crave-the-rave-lara-jess-the-mess_crave_the rave lara

episode 5 the Christmas episode Merry Christmas everybody welcome back to another episode of Crave the Rave and it's Boxing Day whoo that sounded more like a Halloween noise. What was the Christmas? Oh ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho Lara, how have you been? How's it been back in Mexico? Oh my god, so it's so good to be in the sun. Obviously I left England as the temperatures were dropping and it immediately went to like minus three like the day after I left so I was quite smug about that. It's been cold. So now, it's been cold, so I hear, although now I'm recording in a cupboard and I am feeling like I'm in a sauna. The camera on my laptop is literally steamed up because I'm so hot which is making us laugh a lot and Jessie just said to me that I look like I've been kidnapped. No, I'm getting kidnapped. Actually, we shouldn't say that. No, we shouldn't say that because it's opposite and things like that. Okay. Probably not the right time to say that. I think the sauna looks good on you. I think the sauna looks good on you. You're sweating away in that cupboard. I need an ice bath. That's what I need right now, not a fucking sauna room. But yeah, it's a little makeshift studio over here because I live in quite a big spacious apartment. Poor me. No, I'm joking. But there's a lot of space and it means it's really super echoey. You get more bang for your buck over here in Mexico. Let's say that. So anyway, yeah. Well, enjoy it because it's really cold here now. It's so cold. I can't deal. I can't deal. Icy, icy, icy cold. So enjoy your sweaty cupboard vibes. Yeah. All right. So what have you been up to since you've been back? Do you know what? Mostly it's just been like readjusting. It's always quite weird. You know, six months I spent back in England. I tend to come here, you know, for like half the year and then spend summer back in London where I'm from. And it is a weird thing when you go away for so long and you kind of get off the plane, you come back into your old space and you're like, I don't know. It was quite weird at first. I was like, oh, I don't know if I want to be here. And then I went out for like, you know, an aperol with my friend on Friday and two for one pizza and it was banging. And then on Saturday I went for brunch with my other mate and I was like, we just walked down like towards the beach and I was like, oh, yeah, this is great. Yeah. So, yeah, I feel I feel like a bit more settled now. And I've been dancing, though. You know, I dance with Brazilian Zouk and there's loads of really good teachers in town right now here in Mexico and the Caribbean coast. So that's been fun, having some really good quality teaching, getting back into my groove over here, too. That's kind of been my vibe. Yeah, it's been my vibe. Well, I'm missing you. I mean, I loved having you here. It was really fun having us together. But I know that you're happy out there in the sunshine. Oh, I know. I miss you, too. What about you? What have you been up to? So, obviously, I've been getting ready for Christmas. There's a lot to do. It's been very busy. The diary has been full of activities. Expensive, isn't it, Christmas? Bloody expensive. To see Father Christmas alone is 50 quid now. And it's a lot to get tickets, isn't it? It's for Glastonbury, I'm telling you. Yeah, we took Baby D to see Father Christmas and it was amazing. Don't get me wrong. They have upped their game since when we were kids and used to go to the shopping centre. But it's expensive. Yeah, really expensive. I just found out recently, I didn't know this, but you know my mum dresses up as the elf at the local church every year. No way! I know. She just casually dropped it into conversation. I was like, sorry, what? She was like, yeah, I'm the elf every year. I'm like, why have I not seen pictures of this? I know. Have I told you all about the stories about when I used to be an elf? Oh my gosh. So I used to be an elf in the Whip Gift Centre in Croydon and it was proper ghetto. It was like the ghetto elf. Have I told you all this? It's so funny. I remember it vaguely. Right, so I got the job. I was only like 18 and I took it very seriously. I started buying accessories to go with my costume and it was a serious job for me and I took it very seriously. So yeah, it was at the Whip Gift Centre and it was just so mad. So some of the things that happened was, so the Father Christmases couldn't see each other. They had bribes. It was typical Croydon, yes, they had like beef with each other, so they couldn't see each other. But they obviously couldn't do that. It was like really long days, like 12-hour days and they didn't want to do that 12-hour day. Well, not without a break. So they'd have to like transition. One would come in and one would come out the other door. It was only a tiny, tiny little room. One Father Christmas would come in and one Father Christmas would come out, but they couldn't see each other because if they saw each other they would start scrapping. So we'd have to like navigate it so that they would never ever see each other. But you also have to do it so that the kids don't clock what's going on as well. So it was like really hard work to actually make it happen, like the logistics around it. But it wasn't so hard to get the kids not to do it. It was hard for the Father Christmases not to be in the same entrance or anything at the same time. That was one thing. Whoever knew that Santa Claus was a diva? I mean, divas, one way to put it, they were horrible. They actually were like really horrible human beings. When I first saw them putting on the suit, my heart broke a bit because I was like, this is not right. These people are not Father Christmas. Like just shocking things like a little girl could come in all dressed in pink, but she'd be a baby, but all dressed in pink. So, you know, obviously it's hard to tell the difference of babies when they're, the sex of a baby when they're younger, but it's all being pink with his And then Father Christmas would be like, oh, how old is he? And the mum and dad would be like really offended. I think you just said with his ears pierced. Were you confused as well? With their ears pierced. The baby would have the ears pierced and Father Christmas would say, how old is he? And stuff like that. So it made it, yeah, he just did things like that all the time. I don't know if he was doing it on purpose. I don't think he was. One did a wee in the back of the grotto in a milk carton, but you can't go to the toilet and he did a wee in the milk carton. That's disgusting. Were they teenagers or were they grown men? They were grown men. So that was revolting. And then one day we came in and bear in mind we were like the last people to leave the shopping centre. We'd like lock everything up and then we'd go. And we came in the morning and all the toys had been nicked out of the grotto. And there was like loads, but they were only worth about a pound. And they were all been individually wrapped. And literally the whole lot had been stolen. So we reckon it must be like an inside job. Because we had locked up when the last people to go, there wasn't the public in there. So yes, what they wanted was like a hundred packets of crayons, I don't know, or like a hundred crappy yo-yos, I don't know. But if a call could and it's nothing safe and it got, the lot got nicked. Wow. Yeah. And then there was other things that happened as well, but it was just like a really weird place to be. Oh yes, the other thing that used to happen was, other things that used to happen was, so the kids used to be so excited. They'd queue for ages to go and see Father Christmas. And I was a bit worried that Baby D might be like this when we met the other day, but they queued for ages to see Father Christmas. And my job was to entertain them. They'd ask me really clever questions that I just couldn't, I couldn't answer. And they'd queue for ages and ages and ages. And they were so excited, so excited. And then the curtain would pull back for them to go in and see Father Christmas. And they'd literally shriek and cry and burst into tears because they didn't want to get in this tiny little room with a stranger with a fake beard on. And I could totally get it. Like, it's actually terrifying. You're taught not to talk, you're taught not to talk to strangers. And then suddenly you're put in this room with a man that's called Father Christmas. That's magic. Yeah. The strangest of strangers ever. Yeah, really odd. But that was a long time ago. But since then, it has really, well, the one that we went to the other day, no wonder it's expensive because it's really upped its game since then. But it was good. It was a good little day out. It was a premium Santa Claus experience. That's funny. Yeah, I know, isn't it? Other things that happened, I got Blasterbury tickets. So that was a while ago. So I've been training again for that. And so I went out for a run this morning, also to burn some of the Christmas calories. By the way, if you can hear screaming, that is Baby D downstairs. I think she knows that I'm recording a podcast. And in a two-year-old fashion, she's decided that she now wants to scream and shout and run about. So sorry about that. That's just mum life. Where did she learn that kind of mischievousness? She's so naughty. Honestly, she's so naughty. She's been good as gold all day. And as soon as I started to record, she started shouting her mouth, which is typical of her, really, because it's exactly the sort of thing that I would do. But yeah, I went for a run this morning, and it was icy cold. I needed to drop some of the Christmas chocolates and the Christmas pounds and stuff that I've been eating. Yes, I'm impressed. You went running this morning. I have to. The vision is blasphemy. There's so much walking. There's so much running. I need to start now. I'm very unfit. But yes, thank you. I did. I went. And I was just thinking, yeah. Music? Yeah, music. Can you then say, what do you listen to when you run? No, you need to say something about just running along, getting in the zone. OK. Because it sounds weird. But it was actually just really nice to just go for a nice run, clear my head, get out of the house. It was only about 3K, but it felt really good just to listen to loud tunes. That's the thing. Nowadays, if I need to actually listen to loud tunes, because I'm not going clubbing anymore, I need to go for a run. That's the only place I can get it to release some endorphins, exercise, is go for a run. I can't believe that we used to, back in the day, dance for 12 hours straight. It's so true. And that would be our cardio. Yeah, it's so true. It's actually really good exercise. Amazing. We did it all every weekend. Say that again, because I just... It was amazing. We used to do it every weekend, literally like 10, 12 hours. We were definitely on our feet, if not dancing, all that time. 100%. So now my little 20-minute run is the closest I get to having those nightclub vibes. Okay, what were you listening to? Well, this is the thing. This is the pressure of it. I've only got 20 minutes. I want to listen to something good. Normally drum and bass, but I've really been getting into bass line. I'm sorry, I know I went to the party, but I love it. No. We disagree on this. I love it. Maybe because I went to uni in Manchester, it was in my life then, but I've gone back to a bit of bass line. Was it at Glastonbury that you were like... I'm trying to think now. I remember there was a time recently where there was bass line and I'd be like, I don't want to hear any more bass line at Glastonbury. Probably. I'll tell you what I love and who I love running to. I just love Eat Everything. I just love his music. I love it. It gets me going. It's perfect running music. Isn't it ironic that the reason you're going running is because you eat everything and you're listening to Eat Everything? I bet you never made that connection, did you? Oh my God, that's so good. Yeah, when I'm running it's like, eat everything. To what? Eat everything. That could be an exchange. That could be a sample for it. Right. You said on the last episode that you wanted to be an MC on the third episode. Eat everything. Eats everything. Eats everything. Eats everything. I saw him at Glastonbury and I'm like, I was like fangirling hard, but he was just standing there and I really wanted to go up and say hello, but I just didn't have the balls to do it. Would you have said hello to somebody that you'd seen, like DJ? No. But we saw his set at the, whatever it was. Yeah. Yeah. That was so good. I saw him afterwards, like a day or two afterwards, just with a couple of people and I was like, have I got the balls to say hello? What would you have said? If you saw a DJ that you really like, what would you have said? Eat everything. What was that? I've still got the tune, eat everything. I'm just imagining going up to him and being like, yo, eat everything, because, eat everything. But yeah, he's just like, what the hell is up with you? Well, because I'd be dancing to him all night the night before and I felt like just going up and going, hey, last night was amazing. I'm sure he would have loved that, but I just didn't have the balls to do it. Yeah. I always think being a DJ would... A hundred percent, he would have appreciated it. I always think being a DJ would be the most, like a really successful DJ would be the best job in the world. Like, he's only going to get people recognising him that know him. Yeah. Do you know what I mean? You're not like super, yeah, you're not super famous to the point where you can't walk down the street normally, yeah. Exactly. Like Andy C, what, he gets to fly around the world. He gets a rider, he gets into anywhere he wants. He is a celebrity, but he's a celebrity for only people that know who he is and follow him and love him and like him. Do you know what I mean? Yeah. He probably could put down the shop. He would get recognised now quite a bit, I think. Yeah. He's got the superstar lifestyle with actually a bit of normality in it as well. I think it's the perfect combination. It's like the dream, the dream level of famous, I think. We missed our calling, man. I mean, those days back in the back of me trying to mix and miss my chance. I actually, I have got all the kit. You know, I bought it all again last year, started doing some lessons in London and whatever. So I actually, like, probably should actually start relearning and get on it because I love it. I fucking love music. Why not? Why not? As long as you have a mix. As long as you have a mix. Would you know many DJs if you walked past them in the street? I always think this, no. I always, always think this. I mean, you're bad with face recognition as well, but like, I'm not really, unless I fancy them, I'm not really paying much attention to their face unless, you know, like Fred again is someone who's really fun to watch, for example. He's all over social media. Yeah, yeah, yeah. But just like I'm saying, I'm saying like, yeah, I would recognise him for different reasons. But what I'm saying, like, he's an example of a DJ that I quite enjoy watching when they're performing. Whereas there's a lot of DJs that are quite chill and I'm not going to be staring at them. I'm going to be probably eyes closed, just like absorbing the music. Can I let you into a secret? Yeah. I actually don't really know many DJs' names. Not real names. I don't even know their DJ names. I know, I like, I know what music I like. And I know like certain nights that I like. Do you know what I mean? Like, like, Confidentiality or whatever, Glitterbox, whatever you know it might be. And I know that that's going to be good. But I don't actually know many DJs. And like, even if I am told them at the time, I forget it. So when I go to a night and then people go, oh, who was playing? I never know. But it's always quite embarrassing because I'm like, oh, I'm always relieved when like Andy C is on the, do you know what I mean? Is on the line. Because then I can say, oh, Andy C. And people are like, oh yeah, oh yeah, Andy C. Oh, I love the drum and bass. But I don't, I can't ever remember DJs' names. You know who they are. So basically, you're like my mum. Because my mum, any time I ever mention I've been to a rave or like a drum and bass thing, she'll be like, oh, was it Andy C? Because that's the one she knows. She doesn't know. I mean, she knows it because of me. She doesn't listen to him. So what we've established is that I'm really similar to your mum. She's an ass. And she only knows Andy C. Oh, brilliant. Yeah, and you are a mum now. So maybe it's like you've just, you're just edging closer and closer to that phase. To mum life. Yeah, to that phase. So soon I'll start sneezing really loudly. That's what all mums do. Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah. Yeah? Happy? I can't see you. You can't see me?