Well the first bit of news is that I've been offered a job - my fourth play this year! I've never had such a busy year in all my career. this is by way of an extreme contrast to last year - my least busy year after a run of about nine reasonably good ones. I won't talk about the job yet as I'm not sure when I'm allowed to, but it'll be fun and silly and I'll get to spend Christmas somewhere I haven't been before which, by all accounts is a delightful place.
Secondly, I can now do a North Walian accent. Big news, I know, and explains the Corgi picture. The thing is, it's a really weird accent if you're not accustomed to it - pretty different to the soft and melodic undulations of South Wales. It's placed at the back of the mouth and uses dark 'L's and Scouse-influenced 'c' and 'k' sounds, like the 'ch' in the Scottish word 'loch'. It sometimes sounds Welsh, sometimes Scouse, sometimes Scandinavian and sometimes Eastern European. I had my first session with a new client, Jess, who needs it for a show, so I spent hours listening to whoever i could find speaking it. Now I want to show it off all the time, and if people don't believe it's a real accent I just point them to Glyn from Big Brother 7. Remember him? Google him, he's adorable.