At the moment writing the second of my Radio 4 shows feels like trying to trudge through a four foot high snow drift. I am making progress, but it is an awful lot of effort. I had about one line of the script written at the start of the day and managed to push myself through the snow and write an opening and a sketch and had six pages by the end of play. The first episode was 19 pages long, although perilously close to being the right length. So I probably need at least 22 pages for this one (although it looks like we'll be doing more in the way of interviews and vox pops). I've got til Tuesday to perfect it (though really need to get a good first draft in tomorrow) and I am confident that this one will be fine. But the prospect of two more is daunting. My brain really wants a holiday. My body tends to agree. Like Captain Oates I will push onward into the blizzard with a similar sense of self-destructive doom. I shall die, that other younger comedians might get the shot at their Radio 4 series.
And we've been through this a few times together, haven't we? This is the way it is. Because once we've trudged through the snow we get to the top of the hill and then we toboggan down the other side and perform the show and it suddenly seems worth the climb. I know a lot of people have a job that is all trudge and no toboggan. I am not complaining about my lot. Just saying.
And the Pope has a harder job, especially at the moment. The vitriol against him (particularly on Twitter) became so constant that even I began to feel sorry for him this afternoon. I chastisted my fellow tweeters for their blinkered views and said "Let he who hasn't covered up a massive paedophile sex ring cast the first stone." I think that made people think. And I didn't see many people casting stones, so I think we know what to conclude. Everyone on Twitter is a massive paedophile.
But I think in this case the somewhat self-righteous indignation of the anti-Pope crew are justified due to the completely self-righteous indignation of the Pope. If someone is going to be so dictatorially unbending about other people's morality, then they have to be squeaky clean when it comes to their own ethics. And to have such reactionary attitudes towards gay people, women, AIDS and sex in general and then to be complicit in covering up for paedophiles is probably a tad too hypocritical and inconsistent.
Having said that I think we should be attempting to help paedophiles, rather than demonising them and maybe it would be healthier and better for everyone concerned if someone with paedophile tendancies could seek out treatment and counselling rather than being forced to stay silent because of the inevitable repercussions. So maybe the Pope is in fact more liberal and forgiving than all those self-righteous protesters. Though he needs to work on his counselling skills because it seems that a lot of his priests have continued to abuse children even once their crimes have come to light.
But if that's the Pope's thinking then he has a bit of catching up to do regarding all those other issues. Sometimes someone can have amazing foresight on one issue and be blinkered on all the others.
Proof that my focus was not on my work can be seen by the fact that I managed to
fill in this questionnaire this afternoon and watch the film "500 Days of Summer", which I thought was OK to start with, but got a bit annoying as it went on. But what was impressive was that the DVD that I had bought (as one of those two for a tenner deals) allowed you to download the film into iTunes so that you could watch it on your mp3 player/tablet computer. Good to see a dying medium making an attempt to stay alive by embracing the new. But genuinely good for someone old-fashioned like me who likes the idea of having a hard copy of the film, as well as the freedom to watch it where he so pleases. It's not a great endorsement for the film that that's the best thing I have to say about it and it was much better and more realisitic than your average rom-com, but became a little bit style over content and the Heath Ledger crossed with Stewart Lee faced lead man got on my nerves after a while.
To be fair I watched this at a time that had been appointed to do another Collings and Herrin podcast, but Andrew, also exhausted from overwork, plus from his ridiculous on/off holiday which is surely more stressful than having no holiday at all, was too poorly to make it along. Hopefully we will do a podcast after our 6Music show on Saturday.
OK look, I am going to write my script now.
Apart from to say that this afternoon I also secured one of my all time favourite acts for the October 31st Lyric Hammersmith gig. I can't say who it is because they are preparing for some big stadium gigs and have to concentrate on promoting those, but it's someone you will really want to see. And if that wasn't tantalising enough for you Kevin Eldon and David Schneider are also on that night (plus another TBC).
Book here now. You will be very glad that you did, believe me. Extremely excited about the September and October gigs. But concerned that people don't know they are happening. So spread the word and help keep this lovely gig going.
