AarBalls

By Andrew Baillie

We all work. Some of us enjoy it. We've collected people's work stories here - first jobs, worst jobs, and all the different ways you can get fired from working in a pub.

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FAQs about AarBalls:

How many episodes does AarBalls have?

The podcast currently has 50 episodes available.

AarBalls episodes:

January 26, 2024 The Bookshop Owner
Lockdown quizzes, zombie cupcakes and The Guv’nor, childhood dreams of being an accountant, The Firth of Forth Bridge of Tintin, A’Level retake nostalgia, a discussion of satire within Petronius’ Dinner With Tremalchio, The Gods Themselves and flatmate Andy, parking David Seaman’s car and Chelsea toe training, Brentford unpleasantness, Hungarian bible Christmas challenge; sonny, do you know where those Roal Dahl books have been?, Booker Prize nominated staff, Fantasy Football pain, celebrity shoppers, Cozy Crime and other literary trends, and the encouragingly positive future of books and reading.

https://www.littleapplebookshop.co.uk/
https://www.theguardian.com/books/2017/sep/30/fiona-mozley-elmet-my-writing-day

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1h 9min
January 19, 2024 The Helicopter Pilot
Chris Chambers spent 16 years as a pilot in the Royal Navy before leaving to set up his own property business, then returning to the helicopter cockpit for the National Police Air Service.
He talks us through hallucinating while being tracked by dogs, eating the fatty meats, finding a new use for the sleeve of his best naval tunic, the perils of flying in total darkness, and rescuing hypothermic hikers from the wastes of Bodmin Moor.
Chris is my cousin and he recounts the time he literally dropped in for tea at our grandparents, landing his Royal Navy helicopter in their garden.
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1h 34min
January 12, 2024 The Diversity Champion
Fashion catwalk model to diversity champion in The City, Deon relates the journey from his native South Africa to modelling in the UK, before entering the world of finance where he has become an advocate for diversity and equality. As well as some parrot talk, Deon also talks of the seedy side of the modelling world, of facing bigotry in the world of finance, of the many awards he has won, and the shocking tale of being colleagues with a suicide-bomber,
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41min
January 05, 2024 The Fitness Coach
Mud, melons, and burpees.....................................................................................

The very wonderful Jane, a fitness coach in Hertfordshire, talks us through early days of frozen fish pub disasters, when your mum crashes your Zoom class, Californian thongs, winging aqua-aerobics in a business suit and no music, envying office jobs, and Darth Vader megaphones.
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50min
December 29, 2023 The Vet
Celebrities' pets and the dumbest breeds.

Lara takes us through her journey to becoming a veterinary cardiologist - teaching small talk to Germans, finding a snake’s heart, Obama’s titanium-toothed attack dogs, celebrity’s pets, and playing with puppies and kittens. She also talks about struggling with Yorkshire accents, the differences between working in the US and the UK, troublesome breeds and which breeds are dumbest, casting Disney characters, and liaising with Great Ormand Street Hospital for Children.

N.B. WARNING There’s also a few mentions of death and gore, so it’s probably worth issuing a warning (just in case anybody ever listens to these podcasts) that, in places, things get a bit gruesome/sad - so those of a sensitive nature should be aware!
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1h 16min
December 22, 2023 The Pub Historian
Britain's finest pints and punts.

Pub expert Luke talks all things pubs - from listing historic pubs, his own preferences and recommendations, and the future of British pubs. He also talks us through early jobs - from paper boy to wine porter to punt chauffeur - inappropriate Buddy Holly death announcements, getting framed in a shoe shop, mysterious urns on the Cam, shady scouse backstreet Appletiser, and the greatest British band, Turncoat Billy.

https://www.youtube.com/@turncoatbilly
https://www.instagram.com/turncoatbilly
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1h 10min
December 15, 2023 The Music Engineer
Paul Weller, Brian Eno, Robert Wyatt et al.
The very wonderful Jamie J entertains us with tales of early jobs – paperboy pornography, going slow as a postie, resisting the pies in a chippie, tough guys at Bejams, and eating all the icecream at the flicks – then how he fell into sound engineering and working for Phil Manzanera of Roxy Music. There are tales of diva Americans and melted kettles in the Swiss Alps while working for Phil Collins, happy times recording albums for Paul Weller and Robert Wyatt, and how he learnt so much from working alongside Brian Eno. We also hear about teaching guitar and ukulele and honing his Shrek-ness in the classroom.
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1h 12min
December 08, 2023 The Massage Therapist/Headmistress
From headmistress to head massage.

How many people have started off collecting chicken eggs, then became a head mistress, then, having turned a failing primary school into a phenomenal success story, moved on to become a qualified massage therapist? Oh…really? That many people? You surprise me.Anyway, none can be so lovely as our Vicky who regales us with tales of Indian head massage, Grandma Gladys on the chicken farm, fat oiled boys in drama school hammocks, au pair trips in the chauffeur-driven Jag, becoming a teacher, taking on a failing primary school as head mistress, Covid days and moving on to something new, how the primary curriculum needs to be changed, phantom poos, fighting mums and ladybirds, the worst colleague of all time, loving being a massage therapist, and how the power of touch can sort us all out.
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1h 2min
December 01, 2023 The Photographer
Kurt Cobain's broken guitar.

Tim gives fascinating insights into generously allowing Ricky Gervais, Martin Freedman, Stephen Merchant, and McKenzie Crook to have their careers; Sliding Doors moments with Radiohead; life as a photographer on a local newspaper; rehearsals with The Monkeys; working for the NME; his military heritage; going on tour with bands; driving over tents at Glastonbury; photographing Nirvana, Snoop Dog, dodging bullets with Shabba Ranks, dropping jaws with Jeff Buckley, Suede, Hole, and Oasis; the changes in photography in recent decades; Josef Koudelka, Jérôme Sessini, and other photographer superstars; setting up his photography agency Balcony Jump; working for Magnum Photos; the future of the photography industry; managing the Milltown Brothers; Live Aid; and not picking up Kurt Cobain’s broken guitar.
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1h 21min
December 01, 2023 The Teacher
Hiding the naughty kids from Ofsted.
Secondary school teacher Ed entertains us with tales of not actually being a Man of God, joining the misfit postman gang, becoming a park groundsman, litter picking at a landfill site, dealing with Noilly Prats, Alan Partridge driving gloves and selling electronics in the Black Country, the hidden treasures to be found in a Renault Leguna boot, inspirational teachers, waving phalluses in class, hiding the naughty kids from Ofsted inspectors, the lies of Dead Poets’ Society, helicopter parents and other trials of teaching in contemporary Britain.
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1h 13min

FAQs about AarBalls:

How many episodes does AarBalls have?

The podcast currently has 50 episodes available.