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Our local handyman came round today to fix some broken handles and dodgy doors and to help me move the fridge freezer so we could change the filter. He’s a very nice man and efficient at his work and whilst I am mildly embarrassed that my own ineptitude means I cannot complete these reasonably simple tasks, I placate myself by noting that if I was more ept then he would lose a job. Also he’s strong enough to help me move the fridge freezer and yet wiry enough to get into the gap behind it.
Most of the things did require expertise to be honest - the people who did the work on our house four years ago were really rubbish and cut corners and used the wrong sized screws and sometimes didn’t even bother with screws and our guy has done a very good job of making up for their slackness and disregard for screws.
The only thing that made me feel like a useless and stupid incompetent fool was when I asked him to have a look at our retractable washing line which we’d never really managed to make work and which was very slack. He diplomatically pointed out that the mechanism has some little hook things under it which you were meant to loop the line around to keep it secure. He did this without being patronising or calling me a fucking clueless moron, but I still felt like one. It would be nice to be practical, but I am happy to pay this kind man for being practical for me.
We all have our own skills. And at least I was right when I was a kid and my dad asked me what I would do if I couldn’t mend stuff myself. I said I’d pay someone else to do it. Obnoxious little whelp. But correct.
This stuff was never in my wheelhouse. In fact my wheelhouse didn’t work because I had no clue how to make the wheel turn. It was a waste of a house in hindsight.
It was the 41st episode of Twitch of Fun tonight and I really love doing it, but I think it may be taking up too much time as I am suddenly faced with deadlines. I make nearly everything up as I go along but somehow the prep still takes all day. It may be stronger as an occasional show or if I put some effort into doing 6 episode series with a bit more work going into them. But we’ll see. Because the out of depth nature of it is possiblu necessary and I love what comes up as a result of inspiration in the moment. The puppets did well today and Ally remembered the French and Saunders theme tune when I couldn’t. It’s the first anniversary on the 11th July apparently (though that would mean I recorded on a Saturday last year I think, so not sure that’s right). It’s been an amazing project to be a part of and I don’t think it’s done, though maybe there has to be a lockdown for it to work.
It’s at its best when tinged with failure, sadness and illness. And if this is the end of a series then there is quite a denouement waiting for you. It's up on
Youtube and as a podcast (wherever you get those). Trigger warning - scenes of violence await you.
