GUEST: Kate Langbroek on living in Italy 🇮🇹

Kate l Brook, Thank you, Thank You, has an inspiring true story about moving to Italy.

We didn't speak Italian, we knew nobody and then throwing a pandemic.

Kate Lanbrook is here, Halla Caate, welcome.

Back clubbi chesz not bitches your.

Favorite bit Jess.

Last time we had you on, you were like in the studio, so I imagine we got work Kate, But today on the zoom she's kicked back in bed.

We've got relaxed Kate. Don't forget. You're allowed to swear here, Kate, that's the rule.

Could I see you next Tuesday?

Go for it? Do you want to do No, I don't want.

To shock anybody, but you know I'm quite partial to that word.

Oh yeah.

I love finding out that everyone that works in media is actually a potty mouth behind the scenes. That's my favorite thing when I started working in media, being like they're all foul like me.

It's amazing.

Well, because when your microphone's on, you really just have to banish that part in you. Then that part of you has to come out with a vengeance at some point.

Definitely does a stupid little podcast boys.

Cake by the way, Mitch Mitch, which one. No, not you, Mitch. You Mitch, how did we tell your part last time?

I think you called me Betty. I don't know if you remember, but you nicknamed me Betty.

Betty. We're both Betty. But it's perfect that you're betting anyway. Betty, you know that I'm moonlighted with Mitch?

Did you?

And Monty was Unwell, that's.

Right, he was your your other half on three PM pick Up.

They thought, you know, typically a show hosted by mums and women. They thought Mitch cheer is the next best thing, isn't it?

Slott and writing We had a great chart.

Yeah, I was a bit jealous about it was the jealousy involved Mitch.

Oh, of course there what but I would have happily had you Betty, but I didn't know where you were. You're such a mysterious sort of creature during the day. Oh god, what does Betty do during the day? Betty from Blacktown?

He films videos and he's a very busy man. People.

He's doing brand deals.

He's one of those new ways. Yeah, he's in demand.

Mitch is being very polite and trying not to use the word influencer because he knows I hate that word, but in a nutshell, it's basically that in.

My friend, Yeah, all right, Kate, Mitch has been Actually this is true. Mitch hasn't read a page of your new book. Kate hasn't even hang on.

He hasn't hang on. And you know what, I call him, Matt Doran, and you know what you will call me.

I was about to say, he don't be casting aspersions. I'm no Matt Doran here.

I haven't actually read a page, but I was thrilled to find that there's an audiobook version.

Thanks God.

Oh and that's me reading the audio books.

And I'm such an audiobook kind of person like my ADHD doesn't really Yeah, it doesn't allow me to like sit there and read a book, but I can multitast. So I've got Kate in me here laughing at her own jokes in the book. That was my favorite part. While I'm cooking dinner and stuff, it's great. Did you have to do that all in one go? Because it sounds like you've got the exact same tone of boys. That sounds like nothing differs, or do they let you do like one chapter a day?

No, I did, I would do I did it over a week, like a working week Monday to Friday.

It's still a lot.

Yeah, it was a lot. But the guy who did it, he was so adorable, Derek Derek. He looked like he'd be a doctor who fann. Do you know what I mean?

Yeah? I know exactly what you mean.

Yeah, And I was kind of waiting for him to give me some notes. And then the girl from the book company was on Zoom as well, watching and I waited for them to tell me. You know how it's like when you're at work, people might not know this, but in the radio, you know, if you're reading something or you're someone will say, oh can you do it again with a bit more vim or you know, you a direction? Not one bit of direction? Betty, what would you suggested to me?

I thought it was great.

I mean, you definitely sounded more like relaxed than you would when you're kind of performing on the radio.

But that's what I liked about it. It was very you know, chilled and conversation.

But Mitch, you don't know this because when I jumped in on the pickup with you, Kate, Kate revealed, remember that giant earthquake, that it wasn't really giant, but the earthquake that hit Melbourne a few months ago. Kate, you need to send us the audio Kate if you can't, because we'll insert it. I have. Kate was recording the audio book when the earthquake.

Hidden and you hear it.

I'd totally forgotten that, Mitch, and then in it. How do you think I reacted, Betty.

Well, I like to think you're in a professional would have tried to sol jerom, but at a certain point you would have been like, oh fuck, like what's going on? Like surely I really need to hear this. Please send it through. I'll put it in the podcast.

I could see with my mother eyes that his breath was high in his chest. He was nervous. And then after an inauspicious start.

What was that?

It can only be an earthquake?

Huh? Is that an earthquake.

Could only be an earthquake?

Oh my goodness, I thought.

I was having a stroke or something.

Anthea, we just had a tremble in the studio.

I'm sorry. I just run to the doorway because this house is shaking.

Toy.

Sorry, Well, you can't be sorry for an earthquake, but we should say the book is chow better.

Six take Italy Katelinebrooks story of a family moving to Italy before the pandemic, Then the pandemic hit. It was it was chaos, Kate. And Mitch doesn't know this, but I know again from the pickup that you're a die hard Morning Wars fan, as is Mitch, as am I And as I sit there, Cakee and I see, I see Mitch Kessler sitting in what looks to be I'm thinking like Como.

It looks like it's like Como.

Yeah, is that what you pictured an envision for your for your Italian lifestyle to be?

Yes, except you know, Mitch Kesler wasn't really at Como.

Where did he film it?

They filmed it at some old nunnery in like Santa Barbara or San Francisco or something like that.

Oh, I fell for it.

However, all right, can we just deviate for a moment. I know we're talking about my fabulous.

Book, Chop Beller, you're going down.

We just talked about Morning War was anytime? It was a very Have you just watched the last episode?

Yeah, up to date, I.

Was not happy with that last episode.

Neither were we.

She went full Alex Levey went full Joe Rogan right when Conspiracy podcast.

And also yes and who keys and these old chip nodding away or is it Chuck like you know chip chip nodding away as though she's doing something amazing, and it actually was not amazing. It was just like it was actually like someone had just given Auntie nell and I and she discovered the video fun I'm not for the first time.

Yeah, I was way less glued this season.

Like season one, I was very oh my god, I can't wait for the next episode, but this one, I was like that.

All over COVID, like we just lived it, we don't want to rewatch it, skip it.

Yes, well here you are.

It's saying, oh, no, one wants to relive COVID. But Kate's book, sorry, it very much touches on COVID.

But I was actually waiting to get to the COVID part.

There was so much the build up you had like the most heavenly first year. Although the thing that I did find surprising I did in factor in the time difference. You were still doing your afternoon radio show in Australia from Italy, but at what time was it again.

In the morning? But I was getting up at like four or five o'clock.

Ye see, that's bullshit getting up at four am when you're on this you know Italian shape?

Mate?

Do you think that was my dear Betty? That was David William Hughes, the most persistent person in the world, who said, you're not going to give up work, knocking out work, can do the show from over there. I'm like, what, because now, of course when we say I did the show for Italy, people like, well, I do them from my office all the time. No one did that. Then we didn't even have zoom zoom wasn't a thing.

But yeah, you gave that up.

And I don't blame you because the rest of the story, when you had all these getaways to sicily sounded heavenly. There was one thing you actually mentioned in the book that I really resonated with, which was I wrote it down. You were talking about your son and your husband, and you said they clash as often as they bond, these two, something I believe is not unusual for fathers and firstborn sons.

And I was like, oh, other people do this.

Oh my little brother is so like easy going, but sometimes I just lock horns with my father for fun, just because on board, and he always bites back.

Yeah, yeah, I did something about I think fathers are harder on the firstborn son. But I've got girlfriends who's say the same, and they end up having the conversations with the dads of their sons saying, you know why, and then they accuse us of being too soft on them.

I think I've overheard this exact argument between my parents.

Yeah, you would have, you would have? You would have? You'd hear the same thing in our house. I not that we argue, Betty, but we do discuss things sometimes in a very animated, vocal and loud.

Manner, don't we all? Now, Meg, do you have a clash with your dad? Yeah?

I do. I'm the firstborn son. But no, we my dad's very soft. Like my dad sends me inspirational quotes every day. Oh yeah, you start the day. Yeah, let me get let me get what he said. He didn't send meone today, actually, but he's on a business trip. But let me find the most recent.

He's on a business trip, Marjorie. He's a businessman.

So I'm thinking, no, they don't clash like most elder sons and fathers.

If he's sending you fucking inspirational quote.

No, it's not the same. Well this is from yesterday. Slowing down and or stillness may feel unsafe and uncomfortable for you if you're used to chaos or living under constant stress, because your nervous system is used to being in survival mode. And he said, saw this resonated with me. Hope it resonates with you. Love you endlessly, dad, Oh I love Yeah, that is very divine. No, but I was as smack silly as a kid. So maybe you got it out of his system as when I was an infant.

Yeah, right, did he have it? Did he have a change? Shit?

He yeah?

He Oh yeah, he had a change. There was a pivotal But.

What brought about his change.

Once he he got it? Turned fifty, turned a corner.

He was a change man.

Oh really? Oh I love that. God. I love people who showed the capacity for change.

Then I came out. I think he was probably terrified of hitting a gay man.

He didn't do that. So he's like, oh I might, Well that's it.

Yeah, no, Yah, don't be puffed to bash up.

That's exactly right.

Now I've said that, Baylor. Anyway, the book is available now. You can get it. You can buy it at all good booksellers and of course online you can get on audio books, which Mitch is enjoying.

Yes, I am loving it. We wanted to do with UKD whilst you're here.

Mitch, Betty, Oh you're adorable. YouTube.

Thank We're not done, Kate stay in bed. Oh yes, well we've got you.

Because you have experienced Australia and Italy and what they've both got to offer.

We want to do a quick round of who does it better?

Because I reckon from listening to that book, there's a lot of things that Italy shit's on us.

With, you know what I mean?

Oh, I know, and you don't kind of want to be that person that goes oh my god initially there but yet I am that person. But there are some things that Australia does magnificently. For instance, this morning when I was in the stupamarket and the lady was packing my bags for me, that doesn't happen in Italy. In Italy you have to pack. It's like every store is fucking Aldie and you are trying it. Yeah, yeah, no, I'm not going for that. Little things like that getting

I'd rather be dead than have to deal with that. That's no good. Chuck me plastic hit it with some other Okay.

So we've got a few things to get through. Number one is traffic. Who does it better Australia or Italy?

Italy because you're allowed to speed?

Oh yeah, of course.

Wasn't your husband a little bit frightened to try and keep up with their speed?

Why is that?

Well, because on the freeway, very rare that you saw a speeding sign, like a speed limit sign on the freeway, So we really didn't know, but we would often get overtaken by a Nona going one hundred and sixty kilometers an hour in a little feet yeah, and so we would ask our friends and then they would say things like, hey, well you know the speed a limit it's one twenty

Yeah, that sounds like it's open to interpretation. Australia would slappy with family fines if you just kind of no, we're good.

Do you know what the freedom initialy the freedom to ride your bike without a helmet, the freedom to have a cigarette with a glass of wine out the front of a restaurant, the freedom to speed, just the freedom to take your dog with you anywhere into shop, the dogs welcome anywhere, Like just those little freedoms mean a lot in your life, Like they're very nourishing.

Yeah, I've never known a time where those things are freedoms. Like if I ever had a fucking dart with my rose in a restaurant, I would think I'm going to get tackled by someone like that.

I would just never Yeah, all right, what's the next one? Who does it better? Radio Italians or Australians one hundred percent Australia. Great, Ye'll take it.

Sorry, your current show accepted out no no, all of Italian pop music and their radio sounds like it's nineteen eighty four. Really also WSFM, it's just very uh there. And when our producer Sash was over there trying to find somewhere for me to broadcast back to Australia from, she just couldn't get over how antiquated all the radio stations were. She went and looked at about seven in Bologna and she said they were just it was. It was honestly like nineteen ninety two.

Yeah, go on, I bet I bet they can smoke inside there too. You could do that back in the day in radio studios, couldn't you.

I remember when I lived with my girlfriend Mish, and she had a terrible break up and she comforted herself by playing What's that game with that gorgeous little that video game with the Emmy's gorgeous guy and he has to lassue the horse and.

I have no idea, Yeah, Zelda the Elder Zelda.

Anyway, my girlfriend played Zelda seriously for six months on repeat, and chain smoked inside. And because she was so heartbroken, I learned to play Zelda just to keep her company. But I did have to say, after about six months, do you reckon? Do you reckon that you might enjoy your cigarette, Maria, because the whole house, it was a two story house. The whole house just reaked of cigarette.

Have your darry al Fresco miss much nicer out there?

Has she bounced back?

Yeah, she's totally bounced back.

A couple more, A couple more.

With that, you'd say, that's Mick saying I've given such long, elaborate and probably tedious answers. What number are we actually going to do? Mitch? How many are going to give me?

Do you know what? We're on a podcast.

There are actually no rules about how long the answers are, how long we chat for. It's really just a question of how many you want to do, Kate.

Mitchd's got some rules.

Now I'm thinking of.

You, Kate lane Brook. I know you're a very busy lady. You've got succession on Paul's look.

At me and beat.

You know it's actually up to you. You tell us when you no longer give a fuck?

Yeah? Number three wi fi, Hey guys, I no longer give a fuck?

Is it just move? Podcast by a couple of mitches.

Okay, so who does it better? Customer service Australia, Italy.

We're pretty good Australia. Okay.

I feel like you mentioned in the book. I might be paraphrasing, but I think you said at one point you were a little bit overwhelmed because they're quite aggressive. They're almost like what you want to shop here?

They're not necessarily I found that women in their shops they were always They've got a strange manner. It's strange to me because I was a stranger, you know. Yeah, but things like one of my Italian friends was saying, the reason they put everything in the shop window in Italy or Vologna is so that when you come in you know what you're looking for. So it's not like I've just come into brows, all right, but whereas I would go in not knowing what I wanted, and they thought that was really weird.

All right, more, have you got somewhere to be?

I'm just conscious that Kate has a half eaten back of Sultan vinegars.

He's really gone off me. No, they're finished. The Sultan vinegars are finish.

Fucking carry on.

Well, the next one you waiting for the indigestion. Well, the next one is possibly the most important. Who does it better when it comes to men, Australia or Italy? Who has the finer gentleman?

It's very hard question to answer, and I'll tell you why. I obviously have a massive soft spot for Australian men. I love a smart, working class guy. I love the Australians do that better than anyone, like, you know, just a funny trade or whatever. You know, We're just very good at that. But Italian men pay women such attention that it is and whereas Australian men have been stolen from us by pornography, they don't care about real women

But Italian guys do you reckon?

Italian men pay such attention to women. It is amazing, so that my girlfriend who came over couldn't believe it.

Yeah, wow, are they flirty? Cave, I've l flirtatious even with you.

What do you even.

Be there with your husband? You're beloved, Peter, Back up, This.

Is why I wanted to start, even with your cardaverous ninety year old, horrendously out of shape self. Did they muster a little Lazarus like enthusiasm?

Not what I meant were gorgeous and radiant. But Peter Allen Lewis was I'm sure by your side.

Peter alan Lewis, Well, you know what was funny? One We used to go to this restaurant all the time that was run by the greatest food and run by this really I've written about him in the in the book, but I haven't written this story about him in the book. Very flirty guy who'd get drunk and sing opera and at the end of the night he'd come and give you a rose and give his speech and take your hand and kiss your hand, and very fun, fun sort of guy.

You don't get that shit here at a restaurant.

Oh no, no, no, not in a hundred year. So anyway, especially not me away. One night we were at his restaurant and Peter went to the toilet, and the owner came over to my table and sat down. He always he sits at your table, and he paused wine and you know, and he said to me, why don't you come back tomorrow for lunch without your husband. I'm like, mate, he's literally a two minute piece away. Like what. I couldn't believe it. And also his wife came into that

That's not a good reflection of Italian men. That you prove me wrong, Kate, what about that?

I've still got it?

Yeah? Do you know what? Though?

Speaking of your husband, people sometimes ask us, oh, like, would you ever date a listener? And I don't know if you've heard this story, Mitch, but can you tell us, Kate, how you met your husband?

So my husband was I met on a radio trip. The station sponsor did this thing that they hadn't done for a few years, and they would send a broadcaster over with a bunch of listeners. And I went on the trip with fifteen listeners and Peter was one of those listeners.

There you go, and you did you shack up on that trip?

No, Mitch. He had a girlfriend back in Australia and I had a boyfriend.

What do you think?

Okay, that look in her face? I can't read it. It's just one eye.

I can't read it. It's like my book, can't read it. You need the audio book anyway. And so then we came back and we sort of tap danced around each other for a couple of years, and then we got together.

There you go, where are you going?

Hang?

Oh no, he's Lewis Lewis. Come over and say hello, that's Mitch, and that's Mitch. I told them apart by calling this Mitch Betty right, Yeah, this is Lewis Lewis. We're talking about the book. You can ask Lewis something.

Hey, Lewis, I have a question for you.

Did you ever find out the backstory behind the Was it a fred Okada or a camel and kohala in the letterbox?

What if I missed here?

Oh?

Do you want to tell the story quickly?

Lewis Lewis, We found a we found a letter in our letter box.

And it was during lockdown, wasn't it.

Yeah? It was during Yeah, we found a letter box, a letter in our letter boxes. You know that's where the letters are. But it was a like we fred of frog.

Yeah, sticky tape to a hand written a handle letter.

It looked like it was done by a twelve year old or a ten year old or something. And we weren't sure, you know, it was just a random from so you weren't sure what it was, so we didn't eat it.

But yeah, so that was a strang and it had a motivational message on it, like, oh, b you everybody else is taken.

Maybe it was my dad, maybe Jerry.

What did you come in for?

Lewis?

Oh, Lewis is just yeah, we'll go for a drive, all right, give me, give me how long with these boys?

We'll let you go. Are you teaching him to drive? Kate? Is he on the ls?

Yes, he's just We just got them last week and I took him for his first ever drive in the car, which I realized I didn't really know what to tell him to do. It's actually Hardtkes, okay, just start the car and start driving.

I thought you had to keep took your foot off the accelerator the car would stop instantly.

That was my first thought when I started driving. I thought it was a stop start.

You would think that, wouldn't you.

You would anyway.

So we go to this big car park outside this like you know, sports center here. Ah yeah, and then we just drive drive around. But then we drove on the road back home the other day. And once you've driven on the proper road with other traffy, what else is there to learn?

Yeah, that's actually that's actually pretty scary because I grew up in the country, so like it was very quiet streets to learn on.

But once I came to Sydney, Oh different story.

Oh totally. But hang on, in the country, riddle me this. Surely you would have driven people's paddock bashes and whatever. You would have been more familiar with a car than city kids who have never had any quiet street to practice on.

I'd been driving manuals since I was eight.

What.

Yes, this is what I said to Lewis, Like, it's quite ridiculous. And I was saying this to Petty the other night. How ridiculous that our children get to eighteen and they've never sat behind the wheel of a car. Yeah, I mean, I know, you know what I mean, like not had that experience of bouncing around in a padic.

Or smoking in with their dog on their lap. Yes, what's going on?

Oh, yeah, you've got to get some country Friendsdale and take him out to the farm.

You'll be fine. Get the get the young one started early.

Yes, and I'd love some country friends. Do you think they'd love me?

Yeah, I'll give you. I'll give you Anan and Jane's address. I'll meet you there, all right, Ka, let's let Kate go.

Mitch. Since I first came on your highly regarded show, you have been desperate to get rid of me. Who you got waiting in the wings? Kylie?

No?

No?

Do you know what? I think?

It's his inner radio guy. He's like, you know, tight five a quick break. I keep reminding him it's a podcast. We could do this for days if we so choose.

I'm also aware of my guest.

I mean, you guess he's like being bundled out the door, and you guess he's.

Going, but I haven't had Might just sert, have your gruppa and get out.

Well?

Do you know what you've clearly got? You know, some driving lessons to do. I'll ask you one last question. I can't believe I forgot to ask you this last time, because we have one question we ask every single guest that we have on and that is we get them to contribute to our things better than drugs and dick.

It's a growing list.

So it's essentially, you know, sweet pleasures, like a little small thing in life that you love. Like what did Jess male boys say? She said she likes being barefoot in a garden?

Of course it is, yeah, And the thing is, did you say the thing is better than drugs and deeps?

I did because I think we've got a lot of younger female listeners who might be a bit partying boy obsessed right now. So it's just our way of saying, guys, there's more life, yes, listening.

You know it's true.

We have a lot of gays, so this applied to them. We're just saying, listen, there's more to life.

Yeah, I have so many little pleasures. The ocean. You're just swimming in the ocean.

That's literally the biggest pleasure.

But okay, oh, is that a big pleasure? Is it too big?

It's quite a vast pleasure.

But the sea is large, all right. Don't if you cross that you didn't live over.

Them once you did cross it to get to Italy?

All right, hang on, what about this? I love nothing more than eating crispy bacon streaky with a mini can of coke in bed.

Grape added crispy yep.

Okay, do you baking bacon? Did you put it in the oven on a baking dish? No, I din't.

You can get sucked cry the way the creator intended. I and I and you know what else I do. And this is going the extra mile. So I also removed the rind from the bacon. H and then we in the Lewis Langbrok house we cook that separately and it goes all crispy and stunning and it's a little chef's tree.

Oh I've never even thought of that.

That sounds stunning barbery. So cook their bacon with the rind on, no get away from me.

And if you eat, if you eat that bacon and the coke in the kitchen, get fuck not on the list.

You must be in your bed, must be.

In bed, because one of my little pleasures better than D and D is eating in bed. I really love to gobble, gobble, gobble in the sat.

Why was the camera heading closer to your face with everyone? Yeah? OK, what are you watching on the screen?

I started binging when I was sick a couple of weeks ago. I'm just like, I've got her and all the time in the world to watch something. So I started watching this show called Insecure, and so I started watching that. I'm in love with the league girl. She's just so incredible. The rest of the show is just a bit strange, so strange that I persisted through five and a half gee, and now I've actually caught up in the bin and then now I'm just smashing down a new episode.

Yeah, I'm a bit like that with Bloody s for you. I'm like, the whole show is strange. But you know that Detective Olivia Benson, she keeps me there.

You watch the killing that Maria, Yeah, are.

You a crime person?

Not Normally, I don't like to go to bed, you know, to the sound of rape and sodomy, and that's.

What everyone always does. And she was murdered and they slid her from a belly or her throat. Good night.

I've actually become numb to that shit.

Just something happens on the news, I'm like, oh wait, I need to take a moment to remember that that's fucking real.

I'm just used to hearing that stuff, so you know, I've always got a theory. Yeah, my theories. You know, everyone's like the wild's so violent, be kind, it's gangstad y. Yeah, but they're the same people that are absolutely gorging themselves on true crime. And you know, there's this Hawaiian religion or philosophy called Hoonah. Yeah, and one of the tenets

So if we all listen to podcasts about like winning the lotto and shit, we're going.

Yes, beautiful things and hummingbird. But you know what I mean, like, if your soul sick, start with what you're feeding your soul.

That's a good point. I love that, start with what you're feeding your soul.

Special Victims Unit.

All right, Kate, let's leave Kate on that.

All right.

Bye, I'm sick of you trying to get rid of me. All right, I'm gone, Bye. So you, Kate, not right? But your guest is more fond of you than you are of your guest.

Record I do this out of fondness because I adore you.

No, I don't accept it. Mitch, he's got all big headed.

Do you want to stay? You can stay? Okay, you can host the show. She's gone, see Kate, Love you, Love you?

Is it just Me?

A podcast by a couple of meches.

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