Monday, September 29, 2008

I know work is often a juggling act - but not usually with gravy


I write this as I head home on the train, slightly fuzzy from three glasses of sparkling wine. I have just left the first of three events this week where I will chat and sip wine and try to act scintillating while wondering if I can risk a canape without either dropping my wine or creating a lull in the conversation because I have my mouth full or - worse - carry on talking with food stuck in my teeth.

Sometimes I ignore the food altogether - it does make it easier - but I have a long journey home so it’s better if I can eat something.

I was a bit confused by one of the offerings tonight - mini bowls of sausage, mash and onion gravy. Tasty, yes, but the sausages were bigger than could be politely eaten in one go and it was served with a spoon. So I ended up sawing at the sausages with the spoon, holding the bowl, balancing my wine glass, trying to stop my handbag slip off my shoulder and subtly peering down to check I hadn’t splashed gravy down my top, whilst trying to make intelligent conversation about the arts.

I don’t know why they don’t have training courses for these events. Three years of practice and I still struggle sometimes.

Posted by KT at 20:45:30 | Permalink | No Comments »

Thursday, September 25, 2008

From blankness to bosoms*


I had a very odd moment yesterday when I realised I was thinking about nothing.

It was utterly bizarre and I don’t think it’s ever happened to me before. Blankness when there’s something you’re trying desperately to remember or numbness when there’s something you’re trying desperately not to think about? Yes, I know both of those well.

But just nothing? No, never.

Nothing popped into my brain, invited or otherwise. No line from a book, no scene from a film, no song lyric, no daydream, no observations, no thoughts even about what I might want to have for lunch. I just stood there.

Of course, within a few seconds I was actively thinking about the fact that I was thinking nothing so it didn’t last long, but even so I felt unsettled.

I emailed my friend Redhead to ask if this was normal. She replied that she thought it was and that it’s probably more common for men than women because women find it harder to turn their brains off.

I was a bit annoyed that if I had found my ‘off switch’ then I had no idea how to locate it again, but the idea that my brain might be having a more masculine day turned out to be oddly prophetic…

Because for strange work-related reasons, I had to look through a couple of ‘lads’ mags’ later in the day and so saw many many pictures of scantily clad or not-at-all clad women. And since then, whenever I’ve had a quiet brain moment, the image that comes to mind is of huge silicon-enhanced breasts.

Definitely more common for men!

* I prefer “from nothing to knockers” but alliteration with a silent K looks wrong.

Posted by KT at 08:55:15 | Permalink | No Comments »

Wednesday, September 24, 2008

Artistry

I love this time of year. The weather’s ho-hum, work’s frantic and I sleep less than the average character in a horror movie but still, I like it because it’s party conference season and I’m just a little bit obsesed by politics.

It’s a glorious mix of idealism and insincerity with the occasional flash (very occasional in some cases) of intellect.

Each politician has a measure of these three, just as religious leaders and speakers do. And I find both fascinating. The practiced use of presentation, body language, rhetoric, passion and straight-forward spin…

It’s an art and I enjoy watching such highly accomplished artistes.

My reaction when they slip up is rather similar to when a dancer or actor slips up when I’m at the theatre - initial disappointment that they have made a mistake and dropped the facade, followed by a sense of relief that nobody’s perfect after all.

The only difference is that the relief is much more palpable for those whose art is politics or religion. Because a perfectly executed pirouette in government or a perfectly played script in church… that could only be art of the dark variety.

Posted by KT at 08:42:10 | Permalink | No Comments »

Friday, September 19, 2008

Hard to think much of anything sensible on the Northern Line

This morning I’ve been thinking about a few thing, none worthy of a post or even a cohesive thought:

Lord of the Rings the musical: how rubbish it was and how obvious the state of the economy is when a prime advertising slot is still urging people to see a musical that closed two months ago.

Commuting: how nice it is not to have to do when I stay with lovely friends in London and whether or not I should feel bad for having paid for a season ticket that I’ve barely used this week.

Fridays: how they are the most unpredictable days of the working week. Fridays are either great or really really crap and I never know which it will be until it’s in progress.

I hope it’s a great one for everybody. We all deserve it I’m sure.

Posted by KT at 08:27:12 | Permalink | No Comments »

Thursday, September 18, 2008

The reason why my no-alcohol pledge was doomed to fail…

The BBC yesterday published a piece identifying nine types of heavy drinker.

(There has been quite a run on these types of pieces recently. I think the health department must have thrown some extra funding at their PR team.)

Suddenly, I feel no guilt whatsoever for only managing to quit alcohol for 8 days when I intended a month…

Coz of the nine types I am definitely four of them: a de-stress, re-bonding, community, hedonistic drinker. I’ll start worrying when I can tick the macho drinker box.

Posted by KT at 08:44:23 | Permalink | No Comments »

Wednesday, September 17, 2008

A momentous day

Today marks the end of an era.

My friend has been working for a big bank since she graduated. She began seven years ago last week and her job has been a major part of her life. She even refers to big bank as ‘we’ during general conversation.

And now big bank is ‘they’. She leaves today to embark on new and uncertain adventures. Fortunately, unlike the majority of newly redundant city workers, she is happy and excited and has a positive future ahead of her. Even more fortunately, she is almost unlimitedly flexible - happy to work in any country if she has problems getting work in London.

Rather unfortunately, I think I decided to have a major tantrum if any more of my friends emmigrated and she has added to the four more who are seriously considering it. Seriously people, I know the UK’s a bit of a sinking ship but I never realised I knew so many rats!

Posted by KT at 08:58:56 | Permalink | No Comments »

Tuesday, September 16, 2008

I very much doubt…

…that a day can go well when it starts with bagpipes.

Posted by KT at 09:00:37 | Permalink | No Comments »

Monday, September 15, 2008

Theatre addict gone wrong

I have no idea what has gone wrong with my theatre addiction.

Well actually I have some idea - even several - but none adequately explain why my theatre habit has dropped so dramatically this year. I’m not sure I’m even averaging one trip a month. And quite a few of the things I have seen have been musicals which I enjoy but they’re usually dessert - not staple diet.

Until today, my folder of tickets (future performances, not used ones) was flat, where once it had been bulging. Empty since Hamlet, I took pity on it and fed it three tickets.

Admittedly they’re Eurostar tickets rather than theatre, but I have promised it some proper food soon.

Posted by KT at 09:02:15 | Permalink | No Comments »

Friday, September 12, 2008

It’s all politics and madness but one has less sequins…

There is a huge queue, stretching down the street, outside a theatre on Aldwych.

Bizarrely it seems half of London suddenly wants to see Eurobeat - the interactive musical based on the Eurovision song cont… zzzzzzz…

Oops, drifted off there for a mo, back now.

A second glance reminds me that this is the Novello, soon to be hosting the RSC’s Hamlet with David Tennant et al (though the number of people in the queue that are fussed by the et al is probably about the same as the number of points that Serbia traditionally give the UK in Eurovision…).

And tickets for this extremely popular production go on sale to the general public today. All those five tickets that haven’t already been snapped up by RSC members with Ebay accounts that is… 

Posted by KT at 16:51:52 | Permalink | No Comments »

Thursday, September 11, 2008

Let it be so

What went wrong yesterday was a headache, which kicked in while I was at an event at Charterhouse - a beautiful old building which somehow doesn’t feel like it’s as close to the hustle and bustle of London as it really is.

So I stumbled home and collapsed into bed without managing to have any dinner. Pretty good for the detox I suppose since I stuck to mineral water at the actual event.

Nothing will go wrong today however, I have decreed it. The three has occurred and there shall be no more problems. Especially not on Thursday, my most favouritest day of the working week.

Posted by KT at 08:46:58 | Permalink | No Comments »