Oh I do like to be beside the seaside...

...and indeed I was this weekend with a fun trip to Bournemouth. I drove down with double act Rob & Scatz, walked along the promenade, got the monorail up the cliff, had fish and chips on the seafront and generally had a lovely time.

Oh, the gig was fun too. I got a lift back with headliner Duncan Oakley, a comedy pal of mine, and stayed at his in Nottingham, giving me a chance to see for the first time the place he has bought with his missus, Kirsty. Both are accomplished musicians and multi-instrumentalists and as such their house was full of guitars and the like. I was in hog heaven.

Kirsty was a source of great inspiration for me too in my quest to find a woman who will appreciate and share my passions. First of all, she starts the day by banging away very skillfully on a drumkit, whilst still in her jim-jams. Later, I could hear her in the shower singing "Whole Lotta Love" at the top of her lungs. Be still my beating heart.

Now obviously she is spoken for, but women like her exist. I have seen proof.

A quiet few day, sorting through more receipts (grrrrr) and taking time to go bowling on Monday. I've not done it years, but can safely say that it is now added to the list of sports I am officially crap at.

Anyhow, I went to XS Malarkey, my local comedy gig, to watch the show last night and bore witness (and chipped in a little) to a great political debate. Two comedian friends of mine, Chris Tavner and Jonathan Paylor, had a ranging and at times quite heated debate on the topic of socialism.

Now, I love a good debate. A lot of the time it's just because I'm not sure of where I stand on an issue and wish to hear other's opinion on the matter (although my predilection for playing devil's advocate does annoy people sometimes - they think I disagree with and am attacking their convictions, where as I actually just want to explore alternative viewpoints). I am willing - keen, in fact - to discuss and dissect most issues, but party politics is something I tend to leave well alone.

I despise politics and try to avoid it (and discussion of it) in the course of my day. This is of course an act of extreme folly, as it permeates every aspect of our lives whether we like it or not. But open discussions on the subject are to be avoided as they nearly always end in the participants falling out with eath other and I, as irresponsible or shallow as it may seem, am wont to do just about anything for an easy life. I suspect that I am not alone in this - the vast majority of people I come across do not seem to be very politically motivated. As long as they have bread on the table and a roof over their heads, they seem content to plod along and are more concerned with whether their team will win at the weekend or who is shagging who on Coronation Street.

John and especially Chris, a passionate socialist, are obvious exceptions (or maybe most people are when you scratch the surface, maybe it's just me being a woolly headed beatnik) as they thrashed around for hours. Although I eventually had to distance myself from this, I did pause and consider that, be it indicative of the fine city I live in or just the pedigree of the company I keep, this was a rare and uniquely beautiful thing - a pub argument, that at times looked set to degenerate into a fist fight, over the nature and definition of socialism. Anywhere else it would be over a spilt pint or who had looked at whose bird. Priceless.

Tonight though I too am going to do my bit for the polical cause, as I am to appear at a benifit gig at the Dancehouse Theatre called "Stand Up to the BNP", a night of comedy to raise money for Unite Against Fascism's campaign against the BNP. Chris Tavner was organising it and I, rather gallantly I thought, offered my services. It should be fun. I hope. I have a visions of two hundred or so lefties overly tutting at percieved political incorrectness in my act. Don't get me wrong, I'm no Bernard Manning, but I do say a few off colour things. Oh, I sure it will be fine. Just pre gig paranoia. I'll let you know either way.

Peace. X