大象传媒

This is a full transcript of听the 1800 Seconds on Autism podcast 鈥楳y days are never the same鈥� as released on 30 April 2020 and presented by Robyn Steward and Jamie Knight.

听

[Jingle: 1800 Seconds on Autism. With Robyn Steward and Jamie Knight.]

听

PETER - It was quarter to nine on 22nd March 1967, and I just went up to her and kissed her, not saying anything else, and that was it. Fifty years later we鈥檙e still together.

听

ROBYN - Where did you kiss her?

听

PETER - On the lips.

听

JAMIE - I wish you were my grandad. You sound bloody awesome! If you鈥檝e got a spare vacancy for a grandchild, you know, can I apply somewhere?

听

[Music]

听

JAMIE - Hello. This is 1800 Seconds on Autism, a podcast about autistic life with a pleasingly literal name. I鈥檓 Jamie Knight.

听

ROBYN - And I鈥檓 Robyn Steward. In this episode we meet the extraordinary Peter Street. Now aged 71 he鈥檚 been a gravedigger, a war poet in Zagreb and a cook and restaurant owner. All of these were intense interests of his which he turned into successful careers.

听

JAMIE - This guy has had an incredible life and is full of some awesome stories. His personality and varied experiences shone through from the moment we pressed record. So much so that on occasion even our producer, Emma, struggled to know if he was being serious or pulling our leg.

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ROBYN - Which doesn鈥檛 mean that your leg is literally being pulled, because that would be impossible, because he wasn鈥檛 in the same room as us. Pulling your leg means having a joke. Enjoy!

听

[Music]

听

ROBYN - Welcome in, Peter. Although you鈥檙e not actually in because you鈥檙e in Manchester, but welcome.

听

PETER - It鈥檚 wonderful to be with you.

听

ROBYN - Let鈥檚 go through our usual opening checklist. How are we all doing for spoons today? Peter, do you know about spoon theory?

听

PETER - No. Spoons?

听

ROBYN - S-P-O-O-N-S. Jamie鈥檚 going to explain it.

听

JAMIE - Yes, because it鈥檚 also good for the audience. Hello, audience people. The basic idea is that spoons are like a unit of measurement for energy. If I have a really good night鈥檚 sleep I might wake up with say eight to ten spoons, and then everything I do during the day takes spoons from me, and a few things that I do gives me more spoons back. So for example the taxi ride this morning and getting dressed and trying to find my watch and my shoes and stuff, that all takes spoons, but actually sitting here, giving Lion a hug, having a chat to my friends, that doesn鈥檛 take many spoons at all. So when I get to the end of the day if I run out of spoons that鈥檚 when I really start to struggle, that鈥檚 when my communication gets really tricky and I start getting really muddled and spaced out. So that鈥檚 spoons.

听

PETER - That sounds really complicated.

听

JAMIE - I鈥檓 an engineer, so I like it because it puts numbers onto things and it makes things repeatable.

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PETER - I am to numbers as Hitler was to the peace movement.

听

JAMIE - I don鈥檛 understand.

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ROBYN - Peter finds numbers like a chocolate teapot. Chocolate teapots aren鈥檛 very useful to him and nor are numbers.

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PETER - Yeah, numbers are a bit like paper wellingtons.

听

JAMIE - Chocolate fireguards. There we go, I鈥檓 following the trend. You see, I鈥檓 awake, I know what you mean.

听

PETER - Excellent. Tip top.

听

ROBYN - So how many spoons have you got, Jamie?

听

JAMIE - Right now?

听

ROBYN - Yeah.

听

JAMIE - I鈥檓 going to say five or six. It鈥檚 pretty good.

听

PETER - I have soup ladles.

听

JAMIE - Oh, small, medium and large?

听

PETER - Large.

听

ROBYN - How many have you got?

听

PETER - Oh, at least half a dozen.

听

ROBYN - Well, that鈥檚 a good start for a podcast. [laughs]

听

PETER - That was more of a joke really, because I don鈥檛 understand the spoon things. I鈥檝e not a clue what you鈥檙e talking about.

听

JAMIE - So, you know on an iPad or a phone it鈥檚 got like a little battery meter?

听

PETER - Right.

听

JAMIE - The same idea, I鈥檝e got a battery meter, and because I have quite a routine life I can quite well gauge how much energy I鈥檓 going to have. So the same way that if you鈥檝e got a mobile phone you might turn off wi-fi or bluetooth to make the battery last till the end of the day鈥�

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PETER - My days are never the same.

听

JAMIE - That sounds chaotic and crazy and scary, but also I know鈥�

听

PETER - I am chaotic and I love change.

听

JAMIE - Like Alan Gardner. He鈥檚 the same. He likes loud noises and change.

听

PETER - I鈥檓 not good with loud noises but I like change and I like chaos.

听

JAMIE - How are you for spoons, Robyn?

听

ROBYN - Erm鈥� I don鈥檛 know. What are your stims at the moment, Jamie?

听

JAMIE - Right now I鈥檓 bouncing my foot because when I bounce my foot the little pop shield in front of the microwave bounces up and down which is incredibly satisfying.

听

ROBYN - Oh, I can鈥檛 see a microwave in front of you.

听

JAMIE - A microwave? Did I call it a microwave? I meant a microphone. Oh, god.

听

EMMA - So Robyn, you said you don鈥檛 know how you are for spoons. That doesn鈥檛 sound great to me. Are you low on energy today?

听

ROBYN - I鈥檓 a bit sleepy, but I think it鈥檚 because I have heavy periods and I take a painkiller that makes you sleepy.

听

EMMA - So you鈥檙e actually tired and in pain?

听

ROBYN - Yeah. Going to sleep doesn鈥檛 necessarily help because I鈥檒l still be in pain when I wake up.

听

JAMIE - Would a Lion hug help?

听

ROBYN - Oh, that鈥檚 very kind. I鈥檝e got Henry.

听

PETER - Who鈥檚 Henry?

听

ROBYN - He鈥檚 my support bat.

听

JAMIE - Small plushy bat. He鈥檚 lovely.

听

PETER - Gosh.

听

ROBYN - Peter, do you have anything that you carry around with you as a support?

听

PETER - Yes, my rucksack. I have it everywhere I go.

听

ROBYN - Does it have a name?

听

PETER - Yeah, it鈥檚 Bert.

听

JAMIE - Does it have a personality? Because when we were stood waiting for the lift and the door was sneaking and Ollie the support person went, 鈥淛amie, don鈥檛 give the door a personality,鈥� because all of the inanimate objects around me get personalities. So does Bert have like a backstory and does he have like preferences?

听

PETER - I like the backstory. How you said back, as in on my back. But no, it likes to leap onto me every so often, [laughter] and we catch the bus together. Gosh, me and Bert do go on some adventures.

听

JAMIE - Love it.

听

ROBYN - Someone asked me recently would I marry Henry if I could. And I said, 鈥淣o, he鈥檚 a support bat. That鈥檚 a job.鈥�

听

[Jingle: email stim@bbc.co.uk]

听

ROBYN - But some people marry bridges.

听

PETER - Hmm-hmm.

听

JAMIE - I don鈥檛 know how to respond to that.

听

ROBYN - Shall we go back to the script?

听

PETER - It鈥檚 probably to cover something up.

听

ROBYN - Do you have any stims, Peter?

听

PETER - My stims are watching programmes or listening to music over and over and over again. One of my ones for years and years has been 鈥楾he Magnificent Seven鈥�, and I听 first saw it in 1963 and I must have seen it hundreds and hundreds of times. And I watch it and then spin it back and then watch it again.

听

ROBYN - How does it help you?

听

PETER - One, with me being a writer it takes me away from writing for a while and sort of relaxes me. And sometimes I get quite agitated, sometimes for no reason at all, and so I put the film on.

听

JAMIE - I do something kind of similar, and the way that I鈥檇 phrase it is that if the environment isn鈥檛 very structured I can make the environment more structured and predictable by putting on something that I know and like, like music or a certain episode of 鈥楾homas the Tank Engine鈥� or whatever. I鈥檓 not even necessarily watching it and enjoying it but it makes my home feel more familiar and that can help me feel more settled. I also get this sensation of the words from the show flow through my head without being processed in a way that鈥檚 actually quite nice.

听

PETER - Well also for me it鈥檚 that I like listening and watching and picking things out whether they鈥檝e鈥� I know they won鈥檛 change, but I like to see what鈥檚 in the background of films and sort of see if anything鈥檚 moved. And sometimes when you see people talking in a film and there鈥檚 a clock in the background I like to keep an eye on that after they鈥檝e done one cut and I like to see if they鈥檝e missed something out by moving their fingers.

听

JAMIE - Continuity. One of the autistic people I know who works in the film industry is a continuity specialist. She does things like make sure that the creases in people鈥檚 coats are in the same place from scene to scene when they鈥檝e been shot three months apart.

听

PETER - That鈥檚 right, yeah. I like that sort of thing.

听

JAMIE - Maybe there鈥檚 a thing here about intense interest as well, because I get a similar thing with mountain bikes. I do digital accessibility work. If there鈥檚 a problem that I can鈥檛 solve it鈥檚 actually quite useful for me to go and do something on the bike. That might be take off a piece of bike that鈥檚 perfectly fine and put it back on again, for no other reason than it鈥檚 enjoyable and it gives my brain time to focus on a thing and then a solution to the problem will pop into my head.

听

PETER - Well, I can鈥檛 fix things. I鈥檝e no logic in that sense, and putting things together, a lot of people think that people on the spectrum like Lego and all them sort of things. Taking a wheel off a bike, and then taking the tyre off and doing all the business what you鈥檝e got to do, that鈥檚 horrendous for me.

听

EMMA - I think Robyn, it鈥檚 time for you to say your regular thing. When you鈥檝e met鈥�

听

ROBYN - When you鈥檝e met one autistic person you鈥檝e met one autistic person. Peter, do you have intense interests that you haven鈥檛 mentioned already?

听

PETER - Yeah, I鈥檝e had massive interests with trees and plants and cooking, I love cooking. The same with photography, some of my photographs, they鈥檝e had exhibitions, especially when I was doing photojournalism for the disability movement in the late 1980s. I like intensity at some stage, and then they just seem to fade away. But the trees, they鈥檝e been with me for a long, long time, they don鈥檛 fade away completely.

听

JAMIE - You鈥檙e in your 70s and only discovered you鈥檙e autistic three years ago. How did that happen? We鈥檇 love to hear the story.

听

PETER - I was 64. I鈥檓 almost 71, and we鈥檇 had some trauma within the family, but also I was suffering from PTSD when I鈥檇 been in the war in Croatia in 1993. I鈥檇 been a war poet, and the blood and all that sort of business didn鈥檛 bother me. Well, I didn鈥檛 really see anything like that. What did bother me was the emotions of people in a state that they were almost dying. That traumatised me. But also when I was in a village called Lipik in Croatia and we鈥檇 been, believe it or not, the whole convoy, the UN had been funded to make us steak and chips in this community centre, like a town hall. And we were being served by teachers and lawyers and things like that, and we had sandwiches, we had army rations in the wagons, and there were two or three little boys outside who were looking through the window, and you could see they were suffering from malnutrition. And I didn鈥檛 have the guts to get up and go and give them my meal. And so it was that really that started the PTSD, and then I went to my doctor鈥檚, and I鈥檇 had this over the years, but he said, finally, 鈥淵ou need to go and get some real therapy.鈥� So I went and I was there for maybe six or seven sessions, and she said, 鈥淚 want you to see a colleague of mine.鈥� So I had a few more sessions with her and she said, 鈥淚 think you鈥檙e on the autistic spectrum.鈥� And she was a specialist consultant who diagnosed older people. And that鈥檚 how it came to be, but one of the things that came out of it was all the jobs that I鈥檝e done over the years, ranging from being a grave digger to being a writer in prisons, a poet in residence with Greater Manchester Radio to owning a restaurant 鈥� have I said that? 鈥� and it came out that one of my traits is I don鈥檛 have a fear of failing.

听

JAMIE - Since the diagnosis how鈥檚 that affected your sense of identity or how you feel about your place in the world?

听

PETER - I cried happy tears on the way home. But it鈥檚 made me who I am. I鈥檝e had an incredible, exciting life. Yes, sometimes it鈥檚 been brutal, sometimes it鈥檚 been turbulent, but overall I鈥檝e had an incredible life and that鈥檚 all thanks to my autism.

听

JAMIE - One of the notes I have here from the producer is that you say that your stint as a gravedigger early in your听 life was one of the best jobs you ever had. Could you tell us a little bit about why?

听

PETER - [laughs] These were guys who you wouldn鈥檛 want to meet in a dark alley. They were all on the outside of society, and so they didn鈥檛 bother about whether I knew maths or English or anything; as long as I could dig a grave that was okay. And they saved my life a couple of times. There was one episode where I was digging a nine foot grave and it was in sand. When they mentioned sand I thought of kiss me quick hats and donkeys and things like that, but this grave was sand and it was all seeping down and covering my legs up and I had to be pulled out. But there was a kind of freedom in it, they supported me in every way. Nobody knew I was on the spectrum. Yes, they knew I had epilepsy but that was about it. It was one of the most humorous jobs you could ever do.

听

JAMIE - I have a vaguely similar experience. So I was homeless for a short while, living in a homeless shelter, and again, nobody around me knew I was autistic. They could very much pick up that I was different, but they didn鈥檛 mind, I didn鈥檛 mind, people had things they had to do this form or that, or this needed dropping off there, or, 鈥淥h, Jamie, could you pop upstairs and grab me a kettle?鈥� I was helpful, they liked me, I liked them, they made me feel safe, we got productive things done together because we were all in the same kind of situation and there was no point鈥� By collaborating we could get stuff done and make life happy for ourselves, even if the situation we were in itself wasn鈥檛 exactly the thing that people would want to be in.

听

PETER - Yeah. I ran away from home when I was 18 and the guys, the gravediggers, they all played tricks on each other. And they knew I鈥檇 run away from home and I was sleeping in the gravedigger鈥檚 cabin because it was nice and warm and things like that, so they gave me an address to go and stay that they said I鈥檇 be looked after. Oh, I was looked after all right. I was told to go into this little room, to stay there, not to go down the corridor. If I went down the corridor I would be thrown out the building. It was a brothel. I stayed there for four weeks. Finally my mum found out where I was because she went to the same church as the brothel owner, believe it or not, they all knew each other. I had to leave because I dislocated my shoulder, and I came out of gravedigging and landed in society again, which I hated.

听

JAMIE - Hmm-hmm. A little bit like I did the transition from being homeless back to being housed and they鈥檙e two completely different universes. One is on the edge of society, one is part of society. It鈥檚 a weird feeling.

听

ROBYN - When you found out that you were autistic did you鈥�? Like some people, they look back on their life and it all makes perfect sense, but sometimes people feel sad that they feel like, well if I鈥檇 known I was autistic maybe my life would be different.

听

PETER - No. In the 1950s the teachers could do whatever they wanted. I was beaten around the head with the board duster because I couldn鈥檛 do my maths and the rest of it. And I was also made to stand in the waste basket. But, saying all that, in a way it鈥檚 made me the person who I am. Yes, when I found out I was autistic everything made sense, but most of all I then realised all that time none of it was my fault. Because I couldn鈥檛 do any maths or anything or learn to read and write properly, and they used to beat me because of this, because they thought I was just wagging it, so none of it was my fault, and that for me was the biggest thing.

听

JAMIE - Yeah, that sense of relief. So we do this thing at home where we are interested in finding the root cause of a problem so we can engineer around it, but there鈥檚 no point apportioning blame. If I can鈥檛 do something I can鈥檛 do it, there鈥檚 no point getting upset or someone going, 鈥淲ell Jamie, try harder, try harder,鈥� that won鈥檛 work. And when I started to understand the autism stuff more and I could say, 鈥淗ang on a minute, it鈥檚 not that I鈥檓 a defective lazy person, it鈥檚 that my body is set up this way, not that way.鈥� I can exploit my strengths while working round my weaknesses and I can still get on and do stuff. It鈥檚 not my fault, it鈥檚 not that I am making a decision to be a bad person. I鈥檓 a good person, this is how my body works, so I need to get on and make the most of it rather than keep trying to be someone I鈥檓 not.

听

PETER - One of the things that came through after my diagnosis, a lot of my friends said, 鈥淲ell, we all kind of already knew that,鈥� but also it made a difference to our marriage as well. Because Sandra, that鈥檚 my wife鈥檚 name, she likes things stacked up in the cupboard and all nice and neat and she likes maybe stacking things up maybe four and five, but I can鈥檛 cope with that, I like everything landscape. So we came to a compromise once I鈥檇 been diagnosed that we just stuck to two cans high. So that鈥檚 a very simplistic bonus, if you want to call it that, from being diagnosed.

听

ROBYN - I was going to ask about whether you were married or not and I was trying to work out whether that was an appropriate question or not, so I鈥檓 really glad you mentioned it because鈥�

听

PETER - Oh yes, it鈥檚 my 50th wedding anniversary in two months.

听

ROBYN - Oh. How did you meet Sandra?

听

PETER - Oh, gosh. We met at a dance hall, and dating for me had been an absolute nightmare, I didn鈥檛 know what to say or do or anything. So I don鈥檛 know how it clicked but it was quarter to nine on 22nd March 1967. We鈥檇 talked to each other, she鈥檚 very introvert, and I just went up to her and kissed her, not saying anything else, and that was it, 50 years later we鈥檙e still together.

听

ROBYN - Where did you kiss her?

听

PETER - [laughs] On the lips.

听

ROBYN - That鈥檚 really nice.

听

[Jingle: Send any questions or thoughts to stim@bbc.co.uk]

听

ROBYN - I realise that a war poet is someone that goes to a war zone and writes poetry about it, but like is that something that the United Nations pay for? Is that something...? How does that work?

听

PETER - I was poet in residence for 大象传媒 GMR.

听

JAMIE - What does GMR stand for?

听

PETER - Sorry, Greater Manchester Radio. And the war had started, and I was noticing like everyone else, all the newscasts and radio programmes, they were all about what I call the bang, bang of war, and nothing was being mentioned about the women and children. So some police officers were coming in, they were building a convoy, and I said, 鈥淐an I come?鈥� Sandra absolutely freaked, she shouted, 鈥淒isabled people听 come back from a war, they don鈥檛 go to a war.鈥� And so she noticed things already, she said, 鈥淵ou can鈥檛 cope with the sound of the Hoover and blending food, how are you going to cope with the sounds of war?鈥� But I was away from all that, I started writing about the women and children there, the problems that they were having, and that really no one was caring about them. So I had to sort of hitch a lift with the convoys and then once there I would walk around, sometimes on my own, and write about what I saw.

听

ROBYN - Did you ever worry that somebody might try and shoot you or something?

听

PETER - It never entered my head, things like that don鈥檛, but it鈥檚 a double headed sword, because I can get into trouble without knowing I鈥檓 getting into trouble. I felt quite privileged that I was seeing it, I was given the chance to write about it, but also because I could go along on my own and sometimes lead the convoys and I wasn鈥檛 afraid. I was traumatised by what I was seeing but I wasn鈥檛 afraid, if that makes sense. And I鈥檝e always been able to keep separate from things, even when I worked in the prisons. I was writer in residence in a prison working with both category A and category B guys.

听

JAMIE - What does that mean?

听

PETER - Category A is the very serious, like murders, and category B is more sort of drug takers, car stealers, burglars, that sort of thing. And they were only 16 to 21s, and one of the things that I was noticing, and why I was safe, is a lot of these guys had never been told children鈥檚 stories before. So I used to tell them stories about 鈥楯ack and the Beanstalk鈥� or whatever, and I was treated like god. Also, I鈥檇 told them that I鈥檇 left school barely able to read and write, and I really only learned to read and write, well not properly, [laughs] I still can鈥檛 do it properly now, but I only really learned, or began learning, when I was 32. That gave them a kind of hope, but also because I was disabled in a way it鈥檚 quite similar to being in a prison because you鈥檙e out of society. They thought I just had learning difficulties, not being diagnosed then. They knew about my epilepsy, and so we were almost on a level in a way.

JAMIE - I鈥檝e got that thing now, we鈥檝e got so many questions I don鈥檛 even know which ones to shortlist.

听

EMMA - We鈥檙e going to run out of time.

听

PETER - We could do it all again another time.

听

EMMA - Oh, I think we could get three programmes out of you.

听

JAMIE - Oh yeah, definitely. We could do the Peter Street special subseries at this rate.

听

ROBYN - Do you have any children?

听

PETER - We have two daughters and six grandchildren.

听

ROBYN - Oh. How old are your daughters?

听

PETER - My eldest is 45 and the other one is 43.

听

ROBYN - Do you get to see them and your grandchildren?

听

PETER - Yes, we do. My youngest daughter, Suzanne, she鈥檚 very poorly with epilepsy, so we鈥檝e brought the two boys up, Thomas and Ryan.

听

JAMIE - Are they autistic?

听

PETER - No.

听

JAMIE - How did you find the experience of being autistic raising neurotypical kids?

听

PETER - Crazy. They watched me and sort of they鈥檝e got used to me now. And one is very logical, he鈥檚 doing a PhD at the moment.

听

JAMIE - Oh, what in?

听

PETER - Chemistry.

听

JAMIE - Nice.

听

PETER - And so the other one, he鈥檚 done his degree in sports coaching, so when I talk about poetry or writing it鈥檚 completely alien to them. One of the things that I can鈥檛 cope with is the sound of the boys playing certain music, especially high pitched music, it drives me absolutely crackers, and I have to cover my ears up or go out into another room, but they鈥檝e come to terms with it and so if they want to listen to loud music they just put the headphones on and leave me to be free.

听

JAMIE - Did you find it difficult to find that balance of your needs and their needs? Because if need something, like for example, a quieter environment but somebody is enjoying something I鈥檝e always found it very guilty and difficult to ask them to change what they鈥檙e doing, I tend to remove myself instead.

听

PETER - Yeah, I do. We have a large garden with a large shed in and it鈥檚 my man cave. So I can escape when things are on and they鈥檒l leave me there and let me be on my own, and I like that.

听

JAMIE - I鈥檝e got so many questions, I can鈥檛 pick which one to answer. We鈥檝e only got nine minutes.

听

EMMA - I know, and well do you know what, we鈥檝e got nine minutes, but that includes a poem and we鈥檝e also not asked him how he became a poet which is an interesting story.

听

ROBYN - How did you become a poet?

听

PETER - Oh, gosh. I had a forestry accident and broke my neck in Manchester.

听

ROBYN - Wow.

听

PETER - And my vertebrae completely collapsed and I lost five inches in height.

听

JAMIE - Blimey! What was the forestry accident?

听

PETER - I was climbing into a wagon and it was a big joke within the hospital that I fell off the back of a wagon. Which I did.

听

JAMIE - Because that鈥檚 a metaphor for getting a knock off isn鈥檛 it? Like getting something鈥�

听

PETER - It is indeed. The guy in the next bed to me, I was in nine months and he was an English Lit teacher, and he tried to teach me how to write in prose. So he said, 鈥淭ry poetry,鈥� and I didn鈥檛 really know what it was because I can鈥檛 write poetry in rhyme. That鈥檚 what I thought it was all about until he explained. The humour is one thing what鈥檚 kept me going on all the time. When they鈥檇 come round and they had to bathe and wash me and all the rest of it, on April Fool鈥檚 Day I thought I have to get them back. So I got into my wheelchair and the urine bottle from underneath the bed, I went to wash it out and got back in bed and put some orange juice in it. [laughter] When the nurse was coming round, 鈥淐an we do your obs, Peter?鈥澨�

听

JAMIE - I know where this is going.

听

PETER - So I flipped the blankets back, got the urine bottle and started drinking it. And they hit the emergency bell and all the doctors and everybody else came rushing up and I shouted, 鈥淎pril Fool!鈥� These people weren鈥檛 impressed, but it got a laugh.

听

JAMIE - I don鈥檛 know if this is appropriate to say, I wish you were my grandad, you sound bloody awesome! If you鈥檝e got a spare vacancy for a grandchild, you know, can I apply somewhere?

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[Jingle: 1800 Seconds on Autism. With Robin Steward and Jamie Knight]

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ROBYN - I want to ask what happened to the poems that you wrote when you were in Croatia?

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PETER - ITV made a 12 minute documentary about me being a war poet. That was the first thing that happened in 1994 on a Remembrance Sunday special. But they鈥檝e also been published in the book that I鈥檝e got in front of me, called 鈥楾humbing from Lipik to Pakrac, New and Selected Poems鈥�

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ROBYN - Can we hear the poem please, Peter?

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PETER - Yeah, this is from in Croatia, Zagreb camp, and this was an incredible experience. Zagreb Camp. 鈥極ur wagons rock, jerk, through lines of potholes a foot deep in a cinder path where children walk barefoot. It鈥檚 a ride down into something I don鈥檛 understand, a dog shelter where at least 100 families live who beg out their hands on cough loud barking coughs. Naked kids swapping boredom for disease under a tap that鈥檚 splashing cold silver into mud pies. Our interpreter, an English Lit student, his family wiped out, is talking of Shelley in a wasteland, such as Eliot never saw.鈥� That鈥檚 it.

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JAMIE - Wow. I think we need to start wrapping up, and this has honestly been a pleasure. I hope in one day live long enough to be half as interesting as you are.

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PETER - [laughs]

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JAMIE - Well, the producer鈥檚 blind but I鈥檓 waving at her with a thumbs up, two thumbs up. Lion doesn鈥檛 have any thumbs and he鈥檚 giving you a thumbs up.

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PETER - And I鈥檝e got my thumbs up as well.

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JAMIE - Sweet. Robyn, can we borrow your thumbs? Robyn, thumbs up too.

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ROBYN - Yeah. How about, has Bert got his thumbs up?

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PETER - He has indeed.

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ROBYN - Oh, that鈥檚 good.

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JAMIE - What a character Peter Street is. We really enjoyed hearing his stories and I still want him to be my grandad. Just imagine what it would be like getting an autism diagnosis in your 60s.

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ROBYN - That鈥檚 almost it for this episode. If you have a story to tell or an idea for 1800 Seconds do please email us on stim@bbc.co.uk. Stim is spelled S-T-I-M. It鈥檚 our word, although it鈥檚 not actually, it鈥檚 the autism community鈥檚 word, and it鈥檚 our email address. Bye.

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