9721/21640
Ally was in ferocious form remembering old music hall songs and came up with a strange ditty about dirty, dirty pigeons. I don't know how he dredges them up. They certainly surprise me.
Later I was sitting in Pret a Manger waiting for my slot at the Podcast Room when I became aware of something under my table. It was a dirty, dirty pigeon. What was he doing inside? And why had he come to peck at the ground around my feet?
I had upset the pigeon community and word gets round fast. This time it was just a warning (and unfair to give it to me as it was Ally who had remembered the avianist song - he comes from a different time), but the coincidence was too great to ignore.
I then spent an enjoyable four hours talking to Lenny Henry, Susan Calman and Clive Anderson. Embarrassingly I had got there early so waited for Lenny outside reception, only to discover that he'd got there even earlier and was in reception, but he didn't seem perturbed that we met him 10 minutes late and was charming and happy to talk about his career highs and lows (and even give us a couple of OoooKkkkkkays, which won't mean much to anyone under 50).
Lenny is in an extraordinary position as a comedian and comedy historian straddling so many different worlds. He was in the working men's clubs in the 70s as a teenager and also for a while, part of the now incomprehensible Black and White Minstrels (though reluctantly even at the time), then part of the burgeoning alternative comedy scene, before trying and failing to crack America, before returning to the UK determined to be in charge of his own future, creating sitcoms, live shows, Comic Relief and writing books, dramas and becoming a renowned serious actor. Now he's back doing stand-up and finding he can be himself rather than a character and talk openly about difficult moments from his childhood.
For me he was part of Tiswas, my introduction to anarchic comedy (alongside the Goodies) that I still love with all my heart. So what a delight to talk to him for 100 minutes (would have been 120 if I'd found him in time). I was so in awe I forgot to take a photo.
I did pitch him my idea for a Three of A Kind reboot, in which he would be sacked. The show would feature David Copperfield the comedian, David Copperfield the magician and David Copperfield the fictional character. They actually are three of a kind, unlike Lenny, David and Tracey Ullman who were quite different performers. He didn't seem that into it.
It feels a bit like my birthday week this week (which is embarrassing as it's actually Catie's birthday). I am a bit worried that I might be dying and am part of some kind of Make a Wish thing for 59-year-olds (which isn't a bad idea- at least they should have the money to pay for it, unlike those sponging kids). I'd better get to visit a TV studio or meet a Hollywood superstar or a lifelong comedy hero tomorrow, or I will be furious.
Also nice to catch up with Susan and Clive of course. But they’re no Lenny Henry. Then again Lenny Henry is no Kyle Maclachlan. Oh no, the slide has started already!
