The John Robins Vibemail - Issue #3
Dear friends! I do hope this Vibemail finds you well!
I am feeling much brighter now that the sun is out, even if for short bursts in between baffling cold. It's snowing outside as I write this and yesterday I put suntan lotion on.
I sometimes wonder, if, in future years when the earth is ravaged by climate change, as oceans boil and the sun is blocked out, the last person alive will say "Well if there's one thing you can rely on to let you down it's the bloody BRITISH WEATHER!!!!" Before imagining several crying laughing emojis, rolling their eyes and finally bursting into flames. And that will be that. A rather bleak thought come to think of it, I am definitely feeling brighter though! I'm buoyed by the return of golf and various projects on the go.
I do hope the things in your life that #GiveYouBliss are, if not fully functioning, then at least on the horizon?
Speaking of horizons, do you ever feel like there's a perfect pub on the horizon? And the more you walk towards it the more it seems to stay right there, just out of reach? Like a mirage? Perhaps on the corner of a residential street at dusk? And as you walk towards it through corridors of blossoming Daphne and White Forsythia it begins to reveal itself to you? Just there on the corner? But then you reach the corner of the street and children who were playing on the road stop and to look at you like you've arrived from another world? And the pub is nowhere to be seen? And so you walk on, street after street, corner after corner, horizon after horizon? And as the roads begin to fold in on themselves, promising some magic at every turn, do you then think
"But I saw it! There! Or was it the next one down? It was called The Lion, or The Golden Lion? Or maybe The Porter Stores? I know it was there! I saw it!"
And then do you begin to realise that the blossom wasn't really blossom at all, it was hope? And that the dusk wasn't really dusk at all, it was grief? And then the children begin to play again, as if you have vanished from their world, or were never there at all?
If so then read on!
Members present
The Good Captain Sir Lord Herald Johnny "JR" Robins KBE?
Present!
Apologies
First, apologies for the slightly different appearance of this Vibemail. Not only do I despise change in all forms (save change towards democracy, equality, representation, offers in supermarkets, better motorway services, additions to the Tabasco range, availability of Pizza Express dressing to the general public and things being on iPlayer for longer), but I also admire consistency. And I had hoped after agonising about the first two Vibemails at 5am, that this might mean that future Vibemails were quicker and more efficiently produced. Alas, fate dealt me a cruel hand and stuck my laptop on the loading screen so I am unable to write this out in a word doc, then copy and paste it. I have to #DirectInject into the Revue website. Don't worry though, it's my cross, and I bear it, with what I'm tempted to call astonishing resilience?
Secondly, Elis sends his apologies. He's busy loading the dishwasher badly and not quite finishing jars of Bonne Maman jam (#TopTaxBracket) before starting a new one. I have to say Isy's twitter feed really is a gold mine for this kind of thing...
The Moon Under Water
It's here! Finally, after so long, and so much hard work by so many people, the first episode of The Moon Under Water is available to download and enjoy. Our first episode is with Nish Kumar. And what a guest he is!
Dave sent me the following link but i'm not sure I entirely understand it as i'm not a Spotify person, but if you've waved goodbye to iTunes and it's hallowed play counts then this may be of help www.podfollow.com/moonunderpod. If not it's in all the usual places.
The Moon Under Water Patrons will have got it yesterday, extended and ad-free. And those in the top two tiers will also have their introduction to the bonus podcast Beyond The Cellar Door, with a new one to follow very soon! If you like the show enough to be thirsty not just for pints, but for extra content, then please do go to www.patreon.com/moonunderpod, or, hang on just a sec, I can add a link right here right in the text! Maybe change isn't all that bad after all!
Select a level that fits your vibe, and enjoy! The Moon Under Water Social Club Facebook Group is available to all levels and is already proving a hotbed of Pub-based chat, community and pint-desire.
I am keen to make our guests as interesting and varied as possible, and to look beyond the usual podcast suspects, so if you have a suggestion for someone you'd like us to invite to The Moon Under Water please email the show at john@moonunderpod.com! We're especially interested in people from outside of comedy, as we've got those reprobates covered. It is also not a pre-requisite for them to be a big drinker, just someone with interesting thoughts, stories and memories around pubs. Cheers!
Any Other Business
First off, let's take a moment to remember that it's Elis' sister's birthday today. Happy birthday Elis' sister!
Last weeks 5Live show was cancelled at the 11th hour due to the death of Prince Philip, but we returned home from the studio to record something for you, which is now out as a podcast and can be found on BBC Sounds here.
There is news of more content coming soon. Please rest-assured that every day, I wake up thinking "John, what can you do today to create MORE CONTENT" / "Oh God you didn't tweet anything last night did you?! Oh God! Best check...Phew...Phewee!". In the mean time you can request personal wisdom for a loved one on Cameo at cameo.com/johnrobins.
More Queenpods are up and if you're the sort of person who wants to listen to a two-hour discussion about the second side of News Of The World or how special John Deacon's bass line on 'Save Me' is, they really are a one stop shop.
If you're a BadGolf fan then we will be back soon, there are just a few boring reasons why it's hard to film rounds of golf at the moment, which I won't go into here. But there will be another great zoom chat uploaded soon so please subscribe to the channel at youtube.com/BadGolf if you haven't already done so. It's not just about golf...well...it is, but it's also about me swearing and how completely lovely Alex Horne is.
Finally, last night my FTFs FTS won TWO BAFTAS! How cool is that?! Her film, Promising Young Woman is released in the UK on Sky Cinema and NOW TV this Friday 16th April. It is absolutely superb, and in a year where some long overdue effort is being made by the film industry to recognise the work of women, it is especially fitting that they are highlighting this specific film. I won't spoil it but suffice to say it deals with an incredibly important subject matter in a really deft way. It's also very funny, looks incredible, with a script to die for and Carey Mulligan wears one of my FTFs dresses in it! And one of her tops! What's not to like?!
Goodbye
Farewell dear friend! I do so hope you have things in the diary now that are no longer distant, but here and now and tomorrow. I am meeting Elis and Dave in a pub garden today which almost feels unreal. It made me think of Gatsby, who picked out the green light at the end of Daisy's dock and stared at it night after night, as we have stared so longingly at indefinite future plans. Gatsby had "come a long way to this blue lawn" only to find the light would always evade him. But for us that green light is here, and real! We have all come a long way to this blue lawn! So here's to lawns!