Not One Mention Of Mini JLS

As I type, Olly hasn't made it back from Leeds (due to travelling via coach)
but Kate managed to stop over we enjoyed a rather pleasant stir-fry
over a confusion between the occupation of a psychiatrist and psychologist.

Of which Kate falls into the latter field regarding her job.

My plan for tomorrow was to buy something nice, if a bit expensive
from the Patisserie Valerie in Canterbury, but as Mum has stacked up
on plenty of bread as it is, I'll try and find a more productive way
to spend my time.

It's hard not to be distracted by More Talent on ITV2 which is currently
taking calls and Skype's from viewers in the usual style with Simon Cowell
responding to a viewer disagreeing over the final result of keyboard whizz
Jean Martyn over magic act Dave and Karen.

Simon Cowell has resorted to the classic analogy of having to choose
between lasagne or fish and chips, falling in favour of the latter
from his point of view.

Whichever is which is up to you to make your mind up.

The rest of tonight will involve listening to this week's AIOTM (aitom)
podcast, and reading what I hope will become a weekly review by
devoted fan Andy McHaffie.

It will be good to meet face to face on the final show of the series
although we've probably crossed paths many times before.

Only next time, I'll have more than just the idea of getting a photo
with Mr Rich on my mind.

Britain's Got Turgid

Disc burning has been the main activity taking my time for most of today
although with just a plastic spindle for storing them on at the moment
I will need to soon start investing in new wallets.

My obsessive compulsive disorder can hit me the worst when it comes
to sorting out my recordable DVDs.

Britain's Got Talent on the other hand was fairly average
and most of the public seem to agree to the point of which
speculation about The X Factor and the new judging panel
unveiled today is more interesting.

Reminds me of an off the cuff comment made by Paul O'Grady
not long ago reflecting the viewing habits of the public;

"If it ain't X Factor, I'm not f'kn interested!"

Simon Cowell's return and his premise of going to deadlock just
went to prove that even if a dash of shit stirring won't improve
things, but I'll carry on watching as I'm still sort of recovering
from my muddles earlier in the month.

In addition to Kate and Olly's visit tomorrow I have an appointment
at Laurel House to discuss how I have been since being prescribed to
the drugs and it's fair to say they are improving.

With the boozing do on Sunday, and The Room at Leicester Square
two days earlier, it's a steady return to stability.

Switched Off To No Switches

The title of yesterday's blog post says it all, tonight's show was a
shambles.

Not to the point of not-wanting-to-return-next-week, but more a
case of Murphy's Law fulfilling expectations as my hand trap
and mouth trap were set loose, screwing up wherever possible.

One of my problems is presenting with the door open, mainly
because it can be so bloody hot at the worst of times.

The problem is that with the really shitty studio lighting,
the red-light issue can lead to confusion, and tonight it
did, forcing me to go all apologetic.

To cut a long story short, CSR need to invest in air conditioning, and
studio lighting as surely they're going to have a massive electricity
bill considering they have the studio lights switched on all the time.

It's as if no one had ever heard of the "last person to leave the studio"
instruction.

As for tomorrow, hopefully a long lie in, and later on the first of the
BGT 2011 semi-finals, and if anyone reading this blog wants to make
a childish comment about my alleged resemblance to Simon Cowell,
now's the time to do so.

Having said that, if I was to grow my hair longer (not going to happen)
I could look like the drummer for this N*Sync cover.

Blam Jam Shambles

I must be one of very few people who's attention isn't drawn to
the Manchester United Vs Barca game, but there are far more important
things to be thinking about, namely my return to Canterbury's airwaves
tomorrow evening.

With all the issues of the last month quietly brushed under, I'm hoping
that things will become stable regarding my involvement in the station
although it should be pointed out that nothing nasty has actually taken
place in terms of being confrontational.

If anything, it's gradually improving as after the photo shoot I
went for a few drinks at the Canterbury SU bar, and there's the
farewell drinks for Venning next week.

That said, throughout June the show will still be rather sporadic as
such as on the 19th I've got a gig at the Gulbenkian starting at 7:45pm
and on the Sunday before Lounge I'm in London to see Al Jarreau.

The 19th can be solved by possibly sticking all the music to play
on it's own, but with the studio increasingly being used more due to
the growing schedule, I doubt I'll even get a chance to pre-rec for early
July.

And having a second studio that's never even fucking open doesn't
help either.

Then again, balls to pre-reccing.

Radio's meant to be instant and one-to-one isn't it?

Non-Visual Photos

Not looking too good outside but I shall do my best to make today
productive as possible.

A photoshoot for CSR is taking place at the Powell building at
Canterbury Christ Church University this afternoon so I may as well
get that done, what with me making a return this coming Sunday.

I doubt I will be wearing anything too special, but then again it's
not really the aim of a radio station to let the presenters outfits
stand out more than what goes out on air.

Also on the first Sunday in June, outgoing station manager
Andrew Venning is holding a leaving party at his house before
setting off on a jaunt taking him to America.

With quite a few WKD bottles left from my birthday two weeks ago,
they will quite possibly be emptied there.

Actually as it's taking place on a Sunday, it could be the first time
in a while I have presented a radio show after a lot of booze.

That could lead to embarrassment, over-ambition, and a massive
bollocking afterwards.

Lacking The Extra Push

Plans for today have changed as Kate has had to postpone her
visit until next week.

Luckily it means I get to sort my own cooking out.

Elsewhere, Dad has got his Spanish GCSE exam today so here's
hoping that goes well and I can honestly say it's probably a lot
more worthy than the Learndirect maths course I took around
this time last year.

When it comes to commitment however, I'm not an expert
at sticking to things in the long run.

When all else fails it's best to stick to what you're good at,
and after I get back from Tesco in Canterbury, I plan to to just
that, more rummaging.

Returning To The Airwaves Of Canters

Once again today's been rather non-eventful but tomorrow should be
a bit more exciting as Kate is coming over to stay for the night.

It's probably her first summer in quite a long time where she isn't
going to America but one member of our family will be US bound
in a few weeks as Olly is going to help out at Camp America
in a few weeks, for a third year running.

I have also decided that this Sunday I shall make my return
to the airwaves, with Blam Jam on Canterbury's CSR where I've
got quite a few good ones lined up including an amazing cover
of Michael McDonald's "Sweet Freedom" by Ingrid Kjosavik.

It's got a "Higher Ground" feel to it, but thankfully, unlike the original
there isn't a synthesised mouth organ to be heard.

Other plans for tomorrow?

Well, putting visual/aural things together and lying down in
the middle of the day will cover it.

A Very Naughty Boy

Despite just about every line of the film's musical finale being used as
titles for my blog posts, tonight was my first full viewing of Monty Python's
Life Of Brian taking place at the Haymarket Cineworld.

This time round I wasn't the only person sitting on the front row,
although it was quite a packed audience, who unlike your's truly
had seen the film before.

Before the screening itself was the interview with director Terry Jones
which was primarily focused towards his rather awkward relationship
with Terry Gilliam with whom he shared directorial duties on
the first Python film, The Quest For The Holy Grail.

Terry also shared a few anecdotes about Spike Milligan's cameo
in the film which came about by accident as Milligan happened
to be on holiday near where they were shooting the picture.





The film itself was not a disappointment and I could see
how it was and still is influential to quite a lot of my
favourite comedy performers.

I'm just rather annoyed I wasn't introduced to it as a whole
20 years ago, as the levels of swearing and nudity would
have been right up my street.

Overall it was a night in Central London well spent compared
to last week's faux pas.

Stupid Injunctions

So, if the events of today have been anything to go by, Ryan Giggs
can retire from football with the knowledge that an uncontrollable erection
probably isn't the best excuse to issue a super injunction.

Elsewhere it hasn't been too eventful, but tomorrow should see
a change in proceedings with the highlight being another screening
at the Cineworld in Haymarket, this time of Monty Python's Life Of Brian
as introduced by Terry Jones himself.

This happens to be the concluding film in Time Out's "Best Of British"
film season at said venue, and although I've never seen Life Of Brian
before, I'm confident it will be a visit well spent.

Not sure how the rest of the week will pan out, but hopefully
by June, I'll want to go back on the radio again.

Finally Getting Hold Of My Prescription

I'm gradually getting better, although one way of passing through
is to only have a single agenda and to look towards what I'm doing
by the end of the day rather than the year.

That said, tomorrow's rather busy as I have a jobsearch at Maximus
a visit to the Job Centre, and I desperately need to get that
prescription sorted out for my tablets at the Boots chemist.

Other than that it's not that much of an agenda.

Bed Bound In Bright Sunshine

Today was mostly spent recovering, including going to sleep twice
because quite frankly I was bored stupid.

The main talking topic (although you wouldn't see it in the trending
list on Twitter, obviously) was the identity of the footballer who's
throwing his toys out of the pram over the superinjunction issue
by suing Twitter.

Like that's going to bleeding well solve anything.

To be honest it's a big waste of time and money and all,
as I doubt anyone would even give a bollocks if an individual
has boffed an ex Big Brother contestant behind their wife's back.

Tomorrow may involve more of the same, apart from going to Sainsbury's
to buy their superior mince needed to make a penne bol, or maybe
a shell bol if I'm feeling up for it.

I may also have a rummage on my DVD shelf to see if there's
anything worth re-viewing or reminiscing as quite frankly
I'm going to have a lot of time on my hands up till my
next visit to London on Tuesday.

This time however, I have a proper purpose for my visit and
hopefully it will be productive if I stay calm.

Unsettled In London

I've no idea if I should have been out in London last night.

The CMP Reunion was essentially just a crowd of ex Westminster students
stood outside a busy Red Lion and I wasn't in the mood at all.

A couple of attendees including Beth, and Rosie who I hadn't seen for a
long time tried to make things better, but on the tube back to Archway
I immediately decided that I wanted to go home.

Luckily Pippa and her partner were happy to take me to St Pancras
International to make sure I arrived safely, and I got the last train home
to Canterbury via Ashford International.

We agreed that the night hadn't gone too well, but hopefully
when Holly gets back we'll go somewhere nicer that may have a
beer garden or somewhere to properly relax, rather than a giant
alleyway in Central London.

Because of my ongoing anxieties, I have decided that I won't be
going to the Smoke Awards on Monday.

Part of that is to do with the fact that I barely know the comittee
currently running the station, but the other half is that I don't want
to be sat on a table with academic staff, making me look weak by
discussing the achievements of other alumni where as I have ended
up with absolutely sod all.

And the only way I'll contribute to a conversation is by moaning
about how I'm not enjoying my radio excursions at CSR and Academy.

I don't even know why they even put me on the Hall Of Fame as
everyone else has gone on to achieve bigger and better things
after they left Smoke Radio.

Hopefully everyone else who is going will have a good night and enjoy
themselves.

The Water Outing In London

I really don't know what I'm letting myself in for.

Today I have agreed to go on a volunteering trip with the National Autistic
Society helping to clean the waterways on the nearby Regents Canal.

It's different from practically anything else I have done recently
but hopefully it will be worthwhile and whatever happens, later on
I will head over to Central to see a few old faces at the CMP Reunion
for 2011.

Once again it's taking place at the Red Lion near Oxford Street.

Come to think of it it's not really that long since the last reunion
in September but I'm hoping that despite the lack of alcoholic drinks
(to my liking) it will be an enjoyable evening, and Pippa has let
me stay over at her house again.

The last week or so (that hasn't been spent in London) has been rotten
and the lack of fruity alcoholic drinks may be an advantage as I'll
be able to have proper conversations with those who will be popping over.

Or alternatively I'll get properly sloshed in Angel beforehand after the
canal visit, as there are quite a lot of nice drinking holes there.

The Messiah's Second-To-Last Stand

Last night's outing to the Leicester Square Theatre proved eventful.

Despite the tickets saying that the performance started at 8pm,
it actually commenced 10 minutes after my arrival at around 7:30
and it looked rather pacy compared to previous performances.

To be fair their was an awful lot to cram in.

As is most often the case, I was sat in the front row, right in
the centre and got picked on during some of the minor interaction
gags, but luckily I wasn't chosen as "Trevor".

Those who have been to a previous performance of COAB will know
that "Trevor" is the random name that Richard will give to an audience
member who becomes his "disciple".

Notable highlights included during the tape swap when Rich was reading
some e-mails complaining about the show which also featured in the warm
up to Monday's As It Occurs To Me podcast.

Just as it was getting to a hilarious bit about a car trunk from in Brazil
the vital piece of paper of which the e-mail was printed on turned out
to be missing, resulting in Herring corpsing his way through the rest
of the routine before the second set of tapes were loaded.

Also worth mentioning was Andrew Collins tripping over the pyro
used for the explosion near the end of the second half which I later
mentioned could have been a near Anthea Turner moment had it gone off.

Only that Collings has nowhere near as long hair.

Straight after the performance was the recording of a special Collings
and Herrin podcast which was more relaxed, with a lot of audience
participation, bizarre questions, and a lot of yells of "Abooo!" when apt.

The idea of passing the mic round the audience was also inspired.

One fella who was in attendance, Andy McHaffie has given a very
good review of the night, with a few photos on his own blog, and
on that note, here's a few that I got taken.



Finally meeting the man who co-read the thought of the day
on Simon Mayo's Radio 1 Breakfast show 18 years ago.



The perfect podcast pairing.

I made quite a worthy book purchase before getting the train back to
Canters this morning, by getting hold of both of Emma Kennedy's
tent related books.

I'm halfway through the first one, and should I finish it on the way
back to the big city tomorrow, the San Francisco one should alleviate
any further boredom.

And hopefully any further frustration that may lie ahead.

"THE BIBLE'S ALL RUBBISH!"

Tonight sees the long, too long to be honest, awaited recording of the DVD
of Richard Herring's Christ On A Bike at the Leicester Square theatre.

Since discovering the audio bootleg of the original 2001 performance
at fistoffun.net I've felt it deserves bigger exposure and to this day
it remains quite possibly my favourite one man comedy performance/
angry rant.

Then again, I doubt even the most dedicated Christian could make the
effort to memorise an acronym of Jesus's ancestors.

And being in the front row near centre, I'm certain I've got the best
position to be in...

Well, it could be worse. I could be watching Jerry Sadowitz...

Tonight happens to be the second to last performance of COAB with
the last one taking place on Saturday in Folkestone of all places.

Straight after the performance itself will be the recording of a special
Collings And Herrin podcast which due to it's heavily adlibbed nature
will be unpredictable, and quite possibly very rude and obscene.

I.E jokes about "sexcrement" and so on.

It's not unlikely that a few people who were at AIOTM on Monday
will also be present tonight, and if I'm lucky I may get a few photos
with the main protagonists.

Then again, out of all the "star" photos I've got, Richard Herring tends
to pop up the most often.

Just a shame none of them were with the Hitler moustache.

The Green Park Gander

Not a lot has happened today, but I suppose that's a good thing ahead
of tomorrow.

Although I am staying at a hotel near Kings Cross station,
I'll travel the slower route from Canterbury East as it will save some
money, and will also allow me to walk my way from Victoria station
to Leicester Square via Hyde Park.

I've sort of made a habit of this by accident due to the Victoria Line
being rubbish during rush hour recently, but it's quite a nice route
to walk through, especially in high temperatures.

And on that note I really hope they have the air conditioning switched on
during the performance, as even Richard Herring himself was struggling
to perform with it switched off for part of last night.

I'd best get some well earned shut eye, but not before having a listen
to one of Collings And Herrin's previous live podcasts as believe it or
not I've never actually heard the duo in front of an audience before.

I'm guessing it will involve a lot of swearing.

The Cumpkins Make A Comeback

The third full series of Richard Herring's As It Occurs To Me got off
to a solid start which even with the absence of Dan Tetsell was still on
form as ever.

Stand in Ben Moor was brilliant, playing up as a character who had
never heard the show before, although in real life both himself
Emma Kennedy, and Richard Herring were part of the revue whilst
at Oxford University.

Highlights of the first show which should be online by tomorrow,
included Rich's jokes from last week's Have I Got News For You
which didn't get transmitted, made up super injuctions, and a song
about Lembit Opik from resident musician Christian Reilly in the
style of Lady GaGa's Pokerface.

Probably not to the same sort of scale as Carlisle, but entertaining
nonetheless.

After the show itself, I had a chat to guest Ben Moor who happens
to be a fellow Canterbury man himself having been to Boys Langton
Grammar School which is where Olly went to many years afterwards.

Me being me however, I specifically fancied having a chat about
Ben's time as a contestant on Blockbusters 25 years ago, which
I discovered via this informative article from the Guardian published
last year.

Overall it was the perfect warm up to Wednesday where I will be
in the front row of the Leicester Square Theatre for a second time,
this time to see Herring's religious rantings.

"Aside, It's A Load Of Rubbish"

Having gone through a lot of unnecessary fracas today, the goings-on
of tonight should hopefully provide much needed escapism, as in the
first of what will be quite a few visits to London this week, I will be
making a return to the Leicester Square Theatre and the first in what
will be the third full series of Richard Herring's As It Occurs To Me.

It's quite a special one tonight, as regular cast member Dan Tetsell
is away working on a television project, so standing in will be Ben Moor,
a comedy writer and performer who's radio series Elastic Planet has
recently been repeated on Radio 4 Extra, and also used to live in
Canterbury during an earlier time period.

That aside, the rest of the cast will still be present including Emma Kennedy
and musician Christian Reilly and I'm hoping I may get a few photos
after the show itself.

More importanly however is Wednesday when I'm back at said venue
again for the DVD record of Christ On A Bike and a special Collings And Herrin
podcast.

I've never been in the presence of Andrew Collins before, so it could be
very enlightening.

Birthdays, Barbecues, And Buckets

A sort of low-key birthday celebration took place this afternoon
in Concha and Martin's garden where we had a barbecue along with
guests Laura and Josh who popped over and gave me a present
of 4 WKD red bottles.

We didn't actually take them with us as I was pretty much stocked
up in terms of booze.

It pretty much sped by but it was good fun and much needed escapism,
where we found out about Laura and Josh disagreeing over book
choices, and how last night's Doctor Who was an improvement
over last week's "swash-buckling" adventure.

I plan to have a lie down upstairs until tomorrow evening
when I'll be heading into Central London for the recording of the first
in the new series of Richard Herring's AIOTM (aiotm!) at the Leicester
Square theatre.

One of the co-stars, that being Emma Kennedy also came up in
conversation when I mentioned her new book "I Left My Tent In
San Francisco" which harks back to the failed attempt by Kennedy
and her friend to seek their fortune in the states where they couldn't
even get jobs as kitchen staff in a fish and chip shop in California
all down to unlucky timing.

Having said that I still haven't read the "prequel" The Tent, The Bucket,
And Me which I have been meaning to do for a good length of time,
but as there's a lot of that on my hands, I may do just that.

Online AS Explanations

Whilst it seems the entire country is transfixed by a expensive
continental freak show, I've discovered what looks like an interesting
explanation of Asperger's Syndrome and the different conventions
that are associated with it.

I've probably mentioned this on the blog before, but I've never
liked the word "Aspie" and thankfully haven't been encouraged
to use it myself, although I understand others who have the
disability are more open to using it than I am.

Even more interesting is this article on Anosognosia which is used
to describe those who are in denial over a medical condition or disability
which I haven't heard of before but it definitely appears worth the read.

I've got the drinks sorted out for tomorrow which will be low key
compared to last year, but with a week with every other day spent
in London, I'd best go steadily.

Culinary Comedy

It's annoying when Blogger decides to suspend itself, and prevent me
from updating my blog.

Thankfully it doesn't happen too often.

Although I am turning 26 on Sunday, it's probably going to be
a rather average weekend although that's mainly because I'm making
three visits to London next week, two of them to see Richard Herring
at the Leicester Square theatre.

The man himself is also appearing on tonight's Have I Got News For You
where in a first for the show, two people will be hosting as
Masterchef's John Torode and Gregg Wallace will be taking centre
stage to oversee proceedings.

I'm hoping that tonight's show will acknowledge the late Big George
the man who composed the theme tune to the show who died last
weekend.

It's probably worth posting the first set of titles from 1990
which had a completely different arrangement of the familiar
tune to match the images on screen.

From the second series they reverted to using an arrangement
of the more familiar brassy version, used for the first series
to end the programme and has been the case ever since.

A really talented man.

Disposing Of Aural Spite And Frustration

Today has been rotten.

I have come to the conclusion that I need a breather from anything
radio related as I have now reached the point that even
setting foot in a studio makes me go shaky.

I've decided that the only way to deal with it is to put everything
on hold, both Folkestone and Canterbury, as a medium I once enjoyed
has now become a cause of anger, stress, spite, and envy.

Without it to frustrate me it will hopefully make day to day life
a lot easier to go through, and with three outings to London next
week it will hopefully be a lot more bearable.

A Seventh Spoonful Of Sugar

Escapism tonight was provided by The Apprentice, where in the first
episode of series 7, the task was to come up with a fruit and veg
product to provide to the working passers by of Central London.

I won't give anything away result-wise in case certain people
reading this haven't seen it yet, but the one thing that struck
out was contestant Vincent, who bears a striking resemblance
to George Lamb if he had laid on the Just For Men.

As for tomorrow I may head over slightly later than usual
to Folkestone, as at the risk of becoming a show-and-go
sort of presenter, every week at the Academy is turning into
Groundhog Day.

I.E. the only conversation I can come up with relates to
my frustrations at CSR, and I barely feel motivated.

Having said that however, immediately after the show I'm
heading up to said station as there's a meeting for members
about next week's 10 Monkeys Comedy Festival at the Gulbenkian.

Due to me spending three of those nights in London, I'll only
be able to be around on the Tuesday night anyway.

I really need to sort out the visit to Laurel House sooner rather
than later as my radio related frustrations seem to be dominating
life in a negative way.

Escaping To Emulation

The last couple of days have literally been spent wasting a lot of time
reliving an equally wasted past.

I've installed a DOS emulator onto my laptop and have managed
to relive some old games such as Wolfenstein, Duke Nukem, and
an endless number of pinball simulators which are good for nostalgia
although back in 1994 there were fewer distractions and additional
entertainment platforms.

Today I managed to get hold of an Atari ST emulator working,
which we didn't own, but my elder cousins had one at their house
and it was good to relive games such as Rick Dangerous,
a cartoon Indiana Jones inspired game.

When things in the real world are not so good, rather than dwelling
on them and getting paranoid, it's better to decrease the time spent
worrying in favour of spending it in a two-dimensional pixelated paradise.

Clouds Across The Blue Moon

So, a rather rubbish day for Chelsea at the hands of the Red Bastards
but it didn't prevent me from being a moody so and so on the wireless
tonight.

Tomorrow I've got a visit to the Job Centre which I'm not looking
forward to, but hopefully after that I can start planning ahead towards
my birthday.

Not that I'm doing a lot this year but then again I've got a lot going
on in May anyway.

Loud, Rude And Free In Canters

I may have quite possibly attended the best gig in Canterbury
in all the 20 years and one month I have been living here,
courtesy of Kunt And The Gang and an impressive array of
support acts at the Maiden's Head pub.

On arrival I noticed Stewart, a fellow student at college who
was on my AVCE course almost a decade ago and had brought
along Lee with him.

Lee was sort of the Del Boy of the course and gave me a lot
of stick but he was slightly more mellow tonight, possibly
because he was saving all the energy for when him and
Stewart got in the performance corner as part of Ted Dibiase And
The Million Dollar Punk Band.

The highlight of their set was a song about Lee's fascination
for Paul Gascoine.

I actually interviewed Lee and Stewart five years ago for a feature
assignment whilst at University to be edited on the infamous
SADiE machines.

I thought the interview itself was a shambles but Dave Sharp
seemed to like the finished piece.

He could probably get TDMDPB played on Academy FM come
to think of it.

The next band to appear on stage were an "Oi!" pub-punk trio
Belinda Carbuncle where the standout was a punk version of the
theme tune to Blockbusters.

As expected, the lead guitarist was rather flattered when
I mentioned after the set that I had met the man who composed
the said theme tune last month.

Other tunes given the pub-punk treatment included the theme
to Beadle's About and Ivor Biggun's "Winker's Song".

Then came the headliner himself in a flamboyant green suit
giving off a superb tasteless and purile set as hoped for
where much to my delight, the first song was the legendary
"Perverts On The Internet".

Other offerings included "Fred And Rose", "That's My Erection"
and of course the special Royal Wedding version of "Fucksticks".

It was also good to hear a few tunes I hadn't heard before
including one listing things that both the lead singer and
"Little Kunt" would only do for a million pounds.

By the time Kunt was on stage the pub was absolutely
rammed but luckily I was right at the front, getting some
good photos throughout, some of them far too obscene
to be included on the blog.

Here's a few more tasteful shots mind;



A quaint venue it must be said.



Alligning with Lee after all these years.



Lee and Stewart get the Maiden's Head moshing.



And when I say moshing, I mean just that.



Lee in finale mode.



Said mosher gets a restraining.



Spot the Kunt.



Belinda Carbunkel in full flow.



Don't worry, I didn't actually purchase this.



The man himself takes the mic.



The only suitable photo I could find of
Little Kunt. Those who were at the gig will know why.



I'll let you use your imagination...

Overall it was an amazing night, and like the Withnail screening earlier
this week, I was prompted into making a return appearance after
hearing one of the tracks played in the bar being by a ska act
called "The Gonads" a band led by one Garry Bushell.

They'll be visiting The Maidens Head in almost exactly a month
although I'm guessing that sort of band will encourage moshing
to a worse extent than tonight.

I'd best travel light on that night then...

The Comedy Vehicle's Second Outing

Finally, I have managed to have a gander at the first episode
in the second long-awaited series of Stewart Lee's Comedy Vehicle and
although it's just the first episode, it appears to have improved from
the flaws of the first series.

Them being the sketches as they have been scaled down in favour
of more stand-up, where in the first episode the theme is supposed
to be Charity, but Lee ends up talking about crisps for the majority
of the half hour.

There are quite a few references to the lack of "jokes" within the programme,
a joke in question signified to the viewer by Lee leaning on the mic stand
with his left palm.

Another difference from the first series is the removal of the opening
title sequence, which works well considering the programme follows
on from Newsnight and has the air of someone eavesdropping on
the performance as if they've fallen asleep watching telly beforehand.

That said unlike other stand up shows on telly (which there now seem
to be too many of) Lee actually addresses and acknowledges the viewer
by looking into the camera, and mocking them in his usual sacastic stage
manner.

Definitely looking forward to what the rest of the series has to offer.

The Vanilla Flavoured Recovery

In rather awkward times the only thing that can make them that
tiny bit better is comfort shopping.

Of which I have bought a packet of really lovely Buttoni penne pasta,
and a New York cheesecake for later on which is a short-term solution.

Things might improve tomorrow as I am attending NAS in London
for a meeting about finding work and I may have to be really honest
about how hard I'm finding it, although I've been told that so many
others are struggling as well.

If only the stunts at the Job Centre would be more understanding
but then again they're paid to be condescending.

Another Uncertain Period

Since getting back yesterday I've been feeling really paranoid and
uncertain to the point where I end up waking up in the middle of
the night, or very early in the morning when I can't go back to sleep.

I really don't know how to describe it written down, so it may be
best to arrange an appointment with the Mood Clinic at Laurel House.

I was meant to go in June but may need to re-arrange for it to be
sooner.

"GETINTHEBACKOFTHEVAN!"

Tonight was quite an experience, finally seeing one of my favourite films
on the big screen.

This was one of the films in a series of Time Out screenings at the
Haymarket Cineworld showcasing the best in British films and before
the screening, the Film editor of Time Out interviewed Sam Bain,
not a man involved in the making of Withnail And I but one of the
biggest fans who mentioned that Withnail and Marwood were partly
inspirational for Mark and Jeremy from Peep Show.

It was amusing when they mentioned that there were no female
characters in the film apart from the angry mother of the farmer,
and Ms Blenahassit, the stern waitress in the tea room scene.

And possibly the individual devouring the runny egg sandwich
near the beginning.

The print that they used to screen the film was one that hadn't
been used since the original screening in 1987 and it certainly
showed as the first minute or so had the sound distorted, so it
sounded like King Curtis was playing his sax underwater.

It added to the amusement however, and fitted in nicely as
Withnail actually made it's big screen debut at the cinema where
we were all gathered, although back in 1987 it was an Odeon.

Overall it was really enjoyable and brought my attention to
many new things I hadn't picked up on beforehand in the film,
as well as being a jolly good laugh altogether.

I may attend again in a few weeks as they will be showing
Monty Python's Life Of Brian at the end of this month, also
from the Handmade stable and they may have one of the Python's
as a guest on the night itself.

Certainly one to put in the diary, if I had a diary of course.

Happily Ever After?

It's not every day you wake up to the news of the death of a thunderstunt,
but it's only added to what many have said is the most memorable
bank holiday weekend in a long time.

A fairy tale bank holiday to an extent as a princess has got married,
and a villain has been destroyed. The only way it can be bettered
is if an individual descends down a giant beanstalk with bags
and bags of money and then troubles really will be resolved.

Like any Bank Holiday Monday, the television schedule is about as
thin as Victoria Beckham circa 2000, so it may be a case of having
a search on my DVD shelf.

That said there's tons of stuff I haven't even looked at or listened to
for that matter on my external hard drives.

My plan for tomorrow before London is to get a much needed haircut
and maybe buy some soft fizzy liquids afterwards.

Despite attending a screening of Withnail And I, it's doubtful
that I'll be drinking any strong stuff for a good few weeks.

Two Uphill Journeys

It's been a long and exhausting day which started off with an early visit
to the CSR studios this morning.

I could sense that things weren't up to speed and on arrival I discovered
that not only was Myriad buggered up with half the stored audio missing,
but the button to switch over studios wasn't flashing.

I thought it would be best to stick around and soon enough
Sunday's mid morning/afternoon presenter Tom Ash arrived
and we more or less got on the case.

Technical manager Chris managed to sort out the studio switcher
and thankfully we were able to broadcast the regular Sunday schedule
from around midday onwards.

I went back home indulging in a Domino's pepperoni passion,
(and further shut eye) before journeying back up at around 5pm
to present this week's Blam Jam which went fairly well.

No idea what I'm doing tomorrow although radio wise I'm looking
forward to Tony Blackburn counting down the 40 best One Hit Wonders
on BBC Radio 2.

Sadly as far as his own singing career went, Blackburn certainly
wasn't just a one hit wonder.