The Gratitude List: Week Nine
Improvising a Gratitude List
1) Tolerating loneliness
I’ve tried to be aware of the moments where I’ve found enjoyment despite having no one to share them with during this week. I need to learn to manage loneliness better. You would think, as someone who lives alone and has spent most of his life alone, I’d have got the hang of it by now, but not quite.
There are certainly things I enjoy doing on my own, that aren’t tainted by the fact there isn’t company, but not having someone to reflect on those things with can sometimes be the moment where it gets a bit tricky.
I’ve just tried to enjoy things this week, not worry about the before and afters, such as…
2) They Seem Nice
I feel compelled to write a piece on this in full, such was the wonderful time I had, but I had the pleasure of watching improv comedy show ‘They Seem Nice’ for three consecutive nights last week.
It was the delicious dessert at the end of some rather unenjoyable days. A rotating cast of improvisers all loosely connected to each other through the vast library of work, led by Nic Sampson. He was joined by the likes of Kiell Smith-Bynoe, Emma Sidi, Laura Daniel, Graham Dickson, Lola Rose-Maxwell, and many more.
Front row for each performance, in my own little world, totally absorbed by the shows.
I feel so very grateful that I have an avenue through which I can escape it all. Comedy, and improv in particular I think, does that like nothing else.
3) Ben Duckett
I had a seizure just in front of fine leg at Northamptonshire’s Wantage Road a few years ago. Ben Duckett was still playing for them at the time, and was the first to notice, getting help over to me. Naturally, I’ve felt a fondness towards him since.
I was probably also one of the first among the wider cricket audience to notice him, having seen him break out at Northants. A wonderfully talented player, who even as a teenager was playing aggressive and inventive shots, who looked destined for greatness. A shame, therefore, that an international career had seemingly passed him by until a few years ago.
His knock in the second innings against India was absolutely stunning. So well constructed without abandoning positivity and beauty. Wonderfully measured reverse sweep after wonderfully measured reverse sweep.
I don’t think it’s a stretch to say he’s the best all-format opener in the world.
4) The Dukes ball
That’ll be the end of the Koobarurra, I would hope.
5) The nice man at Charlton Park who offered me water
Speaking of picking people up off the floor after they collapse…
I decided it would be a fantastic idea to attempt to run the longest distance I have ever done on Saturday. I’d tried doing this a week earlier and made myself really quite unwell. Middle of the afternoon, heat threatening to turn me into dust.
My body had packed in not far away from my figurative finish line, but I refused to give in.
The moment Strava let me know I’d passed the 15km mark, I gave up the ghost and found myself collapsing in a really unflattering and also undramatic way. Like a toy not staying upright rather than a dramatic scene from a film. A nice man offered me water while I lay on my back, questioning why on earth I’d done this.
I’m writing this on Tuesday and I still haven’t recovered. Countless time I’ve stood up now and needed a good few seconds to compose myself, and some observations made while I was at cricket on Sunday that I didn’t look particularly with it. All very silly.
But, the point of gratitude is that it was quite refreshing that someone spotted me collapse from a distance and check if I was okay. I wasn’t, but said I was, and refused the water. Idiot.
5) Liquid calories
There’s a famous Taskmaster (yes, obviously goes without saying I’m grateful for it) bit about Emma Sidi’s love for a good smoothie. And, during a week like this, who can blame her? It’s liquid calories (I’m including ice cream) and little much more for me this week.
6) Faking it as a photographer
I did some non-matchday photography this week. Posed shots that really aren’t my thing, never comes out well. For the first time, I was really pleased with the outcome and hopefully won’t feel ashamed and embarrassed when they’re shared and used.
7) Finding it hard to make Charlton player profiles unique
I’ve started working on this year’s Charlton Athletic Club Handbook. Finding uniqueness in the player bios is a bit of a challenge. It’s basically a case of ‘Player x did this, which contributed to Charlton winning promotion at Wembley’.
Such a shame.