> 00:33:28.590
Rachel Spratt: Oh, my God! Does she have like huge lapses.

420
00:33:28.590 --> 00:33:31.150
Mick Elliott: Why, so remember when we 1st started going up.

421
00:33:31.466 --> 00:33:32.100
Jacqueline Harvey: Better block!

422
00:33:32.380 --> 00:33:32.890
Rachel Spratt: Yeah.

423
00:33:33.167 --> 00:33:56.719
Mick Elliott: It was like it was actually made out of bricks. But yes, she has really strong arms, and I realize the 1st time I drove that car was because to turn it was actually literally like trying to push a building was incredible. So, David, and that nowadays we we have the closest thing that you can get to a cat. That's not a cat, which is a a cavoodle and I I am now pretty much the Cavoodles butler.

424
00:33:56.730 --> 00:33:58.840
Mick Elliott: Yeah, yeah. So.

425
00:33:58.840 --> 00:34:00.590
Rachel Spratt: 1, 2! He's sitting right next to me.

426
00:34:00.590 --> 00:34:01.780
Mick Elliott: Oh, they're beautiful things.

427
00:34:01.780 --> 00:34:02.320
Rachel Spratt: If you.

428
00:34:02.320 --> 00:34:06.639
Mick Elliott: Beautiful things. I just want to apologize to everyone listening for everything that I just said.

429
00:34:06.640 --> 00:34:10.868
Rachel Spratt: No, no, no, never apologize, because then people realize they should have been upset.

430
00:34:11.179 --> 00:34:14.959
Jacqueline Harvey: Don't apologize because you've just. You've just given me the idea of what I'm actually going to.

431
00:34:14.960 --> 00:34:15.750
Rachel Spratt: Yeah.

432
00:34:15.750 --> 00:34:16.480
Mick Elliott: Oh!

433
00:34:16.839 --> 00:34:17.189
Jacqueline Harvey: And.

434
00:34:17.190 --> 00:34:17.510
Mick Elliott: Is, a.

435
00:34:17.510 --> 00:34:18.899
Rachel Spratt: Let me go next, then Jackie.

436
00:34:18.909 --> 00:34:22.549
Jacqueline Harvey: I know you go, Rach, and I'll I've got a couple of choices.

437
00:34:22.550 --> 00:34:27.539
Rachel Spratt: Oh, well, I you know you you actually inspired me, Mick. I was gonna talk about

438
00:34:27.610 --> 00:34:31.690
Rachel Spratt: how getting pets with kids had had.

439
00:34:31.699 --> 00:34:32.119
Mick Elliott: Yes.

440
00:34:32.120 --> 00:34:40.030
Rachel Spratt: Affected the way I parent. But then I look back on like obviously, I well, obviously. But I did have cats long before I had kids.

441
00:34:40.040 --> 00:34:43.050
Rachel Spratt: and they're sort of like your kids when you don't have kids. But.

442
00:34:43.050 --> 00:34:43.620
Mick Elliott: Yes.

443
00:34:43.620 --> 00:35:03.239
Rachel Spratt: Yeah, they they may come to mean a lot to you. So I had this childhood cat, and then I left home, and I was living out of home forever, but the cat lived forever. So eventually my parents moved back to England and me and my husband. We moved into the house, and the cat was there, so my husband got to meet my childhood cat called Proto which was a girl. She was a girl, but you know I named her, and I was like.

444
00:35:03.240 --> 00:35:03.590
Mick Elliott: Right here.

445
00:35:03.590 --> 00:35:04.540
Rachel Spratt: And I was an idiot.

446
00:35:04.870 --> 00:35:31.260
Rachel Spratt: So, anyway, Rhoda was a foulest tempered lead to the affectionate cat ever like she liked human affection, but only on her terms, so she would come and dang to like sit on you. But then, if you tried to move, she just like sinker claws in your classic Garfield stuff that, anyway. But she just had so much personal. She's so crabby. It was fantastic. My husband loved it. He really liked some grumpy, rude women. And so this cat just really appealed to him.

447
00:35:31.440 --> 00:35:35.180
Rachel Spratt: Me and the cat combined were just like a double feature. So, anyway.

448
00:35:36.310 --> 00:36:03.170
Rachel Spratt: the cat get older and older and older, and she was, she's got so like Manky and everything. So I take it to the vet, and they're like your cat is just like so old, and it has a thyroid condition. And they said, to treat the thyroid condition, your cat needs to go to Sydney University for a week and get radiation therapy, and I'm like my cat doesn't like anyone other than me and my husband. You know, if someone comes to the house. You don't see her for 2 days. If she went to, you know, was locked in a vet place for a week.

449
00:36:03.170 --> 00:36:26.730
Rachel Spratt: she would just die, and the vet got really Judgey with me, he was like, and it was also gonna cost a thousand dollars. By the way, which you know, this is like, 20 years ago, and the judge the vet got really judgy with me. It's like, well, if you care for your cat, if you don't get this, your cat is. Gonna be hungry all the time, and I'm like I work from home. If my cat is hungry all the time, I can just feed it all the time. Do you know how much cat food I can buy for $1,000?

450
00:36:26.730 --> 00:36:38.970
Rachel Spratt: And he's like, Oh, so I took my cat home and I fed it constantly. It lived another 3 years. It was. It was so sloppy that my husband had an office job, and I was riding from home.

451
00:36:39.200 --> 00:36:56.140
Rachel Spratt: So he was going. I think he was working for Andrew Denton, our tension tonight, or something, so he would get up in the morning. I was classic writer. It's like, I'm not getting up just because you're getting up. I'd sleep in until, you know, like 10 o'clock or something, so I'd be lying in bed, and I'd hear him out in the kitchen, and he'd let the cat out, and the cat would be screaming because she'd want her food.

452
00:36:56.891 --> 00:37:05.580
Rachel Spratt: Excuse my cop, and then I'd hear him feed the cat. But then the cat would get upset because the cat wanted to get into bed with me where I was warm.

453
00:37:05.840 --> 00:37:16.890
Rachel Spratt: so it would eat like a few mouthfuls, and then it would start screaming because it was worried that I would get out of bed, and it would miss out on the warm time, so it would start like running down the corridor screaming like.

454
00:37:16.990 --> 00:37:35.159
Rachel Spratt: but because it was a old cat would like wobble. It's like big jowls, so you could hear like wobbly they would screaming down the corridor to to get to me, and then it would get into bed. It was like, and then close in, and it would go back to sleep with me for another hour. So that was like my 1st experience of parenting, and then I have actual children

455
00:37:35.560 --> 00:37:36.700
Rachel Spratt: later on.

456
00:37:36.720 --> 00:37:37.949
Rachel Spratt: Sorry you were going to say.

457
00:37:37.950 --> 00:37:41.810
Mick Elliott: There's a lot of parallels there between that experience and raising.

458
00:37:41.810 --> 00:38:05.689
Rachel Spratt: Yeah. Yeah. So anyway, I later on, I have actual children and when I got to 40, I decided, I wanna have a dog, and the dog is still here. And I went, and you know, like you have children, and you really have no idea what you're doing, particularly me because I I'm poor picking up social cues and like my kids, I have. I'm I parent in a strange way. I know this, and you know they just I despair. I don't know how to get them to do what I want them to do.

459
00:38:05.740 --> 00:38:15.560
Rachel Spratt: So, anyway, when my daughter, younger daughter, was 5 and the old one was 8. I get a dog, and I took him to. I'd never had a dog before, so I took him to the puppy preschool training where you learn how to train a dog.

460
00:38:15.931 --> 00:38:31.120
Rachel Spratt: I I did all this reading on how to train a dog, and it transformed my parenting because it's so black and white with dogs. If you want a dog to do something again, you reward it, and if you don't want them to do it again. You make it, you know, not necessarily punish it, but like.

461
00:38:31.650 --> 00:38:35.939
Rachel Spratt: when I was training my dog to like, not get on the table, and things like that, you know the basics.

462
00:38:36.367 --> 00:38:51.579
Rachel Spratt: The the puppy training, Guy said. Get like a spray, one of those square to spray bottles, 10 parts water, one part vinegar and just like, just give them a little squirt with it, and they'll know. Okay, that's a no, no, don't do that. So you're not really hurting them or anything, but it just make it clear. Don't do that again. That that's not good.

463
00:38:51.700 --> 00:39:07.229
Rachel Spratt: So the trick with pets is reward, good behavior, and let them know. Bad behavior is not on. Just be clear. And I thought and it was just like an epiphany for me. Parenting my actual children is because, like oftentimes you sort of unconsciously rewarding your children's bad behavior

464
00:39:07.230 --> 00:39:28.200
Rachel Spratt: and punishing their good behavior. So it just made me sort of like really clear in my mind. So I started using these things on the children like they do something. Be begging me for something I'd be like. Well, I want to give you what you want, cause I love you, but I know as a good parent I can't reward your bad behavior, and you've been behaving bad your day, and they just look at me, and they're like you got this from puppy preschool. And I'm like.

465
00:39:28.200 --> 00:39:28.779
Jacqueline Harvey: That's like.

466
00:39:28.780 --> 00:39:30.990
Rachel Spratt: Did at 1 point

467
00:39:31.100 --> 00:39:47.930
Rachel Spratt: like the dog was. You know, he picked up everything really well, I think I squirted him 3 times when he was a puppy, and that was it. All. His behaves is great. He's a really well trained dog, but we still had the spray like on the bookshelf in the living room, and my kids would be annoying me, I'd be like, don't do that. Don't do that. Then the 3rd time I'd squirt them.

468
00:39:47.930 --> 00:39:48.290
Mick Elliott: Right.

469
00:39:48.566 --> 00:39:52.709
Rachel Spratt: They would, they would get so angry because they smelt of vinegar. For the rest.

470
00:39:53.030 --> 00:39:53.970
Mick Elliott: Yeah, okay.

471
00:39:53.970 --> 00:40:00.589
Jacqueline Harvey: Yeah, I wouldn't be happy about that, either. I mean, I I always. We trained our cats with a spray bottle, but it was just water. We never.

472
00:40:00.590 --> 00:40:00.920
Rachel Spratt: Yeah.

473
00:40:00.920 --> 00:40:02.960
Jacqueline Harvey: We never put anything else in there.

474
00:40:02.960 --> 00:40:09.559
Rachel Spratt: Yeah, and they go. I gotta go to school, and I smell a vinegar. And I'm like, and you'll be able to tell them, why won't you? Because you upset Mummy at breakfast.

475
00:40:09.812 --> 00:40:10.819
Jacqueline Harvey: And then on the.

476
00:40:10.820 --> 00:40:11.910
Mick Elliott: But you're odd.

477
00:40:11.910 --> 00:40:18.076
Tim Harris: On the flip side for dessert after dinner, when they're really good, they go away with a little squishy, squeaky toy.

478
00:40:18.370 --> 00:40:19.819
Mick Elliott: A little bit of kibble.

479
00:40:20.283 --> 00:40:20.910
Jacqueline Harvey: Pretty quick.

480
00:40:20.910 --> 00:40:22.119
Rachel Spratt: Much behind the ear.

481
00:40:22.120 --> 00:40:24.659
Jacqueline Harvey: Umhm, yeah. A little bit of a chew toy.

482
00:40:25.000 --> 00:40:30.470
Mick Elliott: Rachel, have have you used the vinegar spray at any of your school talks? Because, you know, sometimes the kids can misbehave a bit.

483
00:40:30.810 --> 00:40:34.330
Rachel Spratt: I did hose down some kids from the school down the street.

484
00:40:34.860 --> 00:40:41.509
Rachel Spratt: because I live like just like 50 meters from the local Catholic school, St. Thomas Aquinas, and when the.

485
00:40:41.510 --> 00:40:45.080
Jacqueline Harvey: Given away where you live, Rachel, by the way, for any you know, store.

486
00:40:45.259 --> 00:40:46.879
Rachel Spratt: Okay, I'll bleep it out. Okay, I'll send it.

487
00:40:46.880 --> 00:40:47.340
Jacqueline Harvey: Yeah.

488
00:40:47.340 --> 00:40:49.549
Rachel Spratt: I live just up the road from school.

489
00:40:50.680 --> 00:40:56.129
Rachel Spratt: a local school, and oh, gosh! How can I explain this without revealing where I live?

490
00:40:56.130 --> 00:40:57.040
Jacqueline Harvey: Exactly.

491
00:40:57.040 --> 00:40:58.329
Rachel Spratt: Hang on. Sec.

492
00:40:58.715 --> 00:41:02.689
Rachel Spratt: The kids when they do swimming they have to walk past my house.

493
00:41:03.070 --> 00:41:25.600
Rachel Spratt: I'll explore it. Everyone in barrel knows where I live. I'm just gonna tell the story. Okay. So they have to walk past my house and I didn't. I hate. I hate mowing the the nature strip. I think it's just the biggest waste of time. So every time the Council comes and puts down grass I rip it up, and I try and plant like flowers, so that I don't have to mow the lawn. So I'm I summer. So I was out there watering the flowers so I wouldn't have to mow the lawn.

494
00:41:25.600 --> 00:41:40.049
Rachel Spratt: and the kids start trooping by on the way the pool for their swimming lessons, and it's a stinking hot day, like 35 40 degrees, and the kids they've got their little backpacks, and they're little kids, and they're hot, and the sun's baking down on them. And so I'm their host in the garden. And I'm like.

495
00:41:40.120 --> 00:41:42.960
Rachel Spratt: Hey, kids, does anybody want me to host them down with a host

496
00:41:42.980 --> 00:42:04.695
Rachel Spratt: and like Ha! Like 3 quarters of the kids are like, yeah. And I'm like, Okay, if you don't want me to run, if you do want me to just walk slowly. The teacher at the front is like, Yeah, this is the best thing ever cause. The kids are all wingy about the heat, and the teacher at the back was just horrified some random lady.

497
00:42:05.690 --> 00:42:10.816
Rachel Spratt: but I never got blow back on it, and I've still got my working with children's Jack. So I think I'm okay.

498
00:42:11.050 --> 00:42:13.260
Mick Elliott: It could be a vibe. No, no vinegar that time.

499
00:42:13.260 --> 00:42:17.783
Tim Harris: It was quite convenient, because the next door neighbour had all these feathers. They were trying to get rid of

500
00:42:18.470 --> 00:42:21.150
Tim Harris: hose. Down they walk to the next house. They got better.

501
00:42:22.200 --> 00:42:24.300
Rachel Spratt: Oh, well.

502
00:42:24.300 --> 00:42:25.612
Mick Elliott: Let's talk, Tim.

503
00:42:26.050 --> 00:42:29.140
Jacqueline Harvey: That is Doc. He does have these little docking talutes every now.

504
00:42:29.435 --> 00:42:29.730
Mick Elliott: And.

505
00:42:29.730 --> 00:42:30.979
Rachel Spratt: Yeah, I'm in.

506
00:42:31.194 --> 00:42:33.549
Jacqueline Harvey: Then, and we think, what's he going to add? That was.

507
00:42:33.550 --> 00:42:38.069
Tim Harris: This is the one that was that just that whole idea of you know how like in home alone, how the crooks breaking.

508
00:42:38.581 --> 00:42:48.770
Jacqueline Harvey: And they put feathers all over them. Did they have they had honey, or treacle, or something as well, though I think you've got. You've missed a step in between. You've got to, like, you know. Put something sticky on it.

509
00:42:48.770 --> 00:43:03.384
Rachel Spratt: Well, they always used to have people being tired and tired and feathered in cartoons. And I was just to think kids people don't realize how horrible it would be to be tired and feathered. Whole thing is you supposed to use boiling tart? It's like it's a way of killing.

510
00:43:03.660 --> 00:43:06.329
Jacqueline Harvey: Way of it was a medieval torture. So you.

511
00:43:06.330 --> 00:43:11.629
Rachel Spratt: Yeah, so like, but they do it like in bugs, bunny cartoons you're like, that's probably funny bugs

512
00:43:12.460 --> 00:43:13.560
Rachel Spratt: eating a carrot.

513
00:43:13.790 --> 00:43:14.700
Jacqueline Harvey: Yes.

514
00:43:14.830 --> 00:43:16.580
Tim Harris: Now I see how it went. Dark.

515
00:43:16.830 --> 00:43:17.530
Jacqueline Harvey: Yeah, that.

516
00:43:17.530 --> 00:43:19.441
Rachel Spratt: That's how you turn to talk to him.

517
00:43:21.140 --> 00:43:34.799
Jacqueline Harvey: Well, would you like to hear my stow? I I can. I can. I can add a few stories here that so we have a cat make. We've I grew up in a family that we mostly when I was really little we had dogs.

518
00:43:34.800 --> 00:43:52.280
Jacqueline Harvey: We always had dogs, and we always wanted a cat. But my pop used to say, my my dad's father. He used to always tell us that if you've got a cat you would end up with high data and high status is like an eye infection, right? That you get from cats. Now, I don't know anybody in the world who ever had high data.

519
00:43:52.460 --> 00:43:53.210
Rachel Spratt: This is not like.

520
00:43:53.210 --> 00:43:54.370
Jacqueline Harvey: Like my husband.

521
00:43:54.370 --> 00:43:55.230
Rachel Spratt: So, okay.

522
00:43:55.230 --> 00:43:58.249
Jacqueline Harvey: Yeah, yeah, it's. And it's actually giving him a blind spot in the eye.

523
00:43:58.397 --> 00:43:58.840
Mick Elliott: Of? So yeah.

524
00:43:59.420 --> 00:44:02.950
Jacqueline Harvey: Him when he was a tiny kid. So anyway.

525
00:44:03.010 --> 00:44:11.500
Rachel Spratt: Isn't high data's just to like, get really graphic and gross for anyone who's still eating. Isn't it like a nematode like, I want to say something like a worm or something.

526
00:44:11.500 --> 00:44:16.619
Jacqueline Harvey: Yeah, it's like a, it's like a some sort of you know thing that needs a host. And it's just.

527
00:44:16.620 --> 00:44:17.160
Rachel Spratt: Of course.

528
00:44:17.160 --> 00:44:19.950
Jacqueline Harvey: And anyway, and it's fine now, but he just has a.

529
00:44:19.950 --> 00:44:20.490
Rachel Spratt: Well apart.

530
00:44:20.490 --> 00:44:21.050
Jacqueline Harvey: That's right.

531
00:44:21.050 --> 00:44:22.120
Rachel Spratt: Damage. Obviously.

532
00:44:22.120 --> 00:44:37.460
Jacqueline Harvey: The brain damage in the Blind Spot, and he's like but anyway, my pop used to say this all the time, and then my mother finally sort of said, Oh, blow that, you know I'm gonna get a cat. So anyway, we did end up with cats. We had Persian. We hit. We got a beautiful Persian cat, Persian chinchilla cat, whose name was Christian.

533
00:44:37.530 --> 00:44:40.220
Jacqueline Harvey: don't know why, not sure that was.

534
00:44:40.220 --> 00:44:41.459
Mick Elliott: The cat, a Christian.

535
00:44:41.880 --> 00:44:42.345
Jacqueline Harvey: No.

536
00:44:42.810 --> 00:44:43.690
Rachel Spratt: I'll come on. There.

537
00:44:43.690 --> 00:44:44.280
Jacqueline Harvey: The cat.

538
00:44:44.280 --> 00:44:46.119
Rachel Spratt: They're stray from Satan, aren't they?

539
00:44:46.120 --> 00:44:49.389
Jacqueline Harvey: I think you know. Anyway, mum bred this cat.

540
00:44:49.390 --> 00:44:50.010
Rachel Spratt: And we ended up with.

541
00:44:50.010 --> 00:44:51.640
Jacqueline Harvey: The we ended up with

542
00:44:51.990 --> 00:44:55.389
Jacqueline Harvey: what were the other ones called Carlotta and Chloe.

543
00:44:55.810 --> 00:44:56.290
Mick Elliott: So we.

544
00:44:56.290 --> 00:45:11.290
Jacqueline Harvey: Good. Oh, sorry! Chloe, was the mother, then Christian and Carlotta with the children. So anyway, we ended up with with cats, and then from that point on it was like a cat free for all. So we ended up at one stage in our house, probably with about I don't know 8 cats or something, so you know, it was a cat free for all. So I've grown.

545
00:45:11.290 --> 00:45:14.320
Rachel Spratt: No native wildlife with a 200.

546
00:45:14.320 --> 00:45:15.920
Jacqueline Harvey: Yeah, overall last night.

547
00:45:15.980 --> 00:45:29.899
Jacqueline Harvey: so like like your wife, Mick, and like Rachel, though I am quite allergic to cats as well, which I've kind of, you know, trained myself out of it. So even now, though I pretty much live on anti screen every day, cause we.

548
00:45:29.900 --> 00:45:30.599
Mick Elliott: Have a cat.

549
00:45:30.600 --> 00:45:43.880
Jacqueline Harvey: We have a cat, he who adopted us in Sydney. He became our cat purely by accident. I think I've told this story on the podcast before, where I've told how how our cat came to be out. His name is Balthazar.

550
00:45:44.439 --> 00:45:58.160
Jacqueline Harvey: We did not name him. He he's he was either named after one of the 3 wise men or a giant bottle of champagne. I prefer the second version of that story. I'd I like to champagne option, anyway. Balthazar has. He's now known as Bally or Bally Post.

551
00:45:58.180 --> 00:46:03.338
Jacqueline Harvey: Rachel has met him. He's quite an aloof cat. He he gives you love only on his terms.

552
00:46:03.610 --> 00:46:04.030
Rachel Spratt: Yeah.

553
00:46:04.030 --> 00:46:21.499
Jacqueline Harvey: He sleeps on our bed at night, but he doesn't sleep in the bed. He sleeps on a little bed on the end of our bed, and he's really sweet, and he's he's very, very well behaved like I don't know how he's so well, you know, trained. But anyway, he, if he ever is unwell, which is not very often.

554
00:46:21.510 --> 00:46:24.009
Jacqueline Harvey: But I came home the other day.

555
00:46:24.280 --> 00:46:33.930
Jacqueline Harvey: and it was dark, and my husband wasn't here, and I walked up the stairs, and he's sitting at the top of the stairs, and he often does that when we come home he's sitting there. He's going. Oh.

556
00:46:35.013 --> 00:46:49.759
Jacqueline Harvey: I thought, that is the saddest me I ever heard. What's matter, Valley, anyway? He he came towards me, and then he ran back upstairs. And anyway, then I I said, I'll get you some dinner, and I walked in into the kitchen, got him some food.

557
00:46:49.760 --> 00:47:06.464
Jacqueline Harvey: and I went to walk into the back hallway, and I don't know why. I watched him walk down the hallway, and he veered off to the right and then walked down, and I was like Hmm! So I turned the light on, and there he is, sitting on the little mat before the laundry, and he's sitting there looking at me going.

558
00:47:06.950 --> 00:47:08.550
Jacqueline Harvey: and he'd been sick in the.

559
00:47:08.550 --> 00:47:09.470
Rachel Spratt: White and.

560
00:47:09.470 --> 00:47:12.160
Jacqueline Harvey: Was telling me that he had been sick and.

561
00:47:12.160 --> 00:47:13.020
Mick Elliott: He gets so.

562
00:47:13.020 --> 00:47:19.310
Jacqueline Harvey: Upset and so embarrassed, and while I cleaned it up he sat there right next to me, and he watched me clean it up.

563
00:47:19.734 --> 00:47:33.090
Jacqueline Harvey: and he's just. He's just the sweetest thing you've ever ever come across. So yeah. So when he's sick, he actually he apologizes. He doesn't, you know, vomit on somebody's, or he doesn't, you know, eat somebody else's vomit. He's very he's very reminded Cat.

564
00:47:33.610 --> 00:47:36.210
Mick Elliott: Well, that that's entirely appropriate.

565
00:47:36.210 --> 00:47:38.269
Rachel Spratt: Into Ian's wine collection.

566
00:47:38.610 --> 00:48:00.779
Jacqueline Harvey: Oh, you know what he loves. He sits outside the cellar door and he he looks in the cellar, and he'll sit there, and he'll mom oh, and you let him in the cellar, and he just goes and hangs out there for about 5 min or so. It is like climate control. So it's quite cold in there. And you know, after about 5 min he's had enough, and he sits at the door and taps on the glass, and can you let me out again? Now, please.

567
00:48:00.780 --> 00:48:04.113
Mick Elliott: Is it just breathing in the whiney aromas.

568
00:48:04.530 --> 00:48:04.930
Jacqueline Harvey: And taste.

569
00:48:04.930 --> 00:48:05.310
Mick Elliott: Very good.

570
00:48:05.310 --> 00:48:12.177
Jacqueline Harvey: Likes the, you know, likes the smell of the, you know the lovely boxes, the oak boxes, and things in there so.

571
00:48:12.490 --> 00:48:14.943
Mick Elliott: And the the smell of cabs have maybe.

572
00:48:15.606 --> 00:48:16.319
Rachel Spratt: Why not?

573
00:48:16.320 --> 00:48:17.152
Mick Elliott: But yeah, it's

574
00:48:17.430 --> 00:48:17.869
Jacqueline Harvey: We live in.

575
00:48:17.870 --> 00:48:18.400
Rachel Spratt: And.

576
00:48:18.400 --> 00:48:21.862
Jacqueline Harvey: New Zealand. This is south of New Zealand, you know. In a while.

577
00:48:22.110 --> 00:48:25.885
Tim Harris: Jackie and Mick, you guys are really good at making cat sounds.

578
00:48:26.919 --> 00:48:41.770
Jacqueline Harvey: Has this hilarious thing that he does at like he'll he'll go off and have his dinner, and then he gets this thing where almost. It's like he's suddenly lost in the house. Now. The house is not that big? And all of a sudden you hear this?

579
00:48:43.488 --> 00:48:59.501
Jacqueline Harvey: It's like from the bottom of the house and you run it. You know what's the matter? What's the matter? And he's usually I don't know in the bathroom or something, and he'll come running out at a hundred miles an hour, and he he can't get much purchase on the. We have timber floors, and so it's like, no, it's like.

580
00:48:59.760 --> 00:49:00.980
Rachel Spratt: Scratch. Yeah. Yeah.

581
00:49:00.980 --> 00:49:25.789
Jacqueline Harvey: And then I he did run upstairs really fast the other morning, and the poor thing! I heard this big slam, and he slammed into the bookcase as he was trying to do the turn up the stairs. And you know I am worried that he's gonna hurt himself, cause he's now he's now 14. So he's also very spoilt in that. The only reason most of the time that we turn our gas fire on in the morning, so my husband will go downstairs, and he says.

582
00:49:27.240 --> 00:49:34.279
Jacqueline Harvey: would you like the fire on belly like he's not playing the gas bill? The cat is not paying the cats, Bill, but anyway, the cat gets the fire, so the cat.

583
00:49:34.280 --> 00:49:34.660
Rachel Spratt: Do you not.

584
00:49:34.660 --> 00:49:35.300
Jacqueline Harvey: Very very spoiled.

585
00:49:35.300 --> 00:49:36.219
Rachel Spratt: Oh, I can write that.

586
00:49:36.428 --> 00:49:37.889
Jacqueline Harvey: One! Can I tell you? A happy.

587
00:49:37.890 --> 00:49:53.289
Rachel Spratt: We have a heater just for the dog, so he's got a crate, and he's got his own radiator right next to the crate. But it's selfish because he wakes up at 4 in the morning. Otherwise, when he's cold, so you have to have a heater for him so that he'll sleep through the night. Do you not have a heater for Bally? Where? Where.

588
00:49:53.290 --> 00:49:54.760
Jacqueline Harvey: Well, no bally sleeps on our beds.

589
00:49:54.760 --> 00:49:57.070
Rachel Spratt: Oh, I see! So you are Bally's heater.

590
00:49:57.070 --> 00:50:22.779
Jacqueline Harvey: We bally tater rather than the other way, although he he sort of sleeps in the middle. So yeah. But you know, pets, they yeah, they do change your life, and they very, I mean, he's he's very, very loved. But my my step, daughter, she has a dog called Marley, who is the neatiest dog I've ever ever come across, and Molly's I we think she's across between a hunter way, which is a New Zealand of dog, even though it's in Sydney, and and some sort of kelpie.

591
00:50:22.870 --> 00:50:39.760
Jacqueline Harvey: But I was over at her place early this year, and there was one of the big Sydney storms is coming, anyway. I'm looking at Molly, and Molly's like Molly starts to shake, and she's absolutely shaking. I'm like this dog is so nervous, so anxious. So anyway, let me go ahead and get to Valium for the dog. So.

592
00:50:39.760 --> 00:50:40.380
Rachel Spratt: Gives, the.

593
00:50:40.380 --> 00:50:42.300
Jacqueline Harvey: Dog like part of a valium.

594
00:50:42.300 --> 00:50:44.679
Mick Elliott: I mean, this is a special Dog Valley. I'm not.

595
00:50:44.680 --> 00:50:47.509
Jacqueline Harvey: Dog Valley. I'm not just human Dog Valley prescribed from.

596
00:50:47.510 --> 00:50:48.200
Mick Elliott: Ticking a.

597
00:50:48.200 --> 00:51:09.880
Jacqueline Harvey: Anyway, so she gets some. She gets a value not still shaking, shaking, shaking, anyway. So she has a storm coat as well, and she? She actually has this coat that you've got to put on her because she gets so anxious in storms. And so when I found her when the storm. Finally, you know, came. I went off to the toilet, and she's trying to hide behind the toilet, which is really hard cause it's a back to the wall toilet.

598
00:51:10.365 --> 00:51:10.849
Rachel Spratt: Yeah.

599
00:51:11.090 --> 00:51:11.600
Jacqueline Harvey: But

600
00:51:12.300 --> 00:51:12.980
Jacqueline Harvey: that's it.

601
00:51:13.000 --> 00:51:19.510
Rachel Spratt: Tim, I've got a question for you. You've got 4 children. Do you have any pets that are not wild in the garden?

602
00:51:19.730 --> 00:51:21.010
Tim Harris: Well for children.

603
00:51:21.010 --> 00:51:22.040
Rachel Spratt: Yeah, yeah.

604
00:51:22.427 --> 00:51:23.202
Tim Harris: Pets! No

605
00:51:23.700 --> 00:51:28.950
Tim Harris: no, we we thought about bringing some fish back, but the track record.

606
00:51:29.090 --> 00:51:29.940
Rachel Spratt: Yeah.

607
00:51:29.940 --> 00:51:35.210
Tim Harris: It's not great. So yeah. So I think we'll, we'll wait. We'll wait a year or 2. I reckon it's gonna happen. It's just.

608
00:51:35.430 --> 00:51:36.850
Jacqueline Harvey: What do the kids want, Tim? What.

609
00:51:36.850 --> 00:51:44.520
Tim Harris: Well, yeah, good question. So they started by wanting like a guinea pig. And I was. And we thought, Okay, not too bad. But hmm.

610
00:51:44.520 --> 00:51:45.570
Rachel Spratt: Lot of pine cleaning. Yeah.

611
00:51:45.570 --> 00:51:49.629
Mick Elliott: No, that's right. A a guinea pig basically, is just a sock that poos.

612
00:51:49.630 --> 00:51:55.390
Rachel Spratt: Yeah. And also they they they get like in Australia. There's too many things that will eat them.

613
00:51:55.850 --> 00:51:56.420
Rachel Spratt: Think anything.

614
00:51:56.420 --> 00:51:57.020
Tim Harris: Weeks.

615
00:51:57.290 --> 00:51:59.620
Mick Elliott: Yeah, well, you you you best mate Chris, for a start.

616
00:51:59.860 --> 00:52:00.420
Jacqueline Harvey: But and.

617
00:52:00.420 --> 00:52:01.180
Tim Harris: Try, try.

618
00:52:01.180 --> 00:52:01.580
Mick Elliott: Craig.

619
00:52:01.580 --> 00:52:02.220
Tim Harris: Craig.

620
00:52:02.220 --> 00:52:03.000
Mick Elliott: Sorry. Craig. Yeah.

621
00:52:03.280 --> 00:52:08.050
Jacqueline Harvey: Yeah. Well, you know. Come on, Kappa Boras, you know they eat those in South America. So come on.

622
00:52:08.050 --> 00:52:09.919
Rachel Spratt: Yeah, they do. Oh.

623
00:52:09.920 --> 00:52:18.599
Tim Harris: Yeah, so maybe maybe not. May. I don't know. Like, I'm I'm thinking, maybe a cat, after all these incredible cat stories in the warmth, because because our house gets pretty cold.

624
00:52:18.780 --> 00:52:22.150
Jacqueline Harvey: Oh, there you go! You just! You've got your own portable heater. If you've got a cat.

625
00:52:22.150 --> 00:52:24.559
Tim Harris: Yeah, but it sounds like, apparently you need 8.

626
00:52:26.590 --> 00:52:31.049
Mick Elliott: Well, 1 1 for each bed, I think pretty much, I mean.

627
00:52:31.050 --> 00:52:44.720
Rachel Spratt: There's a great opportunity when you have like for me, with the dog. When I got the dog I started using it for psychological warfare on the children. So I like all the time. Tell my kids that my favourite child is the dog, and like when they annoy me, it's like

628
00:52:44.720 --> 00:53:05.889
Rachel Spratt: right, that's it. I'm leaving all my money to the dog, you know. This comes up in conversation multiple times a day and like. Then you have passive, aggressive conversations with the dog like they're there, and they can hear you. And you're like, Oh, Henry, I love you the most. You're by far my best behaved child. Can I get you something, Henry? How about you? And I just sit quietly and enjoy each other's company, you know, like, get to do all that stuff so.

629
00:53:05.890 --> 00:53:25.069
Jacqueline Harvey: Yeah. And look, people take that to even bigger extremes, like, you know, Karl Lagerfeld and ship his his cat that now has a million like 1 billion dollar fortune. So, and somebody took after it. And apparently it's the crankiest, horrible, most horrible, obnoxious cat that there ever that ever lived. But it's really famous now, and it's got all the money.

630
00:53:25.070 --> 00:53:28.079
Rachel Spratt: Yeah, if you go to Hemingway's house wherever that is.

631
00:53:28.730 --> 00:53:45.039
Rachel Spratt: it's like a museum. But part of the trust is that there's like a certain number of resident cats. Because you love cats so much. There's like it's this museum to Hemingway. But then there's like 8 cats just wandering around, going wherever they like, peeing on whatever artifacts they like.

632
00:53:45.040 --> 00:53:45.560
Mick Elliott: And that's.

633
00:53:45.560 --> 00:54:00.400
Jacqueline Harvey: Fascinating like in I mean Italy. We know there's lots of cats in Rome, but some even last year we're in France, and we would you know we went to visit lots of different villages. We're driving up France, and there was a couple of villages where there was, like literally the village gang of cats that just.

634
00:54:00.400 --> 00:54:01.330
Rachel Spratt: That's what I'm saying. But.

635
00:54:01.573 --> 00:54:20.319
Jacqueline Harvey: They were like the gang in the village, and they lived on the village green. And you know, people from all the different village houses would come and feed them all the time, and I remember having, you know, talking to a lady and saying, Who wants these cats? No, no, no, everyone, everyone so you know, shared cats. That might be the way to go team. Just get a shared pit new in your street.

636
00:54:20.320 --> 00:54:23.520
Rachel Spratt: Yeah. Like like those share cars. You haven't shared that.

637
00:54:23.520 --> 00:54:23.840
Mick Elliott: Yeah.

638
00:54:24.226 --> 00:54:25.000
Jacqueline Harvey: Chair pit.

639
00:54:25.347 --> 00:54:26.389
Rachel Spratt: Is it cool?

640
00:54:26.390 --> 00:54:31.919
Mick Elliott: GPS on it, I mean, the only thing is, Tim. Once you get the cat, you can say goodbye to your visiting rabbit. I'm afraid.

641
00:54:31.920 --> 00:54:32.610
Rachel Spratt: Yeah.

642
00:54:33.122 --> 00:54:56.759
Mick Elliott: I mean we where I grew up. We used to it was quite oh, quite bushland. This is out in the hills back before it was very developed. And this is also back before we knew that you should definitely have a little bell on your cats, and we had one cat who just would love to present a little dead something on the backs doorstep every morning, and did once bring in a rabbit and a rabbit's, a feral pest by a feral pest.

643
00:54:56.760 --> 00:54:57.170
Rachel Spratt: Oh, yeah.

644
00:54:57.170 --> 00:55:06.869
Mick Elliott: But did once bring in. You know, the remains of a of a rabbit. This was back in the days when instead of having a garbage collection. You used to have a backyard incinerator.

645
00:55:06.870 --> 00:55:07.670
Rachel Spratt: All classic.

646
00:55:07.960 --> 00:55:09.830
Mick Elliott: Some of you might remember that, and.

647
00:55:09.830 --> 00:55:11.119
Jacqueline Harvey: That is a borek. Yeah.

648
00:55:11.120 --> 00:55:13.460
Mick Elliott: But oh, dice! It's burning all your plastic.

649
00:55:13.460 --> 00:55:13.840
Jacqueline Harvey: And you.

650
00:55:14.136 --> 00:55:37.233
Mick Elliott: And your leaves, and at about 4 o'clock on a Sunday afternoon you could. You were led to burn for about 2 h, and the entire suburban backdrop would be full of the acrid smoke of everyone burning their garbage. But we, we, this rabbit carcass turned up, must have turned up on the Sunday morning we put it in the incinerator to to get rid of it. The the room again. I'm sorry. Everyone listening.

651
00:55:38.840 --> 00:55:42.159
Mick Elliott: incinerated. It had a little gap at the bottom where all the ash would come out. Yeah.

652
00:55:42.524 --> 00:55:42.889
Rachel Spratt: Yeah.

653
00:55:42.890 --> 00:55:50.580
Mick Elliott: And the next morning this thing turned up on the back doorstep, which was the charcoal chunky remains of the rabbit, because.

654
00:55:50.580 --> 00:55:51.700
Rachel Spratt: The cow.

655
00:55:51.700 --> 00:56:03.819
Mick Elliott: Had good. It hadn't fully taken both in the incinerator and a little sort of ball of of charcoal. Rabbit had come out the bottom of the cat had gone nice. That's a charcoal rabbit, and brought it to the backstop to show it.

656
00:56:03.820 --> 00:56:05.619
Jacqueline Harvey: Didn't have to go to Chow girl Charlies. He just.

657
00:56:05.620 --> 00:56:06.230
Mick Elliott: And are.

658
00:56:06.230 --> 00:56:07.450
Jacqueline Harvey: Florida.

659
00:56:07.450 --> 00:56:10.380
Mick Elliott: I I realize now I had a very bizarre childhood.

660
00:56:10.380 --> 00:56:11.206
Jacqueline Harvey: No, no.

661
00:56:11.620 --> 00:56:12.359
Rachel Spratt: You're not.

662
00:56:12.360 --> 00:56:16.090
Jacqueline Harvey: Mick. I like. I think we've probably run out of time, so.

663
00:56:16.090 --> 00:56:16.430
Mick Elliott: Yeah.

664
00:56:16.430 --> 00:56:18.180
Jacqueline Harvey: Tell the grossest story.

665
00:56:18.180 --> 00:56:18.790
Rachel Spratt: I'm missing.

666
00:56:18.790 --> 00:56:19.450
Mick Elliott: Ever another.

667
00:56:19.450 --> 00:56:20.250
Jacqueline Harvey: Like I want.

668
00:56:20.250 --> 00:56:20.940
Mick Elliott: No.

669
00:56:21.157 --> 00:56:23.979
Jacqueline Harvey: Because it's not to do with. It's to do with a dog.

670
00:56:23.990 --> 00:56:26.140
Jacqueline Harvey: a dog, and a deer's head.

671
00:56:26.140 --> 00:56:30.240
Rachel Spratt: Oh, yeah, okay, let's just stop you right there. Okay, that's enough.

672
00:56:30.240 --> 00:56:34.549
Mick Elliott: If there's 1 thing I would love to hear, it's the grossest story that Jacqueline Harvey has to tell.

673
00:56:34.550 --> 00:56:35.460
Jacqueline Harvey: I think.

674
00:56:35.460 --> 00:56:37.900
Mick Elliott: Think we would uncok something that.

675
00:56:37.900 --> 00:56:40.650
Rachel Spratt: Maybe we'll save that for Halloween or something.

676
00:56:40.922 --> 00:56:49.930
Jacqueline Harvey: Yeah, actually, it is a good Halloween story, right? Cause it's it's it's kind of. The 1st part of their story is gross. And the second part of it is even grosser.

677
00:56:49.930 --> 00:56:50.540
Mick Elliott: Oh, okay.

678
00:56:50.816 --> 00:56:53.580
Rachel Spratt: Well, we'll have a gross out episode for Halloween. Okay.

679
00:56:53.580 --> 00:56:56.469
Tim Harris: Suppose, for that story hinges on how you spell, dear.

680
00:56:56.780 --> 00:56:57.780
Tim Harris: Yes.

681
00:56:59.240 --> 00:57:00.100
Jacqueline Harvey: Yeah, it might be.

682
00:57:00.100 --> 00:57:11.829
Rachel Spratt: A good time joke, Tim. Thank you for that. Alright. Let's wrap it up. Okay, well, thank you for listening. If you want to find out anything about any more of us. You can find out about me at Rapp, Com and Tim, what's your website?

683
00:57:12.180 --> 00:57:13.710
Tim Harris: Tim harrisbox.com.

684
00:57:13.710 --> 00:57:14.750
Rachel Spratt: And Jackie.

685
00:57:14.890 --> 00:57:16.379
Jacqueline Harvey: Jacqueline harvey.com.

686
00:57:16.380 --> 00:57:17.650
Rachel Spratt: And Mick. Where can we find out about.

687
00:57:17.650 --> 00:57:18.389
Jacqueline Harvey: So are you.

688
00:57:18.550 --> 00:57:24.690
Mick Elliott: You can. You can find me at Mick Elliot with 2 l's and 2 t's. Mick elliot.ma.

689
00:57:24.690 --> 00:57:28.670
Rachel Spratt: Okay, thank you very much. Okay, thank you for listening until next time. Goodbye.

690
00:57:28.950 --> 00:57:33.549
Rachel Spratt: Alright, yeah. Fine. Thanks, Mick. Thank you so much. That was really great.

691
00:57:33.550 --> 00:57:36.650
Mick Elliott: You you guys were so great, and thanks for having me.

692
00:57:37.480 --> 00:57:45.084
Jacqueline Harvey: Pleasure. What are you up to at the moment, Nick? What are you? What are you doing with yourself at the moment we've got? We've got about 5 min before we have to get off.

693
00:57:45.846 --> 00:58:11.809
Mick Elliott: No, that's all good. So I've I'm on the final season of a of a show that I've been working on for for Channel 10 and paramount. This is a exec producer, which is basically just 3 days a week of me looking at scripts and checking that everything's coming together so that all finishes up in October. And I'm working on a new series. A new sort of middle grade series that writing and illustrating that

694
00:58:11.840 --> 00:58:18.309
Mick Elliott: if I hit my deadline, which is coming up all too soon, as they always do we'll come out in the middle of next year, so.

695
00:58:18.310 --> 00:58:20.820
Jacqueline Harvey: Right is that with hashit? Or is it with.

696
00:58:20.820 --> 00:58:23.970
Mick Elliott: That that is a bit of a hush! Hush! Thing that has been.

697
00:58:23.970 --> 00:58:24.839
Rachel Spratt: That's it. But with the.

698
00:58:24.840 --> 00:58:32.250
Mick Elliott: With a new. We're not a new publisher, but a publisher haven't worked with before. So I think it'll be announced soon. Ish? But yeah, it's a really, really exciting.

699
00:58:32.250 --> 00:58:34.900
Rachel Spratt: You're with Curtis Brown, aren't you? They represent.

700
00:58:34.900 --> 00:58:44.162
Mick Elliott: Yeah, I wouldn't be here if I if I wasn't with a lovely Fiona over there happened to be in the right place at the right time to get that

701
00:58:44.760 --> 00:58:45.880
Jacqueline Harvey: They're knocking lots.

702
00:58:45.880 --> 00:58:46.410
Mick Elliott: Call me burning.

703
00:58:46.410 --> 00:58:49.980
Jacqueline Harvey: Rachel. Apparently I heard that they're not really taking anybody very much so.

704
00:58:49.980 --> 00:58:52.449
Mick Elliott: I mean, this is this was 10 years ago, essentially.

705
00:58:52.450 --> 00:58:52.980
Rachel Spratt: Sorry.

706
00:58:52.980 --> 00:58:54.269
Tim Harris: Rachel, Energy Trial.

707
00:58:55.700 --> 00:58:57.010
Rachel Spratt: 18 months ago.

708
00:58:57.720 --> 00:59:05.040
Jacqueline Harvey: Yeah, I heard from Bull, because Belinda's with Curtis Brown. She said that they're not really. They're just not doing anybody new at the moment. So yeah.

709
00:59:05.383 --> 00:59:06.069
Rachel Spratt: Not you?

710
00:59:06.070 --> 00:59:12.259
Jacqueline Harvey: I know. No, no, I know you're not new. I know you're not new. Well, more for them, Rachel. And why do you want to give 15% of what you earn to someone else. Anyway.

711
00:59:12.260 --> 00:59:14.539
Rachel Spratt: I like having someone take care of me.

712
00:59:15.060 --> 00:59:15.810
Rachel Spratt: plus. So you know.

713
00:59:15.810 --> 00:59:21.679
Jacqueline Harvey: What you can pay my husband, he'd do it for 10. He looks after me. He looks after everything. He's really.

714
00:59:21.680 --> 00:59:22.270
Rachel Spratt: Yeah, well.

715
00:59:22.270 --> 00:59:22.680
Jacqueline Harvey: So excellent.

716
00:59:22.680 --> 00:59:39.699
Rachel Spratt: I'll take you like 5 different agents. I just couldn't get anyone to represent me. So I've got a lawyer now. So I'm just gonna use a lawyer until I can find someone who it's also like, I don't want anyone to represent me who I have to beg to represent me. So yeah, so I just got an entertainment lawyer. I'm just gonna go that way.

717
00:59:39.700 --> 00:59:55.389
Mick Elliott: That's actually a really good idea. And the the other thing is so. Firstly, like, it was literally 10 years ago that they saw me. I mean, I happened just to have the right book at the right time that Fiona thought she could sell but the I mean the other thing is, you know, they have major clients. It goes right up to Thomas Keneally, and.

718
00:59:55.390 --> 00:59:55.810
Rachel Spratt: The, a.

719
00:59:55.810 --> 00:59:59.270
Mick Elliott: So where I sit in their overall, do you know, like they'll all.

720
00:59:59.270 --> 00:59:59.830
Rachel Spratt: Yeah.

721
00:59:59.830 --> 01:00:05.639
Mick Elliott: I'll get a 2 line email back. I don't get there. I need to talk to you for 5 h about my menu. It's like nut.

722
01:00:05.640 --> 01:00:06.070
Rachel Spratt: This is.

723
01:00:06.070 --> 01:00:11.217
Mick Elliott: Literally, it's a business relationship, and you know they're great. But you know I'm I'm like.

724
01:00:11.520 --> 01:00:15.049
Jacqueline Harvey: Taking your. They're not taking a percentage of your Elr and Plr. Are they?

725
01:00:15.987 --> 01:00:17.412
Mick Elliott: Yeah, yeah, that that all happens.

726
01:00:17.650 --> 01:00:20.300
Jacqueline Harvey: Oh, see, that! Would that would do! My head in.

727
01:00:20.300 --> 01:00:20.730
Mick Elliott: That is right.

728
01:00:20.730 --> 01:00:21.779
Rachel Spratt: Yeah, no, I don't.

729
01:00:21.902 --> 01:00:22.270
Mick Elliott: Kind of like.

730
01:00:22.270 --> 01:00:43.706
Rachel Spratt: Tax deductible, like everyone says, Oh, it's 15. It's like, yeah, it's 15%. But it's tax deductible. So it's only really like 8 and you you they don't have to get you many jobs for it to totally pay for itself, and it takes longer. I like I love being looked after I had an agent for 22 years. I I would I would definitely get one again. But it's just I just think I'm at the stage of my career. People always excited by young hot people, and

731
01:00:43.940 --> 01:00:44.639
Mick Elliott: That, isn't it.

732
01:00:44.640 --> 01:00:46.079
Rachel Spratt: Yeah, and also, people tend to.

733
01:00:46.080 --> 01:00:47.280
Mick Elliott: You're young and hard

734
01:00:47.890 --> 01:00:48.320
Mick Elliott: on.

735
01:00:48.320 --> 01:01:02.829
Rachel Spratt: Yeah, right? But also, people tend not to know like who the Movers and Shakers and childrens are like. They'll they'll know who Thomas Keneally is. They'll know, you know Leanne, Moriarty, and all that, but they don't know who the who the names are in children's, you know. They know on DOE, maybe, but so.

736
01:01:02.830 --> 01:01:03.170
Mick Elliott: It is.

737
01:01:03.170 --> 01:01:04.459
Jacqueline Harvey: And they shouldn't know him.

738
01:01:04.460 --> 01:01:13.009
Rachel Spratt: Yeah, but they they yeah. So your average adult agent isn't going to go. Oh, yeah, this sort of yeah. So it's it's a, it's a weird sort of situation. So

739
01:01:13.130 --> 01:01:15.119
Rachel Spratt: anyway, doesn't matter. I mean, like

740
01:01:15.230 --> 01:01:19.079
Rachel Spratt: penguin just keeps rolling on my contract. So they're not hard to renegotiate.

741
01:01:19.320 --> 01:01:23.510
Jacqueline Harvey: Yeah. And I think that's a that's a pretty like, that's a good place to be.

742
01:01:23.510 --> 01:01:23.930
Mick Elliott: Yeah.

743
01:01:23.930 --> 01:01:26.629
Rachel Spratt: Yeah, but I want to try and break into adult writing. So.

744
01:01:27.115 --> 01:01:28.239
Mick Elliott: You'd be great at that.

745
01:01:28.240 --> 01:01:29.190
Rachel Spratt: Yes.

746
01:01:29.990 --> 01:01:37.099
Jacqueline Harvey: I'm sure I'm you know we do have a former publisher who adores both you and I, Rachel, who would, is now the head of adults for.

747
01:01:37.100 --> 01:01:38.350
Rachel Spratt: Yeah, but I actually, I.

748
01:01:38.350 --> 01:01:39.319
Jacqueline Harvey: She got me back. My.

749
01:01:39.320 --> 01:01:43.860
Rachel Spratt: 1st attempt. So yeah, cause I did the Illustrated Guide to parenthood.

750
01:01:43.860 --> 01:01:44.370
Jacqueline Harvey: Yeah.

751
01:01:44.370 --> 01:01:53.110
Rachel Spratt: Like. I'm not famous enough. So I was like I could take it to another publisher, or I could go, she said. Why do you go. I get famous, and I'm like, Oh, that just sounds exhausting.

752
01:01:54.770 --> 01:01:56.339
Mick Elliott: Here is the time, allergy.

753
01:01:56.340 --> 01:01:57.380
Rachel Spratt: Yeah, yeah, yeah.

754
01:01:57.380 --> 01:01:58.030
Jacqueline Harvey: Yeah.

755
01:01:58.030 --> 01:02:02.260
Rachel Spratt: So anyway, I'll get there. It's it's a long, long term strategy.

756
01:02:02.260 --> 01:02:05.175
Jacqueline Harvey: Yeah. Well, we're all in it for the marathon. It's not a sprint, you know.

757
01:02:05.370 --> 01:02:05.960
Mick Elliott: Isn't that right.

758
01:02:05.960 --> 01:02:09.409
Jacqueline Harvey: Here. None of us were overnight sensation. So you know.

759
01:02:09.410 --> 01:02:10.790
Rachel Spratt: No, no.

760
01:02:10.790 --> 01:02:21.396
Mick Elliott: I was just working it out. But I mean, I'm sure you guys are all super busy. I mean, you guys are so prolific. Honestly, I mean, every every word is like bled out of a stone for me. I don't know how you guys the the output. You guys all.

761
01:02:21.600 --> 01:02:22.250
Rachel Spratt: So so like.

762
01:02:22.250 --> 01:02:22.770
Mick Elliott: Incredible. Yeah.

763
01:02:22.770 --> 01:02:25.859
Rachel Spratt: Own. But you just it's just like you're just gonna be relentless like like.

764
01:02:25.860 --> 01:02:26.200
Mick Elliott: That's.

765
01:02:26.200 --> 01:02:32.529
Rachel Spratt: Me a really night message, he said, oh, you're such a natural, the podcast and I think, yeah, a natural. He spent 26 years building this skill.

766
01:02:32.530 --> 01:02:33.430
Jacqueline Harvey: Yeah, you don't like.

767
01:02:33.430 --> 01:02:37.830
Rachel Spratt: Working day after day after day an endless grind to get to this point. Yeah.

768
01:02:37.830 --> 01:02:47.400
Mick Elliott: That's true. That's true, isn't it? When you think about school talks, and that like that, 1 h actually is a representation of everything that you've learned everything you've done as a storyteller, as a presenter, as a performer.

769
01:02:47.612 --> 01:02:48.250
Rachel Spratt: Yeah, to get.

770
01:02:48.250 --> 01:02:51.279
Mick Elliott: Point where you can stand up for an hour and be great in entertaining.

771
01:02:51.280 --> 01:02:51.989
Jacqueline Harvey: Yeah. It's a bar.

772
01:02:51.990 --> 01:02:57.266
Rachel Spratt: It still goes pear shaped like you know about once in every 50 times it'll still go pear shaped.

773
01:02:57.530 --> 01:03:02.490
Jacqueline Harvey: Yeah, but that's that's usually the school's fault, cause they don't give you a microphone or doesn't work, or the.

774
01:03:02.490 --> 01:03:02.980
Rachel Spratt: Hang on a.

775
01:03:02.980 --> 01:03:03.699
Jacqueline Harvey: Lawyer. That's my.

776
01:03:03.700 --> 01:03:04.260
Rachel Spratt: I fault.

777
01:03:05.350 --> 01:03:20.020
Rachel Spratt: but I always comfort myself. Did you ever see that Jerry Seinfeld documentary? It was just after he finished doing Seinfeld, and he was going to go back to doing standup, and he was going around working up his material, and he was going to clubs and people, and like he went to one club, and everyone was just talking while he was talking, and he just stopped, and he said.

778
01:03:20.170 --> 01:03:37.569
Rachel Spratt: Who are you waiting for? Who you? Who are you here for? There is no one in the world who is bigger or better than me, and you're drunk, and you're talking when I'm talking. What are you even doing here? And I thought, and I always think of that when a school visit goes a little bit wobbly, I think. Yeah, doesn't matter how good you are. Live audiences, it can always just go. Yeah.

779
01:03:37.935 --> 01:03:38.300
Mick Elliott: You!

780
01:03:38.300 --> 01:03:52.270
Jacqueline Harvey: Yeah, we we had a We. We had this guy, this Australian singer called Daniel Champagne. He's very good, and he's an amazing guitarist. And he came to play here in Queenstown, and we went to his gig, and it was in a place called the Sherwood, which is a beautiful venue

781
01:03:52.270 --> 01:04:11.530
Jacqueline Harvey: and we were there with some friends we call them our Kiwi kids, Jamie and Anita. Anyway, this group next to us they were that rude. No drunk crowd. And Anita, she just she's gone. She's like right. Come on, and she's got back into them, and I was like, Oh, my God! Anyway, it worked.

782
01:04:11.530 --> 01:04:12.040
Rachel Spratt: Yeah.

783
01:04:12.040 --> 01:04:16.219
Jacqueline Harvey: Embarrassed. Daniel. Daniel stops. He looked and he goes. We got a problem over there.

784
01:04:16.640 --> 01:04:23.206
Jacqueline Harvey: So anyway, I was really proud of her. I thought. You know she's she's least had to go. She's much younger than me, and.

785
01:04:23.650 --> 01:04:24.200
Rachel Spratt: I was.

786
01:04:24.200 --> 01:04:28.499
Jacqueline Harvey: Just dying in the corner, but you know, sometimes you have to call people up for their bad behavior.

787
01:04:28.500 --> 01:04:29.250
Rachel Spratt: Yeah.

788
01:04:29.250 --> 01:04:32.259
Jacqueline Harvey: Anyway, we should probably go, Rach, cause we have our next.

789
01:04:32.440 --> 01:04:35.974
Rachel Spratt: But it's lovely to see you, Mick, hopefully. We'll see you in person again soon.

790
01:04:36.560 --> 01:04:36.910
Mick Elliott: Right.

791
01:04:37.120 --> 01:04:41.716
Jacqueline Harvey: So what are you doing, hey, Tim? When's our real quick dinner? Just.

792
01:04:42.500 --> 01:04:42.950
Rachel Spratt: Wednesday of.

793
01:04:42.950 --> 01:04:44.630
Tim Harris: Wednesday, Wednesday. But quick!

794
01:04:44.710 --> 01:04:46.290
Tim Harris: We're doing a midweek, you know.

795
01:04:46.290 --> 01:04:47.630
Mick Elliott: Something of August.

796
01:04:47.630 --> 01:04:52.852
Jacqueline Harvey: Yeah, yeah, and it'll probably be on the North Shore, cause that's halfway for everybody. Sorry.

797
01:04:53.160 --> 01:04:54.059
Mick Elliott: Sounds, great.

798
01:04:54.060 --> 01:04:56.479
Rachel Spratt: Jackie has a wonderful sense of geography. Alright.

799
01:04:56.480 --> 01:04:57.170
Jacqueline Harvey: Okay, well, so.

800
01:04:57.170 --> 01:04:58.640
Rachel Spratt: Yeah, soon, Mick. Thank you so much.

801
01:04:58.640 --> 01:04:59.526
Mick Elliott: Thank you.

802
01:04:59.970 --> 01:05:01.580
Rachel Spratt: Okay, see you guys in the next one.

803
01:05:01.580 --> 01:05:02.780
Jacqueline Harvey: Okay? Bye.