CBE??? CBE??? what happened to "Sir Brucie" ???
Well, it's 2006, but unfortunately things are a bit grim at the moment for reasons I don't want to go into.
I'd never intended this to an overtly, confessional blog and I'm not going to start now, but it's difficult to write jolly prose without acknowledging that it's plainly not the best of times.
I had an interesting Hogmanay. I was on filming duty at the Departure Lounge club in the Cowgate in Edinburgh. I videoed the redoubtable Edinburgh Samba School troupe performing at the club, as well the Orchestra Del Sol.
It was a fun night indeed.
I nicked up to Black Bo's for a sneaky couple of New Years drinks and met up with some old cronies. I bumped into the luvverly Alia who I hadn't seen for about 10 years ,and I have to say that age had not withered her in the slightest and she was still uncannily radiant a decade down the line. Impressive...! That London air has done her no harm at all.
I thought TESS put in a highly enjoyable, ripsnortingly energetic show.
Unfortunately, apart from the dancers on the stage, the main band were cloaked in darkness, and it was extremely difficult to get any good video action.
I started from the balcony, but couldn't really pick the drummers out from the crowd.
I ended up pushing my way to the front and just doing close-up shots.
Unfortunately this meant that the sound was unbalanced and I got too much of the sound from whatever side of the band I was filming from.
I watched the footage yesterday, and it was fairly rubbish footage. Never mind...! I did my best....honest, guv...!
I got some great shots of ODS performing though. It was a lot easier as they were all on stage and had lighting.
I managed to cadge a lift home from Lorna. She is truly the Patron Saint of "Driving Pissed People Home Late At Night". She should really be given a special taxi certificate, valid for life, which allows the bearer to get pissed in any situation and be able to hail a free taxi. It's the least she deserves I would have thought.
For years, one of my favourite hobbies has been to guffaw sarcastically at the TV, and I was actively practising this art tonight while watching "Celebrity Mastermind".
The target of my scorn was none other than Mylene Klass, late of top pop combo "Hear'Say", and now a self-styled "classical musician".
I've always felt that the "specialist subject" category is demonstrably open to abuse in terms of realtive degree of difficulty.
Myleene's subject was "Sex And The City : Series 3".
Hmmm...not the broadest of specialist subjects really, is it? And I could think of terms other than "Mastermind" to describe anyone who has built up an encyclopaedic knowledge on so limited an area.
Needless to say, she stormed into the lead in the first round with a stunning 17 point haul.
Myself, and the rest of the TV audience then pondered how she would do in the General Knowledge section.
1 point.
Now that WAS funny.
All round good egg, and clever man, Iain Banks stormed to glory.
His specialist subject was "Malt Whisky". Now that's more like it. Respect!
My specialist subject would be "French Impressionism 1865 - 1930".
I probably wouldn't get any points at all, but the knowledge that I would receive tacit approval and acceptance for the perceived range and difficulty of my subject from TV watching "Jim Park" pedantic clones dotted around the country would sustain me in my time of crisis.
And it's taking part that counts, as they say...
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