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The AIH Transcript for August 17, 2020

Hosts: Helen Mann and Talia Schlanger

HELEN MANN: Hello, I'm Helen Mann, sitting in for Carol Off.

TALIA SCHLANGER: Good evening, I’m Talia Schlanger, sitting in for Chris Howden. This is As It Happens.

[Music: Theme]

Prologue

TS: Tonight:

HM: Shattered dreams. A stained glass artist in Beirut lost two decades worth of her work in this month's blast, but she's determined to rebuild whatever she can as her country does the same.

TS: Beyond the call. Librarians in Melbourne, Australia, knew their jobs would change when that city went into isolation. And it quickly became clear that meant setting down the books and picking up the phones.

HM: Name game. We talk to a young man enlisting the knowledge of Inuit elders to create a manual of traditional games. He says his community's fun is something he takes very seriously.

TS: When we last spoke to Kevin Nicks, he had just built the world's fastest motorized shed. Fast forward, And he's now barreling around in a record-setting wheelbarrow. We catch up with him. Or we try our best.

HM: A timeless talent. The music of Pandit Jasraj was decidedly traditional. But the late Indian vocalist was also committed to training the next generation, And in a career that spanned eight decades, he never stopped learning.

TS: And Arch-Nimo-sis. We hear from a researcher who observed a weird threat to fish. It's a parasite that eats the fish's tongue and then becomes a new tongue.

TS: As It Happens, the Monday edition. Radio that finds that kind of behaviour decidedly unbecoming.

Part one: Beirut glass artist, traditional games manual, tongue-eating parasite

Beirut glass artist

Guest: Maya Husseini

TS: Many things were lost in this month's deadly blast in Beirut's port — hundreds of lives, homes, livelihoods. Maya Husseini lost her life's work. The stained glass artist has spent years restoring windows in historic buildings that were destroyed during Lebanon's civil war. Now almost all of those windows are shattered. We reached Ms. Husseini in Beirut.

HM: Maya, describe for us what life is like in Beirut today?

MAYA HUSSEINI: How can I explain to you how is the life in Lebanon now, in Beirut? After 10 days of the tragic, it's difficult to begin the work. For me, it's very difficult to go to my workshop and begin to work. Because every day I have phoned, and they told me that my work, it's broke. My work, it’s gone. And it's very difficult for me to hear all this.

HM: This is a stained glass work you have done for many years now.

MH: Yes.

HM: When you first saw what the blast had done to some of that work, can you tell me what it was like for you?

MH: It's 20 years of my work gone. And it's very hard to see all my work like that. How can I explain it to you? Because my feeling, it's very, very, very gone. I go to see my work like that, broken. I want to do it again, of course. But, you know, it's stained glass, and all it's painting. And it’ll never be like I do it four years ago. I want to do all again and again.

HM: Can you tell me about the cathedral work in particular, and what's happened to it, and how you restored it to begin with?

MH: Yes, the cathedral special, the Cathedral Saint Louis. It's very old cathedral. They have stained glass before the war, the Lebanese war.

HM: Before the civil war, yes.

MH: Yes, yes. And they called me to do you since 2014.

HM: Right.

MH: But because the church is very old, I tried to do stained glass like before. What I see now, all it's down. It's my heart, it's very, very broken.

HM: Um-hm. This is not just your own work, and such careful work, but you're also talking about the historical importance of this church, and the meaning it has to people there?

MH: Yes, yes, of course. Because when I do the stained glass, there is a story of all the stained glass. And each window, it's a unique piece, especially this one.

HM: So just to clarify, this is Saint Louis Capuchin Cathedral?

MH: Yes, yes, this is Louis Capuchin, the oldest cathedral we have in Lebanon.

HM: Now that is a historic building. You also had work featured in the Sursock Museum, which is a contemporary art gallery. Can you tell us what was lost there?

MH: Everything. And here, I think my brother-in-law, he can answer to you because he's a member of a Sursock Museum, and he can explain to you also what I feel, because he knows me very well.

RACHID ACHKAR: Hello. Good evening.

HM: Hi, what's your name?

RA: Rachid Achkar.

HM: Rachid, you're very familiar, obviously, with your sister-in-law’s work and what it means to her.

RA: Sure, sure.

HM: Can you tell us a bit more about the museum, The Sursock, and what has happened to it?

RA: Well, Sursock Museum, it's a palace. And it has a long story, as it used to belong to Nicolas Sursock. So it became one of the largest contemporary museum in Lebanon. So we wanted at that time to restore the spirit of the palace as it was before. And Maya did all the homework to research. She had redesigned the stained glass. And all the facade was done with coloured stained glass. So what was blown with the explosion is apart from everything inside. But mostly, the stained glass disappears completely. And it is as if you were completely naked. While you were dressed by a famous artist, now you are completely naked. It's naked.

HM: Naked, yes.

RA: [chuckling] You don't have a shirt. It disappeared completely, actually.

HM: So Maya is both an artisan and a designer, a creator. What is it like for you and other members of the family to see what has happened to her life's work?

RA: Well, it's like losing a child. I mean, having the feeling when you are in front of a completely demolished work, it's like you think losing your child.

HM: I appreciate you talking with us, Rachid. Would you be willing, please, to put Maya back on the phone?

RA: Yes.

MH: Hello.

HM: Hi, Maya. As I understand it, you had actually been thinking about stopping work in the next couple of years. Will you still do that?

MH: No. Will I stop work? No. I cannot stop work. I have ten years minimum to work now. Because I told you, 20 years of my work is gone. And now, I want to try to rebuild each stained glass I do. I cannot stop.

HM: I mean, given how many lives have been lost, and how many people have lost their homes, are you concerned that people won't give priority to restoring work like yours? Are you concerned about getting materials and work to do it?

MH: Yes, of course. Yes, of course. But I am a part of patrimony, and the Lebanese, they want me to do it. They have courage. Courage to do again. Yes, they have will to do it.

HM: They have the will to do it?

MH: Yeah, yeah.

HM: And when you say patrimony, you mean this is the heritage of Beirut and of Lebanon?

MH: Yes, yes. Like, museum, like cathedral, like church, they want to rebuild. They take their time — many, many years. But we want to do it. And I am here. And if physically I can, I want to do it, of course.

HM: I'm sorry that you've had your work damaged in this way, and how difficult it must be for you. But it's good to hear that you are so determined to try and restore it all. Thank you for talking with us.

MH: Yes, yes, thank you very much.

HM: All right, you take care.

MH: Thank you. Thank you very much.

HM: All right. Bye-bye.

MH: Thank you. Bye.

TS: Maya Husseini is a stained glass artist. She was in Beirut with her brother-in-law Rachid Achkar. We've got more information, as well as pictures of the stained glass, on our webpage at: www.cbc.ca/aih.

[Music: Indie rock]

Traditional games manual

Guest: Boas Mittsuk

TS: They are physical tests of strength, energy, and endurance. And the traditional games have been played for generations. But the only way that younger Inuit have learned them is by word of mouth. Now one Indigenous community in Hopedale, Labrador, wants to ensure the old ways — even of ways to play — are not forgotten. Boas Mittsuk is Hopedale's new traditional games director. He's creating a manual to help preserve the rules of the games — to teach them to the next generation. We reached Mr. Mittsuk in Hopedale, Labrador.

HM: Boas, what is it about these games that made you want to create this manual?

BOAS MITTSUK: Growing up, we just knew, like, our modern-day ones, modern-day games. And just in the recent couple of years, we started inviting elders to do some of the older games for our festivals or special events. And getting to see the old games, the demonstrations in action, and trying some of the older games, it just showed the community's lack of knowledge for the games. And this is something we’d like to keep going before we lose all our elders. And so can bring back all the old games so that all the youth can understand what our ancestors did as well.

HM: Were you aware of these games yourself growing up?

BM: No, no, the ones I grew up knowing were just like the basic ones like Seal Crawl and Monkey Dance. But like some of the older games, there's this one called a Highstep Monkey Dance, the Innuit Strong Man. Like, there's a couple more games I don't know what the names of. And it’d just be nice to know them so I can keep them going.

HM: Right. Is it fair to say you were surprised by how many there were?

BM: Yes, I was. Like, I didn't know. Because, like, when I was growing up in school, we just knew the basic ones. And we didn't know the history of them. We were just told how to do them properly. But one of our elders who demonstrates the games, he explains how to do them, and he gives the community a chance to try to games. But not very many people give them a try.

HM: Um-hm. So the manual that you're producing, what kind of details will it include? How will you present the games in the manual?

BM: First, we'll have face-to-face meetings with the elder or someone else who has information. And we'll get to know, like, their knowledge of playing the game, the origin of how the game started, a history of the game, and how some of the games evolved as time went on. And after we get through all the kind of stuff like that, in the manual, we'll start doing descriptions of the games and how to do the games properly.

HM: Why are these games so important to your community and the history of your community?

BM: Well, like before we had gyms and that, our elders and ancestors would do these games outside. And the main reason why I think they've done the game was they had to keep their bodies physically in shape for when to go hunting or berry picking or fetching water. And it's just something like we lost that growing up and it'd be nice to have that back. And with that knowledge, our youth could understand what our parents and great grandparents had to do.

HM: You said earlier that you knew a couple of the more simple games — Seal Crawl and Monkey Dance. Can you tell us how you do those games?

BM: For the Seal Crawl, you start by laying down on the floor, and you have your body in a push-up position. You would lock your legs at the ankles and keep them locked at all times. Your nose must be touching the floor before starting. And when you start the Seal Crawl race, once you start to push-up, your arms are fully extended, and you alternate them moving forward only using your arms. And your legs must stay straight at all times.

HM: And the Monkey Dance?

BM: Monkey Dance, you normally start in a squatting position. One leg would be fully extended out and the other leg would be tucked under you. And once you start the monkey dance, you would alternate your legs from being tucked in and from being extended out. And you have to stay in the squat position at all times.

HM: Sounds like that involves like strength and balance?

BM: Oh, Monkey Dance, yeah, [chuckling] a lot of balance.

HM: In fact, it seems like they involve a lot of endurance. I guess that's part of the training history, as you say, to keep people fit?

BM: Yeah, the Monkey Dance one is more endurance — an endurance and balance one. And Seal Crawl is a distance and speed one.

HM: How many people are there left, do you think, in the community that know how to play the traditional games?

BM: I don't know if they can still play them, but like I know of one elder, Danny Darcy, like he comes in and demonstrates the games. And he's still physically able to do the games. I'm not sure about any more elders that may be able to do them.

HM: But they can tell you about them?

BM: That's what we're hoping to get out of these face-to-face interviews, try to get all the knowledge of the elders of all the Innuit games they know about.

HM: What kind of broader response have you had in your community to the fact that you're doing this?

BM: Just recently, last week, I started letting other communities know about what my position is and what we’re planning to do. I've been getting good feedback about how it's good to finally see someone doing something about the northern games before they're all lost.

HM: Tell me about the support you're getting in producing this. Who's backing you?

BM: Well, this position I took is actually funded through the Aboriginal Sports and Recreation Circle, and they're being funded by the SSDIC, which is Sports for Social Development in Indigenous Communities. Right now, it's a 18-month program. And we're hoping with the success we get with this manual they’ll extend this position so we can keep adding on to the success of this manual.

HM: When it's complete, how do you hope the manual will be distributed and used?

BM: We've been talking about how once we can get a manual done up, that we’ll travel to each community and we'll have a manual for each community, and people in the community that will be willing to pass on the knowledge. And we’re also focused on not just doing it on NunatuKavut, but also on the island as well.

HM:” What's your favorite traditional game to play?

BM: [laughing] They're all good games to play, like, good fun. But, like, the most exciting one would be the High Kick.

HM: I've seen that. Can you describe it?

BM: The one for the High Kick is you'd start off two feet on the floor. And as you approach your target, it's usually a seal that’s hung up on a string, you jump off with two feet, then you kick the seal with one foot. And while you're landing, you have to land on the same foot you kicked the seal with.

HM: We should point out, this is not a live seal.

BM: No. [both laugh]

HM: Are you any good at this game, or the others? Or is it just something that you have fun at?

BM: My best year in the Hi Kick was when I went just over eight feet. But the record for Labradorian Winter Games is eight-foot-11-inches.

HM: Well, I'm impressed by being able to kick the eight feet. That's pretty good. [both chuckle] Well, it sounds like a great project. I really appreciate you telling us about it.

BM: You're welcome.

HM: OK, bye.

TS: Boas Mittsuk is developing a manual of traditional Inuit games in Hopedale, Newfoundland and Labrador. That's where we reached him.

Tongue-eating parasite

Guest: Kory Evans

TS: Last week, Kory Evans was looking inside a fish's mouth when he found something unexpected. Now, perhaps you think that his looking inside a fish's mouth is the unexpected part of that phrase. But no. Mr. Evans studies the skull shape of the wrasse fish. So he is known to look inside a fish's mouth. In doing his research, he's looked at hundreds of CT scans of wrasse heads. And then he came upon one that looked a little bit different. We reached Mr. Evans — an assistant professor at Rice University — in Providence, Rhode Island.

HM: Kory Evans, what did you see in this scan of a wrasse fish?

KORY EVENS: So I found a weird tongue-eating isopod. These are crustacean that basically can sneak in through the gills of unsuspecting fish and parasitize their tongue. It’s very gross.

HM: Very gross! Tongue-eating isopod, you got me there. So when you first saw the scan, what did you think?

KE: So I opened up the scan at about 7:00 in the morning, and I hadn't had coffee yet. And I was kinda looking at this fish scan. It was the first scan of the day. And I was looking for some kind of morphological earmarks for another analysis that I'm working on. And I realized that the mouth of this fish was pretty full. And it was weird because, you know, every once in a while when you do a scan, if a fish has eaten something and you scan it, you pick it up. So that's always a fun surprise, you know, in and of itself. But this was weird because the fish I was looking at is actually a vegetarian. So this fish eats seaweed. And in its mouth, it looks like there is a small bug in it. And I hadn't had coffee yet, so I was like, what did you eat? And I'm staring at it, and I'm looking at the thing head on. And then it took 30 seconds and I realized exactly what it was. I was like, oh, gross! [laughing]

HM: Oh, gross! [KE laughs] This parasite, tell me how it does this to the fish. You said it enters through the gill and it eats the tongue. How does it do that? How long does it take?

KE: So it enters through the gills as a juvenile. And it’ll settle on tongue. And once it settles on the tongue, it'll sever the blood supply by lacerating some of the blood vessels. It’ll actually feed on the blood or the mucus, depending on the species, for a while until the fleshy tissue part of the tongue actually rots and falls off, or decays. Fish have a bone in their tongue. So once the flesh falls off of the tongue, there's still that underlying bone. And the isopod then latches onto that kind of bony structure, where it can stay for years, basically.

HM: So the fish stays alive? Does it have health impacts?

KE: So far, what we've learned is that as long as it's just a single isopod on the tongue, the fish actually do just fine. They do lose their tongue. So that's less great [both chuckling]. But other than that, they seem to do all right.

HM: But the parasite presumably takes nutrients from the fish?

KE: It does, yeah. And sometimes it can be a problem because some fish just get more than one on their tongue. And then the fish actually has trouble feeding.

HM: Right. Now, you said that this is common in some kinds of fish — this parasite. But this vegetarian fish, this wrasse fish, has this been seen before?

KE: Um, I'm not sure it's ever been seen in this particular species. It’s just kind of a random thing that popped up. But we see them in wasses, they pop up all across fishes. [chuckling] They seem to be really good at getting into these fishes. And there's 300 species of them, so these isopods are good at kind of infesting just about almost any species of fish, I would argue. So we see them all across the fishery life. So it's not just that wrasse in particular. We've seen them in snappers, jacks, all kinds of things.

HM: Um-hmm. The image that you got in that C.T. scan, as you said, it's gross. [laughing] It's pretty dramatic. How are people responding to it?

KE: Yeah. The response was way more than I expected. I just tweeted this so that my fish friends could see it. And it kind of took off, right? A lot of people were, at first, grossed out, but then really, really fascinated. So that's resulted in a ton of really cool things that have come up. Somebody made a nice virtual reality walkthrough of the fish head, you know, the mass of the parasite. And that was awesome. So, yeah, that the response has been incredible.

HM: It sounds like a horror movie.

KE: Yes.

HM: [shrugs] So is this just a gross surprise for you, or does it help you further your research in any way?

KE: So for me, right now, it's more of a gross surprise. But I have had a lot of people contacting me about potential collaborations. So it might further my research in a completely unexpected direction. I did not think that I would ever be working on a tongue-eating parasites. [bright and happy laughter]

HM: But I don't know why not. I mean, it sounds like the most fascinating of research. [laughing]

KE: Yeah, yeah, yeah, you're totally right on that.

HM: Wow! So what's next for you in your own work?

KE: So in my own work, I will continue scanning fish heads. I'm mostly interested in skull shape evolution in fishes, which is why I had that kind of micro C.T. scan dataset to begin with. So I'll continue scanning fishes, and we'll see what else comes up, basically.

HM: I don't know if this is your area, but if someone were to eat this fish, does the parasite pose any kind of risk to humans?

KE: Not that I know of. And there's probably a good chance that people eat these things all the time and just don't know it.

HM: You just made it even worse.

KE: I know. [both laugh deeply] I know.

HM: OK, Kory Evans, thanks so much.It’s good to talk to you.

KE: It’s good talking to you too.

HM: OK, bye.

KE: Bye-bye.

TS: Kory Evans found a tongue-eating parasite inside a fish head last week. The parasite became the tongue [grossed out noise]. We reached the professor in Providence, Rhode Island.

Melbourne library workers

Guest: Jane Cowell

TS: When Melbourne, Australia first began putting in pandemic restrictions back in March, an army of library workers picked up the phone. They were worried about what the isolation would mean to members of their community, especially seniors. So they made a list of thousands of residents who are older than 70, and they called every single one of them. Now, Melbourne is in a second shutdown. And the staff is once again hitting the phones. Jane Cowell is the CEO of the Yarra Plenty Regional Library Corporation in northeast Melbourne. That's where we reached her.

HM: Ms. Cowell, when library workers call up one of the seniors in your community, what kind of things do they ask about?

JANE COWELL: So the key things they ask about usually are technology, interesting enough. So our library staff were really switched on to think about what devices our seniors had in their home, which they often had. And they often needed a bit of help in connecting to the library resources. And just, you know, how to do it. And so we talked them through that. But most of it was about just being really grateful for the call, and having someone new to talk to.

HM: Yeah, now when you say grateful for the call, what kind of reactions did you get? Were people surprised to hear from you?

JC: They weren't surprised because we did let them know. So libraries don't do things without your permission. So what we did was we sent an email to everybody that we were going to call. And interestingly enough, you know, sort of we were two weeks in and we got an email saying, you said you'd call! [HM laughs] You haven't called! [both laughing] We've been waiting by the phone, kind of thing. [laughing] No, most people in lockdown, remember, I'm not sure if you've been in lockdown in Canada, but in lockdown, your social circle narrows to just really your family, you know? And if your family is not close, or you live on your own, it's really quite isolating. So you're only allowed outside an hour a day. So it's only worth what you've got in your home. So it can be quite isolating. And if you listen to the radio a lot, you know, especially in that first component of the pandemic when we weren't sure about anything, it was quiet anxiety-building for people. Because they listen to the radio all day, you know, as they're doing their chores and that kind of thing. So it really ramped up people's anxiety. So,, you know, Joanne, one of our members, who's an ex-teacher, she shared that with us, that, you know, sort of she was she was very anxious and getting quite scared. But what we connected with was our audiobooks. So now she listens to our audiobooks while she's doing the chores. And she's in a much better space, you know, sort of in her wellness. So, yeah. So different things for different people.

HM You know, I think a lot of people are aware that people are isolated and were encouraged to check in on those who might not have many contacts. But you might think that would come from social services rather than from a library. Where did the idea for you folks to reach out come from?

JC: I thought it was important just to check in. And you just don't know if other people are. And truly, the benefit was, thank God somebody else called. You know, like, [laughing] it was hearing from somebody completely... A, it was the library, and they said, oh, we're missing you, we're missing the library. You know, they knew the staff who called. You know, we were part of the social fabric of their lives --

HM: Right.

JC: That was torn away.

HM: So what are the staff saying about the experience for them?

JC: They found it really life-affirming because, one, people were so happy that the library called and gave them a lot of feedback about how important the library and the library staff were in their lives, and how much they were missing it. So, you know, sort of it really showed them that, you know, when they're in isolation and in lockdown too, that, you know, sort of they weren't forgotten. And that they were very missed. And so, yeah, at the start of it, staff were a bit nervous. We're not cold callers, do you know what I mean? This isn't something that we're used to doing. And we developed a script to help the staff, but so many people put their hands up once, you know, they were sort of getting the feedback how lovely the calls were. And, you know, sort of, again, how affirming they were. We had many more staff putting their hands up to do them.

HM: This is a time where so many people are dealing with closures and job changes. Through that, what have you discovered about the role that libraries play in your community?

JC: Um, well, I think it's clarified for them how important it is, you know, sort of. And the other key thing that's very interesting, like, everybody thinks said, oh, well, you just download a book now. You don't need the physical. Can I tell you that everybody wanted a physical book. And when we were sending the books out, you know, sort of people went, oh, my God, it's a caring package from the library. You know, we called it click and post. But they said, no, it's a caring package. You care about me. And they was so happy to get a box of books, you know, sort of. And, you know, books that other people have used. You know, that's a library. [warm laughter] So it's interesting, you know, sort of how a simple thing is having something to read. And something else to do. And we always put a surprise in, whether it's, you know, s cooking magazine or an activity pack for the family, you know, sort of. So it's it's interesting how they were missing it. And also, it reaffirmed it's not well-known, but libraries form part of a social fabric of a community's life, you know, sort of you can go to the library and smile and say hello to a stranger, which you can't do in a supermarket. You can feel connected in a library because it's a safe space to meet people. And, you know, sort of that's, you know, very much not valued, or not really understood. I think what will happen going ahead is we have realized that digital programing works. And I think, you know, sort of there'll be a mixture of, you know, sort of that digital connection that people can dial-in from home and physical. But we've got to remember that in Australia, and certainly in our communities, you know, in some of our communities, 30 per cent don't have Internet to the home. So, you know, sort of they're isolated in a very different way.

HM: Um-hm. Well, it sounds like you are doing incredible work in a very difficult time for so many of us. Thank you very much for sharing it with us.

JC: Thank you, Helen. It was lovely talking to you.

HM: OK. All the best to you. I hope Melbourne comes out of this latest lockdown quickly.

JC: Thank you.

HM: OK. Bye-bye.

JC: Bye.

TS: Jane Cowell is the CEO of the Yarra Plenty Regional Library Corporation. We reached her in Melbourne.

[Music: Banjo]

Ryan Reynolds stop partying message

TS: So remember Ryan Reynolds plea? Just last week, the Canadian actor asked young people in B.C. to just stay home and stop partying. But did they listen?

CO: And so how's your cough now?

PB: My cough’s fine. It was just a normal winter cough, you know when people get a cold in winter, that's just what it was, it was just annoying me that much. I just wanted some antibiotics to clear it, and that’s when it all kicked off. This is the end result.

CO: You went in with with a common cold and you came out with a traffic pylon?

[LAUGHTER]

PB: I came out with a traffic pylon, yes.

TS: From 2017, that's Carol speaking with Paul Baxter about the tiny toy pylon that was stuck inside his lung for 40 years.

[Music: Ambient]

Fastest wheelbarrow

Guest: Kevin Nicks

TS: Kevin Nicks is no stranger to travelling really fast in unusual vehicles. A few years ago, Mr. Nicks told us about setting a world record for speeding in a motorized shed. And now, he has done it again. This time in a wheelbarrow he calls the Barrow of Speed. We reached Mr. Nicks in Chipping Norton, Oxfordshire.

HM: Kevin, how fast can you go in this wheelbarrow?

KEVIN NICKS: Well, so far, 44-point-six miles an hour.

HM: That's about 77 kilometers per hour, I think.

KN: Possibly, yes.

HM: [laughing] OK. I’ll do a Canadian translation. Can you describe what it looks like for us?

KN: The wheelbarrow itself, it looks more like a stable wheelbarrow — something you would use at the stables. Because it’s quite big and silver, rather than like a builder's barrow. It's all bespoke. And I built it so that it hid all the mechanicals, all all the engine, and you can hardly see it.

HM: OK.

KN: And I have like this platform behind it, which is basically a metal plate with two wheels on it. But I stand on that.

HM: So you're not sitting in the wheelbarrow. I had images of you sitting back in the wheelbarrow.

KN: No, no, no, I stand behind it. Because when you do a Guinness World Record, they set you criteria. And I have to be in the standing position behind the wheelbarrow, which that's how I built it anyway. No, no, no, no, I'm not sitting in it. I’m standing behind it, standing up.

HM: Do you have any safety constraints or restraints of any sort?

KN: Yeah, I have to wear full leathers, leather boots, gloves, an ACU-approved helmet. I have to wear the same equipment as the guys doing 200 miles an hour on motorbikes at this top speed event.

HM: Where did you ever come up with this idea?

KN: [chuckling] But the reason I built it was I don't know if you've heard, we have a thing called lockdown over here.

HM: Oh, yes, we know all about.

KN: Well, I suddenly learn that some of my friends that live kind of normal lives, they started to struggle mentally with it because their normal lives are taken away. And all the media was just negative and frightening. And it all got too much for them. I thought, I can't change the world, but what I can do is change a few people's lives. Very quickly, I thought, right, let me just build something bonkers — because I have a strong social media following as well — so that I can try and inspire other people to be creative.

HM: What about for you? What does it mean to you to be building this during the pandemic?

KN: Well, it gives you something to do, doesn't it? Now, I've got a million things to do anyway. But I also set myself a budget of zero — because I knew some people that couldn't go to work may have been struggling with money. So it's to try and demonstrate, you know, what you can do with a zero budget.

HM: So where did you gather all the materials? I'm thinking in particular of the mechanics here, the engine?

KN: Oh, somebody gave me a moped because it didn't run. So I've got that running within five minutes. And then I pulled all that apart. And that supplied me all the mechanicals. All the steelwork were just bits of steel that I'd got left from previous things. The base inside the wheelbarrow, that was an old sign [chuckling] from a business next door to the workshop that I use. The wheels on the back came off of an old truck that I have here that I didn't use. So, you know, I kind of got everything kicking about. But it was scraps.

HM: How long did it take you to build?

KN: Ten days.

HM: That seems pretty fast for something that works so well. [laughing]

KN: Oh, I’m Just amazing. [both laughing] No, well, you’ve got no social life when everything was shut down. And so, you know, in reality, your working day can easily be, you know, you can easily work 16 hours in a day.

HM: Now, this is not the first record-setting vehicle, rather, that you have built. And as a matter of fact, we spoke with you on this program two years ago about building the world's fastest shed. At the time, you said that that was the most comfortable vehicle that you had driven. How does the wheelbarrow compare to the shed?

KN: The shed is like driving a Rolls-Royce. And the wheelbarrow was probably be like being a passenger on the back of Evel Knievel’s motorbike. [both chuckling]

HM: Do you feel like you're putting yourself in danger?

KN: Oh, yes.

HM: And that's OK?

KN: Yes, it keeps you young, doesn't it, a bit of adrenaline?

HM: Now, this thing being a record, I have to ask you, is that maybe not a technicality? I mean, is anyone else even thought to build a motorized wheelbarrow?

KN: There's been a couple built worldwide that I know of. But there's not a Guinness World Record. So what I did at the weekend, that was a testing day. It was an official event. It wasn't a records event. But for me, it was a testing day to make sure that I could exceed the speed that I needed. So it's all officially timed. But I didn't do it as a Guinness record.

HM: Will you be doing so?

KN: Yes. Oh, yes. I run with straightliners. They are the UK time association. And they time an awful lot of Guinness World Records. They have a records event in September. All I was doing yesterday was the preparation to know that I can turn up to this records event, that I can do the speed.

HM: So what do you want to build next?

KN: I've already built something else as well. Because once I built the barrow, I was thinking about the children, little children. So the five to eight year olds, where they just started to get their little lives, going to school and going round to friends, all of a sudden, they'd all got to stay at home. And I thought, you know, it isn't right. I don't know what's going on in the world, but this isn't right. And so I built Freddy the Sheddie. I built a little tiny replica of the big shed out of a mobility scooter where you sit on the roof of it and the handlebars of the mobility scooter come up through the bonnet. And it’s got s smiley face and hands and a pair of eyes. And then I wrote a children's book as well, so I'm a published author.

HM: Well, can I just wish you luck in September with the record.

KN: Thank you. Yeah, hopefully I'll talk to you afterwards.

HM: That will be fun.

KN: I'll talk to everybody, as long as it doesn't kill me.

HM: No, please do be careful.

KN: Yeah, no, I'll be fine.

HM: Pleasure to talk with you, Kevin. Thank you.

KN: Thank you very much.

HM: OK. Bye-bye.

KN: Take care. Bye-bye.

TS: Kevin Nicks created what is believed to be the world's fastest wheelbarrow. He's in Chipping Norton, Oxfordshire. We've got more on this story — and you know you want to see the wheelbarrow — on our webpage at: www.cbc.ca/aih.

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August 17, 2020 Episode Transcript

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