Strange Days Indeed

Yesterday was our day off so I went and saw a lot of shows. I won't tell you which ones, because they didn't change my favourites list in any way. This is the festival: you can make your own wrong choices - just like I did.

Halfway through the day something slightly strange happened: I bumped into one of the Sues (the one who is sometimes called Dafydd) and he asked me if I played any melodic instruments. I said the piano, but he knew that already and that's his instrument. Then I said the accordion and he got this look on his face which suggests a lot of rapid thinking is going on.
Then he asked how you could play 'I will survive' on an accordion and I started singing (which took me slightly by surprise, but as everything had already turned slightly strange, it kind of fitted in).
His next question was if I'd consider becoming a Sue if he couldn't find a violinist. I said yes.

As the day progressed and I sat through more shows, I put the thought aside and classified it as a backup solution.
Day turned into night and moved into the Brooke's Bar. All of the Sues came to find me there and started discussing the details of my entry into Sue World. I will have to wear a wig and a skirt but I won't have to wear make up.
A few weeks ago I stood at the edge of the gaping hole of fire in Turkmenistan with a former Soviet army captain who said: "This is the perfect place for a murder. I could push you in and no one would ever find out." I was in the middle of the desert with not a single soul in sight. It didn't make me nervous at all.
Wearing a skirt will.

To a lot of people at the festival this would probably not be such a strange event.
For me the strangeness lies in the fact that I will soon be on stage in two shows per day, and in both of them I ended up there accidentally.
But the thousands of performers out there should not feel threatened: this is not the start of a career change. I will not steal your jobs. Mine is much more fun.