The “Ashley Barnas Show” Episode 4

OPENING & What I’ll Miss: Welcome to the 4th ever “Ashley Barnas show,” I am Ashley Barnas and each week we will bring you the very best of mini travels around London to offer you the American perspective on everything from the extraordinary to the mundane with hopes of offering you London listeners a fresh outlook on your city. So this show is about my travels around London and beyond and how the city lives and breathes through the people who make it work from day to day. We have now been in London for four weeks and I cannot believe it. So now is the time where I want to talk about what I love and will miss most about London. The first time I came to London, I stayed in a hotel in Earl’s Court and every day, they would refresh our supply of tea. And it was always Typhoo tea. And since then, I have been obsessed with Typhoo tea. But as soon as I left London, all I had saved up were three little packets of Typhoo tea and I couldn’t find it anywhere at home. Just before I left for London this time, I had a little going away tea party with my best friend who’s studying in Paris this fall. And as a present, she gave me all these cute little English things like a beefeater bear mug and scone mix and all that kind of stuff. And at the bottom of the bag, there was a pouch of like 300 packs of Typhoo tea. She had been searching for me forever and finally found Typhoo tea! It made my whole life. And now that I’m here, I drink Typhoo tea every day and night. Obsessed. So, for this week, that is what I love about London. Anyway, we’re going to cut to some quick music and be right back with you in just a few… PLAY DAVID COOK’S “THE TIME OF MY LIFE” Friday’s clubbing experience: Welcome back, you are listening to the Ashley Barnas Show and that was David Cook with “The Time of My Life.” David Cook was actually this last season’s American Idol – and granted, I was a David Archuletta fan, but I do love David Cook’s new hit. And since he’s an American Idol, let’s talk about Britain’s Next Urban Superstar. The way that I explain my job to my friends is that I’m working on the British version of American Idol, because it pretty much is. And last Friday was the semi-finals of Britain’s Next Urban Superstar and it was also my first clubbing experience. Ever.

I have never been to a club at home, so London gave me my first clubbing experience. It was also my first bouncer experience. Laura and I got to work the entrance and controlled the guest list, so we made friends with the bouncers. I learned that I can be a tough cookie when I want to be. I surprised myself! When we were done working the door, we got to go inside and watch some of the final contestants perform. I loved being in there to watch it and I was so sad that I missed all the talent beforehand. You judges crack me up, too. I love your job. Once the performances were done, the party was awesome. I absolutely loved getting to dance because we definitely don’t get to do that often enough. It was the first time I’ve gotten to dance since I’ve been here, actually. So I had a lot of energy to let go of! But when this next song came on, I’m pretty sure it made my night. Because this is my absolute favorite song to dance to. Hands down. And I have to thank my flatmate Melanie for this song because I didn’t have it on my iTunes until last night when we were talking about my show and how much I wanted to play this. I hope you start dancing right now, because we’re about to break into a dance party in this studio. So, here it is, “Low” by Flo Rida… PLAY FLO RIDA’S “LOW” World’s Strangest Laws: And welcome back to the Ashley Barnas Show. That was “Low” by Flo Rida, my absolute favorite song to dance to. It makes me want to go out and buy Apple Bottom jeans and boots wit da furr. We’re going to have to get on that after work today. Anywho, for my British Media class, we have to consume a lot of news and constantly read newspapers or online news sources, so I was browsing looking at the Times Web site and I stumbled upon an article about the world’s strangest laws. It’s from an article on August 15, 2007. So, I wanted to give you a few of the ones that I thought were most clever:

1. It is illegal for a cab in the City of London to carry rabid dogs or corpses. 2. It is illegal to die in the Houses of Parliament. 3. It is an act of treason to place a postage stamp bearing the British monarch

upside down. 4. In France, it is forbidden to call a pig Napoleon. 5. In Alabama, it is illegal for a driver to be blindfolded while driving a vehicle. 6. In Ohio, it is against state law to get a fish drunk. 7. Royal Navy ships that enter the Port of London must provide a barrel of rum to

the Constable of the Tower of London. 8. In Lancashire, no person is permitted after being asked to stop by a constable

on the seashore, to incite a dog to bark.

9. In England, all men over the age of 14 must carry out two hours of longbow practice a day.

10. In London, Freemen are allowed to take a flock of sheep across London Bridge without being charged a toll; they are also allowed to drive geese down Cheapside.

11. In Florida, unmarried women who parachute on Sundays can be jailed. 12. In Chester, Welshmen are banned from entering the city before sunrise and from

staying after sunset. 13. In the city of York, it is legal to murder a Scotsman within the ancient city walls,

but only if he is carrying a bow and arrow. 14. In Vermont, women must obtain written permission from their husbands to wear

false teeth. 15. In London, it is illegal to flag down a taxi if you have the plague.

With thanks to: Donald Stewart at Faegre & Benson; John Barnett at Burges Salmon; Robert Crossley at Walker Morris; James Odds at Matthew Arnold & Baldwin; and Dan Kieran, author of I Fought The Law (Bantam Press). We’re going to cut to some music and be back in a few!... PLAY KEANE’S “SOMEWHERE ONLY WE KNOW” Mikey: And that was Keane with “Somewhere Only We Know.” So I was talking to my brother last night on Skype and it was SO good to talk to him again. He’s 15, so we’re a few years apart, but I love reliving high school through him. He just got his learner’s permit, so he’s driving all over Maryland now. He bought his own car that he’s in love with and it’s like his little project. He’s always fixing up something on it and sprucing it up. It’s so sweet to see him so dedicated to it, though. I wish I could be like that with cars. But he says he’s doing well with driving. I can’t wait for him to drive me around some more once I’m home. It’s such a guy thing to be so obsessed with cars. Because Laura and I were talking to Rod the other day about his car and how he’s spicing it up as well. It just cracks me up and guys make their cars their projects. I mean, all I did to mine was add some cute little stuffed animals to my dashboard and the back seats. And since I have a VW bug, I have the flowers in the little stick vase by the steering wheel. And that’s it – I haven’t changed the rims or fancied up the engine or replaced the back seats of any of that. But Rod and my brother and his friends….that’s their thing. It just cracks me up. I was also talking to him about his band and he had some really exciting news for me. He’s been in a band with his friends for several years now and it’s been spectacular to see them grow and change and get better as the years go on.

I mean, these are the little boys I’ve known since they were in elementary school together. Now they’re all taller than me and they don’t have those squeaky voices or anything. I know my brother is just dying right now because he and his friends got up early before going to school today just to listen to this in America and is probably thinking oh, Lord. This is how I repay Michael for being sweet enough to get up at 6 a.m. to listen to my show. But the point is, they are just awesome to me. I love hearing my brother sing. And right now his band is going absolutely mad. They’ve got gigs every week and sometimes a couple times a week. But the exciting news is that they’re finally going to a professional studio to record in December. I am so happy for him. So far, all the guys come over to our house in Maryland to record in the loft. It’s always so much fun listening to them rehearse and record. Plus, it’s great being the sister because I get free CDs and T-shirts and bumper stickers and such. So there’s my brother on guitar and vocals, Matt on guitar and vocals, Cliff on bass, Sam on guitar and back-up and Colton on drums. Anyway, I had my iTunes on shuffle the other day and out of the thousands of songs I have on there, one of my brother’s band’s songs came up. So, recorded from the loft in our house, here is my brother’s band Amity with Matt on vocals and my brother singing back-up, with their original song, “Déjà vu.” PLAY AMITY’S “DÉJÀ VU” Pub Theaters (Hidden Jewels): Welcome back. Again, that was “Déjà vu” by Amity. And you can catch them at myspace.com/amity6. That’s a-m-i-t-y and the numeral 6. Now it’s time again to talk about the hidden jewels of London. Last week we were talking about my favorite Italian restaurant in London. My roommate from back at school and I discovered it when we came to London a year ago and when she visits me this weekend, it’s the first place we’re going for dinner. So again, the place is called Bistro Benito and it’s at 166 Earl’s Court Road. And it’s authentic Italian food. I mean really authentic. For this week, I decided that one of London’s hidden jewels is its pub theaters. In my theater class here, we get to see about a show a week and a couple of them have been at theaters above pubs. And they are just unbelievable. I am absolutely in love with theater and at home, I’m never exposed to something like this. I don’t know of any theaters at home that are actually above a bar or a pub. We have something called blackbox theaters, which are really small theaters that just have black walls and tiny stages, but they’re usually a part of a larger theater complex or just a building of its own.

But here, we’ve seen two shows in theaters above pubs. The first was “Hedda” at the Gate and the second was “The Girlfriend Experience” at the Royal Court. I just love theater in general, but I love London’s pub theaters and the quality shows they put on. You know what I also love? I love my mom. So, here is one of those songs that my mom and I are obsessed with and finally found out that Gavin Rossdale sings it so I bought it on iTunes so I can listen to it all the time…so now I’m going to share that with you. Be back in a bit… PLAY “LOVE REMAINS THE SAME” Things you never knew about London: Welcome back to the Ashley Barnas Show. That was Gavin Rossdale with “Love Remains the Same.” I was googling random things just yesterday and I found this Web site called www.going-underground.net. And it had this whole list called “50 Things you never knew about the London Underground.” And I wonder how many of these things Londoners actually realize. Because people take the tube to and from work every single day, but do you actually take the time to think about how everything functions and fits all together? Here are some of my favorite finds from the list:

1. Travelling on the tube for 40 minutes is the equivalent of smoking two cigarettes - so save yourself a packet, all you smokers and get on the tube more often.

2. The most popular route for tourists is Leicester Square to Covent Garden on the Piccadilly line. It is quicker to walk this distance than travel on the tube.

3. The phrase "Mind the Gap" originated on the Northern line. 4. The oldest tube line in the world is the Metropolitan line. It opened on the 10th

January 1863. 5. More of the London Underground is open than in a tunnel. 6. One of the female automated voice announcers is called Sonia. 7. Edward Johnston designed the font for the London Underground in 1916. 8. All 409 escalators do the equivalent of two round the world trips every week. 9. Harry Beck, designer of the tube map in 1933, was only paid five guineas for his

original job. His design is still the basis of today's tube map. 10. The first escalator was introduced at Earls Court in 1911. 11. The air in the underground is on average 10°C hotter than the air on the surface. 12. The best places to spot mice running around the tracks of the underground are

Waterloo station (northbound on the Bakerloo line) and any platform at Oxford Circus. An estimated half a million mice live in the Underground system.

13. Green grapes cause more accidents on the London Underground than banana skins.

14. Only one person was ever born in a tube carriage and her name is Thelma Ursula Beatrice Eleanor - check out her initials. She was born in 1924 on a Bakerloo line train at Elephant & Castle

15. The Cadbury's Whole Nut chocolate bar is the biggest seller in the chocolate machines at tube stations.

So we’re going to cut to some music again…. Every morning when I go into the kitchen to make breakfast, my flatmate Sara has this song on and it gets stuck in my head for the rest of the day. So here it is for you…hopefully you’ll be singing it all day long as well. PLAY ESTELLE’S “AMERICAN BOY” CLOSING: Well, everyone. We have reached the end of this week’s show, but now I would like to hear from you guys about where you would like to see me go, who you would like me to interview, or which issues you would like me to address. Just e-mail your ideas to ashley@invincibleradio.com. Thanks for listening to the Ashley Barnas show. Don’t forget you can catch me live here on www.invincibleradio.com each and every Wednesday from 11 a.m. till 12 p.m. And like my absolute favorite song, despite being over a thousand miles away from home, Times Square don’t shine as bright as Piccadilly. PLAY PLAIN WHITE T’S “HEY THERE DELILAH”