It’s fucking freezing isn’t it? I’m sat here with a hot coffee and my heated blanket turned up to the max.
I broke my 11 week substack streak and failed to write anything last Tuesday! Nooo! I did start drafting something but it felt like I was scraping the barrel for things to talk about (other than my continued addiction to the Solitaire app). I was also on Arran - a belated 70th birthday trip for my mum - so I was too busy drinking gin cocktails on the beach and playing crazy golf (can we still call it that? ‘mental health issues’ golf?) to sit at a laptop.
A gig in Inverclyde
My Clyde-side travels rolled over to this weekend too. On Saturday I was in Greenock to perform at Rachel-Anne Clarke’s “Pure Laughs” night at the Beacon Arts Centre. I’ve known Rachel-Anne a wee while, she used to run a comedy night in the Old Hairdresser’s with my pal Emily Benita called “The Salon” which was a delight. I think it’s the first place I saw Susan Riddell.
My gran was from Greenock and lived there during the Blitz. I remember interviewing her for a school WW2 project and she described streams of whisky running down the streets in flames after a distillery was hit. She was also a regular at the Gourock lido (now revered by hipsters and Blur).
It felt good to be by the sea. And Rachel-Anne runs a tight ship, with excellent green room snacks (wagon wheels) and a lovely venue. I also got to see some new acts: Andy Hart, the “posh kid from Castlemilk” was a highlight.
Outro
I burned through the first series of “Hacks” (on Prime). Brilliant. Especially Episode 8, which addresses stand up comedy’s “boys’ club” culture in the most artful, on point way. An extremely cathartic watch. When the credits rolled, I discovered it was written by Pat Regan, Catherine Cohen’s right-hand man, which makes perfect sense. What a friend group.
This is the best thing I saw on TikTok this week.
I have a couple of fun things coming up in June, that I’ll be announcing soon. I’ve also started working on a Top Secret Project that will keep me occupied this autumn. It both scares and excites me, the best combo.
For now, I’m looking forward to doing a turn at “Screen Time” at The Stand on Thursday 16 May - you can grab tickets on the website.