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poliphiloI saw a famous person yesterday. He was in Marks and Spencer's doing a bit of shopping. He looked rougher and shabbier than he does on TV (because, of course, he hadn't passed through the make-up room) but the face is unmistakeable.
I couldn't place him at first- and thought I must know him IRL- which raised the question, "Do I know him well enough to go up and say "hello'- and would it be rude not to?" Once the penny dropped I found myself wanting to look at him and simultaneously not wanting to be caught looking at him, while the only option that was unavailable was the kind of indifferent sweeping scrutiny with which one normally scans strangers. I would never go up to a celebrity and accost them with my admiration- and in this case I wasn't even tempted because, though I know rather a lot about the man (he has been forthcoming about his colourful private life)- I have never engaged with his work. His presence excited me impersonally; he was a rarity- but not of a kind that I collect.
He was being served at the check-out immediately ahead of us as we loaded our purchases on the conveyor belt- and I kept my distance, pretending to be unaware of him, feeling all the while that I was under the cameras and giving a lousy performance.
I was glad when he paid up and left the store and I could go back to acting unselfconsciously.
I couldn't place him at first- and thought I must know him IRL- which raised the question, "Do I know him well enough to go up and say "hello'- and would it be rude not to?" Once the penny dropped I found myself wanting to look at him and simultaneously not wanting to be caught looking at him, while the only option that was unavailable was the kind of indifferent sweeping scrutiny with which one normally scans strangers. I would never go up to a celebrity and accost them with my admiration- and in this case I wasn't even tempted because, though I know rather a lot about the man (he has been forthcoming about his colourful private life)- I have never engaged with his work. His presence excited me impersonally; he was a rarity- but not of a kind that I collect.
He was being served at the check-out immediately ahead of us as we loaded our purchases on the conveyor belt- and I kept my distance, pretending to be unaware of him, feeling all the while that I was under the cameras and giving a lousy performance.
I was glad when he paid up and left the store and I could go back to acting unselfconsciously.
no subject
Date: 2023-02-03 09:21 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2023-02-03 10:55 am (UTC)