mostly david ephgrave

Fourteen years ago yesterday, I went on my first date with my wife, which now puts us in our fifteenth year; I wonder if we get a prize for this? Or a grant at least. If I try to weigh up whether it feels that long ago, I'd say it probably does - it certainly doesn't seem like only last week - and yet I can safely say that night at the Hen & Chickens in Islington was the beginning of something truly special for me that still keeps giving fourteen years later; without wishing to provoke vomit, my life got better from there on in. The main thing I gained was the sense of a problem shared; I know we're a team and I have someone I trust implicitly. I'm very aware of how fortunate I am to have this. It's also something that time only strengthens and getting married strengthened it still. To say I'm lucky would be an understatement when so many people struggle to find someone to be with, let alone have anything in common. Somehow, I landed on my feet (which ...

Tonight I took my wife to the lovely veggie restaurant* The Gate in Islington for a belated birthday treat.  We went there this time last year and had a great time and tonight was no different. It's a treat to be able to choose anything on the menu instead of just the obligatory macaroni cheese - and while I'm pescetarian so my options are usually fairly open, it's more of a novelty for my full-on vegetarian wife (which is how I refer to her when asked).  If you were to ask me exactly what I had, I'd struggle to recall in much detail, other than to say it all was nice. I'd like to think I'm fairly adventurous with what I eat, so if the ingredients are in my remit, I'm happy to try something new. I had a three-lentil paté to start, which came with a lovely piccalilli and melba toast, while the main was some sort of beetrooty thing (consult their menu for more detail) and the dessert was an Eton Mess that managed to be both vegan, yet still the right ...

I took my wife to The Gate restaurant in Islington yesterday for a birthday treat, and ate enough food to risk a Mr Creosote-like explosion before I left. The Gate is notable for its – shock horror – solely vegetarian menu, but what a menu it is. Everything was lovely, without a hint of something lacking, like your more staunch meat-eaters might assume. A non-fussy carnivore probably wouldn’t even notice. Either way, it was perfect for pescatarian me and herbivore her, for whom the ability to order anything was a novelty. It was the first time we'd ever been to a vegetarian restaurant, save a quick lunch in a veggie café in a monkey sanctuary near Looe. It was nothing like the negative mental image it may create (the restaurant; not the zoo). It wasn’t poncy or 'try-hard' and there was plenty of flavour-filled variety. I’d recommend it to everyone, except my mum, who’d struggle, unless she could smuggle in a slab of gammon in her handbag (which she probably ...

Tonight, I performed at Angel Comedy at the Camden Head in Islington. It was nice to play a room with a real audience who were up for comedy, rather than a roomful of other comedians. I’d almost forgotten what it was like to wait for a laugh to subside before delivering a line. It was a genuine surprise and a welcome one at that. The club was run like a tight ship and was very well subscribed, and not just because it was a bank holiday weekend. The crowd were very up for it, sounding positively ‘American sitcom’ by the end of the night. I closed the first half, which was good, as it zipped by, and I always find being early on the bill preferable; it’s nice to be able to relax and have a drink, instead of having to keep your brain in performance mode. I feel I’ve turned a small corner in the last few weeks, regarding working alone. I’m a little less self-judgemental and a little more secure in my ability. ‘Little’ is the operative word o...

I went into North London today with my wife: officially because I had a gig, but unofficially, for a jolly.  (I'd like to known henceforth as Rupert for using the word jolly in this context.)  The sunny weather brought the people of Islington out in force. You couldn't throw a metre-square quadrat down at random without encircling three hipsters. Everyone was better looking and more financially solvent than me, though to be fair, you can apply that summary to the majority of the human race. We went to the lovely tapas restaurant, Gem, on Upper Street, which just so happened to be the location of my final meal before proposing to my wife. I don't mean that in a death row sense. The food there was as lovely as my recollection of it; I ate so much, I thought it might hinder my performance (if anyone happened to see my set and didn't like it, this was clearly the reason). We had a quick drink at the pub theatre the King's Head, which I've never visi...

I gigged at the Hope & Anchor in Islington tonight, thus ending my week of performing at venues I used to play with my band Big Day Out.  ‎ It's a lovely venue for comedy. It's a lot less dingy than it was fifteen years ago (a Trip Advisor review if ever I heard one). They now have a theatre space on the first floor, as well as the venue in the basement. I'd be interested to see it's like. I suppose I could have asked if I could peek inside, but I'm British and we never do that.  As I walked up to the front door I had a flashback of being dropped outside it by my band's first manager, Martin, and lugging our hefty amps down the stairs. It seems like a lifetime ago; just under half a lifetime in my case. My world's so different now. My career has taken a tangential route. It makes me wonder what I'll be fifteen years from now; a gymnast, perhaps? Maybe not, at forty-nine.  The audience had thinned out by the time I got on. They were smile...