FAQ
Why Rare Gravy?
Rare Gravy is the website of Gareth Richards, an amateur actor, director and graphic designer based in Bournemouth, Dorset.
In a coincidence so unbelievable that it would ruin an otherwise perfectly good book, there is another Gareth Richards who lives in Bournemouth and who also gets up on stage, in his case as a stand-up comedian.
Unluckily for me, my namesake got in there first with the whole twitter and website thing (see his site here, if you have become lost and need redirecting), and so I needed to call my site something different.
Rare Gravy is the name under which I do my design work, and comes from my Granny back in Scotland.
When I was a wee lad, for my birthday one year the whole family were taken out to have an Indian meal (I've loved curries all my life), and, despite her reservations about "a' that furren muck" (she preferred a no-nonsense Scottish diet of mince and tatties and Black Bun), Granny came along too.
She was nervous of the menu, never having eaten a curry before, but the waiter was charm personified and talked her through it, eventually getting her to agree to try the mildest dish on offer. Sure enough, the meal was delivered and the whole restaurant (Granny was not a quiet woman) waited with interest for her verdict.
"Hmm", she said thoughtfully, as the place held its breath, "No' bad."
She took another mouthful of chicken in Korma sauce, turned to the waiter and said, "Rare gravy, this."
Ever since then, my Granny was a convert to Indian cooking, and that "Rare Gravy" came to represent, to me, a trying out of something new, of opening metaphorical doors and having a look around. After all, just like Granny, you never know, you might like what you find!
In a coincidence so unbelievable that it would ruin an otherwise perfectly good book, there is another Gareth Richards who lives in Bournemouth and who also gets up on stage, in his case as a stand-up comedian.
Unluckily for me, my namesake got in there first with the whole twitter and website thing (see his site here, if you have become lost and need redirecting), and so I needed to call my site something different.
Rare Gravy is the name under which I do my design work, and comes from my Granny back in Scotland.
When I was a wee lad, for my birthday one year the whole family were taken out to have an Indian meal (I've loved curries all my life), and, despite her reservations about "a' that furren muck" (she preferred a no-nonsense Scottish diet of mince and tatties and Black Bun), Granny came along too.
She was nervous of the menu, never having eaten a curry before, but the waiter was charm personified and talked her through it, eventually getting her to agree to try the mildest dish on offer. Sure enough, the meal was delivered and the whole restaurant (Granny was not a quiet woman) waited with interest for her verdict.
"Hmm", she said thoughtfully, as the place held its breath, "No' bad."
She took another mouthful of chicken in Korma sauce, turned to the waiter and said, "Rare gravy, this."
Ever since then, my Granny was a convert to Indian cooking, and that "Rare Gravy" came to represent, to me, a trying out of something new, of opening metaphorical doors and having a look around. After all, just like Granny, you never know, you might like what you find!
Why theatre?
I had my own "Rare Gravy" moment back in 1996, when my mate Pete and I, who tended to mess around and put on silly voices a lot, were approached at work by another friend, Jane, who was a member of Arena Theatre, and having heard our shenanigans decided that we should join her theatre company. They were shortly about to audition for Charlie & The Chocolate Factory, and would we like to come along? Now, Pete's wife Sha, a singer (and now a novelist, check out her page here), and used to the stage, went along with him, while I hung back and made some feeble excuse. The truth is, I'd seen A Chorus of Disapproval and I thought they would all be air-kissing and calling each other "lovey" and "daaahling" while bitching behind their backs. I thought it was "furren muck" and stayed home with the TV for company.
Pete was cast in the show and after another actor dropped out a few weeks later, both he and Jane ganged up on me and took me along to audition as the replacement. Sure enough, I got the part of Grandpa George (the one who stays in bed), loved it, and haven't looked back since. I suppose Pete and Jane were my Indian waiters, and I thank them both for dragging me along and giving me that first mouthful.
Pete was cast in the show and after another actor dropped out a few weeks later, both he and Jane ganged up on me and took me along to audition as the replacement. Sure enough, I got the part of Grandpa George (the one who stays in bed), loved it, and haven't looked back since. I suppose Pete and Jane were my Indian waiters, and I thank them both for dragging me along and giving me that first mouthful.
I'm a stalker. What more info can you give me about yourself?
Well, to save you the trouble of going through my bins (I'm nice like that), I can tell you that I work in marketing, I like French and Japanese movies, study kenjutsu, support Newcastle Utd as my English team, the New York Giants in the NFL, and have a strange affinity with cats. If you are in the market for bribery, Messrs Laphroig and Daniel are your best bet.
