Making Ends Meet



In the nineties,for a while,  I used to take in " theatrical types" as a way of supplementing my nursing income. At that time Sheffield had a buoyant theatrical scene, ( I think it still does)  and so there was always a number of eclectic odd bods that wanted a bed for the night for a week or two.
The life of a jobbing actor who has secured a, " supporting role" in a production is not quite as glamorous or as lucrative as one may think, and so I learnt very quickly that the likes of Kenneth Branagh or James McAvoy were not going to queue up at my mid Victorian terraced house in Hillsborough.

So who did turn up?
Well I had a very elderly pantomime dame who demanded a big wardrobe for all of his frocks
A tiny 75 years old Indian actor with a prostate problem
A very mature flame haired actress with an eating disorder who said she was only 32( yeah right !)
And an Opera singing Londoner who ended up stealing all of my toilet paper and two cans of mandarin oranges.

Yes... All very glamorous 

45 comments:

  1. Liberace never stayed then? It sounds like never a dull moment.

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  2. My mind is wrestling with the stealing toilet paper AND mandarin oranges. I probably don't need to know. I certainly don't need to know.

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  3. The hotel of choice here for the B-Listers is called 'Pratts'! I put up the sound crew when they made 'Barry Lyndon' here, and that's about it. A hangover every night...

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  4. Toilet paper and mandarin oranges. Well John, it takes all sorts I suppose.

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  5. Makes for good blog stories 20 years on :)

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  6. Toilet paper for removing the grease paint I suppose and at mandarin oranges my mind boggles... So were you never tempted to
    walk the boards yourself ?

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    1. Never heron.... Though chris was a professional hoofer many moons ago

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  7. toilet paper and mandarin oranges? i bet that was the first time and only time the two were burgled together. someone that liked to poop and eat at the same time?

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  8. You might want to cool down about the Indian actor. The Indian news people might get after you for every bit of info about him :-)

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    1. I don't think he was a big enough name KK

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  9. Well, it made life interesting....takes all sorts to make up this world we live in. :)

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  10. So, we need to add 'Theatrical Landlady' to your long list of achievements!

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  11. Yep, we come in all types (people in general). It doesn't have to be theatrical folk though, I had one gal take all my Rx cough syrup and one used my identity to make calls after she left. The phone company and I went around and around.

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  12. The one that pinched the oranges was obviously a Tory MP

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  13. Ah, the innocent 90s. Instead of toilet paper and mandarin oranges, today it would be your iPhone and identity.

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  14. Anonymous1:35 pm

    it's really low to steal a person's toilet paper...and mandarin orange slices (Don would have said "good riddance" on the MOS, 'cause he didn't like MOS) :D

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  15. From the sound of your motley collection you could have provided the Ugly Sisters AND Widow Twanky!

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  16. Anonymous2:05 pm

    My good friend in college occasionally looked like that picture.

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  17. Yah but.....the contacts you made....really John!! The contacts!

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    1. There were a few more... But I think I will remain stumm

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  18. I understand the toilet paper -- to wrap ones hair when one goes to bed at night. But mandarin oranges? Did he or she steal your jello mold too?

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  19. Good thing you and Chris dont have room for boarders today - they'd be stealing your bleach and scotch eggs!

    Nancy (gratefully in a 1-bdrm apt) in Iowa

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  20. Manadarin oranges? How bizarre!!!

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  21. A back packing Australian friend of mine used to nick toilet rolls from the pub !

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  22. What is it about the toilet paper. I boarded a college student for a year. He regularly clogged the toilet with reams of paper. I called him TP Tony.

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  23. Please say you are going to write a book!!!

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  24. Did you have anything else to eat, or were the Mandarin oranges it ?
    I'm suspecting he could have padded his' bits' with the toilet paper, looks more realistic on stage.
    ~Jo

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  25. I used to be involved with someone who never bought t.p. He took it from work. It was lousy toilet paper -- very thin and rough.

    Love,
    Janie

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  26. I'm sure life in the theatre is nothing like as glamorous as it's cracked up to be. Cheap lodgings, crummy dressing rooms, intolerable colleagues, stony-faced audiences. I hope at least your lodgers were comfortable and well-fed.

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    1. Well the the gal with the eating disorder was well fed.....until she vomited

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  27. It takes all sorts, as my mum used to say.

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  28. I wish they all would have blogs now; I'd love to hear them talking about their landlord...

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  29. We know somebody who's house got broken into. The thieves took laundry detergent and a carton of eggs.

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  30. My family had a rooming house when I was growing up... male college students. I was (barely) a teenager and those guys were like brothers to me (they even monitored my dates... damn!)... probably because of that, Bill & I have always had our house open to whoever needed a place to crash... for a night... or longer. The angriest I got was when one of the girls got in my drawers (NO... my dresser drawer) and "borrowed" my panty hose. I was SO pissed! Heck, I'll give up my mandarin oranges before I'd let anyone in my drawers!!!! Maybe we could compare notes on these folks who we take in... maybe they came from there to us...

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    1. I suspect that your stores would be more interesting than mine.... I only acted as landlord for a year or so....I expect you to write an interesting blog about it

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  31. Your life has been one long non-stop series of amazing adventures, hasn't it!?!

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  32. You have an open door open heart kind of life John don't you? My dad worked in theatres all over the place many many years ago and told us lots of stories about landlords...good and bad.

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  33. Wish I had such interesting people to share with in my Uni days.

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