Bouncers

Let me re-explain the lack of posts.

If any of you didn't know, some time ago I secured an acting job doing the John Godber play 'Bouncers' with the excellent Sheffield based theatre company Reform Theatre.

We started rehearsals on the 22nd August hence the serious lack of posts as when I've got back from a long day pretending to be a bouncer/ a hairdresser/a video shop owner/a pissed up youth and a drunken, sweating slag I've had to do some hard graft at the computer writing my 12,000 word dissertation.

AAAARRRRRGGGGGHHHH!

It's been a stressful week.

We open in Sheffield on the 31st August and it's going to be funny as hell, before we go all over the UK so if any readers what facts as to when we are in their neck of the woods, leave a comment and I'll hit you with facts. And Sally, we are even coming to Milton Keynes!

As I'm rehearsing and acting, posts will come when I've a chance and don't forget I'm moving house on the 12th September so blogging will be taking a backburner to getting my life together.

To be honest, I'm grateful to be busy.

I Am Punk Rock

This is how punk rock I am:

Pretty neat eh? And let us all pay homage to the greatest punkers of all time:

Where all this is leading to is that I am so punk rock that blogging will be light as I'm off rehearsing in a very punk rock fashion the next show I'm going to be in and also have to write 10,000 words by the 29th September and move from my current house to my new one and BLAH BLAH BLAH.

Basically I'm stressed as hell and thought I'd use a punk rock analogy to hide my inner pain. I am having a breakdown.

FYI: funny story here, caption competition here and some pr0n here.

Go figure.

Pitseleh

I think it may not be as clear as it should be on this blog that I love music. Behind Marie and acting music is my life. And before Marie came along and I was disillusioned with being a show off music was the topper most of the popper most.

I own 568 albums at the last count and a vast array of music on my PC.

The music of Elliott Smith however touches me more deeply than most in my collection, the song Pitseleh particularly cuts through me with the profundity of its lyrics and the intensity of its feeling. I'll leave you with some fragments...

I'm not what's missing
From your life now
I could never be the puzzle pieces
They say that God makes problems
Just to see what you could stand
Before you do as the Devil pleases
Give up the thing you love

The first time I saw you
I knew it would never last
I'm not half what I Wish I was
I'm so angry
I don't think it'll ever pass
And I was bad news for you
Just because
I never meant to hurt you

ELLIOTT SMITH 6/8/1969 – 21/10/2003

Cufflink

Let me tell you a story.

When Marie and I first went to Greece in 2003 we visited the island of Rhodes and the resort of Afandou. It was delightful and we had a wonderful time, however there was one dark incident and it was named Cufflink...

Greece is notorious for having a lot of stray dogs and Afandou was no different...well it had one who I named Cufflink. He was a lovely mongrel with low self esteem and in need of some love. It was at this point that I discovered that Marie has an irrational fear of stray dogs, who she believes will maul her and invest her wounds with fleas and rabid foam. Not so, all Cufflink wanted was a friend but Marie got hysterical (and I mean hysterical) whenever he approached.

So fast forward to last week and our holiday on the island of Kos in the wonderful town of Kefalos. We had not seen hide nor hair of a stray beast until one day Marie came scampering back from the pool, exclaiming that two massive dogs had nearly snuffled her as she bathed in the sun. She even quoted one women who believed the dog to be 'the size of a horse'. Very unlikely I thought as any dog that size would be caught and sold into the circus.

Indeed the two canines turned out to be one that looked like Lassie (but dirtier):

And a small fellow who looked a bit like this (but had patches of hair missing):

The horse sized dog was never seen again and may have been the product of Marie's fevered imagination and irrational loathing of stray dogs with broken hearts.

But God I love her.

Off to Greece

In a few hours time Marie and I will be off to Greece for a week of sun, sea babies and marvelous food. As always, if you're bored delve deep into this blogs archives (you have 6 months of crap there) or visit any of the links and find a real treat there.

Unfortunately, I'll be back before I know it.

Marie and I put a deposit down on a place today, so hopefully we'll have a home to move to when we return but that'll mean a sad farewell to Camberwell and a hearty hello to Loughton. So from black inner city London to all white Essex...

My dear friend Mark and his lovely partner Jess had a baby boy today who weighed in at 8 pounds 12 ounces and who is named Billy. Marie and I are all a glow with the joy of it!

Farewell blogging pals and see you all in a week's time!

Fucking Trains

No, I haven't discovered a brand new sub-section of the p0rn world (that reminds me, I've not posted any p0rn in ages...) where ugly, fat dudes boink the life out of the latest in high speed trains, or young nubiles spread their legs for a heaving great locomotive to penetrate their love holes, or gay men dressed in marvelous outfits prepare to go for it in the most top spot anal way you can imagine.

But rather I tried to book a train from Sheffield to London and from London to Nottingham and discovered it would cost me £58 bastard pounds. And that's with a young person's rail card (and yes, before you mock I am still a young person/mature student GODDAMMIT!) so for the non-young person this could set you back £72!!!

Thus I raged at the online purchasing method such obscenities that the ears of Christ did heal over. Marie saved the day by cracking open a tub of Ben & Jerry's Dublin Mudslide and I was soothed.

I'm a Gay Icon

Not really.

I was joking.

But I always feel a bit like that when I get new photos done. It all feels so frivolous and showy...ever so slightly ridiculous. Which it is of course but such is the nature of the business.

Marie and I were trying to find a home today to rent, not easy but on a lighter note Jodi has re-linked to me which is grand news indeed. You will notice that she too is re-linked and back where she belongs on links of note.

This child is pointing to all the love we share, let us spread it!

I Must be a Somebody

HEY!

I have at last been deemed an important enough blogger and I'm now on the receiving end of spam comments. Adverts on cheesecake, CRM, PSP game Reviews and the Stanford IQ Test. I hate these spamming dirtbags but for now I'm basking in the fame of being important enough to spam.

When this phase passes I will kill them all with such violence.

Other good news: England won the second test against Australia which has cheered me up no end. We go into the third test with the five match series balanced at 1-1. FANTASTIC! I love cricket.

And remember this people: vending machines are not massive metal witches.

Exciting Times

After closing Nottingham station Wednesday, I then went up to Sheffield on Thursday and met Keith Hukin, the director of the show I just got the job for and boy, is that a tour! I even go to Telford so Big Daddy Merk I'm expecting your attendance with your posse. Basically I'm in constant work from August 22nd right through to November 19th with hardly a day off (so DAMN YOU those people who think actors don't have to work hard...we don't even get Sundays off!) and hopefully I'll finish that job and go straight to another I've got lined up.

Cool.

Friday, Marie and booked a holiday to Kos, or Kefalos to be more precise for a week in the intense Greek sun, basking like human shaped sharks and eating loads of excellent Greek food. We're off on the 11th and back on the 18th. Bloody, ruddy brilliant. I also got some new images done for my acting portfolio, I'll put some online when I've the time but rushed off me arse at the moment.

Next up is finding a home in London town, this time not to buy but to rent for Marie and I, we're seeing about 15 gaffs on Monday and hope to find something before we jet off for some much needed tanning.

And that, I think, is about it for now but if you've any sparetime please go and harass this young blogger who is so right-wing that he may be verging on the fascist. He comments under the name of Ben and his blog makes for distressing reading as he lays blame on Muslims, Chinese and just about everybody else.

Peace.

I Closed Nottingham Station

Back in my manor today, not only to hang out with Marie for a few days but also to meet the director of the show I'm in (he lives in Sheffield) that's starting rehearsing 22nd August and to get some new promo photos done with an excellent photographer called Simon Boltan (here are some images from his latest exhibition) and to get a haircut.

So when I was waiting in the car park at Nottingham station I spotted that there was a large rucksack that had been left, partly hidden by a car. In the current climate I had to make a decision, bring the station to a standstill by reporting the item or hope it was nothing and wait for Marie to pick me up.

I did the former. But only after going to the British Transport Police Office that is right next to Nottingham station, only to find that no one was in after repeated buzzer pressing. So much for the war on terror. So I had to go into the station to reprot it and lo and behold the station was closed. I felt a wee bit guilty for ruining many people's commutes but better that than a real bombscare. Right?

I've Lost the Right to Protest Peacefully

I was nearly arrested today.

That was because I was demonstrating outside the Houses of Parliament, in Parliament Square to be exact and under a new law that came into force today I was doing so illegally. I was there along with around 200 others to make a stand against the new law, one that I believe marks a terrible infringement upon my civil liberties. I escaped arrest but others were not so lucky.

Surely it is the right of anyone to protest peacefully outside the home of their government? And to have this right taken away (under the auspices of our good friend...*cough* enemy: terror) is another marker towards the end of democracy.

Mainstream news is covering it as we speak but why not join me for a blow by blow account of today's events from an eyewitness?

It started off all quiet as you can see but the police soon showed up in preparation for the demonstration with cameras and videos to record these new criminals...

And then the demonstration started to build up in terms of people, volume and action...
All we wanted was a chance to peacefully demonstrate outside of our parliament...

And then the police distributed a flyer amongst us, it was a dispersal order under the new legislation and one that Tim pointed out was contravening British copyright law, as the map shown below came without the required copyright. Tim kindly pointed this out to the police officers present but they seemed unconcerned by matters of the law. Obviously we ignored the bit of paper and carried on demonstrating and listened to a Palestinian man talk powerfully about repression of freedom of speech and an old lady speak of the days when you could walk down 10 Downing Street. And then the police swooped on us and before I knew it we were in the thick of it...
Arrests were made, an old lady was dragged off, a middle aged female, the Palestinian man shown on the microphone, a black protester and the man below who resisted arrest quite loudly!

The police did a further charge after this one to disperse the remaining protesters but the battery on my camera was low so I chose this as a wise moment to leave before I ended up in a cell.

I must say, seeing the 5 people arrested was a upsetting experience, it made me so angry to see them manhandling an old lady into the back of a police van. I do remember the look of brave defiance in the eyes of the Palestinian gentlemen, we exchanged peace signs as the police trooped him past me.

And so there it is, 200 people turned out to try and defend the right to peaceful protest and we did a reasonable job of testing the limits of the law. I urge anyone able to attend any further demonstrations to do so, to involve yourself because the more of us there are the better.

They can't arrest us all.