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Welcome to this week's Tea With Me podcast with me, she and Todd
Big Mike just fiddling knobs there.
As per this week on the podcast, I'm interviewing Steven Watson.
You will know Steven Watson from BBC Sport.
He covers football cycle and rugby.
If there's a sport, you can't see it because he's got it
covered. Steven is someone who has had a
kidney transplant last year, his second never kidney transplant.
I don't know anything about kidney transplant.
So I'm going to speak to him about transplantation.
And I don't know if that is the word that sort of covers
transplants, transplantation, but I think it does.
Mike, do you think it does transplant thing transponsting?
You know, it's one of those things anyway, although I think
transponting is the capital of Bulgaria, but hey, it's all
good. We're going to chat about that.
We chatted about ice lollies big if you want showbiz exclusives,
we got it. You also know I do an impression
Stephen Watson OK, and is it disrespectful?
Potentially, potentially, but he's a great sport.
So when I say Stephen Watson here, live at Windsor Park,
Lentorum 3 Ledfield 1, you know it's all good because he thinks
it's funny and maybe he doesn't, but he does a good job of
looking like he finds it vaguely funny.
We also talk about The Smiths and Marcy and his love for all
things that he does. And we talk about Morris
Morrissey's really weird leisure centre tour of Northern Ireland
that he did a couple years ago, which I didn't think was a real
thing. And then I find that it kind of,
it actually is the thing. And I didn't say this on the
podcast, but my lips are sore. I've got cracked lips and I
don't know why. And maybe because it's getting
cold and it was cold this morning and maybe that's why it
is, but I don't like it. I hear it and I put, umm, CarMax
on and it makes worse. So I don't know what to do.
Don't put it on half cracked lips.
Put it on and they look better. But it is sore and I've got
cuts. I just want to say this.
I've got cuts all over my body. I burnt, I burnt my thumb on the
iron. I did that.
So what? You mean it's the weirdest shape
ever? How do you show someone the back
of your thumb? All right, I've got that.
That's what it is. OK.
But I still did the podcast Despite that.
I've got a cut on my leg from football and I think I've got to
cut somewhere else. So I'm caught up, but I'm still
here for you guys. I'm still doing the podcast.
It's tea with me. It's a Stephen Watson episode.
We're talking about organs. OK, We're talking about organs.
We're talking about his journey, umm, through getting a new
kidney, what that means health wise, what it was like to to
receive that and the work that he's doing to sort of provide
more awareness about organ transplantation.
So check that out. Also, just before we start the
podcast, if you would like to do a big favour, you could read and
review Tea with Me on Apple Podcasts.
You give it away, 5 star review and say something really nice.
That'll be great. And that goes a long way and I
sure would appreciate that. But in the meantime, just keep
listening. You want to see the video
version of this on YouTube, Just type Tea with Me or go on my
channel, She and Todd. And the audio version is
available anywhere you get your podcast.
Just search Tea with me. This is the Tea with Me episode
for Steven Watson. Steven Newman, second never
guest on the podcast. Delighted.
I felt embarrassed bringing you up to the office because we've
got a little bit of a flight up in situation outside, but we're
inside now and we're all good. It's nice and cosy, it's comfy,
we've got tea, it's good. Let me speak to you about tea
first of all. Do you drink tea often?
Are you like begging the tea or your casual drinker?
There's no judgments here. Massive tea drinker, drink tea
all the time. So it's like how many cups a.
Day. Yeah, yeah, a lot.
Oh, at least 8 to 10 cups of tea A.
Day been serious? Yes No recently I've moved on to
the hot chocolate because because of my because of my
medical situation, I wasn't able to to eat or drink chocolate for
about 3 1/2 years. Right now that it's open to me,
yes, flat out on the hot chocolate.
So you still on the 8 to 10 teas and hot chocolate?
No, no, probably. Probably 8 to 10 hot chocolate,
but no coffee anymore, right? Gone right off coffee.
Used to be a big latte drinker but not anymore.
See, and the opposite I I've always been tea like like
complete purist for for the tea. English breakfast or herbals?
English breakfast. Yeah, I I drink a bit of lemon
and ginger tea too sometimes. Sometimes one of the worst
things we're going to the States is sometimes you ask for even if
you ask for a breakfast tea. Rotten.
Yeah. Or grey.
Yeah, it's rotten. Which is just like a bath.
You tried Earl Grey with milk in it.
Yeah, it's like a bath. I was in New York a couple of
weeks ago. I ordered a English breakfast
tea. I could, you know, in your
order. And you know they're going to
get it wrong. You just.
I could tell by her face. And then I order English
breakfast tea with almond milk. Took one step of it at the
counter, Earl Grey just left it and walked out.
Yeah, I would. I would do, I would do the same
thing. Tea bags with you.
That's the. That's the key.
And then here's the other thing. I was in maybe it was Chicago a
couple of months ago and I ordered a breakfast tea and the
guy wouldn't give him it for a couple of minutes.
He goes, we've got a three second brew here.
You make a tea right now. So if the 10, do you think you
drink more tea just because you're working TV?
You're used to sort of just being offered tea in between
breaks and stuff like that. Possibly.
Yes.
And if you're out meeting people and you have to sit and oh, what
do you want, I'll have a cup of tea.
Yeah. We can't sit down and talk to
someone without having a cup of tea sauce or a cup of coffee or
whatever. Or paint, depending where you
are. Yeah.
So this is is this the day off for you?
This is not a day off for me, no.
Is your days off? Oh yes, there's there are days
off. Yes, of course there are days
off and occasionally. Because I will be in.
I mean, I've only ever seen you in a suit because I see you on
TV and I feel I was like, is this a day off?
Maybe your day off is just not the tie.
No, I just didn't put the tie on this morning, but I've got the
tie in the car with the with the jacket to put back on.
I mean, I could have come on a hoodie.
I had a hoodie on this morning and like walking quite a lot at
the minutes we'll go out walking hood.
Up and down. No, Oh no, no.
Hood up, hood up, add on, snood up.
Look, look, look like a gangster.
Who dance? Snooze.
Yeah. Yeah, who dance snooze.
So that's just you're just all you see the eyes.
Yeah, all you see is the eyes. I frighten people actually say
good morning to people and they they look at me.
So I have to drop this new sometimes say hello.
Through their letterbox and are you fully back at work because I
want to, I want to chat about you mentioned your health
condition. Umm, you had a not your second
condition. I did indeed.
I'm very, although I think I look very educated.
Really. Yes.
People look at me and go, that guy has been from Oxford,
Cambridge, around. The block.
Yes. Well, not, no, not around the
block. People think, people think I'm a
scholar. Really.
Yes, I went to Belfast Met, but people look at me and go like I
knows a thing or two, OK and. Then say so.
No, my HND speak for themselves, but I don't know anything about
transplants. But I was, well, I mean, I mean,
I get the idea. I get the logic of what they're
trying to do. But I remember like years and
years before I met you. I remember because my dad was a
motorbike racer, my uncle was motorbike racer.
My uncle knew you, Colin Todd. Yes, yeah.
Just from you covering all the races and that kind of thing.
And there's a long way around this story, but I remember my 2
talents whenever I was a child were number one was catching
grapes in my mouth. Right.
Green, green or purple? Very good.
Whatever height you throw it to, I can catch it.
Petty We didn't have some. Well, I mean, it's it's an
insert maybe we can do we can go get go to the fruit shop at the
break. And then my other talent was
didn't do an impression of you. Yeah, I know, I've heard it.
Which is a niche talent, but honestly, no one's no one's
coming close to my Stephen Watson impression.
I think it's pretty good. Actually, you know what?
That I was a lonely child growing up because how did I
figure out I could do it? That's worrying.
It is worrying, very worrying and I remember being taken to a
race and you were walking around the paddock.
I think you had the camera crew with you and my uncle brought me
over to you. You probably don't remember this
do. I don't actually remember this,
no. And then he said, do your do
impression. Now you're to be fair, you're
working at the time. I think you might have been on
camera and I did that for you. And then I remember not long
after that, umm, reading about or hearing about your first
kidney transplant. And then you had one, like, was
it last year? I had 1-4 months ago yesterday.
So I have a lot of questions because I don't know anything
about. I know, I know what they're
trying to do. Save your life.
Yes, and they're trying to take an organ from someone else,
correct? And put it in you.
So why in the 1st place you know I'm asking, did you need to have
a kidney transplant? When I was 17 or 18 I went to
give blood the blood transfusion unit.
They found out I was a bit anaemic so they couldn't take my
blood. So I had to go and get it
checked out which. Anaemic is what?
Yes, low, low, low blood, low blood count.
So I went and got it checked out after, you know, a couple of
weeks of saying, look, we can't take your blood to find out that
actually it wasn't anything to do with my blood.
It was actually, I had kidney problems so quickly, I, I, I
realised they realised that both of my kidneys actually weren't
formed properly at birth. They were deteriorating.
Now back then, when I was a teenager, I really didn't feel
unwell. I didn't think I felt unwell.
My mum just thought I was a lazy student sleeping the clock
round, you know, put the, put the three bar fire on, pretend
to do your revision but falls right.
So that, but basically it's because I needed a new kidney
and, and after I had the first kidney transplant, which I got
from my dad 30 years ago this month, I felt unbelievably
different. And I realised looking back that
I was so lacking in energy and didn't feel well, et cetera, et
cetera, et cetera. That it not to that scale, but
I've talked in the podcast for so I've, I've Crohn's disease.
Yeah, I had a thing after, after having a really bad virus, after
I got out of hospital for about a year, maybe between 10 months
and 12 months, I felt like I had a hangover.
I just like, yeah, lethargic exactly hard.
But it wasn't until I felt better that I realised how bad I
had felt before. Exactly, exactly the same.
Time. I didn't, I didn't.
I had no. Idea no.
I used to play a lot of golf, obviously, and I was always
lagging behind my friends a little.
I got to the 14th or 15th hole and was always feeling
exhausted. We played at Ballycastle golf
clubs, got a big hill, walking off the caravan park where we
stayed. I was always knackered.
Welcome back up there looking back.
But once they had the transplant and live donation at that time
was quite was quite new. So for me to get the kidney from
my dad as a live donor was a kind of a new thing back then,
so. Before that, would they need to
have like a body essentially? A deceased, the deceased donor
programme, that means a deceased donor and the deceased donor
programme still is very, very important that people leave
their organs after they die and save a lot of people's lives.
But now with especially within the last 10 or 15 years, the
live donation programme has completely and utterly
revolutionised transplantation. So if they did say 30
transplants a year and normally now they're doing over 100,
perhaps 130 transplants a year because of the life donation
scheme. So when when your dad gave you
the kidney, how like did everyone in your family like a
tester straight away? Was your dad like?
I didn't know anything about it to be honest.
And I was up having cheques in the hospital and I met my mum
and dad by chance in the hospital.
I said what, what are you doing here?
So when my dad first said, well, look, I've been tested to give
you a kidney, I said a flat no, absolutely no way.
I couldn't put you through it. And eventually he sort of sat me
down and said, look, if you don't take my kidney, when
another one does become available for you, you're going
to deny somebody else the chance of, of having their life saved.
So I said, OK, that kind of put me in my place.
And I thought, yes, that I will accept, accept the kidney.
So it was a tough time for my family, obviously, because, you
know, my dad and I were both in hospital at the same time.
But that kidney lasted me. They had the guts of almost 30
years. And it was only in in recent
times that it actually started to deteriorate and fail.
Is is there when you actually get that kidney transplant?
How long before they know? Like, yeah, everything's fine.
I mean, almost immediately they'll know if the kidney is
taken or not, but within the first three to six months are
the kind of crucial period because your immune system is so
low to basically fool your body that the kidneys part of you and
not somebody else, then you can pick up a lot of infection.
There's still risk of rejection. And but Touchwood say I've had
my new one for four months now and I'm and I'm.
Feeling great, do you know who your new one?
Came, I don't know, I just know it was anonymous donor and I
know he was from Northern Ireland and that's kind of
Steven. You're welcome.
No, no, no. He was older than you.
But as I said, the live donation
programme, so it used to be that you could really only accept the
kidney from say you know, your husband or wife or your mom and
your dad, not not really from a friend.
But now the way the programme works is if you say you'll give
me a kidney, I'll line you up for my next one if I ever need
one. But if you say you can give me a
kidney and you don't match me, I can put you in the kidney
sharing pool and you will never donate until I get a kidney out
of the pool. So on this occasion, I had an
anonymous donor who I put in the pool and then that person ended
up donating to someone else and I got a kidney from out of the
pool. So that's that's just.
Picturing a load of really nice people in a swimming pool.
Not that kind of pool, but it's a UK wide sharing scheme.
But that's amazing that there are people who are just up for
giving their. It's incredible.
We, we made a documentary last year, but to celebrate 15 years,
the renal unit in Northern Ireland.
And, and I obviously then was persuaded to do an interview
with, with Stephen Nolan on his TV programme, which it was very
reticent about to have to say because I didn't really want to
highlight my own situation. But I was able to go and tell
the story about the live donation scheme.
And off the back of those two things, 170 odd people came
forward to donate kidneys to strangers.
Not, not, not to me, to strangers.
And because of that programme, they will know probably by the
end of February or March have completed 25 kidney transplants
from people who are donating to strangers, which it absolutely
blew me away. I mean, I was in having my
kidney transplant this time I met a man on the ward who
introduced himself to me. His name was Brian.
And he said, I just wanted to know I've donated a kidney.
I said, oh, it's amazing. He said a couple of days ago, I
said incredible. He said no, but I want to tell
you why. He said because I saw your
programme, I saw your interview and you inspired me to do it,
which I was completely, oh, listen, I was, I was very
emotional about it. And I mean, if it made a
difference to one person's life, yeah, then it was worth doing.
I think, well, I think that was, I saw that normal interview and
yeah, it was very clear that it wasn't.
Dare to talk about yourself. No, I didn't want to be seen
that I'm I'm going to ask for a for a kidney.
I wanted the kind of everybody who needs a kidney transplant
because highlight the scheme. Like, I don't, I don't think I
have that modesty. Like if I, if I got a second
kidney, I'm on Nolan. I'm asking for a national day,
you know? But yeah, I mean, I saw the
documentary at the time as well. And the, the whole idea of organ
donation always takes me back to my Auntie Sandra, who's who's
passed away now. But whenever she was signed up
to become an organ donor, So she, she knew that she was
coming to the end of her life and she wanted to, to sign up
to, to be an organ donor. And she was filming at the forum
and she was like, yes, you know, happy that they were going
through the checklist of what you'd be happy to give.
And she was like, yes, everything, yes, fine, no
problem. Eyes No.
I see I. Was very I.
Was the same, totally the same, but not anymore.
I would. I wouldn't Care now, but when I
first signed the card I was the same.
I no, I don't see the logic in that because like this is maybe
a notion that, you know, if people believe in an afterlife
that they would like to have their eyes.
What afterlife is it where you don't need anything else inside?
That's a fairpoint. I don't know what I remember
once we were making a, a, a documentary about a rugby player
and we were filming his cruciate ligament operation.
It was Jeremy Davison, the, the, the British Lions and Irish
rugby player. And I remember having to come,
I, I had to come out of the operating theatre.
I couldn't watch anymore. It was too brutal for me.
And I met one of the surgeons and he said, oh, isn't it?
I said, I, I'm, I'm an eye surgeon.
And he said, believe me, all the students that come in here, if I
have 15 of them, two of them will be standing.
The first time I operate in an eye.
There's just something about eyes.
Yes, Oh, even putting putting eye drops in, I can't, I can't,
I can't, I can't, definitely can't watch people put eye drops
in. But yeah, I thought the, the the
programme was amazing and, and people like, I mean, I don't
know anything about it. I mean, Big Mike will know
absolutely nothing about transplants either.
But I think for for people like me as well that have like no
knowledge of that, it does make you way more interested in in
being an organ donor. Yeah, well, I, I just hope by
highlighting it that especially the live donation scheme, that
it would make people set up and realise, look, you only need one
kidney to live, you don't need 2.
So if there are people out there who would consider actually
walking into the City Hospital and donating a kidney, yes, it's
a big decision. It's not anywhere as near a big,
big an operation as it used to be.
And make that mean my dad was opened up basically 180° the
whole way around to take the kidney out.
It's not like that anymore. They take them out by keyhole.
It's a fairly straightforward operation.
You're only in hospital a couple of days, you know, 6 to 8 weeks
recovery and you're absolutely, absolutely.
Fine how? How big is it like compared to a
fruit? Oh, I mean, it depends.
A kidney could be maybe the size of a large orange.
But then those, there was a man in hospital who had polycystic
kidneys had a problem when I was in hospital and one of his
kidneys was 3 or 4 KGS to be taken out.
All right, So, but that's, that's obviously abnormal.
But yeah, they're probably the size of a the size of a large
orange, something like that. But you so the I mean the first
time you needed a kidney, what was the difference in how much
you needed one the second time? Because exactly, exactly the
same mean, exactly the same. The first time I only had
dialysis for a short time to get me ready for the operation and
then then obviously had the kidney from my dad.
Second time my kidney started going downhill, so it was only
operating sort of 5 or 6%. So I had to obviously had
dialysis, which I had for 18 months.
And you're still working. Still working.
I was determined that even though I wasn't feeling the
best, that I was just going to work completely the whole way
through. So I had 4-5 hour sessions of
dialysis a week, Monday, Wednesday, Friday, Saturday
mornings early and then went into work after that.
But then I was, I was away working quite a lot as well.
So I mean, I was determined I wasn't going to miss the
Masters, which is the greatest sporting world.
So I had two sessions of dialysis in America.
I had two sessions at the Ryder Cup, I had two sessions at the
Open in Scotland. I had in the Isle of Man, I had
it in Portugal, I had it anywhere I could get it, I would
take. It I mean, if I have a cold, I'm
taking a month off I'm. I was determined that I wasn't
going to and I didn't. I didn't miss any any.
I didn't miss a day's work when I was on dialysis.
And I realised that's not possible for everybody.
Yeah. But do you think that has an
effect overall on your body and every, you know, if you do go
right, I'm just getting on with this.
Do you think your body almost like picks up on that and goes?
I think your mind does. Yeah.
I think it probably keeps, it certainly kept me.
It kept me going. I, I couldn't have sat in the
house and, you know, going for five hours dialysis.
And then go home and lie down for another 5 yards.
That's just not me. I wanted to keep going and prove
that you can still on dialysis. Not I wouldn't call it a normal
life, but you can still lead a healthy life and still still do
your do your job. When you did the interview on
Nolan, am I right in saying you at that point you didn't know if
you got? No, I was on dialysis at that
point. I was doing the dialysis.
You weren't sure? No, I wasn't.
I wasn't sure. I only found out probably just
before last summer that I was that they'd found a match for me
and it was a it was a one in a million kidney because normally
you have to have the same blood group and obviously the tissue
typing has to be the same. And but this kidney wasn't the
same blood group as me, but they were able to treat me.
And they give you a thing called plasma exchange.
Sounds pretty gruesome, but it's not really.
They basically take your blood out of your body, take the
plasma out of the blood, take the antibodies out of the
plasma, put the plasma back in your blood, and then your
antibodies are low enough to accept the transplant.
You started that would basically, I mean, when you sell
plasma exchange, I thought you'd bring your TV in and you got a
new one back, you know, but you like what would what would have
another if you had to wait another month?
I've been on dialysis. I mean, I could have stayed on
dialysis probably for I would imagine you could stay on it for
10 years if you really, really had to.
I was on it for, you know, 18-19 months something.
Is that doing you damage when you're on that?
It's not doing you the world of good.
I mean, your your kidneys are given you dialysis 24 hours a
day. I was only getting five hours
dialysis, you know, every every other day basically.
So that's kind of that kind of. So no, it's not great.
It's not great that your bloods taken out of your body, put in
the machine, cleaned and put back in again.
So you don't want to be doing that all the time.
I realise there are people who are not eligible for a
transplant, so dialysis is going to keep them alive for as long
as they're as long as they're here.
So you're here but all all that stuff, but I don't think with
the actual reality. Yeah.
So some people are eligible for a transplant and some people
aren't because some people aren't well enough, obviously,
to have the operation. But thankfully I was the death
has kept me going. I was I was well enough to have
a accept the kidney. So but I'd say I'm O negative
blood group, but I got AB negative kidney, which is
incredible, right? I mean, I did ask them how did
they find out that they can actually give different blood
group kidneys? Because like you can't just give
a chance and they said Japan and because Japan don't believe in
leaving your organs when you die, they're all about live
transplantation. So they did one by accident and
they found out that it worked, and then they went, why did that
work? I mean, that's such a great
thing, but that. But anyway, that's, I mean, it's
opened up, you know, a whole new Ave for completing successful
transplants, which is great. And yeah, I mean, I guess you
would have to just continue to work if you can, the sort of
stub. Yeah, and it might have come to,
it might have come to the stage where you know, you couldn't,
you couldn't have, you know, you could, you had, it might have to
stop working. And but it kept it kept me
going, which was which was great.
So. Without getting too deep, do did
you have to think about things like were you when you were
doing dialysis and you were going on the journey?
Did you think there's going to be grandeur as everything's
going to be fine? I did, I did.
I had great faith in the, I mean the Belfast City Hospital are
world leaders in transplantation without a shadow of a doubt.
They do more live transplants per head of population than
anywhere else in the world. And I mean Northern Ireland are
making headlines in that field across the world.
What they've done recently because of this, the amount of
altruistic donors that have come forward, I mean, IE donating to
strangers, that's making waves in transplantation across the UK
because all their units are saying how are you doing so many
of these altruistic, you know, donors and they, they are
amazing people up there. So I actually always put my
faith in them that they would get me a kidney.
I didn't really think about the mortality of it all until
probably went on the Nolan show and he asked the surgeon he was
on there how long he got the live and he went out probably
another 10 years. I was maybe doesn't get a
kidney. So, yeah, so I hadn't actually
thought about it up to that point, but I thought about it
then. But I look, I because I'd had 30
years of successful transplant, I never forgot I had a kidney
transplant during that time. But you know, I lived life to
the full. Yeah, yeah, yeah.
After, you know, after I had my first transplant, you won't
remember this place, but maybe some people listening to this.
Well, the Crescent. Do you ever remember the
Crescent? No, what a what a bar nightclub
that was. Well, was it in Sandy Row?
Oh, what a place it was the student hangout and just around
the corner with spuds. You ever go to sleeping?
The spuds my an old friend of mine from school his my own
spuds ark. But what a place so most trap
burger. I've been the spuds and I didn't
put my hand in my pocket. Oh I love.
It so we used to go to the Crescent and believe me, I
enjoyed myself even with my kidney.
Transport is the. Crescent, it's housing that's
it's not just apartments. I think it was a water.
Place so all the students were hadn't headed for Sandy.
Road There is nowhere in Belfast like the Crescent anymore.
It was the place to go. And could.
And then around the corner, first buds.
Could everyone have gone to the everyone if you know?
Everyone could go to, everyone could go.
It was, it was the place to go. So I lived life to the full, is
what I'm saying. Yeah, I went out.
You know, I like the, I like the Pinta, Guinness, vodka, Red
Bull. You know, I not together, but I
enjoyed myself. Yeah, as what I'm saying.
And I lived life to Phil. I played a lot of sport at a
completely normal life, but I never forgot.
I had a transplant because I wanted to look after it and I
looked after it because it was my dad's and looked after for 30
years. Sorry to interrupt the podcast
sippers, but I have a very very quick sponsor message.
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by the podcast world. Back to the podcast, I remember
we we films were films on for BBC Northern Ireland up at Port
Rush that where we did that. Yes.
No for sure. What shirt?
And then and the idea was I would drive people to the
driving range, like celebrities and people playing the programme
and interview them as we went. And you and I went out and it
was great. And I remember had like some
food and they were like offer people food when they get in.
And I was like, here, Stephen, do you want a banana?
And you're like, no. Potassium nightmare?
Not quite, but then because when I was on dialysis I'm on a low
potassium diet, really restrictive diet and on a fluid
restriction, so I was only on 1500 mil a day.
Now for somebody who used to drink 7 and probably does know I
drink 678 litres a day, the fluid restriction absolutely
killed me. Drink. 8 litres a day.
Oh I well six anyway. I drink 6 litres a day.
Not what water. You know, Water fluid.
Is it not if you drink a gallon of water you you die?
No, no, no, no. You can.
You mean have you heard that as well?
No, I've never heard that. You won't drink.
I was informed by a very reliable source when I was
younger. I think I was with sex when I
heard that the guy telling me was at least 8.
Well, that might have been Chinese water torture or
something back, back in the day. But I was right.
So when I was on dialysis, I only had 1500 mils.
So I wasn't thinking the 8 or 10 cups of tea a day.
It was like really, really limited.
And that and it was on 10 pair of pick and porkies and Poly
pineapples a day, you know, because they're only 60 or 70
mil. So what a diet.
They were good. Yeah, that's I lived in
lollipops and I didn't need anything.
So obviously there was no alcohol involved.
And to be honest, I haven't got any alcohol since my new
transplant. That probably won't ever again,
just because I've kind of gone off it now.
Yeah, it's weird. I like to think, you know, to
get over the the mental side of eating it at the 10 pair of peg
and porkies. They used to change it up on the
night, like even going on up with a knife and fork sometimes.
No, no, no, no, no. Dyson it no.
And rocket, Rocket lollies, Great.
I mean, rocket lollies for a pound.
Where would you get it? Correct.
Absolutely. I mean that's most people are
would buy one of those for the summer.
You know that that much? I buy a day per day.
That's incredible. And every, yeah, I mean every
sport event I went to, people knew I liked lollipops.
So they buy me lollipops freezer.
And since I've had my transplant, I have not had one
lollipop. I was keeping deal farming
business. Just because you had so many,
yeah, will bring you back. I mean, I was eating genuine,
genuinely the. Sound, you think?
Unless no, this is this is sort of exclusive.
I won't. I I was eating without a shadow
of a doubt. 70 lollipops a week. 60 anyway. 60 too many 60 too
many to. Multiply 60 lollipops a week
times Yeah, 10 months. That's that's how many lollipops
I was eating. Yeah, I know.
I mean, if the Sunday World don't get hold of this.
I'm not one sense their profits must have plummeted.
What's a nice slowly exclusive? Never.
I don't want to look at another one ever again.
So what? Are you limited on your diet
now? No.
No, no, no, not now. I'm back if I can eat as freely
as I want. See, I am, but I don't know, I
think I might be able to still eat freely, but I'm just in the
zone with what I do. Fun.
I still haven't had bananas. I'm still funny.
My potassium, I still watch it because I don't want it to creep
up and and other things. I check my results and make sure
I want to. I don't want to put obviously
after a transplant you can put on a lot of WHIP because you're
on steroids and I don't want to do, I don't want to do that.
So I'm managing my dad pretty well.
I love a ham and cheese toasty. Well, couldn't eat those for
three like 3 1/2 years. So I love ham, cheese toast.
You know, I couldn't eat cheese. You know, couldn't eat processed
food, couldn't eat fast food. Crisps on the side.
Yeah, no, no, don't. But I like I haven't.
I've only had a couple of packs of crisps since my transplant.
I kind of have gone off them as well, but potato cheese and.
Onion. Honestly I think the older you
get the more distant you get from crisps.
I know, but I used to love a pack of potato cheese and onion
crisp sandwich. Class.
Well, here's back in back in in the day at school, I would have
got ham and cheese sandwich. Ham.
Grated cheese. Oh, I like that.
On the side we've got a pepper chip.
I would have put a few of the pepper chips into.
That's rotten. And some potato prawn cocktail.
That's rotten. That is rotten and that.
Honestly, don't knock it until you've tried.
No, I'm not the one. I mean it cost £12 to put it all
together, but it was, it was worth it.
Try a ham, cheese, sweet corn toasted sandwich with red sauce
or mayonnaise. That's the business.
No, not red sauce. Oh yeah, red sauce.
No, because if you're. Or mayonnaise.
No, I couldn't. I haven't even eat red sauce,
brown sauce, say cheese, very limited on vegetables and
couldn't eat like white rice out of a Chinese restaurant, for
example. I could tell you what I could
eat rather what I couldn't eat. So now my dad's been opened back
up again. It's fantastic.
I can eat whatever I want. That's great.
I mean, I remember when I was in hospital and I've got the
croon's diagnosis, but there weren't I'm really sure I've
I've I have a weird body. I mean, I've got like weird
heart, like Luther ship and I think like I have weird my
thumb's a weird ship. And this is the same internally
as well. Nice.
I have some weird things. So they they X-rayed me and they
came back to me. I was only in hospital a couple
and I'd never been in hospital for anything before overnight.
And they, they said, look, we've looked at your spleen here and
you have, it's disturbed, disturbing like people like
consultants were, you know, like white.
And then they say it out, No, they didn't take it out because
they, they said to me, because of your spleen and because what
else is going on? You're looking at maybe a three.
I think they said to me three or four months stay in hospital.
Nice came back to me the food. No, came back to me a couple of
days later said, look, we figured out that you and this is
the consultant's word figured out your spleen is just a bit
weird. So you're now free to leave.
So I don't know why I started saying this, but I just want to
let you know that my spleen is not great.
Oh, that that's what it was. I was reacting badly without
knowing that the dairy, right. So I would have, I would have
dairy and then I would need to go to a different room, if you
know what I mean. Yes, but I didn't know this.
So I want, and I'd lost so much weight.
I just wanted to like build myself back up again.
So everybody was like, milkshakes are the way to go.
Loads of calories, easy to drink.
People were bringing me big banana milkshakes and it was
just. You can't.
You can't drink them. No, I was drinking them, but I
was. Made, but you could make them
with oat milk. Probably could, No.
Yeah. But the mistake.
But I haven't had like I don't miss milk as much as I thought
it would. Only in tea.
Almond, almond milk and.
No, I don't like almond milk and tea.
I tried it didn't. Didn't do it for me.
See. And I'm not like, you're like
soaked. He's an oat.
Milk. Yeah, I've tried it too, but not
in cornflakes. It can tag on tea, but not on
the cornflakes. That's what killed me.
I live on cereal. And so how much cheese?
Toasted sandwiches and both those things were out the window
when I was on the diet. When I was on the diet.
See. Crunchy nut cornflakes couldn't
have them. Yeah, have nuts.
Milk was limited. Nightmare.
Only allowed hundred millimilk a day.
I mean if the. Effect for tea if there's a.
Better advert for taking care of your kidneys.
It's the fact that cereals out the window.
Oh. This window you're on.
But if you like lollies, only if you like lollies, get on, get on
the lollies, get involved. Probably end up with diabetes.
But I mean, you kid, he's OK. You and I were on the same
flight going back from, that's right, Switzerland.
You remember yesterday? Yeah.
After Northern Ireland much. Yeah.
And we're just chatting about a lot of different things.
And then we got talking about The Smiths.
Oh, and. And you were talking about this.
You said. You said, do you like The
Smiths? And I said, yeah, I meant on a
load of their songs. But yeah.
And then I can't remember who I was talking to.
And really, Wolster, months later, I think on my radio show
we played The Smiths and Owen McFadden, my producer, said
Stephen Watson never spoke to about The Smiths.
And I said yes. On a flight coming on from
Switzerland, he asked me if I like The Smiths and I said, does
he? Is he really into them?
And he went yes. Oh yes.
He really is. Oh yeah, Morrissey's got a new
album out at the minute. Well, it's coming out in March.
Do you know that Morrissey did like a tour of and I swear to
God, this true Northern Irish leisure.
Centres, yes. And I was at the mall.
Oh, my leisure centre. He played, It's not a, it's not
a, it's not a leisure centre. But he played the Rialto in
Derry, which is a very, very small venue.
He played on the leisure centre and and a couple of others and I
was at every single one of them. What I like about that is that
the idea of playing leisure centre is that there was
probably like lads towards the end of the concert on his own
core, just with a 5A side ball waiting to go on, just peering
through the glass. I mean, I heard that he did that
because it's so cheap to rent the leisure centre.
No, I don't think that was that was the reason.
It's because he just does different things sometimes.
I mean, this is somebody who'd like who'd headline Glastonbury.
Yeah, who sold out the the Orange Bowl quicker than The
Beatles, right? You know, he can play massive
venues, but sometimes he just likes to.
He's doing the leisure centre soon as he's.
Just likes to do a little little smaller.
It's more. I've seen Marcy in concert at
least 10 times. And you have a collection of
record CD's? Yes.
Would you say you have every bit of music he's ever done?
Oh yes, with probably 3 times over.
And maybe some stuff he doesn't even know.
He's no, no, you got. It definitely not, but I have
got every CD, every seven and single, every 12 inch single,
every box set, every promo single.
All the singles come out as a promo.
There's one or two things that I don't have because they cost an
extortionate amount of money to actually buy them.
You've. Had two kidney.
Transplants, I know, I know, but the negative, the negative
single there's only there's only a very limited amount of of The
Smiths race first single hand in glove.
It's probably about 5 grand. So I don't want it that much
because I've got you think so, Yes, Yeah.
They don't come up for sale very often.
Get it. But I have probably like I've
got hundreds of CDs, hundreds of seven inch records, hundreds of
all hundreds of stuff and I love it.
I remember Bailey and everything.
I want you to complete the collection.
I mean if it's five grand, I mean we live in Northern
Ireland, you'll know a fella who can get it for like £80.
I know, but I thought my collection was amazing until
this sounds. This sounds sad, but I was on a
website for Morrissey collectors.
It is. And yeah.
And this guy, like take one of the singles for example,
Swearheads, the first single, this guy's got the 12 inch and
seven inch from every single country.
You know, I'm, I'm not that obsessive.
I just want every sleeve and every version.
So I've got all the cassettes, albums on every single format on
every format. And there was a couple, I
actually had a leak in the house once and it leaked into the box
of the Morrissey and Smith Collection and it wrecked like
quite a lot of the records. We had to go out and rebuy the.
Universe might have been trying to tell you something.
But listen, I am. I am more passionate about Marty
and The Smiths than probably even sport, which I'm so
passionate about so. I'm kind of the same for you.
I'm the same. Would Bewitched bewitched?
Yeah, I'd have all their all their saying that.
Is that a band or a? Say Lovey.
Is that a band or a programme? Is not a programme bewitched?
Yeah, there is, but Bewitched were.
Never Irish. Trio of sisters.
Never heard of them. Say you will say, you won't say.
Oh, I've heard. You what?
I don't. Yeah, I've heard of that, Yeah.
The Mars he getting bothered. Recently he's been he's
polarising, yes, he's he's got himself in a whole lot of bother
and I don't really I don't really get involved in his
politics and the things that he says.
I just like the music. I like the man, I like the
music, but I don't get involved in all of like I didn't turn a
vegetarian because he because of meet his murder and all of that
that goes with it. But I just think.
Too many. Perfect.
Even his music is amazing. I love the Smithy's new album
Out I Am Not a Dog on a Chain, which is coming out very soon.
I mean, there's already been 33 singles released off that and as
soon as they're downloaded as I walk in the other night, I
listened to the new single about 10 times when I was.
I am sad when it comes to Morrissey and Smith, but he's
amazed. I like there is a like that
never goes oh what a song. I like last of the international
Playboy famous international playwash.
That's a phenomenal song. Yeah, my friend actually once
Nigel Mcgalpine said this is over a few drinks.
Could I name 100 Morrissey songs in a minute?
Or Marcy or Smith songs. Got there about 98.
It was impressive. And I know I'm not going to.
No, I'm not going to try. I'm not going to try it again.
No, Steven, no, no, no, I'm not going to try it again.
OK. But it was pretty good.
And you'd need to be a drink involved for that.
But it was, Yeah. I love Morrissey and The Smiths
love it. It was there whenever you were,
you were sort of going through everything whenever you're, you
were doing the long hours on dialysis and all that kind of
thing was there. What like do you just like
listen to the music or do you go, do you connect the music to
like do I mean, have you got a song in your head where you go?
Sometimes I just stick that on, everything's fine.
Yeah, sometimes. Sometimes in the very first
Smith song that I liked and I was William, it was really
nothing. That was just the first song I
ever heard. I came to The Smiths after
they'd broken up. I know I never got a chance to
see The Smiths in concert, so I do like that.
So I'm that sort of takes me back to the day.
But I have to say, well, in hospital, I just downloaded on
Spotify the complete Morrissey and Smith's collection and just
listen to it solidly. I mean, some people probably
thought that would get an early grave, but I just, I loved it.
I mean, listen to other stuff. I mean, listen to a lot of other
stuff as well. Not so much current.
Marcy tribute act Yes, tribute. Yeah, these charming men, well.
You're never going to see the Smith's live, Steven.
Get ready. It would be my I would love to
meet Morrissey. I've never met.
They say don't meet your heroes, but I have met a couple of them
previously like some George Best Joyed and Lop Ollie Campbell was
a you naturally and so I would I would like to meet meet
Morrissey. I mean, I feel like you, I feel
like it's, it's, it's achievable.
Well, I was. Is he elusive?
Well, there was once he was on The One Show at one point, which
was quite an odd thing for him to do.
Yeah. And Christine Blakely, who
obviously knows, she said you want to come over.
And I was thinking about it. And then I thought, no, you'd
just be like a spare one of those at a wedding, you know?
So I thought you. You got to do it though.
I know at some at some point I'd like, I'd like, I mean it
genuinely. His music has played a big part
in my in my life and I've listened to it, my hope my whole
life. I love on a Marcy album or is
coming out. I actually genuinely get
excited. I'm probably one of the few.
Yeah, but I love it. He probably doesn't.
When I was in hospital, I actually bought a Lotus Smiths
T-shirts for, you know, people buy pyjamas.
I bought Smiths and Marcy T-shirts.
And wore those when I was in hospital so.
I like them. I like that I'm kind of nowhere
near the same. I think I arrived at the ruins.
I've always liked the old Rolling Stones song, but as I've
got a wee bit older, I've started to listen to as much
Rolling Stones as I can. I mean, we're not talking a
collection. We're not talking a collection,
but I'll. Start.
You think so? I.
Think might. I want.
I really think you should buy that 5 grand piece you're
missing and we can get a cheap we'll get a cheaper.
Someday we'll get a cheap. Someday might get a bit cheaper
than. That so I want to finish but
talking about this I this might be terrible to say.
I think I'm an organ donor, but I am not 100% sure.
You think you are? I have.
Filled out things before. On your driving licence, yes,
then you probably are. Does that make me is there?
Should I check? Is there a way I can check it?
Is there something I can? Yes, you can go into the organ
donor register online and try and see if you, you know, if
you're registered online. I mean, I, they have, I mean
England, Scotland, Wales have a different scheme than we have in
Northern Ireland. As far as I'm aware.
They've got an opt out as opposed to an opt in scheme,
which I hope they do bring into Northern Ireland now that we've
finally got the government back up and running.
It's important, but it's not as important as the live donation
programme. I prefer to spend my time
talking to educate people. You know, you can, you don't
have to die to save somebody's life.
You can save somebody's life while you're, while you're still
on the planet. And but it is, it is very
important. The organ donor programme is
very, very important. Deceased programme is very, very
important. And I encourage everyone to
there's. Probably a lot of people like me
that, you know, kind of think they are like the idea.
But maybe, you know, I'll do that at some point.
You put it off, whatever. So today I'm going to check it.
Yes, and even still, if you're on it and you unfortunately
passed away, they still have to check with your family.
Yes, that that that they want you to donate.
Yeah, but if you've signed the register, then it makes the
conversation a whole lot easier. I once actually promoted the
organ donor register and I found this photo the other day.
No good for a podcast, but it will show you afterwards of me
on the back of a bus promoting organ donation.
Yeah. And the suit that I was wearing
that day is horrific. Pence right now.
Oh, no, it's brown. It's a brown suit.
It's not good. Like Mike, you know, donor.
Everything. Eyes as well.
Yeah, I'm, I'm, I'm the full heap now, although I couldn't
donate my kidneys even though I've got four.
Yeah, only one of them works. Well, like your Morrissey
collection, it's a great collection.
I have decided who I'm going to leave that to, You know, that's
going to have to go to museum if I'm describing, yes, I think
that without a shadow of a doubt.
I think so, Stephen, thank you so much for thank you coming on
the podcast. Really appreciate.
It for giving me the time to talk about organ donation too.
Yes, the live organ donation is there like a website for that?
And you can go on the Belfast City Hospital, you can look up
the the live donation scheme there and register to be an
organ, an organ donor and your one phone call away and a few
health cheques away, blood tests away from donating an organ all.
Right, there we go. Thanks very much.
Thank you very much with me. Thank you.
Cheers. Cheers.
Zippers, that is this week's With me podcast.
Thank you very much. What a guy, Steven Watson for
coming on highlighting the awareness needed for organ
donation and especially live organ donation.
So if you want to do a bit more reading about that, get on
Google and do it. Don't be one of these people
that posts up on Facebook on how would I find out more about live
organ donation? Hey, you ever heard a Lycos?
Hey, you know, Bing poo put it in because some people might not
want to use Google. And if you don't want, you've
got Yahoo, you've got Jeeves. Ask Jeeves.
He's a lot older now. He's he's very slow now in his
old age Jeeves. But if you ask him, he will
eventually get back to you. If you put a question in the
Jeeves now 25 minutes where he gets back to you, but he will he
will find it. He just takes his time.
That's probably the person whose number you give.
Remember, you just said to me, Big Mike there, can I pass on
your number to someone? They're phoning me right now.
Inconvenient. I literally said sorry I missed
you in filming Shane as we speak.
Ah. So I don't.
Do you know what? It's fine.
It's just real life. It's fine.
We'll take the call after. Thank you very much for
listening. I say if you want to subscribe
to the podcast Tea with me, you can do that.
If you want to read it and review it on Apple Podcast, that
would be so sweet. That would be swagged out.
That would be souped up. That would be asthmatic.
If you want to give away 5 star review and just say, do you
enjoy it? Whatever you want to say, just
be kind about my thumbs, OK? Thank you very much for
listening. If you wanted the video version,
it's on YouTube, Audio tea with me everywhere, Apple Podcasts,
can't think of anywhere else, but it's there.
And I've probably been left a voicemail there.
And hey, don't like it when I get a voicemail.
Don't like it, Don't like going into it.
I've seen your missed call, I'll phone you back.
Don't need the voicemail. Sometimes voicemail is good when
the person goes, don't worry by phoning me back.
I just need to pass on this message and then you go
brilliant. But 9 out of 10 times I don't
like a voicemail. OK, I do not the only time
voicemail is fun is when someone's pocket dialled you for
12 minutes and you get to listen into their life and go.
I hope you make a mistake, but that's what it is.
Thanks very much for listening to this week's Excuse Me
podcast. Thanks to Big Mike for standing
over there just being big Mike. As we all know, he's called up
by in his own words, private people.
What? I would thank Dan Dan Quick, but
he is not here this week so he will be getting zero thanks.
I thank Dan Quick for this podcast as much as I thank
Richard Blackwood for as much as I thank the ex WWE wrestler
Bessera who has also contributed little to nothing to this week's
podcast. Who else do?
Who else? Yeah, he did it as well.
This was like a big fat black guy and like APVC jacket.
Yeah, he did it. Yeah, he did it.
He had a Mohawk. Yeah, yeah, yeah.
You remember. Never forget Vistra.
Shout out to mom Vistra, who's probably on the podcast next
week. I don't know if he's dead.
Is he dead? I mean, I feel like it could
well be dead. Umm.
Also, Ronnie Beggs former train robber, has done as much as down
for this episode of the podcast. I mean, Don has his reasons.
He's literally working, but at the same time, please respect
the memory of Vistra. Unless he's still alive, in
which case let's enjoy him while he's here.
Thanks very much guys.