Coming up this week, we’ll try burlesque dancing, hit the water with our four-legged friends, find out what a living coffin is, and we’ll meet a unicycling saxophonist.
00:00In the bustling tapestry of Britain, where centuries-old traditions blend seamlessly with modern life,
00:07there exists individuals who march to the beat of their own drum.
00:12Unconventional Brits is a captivating film series that dives into the lives of these extraordinary local characters
00:19who defy the norm with their unusual hobbies, quirky lifestyles and fascinating pastimes.
00:26Meet the inventors, the dreamers and the eccentrics whose daily lives are anything but conventional.
00:32Whether you're inspired, amused or simply amazed, this is a programme that reminds us all of the beauty in being different.
00:43Coming up this week, we'll try burlesque dancing, we'll hit the water with our four-legged friends,
00:48we'll find out what a living coffin is and we'll meet a unicycling saxophonist.
00:56I love unicycle riding, all different types of it, you know, if it's for a show and it's like artistic,
01:12or if it's getting me out in the countryside and I'm doing a bit of mountain unicycling.
01:16So I started at Blackpool Circus School at age 11, which there I started with the beginner skills.
01:24Then I progressed on to being able to learn how to ride a unicycle.
01:28The process of riding a unicycle took about six months, I want to say.
01:34Lots of falling over, loads of bruises, it takes a lot of perseverance.
01:40But that was ten years ago and ever since, I've never stopped.
01:46I've got a collection of 16 unicycles at home.
01:50So I'm a bit of a hoarder, but they all are different and they all have different purposes and they all get used.
01:56It just feels great and not only that, it's more than just cycling, because I do love cycling.
02:04But it gives you a core workout, it gives you, you know, you're working out different parts of your body
02:09that you wouldn't necessarily be working out on a bike.
02:14So I just love it. I love doing something a bit different, because why not?
02:18At the moment, I specialise in walkabout entertainment.
02:27So I try and create quirky walkabout acts, which does include unicycling whilst playing the saxophone,
02:37juggling, stilt walking.
02:41But I always try my best to do something completely different that no one else is doing.
02:46I have juggled a variety of deadly weapons in my time as a performer.
02:52I have tried bear traps.
02:54I have done cleavers.
02:56And as you can see today, I am juggling the machete.
02:59I have attempted the chainsaw.
03:02However, they are incredibly, incredibly heavy.
03:07You do learn how to juggle with balls to begin with.
03:11Then you learn with the clubs.
03:13I do this thing at Christmas, where I am a giant stilt walking Christmas tree.
03:21And I do that at Garstang Victorian Christmas Festival every year.
03:25And I've been doing that festival since I was 16.
03:28So that's really nice, because people do recognise you.
03:32And, you know, you see the children come and see you every year, and they get slightly older.
03:36But, you know, they always shout at me,
03:38Rachel!
03:39No, no, it's the Christmas tree.
03:41It's the Christmas tree.
03:42You know.
03:43But it's a wonderful experience.
03:46It's a cold one at Christmas.
03:49But that's one of my favourites.
03:50One of my favourite characters to do, that's for sure.
03:53As daft as it sounds, yes, I juggle knives.
03:55But yes, I've also juggled feather dusters.
03:57I've juggled hula hoops.
03:59I have a TikTok, which is, I juggle your suggestions.
04:03Find me on TikTok, that unicycle girl.
04:05And I juggle all sorts of crazy things people have suggested.
04:09I've done hot dogs, mince pies.
04:12I'm a massive adrenaline junkie.
04:14I love the adrenaline.
04:15I love the rush.
04:16I love danger.
04:17I love pushing the boundaries.
04:19It just gives me that rush.
04:21It may be a bit stupid.
04:23It may be a bit silly.
04:24I love it.
04:25And I intend to keep doing it for a very long time.
04:28Tonight, we're doing a burlesque-a-thon.
04:30So it's six hours of non-stop burlesque chairdance
04:32in our pyjamas with the pugs.
04:34And we're going live on social media throughout the night
04:37to try and get people to donate towards the course.
04:44We're just doing several routines,
04:46other than taking quick breaks for drink.
04:51It's just continuous dancing for six hours
04:54in aid of, say, Mind UK.
04:56So we have a Just Given page for that.
04:58Hello.
04:59On the left of your left foot,
05:01step to the right,
05:02and sit you down by the corner of this night.
05:04And why are you in your pyjamas?
05:06Because it's night time,
05:08so we wanted to make it fun.
05:10Obviously, we should be sleeping at this point,
05:13so we were just, it was like,
05:15oh, what a really good theme.
05:16Let's dance through the night.
05:22Well, this was just, I just thought,
05:24if I needed to buy some pyjamas,
05:26it needed to be kitsch.
05:27So, yeah.
05:28I wouldn't normally wear anything like this,
05:32but a bit of fun.
05:33I would imagine we're not going to get in until gone five.
05:35So, yeah, I think it will be a bit of a go to bed
05:38and just recover and actually just let our legs sort of ache,
05:42because they will ache tomorrow after all this hard work.
05:44There isn't anyone in the UK who hasn't been affected
05:47and needs support from Mind UK at some point.
05:50And it's an amazingly fun way to raise money.
05:53So I can lose a night's sleep to raise some money.
05:56It's such an empowering activity,
06:00especially for females.
06:02It's about building body confidence.
06:04It's about making friends.
06:06It's all about really empowering females to be themselves.
06:10Just really enjoy dancing with the girls.
06:13It's a great group.
06:14We have a good laugh together,
06:15and it's good exercise as well.
06:21So, Burlis Chairdance is a fitness class.
06:23We are fitness instructors first and foremost.
06:25It's a sexy ladies-only workout,
06:28where you can burn up to 500 calories per class.
06:31But it's all about getting fit, losing weight,
06:33but most of all, building confidence and having fun.
06:37Next up, it's paddle boarding for pups.
06:39It's a dog's life.
06:41Obviously, we've been open for three years now,
06:43and we had people asking constantly, you know,
06:45do you want to have dogs on the boards?
06:46Do you want to have dogs?
06:47Because of the confined space, we just haven't, basically.
06:49And we were looking at our calendar for this year
06:51and just thinking, well, can we do something different?
06:53Can we let people bring their dogs onto the lake,
06:55have a bit of fun?
06:56So, we had our pops-up hour every Friday morning,
06:5910 to 11.
07:00And, yeah, it just gives people the opportunity to come down,
07:03hire the boards, pop their dogs on,
07:05and just get out there and have some fun with the,
07:07you know, pop on a sup, basically.
07:09I think there's probably more benefits for the humans,
07:11because it's just, it's a brilliant, it's just brilliant fun.
07:15You know, your dog, your best mate out on the board with you,
07:17having a great time.
07:18Some dogs like to jump off, swim around.
07:20They just love being out in that open space and open air.
07:23But we've found even our dogs that aren't massive swimmers,
07:25just sort of seem to enjoy sort of gliding along above the water,
07:28and they're quite sort of inquisitive about what's going on around them.
07:31And I just think there's got to be something in that for them, definitely.
07:36I was a manager last year, but we've got Jack this year.
07:40So, due to health issues, I'm going to be moving into the shop instead.
07:45Paddleboard is a lot with my husband and the children on holiday.
07:50We had one for a long time.
07:52And then met Reece, and he offered me a job here.
07:56And what do you like about paddleboarding?
07:59It's just, there's no noise.
08:02It's completely silent.
08:04It's not like a boat.
08:05And you can lie on it, you can stand on it, you can sit on it.
08:09It's just really relaxing.
08:12She starts off quite nervous, and then you can feel her calm down.
08:17You can feel her body get more and more relaxed.
08:21Yeah, she likes to cuddle on the board.
08:24And I think she feels safe because she's with me as well.
08:27So, it's like you're in charge, Mum.
08:31Is she the kind of dog that enjoys the water?
08:35She'll go into the water.
08:36She'll go for a swim.
08:37But she's not a natural water.
08:39She's not like a spaniel, a natural water dog that heads straight for it.
08:44When we're on the board, she wouldn't jump in off the board.
08:48She likes to stay next to me.
08:50I think it depends dog to dog.
08:52I mean, I think your dog wants to enjoy the water, definitely.
08:55That's going to help them have an enjoyable time out.
08:57We recommend a life jacket for all dogs just because a lot of people don't know how their dogs can swim in deep water.
09:02So, we've put life jackets on our dogs as well.
09:04But yeah, any dogs welcome along.
09:06You know, as long as they're going to be out in the water, looking like they're having a good time, then that's all we want, really.
09:11I'll be here all the time, yeah.
09:13I mean, the shop's only just on Sheep Street up there.
09:17So, yeah.
09:18After work, I'll be straight down with the dog.
09:20So, we open on April 5th.
09:23We do our first pups-up on the 12th of April.
09:25And then we run basically through until the weather closes us.
09:28So, last year, that was the end of September.
09:30The year before, it was the end of October.
09:32But all summer long, you know, as long as the sun's shining, we're here, we're open.
09:37Lastly this week, here's an enterprising funeral firm offering the world's first living coffin made out of mushrooms.
09:45My name is Louise Winter.
09:46I'm the founder of Poetic Endings, a modern funeral service based in London.
09:51And today, we are showcasing this incredible new innovation called the Loop Living Coffin,
09:58which is a coffin made of mycelium, the root network out of which mushrooms grow.
10:03Mushrooms are the fruiting organisms that grow out of mycelium.
10:07And mycelium is such an incredible resource in nature.
10:11It's nature's biggest recycler.
10:13So, anything that falls onto the forest floor, mycelium will recycle and return to the earth as nutrients.
10:20If it's left out of the soil, this coffin will stay as it is indefinitely.
10:25If it's planted in the soil, it will biodegrade within 45 days, return to the earth and nourish the soil around it.
10:33People are increasingly so aware of the environment and the impact that we have.
10:38And they really want that to influence their funeral decisions as well.
10:42So, if people are environmentally conscious in life, there should be options as well that allow them to be environmentally conscious in death as well.
10:49It only launched in the UK last week and already it has taken social media by storm.
11:01People just love the aesthetic of it.
11:03People who've experienced it love the feel of it.
11:06It's just very different to anything that's currently out there.
11:09Mycelium also comes as a forest bed.
11:12So, this is the loop living coffin, which is more coffin shaped and has a lid.
11:18The forest bed doesn't have a lid and the person would just be in a shroud.
11:23We also have an urn.
11:24So, if someone has been cremated, they can still make use of this material to return to nature
11:30and can be put into the urn and then have a tree or some kind of plant on top
11:35and then the mycelium will help the plant to flourish.
11:42You're watching Shots, the heart of weird and wonderful UK life.
11:52Meet unforgettable characters, dive into quirky stories and explore the eccentric side of Britain like never before.
