What did you just say?


Anyone who follows me on Twitter will probably have noticed that I have a bit of a fascination for overhearing snippets of conversation.

There’s nothing voyeuristic about it. I’m not snooping. I just enjoy the confusion that often comes with hearing a statement entirely out of context.  For a split second you are let into someone else’s world – and just as you’re getting comfortable, the door slams shut, with you left on the outside, trying to suss out the circumstances.

The best ones often involve mobile phones. Hearing just one side of the conversation only adds to the confusion. Sometimes, you are left intrigued:



...and other times, the mundanity captures your imagination:



One thing all these overheard conversations serve to illustrate is: none of us know what we're doing. We all stumble our way amateurishly through life, trying to make the best of our circumstances. Nothing is rehearsed, and as a result we often make mistakes. Most people don’t give this a second thought - but if you’re hyper-aware, you can’t help but pick up on it.

Here are a few favourite conversations I have heard and subsequently tweeted, just for the sake of it:
 
"I said 'I've got tent pegs, but they're the medieval reenactment ones.'" 

 Boyfriend to girlfriend: "When I saw your dad for the first time I thought 'f**king hell."

 "I reckon my elbow's got a lot to do with my shoulder."

  "My dad was a fan of John Wayne - but then he was very much a man's man." 

 Child to Father: "Is that a white train?"

 "He'd like a filter coffee; he was doing a mouthwash so he couldn't talk."

 "I couldn't be a lesbian if I wanted to."

"A mate at school was always breaking his bones. I think he had something wrong with his stuff."

 Customer: "A very dishevelled man just walked in. I think he might be a tramp." Barmaid: 'What's 'dishevelled'?" 

"It was when Silvia was in India that she caught the disease where all her hair fell out."  

The other day we interviewed the musical comic Jay Foreman for our MoreThan Mostly Comedy Podcast – and during our chat he mentioned how, since becoming a comedian, he finds it much harder to find a contrived, honed joke funny; these days, he is much more amused by a happy accident. It’s much the same for me; I thrive on looking at something mundane and everyday from an unexpected angle; turning it on its head to point out its ridiculousness.

Possibly one of the finest instances of this occurred after Glyn and I previewed our 2010 stand-up show 'Big in Small Places' at the Soho Theatre. We were performing in the room upstairs to a largely industry-based audience; always a tough crowd, but we managed to get through it. However well I thought it had gone, my ego was soon brought crashing to the ground when overhearing a couple on their way out.

“Those two were very funny”, said the woman to her partner. “I wonder if they’d ever consider trying stand-up.”

THEY'D JUST BEEN WATCHING US DO IT FOR OVER AN HOUR.

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