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Hey Reader,

Humans are weird.

The things humans do are weird.

Here are some of them:*

• Gathering around a person whose birthday it is and aggressively singing happy birthday at them. What is one supposed to do while this is going on? Asking for me.
• Clapping. Such a weird thing to do, when you think about it.
• Clapping when a plane lands. (Should be an immediate flying ban imhbco.)
• Working 40 hours per week. WHY? Why is this normal?
• Giving every detail of our lives, habits, financials, preferences, health to billionaire sociopaths so they can sell more stuff we don’t need to us.
• Letting milk curdle and solidify, then eating it. (Ummmmm delicious delicious cheese.)
• Letting cheese go mouldy then eating it. (Ummmm delicious delicious stilton.)
• Seeing someone you know on a train and being happy about it. (I hide.)
• Keeping a cupboard full of plastic bags just in case.
• Asking people “how are you” when you really just mean “hello”. STOP IT.
• Teaching children it’s rude to interrupt then calling you antisocial when you stand in a corner alone because you can’t join a conversation because it’s rude to interrupt.
• Telling children off for asking questions.
• Apologising when someone bumps into you.
• Apologising to inanimate objects when you bump into them.
• Saying “bless you” after someone sneezes. Presumably to stop their soul escaping their body and eating you alive.
• Letting the average person drive a car. Have you MET the average person???
• Big weddings.
• Blowing out birthday candles. Happy germ day!
• Neckties.
• Making children hug adults when they don’t want to.
• Salad bars. I call them sneeze bars.

You’ll probably vehemently disagree with some of these. That’s okay; it’s life. We’re allowed to disagree.

Anyway — these little mundane observations are where life happens. Every single person I know could write a whole article off the back of almost all of these, and it’d tell us a huge amount about who they are.

Cool, eh?

So next time you’re feeling creatively stuck, dig this email out, pick something off the list, and write your opinion about it. You’ll be amazed at what pops out.

This is an exercise you can use anytime, anwhere, for any form of creative block, just to get you unstuck.

But if you’re looking for more serious guidance on your book — maybe you’re not quite convinced your idea is All That, or you’re being more vague than you’d like, or you’d like to work with someone whose superpower is seeing the depth of your brilliance (that’s ME!) — I have several spots to work with me in July and August.

Drop me an email.

(*Inspired by Katie Skelton)

And now it’s time for the Goodie Bag. Grab a beverage of your choice, sit back, and enjoy what I’ve found this week…

This bilingual podcast that Sarah told me about

Sarah Silva and I were talking about all sorts in yesterday’s Power Hour, and she mentioned The Wurst Guide to Living in Austria — a German-English bilingual podcast and I loved this idea! It’s an Australian living in Vienna, and an Austrian native, talking about all the things you can do in Austria. The Austrian guy speaks in German, and the Australian guy speaks in English, and they converse in this way. Two languages, one conversation. Slightly different format for a podcast.

Dickhead of the week with Felice Ayling

This is by FAR the catchiest tune on LinkedIn and also it’s very funny and also it’s exhausting because Felice chooses one of the many MANY men who bother her on LinkedIn every week, and gives him a little spotlight. Actually it’s not just men she calls out. She’ll call out women who are batting for the patriarchy too. Mostly, though, it’s men. Felice is aces because she’s alllll about women speaking up more, and men speaking up for women, because — surprise surprise — the world is a better place for ALL of us when women are safe, heard, and empowered. Hurrah!

This Thread full of Australians

Seriously though, I’ve just learned quite a lot more about Northern Australia and had a good old laugh at the same time.

This beautiful animation about a rock that made me cry

I love a delightful short film animation and this one just made me shriek OMG LEAVE HIM ALONE repeatedly at the screen while crying like a wartime widow. An absolute masterclass in emotional storytelling. Anyone who can get me to empathise with a ROCK is winning at life. (TBF I empathise with everything, so…)

This award-winning TEDx Talk on men’s mental health

My mate Dave James, speaking coach extraordinaire and the reason I am a stand-up comedian and very kind and generous human, did a TEDx Talk last year and it was really, really good. Then this year he won an award for it, because everyone recognised how really, really good it is. It’s about such an important topic too, because men are not okay because the patriarchy harms ALL OF US. Watch it here.

What I’m reading

The sequel to Legends & Lattes by Travis Baldree is Bookshops & Bonedust and I am loving it almost as much. Cosy fantasy? Yes please. All day long. It’s making me want to reread the entire Discworld series, which I haven’t done for a couple of years….

What I’m writing

All sorts of things but I’m beginning to think about my next gig opening for a full-length show at the Birmingham Comedy Festival in October. I’ll let you know when tickets are available so we can trap you in a room and extract cash from you for lolz.

Word of the week

Irredentist (n)

Not, as I first though, an irradiated dentist. This describes a person who advocates for the recovery of territories that were once a part of their nation. If you can use it in a sentence today I’ll be very impressed.

Quote of the week

I like this. Because it’s “go in the direction of your dreams” which means you may or may not end up there but certainly interesting things will happen.

Peace out. Stay hydrated!

TTFN,

Vicky 🫡

p.s. Know someone who might enjoy this email? Please forward it to them and get them to sign up here.