Brighton lights – Richard Shayler
Luck of the draw
Richard Shayler is hedging his bets
“Ladies and Gentlemen, please place your bets now!” Right, black or red? Black or red? I went black before … so I’ll go for that one. Oh but hang on, If I went for it before I should probably go red this time. No, let’s keep it black. Go with what you know. I did before and I don’t like change.
The sound of the spinning ball pinging back and forth in the roulette wheel is almost a bit too much. The croupier looks aimlessly at everyone betting. I look at him and smile, he immediately looks away. That’s good, though; I don’t want him to be my friend. Friends don’t take all your money, put it in a tube and then send it down another tube. “No more bets, please.” At the last minute, I switch my bet to red.
I close my eyes. The ball ricochets off what seems like a thousand bits of metal. I hear someone muttering under his breath. I smell the felt of the table; it smells like broken dreams. Finally the ball reaches its final destination. I open my eyes. Black fifteen.
I’d lost. And I’d lost a lot. It felt like Lady Luck had cheated on me with my best mate, then cheated on him with me and then cheated on me again with him. It was a never-ending cycle of pain and misery. I left the casino unhappy that she could have done such a thing. But I knew my luck would turn around soon … and it has done! In the form of Brighton Lights!
We’ve got such an amazing week lined up, I feel like the luckiest producer alive. John Bentley, the legendary bassist from ‘Squeeze’, will be performing all week with his new band. And If that wasn’t enough, we’ve also got Chris Foreman (from Madness) on the sofa!
Laura Coleman dropped by from The Onca Gallery to tell us all about her new exhibition. She’s also sailing the pacific ocean: madness! Ingrid Dahle will be talking all things comedy and Cherry Shakewell will be talking all things cabaret. They are both exceedingly good. We’ve got the composer in residence coming in from Glyndebourne to talk about the first ever sci-fi opera; think Blade Runner meets Madame Butterfly. Sinna1 wowed us all with his amazing street art, and to top it all off we’ve got the one and only Harry Shearer as well! Harry Shearer! The voice of The Simpsons’ Mr. Burns … and Smithers!
I looked back at the guest list for the week, and I couldn’t quite believe it. You really don’t want to miss out on any of the shows this week, Wednesday to Saturday at 7pm on Freeview Channel 8, Virgin Media Channel 159 or live online at thelatest.tv.
Remember, if you ever want to be a part of the audience, please email me at richard@thelatest.tv.
We film every Tuesday night. You’ll have to be lucky to get a spot, though; we fill up pretty quick. Although I have heard Lady Luck is single at the moment. Maybe take her on a date?
Follow me: @latestrichard
