Something that used to wind people up for hours in the days before the Internet was the age old question of where you have previously seen someone on the television. Nowadays someone will just get their phone out and Google them before giving you chapter and verse about the subject and his/her acting CV. I didn’t have my phone on me this afternoon when I went to town (it is very liberating to be incommunicado even if only for a few hours) so I couldn’t if I wanted to find out who the famous actress was that I ended up waiting with at the Theatre Royal tram stop. I was waiting for Mandi to come out of work; she was waiting for someone and phoned him or her to ask if they were on their way. Throughout the course of my career I have come into contact with a lot of famous people and it doesn’t faze me, apart from getting a little star struck when I interviewed Alexei Sayle. I have never been the sort of person to ask for an autograph (do people still ask for autographs in this ‘selfie’ day and age?) so I just left her alone. Besides, as I couldn’t remember who she was it seemed pointless talking to her and to ask who she was might have sounded either weird or rude. All I know is that she is from Nottingham and still lives here, which is why it probably stood out for me, in London nobody notices such things. There’s also the fact that as she lives in Nottingham she is probably aware of my work too, although as I am a radio person she wouldn’t necessarily know my face. For all I know she might have been wondering where she knew me from, but I doubt it.

We were out today undertaking one of my least favourite activities, Christmas shopping. Even when I loved Christmas I hated the shopping side of things and always cursed myself for not starting sooner, like March. Once I’d met Mandi from work we went for lunch before separating briefly to buy each other’s gifts. I still need to get a few bits but made some good progress and buy the end of it I was pleased to sit down for a well earned cappuccino. While Mandi was at work I managed to record the podcast for tomorrow but nothing else sadly, which was a bit of a shame as I had a lot planned but once I’d had my breakfast and taken Jack for a walk I couldn’t really be bothered. I’m out of the house all day tomorrow at a gig so it was important to get it recorded otherwise I wouldn’t be able to do it until quite late on Sunday evening.

The shops were a nightmare as you would expect, with crowds of people falling over each other in order to spend money and buy the love and affection of those closest to them. Mandi had a negative customer service incident in Marks and Spencer of all places, which has soured my enthusiasm for the once a year visit. As a result we have not bought a special tin of biscuits. For working class people the annual Christmas trip to M&S is one of the highlights of the festive season but they can shove it as far as I am concerned.

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