Off The Cuff Archive::The Curse of Later

They say that lack of sleep can kill you, but I question how they found that out. Did they deprive someone of sleep for so long that they actually expired in a moment of weakness whilst white coated individuals ticked boxes and furrowed their unshaven brows at some evidence against their expectation or did someone drink enough stimulant to effect a full stoppage of the body?

Whatever the answer, I know for a fact that my days as a never sleeping, always drinking person are long gone! For a start, I get drunk on things not found in bottles these days, such as blood, music and camera batteries and I think there must be a cut off date for being able to manage to stay awake for almost four days without a wink of sleep. I've only done it once, and frankly I wouldn't like to repeat the experience again unless there's a large amount of money behind it. They say that you start to see things and imagine you hear things. If seeing people floating about like fish in a tank and imagining that everybody in the world has Welsh accents constitutes that, I think I deserve a Grade A! 


But, as ever, I'm straying from the point. If there was a point to my life, it may well be straying from the point - usually pointless - and discovering gold that no-one else knows about. Thus on a recent Friday night when - going by the screams and shouts coming from outside my window - many people were doing something called 'going out' I was on my sofa with green tea roll cake and strong tea. If I was Madonna, and I'm pretty sure I'm not as millionaires don't need to write blogs it seems, I'd go to the window and cast some love to the crowd come asunder to serenade me with whatever it is they're saying. 

In my case I just fired a serenade of bullets out on them and told them that silence is golden and my ears hurt from toothache. Metaphorically, of course. I was actually trying to watch the always accurately titled Later...with Jools Holland. I keep missing it recently from lack of sleep and it's got me really annoyed at one point. Until I realized that there is a wonderful thing called the internet and it has the facility to catch up with the run of episodes! Thus I rubbed my scented palms together gleefully and made a tankard of tea to be enjoyed whilst the show was on.

It's been said before but for many people the program that they used to try and stay up late for was and possibly still is Later. It was for me and I always prepare for it with a mug of tea, a blanket and a whip to crack if anybody tries to talk during the show. Just as you'd frown upon talking during someone's performance, I do the same here. I called this the Curse of Later and there's a reason...

I love the show, despite what some people may say about 'corporate' music machines - which I disagree with intensely when aimed at Later - and it has introduced me to so many artists I still listen to now I consider it be akin to sitting down with an old friend for to chat and share music. If Later... was on more often in the year I would be a zombie every Saturday morning and it would have been thoroughly worth it. But that's why Gaia made Coffee...

"The Editor" 

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