London, alcohol and doing the right thing
Last night, I was standing outside The Northumberland Arms, on the corner of Tottenham Court Road and Grafton Way. As usual, I had a pint and the Evening Standard cryptic crossword on the go. Combine these simple pleasures with the circus-parade of individuality that passes by as you consider 'six down' and it makes...
All inclusive
The huge, transparent and as yet deflated floaty ring hadn't looked quite so much of a respiratory challenge when the kid screamed for it in the Majorcan Spar. It stood next to a regiment of humorously shaped alternatives - an ice cream, a slice of watermelon and the obligatory selection of ocean-going mammals. the...
Glastonbury, I should, but I can’t….
I'm just re-aquainting myself with the merest iota of the slightest possibility of going camping. This micro-urge is leaping from my supressed conscience because, well let's not by shy here, times are very tough. But is this the only reason I'm toying with the tentpegs and considering the canvas? Am I all Business...
Philippe Petit, inspiring me to re-wire…
For those who don't know, Philippe Petit is a French high wire artist who gained world fame when, at 7:15am on August 7th 1974, he stepped off the edge of The World Trade Centre South Tower onto the tightrope he, and his team, had rigged during the night. 'The Coup', as Philippe calls it, had taken 6 years to plan...
Tough interview questions…
Years and years ago I was asked at an interview "So, do you subscribe to the views of C.P. Snow?" This presented two problems; I had no idea what views C.P. Snow held and, more crucially, I didn't know who C.P. Snow was. Smart thinking required... "Which particular views are you referring to?" I parried. "The famous...
Explaining old stuff to my daughter…
Some years ago my daughter, who was nine at the time, asked what the big black circly things in the cardboard envelopes were so I began explaining what vinyl records are all about... "Ok, the big ones are LPs, or albums, they have about the same number of songs as a CD". She can just about get grips with the almost...
Brian Damage and Krysstal
On Wednesday at the Fitzroy Tavern on Charlotte Street in Central London you'll find London's second-worst Comedy Club - The Pear Shaped Comedy Club. Here Maitre D' Brian Damage and assistant Krysstal host a range of standups ranging from the unknown to the really quite famous and from the talented to, let's be...
Keith Floyd – out of time in every sense
Whatever the late Keith Floyd protested about his poor and humble upbringing, there was a permanently evident vein of the old-money, old-school, upper-class isolation from day-to-day reality that divides the few from the many. It seemed that Keith's underlying skill was surrounding himself with people who dealt with...
Psychoville – adventures in edgy comedy
I like comedy. I watch a lot of it, maybe too much - Clive Anderson says that if you become too knowledgeable on any subject you can no longer enjoy it at it's most basic level. This could be true, I can't imagine Jancis Robinson off her face. Half of the League of Gentlemen, are now half-way through Psychoville. I...