Oh look, here I am, back at the forum, what a wonderful place to be!!
(And a great place to be seen too.)

Well well well,
look at that, one message back, a couple of e-mails and texts later and NYT makes a return to the forum! Excellent. Everyting is proceeding as I had foreseen. (Name the film that quote is from peeps!)
Not a return to form yet but definitely a beginning and that's all we ask at this early stage.

Yeah, JLamb, think the list may be of more use than I thought at first myself. Anyone wanna add or subtract, the debate continues...
As for my anonymous friend following my last message, I completely agree with Jonathan on this one. Yawn. Just on an identifying buzz; from the scathing reference to "DYT people" it seems it's not a DYTer, it's someone who knows NYT well enough to be able to single out who was in the cast but was not in it, otherwise they'd know that Sarah-Jane, Roisin, Nicola and Ann-Marie are indeed NYTers. Sure, they're the ones on the list who weren't in the cast but as everyone knows (even anyone who bothered to pick up a programme) Ann-Marie was an Assistant Stage Manager, Nicola was on ArtsTrain duty with the show, mostly hair and make-up and Roisin and Sarah-Jane worked on the lights. Being an NYTer isn't about whether you were in the cast or how much time you were around, it's about whether you were part of the experience, whether you shared those times with us.
Perhaps our friend(s) (there you go Jonathan) at the Beeb might do well to remeber some of that spirit of friendship. Or is that beyond them?

Ciara darling, I know we haven't been in touch. Where the hell have you been? I mean I'm as guilty as you. Text soon anyway, I'd love to see you. And the idea about presents from toilet roll inserts is pure genius! That's what everyone is getting from me this year, genius I say!

Catherine darling, your presence brightens this place up. So so cute. (Yet tough and strong too!)

Diana, good to get your message, now strut your stuff on this dance floor and let the masses know you live yet.

Helena, the simple answer would of course be to sign your messages, no? I mean, you know the problem...

Ciaran, you are indeed a man of your word, you kept your part of the bargain, that is well sound. Respect. I got your back and other "street" paraphernalia-like expressions.
(High fiving, is that still cool?)
(Was it ever?)

JLamb, the reason HER debut (Debut darling, debut) wasn't on this weeks movie round up is that due to it's absolutely abysmal performance box office-wise in the States, it was reduced to a pretty invisible release pattern here on the Emerald Isle, the knock on effect of all this being that I simply wasn't able to get to see it. Oh well, think of the extra pleasure I'll have watching it on DVD with, no doubt, all those wonderful extras!! Oooh, I'm all tingly just thinkin' of it.

Oh Ciaran, you've been hearing a lot 'bout the Cass-meister? So the rumours are true then? Hmmmm. AM, you have been remiss in your fact disseminating duties. Shame on you!!
Which reminds me, hope the meal was all fab tonight baby. Rounded out by a nice trip to SoSuMe no less? Right, go without me, why don't you? Well, I'll see you next week as you well know.

Oh. For various unforeseen circumstances my first trip to see Apocalypse Now Redux was scuppered, now my second date to see it has been completely ruined by my intended viewing partner going off and seeing it without me! For God's sake! Now it seems I'm rapidly being forced to go see it on my own, don't make me do that, step forward some brave soul and go see it with me, come on, it's the chance you've all been waiting for; a date with me! Right?
What?
Why the deafening silence?
Oh dear.
Well, if anyone wants to, answers on a postcard to the usual address...

Now everyone feel free to tell me their exam / thesis / essay troubles cos there's nothing Shane (who has finished with all such things) likes to hear more than about someone ELSES exams / thesis' / essays. (That's not the plural of thesis, is it?)

But alas! I do have troubles of my own! Yes, even I! And as yesterday I said I'd fill y'all in on what I'm up to, I'll smash your dreams of Broadway glory and All-Star Westend success right here.


Shane is currently, to make the ol' bit of the jangly stuff before the Crimbo, working out in (Drum-roll please) "Santa World". Yeah, it's a real prestige job too, for Shane is, you guessed it. (And here if you're below the age of oh say, ten, look away now.) playing Santa Claus. Yeah, that's me. Hate to break it to you but I'm Santa. What? What did you think SC stood for all this time?
Yeah, you're a kid. Your (clearly hard up on things to do for the holidays) parents pay £15 per child, £17.50 per adult to bring you to my Children's paradise. There you get some free chocolate, a lollipop, to bounce about on some bouncy castles, see some out-of-work actors dressed as Teletubbies dance about (Sorry kids, I mean, see the Teletubbies dance about) and then you come to the grotto and see, well, me.
Not exactly what three years of drama training had prepared me for and not exactly what you'd expect for £15 a child but that's it, I'm Santa.
Talk to me, tell me what you want, tell me how good you were all year, get your photo taken with me, get a lets say, not exactly very expensive, present and that's your lot. For my part, I get to do it all again. And again. About 800 times a day. And when you consider that most families have more than one kid, that's a whole lot of happiness I'm bringing to the kids this year. Yeah, I'm an all round good guy. I'm not in this for the money, no, not me. I'm not whoring and humiliating myself for the stress that having to buy presents for lots of people brings. No, commercialism is a good thing. All the kids are there cos they love the baby Jesus too. (Let me tell ya, not one kid has mentioned that guy to me.) So, maybe we should forget the presents thing and just go with Ciara's toilet roll inserts. (We can all rob them from the college after all.) And let's call it
Stress-mas from now on, shall we?

But I am in no way cynical about the whole enterprise, I consider Xmas a time of charity, faith and hope. The spirit of Christmas, that's what I'm full of. Oh yes.
No. Really.

Alright, enough talk for now,
the NYT resurgence continues,
join the NYT lives campaign,
read some then write some,
it's our only place of gathering now,

time out,
thanks for watching,
(My, but you got very tall since last year)

SC


P.S. "...there's plenty of room for you and for me,
There's plenty of room for some humanity.."