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Yup, definitely not in a workable rhythm. Up very early this morning and though I had a good burst of early energy (which I put into domestic chores), by the time it came to work (at about 9am) I was wiped out. This was frustrating. I really need to have a good crack at some material for Happy Now? After a cat nap I tried to think of something to write about for the Metro at least, but I was uninspired. This was doubly annoying as Phoebe's Nanna and Grandpa were here all afternoon looking after her. Maybe the pram in the hall is the enemy of creativity or perhaps having a baby means that you are still creative, it's just the equivalent of having someone punch you in the side of the head every five minutes as you try to write anything. I am not too worried yet. This year's show is coming very slowly (and mainly because I've had so few nights to try stuff out - or because it's easier to try out old stuff on the nights that I am doing), but in reality I think the last few shows have just come to me very quickly and relatively easily. And maybe I do need the looming monolith of Edinburgh to make me pull my finger out. It's going to be interesting to see how this all comes together.
And let's be fair, I had a lot of days like this before we had a baby. Boozy nights were probably more damaging to my creativity than the baby is. Though maybe boozy nights also led to better stories. Phoebe is charming and beguiling and lovely, but she's not the trove of stand-up material that I had been hoping she'd be. I have invested a lot of money in her already and if she doesn't start paying out soon then she's going back where she came from.
I did manage to construct a high chair and if nothing else having a baby has made me very mildly more handy than I used to be (though to begin with I did put the back legs on the front, so maybe I'm not all that.
And I made a start on Limmy's book “Daft Wee Stories†ahead of the final RHLSTP of the series next Monday. This is long sold out - Limmy proved to be the biggest box office in this run, which is both thrilling and surprising. He is hardly a household name, but the people who know who is are correctly very excited about him. His TV stuff is original, audacious and hilarious, partly because he's come to telly from a different route to everyone else. It's very hard for someone with a unique vision to be anything but self-broadcast, but he found his way through. He's a remarkably versatile performer too, genuinely inhabiting his characters and managing to look like completely different people, even without make-up. If you haven't seen his stuff yet, then you really must. And his book (which isn't out for another week) is immediately funny, but also full of interesting thoughts and his unique way of looking at things/ Again he's not the typical kind of person who gets to write a book, which makes it all the more exciting. He's not in awe of the medium but his stupid short stories (and I've only read half a dozen of them so far) manage to say more in a couple of pages than some more poncey and self-regarding writers might do in a chapter. I am really looking forward to chatting with him and have no idea which way it will go. But I don't think it's going to be boring.
