I have recently been ordering, packing, and posting Christmas pressies to a small number of friends. Due to financial reasons, I have had to cut back the number of presents I am buying this year; however, when I look back at 2014, there are more people than ever that I want to express my gratitude towards. That is why I have decided to start a series of blogs entitled Winter Goodwill. In each blog, I will write about a certain person or group, championing them and their impact on my year, as a means of thanking them for being good to me. Hopefully this will put a smile on their faces over the Christmas period, while also celebrating the goodwill that people do across the year, not just over Christmas.
The blogs will cover a variety of people; some are people I have known throughout the year, while others I have only known for a matter of months. Some are close friends, while others are acquaintances - but ones that I hope will one day become a good friend.
For blog number 2, I am going to talk about a couple of people I didn't know until August; which, considering how often I converse with them now, seems absurd. By couple, I mean this this in the sense of a married couple. No, it's not Dirty Den and Angie Watts! Though that would be totally topical. The couple I am talking about are both writers, both really interesting, and both lovely. Their names are Leslie Tate and Sue Hampton.
Leslie and Sue actually knew my Mum before they knew me, having talked to her in Boots in Berkhamsted, where she works. I am unsure how long they knew each-other, but I am presuming it was a while, as it was long enough for Mum to find out they were both published authors.
I was at a low point in August; sick of being unemployed, being rejected for Tesco jobs I was far over-qualified for, and having not gotten far with my writing or stand-up, Mum decided to ask Leslie and Sue if they'd be able to help me out, as people within the industry. I initially only had contact with Leslie; after exchanging a handful or so e-mails, we decided to meet up at Dar Papillon, and discuss the possibility of hosting a comedy night there. 2 months later, the Dar Papillon Comedy Club had its first gig. I should at this point also add in a huge thanks to Salva, who owns Dar Papillon, for her enthusiasm and support during our venture. It wouldn't have happened without you.
Back in Janaury 2014, I had no desire to run and organise a night, or to MC. Frankly, I thought I would be a poor MC, and I thought I'd be awful at the promotion side of things. The fact that our first night had 37 paying audience members, and was promoted by my debut appearance in my local newspaper, as well as my first ever appearance on the radio - a BBC station, no less - is a pretty incredible thing to look back on.
This couple did more than get me 5 minutes in the limelight, though. Leslie was the first person I didn't know who I showed a video of my stand-up with the view of him giving me his opinion. All the other opinions I'd had regarding it were from people I knew, so this was a big step that could have backfired. I can recall thinking defensively to myself as I sent him the link - at a point where I didn't really know him, so there was no reason for him to be anything but honest - my mind saying "ha, what does this person know about comedy?", anticipating the slating before my message was even in the Outbox.
However, he enjoyed my style of comedy, and found it really interesting. He completed supported me chasing my creative dreams - at a time where I couldn't get a job at Tesco to fund travel to gigs, and where Mum had asked me "Is this comedy thing just a dream? Is it realistic?"; his support, as a fellow creative, artistic type, was a beacon of light when the rest of the world was being horrible, when I started to wonder if I was wasting my time and energy.
September-December have been my most gig-heavy months to date, and have seen me advance in two competitions, MC for the first time, and start being happy calling myself a comedian, instead of thinking "I'm just a guy who does comedy every now and then". Leslie and Sue definitely deserve my sincerest thanks for their roles during this time. They also told my Mum that they think I'm talented, which finally helped sway my parents into thinking "maybe he's not wasting his time"; something that was obviously helped by the aforementioned promotional appearances. Their passion and commitment for helping and supporting creative people (including running variety nights with a huge mix of talented people), and their understanding that artistic-types put their creations ahead of money and comfort, was a much needed antidote to the job-obsessed world I had found myself trapped in.
Outside of comedy things, Leslie has also been very supportive when discussing general life events and troubles, and I truly consider both him and Sue friends of mine. It's also blooming great to know more people who support The Green Party, and have excellent ethics. I also admire both of them incredibly for their individualism. They are just awesome human-beings.
You can get an eBook of Sue's latest release here, if you are a Kindle kid. You can also find Sue on Twitter - @SueAuthor - while Leslie is LSTateAuthor.
Thanks for reading,
Tom.
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