That time of year again

Today is the birthday of James Patrick Corrigan, born in the year 1909. He would have been 99 today and his two sons pay their respects. Kitten was quite taken by some of the stories we could tell about Big Jimmy and suggested his life was worthy of some recording. I hope, therefore, to use this blog as a way of achieving that. Anyone reading this blog who has any anecdotes or information about Big Jimmy please let me know. I know some of the stories don't always show my Dad in a good light but do show what a complex and interesting character he was. One story I was told by a serving police officer (now retired) in Bradford is the following. My parents were divorced when I was about 4 or 5. I remember starting school at St. Joseph's with nuns, biscuits and morning milk as I was a Catholic boy and St Joseph's was our parish church. Then I was transferred to Ryan Street (opposite where my Protestant Auntie Doris and Uncle Walter lived). I remember this as being quite traumatic. Anyway, my father was reluctantly divorced as I believe I recounted in last December's blog. This may have been as a Catholic but also I believe because he loved my mother. However he did seem to have an aversion to paying the allowance and did spend a number of times in prison because of non-payment. My Dad was not a stranger to prison. The point of this story though is that the Bradford police would have to arrest my Dad frequently because a warrant had been issued for him by the courts. At first the police would simply action the warrant but it once took a sergeant and five constables to subdue my father and arrest him. After that, I was informed, the police began to be more wary and followed the advice of several local pub landlords. For a start, the police would inform my Dad that a warrant was due to be issued and give him advance notice, asking when they could serve the warrant. The ex-policeman, who told me the story, recounts meeting my Dad on a pedestrian crossing in Bradford Town Centre (the police station is now a separate building but was once part of the grand Town Hall; and my father's main drinking haunts - and that of the indigenous Irish population - was Ivegate, just a few hundred yards away). He knew a warrant was due so mentioned it to my Dad. The latter thought, rubbing his many times broken nose, and replied that he was going away for a few days to visit relatives on the east coast but would be back on Friday and would report himself to the police station. I believe on this occasion he did. However the police would dispatch officers to arrest my Dad on other occasions when he was not so obliging. If they found him to be in a pub at the time, they learned to ask the publican if Big Jimmy had any money left to spend. The publican would report back to the police whether Big Jimmy was still with money in pocket. If he had, the police knew to come back later when he was spent up. They knew that if they tried to arrest him while he still had money in his pocket, he wasn't going without a fight! However if they timed it correctly he would be a model prisoner. He bore no malice but no one was going to make him move if he didn't want to go. This story complements what I know of my father and also compliments good old fashioned policing - know your villain and use whatever works.

I recorded the four ghost stories for the News competition last Friday. The first story appeared in the newspaper last Saturday and the second one yesterday. The final two stories appear today and tomorrow. I am very proud to be part of the competition, reading the stories on the website: www.portsmouth.co.uk/storytime. I am also quite proud of the phrase "actor Peter Corrigan", with which the News subtitle the stories. I think I earned the title because of the speed at which I recorded the stories. No elaborate set up or recording studio , no extensive rehearsals, required here. There are one or two fluffs, usually breathing errors or slight misreading of a word. However all four stories were read and recorded in one take, lasting about 8 - 10 minutes each. I did need to break between each reading but I thought to do the task within the hour was quite creditable. I have always had the facility to sight read well and the Best Beloved is similarly gifted. You give either of us a script or a story and we can give you a worthwhile rendition in moments. Sometimes a little hook is required; I remember someone asking if I had rehearsed a reading from "Laughter on the 24th Floor" because I read it so fluently; but no I hadn't seen the script beforehand but someone had simply said the part I was reading had been originally read by Mel Brooks. That piece of information allowed me to find that slightly hysterical New York yiddish approach and to know that the piece had to delivered at a pace, which only just allowed the audience to laugh (Pace and Space, as Damon Wakelin revered director, says).

I am working with Damon on a two-hander project in January and am really looking forward to it. Damon is a superb actor and as the other actor involved is Martin McBride, who is wonderful to work with, I shall have a lovely time as director. Casting is all important on a project and with a cast as good as this an important rule for the director is to stay out of their way as much as possible and only help when required.

The Havant Ghost Walk, which we inaugurated for the Literary Festival in September 2008, is to be resurrected (good word I think) in 2009. I am working on effects to be used in the revised version and have a technical director lined up to help produce the effects. The Ghost Walk idea seems to have got involved in prolonged negotiations between organisations and I think it is time to wrest back creative control. I did write a business plan for the whole venture but will have to rethink it.

The books of the Havant Literary Festival Society, of which I am Treasurer, have to be audited in readiness for the AGM in January. The Society did rather well in its inaugural year and I just hope the accountant approves of my rusty but earnest book keeping skills.

Headline in Portsmouth News

Getting involved in ghostly goings on

Living the dream

I am amazed and disappointed in myself to discover that my last posting was October 19th.

This week I have been living the dream that I had before I retired and have tried to recreate ever since I retired in January 2007. During the day I have been working on the set of "Wind in the Willows" at the Havant Arts Centre painting flats, caravan and train. Then in the evenings either rehearsing or performing in the play alongside all three of my girls. This is the ideal life for me. I love working with David Penrose at the best of times and as he is the set designer for "Willows" he has spent a lot of time, talent and effort in creating a marvellous theatrical experience for cast and audiences. I am playing the part of Badger with "lovable gruffness" as the preview goes (we are still awaiting the review as I write) and as he only appears in the second half of each Act I am not unduly stressed or taxed. This ideal state of affairs only lasts to December 21st, which is the get out day. As you may know actors wish other actors to "break a leg" at the start of a performance ( I explain this custom on my sister page, "Bench Hamlet 2008"), well David came up with "break a grenouille" for Mark Wakeman, who is playing Toad!

However I have got involved with the Portsmouth News and its ghost writing story competition. This came about purely by chance as I was having a break in the theatre between shifts of painting the set and the phone went inviting me to take part in reading the winning and runner up entries in both the age categories of the competition. Being an old theatrical tart of the first order, I agreed with alacrity. I was then photographed, was taped reading "The Last of the Spirits" from "A Christmas Carol" and told to expect the former in the paper last Saturday and the latter to be broadcast on the newspaper's website.

Imagine my surprise when on Saturday there appeared this huge photograph of me and article covering a good half a page! I hadn't realised the scale of the venture or that because the project was being led by the features editor it would be given so much prominence. The first-born has the copy at the moment but as soon as i get it back I will scan it and publish it on this blog with the URL for hearing my reading. I now await the winners and runners up of each age category been chosen and then I get the chance to read them aloud again for publication on the News website. There was even early talk of videotaping the stories as well - so you can see why I said I was "living the dream".

I couldn't take up the opportunity of working on "Sherlock Holmes", which came from my agent, as it would have interfered with "Wind in the Willows", for which I have grown a set of whiskers anyway and casting directors prefer clean shaven extras where possible. I would have loved to have worked on "Nine", the new Rob Marshall directed musical (we saw the Donmar production with Larry Lamb and Sara Kestelman, and loved it!). I will just have to wait until it reaches the cinema.

There is obviously a need for more self discipline if I am to keep up with this blog and once more I thank all of you who take the time and trouble to read this egocentric view of my very small world.