£75k to block pest callers
THE Scottish Government have backed a crackdown on nuisance callers by providing £75,000 towards new blocking technology that will be installed in new homes. COMEDIAN Russell Brand is happy to admit fatherhood has helped to tame him.
The 42-year-old has always been a bit of a handful – as an anarchic comedian, political activist and ex-addict of booze, drugs and sex.
The madcap style that made his name hasn’t disappeared but he has found inner peace.
Marriage – to Laura Gallacher, sister of TV sports presenter Kirsty and daughter of Scots golf legend Bernard – seems to suit Brand and he is loving being a dad to their 11-month-old daughter, Mabel.
“Fatherhood has changed me because I’ve got this whole new person in my life that I’m completely in love with, two people that I’m completely in love with, in fact, three including me – it’s a good thing I put myself last,” he said.
Brand’s personal life used to be anything but settled. There was his short-lived marriage to singer Katy Perry, then a reported on-off relationship with Jemima Goldsmith.
All this came around the time he was promoting his 2014 book Revolution – a rant calling for a global change involving radical wealth redistribution and spiritualism featuring ramblings about celebrity, politics and corruption in between.
Now, he seems to be in a much more positive frame of mind as he discusses his latest book, Recovery, a self-help guide which follows the 12-step programme he applied to his own drugs and alcohol addiction.
The comedian, who has been drug-free for 14 years, said: “My relationships with other people can be problematic and the 12-step tool helps you to deal with people and with yourself.
“Everyone’s got to deal with a problem – whether it’s heroin, food or gambling, or you’re in a job or relationship you don’t like.”
He’s self-deprecating and funny in the book, admitting his own numerous flaws and weaknesses, and recounting