“Reality is that which remains when you stop believing in it and doesn’t go away”
One of my favourite comedians is Stewart Lee.
Last December I got a ticket to experience Stewart Lee vs the Man-Wulf, thanks to the generosity of my partner Wendy Ashman who treated me to an early “X”mas present.
Note to Self: Can I still utilise the letter “X” to signify a celebration in December which would once have been the Winter Solstice in ye olde pagan times as a mechanism to include people of all faiths now that the letter X has been hijacked by Monsigneur Musk and filled to the brim with AI slop and hate speech from what appear to me as many of the most dogmatic, myopic individuals on the planet?
Maybe I’m being a bit harsh, and missing the commercial potential of linking “X” to the Winter Solstice celebrations?
On the day in question, I woke up early, around 06.50, with the insight to have fun and enjoy the day as I do every day, so I set out to enjoy the performance, and I laughed alot. Interesting how setting a clear intention for the day sets the frame for everyday experience.
I drank almost a litre of water, possibly inadvisable for a man of my age. Then I made the mistake of reading a post on LinkedIn. The story goes that business is like a jungle and how business is getting more and more demanding and how the financial landscape has grown more unforgiving. The jungle rewards resilience, and in this jungle compliance and people aren’t luxuries, they’re armour. Business as “I’m a celebrity get me out of here” – really?
That’s not for me.
Pretty much the opposite of the frame I choose to run my business.
I aim to laugh every day.
At one time Sebastian Gendry, The Laughter Consultant was one of my clients.
Thankfully I had purchased a burnt custard base layer from Ebay to keep me warm, as I felt the cold air on my face walking from the bus stop to the Dome. But, as I stood in the bar of the Dome, I realised that they must have turned the heating on, and I feel really warm. I was unshaven as I’m practising austerity to keep costs down, although the next day I realised that it takes 3 to 4 of the disposable razor blades from Aldi to remove a week or so’s worth of stubble. One of my clients recently complimented me on my goatee beard, so perhaps I’m missing the opportunity to save more money and grow a beard.
I arrived early at Brighton Dome, quaffed a can of Red Stripe to celebrate Wendy’s Jamaican heritage and get in the mood for Stewart Lee. I wandered into the auditorium to locate my seat, and glanced at my e-ticket on my phone to check what seat I had hired for the evening to sit in. I saw L18 clearly, yet somehow L12 came to mind, the seat was occupied. I had a little chuckle to myself, checked again, and this time L16 came to mind. Once again, the seat is occupied, why has this person stolen my seat? So I checked my phone again , and third time lucky, I realised that I have a ticket to sit in seat L18. I have a look behind (at the back of the seat) and realise that the number is on the bottom of the seat.
No matter how early you arrive for these performances, there’s always someone there before you, so you end up doing the slightly embarrassing squeeze between the other people seated on the same row hoping for no unforeseen touching of body parts.
What’s the worst that could happen? Yes, that…
I am pleasantly surprised with how good a seat I managed to bag, given that we only booked the ticket late, but I notice when I sit down that the 3 seats next to me are currently unoccupied so soon it will be my turn to breathe in and squeeze in as the people who have booked the seats next to me arrive. Of course being the most critically-acclaimed stand up comedian in the UK, Stewart Lee’s shows always sell out and so inevitably the seat on my immediate left will be occupied. So I’m pleasantly surprised when the moment comes to do the squeeze of shame there are only 2 people and 3 empty seats.
And then the performance.
Brilliant, just brilliant.
Go and see it.
You have to laugh!
Business can be so much fun and it is what we make it!
