Who's this? Episode 1
This is “Who’s This”, a podcast where each week we interview a mystery guest and listeners at home have to guess who it is.
This week’s guest is a member of the GOV.UK Accessibility Team.
Listen to the episode
Transcript
Host: You’re listening to “Who’s This”, a podcast where each week we interview mystery guests and listeners at home have to guess who it is. This week’s guest is a member of the GOV.UK Accessibility Team.
Host: Tell me something others don’t know about you.
Mystery Guest: So I once worked for the Inland Revenue Department of New Zealand. Yeah, so I lived in New Zealand for a couple of years. So that was 2013, 2014. Most of the time in Wellington. Because we were there for a limited time we made the effort to explore the country and so there were only a few places that we didn’t get to and it’s just something we don’t do in the UK because we take it for granted.
Mystery Guest: So the highlight was having that time pressure to make the most of the country that was available to us. Hot water beach was the best bit and if any listeners don’t know, that’s a bit of New Zealand where the water at the beach is heated by geothermal activity and when the tide goes out you can hire a spade for a couple of dollars and dig a little, your own spa in the sand and the water bubbles up. It’s really warm, really nice. So sitting in your own little thermal spa as the sun sets and the moon comes up is pretty cool.
Host: I love New Zealand, do you think about moving back there?
Mystery Guest: Um it’s something we talk about fairly often, especially in the last year when we were sitting in our lounge for the 400th day in a row. We still have lots of friends out that way and they were up to like beer festivals, watching the cricket and having a lovely summer. Maybe we should be out there too. So yeah, I miss it a lot. But you know it’s a long way from family, so that’s why we came back.
Host: What did you want to be as a child?
Mystery Guest: Ah, I wanted to be a Project Coordinator for the Inland Revenue Department of New Zealand clearly, that was my dream. Um no, as a child, ah I probably wanted to be a train driver once upon a time. That was the earliest childhood dream. I loved Thomas the Tank Engine. And then as I got a bit older I think I wanted to be a doctor for a bit and then I changed my mind. I’m a bit squeamish about things so being a doctor isn’t the best career. Oh it’s probably another thing that I really wanted to be as a child, James Bond but like the actor James Bond, not actually being James Bond, but playing the role of James Bond. I think I’ve come to terms with the fact that it’s unlikely to happen.
Host: Tell me about either your best or worst holiday story
Mystery Guest: It was a great holiday but it was the worst night away we’ve ever had. Uh, we spent a week or so in Samoa which is in the Pacific Islands and we left things kind of to the last minute. So our last night there we had to stay in a hostel which we ended up sleeping in the kitchen. I think it costs the equivalent of 80p to stay there which was, which was, we were ripped off because it was so not worth it. We were in the kitchen there were hundreds of people coming in and out all night long, making tea and coffee and playing music. It was so so hot, swelteringly hot and full of mosquitos with no mosquito nets, the mosquito nets had big holes in them. That was the worst night away I’ve ever had and that was kind of at the end of a really amazing week on a Pacific Island; bit of a sad end.
Host: What was your first paying job?
My very first paying job was doing some gardening for a friend of my dad for £4 an hour when I was about 13. I was there for a morning and I remember getting £12 in an envelope and walking home counting it. I couldn’t believe my luck, like this was amazing. This was the first pay packet I ever had and I remember doing sums thinking if I do that, then the next seven weeks then I’ll be able to afford this computer game and get these books. But yeah, that was just a one-off so all of my budgets were crushed.
Host: Thank you mystery guest. Now listeners, can you guess who the mystery guest is??
Who’s This is produced by Novia Ng
Who’s This is hosted by Eudocia Ng
"Mystery Guest voice actor Novia Ng