That time I had a chat with a drunk Chris Barrie

[kahvi.livejournal.com]

So I suppose this is when I post my Chris Barrie story. I haven't really thrown this around a lot, because, well, stupid as it may sound, I feel it's rather private. Some of you may know how vehemently I dislike the whole celebrity culture thing, and how pointless and slightly embarrassing I feel things like autographs are. At events like DJ, I'll join the queue and whatnot to have a chat, but I dislike photo shoots and coffee lounges and similarly set-up things. It's not a value judgement, mind you; it's entirely personal. I like to treat everyone like - well - everyone else, and that sort of thing is the exact opposite of that.

Anyway, I obviously know I didn't really have a "private" moment with Chris, but it felt like a real one, for whatever ridiculous value thereof. I had a chat with him in as close to a natural setting as I'll ever get, where he was because of choice and not obligation. I'll stop rambling now and actually tell you what happened. (Mostly cut and pasted from my e-mail to roadstergal because I'm lazy.)

We had noticed that Chris was seeming unusually happy and relaxed. I mean, it's obviously hard to tell with the man, but it was noticeable. And lovely; it's rare to see him enjoying himself. We were soon told that he had no other engagements that day, so he wasn't under pressure. I'm sure the series announcement factored in, too. Regardless, everyone was still shocked and pleasantly surprised when he showed up for the disco. Apparently, the last time that happened was 1998(!) He headed straight for the dance floor, and everyone flocked around him. I was among the women (and yes, it was mostly women) actually dancing close to him, and he was there for a good long while. When he left, we assumed he'd gone to his room, but no, he was at the bar, chatting away!

Well, given that he seemed to be there because he wanted to, not just to make an appearance, I decided to head over and have a chat. After a while, I got close enough to engage him - I had held out on my five inch heels long enough to do so, making us closer in height, and that was worth it; we were at eye level! And when I got eye contact, I realized, wow, his guard was actually down. He looked happy, but a little lost and introvert-terrified, so I asked him if he was having a good time.

"Oh yes, quite! And you?"

And then we HAD A CONVERSATION. I asked him his opinion on electric cars, and he told me he's not terribly interested,  but when I mentioned I had a Tesla, he perked up and said he'd quite like to test one.

Then, suddenly, his eyes narrowed. I could tell he was trying to focus. It was then I realized that he was drunk. He had been handed pints and wine glasses throughout the evening, so no wonder, but he was desperately fighting it. He stared at my forehead, then said, with consideration:

"You have an H."

"Yes, I do!" I parted my hair to show it more clearly. "I made it myself. "

"It's good."

"It's too big, I know."

"No! No, it's great. It's got... um... bits. On it."

"Glitter?"

"Yes. It's quite good."

Later on, he gave my friend E his wine and even later still, pointed to her with a determined look as he shambled happily to bed; "You're young!!"

"We're all young tonight Chris," I told him. He smiled and ambled away.

Comments

[hazeltea.livejournal.com]

I'm glad you got to meet Chris. Sounds like you had a great time! :D