SOMEBODY THAT I KNOW

In this final episode of season 1 we have a double-length chat with our first double STIKs! Waving from our respective rooftops we could have shouted this episode instead of recording it over the web, but only because the sisters got stranded with their Mom for the duration - however long that may be. We meet with the echoes of "drop the baby bunny!" still ringing in the neighborhood although did we really see what we thought we saw? Do we ever? Whatever is under that glass dome, there will always be a smoking gun, and perhaps it will reveal that it was built by ET. But probably not. If none of this makes any sense to you, then you're not alone....step this way, my friends...it's your last STIK fix...

Rob very nearly wasn't Somebody That I Know - due to traffic. But he managed to juggle the demands of our first ever meet. Despite not knowing what he had for breakfast, Rob retains a photographic memory of times gone by, but that might just be because he's entering middle-age! Rob shares with us the shocking tale of his recent life and times with typical good humour and his choice of cuisine takes the biscuit....oh hang on, that's not a biscuit...that's... ...actually what IS that? L (very much) OL!

I've known Ruth for either 20+ or 35+ years and neither of us is sure which, and that's not the only memory gaps we share, or is it? I can't remember. In this episode we learn why Victorian novelist and playwright Edward Bulwer-Lytton should go down in history as a cad and a bounder - although he doesn't get a single mention or even a tangential reference. Hint: he first coined the phrase "the great unwashed" to mean the "lower classes". What a dick. Anyhow, in the end Episode 11 of STIK is just rhubarb, rhubarb...Roo-barb. ;-)

Charlie knocks it out of the park despite not being able to go to the park, or anywhere else during lockdown. With a dearth of sport on TV, he tells me he has resorted to gambling (apparently ordering chocolate for online delivery is now a form of Russian Roulette) But unwilling to be snookered by the current circumstances Charlie, eventually agrees as to how we know each other but is more decisive when it comes to who he'll share his appetizer with, That'll be nobody.

In this episode we meet a Python-loving Viking and we don't mention spam once. We reminisce about being clueless behind the former Iron Curtain and discuss why what we do online could be not in our best interests. When it comes to our dinner, maybe we've been thinking too much about the what and not enough about the where and the who. Always a pleasure to catch up with this STIK.

Jenny describes how we met in circumstances known as "hygge" in Denmark. But we're not in Denmark until the next episode, but that doesn't stop us discussing Scandinavian workplace coffee breaks and why meeting the person can be difficult when you meet with a person. All will become clear. Not so Jenny's menu choices, it seems. Easily pleased, Jenny will plump for something nice with something else nice, or a version of the same! Will somebody bring this lady a glass of wine?

Rishi and I seem to be engaged in a game of global hide and seek, played out over many years ...and one day he's going to rule the world (but his Queen may have other ideas)... ...and, for a vegetarian, he REALLY doesn't like....what was that again?? Meet Rishi.

In this episode we learn there is no better topic of discussion. ;-) Despite the formality of his name badge, my first meeting with David was a hoot - and he's glad he remembers it correctly! We discuss the lockdown (well, what else?) and why art can save the world whilst agreeing that perhaps we might be tempted to indulge a little too much in these surreal times.

I am somebody that Tamara knows because my arrival had been foretold! We discuss how we met standing in judgement over others... ...and what it's like on the other side of the immigration wall And, completely without our noticing we agreed on a single ingredient which dominates our culinary choices, and it's not made from pork, but it could have been!

Pooran is Somebody That I've Known for a loooong time... So long, we can't recall precisely how long, but I do recall when we first met, but wait, that doesn't make sense... Oh, so you want it to make sense? Then listen to how Pooran makes sense of the state of the world... ...and join us at the long clock for a cocktail and a cabbage with a made-up name. It wasn't Ahab, it was Ishmael!

From way out West, Katya is Somebody That I Know from way back when... ...when we tried to set fires in the driving rain and hung out at the funny farm. Katya tells of how having a Russian grandmother could be an added incentive to make a life change for the better... ...and how they just don't do it as well in the USA, except for steak which is the best here, except that it isn't. Don't look so confused, it all makes sense when Katya is Somebody That You Know! Oh my goodness!

In this episode we learn that I'm definitely not the archetypal action hero, more's the pity... ...and that Joey's tattoos probably tell a tale. We also discover that we don't actually have to travel that far for Joey's ideal menu! Meet Joey, Somebody That I know.

Tony - the man behind the curtain - is not be be trifled with. In this first episode of STIK... ...we learn that he might have saved a global retail brand from extinction...but didn't. It transpires that there is a sub-genre of music that deserves it's own category...perhaps And we also learn that the world's best dumplings are not a stone's throw from Tony's crib...but he's never tried them.

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