water water everywhere 25 January 2009
Well, the leak is persisting…it seems to like our house. Consequently, I have finally stuck my head into the attic space (after 7 or so years in the house) as I thought I’d best have a look and acquaint myself with the thing that’s causing most havoc right now. There is nothing wrong with the water tank itself, apparently, but there’s a connection that likes to weep big droplets of unhappy and yellow water into the bathroom. It’s that sod’s law that states when one thing is fixed another takes its place on the To Do/ Nuisance List. Just as well the bathroom is not actually finished and made good or I’d be pulling my hair out. The Builder has another plan for tomorrow – he is great, really, and has been over and back to the rescue on his down time, which is much appreciated.
On top of the floods, today I have been delving deeply into the Costa Books Category Winners again as I am one of the judges for the final on Tuesday.
And trying to learn my lines for OCTOBER as we are now facing into our final week of rehearsals.
As a result of all of this I officially have The Fear.
And possibly also The Husband’s cold…which is controversial…he is staying out of my path lest I start pointing and assigning blame…
underwear 24 January 2009
I had a great afternoon in Dublin’s Town today. I needed to get proper underwear for the show and really no one can shop for that but yerself. To be honest, a lot of my stuff is a little tired now – outer and under garments – but as we are in recession I have merely replaced the unders. The bra department was in most need of attention in the McLynn wardrobe. One of the things The Mammy always tried to instill was that it makes sense to spend a bit on the old foundation garments and I believe she had/has a point. I tried on some dresses yesterday that hadn’t a hope of looking well because my undies weren’t in their full flush of youth. So today an expedition led me in to be measured and kitted out. I just went to the one place (Michelle in Brown Thomas looked after me) and it was FANTASTIC. I really enjoyed the experience – and my credit card is reeling. I can only hope that there is something in the bag I carried away with me that will be suitable for wearing under a costume – I can’t find it in me to care too much though as I have some lovely things for me in real life now! And in case any of you think I am being all racy, I ain’t – I am of a size in the bust that precludes skimpy bras so they are lovely but not saucy (more or less…) No, before you lot even start on me, I won’t be posting pictures – but if you come to the show I might flash a flesh-coloured strap or two – eek, on second thoughts, perhaps not (I don’t think the flesh-coloured stuff is ever going to be inviting or worth looking at!!!)
taxi 24 January 2009
can’t say more than i accidentally went to a 40th birthday after a tv show tonight (a great and true friend but i had forgotten it was a big day, she didn’t mention it – deliberately – AND i refuse to acknowledge THAT age for her – ramifications my sweets RAMIFICATIONS)
ANYHOW, the tv show was to promote OCTOBER and i think all went well…well, i have proof – when in the taxi and nearing home and in a discussion about beer (the driver says SPATEN is veh veh fine) he took a look in his mirror and said ‘my wife rang me an hour ago and told me we are going to a show you are in’ – off the back of the tv appearance! i feel my remit is now complete (well, there’s the small matter of learning lines and not bumping into bits of the set…but…maneagable…i hope…)
‘nuff said.
sorry about the lack of capitals – take it up with my 40 year old friend (Orla O’Kelly, for those of you who know her…)
bouncing 22 January 2009
We did a big session on the bouncey castle today – it was outdoors and in, because to kick off we took press photos – ah yes, there’s nothing so cold as being dressed in summer clothes and bouncing (barefoot) on a kids’ castle in the middle of a Dublin park…in January – showbiz, ya gotta love it! In the afternoon, after the Great Thaw, we bounced for work. I am now very aware of lots of little muscles in my buttocks that are usually never troubled by anything more than climbing the stairs of a doubledecker bus…our bodies are complicated arrangements and I don’t like angering mine too much (it does its best and I like to leave it at that).
At home, the once flooding water tank (so impressive at the weekend) decided to ooze/leak this evening. We are still not really sure why. My worry is that it will become one of THOSE mysteries which will occur randomly over these remaining decades of my time on the planet. NICE.
Myself, Vic and our authoress, Fiona Looney, are on Ireland’s Late Late tv show tomorrow evening. It is rumoured that the lovely ladies at the fab clothes shop COSTUME, here in Dublin, are going to kit me out – they’ve heard about the builders being here and me living ‘on site’ and the general awfulness of my wardrobe and are going to try to come to the rescue (Christmas-roll of surplus pounds notwithstanding).
Sort of on that note, I got a truly FABULOUS gift in the post this evening. We did a big press day at the end of November in a wonderful central Dublin hotel called the Westbury and they do a great tea service which includes leaf tea and the lovely silver strainers that you put over the cup to trap stray leaves and I have not been able to locate those anywhere – the Westbury only sent me 2 today so I am now unleashed on leaf tea (I do love to make a pot of the stuff) and can get rid of the giant plastic sieve I was using – MANY THANKS to all involved!!!!
I also went around the bookshops of central Dublin this evening and signed all of the stock of MISSING YOU ALREADY, for those of you who like a signed book. Enjoy!
biking gear 21 January 2009
There are 2 committed cyclists among us in the cast. One is Vic Smurfit who had a spill last week off her bike (and the papers tried their best to hype it up but, em, no, not SUCH a great story or world issue) and Lorcan who plays Frank. They are remarkable for getting up on those contraptions in the freezing and quite shite weather we have had recently. Whatever you’re having yourself, I say, while standing at the bus stop or putting hand out for a Lovely Cab. Of course, The Biking Two have the reflective this and blinking that but what none of us can understand is why bicycle gear is SO awful. It does no one any favours. It’s nerdy and uncool and is unflattering in the extreme. WHY? Motorcycle helmets are cool and the leathers you sometimes see on the riders are FINE…in fact, I am told by various of my Gay Brethren that an Irish cop in the full motorbike outfit is among the hottest in the world. So why is the unmotorised bike stuff so vile? All answers on t he back of a 50 euro note, please.
launch 21 January 2009
Yesterday was a big ‘un and no mistake. Barack Obama was inaugurated as US President and my novel MISSING YOU ALREADY was officially launched – both glittering ceremonies and millions of people worldwide celebrated! Poor old Barack desperately wanted to be with me in Dublin and was disgusted at the clash but, hey, that’s showbiz – I rather suspect he was kicking himself also ‘cos he got stuck listening to U2 wailing when he could have been having a pint and a laugh with me – dem’s da breaks.
In all seriousness though it’s an incredibly exciting time for America and the world. The poor man has a weight of unrealistic expectation on him, of course, and there is only so much he’s going to be able to do but even if he disappoints a little (or even more than a little) it’ll still be a lot better than what we’ve had to date. I wish him the very VERY best of luck.
He looked FAB yesterday too, eh? I am nursing a bad crush at this stage…
Sorry about the lateness of the blog – it was stay up even late® last night to do it or get some sleep (and not enough of the latter at that) and I’m afraid sleep won out – I feel so washed out right now that I am obsessing about time spent lying down in bed, whatever about scoring the old Zs while I’m about it too. Big brownie points for taking off my make-up though and I am SMUG about that today. Tragically, it hasn’t stopped a few more spots from appearing. A wonderful make-up lady called Christine Cant says to me, any time I whinge about this, in her magnificent Scottish accent ‘Well, at least you’ve still got some sebum in your face, hen’ – it’s not quite the comfort she intends it to be, but bless….
feck 19 January 2009
Ah now, feckit, already the week seems lost. It might as well be Saturday tomorrow. In the melee that is coming I am trying to learn a few lines and do some acting (actually earning my money’s worth) EEK. The nutty schedule properly kicks off tomorrow evening after work when there’s a wee launch for MISSING YOU ALREADY, after rehearsals on Wednesday I have a Russian lesson, there’s a big photocall for the play on Thursday morning, then more rehearsals and after work on Thursday I get to go around the bookshops signing books and suddenly it’ll be Friday and the end of week 3 which also means that night myself, Victoria and Fiona are on the Late Late Show on Irish tv to talk about the play…and I am still reading the finalists for the Costa Book of the Year – final judging and the doo is next week in London…come to think of it I have no idea why I am talking/writing about all of this when I should be immersed in dealing with SOME of what’s on the list – ARGH.
hurl 18 January 2009
I learned a whole lot of terms for people during my Russian lesson today. It sort of came from a discussion myself and Rich had in Minsk about, as far as we could see, there were few enough ways of describing women in most languages in that (it seems) you can be Daughter, Wife, Mother, Dead.
Anyhow, there are a variety of terms available, you’ll be glad to know. Actually, one of the things is that in a restaurant you can call a waitress saying ‘devooshka’ which just means ‘girl’ and it’s not demeaning or insulting. In fact, also, in the street if a guy drops something you’d shout ‘man’ to get his attention and tell him what had happened. Also, in Soviet times everyone was ‘tavarish’ which means ‘comrade’ and there is no difference between masculine and feminine there – equality and all that….interesting.
It reminded me of a friend’s kid who has a Dad mad into Gaelic games. One of our Irish national sports is hurling, which is a cross between hockey and murder (as I read in a buke once) and the stick used is called a hurl. The wee lad was given a tiny one early on and he always said he was a little hurl and his Dad was a Big Hurl – to him that was ‘man’. I use it still as a term…
rubik cube 17 January 2009
I could never manage to solve a Rubik cube at all ever – though my cousins the Hamills were whizzo at them. The puzzle seems to have made a comeback though I don’t think I’ll be any better at it this time out. I just saw a great thing on Irish tv now about a young fella that’s fantastic with them He uses mini cubes to make pictures and he has embarked on a portrait of Barack Obama which looks really fantastic. Apparently it’s a bit of a craze, to make art with the cubes (he buys his in bulk online from China) and it’s known as Rubikcubism.
Accidentally coinciding with the stormy weather today was a flood in the house – lovely. We immediately thought the roof had sprung a leak. Turns out the water tank in the attic didn’t (still doesn’t) have an overflow pipe and the ballcock was the only thing keeping water out of the interior of the gaff – that broke today and the water came streaming down. Just another little smack across the face.
I was amazed and delighted by the pictures of the plane in the Hudson River with passengers all along the wings waiting for rescue. But it’s a real sign of the times when a plane CRASH can be the best news around…(however happy the ending*) *unless you are a Canada Goose
john mortimer 16 January 2009
SUCH a strange and unacceptable friday – the stagedoorman of the Abbey theatre (the Irish National) a man we all called Father Pat, and whose actual name was Padraig O’Faoilain, died. He was not elderly so it was a shock and unacceptable. He was a man of character and, if i dare say so, a bit of an icon and now gone.
AND THEN we hear that John Mortimer is also lost to us. Mortimer gave us a hell of a lot more than Rumpole – he was one of the fairest men on the planet and I always hope that any lawyer I know is trying to base him or herself on that man – need I say that anyone who defends the title of an LP called Never Mind the Bollocks simply because he loves ‘that’ word is a gem and don’t tell me he didn’t know every last other thing he was defending then too. I feel the civilised world has been eroded today by the passing of 2 good men – it has already been suggested by an actor friend that St Peter has serious competition now as gatekeeper on the Pearlies and I would suggest that Mortimer may take up stewardship too and let in a whole tranche that might have been refused on other days – I look forward to seeing them (SOME day) cos that’s the place I want to go now. RIP and well done, you fine men.