MUSIC CHAS HODGES JAMES CABOOTER
Streaming on Arrow from tomorrow
Right At Home
A posthumous gem from the late ivory-tinkling half of Chas & Dave. The quality of free-wheeling romps like Street Games, which comes on like a cockney ELO, belies their home demo origins. Also features Trigger, a track from the Only Fools musical.
“We all want what we don’t have,” says psycho hairdresser Claire (Najarra Townsend), admiring herself in the mirror.
Claire has nicked that line from a client she was chatting with the previous night. That’s not all, she’s also wearing her hair, freshly scalped from the woman bleeding out on her salon floor.
Claire, you see, loves to find out what’s going on inside the heads she is carefully pruning. If the chat goes well, the next day, she’ll be wearing your barnet and repeating your best lines.
Claire takes a break from building her grisly wig collection when she is offered a last-minute gig as wedding stylist for Olivia (Brea Grant) whose desperation she mistakes for friendship.
Director Jill Gevargizian loses the tension in a slightly repetitive second act. But I think The Stylist will stay with me. I shall definitely think of Claire when Boris deems it safe for me to get a proper haircut.
I intend to support my local barber but I might not be quite so forthcoming with my holiday plans.
Do you have happy memories? I have lots, and I also like to make more whenever possible, so that on those days when circumstances won’t allow me to do the great things I may want to do I can look back with a smile and a bit of pride in times gone by.
Today is my eldest son Ben’s 21st birthday and it brings back so many great memories of birthdays past. I can remember his birth well when it was touch and go for a minute, birthday parties at bowling alleys and the most memorable when we were invited to the League cup final, Liverpool v Man City at Wembley and got to go on the pitch before kick off – something that, as football fans, was a dream come true (although scoring a winner for England would have been better!).
Then I look at this year – sadly as Ben is not in my bubble I can’t see him today under lockdown rules, so not only will I not be making good memories of his significant birthday but he won’t be able to do what most people do on their 21st and will have to spend it only with his bubble.
Out of adversity, though, can come opportunity, and with lockdown looking like it will be eased if we all do the right things, I am already looking forward to creating more great memories with all my family as soon as we are allowed, planning belated birthday parties and other catch-up celebrations. I call it being “race ready”, an expression stolen from my running exploits. That means not being surprised or unprepared for a day you know will happen but just not sure when. So I will spend the last few weeks of lockdown planning how we can all make up for lost time and have the best time ever.
I hope that you too see the coming weeks as an opportunity to plan to make up for what you have missed and involve others in that process – that will help us all come out of the current mess with a smile and excited anticipation.
The coming weeks are a chance to make up for what you have missed