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Episode 80 - Good Bad and the Ugly #8 - Update on our ADHD lives
25 Plays5 hours ago
Welcome back to ADHDville, where the detours are landmarks and distractions are the main roads! Join hosts Paul and Martin (co-ex mayors of ADHDville) as they catch up on the chaos, triumphs, and hilarious mishaps of their ADHD lives in this episode of ‘The Good, Bad, and Ugly.’ From teaching escapades and meds mishaps to Scottish pub quizzes and unnamed donkeys, it’s another unfiltered adventure in neurodivergence. Buckle up for laughs, relatable struggles, and maybe even a bagpipe victory fanfare. Don’t forget to subscribe and ring the bell—because in ADHDville, you never know what’s around the next corner!
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Put quill to paper and send us an email at: ADHDville@gmail.com
ADHD/Focus music from Martin (AKA Thinking Fish)
Theme music was written by Freddie Philips and played by Martin West. All other music by Martin West.
Please remember: This is an entertainment podcast about ADHD and does not substitute for individualized advice from qualified health professionals.
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Transcript
Welcome to ADHDville
00:00:00
Speaker
Back in the room. Back in the room. Back back in the room. that room Mr. Thompson. Yes. All right So without further adieu.
00:00:12
Speaker
ah This episode is for anyone um who's slightly interested in ah what is going on in our ADHD lives in an ongoing ah ah episode series that we call The Good and the Bad and the Ugly.
00:00:30
Speaker
Yes. So let's go to a place where the distractions are landmarks and the detours on the moon main roads. Welcome to ADHD, Will. Welcome ADHD. Yes indeed.
00:00:41
Speaker
Good and bad and ugly. Good, bad and ugly. Mostly good, mostly bad, mostly ugly.
00:00:53
Speaker
Actually, all three of them normally. Mostly good. Oh, good. I like a good episode of Good, Bad and the Ugly. Yeah,
Diagnoses and Friendship
00:01:06
Speaker
exactly. Exactly.
00:01:07
Speaker
Hello, I'm Paul Thompson. Way to get to our YouTube youtube um viewers. I was diagnosed with the combined ADH and the D crawling towards a year ago.
00:01:19
Speaker
ah Two years ago. Yeah, I know. Right. And I'm Martin. Wow. wow Yeah, I'm Martin West, and I was diagnosed with the combined ADHD poo-poo platter in 2013.
00:01:31
Speaker
ma So if you didn't know it already, we're just two mates. It's just. It's not a little thing. What do you mean, just? Who wrote this stuff? Coworker. Coworker.
00:01:41
Speaker
Wait. yeah Acquaintance? Acquaintances. Yeah. Two people have bumped into each other yeah almost 40 years ago. and and we happened to discover the co-DHDers. It sounded like Bruce Forsythe. Nothing for a game, nothing for a pair, not in this game.
00:02:03
Speaker
Anyway, now it's really important to say this is an entertainment podcast. I know it's hard to believe, but it is about adult ADHD. That's why you're here, probably. yeah And does not substitute for individualized advice from qualified health professionals. We're not those.
00:02:23
Speaker
No. I'm really clear. So don't take any advice from him. Or him. which is point Pointy fingers. which is Here's a kind of all-inclusive ADHD park bench. Picture it.
00:02:37
Speaker
ADHD park bench. okay why With room for everyone, including your doppelgangers, your alter egos, your buddy doubles, your chaperones, and even your best buddies. Still here? Freaking miracle.
00:02:49
Speaker
ah Grab your jetpacks, pedal loads, space offers, or any other transportation methods.
Exploring ADHDville
00:02:54
Speaker
And let us take you to ADHDville aforementioned An imaginary town That we've created In our minds Tiny little minds Where we like to explore We like yeah My god Where we like to explore Different parts of the A The D, the H and the D again You know what?
00:03:19
Speaker
I think we should take a look at cutting that back a bit. know what mean? I'm thinking we should. yeah I think we're going to cut it back. So anyone listening out there, would don't be surprised if next week we we're going to cut it down and we're going to go so and kind of get bit quicker into the theme.
00:03:38
Speaker
Exactly.
The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly in ADHD
00:03:39
Speaker
Anyway, we start off, as always, here in the King's Agitated Head pub. In ADHDville, where we, the ex-co-mares of ADHDville, take care of business. And this week, as we said, we're going to kind of do a good, bad and ugly, where we kind of go over each other's lives since the last ADHD, good, bad and the ugly.
00:04:03
Speaker
I hope you have your um your your little trend transition bell handy. Good point. Well put. ah You see, as as Paul goes off and finds his ADHD ah cowbell that we do use for for this year we go, he's back in his seat. had to go and talk to our production department.
00:04:26
Speaker
They were hiding it.
00:04:29
Speaker
Cheeky little monkeys. Okay, nice. All right, well, I think um we're going to jump in the tractor and we're going to go to, where you where are we going going today,
00:04:39
Speaker
We're just going to get a coffee at the the coffee shop. It has been a while. It has been a while. All right, well, let us just, let me just find the keys. There we go. All right, jump in and let's plough up the road.
00:04:59
Speaker
And off we go.
00:05:09
Speaker
Bling, bling, bling, bling. All right. Well, what can I get you? I'm going to get, because it's quarter past eight in the evening here.
00:05:21
Speaker
I'm going to have a cafe correto. All right. Which is an espresso, and you put it you put a bit of alcohol in it, so you could put a grappa in there, or you could put even a sambuca. Wow.
00:05:34
Speaker
Wow. and So coffee, espresso coffee with a bit of sambuca in it. Wow. That sounds hardcore. You could put a bit of rum in there. You could put in a Baileys if you're that way inclined, if you're feeling a bit 1980s. Oh, you know what?
00:05:52
Speaker
I do like a Baileys around Christmas time, I must say. I will have it What about you, Martin? Green tea. I will have a, no, or I'm um' going to switch up to a matcha.
00:06:05
Speaker
matcha green tea ah without milk um with with lavender and honey. Come on.
00:06:17
Speaker
Lavender for this for the spring. It is it is it is ah particularly nice. hey All right.
Scottish Episode Considerations
00:06:25
Speaker
Well, ah one thing that i that I did want to point out, Paul, is that um it it it occurred to me the other day that we have quite a few Scottish um
00:06:41
Speaker
people who follow us on TikTok and and and on and listen to the podcast. I thought, you know what, it's about time we we did – as um a sort of a little Scottish-flavoured podcast. So we'll kind of a normal podcast, but I'm going to sprinkle a little bit of, you know, shortbread.
00:07:05
Speaker
Scottishness. Scottishness. Some little kilt action. Maybe a weed dram. A weed dram. ah Right, well, that's what you should have it in your in your coffee. Of course, weed dram. Give it bit whiskey.
00:07:19
Speaker
Yeah, so just so here, so this is where you need a good single malt. Yeah, single malt. um i have I do have i have some Scottish jeans. Oh, are you wearing them?
00:07:32
Speaker
No. Well, I wear them all the time. Oh. and i I take my jeans everywhere I go. all right. kind Yeah, we're kind of inseparable.
00:07:45
Speaker
I have some Scottish family. So I've got, so there's some family up in the Orkney Islands. So right at the top. So, so you you go to the top of Scotland and then you kind of get in a boat and you carry on.
00:08:00
Speaker
Um, and they, and then they regard anyone who's on the mainland, like Glasgow and Edinburgh as like, yeah as like Southerners, right Southerners.
00:08:12
Speaker
They're all Southerners. Yeah. Yeah. Okay. i Actually, I will be wearing my kilt this ah day after tomorrow, which I like to do of of a weekend.
00:08:25
Speaker
Of a weekend. To a thrash metal gig. course I You're going to wear a kilt? To a thrash metal gig. All right. Yeah. And, of course, we all have to will you be wearing anything underneath? You can't.
00:08:44
Speaker
You can ask, but I won't reply. ah okay Oh, okay. I've stopped replying now, you see. just don't know. I've stopped replying because it it gets you into trouble.
00:08:59
Speaker
Either way. It's like, if it depends, if a lass comes up to you and she says, are you wearing on the any underwear? Right. And she's said Italian. so And I say, well, no, course I'm not. You're not supposed to. You're not allowed to wear any underwear.
00:09:17
Speaker
if she If her boyfriend or husband's in tow, he's just looking at He's like, He's going to thump you. He's not going to. I mean, someone will laugh it off. it's fine It's fine. 99.9% of people are fine.
00:09:31
Speaker
But you do get sometimes you think, oh, you're just like, you know, in Italian, same stuff. Like you're you're being a bit of an asshole.
00:09:43
Speaker
You know, like playing it up a bit. Si, si, si, si, si. ro go see see see parro Okay, well, that just answers my ah question about a childhood cartoon.
00:09:57
Speaker
Was it Danger Mouse? Danger Mouse, yes. where Where one of the characters goes, si, barone. Exactly. So he's saying, yeah, yeah, arsehole.
00:10:08
Speaker
Yeah, well, baron. He's saying baron. So it's like you're basically saying you pretend to be a baron when you're just a pleb. Oh, okay. Right. yeah Gotcha. So you're playing yourself up a bit too much. You're playing yourself up.
00:10:23
Speaker
Right. Well, you know what? This episode, yeah so so yeah, so I think i was trying to get to was, so we'll have a Scottish quiz at the end of this. Fabulous. We're to have a little wee Scottish quiz.
00:10:36
Speaker
ah quiz but for our Scottish friends and it should be a right laugh I hope alright well should we start off with ah the the good you know good bad and ugly so who wants to start off with you can start you start Martin Oh, God. You know what? I i think it's, it's i'm but im but i'm in a real I'm in a real good swing of late. Oh, that's good.
00:11:03
Speaker
Like, um as far as my ADHD goes. um ah Yeah, so I mean, like, I've generally been getting things done under fairly trying circumstances.
00:11:15
Speaker
so So tax season it's is up. So April the 17th, I think, is ah when everything has to go in, which is for me is in in a week's time. I've done my taxes.
00:11:27
Speaker
I've signed them off. Yeah. And for the first time in five years, because I've got in there early for once, yes I'm getting money back. Normally I'm paying in fines because I'm late. reate But this time...
00:11:43
Speaker
I'm getting money back.
Managing ADHD: Success Stories
00:11:45
Speaker
A tax rebate. Yeah, which I'm p applying to next year's taxes. So I'm not going to get it and spend it. I'm going to go, no, I'm going to be sensible. I'm going to funnel this into paying next year. That's very sensible.
00:11:59
Speaker
Because I will be paying tax next year. so ah But youre that you were saying before we came on air, you're very busy. ah I'm fucking busy. God, Lord. So when I have found it reminds me there's a there's a very famous comedy actress. Well, not always comedy.
00:12:19
Speaker
Sunnyfields? No, English. Jane Horrocks. And she's she suffered a lot or suffered or suffers a lot from OCD. OK. Yeah.
00:12:33
Speaker
She said, then I became a mom and she had a little child and she said her OCD disappeared because she didn't have time for it. Yeah. Yeah.
00:12:43
Speaker
yeah i'm I'm like that. I'm at my, my ACDC, my ADHD, sorry, my ADHD gets worse when I'm, I'm kind of ah quieter with work and stuff. yeah I've got too much to think, too much time to think about it.
00:13:02
Speaker
Too much thinking. mr yeah ah and know and also you think i've got all this time and then you don't do anything because you're like procrastinating you know like whatever and and then you think oh god i should be doing something because i've got um because i've got this time and i'm not doing anything and you feel bad and go down to it shame spiral but that's ah that's that off That's off the ACD album.
00:13:27
Speaker
and Go back to them. What's the ACD theme? Yeah, no, i just i just I think I did a callback, I think is what it's called. Oh, okay. Oh, okay, fine.
00:13:40
Speaker
Good work. Slick. Good work. um' um I'm fulfilling it. Yeah. So I've got a lot of work on at the moment. So I don't, I don't have, ah you know what? the There is this, isn't there? This is saying, isn't there? If you want something done, give it to a busy person.
00:13:58
Speaker
Yeah. Right. Yeah. And I kind of feel a little bit like in, in that zone. yeah um I'm just like fucking charging through stuff. I can't, I don't function well at half speed.
00:14:11
Speaker
I'm all or nothing. Before I had my years, before I had my ADHD diagnos adhd diagnosis, I used to say to people that I'm an all or nothing kind of guy.
00:14:23
Speaker
and you know And especially when you're wearing that that that kilt. iss like Exactly. are you Is it all or is it nothing? Yes. Yes. it's you know what in that um And in that case, it's better to leave it to imagination.
00:14:38
Speaker
Yeah. You know what? You know that thing in quantum physics, Schrodinger's cat? ah you Are you no i'm not aware cat? Schrodinger's monkey.
00:14:53
Speaker
What is Schrodinger's monkey? ah What is Schrodinger's monkey? ah Oh, you're just being funny. Yes. Like a monkey.
00:15:05
Speaker
Like a monkey. um All right. So, all right. So, so good Lord. I don't think I'm... You know what? I am i am just going to say for all of those people that the that do know what watch Schrodinger's cat is, it's like...
00:15:23
Speaker
We won't, no one will ever know whether you have pants on under your, under your kilt. And no it is, it is observed. Right. oh Okay. So, so it's like, Oh, you don't know if, if trees make a sound when they fall over, um, if no one's there to see it or listen to it for.
00:15:45
Speaker
Yeah. Right. Yep. You have to observe. Um, right. And, All right. So what else have you got good going on in your goodly good world?
00:15:59
Speaker
I've got good. I've started doing, um yeah, since the last good Good, the Bad and Ugly, I've started teaching. um I was teaching. Well, still am teaching at at school, high school.
00:16:14
Speaker
I'm now teaching also to professionals, right? Yeah.
Creative Teaching Methods
00:16:19
Speaker
I wasn't sure if it was going to go all right. You I just think, it won't be as much fun as it is with the kids, you know, teenagers.
00:16:30
Speaker
Actually, I'm really enjoying it. um Okay. I'm really enjoying it. Yeah. And i um I was really honest when I was interviewed for it because i um'm I've got a company are, like, feeding me.
00:16:42
Speaker
um, beans, uh, clients. Okay. every, every time I've got a slot, it's, oh, have you got a slot pool? Cause we've got so many clients. Oh yeah. You know, send me some new ones over.
00:16:53
Speaker
And I basically, I basically, I'm got, uh, what nine clients every week and until for about a year, the same clients or groups of, and I teach them English online.
00:17:08
Speaker
in their companies. so So it's all good. But I was really honest with him. Thanks to ADHD, actually. a i i basically He interviewed interviewed me on Zoom and i and I was really straight with him. I said, look, I'm not your average English teacher.
00:17:27
Speaker
okay I don't follow. I wear a kilt and shit. Right. OK. And um I didn't tell him I've got ADHD, but in ah in a way I did. so I don't follow guidebooks said oh because, you know, we use ah these textbooks for English teaching produced by the Pearsons group.
00:17:48
Speaker
So if you're in in Europe or especially in England, it's the quite famous things. And they're shit. Okay, I hate them. ah don't follow I don't follow textbooks at school.
00:18:01
Speaker
I don't follow any of the curriculum at school. Nice. Yeah, nice. blag it. I kind of improvise. And that's what I really like doing, right? So do the same with the with these employees, the professionals, okay?
00:18:17
Speaker
ah It's great and it really works and it really works and they they really enjoy it. We have a right old laugh and learn English, right? um Pretty much every time i meet with them, I kind of like think up what we're going to talk about today and we do that.
00:18:35
Speaker
Right. So anyway, the point being, theres this thing came up with one of my clients. He's a, he's a new, ah actually, well, on this particular cut with this particular company, I'd go in and see them physically.
00:18:49
Speaker
And there's four of them. All right. We're talking about, Farm animals. I don't know how we got into farm animals. Right. I don't know how we got the subject. We kind of move around a lot with the discussion.
00:19:02
Speaker
And the subject, the subject came on to the fact that this guy is from Albania. OK. um Was brought up in Albania, now lives in Italy.
00:19:13
Speaker
Talking about, oh, he didn't give a name to his donkey. They had a family donkey that didn't have a name. All right. So I said, well, why?
00:19:25
Speaker
Why didn't you give the donkey a name? He said, well, you know... in our In that kind of situation, the donkey is like a tractor. It's just something practical. They don't even answer.
00:19:37
Speaker
it's like it's It's not like a cow who answers to ah give a cow a name and it'll come to you. Daisy. Give a dog a name and it'll come you. Give a idea a goat a name and it'll come to you.
00:19:50
Speaker
A sheep, he said, donkeys, they don't respond to names. but Are you sure? He said, donkeys, they're really stupid, right? Oh, are they?
00:20:01
Speaker
Well, okay. So then he said, actually, I've got a funny story about our donkey. Okay. It's a story within a story. Okay. It's a story within a story within a story.
00:20:12
Speaker
He said, go for it, go for it. So, you know, one day the family, ah my grandfather decides, oh, the family donkey with no name, we're going to sell him.
00:20:23
Speaker
He's getting on a bit. He's not as useful as he used to be. He's not pulling like he used to. We're going to sell him. feel sad. Yeah. So we're all sad, all huddled around. having This is always the story going to go.
00:20:37
Speaker
Right. So they like they got in the car. They went down to the the market. Okay. Along the way, granddad had a couple of glasses of red wine. Okay.
00:20:49
Speaker
All right. And went to the corner of the market where the with the ah the donkey buyer and seller was. Okay. Okay. Who just happened to be gypsies, right? Okay.
00:21:00
Speaker
For good or for bad. He didn't say anything bad about them. He said, you know, they just happened to be in that market on that day. It was the the gypsies that were buying and selling donkeys. Okay. So.
00:21:12
Speaker
The grandfather goes there, sells them the donkey. He said he he thinks he got about 100 euros for the donkey. All right. Is that good or bad? don't know. How much is a donkey?
00:21:24
Speaker
ah good A good way he said, well, it was okay money for, you know, some a donkey of that age. Okay. Yeah, yeah and it's got it's got so it's got scratches and some dents.
00:21:36
Speaker
Exactly. a And the upholstery is a little bit worn. Yeah, there's some old bumper stickers that, you know, came half off half-midden on the back, you know. Yeah.
00:21:50
Speaker
Vote Obama. And then they sold the donkey, then Grant had another couple of, went back to the bar and had another couple of glasses of wine. Okay. butre back ah poor And bought a new donkey.
00:22:02
Speaker
Oh. Hunky-dory, right? Bought new Brand boxed fresh. Got it hitched up to the new car. Everyone got in. Okay. Yeah. Everyone got into the car, and then went back.
00:22:14
Speaker
Donkey took them all back to the house. Mm-hmm. And all the way back, he said, it's strange. This is odd. This donkey just seems to know the road really freaking well.
00:22:28
Speaker
He knows his way back. Got home. Get up. Got home, got home, and the grandmother came out, and she said, I thought you'd sold the donkey.
00:22:43
Speaker
he said, I did. We've got a new one pointing to this donkey. And the grandmother says, you fucking idiot. It's the same one.
00:22:56
Speaker
and he paid more for it. paid ah about €150 for same donkey. for the same donkey ah So all the gypsies did was clean him up. me Give him a bit of wax. All they did was clean him up.
00:23:10
Speaker
And the grandfather was so inebriated. They didn't see the difference between and the old donkey. There you go. There's a lesson. Yeah.
00:23:20
Speaker
I came in, obviously, with a punchline. The donkey says, well, I hope this time you give me your fucking name. Yeah. Right.
00:23:32
Speaker
and so oh It was just funny. So anyway, point good reason this is a good part of the my life at the moment is because it's just really nice hearing these stories. My English lessons are turning to like, you know, a bunch of people around the table, you know, telling stories in English at least.
00:23:55
Speaker
About things. Yeah. ah yeah And you're getting paid for it. I get paid for it. Yeah. Lovely. So now every time we go up we get updates on the donkey, there's another another time maybe it there's another donkey story, the same donkey.
00:24:10
Speaker
Mm-hmm. He deserves a name at this point. Anyway, I'm trying to convince him that should give the donkey a name. Give the freaking donkey a name. Okay, right. If you've got any bright ideas out in there, just write them down in the comments. Any suggestions for the donkey?
00:24:27
Speaker
At ADHD, ADHD, gmail.com. Yeah. All names welcome. You can name a donkey. Name a donkey.
00:24:38
Speaker
What podcast gives you that? Yeah.
00:24:44
Speaker
um All right. Is that the end of our good session? That's the end of the donkey chat.
00:24:52
Speaker
Yeah. should should we should Should we move on to bad but or yeah and or ugly?
00:25:01
Speaker
Bad and ugly. I mean, I've only got one. I haven't really got an ugly. I've only got a bad. Yeah, I've only got a bad. ah can skip ugly. Yeah, yeah, yeah.
00:25:15
Speaker
Yeah. All right. Well, do you want to like ah ding the the the bell to transition us from? An AD, okay. Official transition, Bill.
00:25:28
Speaker
All right. Well, let's go on to bad ADHD.
ADHD Medication Shortages
00:25:31
Speaker
Now, I had i have my my my meds changed. so my So my ADHD meds.
00:25:40
Speaker
So not all – so there are different companies that that make the same meds, right? So I have, like, generic Adderall. And it's made by a bunch of people now where I've had the same manufacturer, if you like, so supplying the pharmacy for a long time.
00:26:02
Speaker
but But because um meds are becoming short supply and there's a disruption in the… and again Yeah. Oh, it's still is still going on.
00:26:15
Speaker
um Oh, okay. So I'll find that once in a while they they can't get it from the same factory, if you like, and they have get it from somewhere else.
00:26:29
Speaker
and they And they swapped this month, which means...
00:26:36
Speaker
that I have to kind of go, okay, right, what side effects are are these going to have? So these ones I had a bad headache for about two days, like continually, really bad headache, um and ah felt really rough.
00:26:54
Speaker
um but so and And how I've managed to kind of transition out of that is that...
00:27:03
Speaker
right um And also I found that having a coffee first thing in the morning helps. So I'll have a coffee first thing in the morning and then that kind of sort of the pill like at lunchtime.
00:27:19
Speaker
But yeah, that's been Adderall. It's still called Adderall, but supplied by a different company and it's different. Yeah. Yeah, it's a bit like liing you go into the shop, into a store, and you want a nice digestive biscuit, right?
00:27:35
Speaker
Made by McVitties, right? And that's what you get. But no, this week they're out, and it's like all the... oldie a digestive biscuits and you kind of go, ooh, well, and you have it and it's like, well, it's kind of the same, but it's not the same.
00:27:54
Speaker
And you can tell. and yes It's different because they come because they pack. different things in with the actual key the key yeah the key chemicals and the kind of the the the cocktail is not the same yeah um yeah so that's my bad thing okay of this week so is it effective at least
00:28:26
Speaker
Yeah, I just – it's just a transition where my brain goes, but the what the fuck is this? And it kind of like warps it out, and I have issues for a few days. think in ah Of all the places in the world, ah America would have – you'd be able to get the Adderall.
00:28:47
Speaker
Yeah, but like there is rise there is a of us Oh, um i i just demand, is it? Dig into it. Yeah, so there's ah demand is up There's a supply chain issue.
00:29:03
Speaker
um i think the state's also kind of like clamped down on it as well. I don't know. But, yeah, it's it's it's in short supply.
00:29:15
Speaker
Okay. susan Okay. ah what might My bad story is related to ADHD-friendly occupations, jobs, professions, right?
00:29:30
Speaker
Okay. And as I kind of allured to and the last in the last bit, i I've changed. i was, a as Martin was, as we both were in the same business for
Teaching Challenges in Italy
00:29:45
Speaker
35 years. Martin still is.
00:29:47
Speaker
I'm kind of like, I've got like one foot in, one out. ah Like ah career change of when I'm 57 and recently diagnosed, fairly recently diagnosed ADHD.
00:29:59
Speaker
And um became a school teacher. And it's, oh, man. There was, to give it a bit of context, i i remember listening to a lady on another podcast a few months ago.
00:30:14
Speaker
She was a ah psychologist working, a psychologist with ADHD. Right. A specialist ADHD psychologist.
00:30:25
Speaker
And she goes around companies helping them to, you know, facilitate and work better with ah autistic ADHD, autistic um employees, you know, neurodivisant.
00:30:41
Speaker
She goes around giving consult consultation. She said um she can't work in schools because it's too depressing. Oh.
00:30:51
Speaker
Right? And I thought, oh, blimey. Okay. i've come round to the same I've come around to the same feeling. Oh. And that's she was in England.
00:31:02
Speaker
It's even worse in Italy. i mean, there's no conversation about ADHD in Italian schools whatsoever. We're still talking about but badly behaving children like it's 1962 or something worse.
00:31:17
Speaker
ah something yeah or or worse And you're watching it and there's nothing I can't do much about it. I mean, they are so way back, way back.
00:31:28
Speaker
um It's not my mother tongue. You know, ah um i only teach there for five hours a week. So right and it's, you know, it's not my battle to have is to, it's just not worth it.
00:31:41
Speaker
I would do if it was like if I was teaching in Milan or in a big city, but this is like in the provinces and it is it's just a, it'd be a total waste of my energy. Actually, could even be a negative thing for me. Right.
00:31:54
Speaker
But it is a nightmare. Yeah. yeah It is a nightmare. And um um'm I'm struggling because the the they wanted me to be present for all of the or this teachers' meetings.
00:32:10
Speaker
Oh, good Lord. and and Yeah, I mean, all of them. And like they were getting really snippy with me saying if if I don't go to all of the meetings, I'm out of contract and they would have to dissolve my contract.
00:32:23
Speaker
Oh, for God's sake. It feels like this job, no one wanted it, right? No one wanted well it ah the meeting president job and they went, you know what?
00:32:36
Speaker
I think we could get Paul to do it. Yeah, but it's not really that because everyone, all the supply teachers in Italy are treated like shit.
00:32:47
Speaker
All supply teachers. um I think it's just ah ah the state has just not got its act together. And I mean, legally, I'm supposed to go to all of the meetings, but it's not like that at all.
00:33:01
Speaker
It's not like that. You know, I've worked with other schools in Italy and they were more flexible with me. So i had I had to go up in front of the head mistress.
00:33:12
Speaker
All right. And have it out with her. It's like school. Yeah. It's like being at school again. It was school. So I had it out with her. At one point, she was like talking over me, not letting me explain my situation. had her in net lock and then you did like a flying drop kick.
00:33:31
Speaker
Yeah, I took her to one side and left her there. yeah Blimey. And at one point I said, will you please let me talk? Will you please listen to my side of my situation?
00:33:46
Speaker
And so she's, oh yeah, okay, okay. And I explained about my situation and I said that they would be completely inflexible um and um they weren't anywhere near as flexible with other schools that I have worked with.
00:34:03
Speaker
And for me, that's not okay, you know? So, you know, so if you can't be flexible with me, i don't see why I should be flexible with you guys. right So in the end, I decided because I've only got caught ah the school year finishes in first week of June.
00:34:22
Speaker
And that would be it. That would be it with me and Italian state school teaching. Right. And you could just focus on your more private experience.
00:34:34
Speaker
Yeah, which as I I've enjoyed it in the end. I've actually, I've actually in some ways prefer it, some ways not. I really enjoyed teaching. I really love teaching with the kids.
00:34:48
Speaker
I really, really, really like it. It's everything else that is crap. There's so much. um The other thing that is like really not ADHD friendly is all the systems, you know, the online kind of systems. And like, just give you an example, they've got this online, it's called a Beccheca in Italian, in italian they the kind of like pinboard, right? okay And you're supposed to go in there regularly to to read all of the communications from the school, right? Right.
00:35:25
Speaker
Every time you go into there, there's like 95 new things to read in Italian. OK, so I said to the the school secretary, well, how do I know which ones I'm supposed to read?
00:35:39
Speaker
You said you don't need to know you should read all of them. I don't know. What? What's this one? Underwear must be under kilts.
00:35:51
Speaker
Okay, got it. Yeah, exactly. Yeah. Yeah. um just load I mean, it's only like one one communication, person.
00:36:02
Speaker
one communication email or whatever that is out of 400 that is relevant to me, but it's supposed to read the book. So you can imagine Connie, imagine what I do. I don't read. tongues I don't read any of them.
00:36:17
Speaker
No, no And then I miss meetings. And then I get called in front of them the head teacher. All right. Anyway.
00:36:28
Speaker
So, yeah. Got it. it's So, yeah, this transition into, you know, my bad stories, transitioning to, like, trying to find, um like, my ADHD-friendly kind of new, you know, basket, nest to curl up in.
00:36:43
Speaker
But I'm, you know, hopefully finding it soon. It feels like. you can do the one-on-one thing, right, with your private clients.
00:36:54
Speaker
And then while you're kind of getting your head around that and the difference is there, you can start to kind of like almost advertise to do it without the agency, right? So you can actually get private. and And you can almost structure the advert, if you like,
00:37:18
Speaker
to be like to appeal to a neurodiverse person. So just so you so you can kind of go, well, you know, do you want to eat um learn English? But you find, you know, that, you know, like, you know, textbooks are, you So you almost like pitch it to to a sort of a,
00:37:39
Speaker
someone who's a little bit more on the you know who's a little bit more adhd that would work in the uk and america but in italy it's not on the radar it's really not no no no but it doesn't have to be on the radar it's just you know that oh okay you know what but they're gonna hook on hoonto Because you don't have to say ADHD because they won't think of themselves as ADHD. you just You just pick the things that you know yeah someone who has ADHD struggles with and would struggle with in a normal class.
00:38:15
Speaker
And you go, learn English. you know And if you have these issues, i can you know you know if if you find learning English difficult because of A, B, and C, I'm your man.
00:38:27
Speaker
And youre like you can you can filter out your people. Yeah. Yeah. Oh, yeah. I checked in the post. no Yeah. Yeah. What I like about that kind of, that kind of, that kind of activity, i.e. teaching online is that I can decide when, ah like at the moment, I leave at least two mornings a week that I'm free and I don't do anything because I can't do just like all the time.
00:38:59
Speaker
So it's quite quite like being able to decide when I work and when I don't, which it works that works for me. Yeah. You know, I mean, I can i can see you can you can do just one-on-ones.
00:39:11
Speaker
i mean, but you if you felt up for it, you could also ah you can also approach larger companies because, like, when I worked in Miami,
00:39:22
Speaker
we had a person coming into our agency, our aid agency, and she she taught us Spanish, right? so So she had a room full of people at that company who were, you know, so it was like almost, yeah yeah you know, that's another kind of like angle for, you know, like. this That's what I'm doing, yeah. Yeah.
00:39:47
Speaker
Yeah. Yeah, it's exactly what i'm doing. Yeah. Cool. Yeah. Nice. But, you know, it it is a bit backward in that way. i It's very Italy is still very much digital advertising doesn't really work that well in Italy yet.
Cultural Impact on Marketing in Italy
00:40:04
Speaker
It's much more, you know, it's so such an old antique kind of culture. It's much more, and it is much more about, you know, getting your face in front of people still right physically. And, you know, or I can target some companies, local companies, you know, that have international kind of relationships and they need English.
00:40:27
Speaker
See what mean? So target it. Yeah. There we go. All right. Yeah. Yeah. All right. All right. Well, let's um let's I think are we um um we aren't doing and an ugly, right? So we can just jump back in the in the in the years in the holy tractor um and let's go back to the pub for a pub quiz.
00:40:52
Speaker
Oh, pub quiz. Let's go.
00:41:02
Speaker
are
00:41:08
Speaker
All right. So, Mr. Thompson, as we said at the top of the episode, I think i think that's but thats what's other the kids say that's what the professionals say, ah we are going to do a Scottish quiz in honour of our Scottish...
00:41:28
Speaker
ah fans, don't want to say fans, don't want to fans, people who have listened to the podcast. and and Yes. i'll Of which there are a few. Yeah.
00:41:40
Speaker
it's It's all right. so So this quiz, right, is going to be about um
00:41:48
Speaker
Scottish words that you may or may not know. Right. so So it's it's going to be a the normal multiple choice. Yes.
00:41:59
Speaker
you know So I will say a word, probably badly, ah right in so in in Scottish, and then you you have to work out what that word means in in English.
00:42:11
Speaker
Okay. All right. Okay, yes. so some are ah fairly straightforward, and and and and I think i'll I'll start off with a fairly straightforward one, I hope.
00:42:24
Speaker
All right. So what is a numpty? So remind me so um so in in a sentence, it would be, he looked i'll try to squareax so he locked his keys keys in the car again like a numpty.
00:42:42
Speaker
ah is it Is it a tiny cake? Is it a B, a slow driver? Is it C, a silly or clueless person?
00:42:54
Speaker
Or D, a knitted hat? What is it? Numpty. I going to say numpty. Knitted hat. Knitted hat, the last one. No, it's a silly or clueless person. He locked his keys in the car like a numpty. A numpty.
00:43:12
Speaker
Nobdy. Okay. All right. Okay. right. Okay. So you're the easier ones. Zero, zero. Yeah. Okay. Okay. I know. Right. This is going to be good.
00:43:23
Speaker
Okay. So what does blether mean? Blether. Blether. ah Is it, is it a sneeze? Is it a long winded chat?
00:43:36
Speaker
Is it a woolly jumper or is it a badly behaved dog Ah, blether.
00:43:46
Speaker
can me Give me them again. A sneeze, a long-winded chat, a woolly jumper, and a badly behaved dog. ah If it was a sneeze, it wouldn't be a sneeze because up in Scotland, you know, they're sneezing all the time the cold weather. I don't think they've even bothered giving it a name.
00:44:07
Speaker
Like the donkey. Right. I'm going for the dog. Okay, badly behaved dog. ah It's a long-winded chat.
00:44:18
Speaker
so so So we had a wee brother over a copper. A copper? A copper, so that's two two down.
00:44:31
Speaker
All right. If someone is steaming... What are they? Steaming. Okay. Steaming. Are they very angry, soaked from the rain, drunk or running late?
00:44:48
Speaker
Oh, blimey. you you Wow. They all sound pretty viable. I know, right? It's steaming.
00:45:01
Speaker
Is he very angry, soaked from the rain, drunk or running late?
00:45:08
Speaker
I guess so, last, this is running late.
00:45:11
Speaker
It was. He is drunk. He was pure steaming after to the pub. Steaming drunk. so I thought you sounded too obvious, steaming drunk. It's the same in England.
00:45:22
Speaker
Steaming drunk. Yeah. Overthinking it, Paul. Overthinking it. Overthinking it. Right. i me By the way, if you... feel there How many questions are there? I'm pacing myself, you see.
00:45:34
Speaker
A few. I'll just keep going. So if you do get a right answer, you'll... I'll just keep going until I start winning. Yes. Basically. and And if you do get a right answer, you will hear the sounds of the majestic bagpipes.
00:45:51
Speaker
so So that's how how you will know. Right. what this does That's how I know that I've got Scottish genes, because when I hear bagpipes, I get quite emotional.
00:46:03
Speaker
All right. Yeah. All right. um That is interesting because, Anyway. and yeah anyway All right. nu you down though okay
00:46:19
Speaker
Number one two, three, number four, is it? don't know. If someone says, I'm fair, scunard, how are they feeling? I'm fair, scunard.
00:46:31
Speaker
Are they feeling happy? Are they feeling exhausted? Are they disgusted or fed up? Or are they tipsy?
00:46:45
Speaker
I'm fair, scunard. Scunard. I think the last one, the drunk. Drunk. Yeah. It means they are disgusted or fed up.
00:46:56
Speaker
Oh, for heaven's sake. I'm fair, scunard, with this weather.
00:47:02
Speaker
Ah. How much, um um you know, um I'm beginning to question whether you can put on the kilt. You know what mean? I'm beginning to think. I'm beginning to think. Yeah.
00:47:16
Speaker
Oh, blimey. Yeah. No, I'm just pacing myself. All right. All right. Well, this one's I've never heard of. In fact, I'm even struggling to think how hey you would say it.
00:47:30
Speaker
What's a glyceic?
00:47:37
Speaker
expression what's a glaikic expression g-l-a-i-k-i-t okay glaikic don't know um anyone in the in the comments please let me know um are you confused or vacant are you angry and scowling are you flirtatious or are you proud and smug
00:48:01
Speaker
ill go for the I know I'll keep going for the fourth option. I'm going for the fourth option this time as well. Proud and smug. Yeah. ah it's it's It's answer A, confused or vacant.
00:48:15
Speaker
He just stared at me with that glauric look on his face. Wow. Wow. Another one down. these i do There is a lass that I follow.
00:48:27
Speaker
She's a young lass on um on Instagram, on the stories. And she's really, really cool. She's like, I don't know, max at most. She's like 18, 19, max 20.
00:48:41
Speaker
And she she this is basically her thing. She just talk talks about Scottish um you know scottish expressions. Right. And I actually follow her and I've never heard any ah yeah, you think I'd be, you know, ah in the zone, wouldn't you? You'd think I was a bit trained.
00:49:03
Speaker
Right. I'm not clearly. Well, you know, any Scots out there who who who were who also think that these don't exist either, let me know in the comments. um All right, number seven, I guess out of – we'll do ten, right?
Scottish Cultural Quiz
00:49:20
Speaker
um Seven. What does dreich mean? D-R-E-I-C-H. Dreich. Right. Does it mean delicious?
00:49:33
Speaker
Does it mean dreary and dull, usually the weather? Yeah. Does it mean loud and boisterous, or does it mean short and fast? I'll go with the second one.
00:49:47
Speaker
Dreary and Gray? Yeah. There we go. You got it right? You got it right. Thank God that.
00:50:00
Speaker
I was thinking, oh, God, i hope he doesn't stick to his fourth option being his only one. good Yeah.
00:50:11
Speaker
I'm a beautiful one trick pony. All right. Well, you could um pull one back here. If someone is pure dead brilliant, what does that mean?
00:50:25
Speaker
Pure dead brilliant? Yeah. Pure dead brilliant. Yeah. Yeah. Does it mean that they're very clumsy? Does it mean they've passed away but were cool?
00:50:38
Speaker
Does it mean it's a very enthusiastic way of saying something's amazing? Yes. Or d they're literally the opposite of good.
00:50:49
Speaker
Oh, blimey. You've done this on purpose. You're thinking, oh, Paul's not going to choose number four again. He's a one-trick pony, but he's not that much of a one-trick pony.
00:51:02
Speaker
But actually, i'm going for four again. what what What? Why? Why?
00:51:08
Speaker
It's the same in English. Oh, it's the same. It's a very enthusiastic way of saying something's amazing. That's pure de brilliant. Brilliant. Okay.
00:51:20
Speaker
Man. Wow. You're so... I'm sorry. Here we go. I think it's the expression you're looking for. tell you, that kilt is just going to resist getting on you. It's going to collide. It's looking bit frayed at the edges. Yeah.
00:51:37
Speaker
When you open up your gu cupboard, there'll just be a note there, and yeah and it's gone. And it's like, dear, dear Paul, yeah sorry, but false I can't in all um in in all good faith ah yeah cover up your nads.
00:51:57
Speaker
It would say, the note would say, I don't like the cut of your jib. Right. It will. all right it's like it's It's like a hardcore. It's a hunting kilt as well.
00:52:09
Speaker
It's not even like one of the soppy ceremonial ones. It's like a hardcore. is It weighs like a ton, this kilt. It's a vintage hunting kilt.
00:52:24
Speaker
Okay. what By the way, if anyone wants to send me a ah vintage Sporan, I'm looking for one. You're in the market. I'm in the market for a vintage hunting sporen.
00:52:35
Speaker
Not one of those... Not the formal ones. A hunting sporen.
00:52:41
Speaker
What is a hunting sporen? It means that you can, like, take it off and then just sort of hurl it at an animal and it will just take it out. you just hurl it at the ah English in general.
00:52:52
Speaker
Hurl it at the English. Yes. Yeah. That would be good. keep, like... I don't know. Biscuits in there for the dogs.
00:53:04
Speaker
Yeah, but only McVitties, not the oldie ones, as we've learned. Oh, not the chocolate. Without the chocolate, Number nine. Don't be chocolate for the dogs.
00:53:16
Speaker
No. Yeah. What does messages mean in Scotland? Messages. Messages. Is it A, texts on your phone?
00:53:27
Speaker
Is it B, is it be a gossip? but Is it C, groceries? Or is it D, letters from a secret admirer?
00:53:39
Speaker
Messages, texts on your phone, and gossip, our groceries, or letters from a secret admirer?
00:53:49
Speaker
I have no secret. Same again, again. Texts on your phone. Yeah. Gossip. Groceries. I'd go for gossip too.
00:54:02
Speaker
It's groceries.
00:54:05
Speaker
it's Messages. I'm away. You're for the messages. Nice. like that. I know, right? I like that. All right. Number 10. Last one.
00:54:16
Speaker
Last one. Your last chance to to hear. Chance to save some dignity. Yeah, right at the end. And kilt. And a kilt. Right.
00:54:27
Speaker
What does it mean if someone is a crabbit? Crabbit. Crabbit. Is it energetic?
00:54:38
Speaker
Is it in a bad mood?
00:54:42
Speaker
Like crabby, crabby. Is it ah very talkative?
00:54:48
Speaker
Or is it soppy?
00:54:52
Speaker
Is it energetic? In a bad mood?
00:54:57
Speaker
Very talkative? Soppy? I think it's number three, talkative.
00:55:05
Speaker
It's in a bad mood. she's She's right crabby this morning. Crabbit this morning. Man, I was even like nodding my head up and down. i was going.
00:55:16
Speaker
Mate, you're out of sync because the connection's bad. i actually went with three because you're you're one back.
00:55:26
Speaker
I've seen you. The connection let me down. your You're slightly behind. I'm slightly behind. the I thought I was nodding. Bless him. Bless his cottons.
00:55:37
Speaker
He's nodding for number three. And it's the video's out of sync. oh Oh, i was I was trying to help you, Paul. But as it turns out, the technology was not in my favour.
00:55:51
Speaker
It was not.
Scotland's Role in ADHD History
00:55:53
Speaker
It wasn't fighting my corner. dominat Yeah. um I do want to kind of say a couple of little final final things um yes to kind of like big up Scotland.
00:56:06
Speaker
oh um I do want to say that that there is a little bit Scottish connection with ADHD in that Sir Alexander ah sir alexander Crichton, to
00:56:24
Speaker
He was a Scottish physician and he provided one of the earliest descriptions of a condition resembling ADHD. In his in his publication and an inquiry into the nature and origin of mental derangement, he referred to it as the the disease of attention, noting the that affected individuals mentally restless and struggled to maintain focus.
00:56:50
Speaker
I think we've mentioned shined him in a previous podcast, previous episode. Right. He's mentioned. Yeah, yeah, definitely. Yeah. um So there you go. there's it okay There's a little thing.
00:57:04
Speaker
um ah i I will just play the little bagpipe bit just because I only feel like I only got got to play it once. So I'll just do it.
00:57:15
Speaker
There we go. I feel good now. All right. So much better.
00:57:23
Speaker
Oh, well, that was a fun quiz for me. That failed miserably. Less so for you. Yes, a lot less. i feel I feel good about that.
00:57:34
Speaker
I feel like a i there's a victory somewhere. um All right. So I think that just means that it leaves me for me to say that ADHDville is delivered fresh every Tuesday to all bevairs of fine podcasts. Please subscribe to the pod and rate us.
00:57:53
Speaker
most Most Scottish. Scottish podcast. That would be a very, yeah, most Scottish liking. um And feel free to correspond at will in the comments. But wait, there's more if you wish to see our beautiful, beautiful faces. Then Sally Forth to the YouTubes and the TikToks. And we're also the...
00:58:16
Speaker
Other thing, Substack. That's right. And if you wish to pick up a quill and email us, you can do at adhdville at gmail.com.
00:58:27
Speaker
But in the meantime, lovely be fucking kind to yourself. And I beseech you sir fellow ADHDers, know thyself. Sons of the Helms, come hither and gather flesh.
00:58:37
Speaker
She's very Scottish, apparently.
00:58:42
Speaker
Scottish bum cry. It is. There, says the mayor. That's that.