Friday 5 September 2014

Friday

I need to go to a meeting in Brighton later. I overslept and feel exhausted now - no real reason. I had an odd dream that it became winter and it stayed like that permanently - and eventually the government decided to reduce the population down to manageable levels by having a 'day off' from law and order - 24 hours when you could rape, pillage and kill at your leisure without fear of prosecution. I think I hid in the loft.

Last night I went to see the live stream of Medea at my local cinema - the final nights performance from the National Theatre. It was very good, really enjoyed it - not perfect, some annoying, twitchy, modern dancing got in the way - and I think it must be very difficult to cast around a 'star' performance like that - you can't actually be too good, or too bad. These live streaming events are great - but I would love to have actually been there myself.

I bought my ticket earlier in the day - as I'd anticipated it being a sell out. The bloke who sold me mine was nice to the point of flirting, which was alarming and flattering at the same time - and not what I'm used to. He was also clearly more intelligent than the usual staff, who are probably very nice but never seem that interested in anything. When I went back later for the performance, the same bloke sold me a coffee, I was so unnerved by this - I took my change and left the coffee - later retrieving it (he'd kept it to one side for me) - thus making sure I come across as both weird and a bit stupid.

The Cinema was - as I anticipated, almost at capacity - mostly old people who can't really cope with the dark, or social manners. I sat on an empty row - one from the front, as usual - nobody wanted to sit next to me - even when the usherettes tried to guide the late comers to the empty row - including an elderly woman who used a frame and could barely walk - absolutely nobody would sit near me and insisted in finding somewhere in the back, in the dark - which usually meant a whole row standing up to accommodate them. There are some benefits to being a broad, 6'3" man with stubble, a shaved head and a face like an old potato. The fat bloke and his wife in front of me had a bag of boiled sweets in cellophane wrappers - as soon as the lights went out they were them like a pack of hyenas - repeatedly 'shusshed' by all around - they eventually made an effort and the man only unwrapped a sweet when someone on the stage was screaming.

There was no intermission and it's not a very long play so I was home by 9pm.

When I arrived back at the house - I read on-line that Joan Rivers had died. Testing the water a bit - I wrote the following on Facebook.


"I'll be honest with you - and I'm sure I'll get a trashing for this - I used to think Joan Rivers was funny - but then I started thinking that actually she was phenomenally cruel and just hid that behind a veil of self depreciating humour and easy targets - and everyone let her get away with it because she was camp, old and a 'living treasure' or something - but being bitchy and being a bitch are two different things. She's made a living by humiliating people for years, and her comments last week about the people of Palestine were unforgivable - for anyone, regardless of who they were. Karma is also a bitch."

To my surprise, most of my friends roundly agreed. I don't doubt that she was talented, clever, motivated, determined woman who had worked hard all her life and was probably loved by her friends - but I thought she was a bully, and there is nothing to applaud in that.

Front door update. I decided that enough was enough and I went out and tracked down exterior gloss paint in the exact shade I wanted. Looks much better now - first coat on - may need to sand the door frame slightly - 2nd coat due over the weekend. Looks very good.

I had my 3rd flat tyre in a week yesterday. There is almost no point in a dedicated it cycle track if it's a death trap. As I was at work I bought a couple of new inner tubes, but after examining the damage to the tyre I decided to replace that as well - another trip to the cycle shop - only to return and find that the inner tube valves were too big to fit through the aperture on the wheel rim, I gave up at this point and have a half assembled bike in the studio.

Face blindness update. I think I mentioned that I struggle with the partner of a friend and someone else I know because I honestly can't tell them apart - both having the same hair, glasses, beard, dress sense and general build. One of them has now decided to totally change their appearance, grow their hair and go for a different 'look'. That's a relief.

It's hot, muggy and overcast. Really horrible weather, no wonder I feel so flat and listless.

No comments:

Post a Comment