Thursday 30 December 2004

This may be my last entry of the year.
I hope everyone had a nice Christmas. Mine? well let's just say Charlie Chaplin had a better one in 1977 than I had this year!
26 December 2004
Boxing day was a blast from the past. 43,224 at The Stadium of Light saw The Mighty Mackems capitulate to Dirty Leeds (again!) and after my gigs I found myself at a house party on the estate I was born on! PJ's sisters were little girls in nighties giggling on the stairs while we played Punk Rock at full blast last time I saw them. Now they're all grown up and have husbands and families of their own, God! it makes me feel old. A grand time was had and I related stories of our childhood suitably mixed with lies and exagerations..no change there then ey?
27 December 2004
My daughter M. went into hospital today for some more work on her hip. Seemingly it was a success, though she was upset that her plaster wasn't purple or yellow!
I had a lovely afternoon gig in County Durham where the audience on some hidden signa, all got out a North East buffet of epic proportions from their relative handbags and silver foil, so I pigged myself on ham and peas pudding sarni's with cheese and ham flan...Marvelous!
I then got soaked to the skin in Sunderland, as I grappled with the slippery conditions, I thought, this is heavenly and didn't want to be anywhere else in the world.
The evening was superb, I had an attentive audience and my Pro-plus inspired rantings seemed to do the job.
29 December 2004
I put oil in my car for the first time in my life! That makes me feel so inadequate, reading my favourite bloggers reports of him fixing everything mechanical and electrical he can get his hands on, as well as riding a bicycle, performing live and holding down a job it makes me realise that I'm less of a bloke than my image tries to portray! AF my hat goes off to you!
The gig tonight was awful, I guess that's why I'm mentioning it. Half the audience were in the venue after attending their Father's funeral! You couldn't fucking make it up!
So the year is finally coming to an end. It's been a mixed year. Probably my most successful in terms of breaking through into the mainstream comedy circuit, signing up to and getting good gigs from the country's largest agency for Comedians and selling out a couple of theatres. Personally it hasn't been too good, illness, family problems and distance have contributed to me turning into Victor Meldrew. As I'm writing this Y. is coughing her guts up and has a nasty chest infection, of course my sympathies go out to her. But what I'm really thinking is "fuck me, that's the last thing I want to catch!" And I guess that's what this year has made me, even more selfish, opinionated and narcissistic than ever. And I moan because I'm lonely! I really should say that my new year resolutions should include being more compassionate to those around me. That's my dichotomy, I care deeply about what's happening in the world, about social justice and inequality, yet I blithely go through life without a minutes thought for the people closest to me. Don't hold your breath!
FTM!