Two Spores in Britain

(Recorded on 1 November  2020) We hope everyone is staying safe amidst another lockdown in the UK (we had recorded this a day after the announcement of the November lockdown; the UK is in another lockdown presently till February 2021) and generally, wherever you are, hope you are as safe as you can be with access to everything you need and a support system to protect your mental health. And please wear a mask as long as you are outside of your household! Happy new year! Hope your 2021 started well! In this episode, we continue on the Food series we started, this time talking more about our pseudo-vegetarian dietary choices and how easy it is to be more vegetarian in the UK vs. in Singapore. We also do a bit of a touch-and-go (with promises to revisit them) with issues like accessibility, privilege and reducing environmental impact on the whole. Timestamps: 04:25 'ma2 fan2' is from Mandarin 麻烦, meaning 'troublesome' 11:14 link to episode 2 on food: https://youtu.be/GlZpT5E9Qco 35:10 onwards - R misspoke; almond milk takes much more energy in its manufacturing process relative to oat milk 35:30 Oat milk recipe from R: Soak 50g oats in 700 ml water overnight. To be honest, this will come out a bit thin but adjust it to your liking the second time - add less water or more oats to make it thicker. I used Morrisons Savers porridge oats so maybe that's why it came out thin. If you use better quality oats, you will probably get a better outcome. Blend for about 5 minutes - the water will be cloudy. Strain the oats from the liquid using a cheesecloth or a sieve if you don't have a cheesecloth like me - use a spoon to really press/squeeze as much liquid out of the oats from the sieve as much as possible.Drink the liquid - that's your oat milk. Add sweetener of choice if you want (I usually leave it out). In the spirit of not wasting anything, save the strained oats: put into bakes or treat as oat porridge and add fruit and jam to it and eat! -- FIND US: Anchor - https://anchor.fm/twosporesinbritain Spotify - https://open.spotify.com/show/71VYTK9TPTYik5oLFL9NrD Apple Podcasts - https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/two-spores-in-britain/id1510616554?ign-mpt=uo%3D4 Google Podcasts - https://podcasts.google.com/?feed=aHR0cHM6Ly9hbmNob3IuZm0vcy8xZTRhZmZiMC9wb2RjYXN0L3Jzcw%3D%3D Breaker - https://www.breaker.audio/two-spores-in-britain RadioPublic - https://radiopublic.com/two-spores-in-britain-WaO5nM PocketCasts - https://pca.st/48kz9ctz Overcast - https://overcast.fm/itunes1510616554/two-spores-in-britain Listen Notes - https://www.listennotes.com/podcasts/two-spores-in-britain-two-spores-in-britain-bql2a8Fko-y/ FOLLOW US: Twitter - https://twitter.com/twosporesinbr Instagram - https://instagram.com/twosporesinbritain Facebook - https://facebook.com/twosporesinbritain -- Join two Singaporeans who have been great friends for over 10 years as we share our experiences as transplants to Britain and practise British accents. Put the kettle on, make some coffee/tea with digestive biscuits, dip in and dig in! Welcome to Two Spores in Britain!

[Recorded on 6 September 2020] Surprise! One Spore has left Britain! Listen/watch to find out which one of us has gone back to Singapore and her journey home. We also share how we keep in touch with each other and with others as we traverse across time(zones) and (liminal) space. It's a fun one, we share hot tips! -- FIND US: Anchor - https://anchor.fm/twosporesinbritain Spotify - https://open.spotify.com/show/71VYTK9TPTYik5oLFL9NrD Apple Podcasts - https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/two-spores-in-britain/id1510616554?ign-mpt=uo%3D4 Google Podcasts - https://podcasts.google.com/?feed=aHR0cHM6Ly9hbmNob3IuZm0vcy8xZTRhZmZiMC9wb2RjYXN0L3Jzcw%3D%3D Breaker - https://www.breaker.audio/two-spores-in-britain RadioPublic - https://radiopublic.com/two-spores-in-britain-WaO5nM PocketCasts - https://pca.st/48kz9ctz Overcast - https://overcast.fm/itunes1510616554/two-spores-in-britain Listen Notes - https://www.listennotes.com/podcasts/two-spores-in-britain-two-spores-in-britain-bql2a8Fko-y/ FOLLOW US: Twitter - https://twitter.com/twosporesinbr Instagram - https://instagram.com/twosporesinbritain Facebook - https://facebook.com/twosporesinbritain -- Join two Singaporeans who have been great friends for over 10 years as we share our experiences as transplants to Britain and practise British accents. Put the kettle on, make some coffee/tea with digestive biscuits, dip in and dig in! Welcome to Two Spores in Britain!

Happy National Day, Singapore! We recorded this episode before our reunion episode and thought it fitting to upload this episode today, given that it's about Identities. We try to define the term, provide anecdotes on how we identify ourselves and how we have been labelled, and importantly, what shapes our Singaporean identity? -- FIND US: Anchor - https://anchor.fm/twosporesinbritain Spotify - https://open.spotify.com/show/71VYTK9TPTYik5oLFL9NrD Apple Podcasts - https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/two-spores-in-britain/id1510616554?ign-mpt=uo%3D4 Google Podcasts - https://podcasts.google.com/?feed=aHR0cHM6Ly9hbmNob3IuZm0vcy8xZTRhZmZiMC9wb2RjYXN0L3Jzcw%3D%3D Breaker - https://www.breaker.audio/two-spores-in-britain RadioPublic - https://radiopublic.com/two-spores-in-britain-WaO5nM PocketCasts - https://pca.st/48kz9ctz Overcast - https://overcast.fm/itunes1510616554/two-spores-in-britain Listen Notes - https://www.listennotes.com/podcasts/two-spores-in-britain-two-spores-in-britain-bql2a8Fko-y/ FOLLOW US: Twitter - https://twitter.com/twosporesinbr Instagram - https://instagram.com/twosporesinbritain Facebook - https://facebook.com/twosporesinbritain -- Join two Singaporeans who have been great friends for over 10 years as we share our experiences as transplants to Britain and practise British accents. Put the kettle on, make some coffee/tea with digestive biscuits, dip in and dig in! Welcome to Two Spores in Britain!

In today's episode, we are reunited! We share the reasons for this reunion and some thoughts about the Singapore General Election. As we've mentioned, please bear with us if our episodes are more sporadic from now on, lockdown is easing so we will work on them whenever we get the chance! -- FIND US: Anchor - https://anchor.fm/twosporesinbritain Spotify - https://open.spotify.com/show/71VYTK9TPTYik5oLFL9NrD Apple Podcasts - https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/two-spores-in-britain/id1510616554?ign-mpt=uo%3D4 Google Podcasts - https://podcasts.google.com/?feed=aHR0cHM6Ly9hbmNob3IuZm0vcy8xZTRhZmZiMC9wb2RjYXN0L3Jzcw%3D%3D Breaker - https://www.breaker.audio/two-spores-in-britain RadioPublic - https://radiopublic.com/two-spores-in-britain-WaO5nM PocketCasts - https://pca.st/48kz9ctz Overcast - https://overcast.fm/itunes1510616554/two-spores-in-britain Listen Notes - https://www.listennotes.com/podcasts/two-spores-in-britain-two-spores-in-britain-bql2a8Fko-y/ FOLLOW US: Twitter - https://twitter.com/twosporesinbr Instagram - https://instagram.com/twosporesinbritain Facebook - https://facebook.com/twosporesinbritain -- Join two Singaporeans who have been great friends for over 10 years as we share our experiences as transplants to Britain and practise British accents. Put the kettle on, make some coffee/tea with digestive biscuits, dip in and dig in! Welcome to Two Spores in Britain!

Today we share our experiences and reflections fasting during Ramadan, S as an experienced one and R her first time! We talk about privilege, mindful eating, thirst, charity, family and community. Share your experiences below if you also fasted for the first time and/or what your Ramadan month was like in this lockdown period! Also, please bear with us if our episodes are more sporadic from now on - the lockdown is easing and our wonderful editor S is back at work so we will work on these episodes whenever we get the chance! Timestamps: 12:44 and 41:37 - Link to our episode on living in Britain: https://youtu.be/4WPgf55gkOg 19:28 - Link to Amaliah website S mentioned: https://amaliah.com 23:36 - To clarify where R saw the term ‘zakat’, it was a website that talked about the five pillars of Islam so zakat was alongside fasting, it wasn’t Google ads. 29:12 - ‘wah lau’ is an exclamation in Hokkien used in Singapore/Malaysia for expressing incredulity and mild annoyance 35:37 - Geylang Serai bazaar is an annual bazaar that runs during Ramadan that has tons of food and clothes to spend hours eating and shopping away at -- FIND US: Anchor - https://anchor.fm/twosporesinbritain Spotify - https://open.spotify.com/show/71VYTK9TPTYik5oLFL9NrD Apple Podcasts - https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/two-spores-in-britain/id1510616554?ign-mpt=uo%3D4 Google Podcasts - https://podcasts.google.com/?feed=aHR0cHM6Ly9hbmNob3IuZm0vcy8xZTRhZmZiMC9wb2RjYXN0L3Jzcw%3D%3D Breaker - https://www.breaker.audio/two-spores-in-britain RadioPublic - https://radiopublic.com/two-spores-in-britain-WaO5nM PocketCasts - https://pca.st/48kz9ctz Overcast - https://overcast.fm/itunes1510616554/two-spores-in-britain FOLLOW US: Twitter - https://twitter.com/twosporesinbr Instagram - https://instagram.com/twosporesinbritain Facebook - https://facebook.com/twosporesinbritain -- Join two Singaporeans who have been great friends for over 10 years as we share our experiences as transplants to Britain and practise British accents. Put the kettle on, make some coffee/tea with digestive biscuits, dip in and dig in! Welcome to Two Spores in Britain!

Eid Mubarak to everyone in the world, hope you had a restful long weekend, especially for those in Singapore/the UK! In today’s episode, we discuss how we navigate friendships 1) as an adult and 2) abroad. As it turns out, for both of us, both of these things happened/are happening together – is it a double whammy then? We discuss how we sustain our existing friendships from Singapore, how we make new ones in Britain and whether the infrastructure in Singapore vs. Britain affords different environments and experiences for different types of friendships to form and flourish. Timestamp: 42:44 Night Rider = Night Rider buses that operate past midnight in Singapore Link to our episode on living in Britain: https://youtu.be/4WPgf55gkOg Link to our episode on social media with our friends J and D: https://youtu.be/rsTqIOeQKgA -- FIND US: Anchor - https://anchor.fm/twosporesinbritain Spotify - https://open.spotify.com/show/71VYTK9TPTYik5oLFL9NrD Google Podcasts - https://podcasts.google.com/?feed=aHR0cHM6Ly9hbmNob3IuZm0vcy8xZTRhZmZiMC9wb2RjYXN0L3Jzcw%3D%3D Breaker - https://www.breaker.audio/two-spores-in-britain RadioPublic - https://radiopublic.com/two-spores-in-britain-WaO5nM PocketCasts - https://pca.st/48kz9ctz Overcast - https://overcast.fm/itunes1510616554/two-spores-in-britain FOLLOW US: Twitter - https://twitter.com/twosporesinbr Instagram - https://instagram.com/twosporesinbritain Facebook - https://facebook.com/twosporesinbritain -- Join two Singaporeans who have been great friends for over 10 years as we share our experiences as transplants to Britain and practise British accents. Put the kettle on, make some coffee/tea with digestive biscuits, dip in and dig in! Welcome to Two Spores in Britain!

Today we bring you back in time to when we first stepped off the plane and stepped onto British soil, covering initial impressions, tips and tricks to avoid potential harassers, quality of life and favourite seasons. The $64,000 question: do we see ourselves living in Britain long-term? Timestamp: 12:36 - Lake District is in Cumbria, northwest England, not technically Yorkshire. There are the Yorkshire Dales in Yorkshire, though. -- FIND US: Anchor - https://anchor.fm/twosporesinbritain Spotify - https://open.spotify.com/show/71VYTK9TPTYik5oLFL9NrD Google Podcasts - https://podcasts.google.com/?feed=aHR0cHM6Ly9hbmNob3IuZm0vcy8xZTRhZmZiMC9wb2RjYXN0L3Jzcw%3D%3D Breaker - https://www.breaker.audio/two-spores-in-britain RadioPublic - https://radiopublic.com/two-spores-in-britain-WaO5nM PocketCasts - https://pca.st/48kz9ctz Overcast - https://overcast.fm/itunes1510616554/two-spores-in-britain FOLLOW US: Twitter - https://twitter.com/twosporesinbr Instagram - https://instagram.com/twosporesinbritain Facebook - https://facebook.com/twosporesinbritain -- Join two Singaporeans who have been great friends for over 10 years as we share our experiences as transplants to Britain and practise British accents. Put the kettle on, make some coffee/tea with digestive biscuits, dip in and dig in! Welcome to Two Spores in Britain!

Donate: https://www.giving.sg/campaigns/homeforall-migrants  https://www.giving.sg/rlafoundationsg/bukapuasafund  Today’s episode is different! We have guests! Our long-time friends J and D join us today to talk about the use of social media during this lockdown period. What are the intentions underlying/motivations behind people posting/reposting gratitude posts? It hopefully provides food for thought about how we curate the social media feed we want to see. -- FIND US: Anchor - https://anchor.fm/twosporesinbritain Spotify - https://open.spotify.com/show/71VYTK9TPTYik5oLFL9NrD Google Podcasts - https://podcasts.google.com/?feed=aHR0cHM6Ly9hbmNob3IuZm0vcy8xZTRhZmZiMC9wb2RjYXN0L3Jzcw%3D%3D Breaker - https://www.breaker.audio/two-spores-in-britain RadioPublic - https://radiopublic.com/two-spores-in-britain-WaO5nM PocketCasts - https://pca.st/48kz9ctz Overcast - https://overcast.fm/itunes1510616554/two-spores-in-britain FOLLOW US: Twitter - https://twitter.com/twosporesinbr Instagram - https://instagram.com/twosporesinbritain Facebook - https://facebook.com/twosporesinbritain -- Join two Singaporeans who have been great friends for over 10 years as we share our experiences as transplants to Britain and practise British accents. Put the kettle on, make some coffee/tea with digestive biscuits, dip in and dig in! Welcome to Two Spores in Britain!

Ramadan Kareem to all Muslims! Listen to/watch this episode when you are not fasting! :D Welcome back to Two Spores in Britain! We introduce the first of our food-themed series of episodes, talk about our favourite food, do a show and tell on what we brought from Singapore, talk about how we navigate dietary requirements in Britain and what British food we like. Tune in to our second episode of Two Spores in Britain! This time, we want to show off our passion in food by sharing our favourite Singaporean and British foods, how we keep up with our Singaporean tastebuds in Britain and how we navigate around our respective dietary restrictions! This episode will get you oozing and craving Southeast Asian food! Timestamps 42:21 - The topic of halal slaughtering and its ethical discourse is more complex than I realise. I therefore decide that it’s best that we do more research and take some time to ponder upon it first before sharing with you. We may cover this in a future episode in the food series instead. 51:00 - addendum: the dish my friend mentioned to me was not a potato dish but something else! She was referring to beans on toast. It is literally toasted bread topped with baked beans and cheese. 51:30 - meringue dessert with strawberries and cream: Eton mess -- S -- FIND US: Anchor - https://anchor.fm/twosporesinbritain Spotify - https://open.spotify.com/show/71VYTK9TPTYik5oLFL9NrD Google Podcasts - https://podcasts.google.com/?feed=aHR0cHM6Ly9hbmNob3IuZm0vcy8xZTRhZmZiMC9wb2RjYXN0L3Jzcw%3D%3D Breaker - https://www.breaker.audio/two-spores-in-britain RadioPublic - https://radiopublic.com/two-spores-in-britain-WaO5nM FOLLOW US: Twitter - https://twitter.com/twosporesinbr Instagram - https://instagram.com/twosporesinbritain Facebook - https://facebook.com/twosporesinbritain -- Join two Singaporeans who have been great friends for over 10 years as we share our experiences as transplants to Britain and practise British accents. Put the kettle on, make some coffee/tea with digestive biscuits, dip in and dig in! Welcome to Two Spores in Britain!

IT’S LIVE!! Welcome to the first episode of Two Spores in Britain! We give the backstory to our podcast, introduce ourselves, tease the upcoming topics we have planned and plant a surprise question on each other. Addendum - From 39:03, Rui Qi says "I don't think being optimistic is a good thing..." I misspoke, I meant "I don't think being optimistic should be seen as a bad thing". There were too many double negatives I was trying to navigate and it backfired :p -- R -- FIND US: Anchor - https://anchor.fm/twosporesinbritain Spotify - https://open.spotify.com/show/71VYTK9TPTYik5oLFL9NrD Google Podcasts - https://podcasts.google.com/?feed=aHR0cHM6Ly9hbmNob3IuZm0vcy8xZTRhZmZiMC9wb2RjYXN0L3Jzcw%3D%3D Breaker - https://www.breaker.audio/two-spores-in-britain RadioPublic - https://radiopublic.com/two-spores-in-britain-WaO5nM FOLLOW US: Twitter - https://twitter.com/twosporesinbr Instagram - https://instagram.com/twosporesinbritain Facebook - https://facebook.com/twosporesinbritain -- Join two Singaporeans who have been great friends for over 10 years as we share our experiences as transplants to Britain and practise British accents. Put the kettle on, make some coffee/tea with digestive biscuits, dip in and dig in! Welcome to Two Spores in Britain!