We did it. We actually returned to a stage and put on a show! As I’ve written about before, I’m a producer for Next Level Sketch, a sketch comedy collective founded in late 2019, with a mind to do regular sketch comedy nights, as a) we enjoy writing and performing them and b) we feltContinue reading “Next Level Sketch: October show at Hoopla Impro, The Miller”
Category Archives: Diary
Goodbye to the Elephant
The redevelopment of Elephant & Castle is a miserable story of greed, exploitation and corruption, extensively documented by Southwark Notes over the years. The Heygate estate is now the miserable Elephant Park, and now the shopping centre itself is coming to its end. It is to be demolished and replaced by a shiny new development.Continue reading “Goodbye to the Elephant”
Socially Distanced Soho
Remember when lockdown ended and everyone was horrified by the images of crowds drinking in Old Compton Street? The government and client journalist communities have moved on to blaming foreigners and specifically Muslims for the ongoing pandemic. Meanwhile Soho’s independent and less independent businesses have been grappling with how to continue to exist. The deathContinue reading “Socially Distanced Soho”
Finchley Herons and Municipal Dreams
Back up the northern line towards High Barnet, for a meeting with a friend who had high hopes for a long walk, but wasn’t able to sleep last night. And so we changed the plan according to our collective capabilities; we had a long sit in her garden, with the noise of kids at summerContinue reading “Finchley Herons and Municipal Dreams”
The moon, the park and the stars
I have a new habit. It is to walk to the park in the late evening, in an attempt to tire myself out enough to sleep. Also, I discovered they are not locking the gates until late if at all, and I do love an amble around a late night park. My senses are heightened;Continue reading “The moon, the park and the stars”
Writing Sketches
This year is more than half over but it also feels like it’s barely begun. A fairly obvious observation, with lockdown and Covid-19 messing with all of out routines and perceptions of time. I quite like to boil down all of my frustrations into a flippant sentence, which is why I’ve been telling people thatContinue reading “Writing Sketches”
We can rebuild him. We have the technology
I have four main fears: guns, cars, my teeth being smashed out, and getting electrocuted by stepping on the live rail of a suburban railway. Unless you’re particularly unlucky, you are unlikely to face all those fears at the same time. I managed two together at the weekend, when a driver smashed out my toothContinue reading “We can rebuild him. We have the technology”
Hello trees! Hello clouds!
There are so many moments that make up a day and so many that we forget. I’ve forgotten entire years, carelessly. I don’t want to do that any more. Think of me as a land-based salvage expert, and memories as floating and clearly abandoned vessels. I want to claim as many of these as possible,Continue reading “Hello trees! Hello clouds!”
Foxes of Walthamstow
The tabloids told us foxes kill babies. Or possibly kidnap them? I forget, as that particular panic was a few years ago and has been replaced by other, more urgent ones. I was feeling quite panicky myself, today; but not because of the foxes. I find all urban creatures reassuring, for the same reason asContinue reading “Foxes of Walthamstow”
The Mystery of Mill Hill East
I’ve been visiting Woodside Park, in north Finchley, for over twenty years. It sits up near the top of the tube network, a couple of stops below High Barnet, Chipping Barnet, and the encircling M25 motorway. The station feels like a countryside halt, but walk up to the high road and it’s your usual traffic-chokedContinue reading “The Mystery of Mill Hill East”
