Last night I was in Stockton-on-Tees, at the ARC for Catch 22 Comedy Club – it was a lot of fun, and we had a pre-show Domino’s pizza, which is always great.
I was mocked for asking for a straw for my Diet Coke, (it started when I wore braces, as my dentist advised me to use one, and now it’s habit – plus, it’s funny) but kindly presented with two luminous green straws. Nice.
I’m wearing glasses in that photo (my contact lens went all weird and made me cry), and wore them onstage, which made it the first time I’ve gigged with glasses on since the Edinburgh Fringe 2010, when I MC’ed a couple of Get Happy’s Electric Cabaret shows at C venues. It was a show that started at midnight, attracted mainly actors and their buddies who wanted to give stand-up a go, and was generally a bit of a shambolic dick-about. Due to the late start time, on the occasions I did the show, I was a little tipsy after a day of improv, and had taken my contact lenses out. As the shows were strange affairs, one night I ended up rap battling members of the audience and being generally rude to them. No matter how cruel I was, they were fine with it. I presume the glasses (and braces, at the time) played a large part in me not being beaten up by the cast of one of the many Sarah Kane productions at the Fringe that (and every) year. I’m in Southport tonight. I might take my glasses.
Before the show, I was looking out the window of the green room onto the street behind the arts centre, when a shady-looking man standing in a gap between two of the houses was approached by a black-clad figure on a scooter. The man reached into his pocket while the individual in a shiny black helmet reached into his. They exchanged items. The man walked off, the being on the bike scooted off. As he rode away, he placed a be-gloved hand over his registration plate to further disguise his identity. Up until this moment, I was willing to believe it might not have been a drug deal. After seeing that extra violation of the law, I was pretty certain there was some drug dealing going on. As he wobbled away on his 125cc vehicle, I noticed his learner plate. A big red L. Nice to know that Stockton has training schemes for Wire-wannabes, and perhaps I’d just witnessed his practical – good to see he remembered that bit from his theory about covering up.
I didn’t see the registration, and the ’125cc’ bit above is a guess – so please don’t come after me, Mr. Drug Dealer. And may I recommend Pass Plus? It knocks a bunch off your insurance.
