Monday, October 09, 2006

Interesting times

Friday was one of those days you sometimes get as a journalist.
In the morning I interviewed Denise Drysdale. She was hilarious - but not really because she was funny. I asked her to describe her new show and she said: "I don't know I've never seen it, hang on, I'll put you onto Vanessa, she was just in the audience". And I spend three minutes talking to a totally random stranger.
In the afternoon I interviewed Bryn Terfel - world-renowned as the planet's best bass-baritone. I've interviewed many great singers before (Kiri Te Kanawa - bitch. Andreas Scholl - enthusiastic scholar of the counter-tenor voice) but Bryn thoroughly impressed me. He was gentle, passionate, enthusiastic (despite me being a-not-very-important journalist) and engaging. He's very much a "father of small children" and not "internationally acclaimed opera star" when you're talking to him. The only difficulty is going to be making that warmth come across in the article.

Friday evening I hung out with Old Thom-with-an-H. It was a much needed catch-up and chat. Old Thom-with-an-H and I have been friends for a decade and it's nice to feel as close to him again now as I did for so many years (even if he still won't sleep with me). I have good fatherly advice for people on this point: True friends will always be true friends.
Saturday was time to say goodbye to a new friend, Phil, who I have absolutely loved having here in Perth. The awesome news is he has been asked to come back here for a few months by the Department... so he could be here for summer. In which case, PARTY ON!
I spent most of the rest of the weekend with New Thom-with-an-H - who is fabulous beyond words. Although he did get me too boozed at Saturday lunchtime to be able to get up to a family thing at my Aunt's house. I regret that a bit as my family were up from Albany and I don't get to see them that often these days. Not since I left the place and my old paper myself. This Saturday I'm taking New Thom-with-an-H's mum and her friends on a date to the Opera. What an odd thing to do.

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

You interviewed Ding Dong Denise! Oh! Memories of her crappy morning TV show come flooding back.

Isn't she doing some new Kareoke show with Downe or Crocker or something.

Also, taking a band of mum's to the opera, you sly dog, what's your aim!?

- Andrew

Bolton said...

yeah she's doing some gig or other called "showstoppers" with a heap of old decaying 'celebrities' for whom I definitely wouldn't even START a show, let alone stop one.

there's no hidden agenda to taking a fleet of mothers (what IS the collective noun for mothers?) to the opera... except for the fact i'm into one of their sons. but she already knows that.

it's the son that has a problem with it. lol.

Anonymous said...

A collective noun could be a 'hound of housewives'? Maybe not. As for missing Saturday's family get together, although you weren't there the notorious and scary "Akela look' of one not so DOA was sent your way. But it was a good night, I came in from the cold dark leper colony for awhile