My Big Dumb Culture Diary: Part Four
by Steve
Phew! The wait is over! The final part of My Big Dumb Cultural Diary is finally here!
DAY FIVE
8am On the way into work I listen to the most recent Tindersticks album, Falling Down A Mountain. I bought this a while ago, yet haven’t read devoted much time to it yet. They are one of those bands whose new releases I buy more out of habit than expectation. While I can’t see them ever topping the majesty of their first three or four albums I’m sure there is some good stuff in here. I’ll just have to let it grow on me some more, I think. And actually pay attention to it. 8am on my morning commute probably wasn’t the best time for this.
Various times of the day More of The Corrections. I seem to be rattling through this, so far. I may have just overcome my fear of Big Long Books. It naturally helps that I’m reading a very well written Big Long Book.
7.30pm The Fitzrovia Radio Hour at Wilton’s Music Hall. A fun evening’s pastiche of 1940s and 50s radio shows, played out in a wonderful old music hall tucked away in London’s East End. The writers and performers pitched it perfectly, essentially playing it straight, but each performer was also ‘acting’ as a performer of the time too. So, there was a lot to take in – the basic story being performed, the interactions between the performers ‘off-mic’ and the array of fun sound effects and hats being thrown around in the finest farce fashion. A lot of fun, and highly recommended.
DAY SIX
9.30am While many enjoy most the Sunday papers, I am very much a Saturday Papers Man. This week it is the Guardian and the Racing Post. The Guardian’s Review section may be my favourite newspaper of the week, with a variety of book reviews and interesting articles to last me the week. The sport supplement isn’t bad either, but I tend to lean more on the Racing Post. I’m leaving the horse racing alone more and more, but do enjoy keeping tabs on it, at the very least, while their football coverage is excellent, as it is focused on who is likely to win or lose, rather than the latest scandal or spat. I place a few 50p bets and hope for the best!
Evening As I’ve got older I’ve got less and less inclined to brave the masses on a Saturday night. And I very much enjoy a quiet night in with my Significant Other, unwinding after a busy week. Strictly Come Dancing and The X-Factor are on to help with aforementioned unwinding, although we’ll generally get annoyed at the obvious set-ups in the latter. I make pizza. It takes ages, but isn’t bad. Decide pizza and bad telly isn’t such an awful option for a Saturday night, compared to the nightlife on offer locally… Finish up with a few episodes of Never Mind The Buzzcocks. I’m pretty sure we’d planned more high-brow telly for the evening, like Mad Men. I think I got over excited by the return of Strictly, which scuppered that somewhat. You won’t tell anyone, will you?
DAY SEVEN
NO CULTURE. Unless the football counts?
THE END!
Wait until next year 
No culture Sundays sounds like a plan that many an unreconstituted British male could easily fall into line with. Not sure the football was football anyway, if you know what I mean. Was more a case of chewing off what few nails I have left and hoping Reina would continue to do his Gandalf ‘You shall not pass’ impression for 90 minutes. ‘Notes on a Scandal’ was screened before MoTD, though, which made me feel vaguely cultural.
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Reina was amazing, wasn’t he? Proof that while he might make a couple of mistakes a season (see Arsenal game), he’ll more than make up for it the rest of the time. Shame the rest of the team wasn’t up to his standard.
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