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I emptied my pockets to try and find my keys and put £3 down on the sofa. My daughter walked up and touch the coins and said with the reverence of a Gollum, “Money!†She seems to have grasped what these weird little discs are about as we often let her hand over the cash if we’re in a shop. She picked up the money and put it in the little breast pocket of her dress. “Mine,†she claimed, under the law of finders keepers. “No, it’s mine,†I told her, “I’ve bought everything you own and I’ve paid for you. I own you.†She didn’t seem convinced. And she didn’t give the money back.
“What are you going to buy with that money?†I asked.
“Biscuits,†she replied without much hesitation. She’s definitely mine. And I love the fact that given that she doesn’t yet understand that things have different values, the first thing she’d want out of everything in the world would be biscuits. Good girl. You’re right. They are the best thing.
We’re revving up to the move (which is three weeks away now - even though our new home isn’t going to be ready so we’ll be nomads until after Edinburgh). A man came round from the removal firm (
Amber moves - they came by recommendation from a friend and I have to say they seem both efficient and pleasant - I have not been paid for this endorsement) and delivered me loads of boxes and bubble wrap and a lethal looking tape dispenser. I thought of the box lady who had been so excited by all my boxes when I moved in. She’d crap herself if she saw the boxes we have now. There are loads of them. He gave me some good packing advice too. Though with deadlines and pregnancy coming up in July we have elected to let the firm do most of the tricky packing for us.
I had a good day of work - the success of the Emergency Questions book has made me think that there might be a panel show in the idea. I thought it might be hard coming up with the right format, but in the space of an hour today I came up with something that I think has real possibilities. I don’t think RHLSTP would really work on telly (or at least it would be so different as to be a new thing), but this might be the way to make the crossover between the worlds of podcast and more mainstream entertainment. And you know, there aren’t enough panel shows on TV at the moment. The thing I am going to insist on though (in the unlikely event this happens) is that nobody gets the questions in advance and there are no team of writers behind the scenes. I understand why many on the panel show circuit might not have time to prepare for all the shows and that TV executives like the safety net of there being some answers and jokes written in advance, but it still drives me a bit mad. It’s not like it’s going out live and they already have the safety net of over recording by five times as much as they need. The thing I like about RHLSTP is that is improvised and yet still the hit rate is high and the shit rate just makes the hits look even more impressive.
Then I pushed on with trying to write some more Everything Happens (for no reason), but progress was a little slower on this. It’s going to be a Hell of a month next month as I hit my half century, move house and try to write an Edinburgh show and a sitcom script, but hopefully I will make it through to the other side. And I am lucky to still be alive and to have all this work to do. If all the stuff I am doing this year hits, then I am in huge trouble. But it all feels like it’s heading in the right direction. And it’s not like I’ve ever said that over the last 15 years of this blog and been proven wrong.
