Is this supposed to be funny?

Feeding the trolls, Girls Aloud and a solar-powered recording studio

I know I shouldn’t waste my time with trolls. But on a bad day (i.e. the week before my period), I can’t help myself. Sometimes, I block them. Other times, it makes for good material. Occasionally (big mistake), I’ll enter a dialogue.

I was hosting the Vinicombe Street Gala on Saturday, a free community event (part of WestFest) with local musicians, choirs, dancers etc. I compered the day in character as Aileen, performing “jokes” that a West end mum might write. It was a fun afternoon and a useful exercise in improv: the stakes were low, the crowd were mostly passing trade (it was a four hour event), the vibes were good. There were face painters, market stalls, West enders sipping iced lattes, fashionable dogs; a scene very much rooted in Aileen’s world. I even met a wee girl who knew all the words to “West end mums”.

With Geezah the Drag Queen

My partner recorded a few clips, which I stitched into a video and shared on socials. The setup of a middle-aged woman in a ridiculous leopard print coat, making hack jokes about Taylor Swift to a dozen half-bemused bystanders was funny to me. Almost immediately, the trolls scuttled out, critiquing Aileen’s “material” and relishing in her apparent failure to take the marquee roof off.

They say “you need a thick skin to do comedy”. Fine. That doesn’t mean you have to accept the shite that some freaks choose to smear across your page. I hate the idea that we’ve “normalised” trolling. It is weird as fuck behaviour.

So I called it out. One troll has deleted his comments; another blocked me. I know it’s pointless but there is a degree of satisfaction when they back down. I hope they’re taking time to heal.

In other news

On Tuesday, Stu and I performed at Josie Long’s Palestine fundraiser. A lovely night for a good cause, with an absolutely bangin’ line-up. Stephen Buchanan’s bit about his mum’s name kills me. Laura Doherty performed her FOURTH ever stand-up gig, which was quite unbelievable given how good she was.

Thursday, I went to an excellent group show at the Pentagon Centre for GI which featured a couple of friends, Alexis Mackenzie and Toby Paterson. Maybe go to more GI stuff at the weekend (she says, knowing absolutely nothing about art).

Sunday was Girls Aloud. Fun, sparkly, nostalgic (Viper c. 2006) and with some moving tributes to Sarah Harding. And motorbikes suspended from the ceiling, obz. The show also inspired my latest TikTok which you can watch here. A companion piece to Straight Woman at Loreen gig.

Outro

It’s show week! Looking forward to seeing some of you at Oran Mor on Thursday. Heads up: if you would like any merch, the last remaining items (badges) will be on sale from 7-8pm, during doors. I’m donating 50% profits to charity again.

My eye continues to be gammy. I think I have a ‘chelazion’, which can apparently last for six months. Love that for me.

My ‘Dream gig’ article for The Skinny is now available to read online. Here’s a review from my mum: “Read your article in The Skinny. Would understand it better if I was a fan of Lord of the RIngs but well done”.

Canadian band The Burning Hell (who I’ve mentioned on here before) are doing in a residency in Glasgow at the moment. They’ve built a mobile, solar-powered recording studio called The Phonoautobothy, which is touring various events across the city this summer. The idea is that anyone can pop in, form a spontaneous band, record something - music, poetry, whatever - and leave with a renewable energy-powered recording. Very cool! They’re also putting on a green-powered gig on Saturday 15th June, along with a bunch of other excellent musicians outside the ARC on Glasgow Uni’s campus off Byres ROad. Highly recommend checking it out, and you can follow the Phonoautobothy’s journey on instagram.

That’s it for this week! See some of you very soon.