Great evening at The Shuffle last night. The MC business is hard, you know. Wouldn’t be so bad if it was just a case of swanning in and introducing the poets, but it also involves opening the door (surprisingly difficult), setting up the chairs, counting money and making arithmetical calculations in order to give each poet their allotted sum. Practical details but really important. You need the room to be open and you need chairs for the audience to sit on.

 

Even swanning in and introducing the poets produces some interesting challenges. Last night there were a couple of minor misunderstandings and I had a huge ongoing inflexion problem with Rhian Edwards’ name. It wasn’t until she said ‘Think of Ian with an ‘R’ in front’ that it suddenly clicked. Still all was taken in a good spirit, we had a full house and the readings were genuinely enjoyable. A mixture of styles and lengths of readings seems to ring the changes enough to keep things focused.

 

On Friday night I went to see Bruce Springstein. What a trooper. Don’t know how old he is now (must be in his mid to late fifties?) but he’s amazingly energetic and athletic, although towards the end of his 2 and a half hour set I did begin to worry about his heart. He was unfaltering right until the end when he got down on his knees and lay back on the hands of the audience at the front. Then I could see him mouthing (‘push me up’ through his teeth to the people holding him. ‘Maybe you think we’re not so young anymore’ from Thunder Road took on a whole new meaning. I peaked early. that’s my favourite song and I wanted him to stop then, but he went on. The audience was mostly about my age or older and rather sedate. Especially in our section of the Emirates Stadium (what an amazing structure). But I was up and dancing. Good practice for Glastonbury, I thought. My son has kindly sent me a long and complicated grid which has been pirated from rumour and speculation and shows the times of the major artists there. You need a maths degree and a lot of spatial awareness to figure out your timetable. Am I excited? Yes! Even despite the projected mud.

 

A gorgeous Midsummer Night’s Dream matinee at the Globe with the kids was another highlight of the week. Go and see it. Magic.

 

So half term draws to a close and it’s back to work as usual next week. Hurrah.