Arts
This week’s theme is Poetic Audio Description, which is interpreted to varying levels of literality by our hosts. Do the pieces reveal the inner workings and dark opinions of their writers? Will Charlie return to form after his devastating Lame Duck in ep. 14? And most importantly, will Matt give Charlie the satisfaction he craves, and give up his well won cup?There’s (mainly) one way to find out.BENWhat Are You DoingIt is night, but an orange light is cast by a string of bare outdoor bulbs, many of which are broken. At a bench in a beer garden after hours, sits a man in his late 20s, straddling the seat and looking at the littered floor. Though he makes no effort to leave, his posture suggests that he knows he should. He sips beer from a tulip glass and smokes a found filtered cigarette. Exhaling deeply he stubs it out and pulls an Apple laptop from his backpack, swinging his legs around in a gesture of resolve. He begins to type. The man counts the bulbs, assesses the discarded cigarette ends and pizza boxes, sips his drink, and continues typing. He finishes his drink and leaves the garden to fetch another. And then another when the second runs dry. He stops typing and leans back squinting at the screen. In one move he closes the computer and swivels again to mount the ashen wood. He finishes his drink. He fetches another.MATTWhat Are You DoingThere’s a warm prick in the air.A kitkat wrapper tumbles past, seemingly through sheer boredomIt’s not a bustling high street, by any means10.45amWhy aren’t these people in work?Most of them are elderlyStruggling with their shoppingAs I look on.Is 'blue rinse' still a thing?I daren’t interrupt the stagger of This old man in the oversized suitWhich once fit when he was fatterElse he might keel over from swivelling.Plus he probably doesn’t know.I’d be better off asking This well-permed womanWith a tight off-white bobWith empty bags.CHARLIEWhat Are You DoingThere's a spoken word tentAnd a rusty LDV minibus with the rear windows covered by taupalin Mattress in the back, MOT and road tax missing presumed expired I see bongos. Dormant but ominous at the open back of a canvas tentDreadlocks everywhere, some matted. News that the hosepipe ban has been lifted is yet to reach this once-pleasant parkAre these people happy? If anything they look too happyAll on giff gaff, with no visible means of supportI am trying to understand