Warming Up

RHLSTP is back in business for series 26. And in with a bang with a terrific double bill featuring Stephen Merchant (where we’d had a bit of a rocky ride the first time he’d been on, ten years ago) and Fern Brady (it’s me Fern Brady, me Fern Brady, I’m the rightful queen). Both guests have been terrific fun to research and Fern’s new book (which is out in a couple of weeks) is a fantastic piece of work. 

Catie was coming in to see the show and we set off in good time for me to get there super early, but we hit a traffic jam at some roadworks where we didn’t seem to be moving at all. 25 minutes had passed and we’d only moved a few metres and I could see traffic was jammed up all the way up the hill and every time the traffic lights changed, basically nothing happened. I started to worry I might be late. 

I asked Catie to look and see if we were near a tube station. It seemed unlikely to help - we’d have to get off the road and find the station and find somewhere to park and we were up in north London so God knows how long it would take to get into town. But if we managed to get passed the lights then we’d be stuck for good, so I turned right and hoped for the best. As we approached the tube station Catie speculated that there might be a car park and I told her that she was crazy. But she wasn’t crazy - there was a tiny car park next to the station. And impossibly it was more than half empty. You could park there all day for £6 (a pretty good saving on the £40-£55 it costs to park in the centre) and the tube was on the Northern Line (I’m not telling you where because I don’t want anyone else to find out about it) and we were at Leicester Square in a little over 30 minutes. I was delighted.

Even better this meant that I didn’t have to drive through central London after the show and our journey home took pretty much exactly the same amount of time as it would if I’d driven the whole way, but I only had to drive for 30 minutes which made things a lot less stressful. Maybe we got lucky and maybe the car park is usually busier (there were more cars in at 11pm, but there were still a couple of spaces), but this might be my new way into town on the occasions I don’t have a car full of cameras. 

What a result!

Stephen was friendly backstage and didn’t seem to be thinking about the last time he was here, but on stage he seemed to remember and quizzed me about what I thought had happened. I squirmed a bit and felt embarrassed and had to go a little on my back foot so as not to repeat the mistakes of last time (though I don’t think that was likely) and it was a very funny chat. And Fern, as her book shows, is a unique and incredible performer and she discussed her autism with the right amount of passion, seriousness and humour. And apologised for calling me surprisingly tiny the last time she’d seen me. I told her that I’d been known to make the odd stupid remark myself.

Great to start with a sell out and we have another one next week. Hopefully also on March 6th when my guest will be Mark Gatiss. Book here.