The alternative comedian.

Tonight i went to watch Stuart Lee at a rather intimate gig in Oxfordshire. Now i am familiar with most comedians and their style but this was someone with whom i had no experience. I did contemplate using Youtube to familiarise myself with his comedy buti decided not to. In the end i went to the gig blind and with no idea what to expect. I knew the name, he has after all had his own TV show, which i failed to watch. Maybe i should have taken this as a sign that maybe Stuart Lee was not really my thing. I think that it may be ignorant to judge someone without seeing them perform.

Watching Stuart Lee perform is a very surreal experience. He is an intelligent man and it was a very intelligent show. I'm sure that there were people that didn't get certain things. I won't lie, i admit that i struggled at points. When i sat down i didn't know what to expect. Now i know that his shows involve satirical, dry and occasionally dark humour. I laughed but not all of the time. Some things were funny and others just bizarre. It was an enjoyable evening despite leaving me perplexed at times. Would i go and see him again? The truthful answer is i really don't know.

And so we begin.

The other day i picked up the post and waiting for me was a big brown envelope. I looked at the name printed on the back, Her Majesty's Court Service. My initial thoughts ran through every possible reason i could get summoned to court. Have i not paid a ticket? Have i been implicated in a crime i know nothing off? Is someone claiming money in my name? You get the idea. Then like a slap in the face it hit me, Jury service.

Most people probably never get to do this in the 52 years that you are eligable. So i did feel a pang of guilt at feeling it was a burden rather than a privilege. The biggest reason for me feeling this way was the timing. I'm at a very important stage at Uni and it had the potential to really screw things up. Luckily you can defer for 12 months. So i still have to do it but just not right now.

I was reading up on the interweb about the processes and a)it seems a little bit scary, b)it's one hell of a responsibility and c)it appears to induce a high level of boredom. I know you shouldn't judge a book by it's cover but it is hard not to sometimes. Who knows it might be one of the most interesting things i have ever had the fortune of being randomly picked to do.