Dr Buckles will see you now...

In previous times, as longer-term visitors will know, I’ve enjoyed going out to music gigs, theatre, cinema, literary events/book signings, comedy shows etc on a regular basis. One of the hardest things about these last few months, for me as for many others, has been the inability to do these things, and the knowledge that venues across the country are being lost on a weekly basis, whilst performers, and many others who are usually employed in the arts sector, are deprived of their normal sources of income.

I’ve been trying to compensate for all of this by attending a number of online gigs, performances, podcast recordings etc, some of which I’ve Blipped about, many of which I haven’t - mainly to spare you endless shots of my laptop! But, today I thought another laptop shot was in order.

I’m a long-term listener to The Adam Buxton Podcast www.adam-buxton.co.uk which has provided me with entertaining, often very silly, sometimes very serious, ‘ramblechats’ (complete with jingles) for the last 5 years.

(Fellow fans of the podcast will now be singing: 

“Ramblechat, let’s have a Ramblechat,
We’ll focus first on this, then concentrate on that.
Come on let’s chew the fat and have a Ramblechat,
Put on your conversation coat and find your talking hat...”)

Some of you will know Adam from his tv and radio partnership with his old school friend (and now film director) Joe Cornish, or from his acting appearances, but no previous knowledge is required to enjoy his podcast conversations with interesting people, bookended by walks with his dog Rosie in the Norfolk countryside. You can see him (and Rosie) dancing to the podcast theme song here https://youtu.be/DJGCTBYiEXM

Now, ‘Dr Buckles’ has written a book, ‘Ramble Book’, and tonight I attended an online reading and Q&A session, hosted by the Arvon Foundation www.arvon.org/about/arvon-home-of-creative-writing. It was fun to see him ‘in real time’!

Adam is a well-known fan of David Bowie, so today’s tune is one of my late-period Bowie favourites, ‘Where Are We Now?’ www.youtube.com/watch?v=QWtsV50_-p4 A song that’s been known to move me to tears.