The Fear

Sitting in my flat listening to the songs I am going to be recording tomorrow. I was very kindly asked to be involved in a new Gothic musical 'Bloody Cinderella' starring, amongst other people Georgina Baillie.  I am having the feeling of mild terror at the moment for a simple reason....I can't really sing. 

Back in Front of the Camera

Framing the Shot- Soho


Spent 12 hours on Saturday filming a short film for my mate Joe Meegan. It is the first acting I have done for about 2 years so I was excited/nervous going into the day. I can't say too much about the script till the film is finished but I think it is really good. The crew was great and the only real snag was the day  that we filmed on. It was the same day as the March against Cuts. This meant that helicopters were permanently in the air making sound recording a real issue.   


The real hero of the day was Jamie though. He spent hours wrapped in bin liners, boiling hot, and then had the bone shattering contrast of lying on cold cobbles. He was a true pro and there wasn't a murmur of complaint. Oh, and another mention should go to Sophie whose excellent food kept us all going. I loved the lemon and poppyseed cake. 


One scene left to shoot in the next couple of weeks.....I can't wait. 

A Quick Photo Round up

 Weekend back at the farm in Lancashire. Sunday lunch with my Niece and Nephew, Tilly and Arthur.

 Weekend in Dublin. J's birthday, Paddy's Day and the Six Nations Finale...We lost.

 Went with my Homie Sammy D to have an Ice cream at Chin Chin Labs. They make it with Liquid Nitrogen.......brilliant, just go. 

 Went to see my mate Andy in his band the IC1's...The lead singer was wasted but they are great.

Jarlath sporting his new Jacket/sleeping bag...essential kit for the Marathon Des Sables. Madness. 

Toilet Humour

Central Saint Martins School of Art, Back Hill.

Stop the Press...... ups

On Friday I built myself up to do my press ups. I was surprised when rather the usual training regime it confidently announced 'Congratulations! You can now complete 50 Press ups!' I was especially surprised when I had fed back to the app that the last session was too hard....

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It turns out I can't. 

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The Scary Truth

The ghost of John Wayne- Kings Cross 

Although I should know better I watched BBC Breakfast this morning before work. It is not till you move to London that you realise how London centric the news is. For instance 9 times out of 10  the 'man or woman (no sexism here)  on the street' opinion is collected by talking to people on Chiswick High road. I know this to be true as I lived there fr 2 years and was asked many times. This is unless they want to portray the British public as public as ignorant and then they head north... usually to Barnsley.  It was a quiet news day so a main feature was on why do 1 in 4 people in Britain believe in ghosts. A burning question. 

Whilst living in my flat in west London I had the strangest experience. After a night at the pub, I woke in the middle of the night with  one of those difficult decisions. Do I need a the toilet or am I just imagining it and shall I leave it till the morning...a high risk game. After much deliberation I decided not to risk it and slid out of bed trying not to wake my girlfriend of the time, slipped on some boxers (we shared a flat with friends), and crept to the bathroom. Being windowless I was forced to switch the light on thus rendering me blinded till my eyes adjusted. Mission accomplished, I then preceded to wash my hands like the hygienic soul I am. There was a a big mirror behind the sink and as I bent down to was my hands it happened...... And this is true. 

I felt a cold finger run right down my back. Not a quick sensation. A clear and what I can only describe as a deliberate run of a finger from shoulder to lumber region. 

The door was locked and because of the mirror I could see there was noone or nothing behind me. I thought it may have been the light pull but but that was still. I was in just a pair of boxers and suddenly felt very naked and I will be honest scared. There was no rational explanation....it had to be a ghost.

 I calmly bolted from the bathroom, burst into my bedroom and put on the light, waking said girlfriend. My clear panic lead  her to think something dreadful had happened( which of course it had). I explained that I had been touched by a ghost and that there was no other explanation that fit. It turned out my experience did not warrant waking her up in such a manner. In fact it vexed her greatly. 

Annoyed at not being taken seriously, and still slightly shaken, I indignantly whipped of my boxers. 

A 50p piece then hit the laminate flooring. 

It turned out that I had fallen asleep on the coin and it had suck to my back (the dent was still there on inspection). It must have remained there until I bent over to wash my hands where then it lifted at one side, rolled down my back and lodged in the waistband of my boxers.........

It is amazing what you can end up believing in. 

The Week Since My Last Post

Wednesday-

Went to the opening of Xhibit at the London College of Communication in Elephant and Castle. It was a great show and well attended. My highlight was a work made up of binary cards denoting the names and prices of the 5 most expensive artworks sold at auction. 

Thank you speeches at Xhiibit

Thursday-

Played my first game of squash since my thrashing from Jack. Avenged my lass but general standard of play was poor. 

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Worked late for the London School of Economics Student Union Elections where next years Sabbatical and part time officers are elected. Full results HERE. Had every intention of finishing around 8 to then have a drink with current and ex colleagues. It is always a exciting night and the elections are probably the hardest fought of any in the student movement. As it turned out Jack and Hi were stuck in a sound booth alternating a computer between the election PowerPoint and  the live interviews held by the student media.....till 23:00. It was the perfect mix of solid victories, surprises, over the top and ungracious celebrations, tears and frustrations. 

 

Lukas-aid campaign bottle

Friday

Met Tom Beaman and James Burden at the Pendrel's Oak for a Friday night beer. Tom bought me a pint of London Pride. I really must send him the link to this blog. Left about 7 to wait for J's arrival.

Saturday

Lie in. 

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Trip to the supermarket to by food and drink for my sister and brother in law's arrival. This also had to include towels as I realised I only owned 3. I imagine I will finally be 'grown up' when I own 6 or more. 

Kate and Dom arrived around 16:00 and we spent the time chatting, drinking terrible fizzy rose and eating until our taxi arrived to take us the HS and CB's party in Oval.

As always it was a great party with great food. Apart from us forgetting 2 bottles of wine and realising we had bout 24 of the smallest Corona's ever sold, all was well. as 3/4 of The Bad Thing were in attendance it was only right we played a few tunes. We went to a bedroom to tune up and decide what to play. In true Bad Thing style we couldn't remember a thing we knew. In the end Matt rocked some Johnny Cash with us backing on bass and bongos. James Shanks did a knock out version of Hungry Eyes. 

Sunday

A very momentous day. Kate and Dom took my books back with them back to the farm, thus starting my move from London. I feel a certain attachment to books that I don't seem to have for DVD's or CD's. The books included scripts, programs, drama theory books, books I bought to research parts and out of date editions of Contacts,as well as the usual novels and non- fiction. It was interesting packing it all into a bag and sending it from the place that had made them relevant. I will have to make decisions soon as what I want to take with me Dublin and what to leave at the farm.

Went to watch The Kings Speech.  Very good. If you want a better review check out my friend Jamie's film blog Shot Through a Window. 

Monday

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Wrote this post....

5 Things I Won't Miss About London.....

1. Men wearing trainers with their suits on their way to work- If your shoes are that uncomfortable that you can't sit on a tube in them, have you bought the right shoes?
2. The Bank Station interchange between the Northern and Central line.
3. Bendy Busses- Rubbish
4. London Pride Bitter- I really wanted to like it but I just don't. 
5. Angus Steakhouses- I have never been in one. I don't need to.