Moving things around

It seems that Al’s random object courier service and occasional uber replacement is in business…

Back in early summer with the Audi, an artist friend of mine was preparing for an exhibition. She’s intensely private so I’m not going to link to her work, but it’s wonderful to my eye. Her latest stuff is optimistic and colorful, full of life and personality. She was running up and down to the printers and so forth, and she has a small dog. Rather than have awkward negotiations with Uber drivers about the dog, she ended up paying me roughly what it would have cost her on Uber to be her personal chauffeur and walk the dog when she was in meetings. It was lovely to do it and to catch up with her while doing it. My only regret is that the exhibition was not well attended – she only sold one print and sold none of the originals despite them being reasonably priced. We both had high hopes for that exhibition, but it was in the middle of Covid. Art is hard, it seems. If I knew how to get her work better placed I would do it as it comes from a good place and is happy-making. So much in the creative art world revolves around the contents of your address book…

It was the beginning, for me, of the idea that I can move the thing for my friends and charge less than the likes of Addison Lee. They have AL written on all their vehicles. I’ve got it written by my number in your phone. Always worth asking.

Today I took some keys from Hampstead to Richmond. After sitting in front of a laptop doing maths it was a great excuse to get out into the weather and enjoy this light at the end of the summer. In my flat there is so much that needs to be attended to, but the car is for using and even a little courier job like that helps pay for the upkeep and the petrol. A Scooter, a Double Bass, an Accordion, some keys… It all makes a difference, and right now, painfully, the self tapes just keep on not converting into jobs. I might need to look at the formula. It’s depressing to spend so much hope all the time, not to mention the countless hours learning lines and building tripods and persuading friends to read etc etc and then to hear nothing and nothing and nothing again and again and again. Not that I haven’t got things lined up – I’ve managed to be resourceful and create chances for myself. But with the sets picking up I would very much like to pick up with them and get back into the rotation as an actor that is used for stuff. Work breeds work. Gotta start ticking over.

Meanwhile the courier is going back to Brighton tomorrow evening. And I’ll be up and down to Brighton like a yo-yo, chasing quality of life and admin and work and cats, and it’s always worth asking if you need to have something driven around. It’s not my primary joy, but it’s helping me tick over while I wait for things to improve on that front. And driving is a meditation for me.

I’ve got an exciting crazy week coming up in Jersey soon, hopefully making some work that will develop over time into a joyful thing. That’ll be a personal journey taking some of the blocks off. More of that anon… Right now I’m supposed to be doing my tax return. But instead I’m eating dinner with old friends in an enviable house that isn’t full of piles of clothes and random bric-a-brac. Just plants. Tons and tons of plants.