New Years Resolution: Do More Stuff

The other night, I had one of those moments. I was sat on the tube with some friends, and we had just finished watching what was potentially the most amazing piece of theatre I’ve ever seen (Jerusalem, it’s amazing.. go!)..  The night before, Jamie and Janey had camped on Shaftesbury Avenue from 2am until 10am to get tickets for us. I had stayed in bed, because I had work the next day- and I wasn’t a lunatic. But that show was so amazing, the group of us all wanted to see it so much.. we were sat on the front row, the whole experience was bloody brilliant, I got it- I could understand why they queued. So, on the tube after the show, the others got off at Waterloo, I started this conversation with an old lady in a heavy fur coat.. She had overheard us talking about the show, and she was interested. She sat patiently listening to me go on about how great the show was and how lucky I was to have got tickets, and I talked and talked. She sat there and listened. We reached Kennington and we both got off. I slowed my walk up the stairs to continue talking and talking and she listened and listened. About halfway up the stairs she stopped and told me that she’d lived in London for most of her life, and was sad because she can only remember a handful of evenings like the one I was telling her about. She said, “I wish I could have done more stuff”.

I’m lucky, I’ve done some incredible things in 2011 alone; I started the year in the Caribbean with Mamma Jewkes, Sat in a recording session with Steven Fry, Got kidnapped and made to go camping, Presented a great idea to a room full of really smart people, Listened to a pop star sing in a wood-workshop, Sat and watched the sunrise in Yorkshire, Spent time in a tunnel making props, Made my dad dance with a stranger while wearing a pair of Video Goggles, Had my neck sniffed in an audition, Watched Shakespeare performed in the gardens of Ripley Castle, had someone care enough to bring breakfast when I had been working 36 hours straight, Moved to Bristol, Moved to London, Missed Yorkshire, Had meetings on a rooftop, Opened a show, Taught Mortgage Brokers how to be nice, Ran conferences, festivals, and made plans for weddings (not mine), Sang songs, got reviews, Got lost in a garden, Found a wonderland in Wales where I watched theatre be made, worked hard, worked really hard, laughed til I cried on a rock by the sea, Did silly voices for adverts and opened Christmas presents with my brother via skype.

I’d like to thank all of those who were around for 2011, here’s to 2012, where I will be taking the old lady in the fur coat’s advice- and be doing more stuff.