5814/18834
I spent most of the day reading James O’Brien’s excellent book “How to be Right (in a world gone wrong)†which is out on Thursday and very highly recommended.
It’s concise, easy to read, but wide-reaching and both illuminating and ultimately a bit depressing about what feels an inevitable slide into a world governed by stupidity and lies and fascists.
But good that someone is challenging opinion with facts. The section about made up controversies like Winterval is particularly illuminating and O Brien suggests that the Spitting Image parody of people saying “It’s political correctness gone mad†might actually have popularised the phrase amongst people using it without satire. If so then that shows how a comedian has little to no power over how their work is taken when it goes out into the world (I guess Loadsamoney had a similar problem, when the people it mocked embraced it), just as a man in Birmingham thinking it would save money and be good for the city if all the winter festivals were grouped together, whilst not banning Christmas or any of the other celebration days, could not know that his work would lead people to say you can’t celebrate Christmas any more. Even though you clearly can and do.
James is a charming and witty man and our podcast was serious, whilst still being funny. And filled me with despair too. You’ll love it.
And Amanda Abbington turned up this week and it was delightful to see her again for the second time in a few days. Though she seemed to have genuinely forgotten what we had worked on together - which is the wonders of doing a TV show with a free bar. I was drunk again today thanks to the strength of the free beers from beer52 (
you can get 8 free ones too by clicking on this link). Maybe being sponsored by a company distributing alcohol was not the best choice for a podcast where I have to keep my wits about me for 3 hours! Or maybe it was the best choice by far.
It was a rollercoaster of emotions and joy and fear and occasional awkwardness. But isn't that why you love it?
In other news after a meeting in Farringdon and getting fed up waiting for an uber driver who was going round in circles finishing off his previous fare and actually past me twice on his way to that previous destination before going in the wrong direction, I decided to walk toward Leicester Square. Sometimes your mind map of London puts places much further apart than they are. The tube journey is tortuous, but it’s actually a pretty short walk. I passed through Hatton Garden, which again, I had never realised was in this part of town (I had no idea where it was) and I was surprised by how it was less a garden than a street with lots of jewellers on it. And old men walking up and down thinking of ways to rob them so they can be in a film.
That opulence then gives way to a street called Leather Lane where there’s a market and a bit more detritus. And then you’re basically at Chancery Lane.
London is full of surprises.
