![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
There was a piece in yesterday's Guardian magazine by Jon Ronson about Patrick Marber, one-time seriousish poker player and writer of Dealer's Choice. I remember Marber turning up at Russell Square at about 1.30am one evening and I'm afraid the word "donater" did cross my mind.
Whatever, Mr Ronson was in true Rick Spleen mode. Indeed, had Ronson not written the piece, I would have sworn blind that it was the script of a discussion in the cafe between Rick Spleen and his agent (and I'm sure that the agent is based on Rod Anderson).
I realize that all this will mean nothing to people not in the UK, but Rick Spleen is the character played by Jack Dee in Lead Balloon, which started out as a bit of a Curb Your Enthusiam rip-off, but gradually transmogrified into a battle-cry for all GOMs.
But, back to Mr Ronson and Mr Marber. Ronson, it transpires, has never forgiven Marber for stealing his nanny, whom they used to share - in a purely platonic, toddler-looking-after, way. Nothing sexual. Oh no.
Apparently four years ago Ronson and family went on holiday, got back and, lo and behold, Christina was now the Marbers' full-time nanny.
The strange thing is, this isn't the first time that notions of "theft" have been levelled at Patrick. The history of Alan Partridge is apparently littered with disputes over how the character was created during writing conferences for "On The Hour". But history being at the mercy of the victors and successors having as they do many parents, Marber seems to think he created Partridge and, well, maybe he did.
Interestingly, the two writers who quit Radio 4's On The Hour before it became TV's The Day Today (where Partridge first appeared on TV) were Lee & Herring. Equally interestingly, they were replaced by Linehan & Matthews.
I have some of the original On The Hour broadcasts on tape (two or three). These have a certain rarity value, because Lee and Herring still have creative/legal disputes going on (see above), I think. Anyhoo, there hasn't been a commercial release of all these radio shows.
There's always chilled.cream.org, though. Perhaps I'll try to put those episodes back together on CDs.
But, well, back to Marber. For a guy generally accepted as England's likely heir to Pinter and Poliakoff, he's pissed off a lot of people.
And that's enough alliteration for today. or perhaps even a lifetime.
++++++++++++
I have on CD an audience recording of The Good The Bad & The Queen at Exeter on October 21. For those unaware of these things, The Good The Bad And The Queen is Damon Albarn's latest incarnation, and much better than Blur/Gorrilaz it is.
In fact, the set (apparently their next album, track for track), if it was, as they claimed, only the second time that they had performed it live (the first, of course, being in Eastbourne, where else?) was absolutely stonking. I may try to get some tickets to see them before they become next year's first "next big thing".
If anyone wants the CD burnt, let me know. If anyone also wants to catch them live, also let me know.
The weird thing is, I never really liked Blur. Perhaps Albarn and I have converged over the years, while I've moved away from Oasissy-like stuff.
Whatever, Mr Ronson was in true Rick Spleen mode. Indeed, had Ronson not written the piece, I would have sworn blind that it was the script of a discussion in the cafe between Rick Spleen and his agent (and I'm sure that the agent is based on Rod Anderson).
I realize that all this will mean nothing to people not in the UK, but Rick Spleen is the character played by Jack Dee in Lead Balloon, which started out as a bit of a Curb Your Enthusiam rip-off, but gradually transmogrified into a battle-cry for all GOMs.
But, back to Mr Ronson and Mr Marber. Ronson, it transpires, has never forgiven Marber for stealing his nanny, whom they used to share - in a purely platonic, toddler-looking-after, way. Nothing sexual. Oh no.
Apparently four years ago Ronson and family went on holiday, got back and, lo and behold, Christina was now the Marbers' full-time nanny.
The strange thing is, this isn't the first time that notions of "theft" have been levelled at Patrick. The history of Alan Partridge is apparently littered with disputes over how the character was created during writing conferences for "On The Hour". But history being at the mercy of the victors and successors having as they do many parents, Marber seems to think he created Partridge and, well, maybe he did.
Interestingly, the two writers who quit Radio 4's On The Hour before it became TV's The Day Today (where Partridge first appeared on TV) were Lee & Herring. Equally interestingly, they were replaced by Linehan & Matthews.
I have some of the original On The Hour broadcasts on tape (two or three). These have a certain rarity value, because Lee and Herring still have creative/legal disputes going on (see above), I think. Anyhoo, there hasn't been a commercial release of all these radio shows.
There's always chilled.cream.org, though. Perhaps I'll try to put those episodes back together on CDs.
But, well, back to Marber. For a guy generally accepted as England's likely heir to Pinter and Poliakoff, he's pissed off a lot of people.
And that's enough alliteration for today. or perhaps even a lifetime.
++++++++++++
I have on CD an audience recording of The Good The Bad & The Queen at Exeter on October 21. For those unaware of these things, The Good The Bad And The Queen is Damon Albarn's latest incarnation, and much better than Blur/Gorrilaz it is.
In fact, the set (apparently their next album, track for track), if it was, as they claimed, only the second time that they had performed it live (the first, of course, being in Eastbourne, where else?) was absolutely stonking. I may try to get some tickets to see them before they become next year's first "next big thing".
If anyone wants the CD burnt, let me know. If anyone also wants to catch them live, also let me know.
The weird thing is, I never really liked Blur. Perhaps Albarn and I have converged over the years, while I've moved away from Oasissy-like stuff.
