Podbit · Parenting Hell with Rob Beckett and Josh Widdicombe
When Rob Beckett arrived at Tom Allen's book party with iPads for his kids — only to be met with the judging eyes of other parents who hadn't brought theirs — he nailed the problem perfectly: bringing iPads to a party uninvited is exactly like someone bringing drugs on a stag do. It changes the whole energy for everyone else.
Where this was said
At 27:20 · chapter starts 22:36
Back from the ad break, the holiday aftermath continues. Josh notes — with genuine surprise — that people have started congratulating him in Waitrose following his Strictly involvement; the show is enormous in Britain, just not in Greece. Rob's bank holiday was spent solo parenting while his wife Lou was at a friend's 40th in the South of France. His plan was to attend comedian Tom Allen's book launch party for 'Common Decency,' tidy the house competitively to impress Lou on her return, and generally parent with quiet distinction. What actually happened: he arrived at the party with iPads, found no other kids had them, and realised bringing tablets to a children's party without warning the other parents is exactly like someone bringing drugs to a stag do [1] — Rob Beckett "Taking iPads to a party is a bit like being on a stag do and someone bringing drugs without checking with everyone else. It brings a differ…" 27:38 . His 10-year-old daughter eventually put the iPad down and confidently socialised with Alan Carr and the other adult guests, but was entirely unmoved when told she'd be going to watch Josh on Strictly. The evening ran until midnight. Rob arrived home very drunk with two overtired, iPad-glazed children and faced a Monday morning he describes as a complete write-off — the competitive house-cleaning plan in ruins.
Josh Widdicombe revealed he has not been drinking for 3 years, correcting Rob's assumption that it had only been about a year.
Rob Beckett solo-parented over the bank holiday while his wife Lou was in France. His plan to clean the house competitively fell apart when Tom Allen's book party ran until midnight, leaving him very drunk, children wide-eyed on iPads, and facing a Monday morning he described as an absolute write-off.
Rob Beckett's 10-year-old daughter arrived at Tom Allen's bank holiday book party armed with an iPad, but ended up putting it down and socialising independently — chatting with comedian Alan Carr and working the garden like a guest. She was entirely nonplussed when told she'd be watching Josh do Strictly.
Rob Beckett's 10-year-old daughter held her own socialising at Tom Allen's book party, chatting with Alan Carr and other guests before eventually returning to her iPad.
Rob Beckett left Tom Allen's book party at midnight while solo parenting, with both children still awake and buzzing from iPad use.
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Rob Beckett spent 5 gruelling minutes manually inflating a giant frog garden sprinkler with a bike pump in 35-degree heat while his pale, sun-cream-covered kids chanted 'Is it ready yet, Dad?' The valve kept losing air because the kids couldn't hold it, and his glasses slid off his nose with sweat — a perfect image of British summer parenting at its worst.
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