good old me

it's exactly three weeks since I gave up smoking. I think I'm doing quite well.

Really

I'm writing some sketches for a CBeebies show and one of them is about an ice cream man. So... ever diligent go to You Tube for a bit of research where I find this:



I really must watch Life on Mars again.

I had food poisoning at the weekend. I was up in Edinburgh performing at Jongleurs and on the Friday night I came off stage went straight into the dressing room toilets and ... it wasn't nice.

I can't decide where I got it from. there are two options:

1. a bacon and egg barm I had from a butty van at the entrance to Sale Water Park
2. a Ginsters beef wrap I bought from a service station on the M6 for the reasonable fee of £3.69

It was a night of pure hell. Hotel rooms are horrible places to be on your own especially when you're ill. I was convinced I was going to die and it's not how I imagined my demise at all. I don't want to die in a hotel room, or at least not in one where there's no drugs, whores or donkeys.

Writing wise... I've been commissioned for ten minutes of material for a new CBeebies sketch show. It's aimed at their older viewers the erudite 2 to 4 year olds, I've sent my last draft of my comedy college script and I've come up with a sci-fi idea which I'm going to write for radio. Apparently they don't like sci-fi. Oh well. It's a bloody good idea it's got to be done.

I was asked to send some ideas over for My Family which I did and have heard nothing back on. So that's nice. There's a new BBC7 topical sketch show kicking off soon who are asking for submissions. I might try and come up with something for that today but I find topical stuff really boring. Probably because I'm not that good at it.

Still heard nothing from the UK Film Council re the funding application for This Beautiful Morning.

So all in all nothing much to write about really. But Google Mail is down at the moment and I have to do something to stop me working. Hence the update.

Maggie has a new noise. It goes 'brah'

Written down it doesn't look like much but it was a revelation to us.

Note to self: go out more.

No More Pies...

Seriously... I've OP'd.

Since I got here I've had a beef and ale pie, a game pie and today a chicken, ham and leek. I am pastry hear me barf.

tomorrow it's fruit for breakfast,

Today is the day I officially gave up smoking. It's going really well. No it is, it's fine. Seriously I'm okay.

look will you just bloody leave it I'm fine alright.

Now... what can I hit.

off for a pie

London has got a lot of steps, my legs are killing me.

There's so much going on here, it's ridiculous. Last night I popped into a pub and as well as a pint the barman tried to sell me a ticket to a play going on downstairs. "You're probably not into that sort of thing are you," he asked. "Yeah, I am," I replied. "Who's your favourite playwrite?" he asked. Quick as a flash I answered: "Shakespeare." He didn't look convinced. He nodded, smiled, tipped himself from my change and said: "Who's your favourite Hamlet?"
I looked him square in the eye: "Can i have a bag of crisps please?"

Went to see the Adam and Pippa show which was excellent. Last night went to see the Pros from Dover which wasn't really my cup of tea. Tonight I'm having a night in the hotel and watching the Masterchef double-bill. Though I might pop out for a speciality pie from The Leinster.

The Cbeebies meeting went well. They had biscuits. I'll be finding out next week how much stuff they want to commission.

Dinner with Micheal Jacob last night which is always good fun. He wants the scripts for the comedy college showcase in next week so I'm going to spend the next two days solidly writing, because we're I'm not back in on Two pints until Sunday when they're recording. Pat Monahan is doing the audience warm-up. Probably going to be a late one then...

right, off for a pie.

flashing lights

Well I braved the wall of ice which seems to have engulfed Britain this week and made it down to fancy London, where, inbetween pointing at aeroplanes and trying to fish the moon from a puddle with a stick I'm doing a week on Two Pints of Lager and a Packet o Crisps Please, the BBC3 sitcom now in it's eighth series.

Got to the hotel last night and despite my cheerful greeting and tidy appearance was still given the smallest room they had. I think they actually chopped a bit of the bed off so they could fit it in. It was so dingy all that was missing was a spinning wheel. I say missing, they probably just couldn't fit it in. Forget swinging a cat, you couldn't even... anyway I went downstairs and had a quite word - told them I was a journalist and had stayed on an Afghan sheep farm with better rooms - and they eventually moved me to a much nicer room without any heating - spiteful bastards.

I moaned at Breakfast and they promised to fix it. Someone has clearly been and done something while I've been out because there's a light and a spanner icon flashing on the control panel now where there wasn't before. Still not 'technically' working though.

I went to the read-through this morning for ep 1. Not sure what I'm allowed to say about it, so best say nothing. Other than it's a great start for the series.

What I will say is that I've found a smart pub around the corner from the hotel, The Leinster. which does real ales and speciality pies. Had a Timothy Taylor beef pie last night. Tonight... who knows.

Tomorrow I'm off to Broadcasting House to meet a producer about writing sketches for a kids show. The plan is to meet the talent and thrash out ideas for new characters. I'll be honest I haven't got a clue how it's going to work. I find the best thing to do in these situations is go along and be quiet until someone asks me something and then I'll usually say something which makes me sound like a dick.

Sketch show tonight. The Adam and Pippa Show, at the Lowdown at The Albany. far too many 'at the's' there for my liking but am sure it will be joyful.

Now... I'm going to call reception about those flashing lights.