Day nine, August 15th, New York

John Cleese, as inventor of Fawlty Towers, gets told a lot of stories about bad hotels. One of my favourites that he tells is of mistakenly getting a wake-up call at some ungodly hour, assuring the person it wasn't he that requested the call, drifting back to sleep, and then being woken again by someone apologising for the first call. I just mention this because something similar happened to me today. I shouldn't really complain as I am in an expensive hotel, but you do sort of feel sometimes that as Basil Fawlty once said "I could run this hotel perfectly well if it wasn't for all these damn customers..."

In the US I sometimes meet people I have known in the past only through the Internet. This always worries me a bit as I'm not a great conversationalist really and you wonder if you'll like each other in person. Today I met Lisa Shirley who I haven't even been a very regular chatrter with for many years so I wondered if we'd get it on. But we got on like a house on fire. Chatted for three hours non-stop. She's very engaging and it seems our interests in politics and history, comedy, books etc are very similar. We even seemed to have a similar boss! I got the impression Lisa isn't following this blog - and who can blame her - but if she does look in, Lisa I really enjoyed our chat and it was great to meet you.

You fear being lonely when travelling alone so it's always nice to meet people and have a chat. I haven't really been lonely at all though - I guess this blog in part os taking the place of someone to pour out my thoughts to.

Went to see Jersey Boys this afternoon. Great show. It's the story of Frankie Valli and The Four Seasons and of course all the many hits got a good airing. But it wasn't just a musical where the storyline was incidental - you learnt a lot about the background and history of the group and some of their personal problems. They got a standing ovation at the end and thoroughly deserved it.

A reminder again of the magic of live theatre. The two shows I have seen have cost me an arm and a leg but I don't regret it (much). I remember there was a time when i wanted to be an actor. Sadly the shifts I am on don't even allow me to tread the stage even at the amateur level. I can't say I am a huge loss to the New Zealand drama scene, but to act remains something of an unfulfilled ambition.

It was raining again tonight... it was a very overast day. I may have to book into one of the many tanning lounges here, it seems.

The story of the last few days is the Islamic centre planned for a couple of blocks away at Ground Zero here in New York. The arguments against it seem to be that this is hallowed ground (even though a porn shopp will be closer) and that it will be a breeding ground for terrorism (does it make sense that terrorists would centre their activity on one of the most scrutinised Islamic bases in the country?) Obama jumped into the debate, saying they should be able to base the mosque wherever they like - and then saying the decision was for New Yorkers. Which shows I suppose that this is one of those emotional hot button issues that is resonating with the public more than you might think.

Tomorrow is my last full day in New York... will have to think about what I still want to do.

I feel like a burger...