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Feeling almost transcendental with health after less than a week of switching my diet. This time it's not going to go wrong. Just because it always has with clockwork regularity for the last 21 years that you've been reading this stuff, doesn't mean it's going to happen again.
The holiday from my life might well be a lot to do with my calmness and serenity though. It's so odd being in an empty house and I nearly went to check the kids were asleep tonight as I went to bed.
I have found some perspective in solitude, considered my imperfections and made some resolutions, though fully expect it all to come crashing down when the tornado that is my family gets back home tomorrow. I only wish I had caught up on sleep.
I loved the long dog walks today and listened to "Killing Thatcher" by Rory Carroll, which is a brilliant and gripping account of the Brighton bombing and the history of Ireland. It's full of horrors, but an important balanced and dispassionate examination of why all these horrors occurred. I will try to get Rory on the book club to discuss it all, because I imagine the story of how he has researched this book and discovered the truth of what happened (as far as that is possible) will be as fascinating as the story he tells. Hard recommend though, especially if you grew up in the 70s and 80s and didn't understand why the Irish were so angry with us.
With you, I should say, as I come from proud Irish Hannan stock (and stockiness). As my fine Irish accent shows. Give Ireland back to the Irish - and if there are any Irish people who don't want that, let them live in a little bit at the top that's still sort of in the UK but now also sort of in the EU. Problem solved.
I've also been rewatching Curb Your Enthusiasm series one, which still stands up after 20 years. The tiny running details over the series are fun and often subtle, but I noticed for the first time that the episodes are released out of order. At the start of episode 4, The Bracelet, the homeless man thanks Larry for the Chicken L'orange. I thought this was strange, but assumed I'd missed something in an earlier episode. In fact though Larry gives the guy the chicken in episode 7. The whole thing is ruined. You thought you'd get away with it Larry David, but no. I spotted it on the fourth time of viewing, two decades and so apparently did one guy on Reddit.
I meant to go to bed, but stayed up watching terrestrial TV til late, like it was the 1990s or something. I chanced across Sixth Sense and couldn't resist watching it again, having forgotten most of it - I knew the ending, but couldn't recall how we get there. The clever thing about this film is that most people probably want to watch it twice so they can see all the scened unfold with the pertinent information. Am I being overcautious to try to avoid spoilers with a film that's nearly 25 years old.
I first saw this film in New York in 1999 when I was holidaying alone after the end of TMWRNJ. Ben Moor had told me to go and see the film, but he'd also told me that I shouldn't read anything about it at all beforehand. Which made for a brilliant experience. Had I known there was a twist then I would have spotted the twist (oh now you know there's a twist, sorry I've fucked it for you), but I didn't and unusually for me I did not see it coming.
It is a brilliantly constructed film in that regard, daring to dangle the truth right in front of your stupid face, but keeping it just subtle enough to stop you realising. Even though it starts with Bruce Willis being shot. Which isn't a spoiler because it's at the start of the film. But it is.
He's a ghost. That's the twist. He's one of the dead people.
Anyway it was worth staying up for. Even if I wake up ridiculously early tomorrow (spoiler, I will. I write this the next day and I woke up at 5am).
More guests added to the RHLSTP tour. The wonderful Robert Bathurst (Cold Feet, Joking Apart and so much more) will be joining me in Tunbridge Wells and the artist formerly known as Vic Reeves, Jim Moir and his wife Nancy Sorrell will be guests in Canterbury.
All links and info here.
