Wednesday 3rd December

It's 7:55pm. The phone rings.
Ring ring.
Me: "Hi."
Alex K: "Hi, how's it going?"
Me: "I went out to Urbis last night. It was a good night."
Alex K: "What happened?"
Me: "I was there on business and later I went around the exhibition. There was champagne, wine tasting, later on I met some people who invited me to TV21."
Alex K: "How come you went there?"
Me: "They invited me, why have you been there?"
Alex K: "Yes."
Me: "They bought me a drink which was nice. I said I didn't want them to. Then we didn't get on well, they were being wise guys so I met another random guy who used to study in Manchester."
Alex K: "Good."
Me: "How about you?"
k: "I've been working on this film."
Me: "Which one?"
Alex K: "The hitman one."
Me: "I thought you'd already done it."
Alex K: "This is the prequel. Do you want to be in it? You're good at acting."
Me: "Playing what?"
Alex K: "A guy playing poker."
Me: "Where is it?"
Alex K: "We haven't got a location yet, it'll be in Manchester."
Me: "I'll see."
Alex K: "Ok I'll let you know when we're doing it."
We chat a while.

Alex K: "What are you doing tomorrow?"
Me: "Going to bed."
Alex K: "You're just going to bed?!"
Me: "I'm going out on Friday why do you want to go out?"
Alex K: "There's a play at the Contact Theatre, you might meet some people there."
Me: "How much is it?"
Alex K: "£6 to get in."
Me: "What sitting in the dark watching plays, how am I going to meet people?"
Alex K: "Afterwards in the bar, it's up and coming actors."
Me: "Isn't everyone these days."
Alex K laughs.
Alex K: "Yeah, everyone's up and coming."
We laugh.
Me: "Theatre isn't my thing unless it's a story I want to specifically see. We could go to bars in Didsbury at 6:30."
Alex K: "Ok, I'll let you know. How did the social event go on Monday?"
Me: "I realised almost everyone who goes to social events and speed dating want to meet people with a big group already. Although they all go there because they haven't got a group so they all ignore each other."
Alex K laughs.
Alex K: "That's true. They do."
Me: "It's all a joke. Like the Northern Quarter where people say they go to mix with media types. They never speak to other groups so they don't know who they're around at the bar. And everyone we met in the Northern Quarter worked at Selfridges."
We laugh.
Me: "And that people say they go to bars to meet people but they're anti-social if you talk to them. And if you ask them who's joined their group in the last 6 months they'll say no-one."
Alex K: "It's right."
Me: "It's groundbreaking stuff I'm coming up with here. I'm going out this Friday."
Alex K: "I'm working on Friday. Besides, we've already been around the whole city and not met anyone."
Me: "We've had good times and met some people."
Alex K: "Like the night we found that doorway from the hotel to the nightclub!"
We laugh.
Me: "I've got a new approach. I need some marketing for my nights out. It's got to sound like something new, like a revolution. It's what people like."
Alex K: "I used to say that about business. It's got to be like a revolution so people get into it. Can't you rebel against the internet?"
Me: "I already have. I don't use the internet and I feel better. Maybe I forgot about rebelling about that."
Alex K: "What then?"
Me: "It's got to be like a secret club because it's what people respond to."
Alex K: "You could start a facebook page to recruit people and send an email once a week."
Me: "That's the thing. Everyone is on facebook advertising their night out but all you end up with is a load of pictures with one person cringing because the other one met them, put their arm around them and wanted a photo with them. Besides, the point of this was not to get using social networking."
Alex K: "You could go on once a week."
Me: "If you don't use the internet though. You meet people and in between meeting them on Friday and calling them on Wednesday they get all messed up by spending all that time on social networking and reading rubbish."
Alex K: "There's so much information being thrown at you on the TV and internet. It becomes so overwhelming that people forget to trust themselves."
Me: "That's good stuff. You put it well. Wait a minute, I'll write it down! Maybe this is the kind of marketing angle we need. Famous quotes by Alex K!"
We laugh.
Me: "Let me know if you're coming out tomorrow."
Alex K: "When will you be in. I'll call you at 1:30."
Me: "I might go out in the day but I'll probably be in."
Alex K: "Ok."
Me: "See you later."



Click here for Season 2 Index