Led into a cupboard at the BBC to record the interview. The small room was full of props from their recent charidee fund-raising panto. Ten minutes was all it took. Had a brain seizure at one point trying to get the words Michael Emeric Pressburger and Powell in the right order. Other than that the talking out loud about the play helped me polarise some thoughts and ideas. On my way out spoke to Look North's sports guru Simon Clark and we realised we had both gone to the same junior school (but at different times) and we reminisced about our old chemistry teacher Waxy Waxman, who had a very impressive pair of bushy eyebrows and scared the life out of me. "I wasn't scared of him," said Simon. Bloody sporty sorts, they just can't be intimidated, even when they're little boys in shorts. Waxy Waxman used to run the school's film club and also peppered his chemistry lessons with short films about using bunsen burners, test tubes and potassium safely and sensibly. These films were, Simon informed me, made by Rank, although quite what I'll do with that nugget of information beats me.
Hull finally (page 551, just seven months before the end) gets a mention in the Palin diaries:
Friday, April 27th.A marvellous advert for the city's restaurants of 1979, methinks. And exclamation marks.
Home to find Kelly, our baby-sitter, has been rung by John Cleese, who was stuck in Hull without a Good Food Guide! Kelly had to look through and find him somewhere. No luck!
Headed to Truck to meet someone who had been cajoled into wearing the Santa outfit to hand out sweeties to children exiting the theatre's Christmas play for young people (the real Santa, of course, being too busy right now to do it). Sadly, he changed out of the red and white suit and fake beard before we headed to local hip lunchtime nosherie Peaberries for a salad and a bottle of Becks. And that, my friends, is the end of an exciting week during which I increased my alcohol intake for the sake of the season and spent far too long stuck in traffic. I am stepping out of this blog for a few days to relax and play with my toys. If you celebrate - and even if you don't - have a lovely December 25 and try to stay calm, smile and laugh a lot. Now, where is that beer?
Listening: Ani DiFranco - Fuck You.
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