Three weeks. 21 days. And I’m still alive.

I have tried, over the last few days, to dip my toe into a little of Manchester’s night life. Friday, I hung out in the FAB Cafe, a wonderfully groovy Sci-Fi theme bar (complete with Dalek and old Gerry Anderson TV21 covers framed on the walls) which was slightly let down by their decision to play decent music so quietly you could barely notice it was there over the sound of other people talking. Then, last night I snuck along to the Tiger Lounge for a ‘Psychotronic Film Night’ of Eraserhead and Wild At Heart. The place itself was great, an atmospheric sixties-style dive bar complete with weird wallpaper– the crowd was a little strange (as you’d expect from a David Lynch double bill), and I was slightly worried by the hairy leather-jacket wearing guy who seemed to be getting a little too excited and entertained by entirely the wrong moments in Wild At Heart. The films themselves… well, Eraserhead is still an endurance test (although a truly fascinating and skin-crawlingly perverse one), and I’d forgotten how ballistically insane Wild At Heart is – it’s the demented Fifties/Elvis vibe that makes the film completely otherworldly, and it’s got a realy sense of energy to it. It’s also refreshing to see a Lynch film that doesn’t put the narrative completely through the wringer, and which also features a young and energetic Nicolas Cage before winning the Oscar and appearing in action movies drained all the spirit out of his acting.

Today was a little difficult. I find it hard at times to cope with the fact that I am single again – that I’m in a situation where I am, essentially, alone, and am likely to be for quite some time. It’s never a mode of living I was particularly comfortable with, and I’ve never been especially good at the whole process of meeting people and acquiring new friends. Nevertheless, however tempted I may be to curl up in the corner and hide, I’ve got to keep myself going. I can’t let this beat me. I’m going to get through this, and I’m going to be stronger as a result.

I’ve got tomorrow – `and then, life gets really weird as I return to London for a limited nine-day engagement to do as much of the London Film Festival as I can handle. Hold onto your hats – it’s going to be a bumpy ride…