Sitting Under A Tree with Aidan Jones

First week of the new year and I'm boring myself with how organised and focussed I am. I have goals and dreams, and I'm working towards them, while also trying to treat the people around me with empathy and respect. What an absolutely tedious load of shit.

I've spent the last week in Adelaide relaxing, seeing friends and family. Christmas with my cousin and his wife and kids in Bendigo was incredible, and now I'm back in Melbourne and taking the next few days before the end of the year to plan what I want to do in 2023. I'm super excited for the future! I hope you guys have all had a great holiday period so far. Thanks for listening to the podcast i...

In the last week I've driven 1500km from Darwin to Alice Springs, performing shows in Katherine and Tennant Creek along the way. I've visited a town of 8 people that is nationally famous as the site of an unsolved murder mystery, then met the owners of the town's pub 600km away in the audience of my show. I've seen Messi finally win the World Cup and become the greatest footballer of all time, as...

I just dropped my girlfriend at the airport in Darwin, we're not going to see each other now until May 2023! It's a long time, and I'm scared and I know it's going to be difficult, but it also feels right that we're going to hold on to this thing. I'm excited for the future, so this week I spoke about that. Also dickheads bringing their stupid pool noodles and needy attitudes on holiday. Away with...

Just to be clear, what I mean in the title is like, "Australia" (Good! Positive exclamation) then, "Fuck You!" (directed to everyone else who isn't Australia). I'm full of pride after our Socceroos made it to the last 16 of the World Cup, and put on a phenomenal display against Argentina. I got up at 4:45am to watch it in the city, and even though we went out, it was worth it to say I was there!

I've been an absolute ball of psycho-energy mayhem the last week or so, and I only just realised! But I've been home for two days and I'm feeling so much better, my god. Who would have thought that taking two days to stay at home and rest would be good for a person? WOULD YOU BELIEVE IT?!

The World Cup is here! Despite all the sadness and exploitation and EVIL (!!) surrounding it, I am so excited that it's here. Last night after watching my good friend Milo do his solo show in Melbourne we went out to watch the England game at the pub and the fans were out singing songs and celebrating. I was literally jumping for joy at one point, not for England, but at the prospect of a month of...

Yesterday I reversed my brother's car into a bollard in a parking garage. I was furious at everyone, myself, the government, the bollard. When will life be easy? Maybe when I let it be easy. Whatever, things are actually going great. I have a girlfriend now! For the next few weeks, until she leaves the country to move to the UK. Waaaaaah! Anyway, this episode of the podcast was fun, I hope you enj...

I've been in Brisbane all week and have had some very relaxed days. The crowdfunding campaign is going well (thankyou everyone who's contributed to $2440 raised so far!). My trial was very helpful. I went to a spa on Saturday. But, as is so often the case, despite overwhelming positives, I am feeling FRUSTRATED AND ANXIOUS!!

I've just published my crowdfunding campaign for the Edinburgh Fringe Documentary I've been working on for the last few months. It's scary stuff, and I feel like it's stressing me out. Maybe it's that, or maybe it's the fact that the girl I've been seeing (she is NOT my girlfriend!!!) is moving to the UK in just over a month and it's looking like we're not going to be able to continue this thing....

Last week I spent an incredible afternoon with a friend doing some acting training. The exercise of acting out an imagined scenario and actually having to go through it from the perspective of another person was so new and exciting, so obviously this week I'm going to get carried away trying to apply it everywhere else in my life. Also this week I got to visit an abandoned pub in rural NSW that wa...

This week we are going to war! General Jones leads you, his glorious battalion over the top and across no-man's-land, before turning around and unleashing awful death back on his own loyal troops. I keep singing that Wagner song 'The Valkyrie' ('Ride of The Valkyrie'?) and am in an imperial mood. If you can make it through this one, I reckon you're a true fan. Music by Rhysics at the end as a trea...

Best one I've recorded in ages I reckon! Such a good time recording the podcast this week, and such a fun week to talk about. Also, thankyou to the 110 people who listened to last weeks episode, marking the first time EVER that the podcast has cracked 100 listeners in the first week. Five years in and we are GETTING IT BABY!! Genuinely though, so psyched. Love yas!

Feeling shitty again, carrying around a whole bucketload of feelings and trying to find somewhere to put them. I've had a wonderful few days in the South West of WA - I met some really cool people, saw some beautiful country, did a fantastic show in Albany! Why the fuck do I feel so scattered? God damn it.

In the last week I've had a cancelled gig cost me $200, got told off by a lady in the park, and had my Saturday plans slip through my fingers like dry sand. Sometimes it's really important to acknowledge when you've had a bad time, or been in a bad mood, because the moment you acknowledge it is the moment you're able to start going through the feelings and heading towards something better. Yeah, t...

I was going to call this episode 'Shaved', because I shaved my head this week, but instead I'm calling it 'What The Fuck', because that is how I feel after recording this. All over the place! Honestly I'm sure it isn't as bad as it felt while I was recording, it never is, but still, what a strange experience. Bombing on your own solo podcast. Good stuff!

I landed back in Melbourne at 8:30pm, Monday night. Recorded this week's pod after a full day back in town, feeling great, love being home. Travel is great, and I do want to move back to Europe at some stage, but right now I'm so glad to be home.

This week I've been to York, Amsterdam, and am now in Paris. I recorded the pod from a bench in the middle of this beautiful cemetery near my friend's house. There were mosquitoes, and groundsmen kept wandering past me while I recorded. Also an old couple with a pram. Incredibly distracting! And a shame because I have a lot of very serious and important things to say about art, music and the human...

My friend sent me a Guardian article about how the Fringe needs to be shorter, and like bull charging towards a square of red hanky I read it. Different people have different experiences of the Fringe, and everyone has their own idea of what they'd like to get out of it. Clearly I needed to get some of my emotions out, because I absolutely went off on one here, before heaving and ho-ing my way bac...

The Fringe is still happening! We're into the last week, and I'm breaking apart at the seams. About half an hour ago I did a spot on a show and just spoke about how tired I am. I asked if anyone had cried recently, and this girl told me she's going back to Jordan in two weeks and she's really scared, and her boyfriend was there and he's not going back with her. I told them a story from my life. It...

The time-distorting power of the Fringe has got me forgetting what things have happened when. I've been telling this new story on stage for what seems like months now, but I realised a few minutes into the pod that it only happened on like Tuesday night, so I hadn't told it on here yet. Insane. I'm having the time of my life out here, let me tell you.

Today while I was looking for a place to deposit cash into my Monzo account, a girl turned around and handed me a condom. It was in a really colourful round packet thingo, and looked kind of artsy. A small part of my brain thought she might have been flirting with me. During this week's podcast I pulled it out and saw there's a QR code on the back of the packet. It sends you to the page to buy tic...

On Friday after I went for a swim in Barcelona I stumbled on this neighbourhood deli in what I guess is a kind of fancy part of the Gothic Quarter. The guy made me a sandwich, and I ate it on the marble step of a nearby apartment building. It was such a beautiful moment. The last week has been full of things like that. I'm having the best time.

On Wednesday night I did a gig in a bingo hall that would have to be up there with one of the worst I've ever done. Top 5 I reckon. I have nothing against any of the people involved in booking me for the gig or putting it together - if anything I am still very grateful for the work! But boy, it was a rough one hahahaha... Still, I'd rather relive that again than have to feel the stress I'm feeling...

It's the last week of winter! This time next week I will be in the air, on a plane headed for BARCELONA!! EUROPE!! It's happening oh my god it's finally happening I honestly can't believe it. I'm so excited, and scared, and nervous, and incredulous. This is going to be the best summer EVER!!!