Jasper Carrott in conversation

No more Golden Balls?

Fashionably late, Jasper Carrott and his interviewer Geoff Rowe walked into the crowded lecture hall. The audience was silenced by the sight of the recognisable figure and Carrott encouraged the audience to continue chatting but it was obvious that the crowd was perplexed by the bald man in the flesh. The “Funky Moped” singer adjusted his mic, and was welcomed on behalf of DeMontfort University and the director of Dave’s comedy festival who had said that he’d tried relentlessly to get Jasper Carrott here for over ten years.

Rowe started off by asking about the derogatory joke Carrott made about Leicester and Jasper explained the story which surrounded a man named David Ike thinking he was Jesus Christ... Carrott revealed the punch line, “Ike was from Leicester... where are you going to find three wise men and a virgin in Leicester?” He added that people from Leicester quite obviously have a sense of humour and he has always been welcomed with open arms.

Carrott described his early career playing at folk clubs in Solihull and how he used other people’s material he had written down at the comedy performances at the cabaret clubs; He frequently recycled Bob Monkhouse’s jokes which he said always got him a laugh, trialling one out to the audience that proved him right. Later, he said that he is very much for comedic material being recycled as there is no copyright on spoken word. When asked if he would watch a tribute to himself- he laughed at the idea of a “Counterfeit Carrott”.

Carrott then talked about his career at comedy clubs in America and seeing an early performance by Jay Leno, who he recalls driving into his gig on a motorbike and driving out of the comedy store straight out of his set. I was also intrigued by his story of a gig of his in LA becoming a sell out due to a feature in the LA Times, having been recommended by none other than Robin Williams who had seen one of Jasper’s slots. Jasper called himself a “product of American stand-up” and revealed that he was very inspired by the comedy in America, which he described as being ten years ahead of Britain during that time.

Being someone from a younger generation, I hadn’t known Jasper’s career prior to Golden Balls albeit short spurts on TV watched by my dad and it was interesting to hear of the origins of comedy and Jasper’s experience of its succession. He mentioned that stand-up in the seventies wasn’t aired until usually 11.30pm but this was a drive forward in this era and enabled comedy to be “more than just ten minutes on the Cilla Black show”.

During the whole chat, Jasper was very engaging and led his own discussion without a lot of probing from Geoff Rowe. He was very comfortable with flitting through impressions and accents (mentioning that his own Brummie accent has never hindered him) and proved to be a charming down-to-earth character with constant laughs from the audience, old and young.

When it neared the end of the conversation, I felt the tone to be quite melancholy. Carrott said that comedy is a ‘young man’s game’ and he felt that there was a constant pressure to be fresh and have new material; he revealed that for Red Nose Day he was to give advice to aspiring comedians but he himself had lost the hunger to perform. He said that “dying a death on stage is as near as I could get to childbirth” but thinks that it is a good learning experience to “know what comedy is about”. Jasper said that he feels that “comedy is at fault” and bigger issues need to be addressed to push the limits, such as cancer and medical scandals within big brands and if he was in his forties then he would be the right person to do this.

It is no surprise as to why Jasper Carrott has such status in comedy. His career attributes including “ITV personality of the year” and receiving a lifetime achievement award in 2008 haven’t altered a seemingly humble and relatable man. Interesting career facts teamed with Aussie and Scouse accents (“Accents are a great asset in comedy”) and a reinactment of mole hunting made this an unmissable conversation which was ten years in the planning and I’m glad I decided to attend. The biggest shock of all? Golden Balls is never coming back to the screens with Jasper Carrott in tow.

Post Graduate Creative writing Showreel

The postgraduate creative writing event felt very personal, with the smaller lecture theatre brimming with eager listeners. We were welcomed to the event and thanked by the third years that have made this event week happen and it went without hitch. The variety of performers sat at the front of the room, giving the audience anticipation to what kind of work they would read out.

First to read was Hannah, who read a piece called “Man under”. It was a chilling short story about a man who commits suicide in front of a train, and the people who it affects; the odd woman obsessed with his hat, the train driver who is consoled as it is his “first one” and the wife who is left with a message which is found too late. With the simple tone and believable characters, it stayed firmly in my mind and remained a haunting favourite, even after the hour was over.

Next to read was James, a spirited being whose colourful fashion sense (including pink tinted glasses) predicted his interactive and loud readings. He walked up the steps into the crowd, throwing his voice as he read his poetry which was entitled simply by number. I thought it to be a very down-to-earth, eccentric and amusing performance.

Zea’s poetry collection was a mix of culture, expanding from original epigraphs; first reading a poem entitled ‘Concerto’ which interestingly read melodically, and then on to a historical piece. I wrote down the sentence ‘syntax molecules soaked in vowels’ as I found it rich and something I wanted to remember. I found his final poem the most poignant which was about a (believed to be) deceased loved one and their words remembered when a flock of geese fly across the sky and wishing that they were there to see.

Emma read a piece inspired by meeting her Ugandan sister-in-law for the first time. Arriving at Kampala, she notes the language and cultural barriers faced and how it seems that words translated aren’t truly synonymous and mean the same in both languages. She to’s and fro’s into both English and Ugandan, mixing them into a whirlwind and confusion of events which I suspect is how she was feeling. The repeated phrase, “in one version of events” highlights how language isn’t black and white, and isn’t always translated directly and correctly.

Laurie sat in his seat drinking coffee, giving an illusion of being a calm fellow overall but as soon as he started reading, I found it to be a hugely comical performance; a confident,  engaging and great storyteller. With his broad Leicester accent, his language was brutal but truthful and he gave a good account of an almost ‘Shameless’ sounding scenario of early 21^st century violent culture. A man is described as having “twirled a bat to a primal beat inside his head” which I thought to be vivid imagery and there’s a funny memory a nun has of being on an acid trip in the 1960’s.

There were two smartly dressed gentlemen and I wasn’t entirely sure of their standing in the event but they both read pieces of their own. A story was told (ballad-like) of a soldier named Badger, who was involved in events around Leicester, accounting scenery relatable to the audience and he is eventually ‘baited’ like animals of his name-sake. The final gentleman gave an amusing and light-hearted poem of a married-couples woe; the narrator apologising for breaking and ruining objects... and then it is revealed that they have actually killed their partner!

There was a range of readings to tickle every individual’s creative taste buds and it’s safe to say that there was an extreme amount of talent within Clephan 0.01 yesterday afternoon.

The best thing about my blog, I realise, is my background image... Hi-5!

Brief openings

So I'm running low on time to say anything substantial. This is mainly because there seems to be some kind of bug in my laptop and my internet explorer only opens for a few minutes at a time, if any time at all so it is very difficult and tedious trying to do work on here.
So... welcome to my blog. This is here for purposes which involve my creative writing course and I will be blogging about my Cultural Exchanges experience next week; i'm really looking forward to that now i've booked places. I will be going to see the creative writing postgrads, which will give me some incling of where i'll be in 2 years (ish) time. Also, I have booked the C.E. for the creative writing tutors involved in the Overheard book that was launched; it'll be interesting to hear the work of some of the people who teach me. Lastly, Jasper Carrott... my dad is a fan of his and it will be pleasurable to write about someone in the celebrity sphere's life and work.

Before everything i've written is wiped out... ciao :-)