Lazy Sunday and Home.

After last weeks comedy tour - 3 countries ,Five Days ,four towns - it’s time to take a rest, and you don’t need to be religious to consider Sunday as a good day to do that.

We all need a ‘home’ even if it’s not your birthplace, a ‘home’ it’s somewhere where you are safe and able to be yourself, so today I’m a ‘sloth’ in tracksuit slippers and unwashed. Listening to some great music on BBC Radio 6 (THE radio station for all good music btw- thanks internet) .

Thinking of how good it feels to be home with all my stuff and loved ones around me I can’t imagine how it must be for the majority of refugees who had to leave it all behind in a war zone because of some religious nut jobs and foreign interference, poor them. Everywhere we were on our tour ‘The Rufugees’ were a main talking point, the few religious or/and macho men among the refugees who are causing a backlash against all migrants. The biggest fear seems to be the increasing influence of Islam as a repressive religion, people are afraid of an Islam forcing us to accept their values while they have no respect for ours. None of us wants to live in a country where religious nut,jobs say what others can do,say, wear ,have relationships with etc etc etc. 

It’s a debate that will rage in all it’s right and wrong concepts and perceptions for years to come. Left and Right have dug their trenches and won’t be leaving them soon. 

Maybe it’s a good time to re-evaluatte what ‘our values’ actually are. what are our ‘values’? Freedom from religious influence? Yeah it would be great to debate that. Freedom from oppression great debate (if we include the oppression we face from media and corporate greed). 

If we have the debate then the whole migrant question could be the next step in our evolutionary fight for more and more control over our individual destiny,

just saying.

Next week starts tomorrow with a hospital visit, colon cancer tests show I need a Colonscopy. tests said I have a 1/10 chance of developing Colon Cancer, so tomorrow I get a camera pushed up my arse to check out my own personal ‘deep space 9’ , by this time tomorrow I’ll be awake and getting my results, whatever they are, they will be what they are. We can only control what we can control, all the rest includes an element of luck - good and bad, whatever the results are I bet I get ten minutes of good Comedy out of it. 

My  personal view has always been, ‘life is a short existence, live it, enjoy it and get out of it as painless as possible- and whatever happens realize you are not the only one going through it, for lots of other humans it’s much much worse’ . As Bill Hicks said “it’s just a ride” .

Health wise I feel great, so I do not expect any bad news. 

Looking forward to the next gigs, you can check them out on the website www.nigelwilliams.be Have lazy Sunday! you deserve it.

The efficiency of small.

Helsinki to the airport, 2,70 eur on the train (for a twenty minute trip) not bad, fast clean and efficient. Helsinki airport has the advantage of being small, although there's a Terminal 1 and Terminal 2 they are only about three steps apart.
Security and check in all friendly and fast, no complaints. I still hate security though, especially when traveling alone, my prosthetic joints set of all the alarms and the guys at security see that as an opportunity to test their techniques, I even got swabbed for drugs this morning, I consider that a compliment (they think I'm rock n roll). No drugs on me except nose spray for my cold which is threatening to drown me in snot. Security is a drag when you wear this much clothes, coat, belt,shoes, hoodie ,gloves, then another bin with laptop ,phone and camera . It's just all the hassle of getting all that shit back together with people behind me impatient to start waiting.
Now we wait for our flight to Riga and then Riga -Brussels, looks like there will be about 10 people on board for the first leg, an hours trip, not long enough to sleep eat or drink.
Feeling good about our last show of the trip yesterday in Helsinki, lots of different nationalities and a diverse age group. There were even two Belgians in the front row, power to them.
The show went well packed to the rafters and a great atmosphere, Finns seem to wake up on Fridays after work.
So now it's back to Belgium, two days of rest then on monday a check-up at the hospital, seen too many of those these last few years, although it always makes me glad to be living somewhere that has good healthcare. Healthcare or as Republicans in the U.S. call it backward communism.

Attention seeking.

Yesterday I was really looking forward to our gig in Tallin, Louis Zezeran is a great organiser and always gets the crowds out.
It was a full house again(!) and although my nose was blocked and my head feels like a snot factory I felt good and 'comedy hyped'. The first half went well with Stewart Johnson starting then two local comedians who really rocked.
Then the second half, I saw and heard a 'warning light' when the young Estonian Comedian had to tell some people to shut up during her set.
After Louis' set it was on me as headliner, the first 15 min went well and the crowd were up for it, then this girl (sort of attention seeking selfie bitch) just started loudly talking, not heckling, just talking to her boyfriend who was really embarrassed by her 'look at me' attitude.
I told her a few times to shut the fuck up, made some jokes about it, advised her boyfriend to stay single etc etc -- the traditional way that usually works, but this girl would just not shut her cake hole. So I tried to ignore her but it just got louder, the audience shouted at her ,still no stopping the "me me me" lady.
So I took my tone to her to a different level, the destroy and maim level haha, which ended in me squirting water over her (to the applause of her boyfriend btw), the room fell in to stunned silence, but I managed to get 'em back on track and finish the show.
After the show at least 6 people came and thanked me for slamming the loud mouth, I felt a bit bad, but you can't let the one spoil it for all, and it's impossible to concentrate when people near the stage are yapping loudly.
Maybe I should have used more self control, maybe I shouldn't have thrown water, but hey I'm a psychopath haha.
We now take the boat to Helsinki and do it all over again without the 'selfie shower' hopefully. :-)

Tartu.
Tartu is one of those towns that has 'something' hard to put the finger on ,but it seems at ease with itself.
I don't know why but I seem to be attracted to these baltic states, it's not really rock n roll here, but there is something about the 'attitude', the dark humor and no overpopulated streets.

So the gig yesterday in the 'Wilde' Bar was 'ok' (my set) I wasn't on a 'roll' as in Riga but it was acceptable, about 250 (mainly students) in and it was really warm on stage under the lights. Sweat sweat sweat and then go outside in -3 degrees and wake up this morning with sore throat and blocked nose - nothing that a brew of tea and a hot shower won't cure.

Stand-up comedy is such a international language, it's great to be part of the 'community of comedians' we all seem to speak the same language and have the same irritating behaviour patterns which can be annoying for outsiders.

In an hour we leave for Tallin, a road trip I've done about 4 times now, so I can sleep in the car. I will not be taking Yoghurt this time after yesterdays accident. After the gig yesterday I noticed a white stain on my jeans, maybe, just maybe that might have been why the front row were staring at me like I was some sort of sexual predator. Probably scared the life out of the young innocent students. I must say it was the 'whitest' audience ever, 1 asian guy was the only 'colour' in the room the rest were all white, very white - almost transluscent some of 'em.

After the show we went for some beers (non alcohol in my case) and had some post show chat with some of the audience, Estonians on the whole are non intrusive - not to be confused with timid, the guys and girls we talked to a pretty interested in comedy and how it works.

So as I said earlier ,we are now ready and checked out of the Hotel, early afternoon we should reach Tallin, looking forward to seeing the old city and the Russian quarter again. Friday it's the boat across to Helsinki thenSaturday home.
See you all soon.

Day two Riga and road to Tartu.

Day two in Riga was another day of walking around sucking in the sights and the feel of the city, there are some great looking buildings here, would like to come back in the summer and do some cycling around, but now it’s grey and wet ,no snow (boo hoo). In the evening we had our first gig together, Louis Zezeran , founder of so much of the comedy in the Baltics hosted the show slick as ever, the cellar was packed with (mostly young) students from all over. It was a really nice gig, an open minded audience that knows their comedy, not the tight assed easily offended pc mob. The cellar we played in ‘Nakablab’ is an alternative music venue, so the setting was just right for some ‘rough around the edges’ comedy. Good on ya Riga! See you again sometime.

I wonder if the sun still exists?

So now it’s 10am on day three and we are getting ready to drive the three/four hours to Tartu in Estonia, the first town in the Baltics I ever done Comedy a few years back, so it’s a bit of a ‘coming home’, looking forward to this one always a big crowd, but first the drive, I’m expecting to see trees, lots of trees on the way.

Talking to people last night before and after the gig, the main topic of conversation was about refugees and the fear of Islam. It seems that it dominates everything in this united europe (?) of ours, public opinion seems to be black or white, for or against taking in refugees there seems to be no middle ground and things seem to be getting more and more hardened. I fear for the future and what it will bring, we’ve had peace so long now in most of europe, how long will it last? There are no easy solutions to the refugee crisis, people who say otherwise are populist fear mongers or fluffy P.C. tree huggers. It seems that what started as a hopeful ‘Arab Spring’ has turned into a cold winter of discontent for us all. In his poem ‘IF’ Rudyard Kipling wrote “if you can keep your head while all around you are losing theirs and blaming it on you ...…..

So off to Tartu, a three and a 'tad' hour drive from Riga, started great , we hit a speed bumb just as I opened my yoghurt and bam- yoghurty flavoured jeans and backseat! Louis Zezeran at the wheel, so a very smooth drive, trees trees and more trees ,till you reach the border then there are a few buildings and more trees till you reach Tartu. 

I prefer snow and freezing cold to grey rain and freezing cold, but you can't choose the climate change you get, this is it, wet wet wet, and even the group with the same name sucked big time. 

Nice to be back at Tartu though, enjoyed my last visit here looking forward to this one. Let's do it! hope the rain stops soon and tomorrow it's Tallin . tonight I'll be counting trees to fall asleep, but first the gig.

We could fit a whole new refugee city in here.