Brighton once more. The cat palace. Here, for three weeks now, Lou has been the willing servant to two extremely pampered beasts. They sup from silver platters containing a cornucopia of flavours and textures, turned over on rotation, frequently rejected entirely. Strokes are on tap. They watch a movie at night. At half past four in the morning they desire their goat’s cheese, and they shall be given it.
Lou will be here a few more weeks looking after these beauties. I might get to stay here again before she returns to the catless seaside garret.
I’m very fond of those little pussies despite their ways – either an astronomical degree of friendly incompetence or a vicious reserve with quick sharp spikes. Animals have always been my friends, and these pampered fools have started to make sense of me as I blunder around and occasionally fondle them with my fat hand. Even the spiky one occasionally lets me rub her belly, but frankly only when she wants me to give her something from the fridge.
Not wanting to be eating worse than they were we bought a lovely big salmon fillet at Waitrose and consumed a healthy meal at the long table in the atrium darling, before watching the sunset from the balcony. Oh it’s a hard life. Then we retired to the boudoir to consume the second half of the new Dune movie. We both love it, for slightly different reasons but we come together in a passionate appreciation of the world building that has gone on. It only seemed natural to watch the DVD extras.
So many people come together to make something like that. Watching it a second time knowing that the sequels weren’t funded and might not have been greenlit at all if it had tanked, I’m appreciative of the team’s skill in leaving us wanting more but giving us enough, and I like the fact that pretty much the last thing you hear is “this is just the beginning”. The DVD extras carry the feeling you get from watching all the lovely actors talking about the lovely thing they were beautifully paid to be do. Universe, I want to be in the sequels. Make it so. Lou was loving all the stuff about the costumes as well, and listening to the director talking about how he wanted he worms to feel really connected me to his artistry.
Film sets are remarkable places to be and that looks like it was a good set. Good people coming together to make these sometimes hugely ambitious fables. I want to travel for work wherever possible and I stay streamlined so it’s easy for me to do that. Saudi was incredible, but just over the track from our huge site was a little nest of tents where I knew they were making a movie. Sometimes I’d find myself looking over at those tents wondering if it was a Dune 2 unit. “You should just show up there and tell them you’re an actor,” says your auntie who read an interview in The Radio Times once. But that doesn’t work these days. Probably never did. And anyway I had a race to help with over there.
Things come when you make the space and do the work. I’ve been a bit better at doing the work than making the space. The experience with my friend’s dad’s stuff yesterday is a good reminder to make it. If it’s not Dune 2 it can be something else. But time to pull that shit in.
First though I’ll be sleeping in the cat palace for a day or so, eating much more healthily than I’m used to and farting like Ivor the Engine. Toot toot, all.
AlBarclay 