Four repeats and a funeral

By way of tiding you over

Photo by Roger Ce on Unsplash

I’ve been quiet lately — my mum died a fortnight ago. Our relationship was what is usually referred to as ‘complicated’ so anyone who knew us would be as surprised as I was at the grieving wreck I’ve become in the past couple of weeks. However, by way of a partial tribute as well as to reassure you that I haven’t done a bunk, here’s a reprise of a monologue I shared about a year ago, as well as a couple of other pieces.

I first wrote Viv’s 64th for my mum’s 64th birthday, quite a few years ago now. She liked Alan Bennett so I was aiming at a Talking Heads style; it took a fair few goes to get to a version I was happy with but she liked it. I’ve read it live on radio and at events since then and it’s become a favourite. I even read it at a spoken word event in Morley the week my mum was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s; it seemed right, somehow. I wrote it in the voice of Mo, an old lady from West Yorkshire — basically channeling my late Nana, not for the first time. There’s a lot of my mum in ‘Our Viv’. It’s not a comedy but there is humour in it.

I only hope she hasn’t remembered there’s a perfect song for today — I can do without her belting out When I’m 64 as she sashays round the sitting room with a handful of peanuts.

I’ll also share again my rehearsal recording of Sugar Free from when I performed at the Purple Room in May. As I said at the time: ‘It was inspired by my mother who has both dementia and diabetes, and has always been an awkward so-and-so. It is meant to be wry but I guess by its nature it’s tinged with sadness.’

"I'm diabetic," she says with injured dignity, as though merely wafting inappropriate food in front of her could send her into a coma.

Sugar Free by JY Saville

Immersed as I have been in funeral preparations, and with a friend of mine having pointed out on Friday how much dark comedy there was in some recent related events, it made me remember some cracking fictional funeral scenes including the one that starts The Last of the Bowmans by J Paul Henderson. He is originally from Bradford, which naturally swayed me when I reviewed the book some years ago, and there are shades of Peter Tinniswood to the novel.

Reviewing The Last of the Bowmans

You’re right though, it’s nearly Christmas — the perfect time to discover (or revisit) episode 7 of my Yorkshire-set monologue sitcom Lee-Ann’s Spare Fridays, the Christmas episode complete with sleigh bells in the theme tune. Christmas was my mum’s favourite time of year, and it was rediscovering an old photo of her dressed up for a festive market in Skipton (medieval, not Victorian though) that inspired the episode in the first place.

Enjoy. Have a peaceful festive season. I’ll be back in a while.