YND 15: What Are You Doing

This week’s theme is Poetic Audio Description, which is interpreted to varying levels of literality by our hosts. Do the pieces reveal the inner workings and dark opinions of their writers? Will Charlie return to form after his devastating Lame Duck in ep. 14? And most importantly, will Matt give Charlie the satisfaction he craves, and give up his well won cup? There’s (mainly) one way to find out. BEN What Are You Doing It is night, but an orange light is cast by a string of bare outdoor bulbs, many of which are broken. At a bench in a beer garden after hours, sits a man in his late 20s, straddling the seat and looking at the littered floor. Though he makes no effort to leave, his posture suggests that he knows he should. He sips beer from a tulip glass and smokes a found filtered cigarette. Exhaling deeply he stubs it out and pulls an Apple laptop from his backpack, swinging his legs around in a gesture of resolve. He begins to type. The man counts the bulbs, assesses the discarded cigarette ends and pizza boxes, sips his drink, and continues typing. He finishes his drink and leaves the garden to fetch another. And then another when the second runs dry. He stops typing and leans back squinting at the screen. In one move he closes the computer and swivels again to mount the ashen wood. He finishes his drink. He fetches another. MATT What Are You Doing There’s a warm prick in the air. A kitkat wrapper tumbles past, seemingly through sheer boredom It’s not a bustling high street, by any means 10.45am Why aren’t these people in work? Most of them are elderly Struggling with their shopping As I look on. Is 'blue rinse' still a thing? I daren’t interrupt the stagger of This old man in the oversized suit Which once fit when he was fatter Else he might keel over from swivelling. Plus he probably doesn’t know. I’d be better off asking This well-permed woman With a tight off-white bob With empty bags. CHARLIE What Are You Doing There's a spoken word tent And a rusty LDV minibus with the rear windows covered by taupalin Mattress in the back, MOT and road tax missing presumed expired I see bongos. Dormant but ominous at the open back of a canvas tent Dreadlocks everywhere, some matted. News that the hosepipe ban has been lifted is yet to reach this once-pleasant park Are these people happy? If anything they look too happy All on giff gaff, with no visible means of support I am trying to understand

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YND 15: What Are You Doing is an episode from You're Nearly Dead by The Very Good Network.

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This episode was published on Aug 27, 2018.

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