PaulineMcLynn.com

judas

Pauline McLynn — Thu, 09 Jul 2009 23:08:36 GMT

I went to a theatre show tonight that my niece has been working on (Production Intern, no less) while on work experience in Dublin. She is Ruby of the Stockwellians and 15 now. She has also been sequestered to Rough Magic (of whom you know I am practically bred, theatrically – try saying that quickly while drunk…) and has apparently archived the whole feckin THING (whatever that be, but take it as read tis the company and all 25 years of stuff) over the last fortnight. Good news is that the 2 weeks have been productive for all and have FLOWN. She wants to work in The Industry so I am delighted for her. And the show tonight was great – it’s called THE LAST DAYS OF JUDAS ISCARIOT and deals with just that in a courtroom atmosphere with lots of laughs and clever, insightful writing and acting and direction. I loved it – always thought Judas got the rum end of things and am still of that opinion but what I also think now is that he is US, you and I, faulted as feck…

Pauline McLynn — Thu, 09 Jul 2009 16:13:46 GMT

JULY 2009
Monday 13th – appearance on LOOSE WOMEN (tv)

Tuesday 14th – radio interview with Robert Elms BBC London Live (c2.30)

Wednesday 15th – morning appearance on STEVE WRIGHT SHOW (tv) 1pm – event at Peterborough Library

AUGUST 2009
Thursday 6th – afternoon event at CUIRT Festival, West Belfast

Sunday 9th, 16th, 23rd – new series of JAM AND JERUSALEM shown on BBC1

Sunday 30th – Edinburgh International Book Festival (8.30) with Paul Torday

strawberries

Pauline McLynn — Wed, 08 Jul 2009 22:08:38 GMT

I was at the launch of a first novel tonight and it reminded me all over again how special that event is for anyone who follows the writerly path. A first book is the one you get to spend most time on in as much as it’s the one in your head for longest. Then it’s onto the treadmill and although you (hope to) get better all the time there is never quite that same sense of having taken on the world and (somehow) won. And so the lovely Amy Huberman, for it was she, a wonderful Irish actress, has joined the ranks. I wonder if she’ll ever have to face what Lorraine Kelly did on a book tour once. Apparently a lad queued up holding a large box and the publicist got a bit worried, as indeed one might. Turns out this guy had made a bucket list (things to do before you die?) and circa number 6 was to feed Lorraine Kelly strawberries and cream…which he did…and she was a tremendous sport about it (the attendant photographers were delighted also with the photo op) but what strikes me is how RANDOM such a thing is to have on your bucket list in the first place. Mine might include seeing the Grand Canyon but anything like the strawberries and cream moment? – oh, hang on, as long as George Clooney has a pulse there is a definite threat that he’ll be on a list of mine and it’ll involve something I would very much enjoy – fair enough so…I get it, Mr Strawberries and Cream and Lorraine Kelly…

software

Pauline McLynn — Tue, 07 Jul 2009 09:23:01 GMT

Ah, technology giveth and taketh away. While I was waiting at Jo’burg airport and had a bit of wifi access left I used it to follow the scores in the men’s tennis final – it was SO exciting and quite the best match I never saw. But here at the Dublin base the Irish laptop has decided to lose the software needed to activate my dongle thingy (I know, I know, ‘nurse – the screens!’ Hence no blog last night – well, to be perfectly honest, it was a mixture of that and chatting with my sis in law (Rebecca) and drinking wine and the challenge was too too much when I approached it from a northwesterly direction. I have now resorted to the UK system which will no doubt cost an arm and a leg cos I am roaming…
The flight back to the London yesterday was most pleasant except that I couldn’t sleep and my right knee got hopelessly locked and left me with a limp yesterday – of course I immediately thought Deep Vein Thrombosis but seems not and all is back to rights today. The not sleeping led to one great thing – we flew above spectacular thunder and lightening storms over the Congo (I checked the flight monitor thingy and I think that’s where we were) – just remarkable and I think I was the only one awake and looking out at the amazing show nature was putting on over Africa. It was thrilling and humbling – nature doing its thing and me in a tin can in the sky courtesy of man’s ingenuity. Wow.

airport

Pauline McLynn — Sun, 05 Jul 2009 15:59:50 GMT

I am sitting in Jo’burg airport having a beer and contemplating what we did before WIFI/internet access and mobile phones and communication at will. It’s both a blessing and a hindrance, of course, ‘cos there’s no hiding anywhere now. One of the things I started off with when i wrote THE WOMAN ON THE BUS was the wondering about how long any person could hide from their life and the answer is not very long. For example, I used my credit card 90 minutes ago – that’ll be on a screen somewhere now and I am presently using paid for access to the ‘interweb’ – again very traceable.
Anyhow, some things I noticed yesterday and failed to report – there was no queue for the pristine and well stocked ladies loo in Ellis Park after the match – then again, us women weren’t exactly LEGION at the event – still…big plus there for South Africa.
There were some Scots behind us in the crowd, playing Flower of Scotland on bagpipes, and wearing kilts and English Bobby’s helmets, and that struck me as incongruous at first but then I realised it is the UNITED Kingdom (sometimes) so why not?
My favourites, though, were the lads in full formal Lions garb and pith helmets – you could see them, sitting in a row, from any part of the stadium – and these were the Gibraltor supporters, I learned.
Off on the 11 or so hour flight to London’s Town now and from thence, later tomorrow, to Hibernia…I’ll report from That Other Side when all’s flung into the washing machine and a bottle of Fine Wine is opened to share with my sis in law Rebecca (the brilliant painter) on that end of the works.