8377/21296
My official 10K time was 58 minutes 42 seconds. So suck on that. I am a superman.
It feels like years since I last did a RHLSTP at the Leicester Square Theatre (it is in fact just over 6 months) but it was a triumphant return tonight with a packed theatre and two extraordinarily talented guests: Richard Ayoade and Paul F Tompkins. I battered them with obsequious praise and childish insults until they didn't know up from down, but they both weathered the storm and any embarrassment and shame was reserved solely for me.
Once at the theatre I met Chris and Ben Evans (not those two) who had brought more kickstarter rewards for me to sign, including a bag of Rod Hull style false hands. More people had wanted one of these than you might think and it did feel strange to not only sign a disembodied hand, but then put it in a bag of disembodied hands. Even though they were clearly plastic it still made me feel a bit weird. I don't think I am cut out to be a serial killer. But then saying that would be the perfect alibi. I wondered if my guests might be freaked out by a shopping bag full of severed hands in the dressing room. What had they signed up for? But I guess if I was to kill all my guests that I could probably get quite a bit of cash for their severed hands (and other extremities) on ebay.
Right Bollock also came along to sign copies of his autobiography. It's not so much a book as a pamphlet, reminiscent of school text books (and I hope one day that it will be studied for O level - meaning both the book being on the syllabus and a fundamental change in the examination system - but shouldn't be hard to return to O Levels once Reform are in).
My life is strange. But I am very grateful to the devoted idiots who support these endeavours.
Richard turned up early, arriving on his fold up bike and we had a long chat that would have made an excellent podcast in itself (but I don't record every conversation I have - yet). He is a fiercely clever man, but what I really like about him is the variety of his work. He manages to get weird or indulgent (but always brilliant) books actually published and creates dark and thoughtful movies, but is also at home (or not, but that still works) on Channel 4 panel shows of the Crystal Maze. It's taken a long time to persuade him to appear on the podcast (though a couple of remote book clubs have helped smooth the path) and I was ready for amusing awkwardness (which is one of my favourite things), but backstage and onstage the conversation flowed.
As always the talents of my guests make me understand why my own career is more modest and self-created. I can't compete with this level of genius. Nor do I want to. Because I would lose.
It was a real pleasure to meet Paul F Tompkins too - he is another creator and performer working in all kinds of media - in some ways he's a throwback to the old days of variety and radio comedy (he always wears a suit on stage unlike most of the scruffy comics of my generation) and yet embraced podcasts and social media and saw the possibilities that they afforded very early on (not as early as some people though).
I was surprised that the two guests had never met before, as they both have sprawling CVs - and have been on some of the same projects, but not at the same time.
I didn't ask either of them very many emergency questions, but Paul in particularly answered the main one I asked him with David Mitchell level scrutiny. Just when you think you can't get any more out of the competition between a six foot penis and a man with a small man instead of a penis, Paul F Tompkins shows up....
So it was a pleasure to be back at the LST. I had been a bit frustrated with the show in the Spring and what the future held and had had a couple of bizarre experiences with the interviews (not that you would have noticed) and had been considering moving on, from the venue and the podcast itself. I just needed a bit of a change, I think and it was great to do so many pods at the Fringe and to put them out weekly, to give me some breathing space.
And doing some in the studio takes a bit of pressure off too. Keep supporting me and I will keep making podcasts, signing plastic hands and writing autobiographies from the perspective of my excised body parts.
Come and see RHLSTP live - next one is December 1st at the LST. Guest announcements soon, but it's already selling fast - and more in 2026 in London, Leicester and Chelmsford.
