London's burning...

...about a mile from where I'm sitting at my computer comparing acting courses. Every hour or so I check the BBC news channel and watch louts throwing bottles, breaking windows and setting fire to the communities in which they live. A mixture of testosterone, boredom, ignorance, bravado and ignorance lies behind such behaviour and it will die down eventually, but it's depressing to think that for many young people - mostly men, but some women - this is the human condition, this kind of action makes them feel good.

A couple of glasses of rosé and Chill (that's the name of the station) playing on the DAB radio is enough to restore my mood and I spend an hour or so online compare acting courses. There are several, but I haven't come across what I'm looking for - 8 to 12 hours at the weekend focusing purely on presentation of a text. The Actors' Centre is offering some interesting one-off day / evening courses, but it isn't clear if they're open to everyone or simply to AC members, and there are a couple of weekly courses that I want to follow up. The other option is to focus on my voice, and I'm looking at a two-day voiceover course at the London Academy of Media Film & TV and making a list of voice / accent coaches.

Once I've booked a course, next on the agenda will be to seek out some auditions. I know, I'm trying to run before I can walk, but my age, I can't afford to dawdle. If I don't get a paid part or a capable agent by 30 June 2012, I will stop looking for acting / voiceover work - and what a loss to the world that would be . . .