News: Elis James And John Robins Launch The Isolation Tapes

News: Elis James And John Robins Launch The Isolation Tapes

Comedians, podcasters and BBC Radio 5 Live presenters Elis James and John Robins have released the second instalment of The Isolation Tapes, following on from yesterday’s opener.

Elis and John’s Isolation Tapes will consist of conversations recorded in the respective homes of the two 5 Live comedians. The pair, self-isolating individually, will continue to remain socially distant whilst trying to make sense of the reality we’re all now faced with.

Throughout the recordings, Elis and John will discuss their own situations and circumstances, receive some 'Isolation Inspiration' from listeners, and try to offer a touch of light relief during what are uncertain times for so many.

Each episode is recorded at their respective homes (John in Amersham, Elis in Crystal Palace and producer Dave in Stockport).

The conversations will sit on the show's usual 5 Live podcast feed and will provide listeners with a touch of light-hearted escapism, whilst also touching on some of the very real newfound challenges  and mundanities of our everyday lives. 

With Elis in his spare room, John at home and producer Dave in his 2-year-old’s bedroom, see below for a collection of standout quotes from the first episode of The Isolation Tapes:

Elis on wife Isy Suttie, and her confusing the famous ‘Wax On, Wax Off’ Karate Kid quote: “I said, you know Karate Kid, don’t you? She said, ‘No, but I know the famous bit – ‘clocks on, clocks off’’. I’ve got no idea what she thinks happens in the Karate Kid.”

“I’m not great with technology. Isy is somehow worse. It’s like she’s a 19th century washerwoman that has quantum-leapt into a relationship with someone in the 21st century. It’s extraordinary how bad she is with tech.”

Elis also discusses a recent argument the couple had whilst wife Isy was on a video conference regarding her voiceover work: “Isy and I got a bit tetchy with each other. We hadn’t realised we had Zoom, the video conferencing app, still open. So the engineer and the people from the ad agency were twiddling their thumbs as Isy was going, ‘Why don’t you think about the things you say to me before you say them’. Then we looked up and they were just staring at us.”

Elis on having anxiety dreams as a result of Coronavirus: “The first couple of days, I was obsessed with this – I had 5 Live on in the kitchen, BBC News on in the living room and I was scrolling on my phone. I started to get anxiety dreams, including the classic – turning up at Glastonbury about to go on the main stage and one of the roadies telling me that I didn’t have a guitar, plectrum or band. Then I woke up.”

“I turned my phone off at 8’oclock and I was actually physically tired from it all. I’ve been going to bed at like 9am – I would recommend that.”

“I’ve stopped drinking, because I think the last thing I need in this is a hangover, with two young children locked in the house.” 

On things that have taken their minds off Coronavirus: Elis: “Do you know what took my mind off Coronavirus yesterday? My son s**t on the landing. Not a little one, a dirty protest. It was everywhere. It took me a long time to clean up and I thought, ‘I’ve not thought about the Coronavirus for a good 35 minutes’.” 

John on remaining sane in the midst of the Coronavirus pandemic: “It’s possible to follow updates about Corona 24 hours a day. It’s important not to fall into that when you’re at home. You can have absolutely everything screaming at you, ‘everything’s gone crazy!’”

“The first three days for me were very boozy. I think you can probably tell if you’re on Twitter, because every time I get drunk at home I start Tweeting.”

Elis on home-schooling his daughter: “School is finished now, so we’re going to have to home-school her. The important thing is to keep a routine, because it would be very easy to sit in your pyjamas and watch Frozen 2 all day.” 

You can listen to the first episode of The Isolation Tapes, Clock On, Clock Off, here: https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/p087fg0d

Listen to the second episode here: https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/p087jnh6

Credit: Elis & John have a podcast and also broadcast regularly on BBC Radio 5 Live

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