All posts by Neil

Buddy Good Time

September 3, 2022 Neil

Recently my girlfriend ended up looking after her niece and nephew for a night. I went round to her place to assist with my plan being just to give her moral support. However when I arrived I found myself straight away playing with some miniature skateboards and a toy skate ramp. I am not saying the child in question was taking things too seriously but his boards had grip tape on them. It reminded me of the full size skateboard I had as a kid and also how bad I was at it. I could not do any tricks, I never went anywhere near a ramp and I could only just about stay on it. To be honest I have no idea why I actually bothered getting one. Other than they were I guess one of the cool things to have when I was a kid.

I then found myself doing some drawing with the girl. She is only seven but a brilliant artist so it put my stick men efforts to shame. Inspired by my art we did play a few games of hangman. Next it was time to get the tablet out to play some Candy Crush, which I possibly enjoyed a lot more than I should have. I did manage to get a break for good behaviour so I could eat my dinner with Lynda. She had done us Greek style chicken kebabs and chips, which tasted amazing.

After the food her niece was asking if she could paint my fingernails, happily we reached a compromise deal where I let her tape bright bits of paper on to my hand instead. When it was time for bed she asked me to read her a bedtime story. I do not need to be asked twice to read out loud and entertain somebody. The book was selected and I put on the performance with different voices for all the characters of course. I must have been very good as she fell asleep almost instantly as soon as I had finished reading. By the end of the book I was about ready to drift off myself to be honest.

We returned the children to their parents the next morning and decided to head to London for the afternoon as it was a nice day. With no real plan in mind we hopped on the train after midday. On arrival we decided to head to Carnaby Street for a look around the shops there. It is of course very thirsty work looking at clothes so we stopped for a drink in the sun outside a pub that just happened to have my favourite gluten free beer.

Then we decided to head across the river and have a stroll along the south bank which again resulted in us having another drink in the sun although this time it was a soft one. While we were there we decided to go and have some food at the Cote round the corner from where we were at Festival Hall. They are coeliac accredited and do nice food so from my point of view there is nothing not to like. We had a very nice and civilised dinner. It was a very relaxing afternoon enjoying the summer in the capital.

I have been to the Edinburgh Fringe Festival a couple of times in the past. Unfortunately I did not manage to get there this time around. It is a brilliant event and you never have enough time to see everything you want to. I normally spend a long weekend there which means I get in two and a half days of comedy. On average I watch five shows a day, starting at midday and some days going beyond midnight. Obviously I do have a couple of breaks for food.

It is so tough working out the schedule for the day. I normally book tickets for each show so I know I can get in and so that I can space them out so I can get between the venues in time. There are gigs all over the city so it can on occasions take say forty minutes to get from one place to another. One of the highlights from my last visit was a late night adult’s only show by Basil Brush. That was great fun and on after midnight.

I try to get the balance right between seeing the new shows of comedians I really like and discovering new people who I have not seen perform before. Well done to a mate of mine Olaf Falafel who managed to get two of his gags in the top ten jokes of the Fringe competition run by the television channel Dave. Although he did actually win it last time that the audience poll was run.

I plan to hopefully go along for a few days next year. The atmosphere is ace and it is lots of fun. Many well known established comedians make the journey up there and of course make a bit of money out of their shows but there are plenty more upcoming comics who will struggle to get an audience and will lose money. Therefore if you ever go try to see a wide selection of acts, you never know you might discover someone up and coming before they hit the big time and you can say you were there supporting them from the start.

I hope you had a nice Bank Holiday weekend. Mine was relatively quiet and relaxing. Lynda and I have had some very busy weekends recently and we have some more to come, so we thought we would take it easy for a change. On the Saturday we walked along the canal near where she lives and found a bar with outside space that served my favourite gluten free beer. It was a nice day so we stopped there for a few drinks. Then we went back to hers’ to enjoy a nice bottle of red wine and a delicious meal that she cooked for us.

On the Sunday my mate Adam was playing in a cricket match about fifteen minutes down the road, so we went along to watch him for a bit. I cannot remember the last time I had previously seen any live cricket. It was just a friendly game that he was playing in. He opened the bowling for his side and got a wicket with the last ball of his first over. He is a much better cricketer than me. I have only ever been involved in two proper games in my life, one was at school and the other was a celebrity charity match on Dorset with Hugh Fearnley- Whittingstall.

The club where he was playing had a second floor bar with a balcony so we got a soft drink each and watched the action from there. We stayed for a couple of hours and we saw him bowl a few more overs although it is fair to say they were not quite as successful as his first one. We had a quick chat with him during the lunch break before heading off so I could watch the Spurs game on TV. Sadly for him that meant that we missed him bat and top score for his team with 34 runs, although his side did lose in the end.

Then that evening we went for dinner at the local Prezzo. Obviously the main reason we went there is that they are coeliac accredited, but they do actually have a good selection of gluten free meals to choose from. It is not that often I get the chance to have garlic bread so when I saw a gluten free version of it as a starter, I had to have that. That was followed by a pasta dish and the meal was finished off with some cheesecake. Before we ate we both had a cocktail, well they were on a two for one deal so it would have been rude not to. I had a spiced rum punch which was really nice and refreshing.

When we got back we ended up watching Ricky Gervais’s latest Netflix stand up special Super Nature. It was good and I enjoyed it but it did seem to almost include exactly the same topics as his previous one. Plus it did appear to borrow a small section from some old Billy Connolly material, which to be fair to him could have been totally coincidental. It did make me laugh quite a bit, though.

On the Bank Holiday Monday we went for a walk at the Ashridge Estate. It was the first time I had been there. It has lots of routes to take of varying distances. We ended up taking a stroll to Ashridge House which is somewhere Henry VIII and Elizabeth I both owned and used. It is a very impressive building. We stopped for a cup of tea in the courtyard cafe they have there before retracing our steps and returning to the car. It was a chilled out weekend and I felt refreshed and ready to go again after it!

Jerry Allison, whose drumming featured on Buddy Holly’s influential hits, has died at the age of 82. As part of The Crickets, he co-wrote songs like That’ll Be The Day and Peggy Sue, earning him a place in the Rock and Roll Hall Of Fame. I must confess I am a big Buddy fan and have seen the musical about his life at least five times. He wrote so many great and catchy songs in such a very short space of time. Inspiring Don McLean to write American Pie about the tragic plane crash that killed Buddy, Ritchie Valens as well as The Big Bopper. If you get chance this weekend listen to a bit of Buddy Holly you will not regret it!

The win at home against Wolves a couple of Saturday’s ago was crucial to our season. If we had lost that match the hard fought for point the previous week at Chelsea would have all been for nothing. We have started the season well. We look mentally and physically stronger and have made a few great additions to the squad. Plus with Conte in charge I do feel that we can achieve something. We managed to win at Nottingham Forest and drew away at West Ham United, which is always a difficult game for us. I am looking forward to going to see us play Fulham this afternoon. It will be another tough one but they all are, hopefully we can get the win we need.

Last Tuesday night I went to a Prom at The Royal Albert Hall that was part of the BBC’s season of concerts. A mate of mine got two very reasonably priced on the day tickets so we went along. It is a venue I really like. The look and feel of the place is magical and the acoustics there are amazing. It was a specially commissioned one hour long soundscape in the form of a concept album. It was both audio and visual and featured a band along with the full orchestra. The idea behind it was one hundred years of the BBC, as it is the corporation’s centenary year. I thoroughly enjoyed it, I thought it was extremely well done and I even found it a little inspiring.

I have now been back at BBC for just over a year as one of the scheduling team for Radio 4 and 4 Extra. It is good fun working closely with the producers and announcers. The whole team are brilliant!

A reminder that you can listen to me every Saturday afternoon between 2pm – 4pm on Radio Ninespringshttps://www.radioninesprings.co.uk/

Today I am going to Pub in the Park in Chiswick. It is a food, drink and music event. I will tell you what it was like next time we speak.
Have fun and we will catch up again soon. Stay safe! Cheers Neil.

Staged Fun

August 20, 2022 Neil

I am possibly the only person in the country who has been enjoying this spell of prolonged warm weather. I actually like feeling the heat on me as I walk around London seems to make the place even more fun and relaxing to me. That said I would obviously have liked it even more if I had a swimming pool in my back garden or lived by a beach, as the chance to have a paddle at least in some water would have been refreshing. I will cling on to the feeling of sun and blue skies and imagine them as I am getting soaked next time it rains when I am on my way somewhere in the capital. That seemed to happen a lot last year.

One big advantage of the weather being nice was that it made going to an outdoor theatre very appealing. I have been to the Globe a few times over the years to see Shakespeare plays. I never studied him at school so have to admit I am not as familiar with his work as I should be. Therefore I am trying to see productions of his stuff when I get the opportunity. I really like it at the Globe. It is a replica of one of the original theatres where the Bard used to put on his shows. Like in his time you can stand and watch the performance, which is how the peasants of the day would be able to afford to go as these were much cheaper than the wooden bench seats where the well to do would sit.

I buy tickets for the standing area whenever I go as I know my place plus for five pounds a ticket you really cannot argue with that value for money. Lynda had not been before and had wanted to go for a while. She spotted they were doing the rarely performed Henry VIII so we snapped up a couple of the bargain standing tickets and went to see it a couple of Friday’s ago. I may not have read Shakespeare at school but I did like history and remember studying The Tudors so I knew the story well. I got a B in GCSE History just in case you were interested. We arrived about fifteen minutes before it was due to begin which was enough time to buy a wine each and try to find a good place to stand to see the action.

It is a little bit interactive in the pit as I like to call it and the actors often walk through and get amongst the audience as they would have at the initial venue when these shows were first performed. As it happened there were additional parts of the staging in our area to, so that did make the location selection slightly trickier. The play was excellent we both thoroughly enjoyed it. The three hours including the interval flew by. The cast were all amazing and with it being Shakespeare they all had a few very long monologues to master. There was a lot of humour in it which is always a winner for me, including some quite naughty visual jokes. It did seem the star of the show was more Elizabeth I at the end but then again Shakespeare was around when she was still the Queen.

The theatre itself and the way the production is designed does make you think and feel what it might have been like at the theatre all of those years ago but then you see or hear a plane or helicopter fly over you and it does shatter the illusion just a little bit. I do try to see at least one thing a year there if I can and it is always slightly nicer if it stays dry and is pleasant as it was for us when we went. We walked out of there at the end of the play in an upbeat and happy mood. That for me is always the sign of a good show. Henry VIII had a sling on his arm, no one was totally sure if this was part of the costume or not but I suspect it was the actor’s own!

Last weekend Lynda and I went to Dorset to see my school friend who I have known since we met on our first day of Primary school when we were both four. We have known each other for more than forty years which is both impressive and scary. Straight from work on the Friday night we jumped in the car, did battle with the holiday traffic and arrived at our destination just after ten. It is a lovely cottage that they have in a small village called Bloxworth. It has been in my mate’s wife’s family for generations. The place has a lovely big garden and the surrounding area is so quiet and peaceful.

On arrival I had to have my obligatory cup of tea, which is always my beverage of choice when I arrive at somebody’s house no matter how long the journey time was. We all just sat chatting and updating each other on our latest news. Before we knew it, it was one in the morning, so we thought we better get some sleep. It is funny how time flies when you are having a brilliant time in good company. With over four decades of material to talk about we could easily has talked until sunrise.

After the slightly impromptu late night we did have a little bit of a lie in. We got up round about the same time and as it was a glorious day we headed straight for their garden table to enjoy our morning cup of tea in the sunshine. Easing ourselves in to the day gently we also had a relaxed breakfast outside still, before we took it in turns to get showered and dressed. My mate and his wife have a seven year old daughter who is brilliant. First we played a few quick little games at the table then we decided to get the garden games out.

She had recently been given one of those air rocket launchers. It has polystyrene rockets that you put on this tube, you then stamp on the pad part and it fires the rocket into the sky. We did that for a bit then we got out the inflatable hoopla game and invented our own world championships sort of competition. The joy of getting one of those rubber rings over the cactus target was unbridled. Next it was a few games of the classic French bowling game boule. That was made very challenging by the very dry and uneven green we were using. All of the games were good fun and they took us right through the afternoon.

I then discovered that there was a football around so their daughter and I played with that for a while. I showed off with a few of the tricks that I can do with a ball. From the age of seven to sixteen all I did when I was not in lessons or asleep was kick a football around. Lastly I got a very intensive dance lesson which seemed to draw a worrying amount of laughter from everyone even though I thought I was doing pretty well. My dance teacher was not impressed at all so that ultimately brought an end to those proceeding and we all had some dinner.

In the village there is a social club basically for the locals. They were holding a quiz night so we decided to go along. After our success at the Church Quiz a few weeks ago Lynda and I were feeling confident that we could lead our team to victory. That confidence did not last very long, as we found ourselves competing in the world’s hardest quiz. It was more like a Mensa test or the entry exam to get into Oxford or Cambridge University. It was tough! There were three table rounds and nine actual rounds the whole thing took over two hours to complete. That said it was brilliant fun and we had a good laugh and did get some questions right, we finished half way down the table, so it was just not the Quizzie Rascals night!

After the quiz we went back to the cottage for another drink and some supper before heading off to bed. Sunday was pretty much a repeat of the day before we had morning drinks and breakfast outside and played some games including Guess Who and Harry Potter Top Trumps. I also had a few goes at the Silly Sausage game, if you want to know what that is look it up online, it is fine and you are perfectly safe to google it at work I promise. We then all had dinner together before Lynda and I had to head home. It was another top weekend simply enjoying time with great friends in quiet and chilled surroundings, absolute bliss.

They have announced the line-up for this year’s Strictly Come Dancing. Not only do I actually know who most of them are but I have seen a fair few of them do what they normally do live. That does mean it is difficult for me to pick a favourite before it all starts. They are a fun group to so I think it will all be very entertaining. All I will say is that former Blue Peter presenters seem to do quite well so Helen Skelton could be one to watch. Plus let us be honest we are all wondering what Matt Goss will be like at dancing. I have been to see one of the launch shows recorded at Elstree Studios once and that was a great experience. The studio audience really do help make the show what it is.

I mention this a lot as it is a major part of my life now, since being diagnosed as Coeliac I have been on a strict gluten free diet. The disease means that even the smallest amount of gluten can make me very ill so I have to be so careful. I also have to make sure I am taking on enough calories and eating well so my body gets all the nutrients it needs that in that past it had trouble absorbing. To try to improve my iron and B12 intake I have added a daily protein shake to my diet. The best thing is the one I have found is chocolate flavour so I now have an excuse to have a chocolatey drink with my breakfast which I am enjoying probably more than I should. Fingers crossed it works.

The Premier League season has started then, as a Spurs season ticket holder it was great to take my seat for our first game against Southampton. The day was made even better as I got to catch up with my mate Dez Kay in the club shop beforehand neither of us got anything but we did have a brilliant chat for forty minutes. We won the game four-one which put us top of the league. You can correctly argue that it means nothing after one match but it still looks nice to see your team’s name up there.

Last Sunday we managed to get a draw away at Chelsea with an equaliser in the ninety-six minute from the legend that is Harry Kane. Chelsea were the better side and did deserve to win but I was delighted with the point. That is big result for us. It did get a little bit ugly on the touchline particularly at the end of the game but it seems like both sides were to blame and you clearly cannot argue that our boss Antonio Conte is committed to the club and passionate about our results. It might mean he will be watching a few games from the stands, I wonder if we can swap seats and I can take his place on the bench.

A reminder that you can listen to me every Saturday afternoon between 2pm – 4pm on Radio Ninespringshttps://www.radioninesprings.co.uk/

Have fun and we will catch up again soon. Stay safe! Cheers Neil.

Sister’s Act

August 6, 2022 Neil

Firstly congratulations to the England Women’s Football team on being crowned European Champions at Wembley last Sunday after beating Germany by two goals to one after extra time. Some of that sounds vaguely familiar but at last we can finally now talk about a more recent victory at the home of football against the old enemy. We have only had to wait fifty-six years to finally win another senior cup competition, the first time it has happened in my life time.

The whole squad were brilliant right through the whole tournament. Every single one of them played their part and nobody else seemed to have the game changers we had on our bench. The depth of talent in the squad is ridiculous. The manager Sarina Wiegman deserves a lot of the credit I believe, the confidence, professionalism and sheer determination she installed in them was magnificent. As far as I am concerned she is already the coach of the year, well unless Antonio Conte wins the Premier League title for Spurs.

I have been lucky enough the meet the Lionesses’ all-time leading goal scorer Ellen White on a couple of occasions. We were both born in the same town. She is an exceptional player who always leads the line forcefully while being amongst the goals. Just like the rest of the girls seemingly she is also a great person, friendly and approachable with so much desire, she has fought back from some very serious injuries to rightly take her place as the focal point of the team. The younger players coming through are frightening and you do not want to get carried away obviously but you have to suspect that we will do very well in the World Cup next year.

It was great to see them all celebrating after the game and the day after in Trafalgar Square, thoroughly deserved. Some of the goals that we scored were world class, that chip by Ella Toone in the final was one of the best finishes you will see anywhere this season. We can be so proud of all of them and I really think there is still more to come as the domestic women’s game in England becomes more and more competitive that can only help future generations. Let us not leave it another fifty odd years before England win their next senior football trophy!

A couple of weekend’s ago Lynda and I went to see some friends. We had rented a nice house to stay in for a couple of nights in a quaint little village called Ryhall in Rutland. We arrived at our destination late on the Friday night. We were the last to arrive, so we just had a few drinks and a good chat sitting in the lounge, which had a picture of Winston Churchill above the fire place, before heading off to bed. It is always nice when you are with mates who you have not seen for a while as there is usually lots of gossip to catch up on.

In the morning we had a lovely cooked breakfast. There were seven of us in total. It was a nice sunny day so six of us decided to walk to Stamford while the other one decided to drive and meet us there. Mind you he had to give us a good head start as it took about an hour. Us and another couple decided to take the country foot path route while the other two went the road way. It was all dedicated public rights of way but we found ourselves strolling through some corn and a very full wheat field, not to mention battling the dangers of stinging nettles along the way. We managed to get ourselves into the middle of town and met up with everyone else before sampling a few of the pubs there.

It seemed like a nice place with a friendly feel to it, so we stayed for a few hours before one couple decided to walk back while the rest of us me and Lynda included decided to get a taxi. We had a table booked for dinner in one of the two nearby pubs. Eating out can be tricky when you are a coeliac so I had emailed the pub in advance to see if they could provide me with any uncontaminated gluten free food. We managed to come to an arrangement resulting in me pre -ordering my meal so they could prepare it earlier elsewhere. It was only a small local place, so you could see the terror in their eyes when the seven of us walked in.

They were very accommodating for me and took extra care and effort with my food. Although, even though I had ordered it a few days before they seemed to forget my starter. However as they were trying so hard to make sure I was safe they took their eye off the ball a bit with the other meals. One of our steaks was cooked totally the opposite way to how it was requested and a side of onion rings were missed. But they were doing their best; I felt that many of the issues were probably caused by concentrating on me. The place was called The Green Dragon and they do excellent Pizza’s although I could not have any as they do not do gluten free ones but that is just the way it goes sometimes.

After the meal we went back to our home for the weekend for some pudding. Lynda had made it and it was gluten free as she knows how much I like my dessert and she is not that cruel. We had some more drinks while generally having a laugh. One of the gang made the mistake of falling asleep first which led to an impromptu game of Buckaroo as we tried to place various items on them without them waking up. The next morning we had another huge breakfast before tidying up and saying goodbye to everyone. As it happened this was the start of Lynda and mines holiday. They all headed off home while we set off for Nottingham where we were staying for one night only before going to our retreat for the rest of the week.

On the way to our hotel in Nottingham we managed to drive past Trent Bridge, The City Ground and Meadow Lane so it was quite the mini sporting tour. We were staying on the outskirts of the city and the plan was just to have a low key night. We had a few drinks in the hotel bar first and then ordered a takeaway pizza to eat in the room. Happily Pizza Express does offer gluten free ones so I was able to get involved this time. In fact I even ordered pudding as well. After a final drink in the bar, well you have to wash down your dinner, we went to bed.

The next day we got up and had a fantastic breakfast in Cote. A place that is a favourite of mine because they are coeliac accredited so it is a safe place for me to eat. We then drove halfway to our mysterious location to do our food shopping for the next five days. It had been quite a while since I had physically been in a supermarket to do a big shop, so I really enjoyed it. I think we must have checked our every isle. It was then time to head to the Wooden Lodge hideaway that we had booked for the next four nights in Sherwood Forest.

We got there and checked in which seemed straight forward and simple enough before being directed to our lodge. We unpacked and settled in. One of the major attractions for us was that our home for a few nights had its own hot tub. We waited as long as we could before we poured some fizz and donned our swim wear to try it out. I must say it was fantastic, warm with controlled bubbles and views of the trees that surrounded us. It was peaceful and relaxing which is what we both wanted. It also had a barbeque on the decking so I did us burgers on it twice during our stay and Lynda cooked chicken one night. The forth night I did steaks but I opted to cook them inside to show off my versatility.

We spent most of the our time there in the hot tub just chilling, well as much as we could as the main problem with the place was that it did seem to have a wasp infestation so we were constantly fending them off, plus every time you opened a door or a window one would instantly appear inside. On one afternoon we went for tea and cake at the onsite cafe and we were plagued by these aggressive wasps so much Lynda ended up getting stung which then left me having get the thing off her and remove the sting. I can safely say that was the first time that I have ever done that.

We went for a couple of nice walks in the woods while we were there. There was a nice view of the forest from the bedroom which was great to wake up to. The place was big enough to enjoy each other’s company and when required have our own space but the best thing was the hot tub. I am thinking about getting one installed at home but I worry that if I do I will never go out ever again. Lastly the wildlife except the wasps seemed to be friendly at the Forest Lodge. I can only presume other people feed them as we had a grey squirrel join us who wanted get on our table and share my seat. I was put off the idea by his constant scratching and licking of himself. It was just a nice summer break in England for a change.

The evening we got back we went to see a film at The Rex cinema in Berkhamsted. It has an art-deco design and is somewhere you can sit in very big comfy chairs while enjoying drinks from the bar which stays open during the movies. We watched Jurassic World the latest in that series. I must confess that I have not seen any of the old ones so some of the references and nods to the original went right over my head. That said I did like it, I would probably describe it as a good fun action film in the style of Indiana Jones but with Dinosaurs. Jeff Goldblum and Sam Neill both look great and are clearly both ageing gracefully, I think grey hair gives people some gravitas that I will sadly never get to experience. It is one of my favourite venues to watch films but that may be because it has red wine on tap.

For the second year running we went to see one of the St Albans Comedy Garden gigs in Verulamium Park. It is a huge space and we had a nice walk around it before we arrived at the fenced off arena part. I did manage to find a stall that was doing gluten free only food which is a rare and beautiful thing. They were called The Lankan Kitchen and they did a very nice chicken curry rice bowl and some great Sri Lankan friend chicken. As it was a Saturday afternoon and we were still technically on holiday we had some cider.

Ian Smith was the host and I thought he was excellence, sometimes due to the fact they need to interact with the crowd and get the atmosphere pumped up they can be a little aggressive but he seems like a nice and funny guy. He set the tone perfectly. The first act on was Simon Amstell, it was the first time I had seen him live and he is a great communicator and story teller, such a talented writer and producer to, it is fair to say he is very honest on stage and it was kind of half comedy show and life coach lecture but it was brilliant!

Then after the first interval we were treated to Fatiha El-Ghorri who was fantastic, it was also the first time I had seen her. She has some very good and unique jokes which she executes extremely cleverly turning some well-known stereotyping on its head. I expect to see and hear more of her over the next couple of years. Then it was Mr Masked Singer himself Joel Dommett, we got the inside scoop on the popular television show along with some great stories and a rap masterclass none of us knew we needed.

The headline act was the always wonderful Sara Pascoe. I saw her years ago at one of the Live at The Palladium Shows. A lot has changed in her personal life since then but she is still very funny. I learnt things I did not need to know but I am now glad I do, I think. It is a really nicely run event and they always have top quality line ups. If you like your comedy, then keep an eye out for next year’s festival of fun. It does not even feel that strange sitting in a park in daylight enjoying comedians, it all just works. We finished the evening in one of our favourite restaurants called Tabure. The Food and service in there is always top class and you never leave hungry.

I went and saw Sister Act at the Eventim Apollo in Hammersmith last Tuesday night. I have not been there for years, in fact the last time may have been when I had front row tickets to see Darren Hayes, although I think I saw something else there more recently but cannot remember what. Anybody who knows me at all will not be surprised to hear that I never saw the original film version of Sister Act. I was however at least aware of it.

Lynda and I had tickets to see the previously planned production that actually had Whoopi Goldberg in the cast but that one was sadly lost to the second lockdown. Happily we managed to get our hands on some tickets when they did thankfully get to put it on for a limited run this year. We had some reasonably good seats in the stalls and after getting a can of wine at the bar, which was slightly classier than it sounds as they did at least serve them in plastic glasses, we settled down ready to be entertained.

The show itself was fantastic, for such a huge musical as you can imagine they have put together a sensational cast. It has some great songs in it and a lot of laughs but it does have a really beautiful storyline running through it, which is possibly even more relevant now than when the movie version first came out. Beverley Knight has transformed herself from pop star to West End leading lady effortlessly but when you have a voice like hers it lifts any song, I could listen to her sing all night and she was fabulous as Deloris. Add to that the fact that the comedy legend Jennifer Saunders is Mother Superior and it takes the whole thing even higher, she always makes me laugh a lot whatever she is in.

Lesley Joseph is also it in and she is brilliant to and has some very funny stand out moments. In fact everyone involved on stage is marvellous and they all get their chance to shine and take centre stage, which is great I think. It is always a guide of how good a show is if you leave the theatre in a really great and happy mood and I certainly did after this one. See it if you can but it is only on until the end of the month, so you will have to be quick.

A reminder that you can listen to me every Saturday afternoon between 2pm – 4pm on Radio Ninespringshttps://www.radioninesprings.co.uk/

Have fun and we will catch up again soon. Stay safe! Cheers Neil.

The Gift Of Food and Fun

July 23, 2022 Neil

Simply because everybody has been talking about it this week I have to start by mentioning the weather. Summer is my favourite season of the year, I like the sunshine and I do like it to be warm. Personally I feel happier and more relaxed with the sun on by back even though that means I have to wear a hat more nowadays due to the way that I have my hair, which is virtually non-existent. However even I must say that last Monday and Tuesday were getting to the point where even I was thinking it might be a bit warm. I am a fan of the high twenties or low thirties, but mid-thirties to around forty degrees is possibly a bit too much.

Last Christmas as part of her present I got my girlfriend a voucher for dinner for two at one of the restaurants’ owned by a Michelin starred Chef who she likes. I knew she was a fan of his as she was raving about his food and wanted to see him do a live demonstration when we were at Pub in The Park in Chiswick last September. The gift was for a lunchtime three course meal for two with a cocktail included. Luckily for me she decided to take me with her to enjoy the experience.

The place we were going was in Marlow so I booked us a lovely little guest house about a ten minute walk from the High Street for us to stay at for the night. The table was booked for quarter to two but we could not check in until gone three. However I managed to arrange for us to park there before dinner. It was a lovely warm sunny day and as we arrived near to where we were dining a little bit early we stopped to enjoy a drink at a pub on the way. I had a bottle of gluten free Peroni that was the very first beer I tried when I was diagnosed as being coeliac and I was not that impressed. This time round and it may have been the sun or because I was looking forward to where we were going but it tasted much nicer.

The restaurant was called Sindhu. It is run by Atul Kochhar. He has a few restaurants in Buckinghamshire and London. This one is actually at The Compleat Angler Hotel which is right on the River Thames, so you have great views of the water through the window while you are dining. We arrived at the correct time and were shown to our table. It had a great atmosphere, vibe and smell. The menu choices were amazing, everything sounded delicious so choosing what to have was actually a bit of a mission, even for me as it turned out lots of the dishes were either already naturally gluten free or they could tweak them to make them so.

While we were still deciding what to eat they bought us the drink included in our deal which was a Kir Royale cocktail, it was very nice, made with the Chef’s personal choice of Prosecco. As it turned out and this is so rare I do not think it had ever happened before Lynda and I ordered the same options for our starter and main. We both had the prawns which were unbelievable you could taste about a million different flavours and yet still taste the prawns to. The man is clearly some sort of magician.

To accompany to meal we both ordered some wine I had a glass of the Reserva Malbec from their wine list, it was exceptional. For our mains we both had Biryani which was simply stunning, it tasted so good and went perfectly with my choice of drink. Lynda is not really much of a dessert person but as it was part of the meal I had selected she had some ice-cream, while I of course went for the chocolate mousse, well if you are drinking red wine you should finish the meal with some chocolate.

Once again you could not fault this final course. It was a wonderful dining experience, relaxing, fun and fulfilling from a food point of view. I was so pleased I bought it for her and even more pleased that she took me along to enjoy it with her. We will definitely be going back there to eat again at some point I feel.

As it was such a nice day we had a drink outside in the hotel garden on the bank of the river. It is a lovely place to stay I have been lucky enough to have had a couple of work parties there and it was always a good do. You cannot beat being near water on a warm summer’s day as far as I am concerned. It was then time to walk back and check in to our accommodation. That was simple and straightforward. It had a huge bedroom as well as a decent sized lounge area so plenty of room for the two of us for one night.

We then went for a nice walk along the river out towards Bisham and back before finding ourselves in another pub. It was perfect beer garden weather so we visited a couple more of them before we got an evening snack and called it a night retiring to the guest house for a night cap before bed. I have always liked Marlow and spent a bit of time there over the years, it had been a while since I had been but I plan not to leave it as long next time.

The next morning we strolled into town to again enjoy the park and river in the sun before grabbing a fantastic breakfast in The Ivy Garden. On the way back we stopped in to see our friends and their children. It was brilliant to see all of them and have a nice catch up over a few cups of tea in the sun. Their daughter who is six going on sixteen accidentally told us she had a new boyfriend, she was telling her mum not to say anything and in doing so she told us all about him.

They have also got a new dog who I met for the first time he seems like a fun little chap. He was very friendly and excited to see us which is a reaction I like from any animal or human for that matter, when I turn up anywhere. I had a nice chat with their son who is now on at least his third or fourth choice of football team to support, although it does seem he is sticking with this one. I only ever remember being a fan of one team and that is of course Tottenham Hotspur. I blame my parents. It was a lovely few hours chatting to each other without a care in the world, perfect.

Around a month or so ago now Lynda’s mum invited us to join her and her friend at their church’s quiz night. We figured it would be fun and it would also be nice to have a night out with her. You might think this would be a quiet laid back evening out but from the minute we decided to go along we also decided that we had to win. Now I am not saying Lynda and I are competitive but we currently have a Scrabble series going on and I honestly think it could last for years.

Anyway the quiz was designed for teams of eight and I think the plan was for all the church members and guests to turn up on the night and randomly join together as one team. Well we obviously could not risk that so we assembled a crack group of eight people including Lynda’s aunty and cousin plus their other halves. The big night was last Saturday. It was due to start at seven, so we got there in good time to grab a table. There were soft drinks only supplied that is how serious everybody was taking it.

Round one started and then half way through there was a little bit of tension on our table after I accidentally knocked my glass of water over myself and Lynda. She was not overly happy, but refrained from hitting me. Think I was lucky that it was a warm evening. There was a break for food half way though and at this point we were winning by two points, it was so far so good but we were only half way there to achieving our goal. I did not have any food preferring to remain fully focussed and not risk any gluten in the take away they had ordered. I did have some more water all of which this time I did manage to drink.

The next round after the interval was a film based music one, which we did really well in. Lynda’s cousin is like the Rain Woman of movie themes. Going into the final round we were three points in the lead, by this point we were getting some odd looks as I think our team may have been the only one that included non-church folk. We did not care we still needed to win but at the end of the last round we felt that we might have blown it.

The quiz master announced the winners and it was us we had done it, mission accomplished. The vicar handed us a voucher each as a prize, Lynda and I gave ours to her mum and her friend. We did not need any reward winning was enough for us. It was a fun event and joking aside everyone was lovely and welcoming, although I am not sure we will be invited back for the next one!

I found what I thought might be a lump on one of my testicles recently. It felt a bit odd and different so I thought I better get it checked out. I managed to get a phone appointment with the doctor at first but he decided it might be easier to assess it in person and invited me to go and see him at the surgery straight away. He took a look for me and although he did not think it was anything serious he did give me a course of tablets and booked a hospital scan for me as a precaution.

Exactly a week after seeing the GP, I was in the hospital waiting area waiting to be called for what I had now found out was an ultra sound scan. I had been given some ultra sound previously on my knee and ankle for injuries but certainly never in this particular area before. It was a very simple and straight forward procedure. The person doing it even showed me what was on the screen which let us face it will be the nearest I get to having a baby scan.

It was all fine and nothing to worry about, I just have some excess fluid in there, insert your own joke here I guess. The reason I mention this is firstly the NHS are amazing and secondly if you discover something odd on your body get it looked at, they will not mind in fact that is what they are there for.

The players are all back in pre-season training for my team Tottenham Hotspur. We have already played a few friendlies and signed by our standards quite a lot of players. There is a new fitness couch at the club nicknamed the Marine. I have been through some tough pre-season training sessions in the past but the stuff they have been doing looks brutal, however if it pays off and gives us a bit of an edge it will all be worth it.

The Premier League season kicks off in two weeks and I am looking forward to being back in my normal seat cheering the lads on. It does feel like we can be at least a bit optimistic that we could have a good year. The mid-winter break for the World Cup at the end of the year is going to be odd, hard to say if that will be a distraction or a bonus. It has been far too long since we won anything and it would be great to get our hands on some silverware for a change. I like Antonio Conte he is a proven winner but making us successful could be his greatest ever achievement.

A quick reminder that you can listen to me every Saturday afternoon between 2pm – 4pm on Radio Ninesprings https://www.radioninesprings.co.uk/

We are away with friends this weekend and then straight off for our own relaxing holiday at a mystery location somewhere in England. I will tell you where we went and what it was like next time we speak. Have fun and we will catch up again soon. Stay safe! Cheers Neil.

Taking Care of Business

July 9, 2022 Neil

I am a big fan of Elvis Presley. My first visit to America was to Las Vegas mainly because of the length of time he had spent there in the early seventies. A few years ago now I went on a short US Road trip to Memphis were I of course visited Graceland, spent time on Beale Street, went to Sun Studios and even the shop where Elvis used to buy a lot of his clothes. On the same trip I went to Nashville making sure I took the tour of RCA Studio B which is where he recorded over two hundred and fifty of his songs. I absolutely loved that holiday and I would happily go back and visit all of those places again.

You will not be surprised to hear that I really wanted to see the new Elvis Presley film directed by Baz Luhrmann at the earliest possible opportunity. Therefore on the opening United Kingdom release date I booked tickets to see it at the Odeon Cinema in Leicester Square in London. I got seats in what they called the Royal Box section. These were extra large recliner chairs which almost gave you the chance to lie down and watch the film. They were also right in the middle of the auditorium so you had the perfect view of the big screen and were centrally placed to get the most out of the surround sound set up.

Lynda met me after work and we went and grabbed a pre-film Leon. As a coeliac they are pretty much my go to gluten free relatively fast food option nowadays. I was very excited about seeing the film. I had seen a few of the trailers and visually it looked absolutely stunning. I already knew I liked the music, plus I have enjoyed Baz’s stuff in the past. I think his movies do have a certain feel to them that I like. He I reckon also has a short attention span like me as his films seem to move between scenes very quickly and he tries to cram a lot of the story in to quite short timescales.

We arrived at the cinema and had a quick drink in the bar that had greats view over Leicester Square. It was then time to go and take our seats. I was so keen I was even happy to watch all the trailers. I am not sure if there were a few Americans in as this does not strike me as overly British but there was a round of applause just as it was about to begin. It is I guess if you like the potted history of the life and times of Elvis, there is forty-two years to get into two hours and thirty nine minutes, so the pace is fairly fast at times. However I like how his childhood was covered it gave you a flavour of his influences and upbringing.

It does tell the parallel story of Elvis’s manager Colonel Tom Parker. Well nobody is hiring Tom Hanks and only giving him a bit part. To be fair he was a big part of the Presley story and was there from very near to the start right to the end. The relationship between the two men was very complicated it kind of worked but often not really how either of them wanted it to. I think it is fair to say that the Colonel helped launch his career and made him into a star but he also held him back from achieving more when he was alive due to his huge dependence on what his man’s talents were doing for him.

I know the story of Elvis and the Colonel very well and I think on the whole it seems to be an accurate portrayal but there does seem to me to be some artistic licence at certain moments in the plot. Austin Butler is brilliant as Elvis. He does not particularly look like him but he fully embodies his style and presence. He also does a lot of the singing himself as early Elvis and does an excellent job. The music of course is cleverly used and a few of the big songs have had the Baz Luhrmann touch to enhance the storyline and make them more distinctive to the film.

Neil Quigley and Elvis Presley hanging out in the 70's #crazydays — Neil Quigley and Elvis Presley hanging out in the 70’s #crazydays

I thoroughly enjoyed it and it kept me transfixed even though I knew exactly what was going to happen. It really is an exceptional piece of cinema. Tom Hanks is of course brilliant, he plays the role so well. It bought back lots of great memories for me seeing all the places that I have previously visited. Elvis was a truly amazing performer with such a sensational voice and stage presence. His Vegas Shows and live tours in the seventies were as close to perfection as you can get I think. Whether you are a fan or not it is well worth seeing Elvis, it is actually quite up lifting and life affirming.

This is a film I will definitely see more than once. The only thing missing for me was the fact that Elvis did famously have a great sense of humour and was often joking around during recording sessions and on stage. That does not feature really in this take concentrating more on the taking care of business and looking after everyone angle and the slightly darker side of his final years to do with possibly being overworked and feeling too much pressure to look after everybody who relied on him. When I did the Graceland Tour we visited his gym area. It had a piano in there. On the day he died the last song he ever played and sang on that instrument was Blue Eyes Crying in Rain, which in a way may have been sadly to apt.

I am massive music fan and have been over the years trying to make sure I have seen all the big and dare I say iconic bands. There was one huge group from the sixties missing from my list. I had been trying to catch them for years but it had not quite worked out. Two Saturdays ago I finally managed to put that right as Lynda and I went to see The Rolling Stones at Hyde Park. We booked the tickets while out for dinner a couple of months before, we were just chatting and both said that we would like to see them. I mentioned I thought they were playing in London during the summer but I thought the tickets would be sold out. Lynda looked online there were tickets available so we bought them there and then while we were waiting for our main course to arrive.

We paid the extra to get the early entry tickets meaning we could get in one hour before general admittance. We got to Hyde Park and there was just a sea of people everywhere, happily for us a very nice gentleman directed us to the right queue. He was not a member of staff just a Good Samaritan. This line did a massive figure of eight and had nobody directing it but somehow managed to snake its way all the way round to the entrance. I was amazed by how everybody knew where to join and how it just kept its random shape. That would not happen anywhere else other than England.

I must confess and I am slightly embarrassed to admit this but I did not know who any of the support acts were. That said I enjoyed all of them, they were great and very much played the type of music I like so I will keep an eye out for them all in the future. The weather was not quite as warm as I would have liked but it did at least stay dry. The time flew by with the live music on stage, the food, drink and comfort breaks we had while fighting off lots of potential stealers of our seats. We could have tried to get closer to the stage but we had a good view of the big screens and the sound was fine where we were.

After a quick look round to see what food and drink options there were we spotted a space on a picnic table and made that our home for the rest of the day and evening, taking it in turns to leave and do things while the other one secured our place. As they did not say that they did any gluten free food I got an exemption email so that I could bring my own food in. However it did appear that one of the food stalls at least may have been able to cater for me but I would much rather be safe than sorry.

Finally it was time for the main attraction. They just bound out on to the stage and got the party started. They were brilliant from start to finish. It was quite a poignant gig as it was the first one that they had played in London since the death of their original drummer Charlie Watts, which they did of course acknowledge. Their singer Mick Jagger is seventy-eight years old and he has just recovered from COVID. He was jumping around the place like a teenager for the whole two hours dancing and running. I am not sure what he was drinking while he was up there but I think I want some. His voice was still sounding as good as ever.

Then of course you have the two guitar legends that are Keith Richards and Ronnie Wood, again you could not fault their energy and commitment to putting on a show. The three of them go through more outfit changes than Madonna! I am so pleased I finally got to see them play they are easily one of the greatest bands of all time. Even the journey to and from the gig was not too bad considering it was a day of train strikes. A top day out seeing some legends I must say I have been to a few of the BST events and they are always very well run and organised.

The day after the Stones, as we did not think we had squeezed in enough during the previous two days we went to a play that we both wanted to see. The reason it had attracted our attention was that it was an Agatha Christie courtroom drama set in a very unusual yet very apt location. The production of Witness for the Prosecution is being staged in the County Offices on the Southbank. It is actually being performed in the County Chamber Meeting room to be more specific which of course has a courtroom feel to it.

It was fantastic we had really good seats right next to the stage so you almost felt part of the performance. It was like watching a play from the public gallery in court. It all fitted together perfectly, the cast were brilliant and it really kept you guessing right until the end. The staging was very clever and you can actually book to sit in the jury seats, which does really make you the jury and part of the play someone even gets to play the foreperson and get a very small speaking role. If you fancy seeing a great play in the perfect setting I would very much recommend it.

Last Friday we went to a Sausage and Cider Festival in Hemel Hempstead. They had some tribute acts playing so we just thought it might be fun to have a few drinks, enjoy some music and sample a few sausages. We got there a bit late and the place was already packed with huge queues for the bar and the limited sausage stalls. I had a quick look at what was available and saw one stand with a sign that said gluten free sausages.

I waited in line for just over half an hour and then when I got to the front I found out they cooked the gluten free sausages in the same oil as the gluten containing sausages. That is no good for a Coeliac as I cannot risk any cross contamination. Not to be beaten I asked the guy on the stand next door if he did gluten free sausages, he said yes, I then waited in his queue for thirty minutes before getting to the front and finding out all the stalls were linked and only had the same options, which of course were no good for me.

I was starving by now so we had a pint of cider each while listening to a Kasabian tribute band before leaving the place to get a gluten free takeaway pizza before I chewed my own arm off. Sadly it was not the greatest success but I did get to have a chat with my mate Lee, so it was not quite a total waste of time! While I was waiting for the food that I could not have there was a Madness tribute playing. I have been lucky enough to hear the actual band sound check in a nearly empty Wembley Stadium and let us just say to use a food advertising slogan you could taste the difference!

A quick reminder that you can listen to me every Saturday afternoon between 2pm – 4pm on Radio Ninesprings https://www.radioninesprings.co.uk/

I do like to keep myself busy and see and do as many different things as I can. I got Lynda a meal for two at a very nice restaurant run by one of her favourite Chef’s as a present. And happily she has decided to take me there with her, so we are off to enjoy that today. I will of course report back on what it was like next time we speak. Have fun and we will catch up again soon. Stay safe! Cheers Neil.

Neil Quigley Presenter