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Speaker 1: The Will and Woody podcast that Bite sized.

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Speaker 2: We are remembering Queen Elizabeth the II and right now

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Speaker 2: we are joined by the former Royal Gardener of Buckingham,

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Speaker 2: Pallace Ben. Welcome to the show.

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Speaker 1: Good morning, Good morning Will, Good morning Wooded. How we

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Speaker 1: are doing.

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Speaker 2: Really really well? Thank you so much for joining us.

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Speaker 3: Mate.

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Speaker 2: I'd love to know, is there a moment that sticks

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Speaker 2: out for you from your from your time when Queen

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Speaker 2: Elizabeth was raining?

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Speaker 1: Well, well, I think I mean the question is where

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Speaker 1: which way do you start? Really? She was an amazing person.

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Speaker 1: I mean, my favorite story is is one from when

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Speaker 1: she was young. She wanted to go drawing a street party.

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Speaker 1: She wasn't allowed and her parents said no, and so

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Speaker 1: so she decided to sneak out into the garden and

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Speaker 1: climb over the fence and join the party anyways, and

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Speaker 1: nobody really noticed. And I think, I wouldn't you do

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Speaker 1: that if you're trapped in so decided to such a

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Speaker 1: big building your plarents have said no you can't, You're

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Speaker 1: just like, oh, well, I'm going to go do it anyway.

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Speaker 1: So No, that's that's probably one that sticks out in

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Speaker 1: the memory.

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Speaker 2: That's a crazy story. I think I remember that. Actually, yeah,

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Speaker 2: she she a couple of years ago, but ye know

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Speaker 2: that that's brilliant. I also remember the story about the

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Speaker 2: time that she because she used to drive. She used

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Speaker 2: to be a driver during the war. She used to

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Speaker 2: trive ambulances and such, and I remember she had a

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Speaker 2: There was a there was a particular princes from the

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Speaker 2: Middle East that came over, a lord from the Middle

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Speaker 2: East that came over, and she didn't like his policy

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Speaker 2: towards women, so she took him on a je She

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Speaker 2: took him on a jeep drive and quite deliberately through

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Speaker 2: like the most treacherous potholy drive. So this boat got

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Speaker 2: out of the car absolutely rattled. Really, she just.

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Speaker 1: You to appreciate the fact that she kind of, you know,

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Speaker 1: said right, actually, yes, I'm the queen, but actually I'm

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Speaker 1: going to I'm going to put my foot down, I'm

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Speaker 1: going to do things my ways. And there was always

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Speaker 1: that rebellious side.

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Speaker 4: Yeah, bloody, Hey, Benny. This might sound like a random question,

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Speaker 4: but obviously when you're working on the gardens of Buckingham Palace,

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Speaker 4: I assume you're being fed by the Royal kitchen there

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Speaker 4: or the royal chefs. What was lunch break, like when

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Speaker 4: you're doing the garden and backing them palace Joe.

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Speaker 1: I always laughed because when I first went there, I

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Speaker 1: was training, but I came from from kind of different

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Speaker 1: backgrounds and I rocked up. And after the first couple

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Speaker 1: of weeks, we've been given things like a coffee of

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Speaker 1: duck in an orange jew for your lunch and crumble

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Speaker 1: and the boys used to complain, it's disgusting. There's only

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Speaker 1: there's any cream with the crumbumbull, and there's no there's

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Speaker 1: no ice cream with the crumble. So it was it

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Speaker 1: was awesome, and you know, everyone got really good food.

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Speaker 1: It was always three course lunches, three course dinners, and

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Speaker 1: some people had beer on the side as well, but

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Speaker 1: only if you slightly higher up.

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Speaker 2: Wow, we sounds delish now, Ben, I've also got another

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Speaker 2: question here. Apparently she grew banana trees in the palace.

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Speaker 2: Is is that right?

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Speaker 1: I mean, why not? I think yeah, there was, there's

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Speaker 1: there's loads of cut plants. If you're the queen, you

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Speaker 1: can grow whatever you want. I think it's been been

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Speaker 1: mentioned in the past of the way we got into

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Speaker 1: flowers to take a bit of a urination on them

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Speaker 1: and they grow like crazy when you do. And the flowers,

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Speaker 1: so not only were they all there, but they also

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Speaker 1: flowered and cropped as well. Didn't eat it, didn't have

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Speaker 1: the courage, but they cropped, so so.

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Speaker 2: Han she got she she asked you to urinate on

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Speaker 2: her banana trees for her.

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Speaker 1: I think I think everyone kind of knew it was

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Speaker 1: the dune thing. It was. It was not really talked about,

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Speaker 1: but everyone kind of nodded their heads and knew that

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Speaker 1: is the way to get way forward.

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Speaker 3: It's extraordinary. But if she if she went for a

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Speaker 3: walk through her gardens, which obviously she would do when

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Speaker 3: she's walking the corgies and whatnot, was that just the

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Speaker 3: most nervous thing for you in your life to watch

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Speaker 3: her walking through the gardens, because you know, if she

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Speaker 3: if she hits an air and pothole or.

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Speaker 4: Something in there and breaks her ankle, I mean that's

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Speaker 4: on you, as if there's.

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Speaker 1: A bit of a bump and she bashes her head

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Speaker 1: or or hell breaks out. No, I think you know what.

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Speaker 1: Actually they are normal people. And I do remember a

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Speaker 1: couple of times just bumping into members the rule and

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Speaker 1: having absolutely no idea who they were. Have you see

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Speaker 1: them on TV in their suits and looking formal. But

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Speaker 1: when they get home, would you take the palace? Is

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Speaker 1: they kind of you go out in the jim jams

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Speaker 1: and the pajamas and walk around and they just I

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Speaker 1: had no idea, and a couple of times that they

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Speaker 1: get myself into a bit of trouble with with people

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Speaker 1: going actually you need to be respectful because that was

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Speaker 1: somewhat important.

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Speaker 2: You're in the middle of pissing on a banana tree,

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Speaker 2: Queen Walls, Pat Ben, thanks so much for joining us.

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Speaker 2: It's really nice to get some texture on the person

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Speaker 2: and the house that was there, of people living, people

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Speaker 2: in the ben there the former Royal Gardener or Buckingham Palace.

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Speaker 1: Now you're done with that, why not check out more

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Speaker 1: from Will and Woody on the Full Show podcast