Something I guess we all aim to achieve is being a better friend. So often trying to be a good friend is one aspect of my life in which I manage to overcome my fears and sacrifice my terror on the altar of friendship. Last month was no different. I went to support my housemate Arkady in his first wrestling performance. For some reason I often feel more comfortable on a stage than in an audience. I have familiarity with my surroundings, some ownership or stake-holdership in the event and, most importantly, control. At wrestling I had none of these things but luckily, what I did have was a fellow nervous nelly on my arm. Mr Matt, complete with cords and looking like his usual eccentric self accompanied me as we ran, a little late, up the steps of a community building on Leppings Lane. We weren’t 100% sure that we were even in the correct place but as we entered the building resembling ‘The Burrow’ i.e. held together by PVA and magic, we reassured ourselves that there probably wasn’t more than one wrestling event on in Hillsborough that night.

A motley crowd of stage night goers, small waif-like children and bemused-looking wrestler WAGs were sat around an impressive looking ring as we took seats tentatively at the back of the room. I can see how Arkady came to this from pantomime. The whole thing is a performance rather than a competition and good guys and villains get time to have plenty of banter with the audience between their moves. On more than one occasion the small children looked in danger of being flattened by a lycra-clad bruiser being thrown over the ropes.  The typical habitat of a Mr Matt or a BlackberryThorn is in a theatre or a library and so our laughter was mainly of the nervous sort.

Our bravery was rewarded just before the end of the first half when Arkady swaggered on in character as ‘The Baron’, a Southern ponce (yes, he’s playing himself ;-P) hurling insults and telling the noisy little ones that it was past their bedtime (I happened to agree). Arkady in lycra isn’t exactly my idea of a pin up poster (think more the tweed of Matt Smith and the voice of Alan Rickman) but he was  excellent. The throws he used on his opponents looked really professional and much better in situ than when he had attempted to demonstrate on me in our kitchen. I didn’t like it when he got thrown and clutched Mr Matt’s arm – he probably still has the finger marks.

Here is a shot of him in action....

The blue blur is Arkady, kindly letting a skinny kid beat him to a pulp.

He lasted a long time in the final fight and went out just after an old guy who could easily have been a Jimmy Saville impersonator.

Though I can’t say I’ll be turning into a regular I certainly did enjoy seeing Arkady in action and can’t wait to help him work on his costume.

More blackberries than thorns on this little adventure!

xxx