Worried about letting another Comedy Festival pass me by, I hurriedly shelled out for tickets to see Rich Hall last week. The timing was great – we squeezed in an hour or so at a wonderful Lebanese restaurant (first in Australia est. 1959) in Russell Street, where an ultra laid-back waiter served some of the best hummus (and mezze platter) I’ve had in ages. You always know it’s going to be good when there’s a pool of olive oil laying in the dip. Just like the arabs make it. Anyhow – we sloshed down a bottle of Windy Peak Pinot and trooped off to see the show. It was quite good, and I had a sore head from laughing so much, but I realised pretty early on that the booze had taken a bit of drama out of the occasion. I was probably a touch slower to get the jokes and it made me feel tired and disconnected. I notice it at the football also – it only takes a beer or two and it’s harder to remember the important plays; that delicious nervous tension has been dulled away. I suppose that’s why alcoholics drink. But, there are times when you might want that because people are more relaxed and uninhibited. So, no more booze before shows or movies. I’ll save it for nights like last friday at Yelza in Fitzroy, when someone in our group had a bit of minor skirmish with the waitress over the seating. I had already had a quite a few drinks at the time and didn’t mind her being incredibly rude to our group afterwards. What a great night. Sorry, no photos this post.