Archive for December, 2008

Offline in 2009

December 31, 2008 at 3:12 pm · Filed under comedy

I’ve decided to purge my online activities in the new year. A lot of wasted energy goes into Facebook especially, which I ditched for a month some time ago. So my account has been deactivated.

Twitter is another one that needs to go, so I’ve also Tweeted my last Tweet too.

This blog stays, although it will be mainly to support my new goals for ‘09. MySpace stays as it’s useful for finding new music. And the podcast stays – for now.

My goal for 2009 is to concentrate on comedy writing and performance here in Birmingham, in whatever form that might take. I’ve started working on stand-up material and characterisation, and I’m looking at what the scene in Birmingham has to offer and whether to create something fresh within it.

I feel that I’ve reached the end of the line with social networking. I’ve met a handful of great people through my online activities who I enjoy keeping in touch with via email, but I’ve also met some complete wastes of space who seem to thrive on let-downs and false promises.

In 2009, I want to concentrate on making it work right here in Birmingham. If I want my comedy to fly, it has to work in the real world. And Brum’s as good a place as any to start. It’s not going to be easy…

Happy New Year!

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Lizards from Afar

December 30, 2008 at 4:15 pm · Filed under Uncategorized

CLP #43 featured ‘Stay with Me’ by ‘Lizards from Afar’ – and the show gets a link in return.

Lizards from Afar blog

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Comedy Masterclasses #5 – Two Soups / Victoria Wood

December 26, 2008 at 6:30 pm · Filed under comedy, comedy masterclasses ·Tagged , , , ,

Victoria Wood doesn’t appear in this sketch, but its from ‘Victoria Wood: As Seen on TV’ and was probably co-written by her.

If any sketch demonstrates that in comedy, sometimes less is more, then this is it. Julie Walters’ timing after each tortuous walk across the floor is spot on, and each stage of the sketch builds up the anticipation wonderfully. The final punchline has unfortunately been bleeped, but it’s not the punchline that this sketch is memorable for anyway.

Ready to order, sir?

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Christmas Podcast

December 25, 2008 at 9:00 am · Filed under british comedy, comedy, podcast ·Tagged , , , , , , , ,

Here it is – your Christmas ‘Clever Little Pod’…

Hope you’re having a great day! (Don’t eat too many Quality Street…)

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A Christmas Wish

December 21, 2008 at 6:52 pm · Filed under Uncategorized

I’m very easy to please at Christmas.

All I want this year, is a large Atlas. This one from Gladiators would do…

atlas

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Over and over and over again…

December 15, 2008 at 10:29 pm · Filed under comedy

Peter Kay gets a lot of stick these days, especially since he’s morphed into his alter-ego, Geraldine McQueen. But I’ve always liked his comedy because it’s kind, fun humour that doesn’t need a nasty edge to be funny. Britain needs Peter Kay right now to make us smile, and it would be great to have a Geraldine Christmas number one instead of the X Factor yet again.

Click below and enjoy. But be warned… it gets in your head…

*edit* Just realised this is in aid of the NSPCC. Well worth a download (it’s on iTunes) and wipe the smug grin off that Cowell fella’s face!

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A Landmark Day

December 15, 2008 at 12:06 am · Filed under Personal

At the end of September, as you may know, I started driving after avoiding it for years because I had a really bad phobia of it. I’ve probably bored you enough about it in previous posts, but it was a really big hurdle in my life that I just didn’t have the strength to overcome. I’ve had stressful jobs for a long time, and so adding to that by facing a crippling fear was always just too much.

But these last 2 and a half months have been amazing, as I’ve turned myself into a confident, assured driver who now doesn’t bat an eyelid about driving into or out of Birmingham city centre at the height of rush-hour.

Today, though, is a landmark day because it’s the first day that it’s actually hit me just how much I’ve achieved. Why today? Well, I got up this morning, and went for a long drive. Not to get to work. Not to go shopping. Not to give someone a lift. But just for the pleasure of it. What?!

Yes, I actually enjoy driving. I like it. It no longer holds any fear at all. Those deep breaths I was still taking on the drive before setting out on my daily commute have gone. That irritating little thought in the back of my mind that today might be the day I do something stupid – gone. That feeling of apprehension when turning the ignition key – wiped out. And I can’t believe it.

This has been a really big deal for me. Not being able to drive has an effect that goes so much deeper than not being able to get from A to B. And it’s a particularly cruel phobia because you see complete and utter idiots able to do exactly what you can’t, and you know it should be easy, but it’s actually cripplingly terrifying.

So that’s one big tick on my ‘to do’ list of life. Thank goodness that something good came out of 2008. Because otherwise, it’s been a particularly shabby year. In fact, it’s been a disaster of a year, and one that I’ll be glad to see the back of. I think 2009 will bring its own share of headaches too, but I’m slowly learning that you can pretty much get through anything that’s thrown at you if you have a good support network. And I do have that. I’m extremely lucky.

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It’s the Best Disco in Town. No, really.

December 11, 2008 at 11:37 pm · Filed under Uncategorized

I’d like to write something to amuse you at the moment, but to be honest it’s nigh on impossible right now. The podcast is coming, but it’s not a happy process. I think I need a holiday.

Anyway, until normal service is resumed, I’ll leave it to the Ritchie Family to entertain you with possibly the campest, cheesiest, performance of a 70s disco track you’ll ever see. It’s all there; the sequins, the hair, the moves, the dresses, the walking in rhythm and even the key change which makes this a must-see right to the very end. And follow the woman who’s in the middle from 1:40. She’s right there in the groove.

All together: Wooooooo!!! (2:37)

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Comedy Masterclasses #4 – Tony & Control / Fry & Laurie

December 3, 2008 at 10:39 pm · Filed under comedy, comedy masterclasses ·Tagged , , , ,

‘A Bit of Fry and Laurie’ was one of my favourite sketch shows of the late 80s/early 90s. Here, Stephen and Hugh feature in one of their ‘Tony & Control’ sketches in which Control has unfortunately fallen out of the window.

I love Stephen Fry’s delivery in these sketches – even his enunciation of phrases such as ‘Yes, that’s right’ is extremely funny, and the line beginning ‘Very similar thoughts…’ is one of the funniest in any comedy sketch ever.

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