Piers, what’s on your mind?

Piers, what’s on your mind…

Well, I tell you what’s on my mind. What’s on my mind is how little is on my mind. Uhm As we get to, obviously we’re at a point where some of us still believe in lockdown…where as there seems to be an almost nightly massive street party on Portobello Road, where all my daughter’s friends hang out. They seem to be very post lockdown…Uhm but those that are still in the lockdown mindset…I fine that I’m worried that all those social faculties like the muscle memory to remember people’s names… I’m finding myself starting on anecdotes and then not quite remembering what the key issue or any of the main players in the anecdote are…never mind the sweet polish of your verbal delivery…

PIERS

GREG

So, do you think we’re going to have a period of social atrophy after lockdown?

Social atrophy is a very very good description. Uhm I mean you’ve got all those. If one has all one’s tool dealing with social situations. For instance, if I arrive at a party I tend to aim towards the back wall of the party as quickly as possible, allowing me to scope the scene…its also usually quite often where the drink is…uhm and then the next thing you do is go up to the most interesting person in the room and engage in a conversation. I worry if.. you know, in the new world, you go up to the most interesting person in the room not having an opening gambit and what’s worse they wont have a cunning put down, so…

The quality of communication is in the balance…

Yeah, so on one hand there is the atrophy of those social muscles…and on the other there will be a lack of content. Because if you think about it…you meet someone at a party and between what you did at work, what you did last week, where you went on holiday you know… throw in the weather. We can still talk about the weather… we seem to talk about that more than ever.

We might have to learn some jokes.

Get a joke book, excellent advice. Maybe Portobello Radio should produce a brand-new big book of post lockdown jokes.

You know, you’ve been focusing on the spoken word. Can you introduce comedy into the mix.

We certainly can and that reminds me.

Stand-up comedy would be a great addition to the program.

Yes… yes or semi comic spoken word, which you can find actually on any of the Roughler Club specials from Portobello Radio

Because we don’t have a comedy club around Portobello Road necessarily, do we?

We don’t

Plenty of comedians, I think we’ve got enough comedians

Great.Well thank you Piers.

That’s a relief because I literally ran out of things to say then…