Ch-ch-changes

Things are changing. It is scary, but also exciting. Ifs, perhaps, definites, and having a go. It could be the best bits and some extra new ones. I have a new camera that films and records audio. Things I have thought about for a long time are back, uncensored by another. No more rolling over and taking it. Just follow your instinct. Blimey!

Alba album

I was in Ed for 31 days. The fringe didn't start for 3 days. I then saw 28 shows, so averaged 1.079 shows a day, as well as participating in 7 others and having 2 days off. There was literally nothing I saw that was a waste of time or terrible, but then I am not a critic (PTL) and camaraderie means you see good in other people's shows. Also I didn't see any student shows and a limited amount of plays, (just 2 in fact), so that cuts down on the potential under-rehearsed and/or boring nonsense.

Top 3 (of which there are 5) in no particular order:

• Alex Horne's Wordwatching - 3 years of prep for an utterly delightful show. Would pay my own hard earned honk to see this again.
• John Hegley - the man is deadpan genius.
• "Nick Mohammed is a character comedian" - and a blumin good one he is too.
• Ben Moore's Not Everything is Significant - bare footed charm.
• Josie Long - enthusiasm and joy on the very last night, when weariness had overcome us.

Honourable mentions:

• The Wisecrackin,.....Behemoth
• Pegabovine Polite Club
• The Penny Dreadful's Aeneas Faversham Forever
• The Bird and the Bee: The Bee by Al Smith
• Mark Watson
• The Cheese and Pineapple club - these girls are a delight.
• Joanna Neary's Magic Hole
• Terry Saunders - Figure 8 - saw it twice, due to circumstances of blag and friend wanting to see
• Simply Fancy by Pig Island - australian Boosh-alikes
• Freeze! - Tim Key and Tom Basden tomfoolery
• Mould and Arrowsmith's a Sketch Show in Powerpoint
• The Boom Jennies - continue to be jealous of their french penpal sketch.
• Idiots of Ants
• Ginger and Black
• Tommy and the Weeks
• 2 rounds of We need Answers - Josie Long vs Paul Sinha; Kristen Schall vs. Alun Cochrune.
• The Search for Sunshine - devised play about death with delightful shuffling God obsessed with Bond.
• How to play the Ukelele in under an hour - useful for chord learnage.
• Wil Hodgson - had forgotten how delightful his storytelling is.
• La Clique - man climbing through tennis racket, striptease magic, homo-erotic chinese pole, you know, the usual.
• Barbershopera
• Tom Wrigglesworth
• Elizabeth and Raleigh
  
• Kristen Schaal and Kurt Wotsit.

You note none of this actually involves writing jokes

The main things I have done today:

1. Worried about not writing anything this week
I have been rushing around and am shattered is my excuse. This week included job interview/meeting up with an American/seeing the boy of talent's solo show/ and advertising agency work of long hours, and so on, but still....

2.Bought food and pretended I am successful writer in my head
Went to the co-op and went home via the new café/deli round the corner, Cupboard. It has free wifi, sells organic and fair trade things like bread, free range eggs, elderflower cordial and quinoa, (my pulse of choice at present). They play nice jolly old lady music - Ella, Cole Porter and so on. Freshly squeezed orange juice, good coffee, buns. I think I could go there on my fridays and write hilarious jokes, and befriend the waitresses and be a bit like JK Rowling (without the single parenthood and satanism.) In reality, I will go there and drink the coffee, look at silly craft things on the internet and come home and feel guilty about not writing anything of use....Anyway I bought lots of things from them today, so that they don’t close down before I get chance to live out my facade. I am now cash poor, but grain rich.

3. I successfully wore my corduroy dress over my smart trousers
Adding to my successful writer fantasy - i.e. I will only wear kooky but cute, obscure danish clothing, that is both stylish and warm.

4. League of Gentlemen
Watched 3 episodes and then rewatched them with the voice over commentary.
I was worried to find a scene where Mickey burns his mouth on an apple pie – this was in 2000 though, so maybe we have enough space to do a similar joke 8 years later.

5. Listened again to a bunch of stuff (in front of computer with a blank "word" document open...)
Item on Woman’s Hour about the fact French and Saunders are on their farewell tour, are there any female double acts to replace them? Don Ward from the Comedy Store was really rather middle aged man, producer about it, answering this question triumphantly saying, "Well you've heard of Mel and Sue? They split up." His chief reason for lack of women in comedy was it is very bloke-ish and so if a female act was on a bill of 4 male acts, the male-dominated atmosphere would make them feel lonely. (Eh? He had rather lost the thread of the discussion being about double-acts. The beauty of a double act is that there are two of you, you instantly solve the loneliness thing by showing up together.) He said that there is only one double act, (Chambers and Nettleton )that were commercially good enough to book. Jan Raven name checked Watson and Oliver, Two-Left Hands, and Penny Spubbs, and said the most sensible thing of the discussion - in the end it doesn't matter what your gender is, the material has got to be good.....

in which case I need to stop writing this and write something good....