All posts by Neil

On The Right Tracks

May 13, 2017 Neil

Hi there, how are you doing? I hope you have had a really good couple of weeks. Mine have been pretty busy with some fun stuff happening. Did you watch the big fight from Wembley Stadium the other week? There were ninety thousand people there to see Anthony Joshua fight Wladimir Klitschko. Having worked there previously I know how much work and effort goes in to the logistics of turning a football pitch in to a Boxing Ring and back again within forty-eight hours. It is very impressive.

In fact online there’s a time lapse video that shows you how it is all done. I did not get to see the fight in person, sadly. But I was actually travelling past the Stadium on the train about an hour or so before the main event. And even from the outside with the Arch lit and the spotlights shooting up into the air, it felt exciting

I got home just in time to listen to the fight on Five Live. I could not quite justify buying the fight in for me to watch alone, I felt. Plus I do like hearing the boxing on the radio, it sounds brilliant. You do really get a feel of what is happening and you can absorb the atmosphere more I think. It was an amazing bout, obviously I was rooting for our man Anthony Joshua. Who at one point looked like he was struggling but then came back stronger to win.

The sign of a true champion, that. It is not over till it is over. And it does prove the old metaphor when you get knocked down just get back up again and keep going. Well done to both fighters for the way it was all conducted. They showed a lot of respect for each other. It was all done in a very gentlemanly way.

Anyone managed to watch that memory stick yet? Which Klitschko had sewn in to his dressing gown with a video recording of how he predicted the fight was going to go. If he got that one completely right. I think that he could well be Ukraine’s answer to Derren Brown. As well as great boxer’s they are two brilliant role models for people to try to aspire to be and look up to. Which is something that is getting harder and harder to find nowadays.

At the fight they had the legendary boxing announcer Michael Buffer. I was working at Wembley during the Carl Froch versus George Groves fight. At the press conference a few days before I got into a lift with the aforementioned Mr Buffer and he asked my what floor he needed for a certain room in his unmistakable voice. Just for a second I did think about asking him to do a quick “Let’s Get Ready To Rumble” for me. But I thought better of it and remained cool.

During the day the train service between where I live in Princes Risborough and Aylesbury is provided by a small single carriage old style diesel. I have used this service a few times in the past and thought nothing of it. However a friend of mine called George Thomas is really in to his trains. He volunteers on a steam railway in Somerset and will go out and see train’s when they make unusual or special journey’s, if he can.

He informed me that this train on my local service was about to be retired soon. And as it was one of the last one’s in the country still running. He wanted to come and take a trip on it. So as he mentioned combining it with having a couple of pints of beer. I said I would go with him.

When I met him at the station I very quickly got the impression that he was not the only one keen to witness this relic in action before it is put out to graze. Previously when I have made this journey there were only about five people on the train. This time it was nearly full and two thirds of the passengers had cameras and notebooks. And before boarding the train they were all taking plenty of pictures. It was actually quiet nice taking this trip. I enjoyed the enthusiasm and excitement of the new commuters, even if I have to admit that some of the conversations they were having about our mode of transport went right over my head.

When we got to Aylesbury we went and had a few drinks in the Kings Head. Which is a lovely old and very traditional pub right in the centre of town. In fact I believe it to be the oldest drinking venue there. It is claimed that Oliver Cromwell stayed there around the time of the Civil War. Which if you know your history means it must have been there for a while. I am a big supporter of local brewery’s. So while we were there I enjoyed a couple of award winning pints of ale from The Chiltern Brewery. Which tasted great and were very refreshing, for the record.

We then got the same train back. George took some more pictures and tried to explain to me how it worked. As at one point we got held up at a station as the brakes stuck on, so the driver was revving the engine in neutral to try to charge them up to release them, apparently. This did work eventually and we did get back to Risborough in the end.

Having one more pint of local produce this time a pint from the Rebellion Brewery in Marlow in The Bird In Hand. That is the nearest pub to the station as George had to get back there and hop on a much newer train to get home. It was a fun couple of hours seeing a trip I have made quite a lot over the years through someone else’s eyes and from a different perspective.

It has been a really good season for my football team Tottenham Hotspur. Slightly disappointingly the other Friday we had the chance to cut Chelsea’s lead at the top of the Premier League to one point but we got beaten away by West Ham United. Even if we had won that game it would have been an impossible task overtaking them. And they have now won the league.

The amount of rubbish talked about Spurs during and after that game was unbelievable. That was the first game we had lost in ten, we had won all of our previous nine games in a row our best run since 1965. We have the best goal difference in the league and we have conceded the fewest goals. We have been without all our major players for spells during this season. We are going to qualify for the Champions League for the second year in a row. We will finish above Arsenal for the first time in over twenty years.

We were out fought by West Ham, they got a bit of luck with their goal and deserved to win. We lost a game. No team can win every game. So to clear a couple of things up for all those people criticising us. We are a top team already with great players. The way we have played and the points we have earned proves this. A good winning run coming to an end does not make us bottlers, by any stretch of anyone’s imagination.

Not only that but tomorrow we say an emotional farewell to White Hart Lane. As we head to Wembley Stadium for a year. Before we return home to our amazing new stadium. Which is right next door to the old one. It is an exciting time to be a fan of this club.This is just the start of things, I think, not the end. Which is a ridiculous conclusion to draw from seeing a decent team just lose a London Derby away.

Last night I finally got round to seeing the current David Baddiel Stand Up Show “My Family not the Sitcom”. I had been hearing great things about it for ages. It is on at the Playhouse Theatre in London for the next three weeks. I have followed his career from The Mary Whitehouse Experience through to Fantasy Football League with Frank Skinner and beyond. But this was the first time that I had seen him live.

The show and him were both brilliant. It is very personal and most importantly very funny. He is an excellent performer and creates a great atmosphere within the room. I had a great seat in the fourth row, so got to watch him work from very close quarters.

As you would expect from a clever and intelligent man it is brilliantly thought out. It very subtly and nicely links the modern day with the past and shows how generations of the same family can be very different and yet very alike. It starts and ends with good use of Twitter. I have recently started following him on there and needless to say, he is hilarious.

He tackles some sensitive issues in it but always with dignity and humour. I sometimes think that laughter is an under rated tool, which can actually help us deal with so many difficult and unpleasant situations in life. I spent the entire ninety minute show laughing out loud. Another worthwhile night in a theatre being entertained by a great comic.

I am still really enjoying working and spending a lot of time in Central London. You never know who you are going to see. I missed seeing Theresa May at the BBC a couple of weeks ago. I walked past her waiting car and police escort that was parked just outside the entrance as I was heading in to work. I did see Boris Johnson’s sister Rachel walk past, she must have left just before the current Leader of the Conservative Party.

I also bumped in to Clive Anderson in reception a few days later. Then on a train home from London I found myself sitting a couple of seats along from the Strictly Come Dancing star Brendan Cole. Although I do see him around quite often, as he lives near me. I have been working with the fantastic Kathy Clugston recently. As well as being a brilliant news reader. She was also the Posh Radio 4 Lady on the Scott Mills show on Radio One.

So I said after my Birthday party last December that I enjoyed doing a little bit of comedy at it and wanted to return to stand up comedy again. Well I am going to make this happen over the summer. I have signed up to appear at a fantastic event, which will feature a lot of top quality comedians.

It is going to be so much fun and I really can’t wait for it to happen. I will be returning to where my comedy career started and working with a lot of very funny and familiar faces. I will let you know all the details and tell you where you can buy tickets soon. It is going to be brilliant!

Tonight I am heading up to London to help celebrate my mate’s brother’s thirtieth birthday. I am not saying me and my friend have known each other for a long time but I think I first met his brother when he was around eight. He was a lot shorter then than he is now. He towers above me.

It is going to be a cool night, we are going to a classy bar near London Bridge. I am just hoping that I am not the oldest there. I will let you know how I got on next time we speak.

Have fun and we will catch up again in a couple of weeks. Cheers Neil.

It’s Worth A Punt

April 29, 2017 Neil

Hi there, how are you doing? I hope you have had a really nice couple of weeks. Mine have been fairly busy with lots of fun things going on. I trust you had a decent Easter. I enjoyed a nice traditional family Roast Dinner on Easter Sunday. Where my Mum also continued the tradition of giving me an egg.

You could argue I am far to old for this to still be happening. But I think historical heritage is very important and I love chocolate. This year it was a mint Matchmaker’s one, which was amazing. I demolished it in just under two days.

My local train operator is Chiltern Railways. In the last year they have opened up a new route, which means I can now get directly from my local station to Oxford by train. It is something that I had been meaning to try out for ages.

And I finally got round to doing it on Easter Monday. It is about a forty-five minute journey. The station in Oxford is only about a ten minute walk from the centre of the city. Which is ideal.

I was meeting a mate there for the afternoon. So after walking around admiring the architecture for a bit. As it was a dry and relatively nice day and because it was something that neither of us had done before. We decided to take a Punt ride around one of the picturesque waterways. There were a few different options available.

You could hire a Pedalo, Rowing boat or a Punt yourself. Or for a little bit more money. You could have a Punt ride for thirty minutes with a chauffeur provided. So as neither of us had ever punted before and because it was a Bank Holiday therefore a day of rest, we went with that last option.

They do seem really unsteady and unstable when you get in to sit down in the Punts. But once you are in the seat, which was actually cushioned. It actually felt very comfy. Our driver was a guy called Noah. Perfect name for his job and I presume he only takes passengers in two’s.

Anyway he was brilliant, giving us lots of information about all the places we were passing, tips on Punting and working on the river in general. In fact when we got to a quiet bit. He let me have a go at the Punting. I have to say it was a lot harder than he was making it look. And the poles were a bit heavier than I was expecting.

After a few successful pushes I quit while I was ahead and gave control back to the man who knew what he was doing. It was good fun having a go at powering and steering the vessel. But it was a lot more relaxing just sitting back and watching the world go by with Noah at the helm. It was all good fun and I really enjoyed the experience, so if you have never tried it, I would recommend doing so.

I think I will definitely take advantage of that train journey again in the future. There are some nice restaurants and bars in Oxford. Which I could visit, enjoy their full hospitality and then let the train take the strain on the way home.

A while ago now I took my Mum to the Pinewood Studios to see a couple of episodes of the quiz show Debatable being filmed. It was a nice afternoon watching Patrick Kielty in action. One of the shows we saw was shown on television last week. So if you saw the one that featured Jonathan Edwards, Rick Edwards and Ann Widdecombe, the more sharp eyed of you may have spotted the back of my head a few times. I must admit that they do not have the most flattering views of the audience on this programme.

While we are taking about quiz shows. Now it has actually been commissioned and is being shown on television. I can reveal that I was involved in one of the pilot shows for Don’t Ask Me, Ask Britain. Which was great fun to do. It is nice to see it got picked up by ITV. And being a massive Frank Skinner fan, it is brilliant to see him on it.

Last Monday I made a welcome return visit to the Old Rope Comedy night at the Phoenix Pub in London. I have mentioned it before and I think this was about the fifth or six time I have been there now but it never disappoints. It is a new material night for top comedians, to try out their latest jokes.

It is run and hosted by Tiff Stevenson with help from her dad who checks the tickets on the way in. The line up is always great and has recognisable comics on the bill every single week. I have seen some truly brilliant acts there. Some night’s it is like a whose who in the world of comedy in there.

It is just such a top night out. The comedians doing their thing on stage during this latest trip included the brilliant Sean Walsh, who was hilarious. Rich Hall popped along to try out some bits ready for an upcoming QI recording and did a comedy song on his guitar.

Plus I actually managed to see someone who I had heard great things about but never seen before in Paul McCaffrey. He was totally brilliant. I would really like to see his full show on the back of what I saw, he was very funny. I enjoyed his set even more as I could hear Sean Walsh laughing his head off behind me to. When I next get a free Monday night. I will be heading back there once again to get my comedy fix.

It was the London Marathon last weekend. I think every year most people will probably know at least one person who is taking part. So well done to my mate Lee Bryant who went through the pain barrier to complete his second and he now claims last appearance in the famous run. Anyone who takes part has my full admiration and if you finish it that is an amazing achievement.

It is one of those things that I have seriously thought about trying over the years but never followed it through. I do go running regularly and I do generally try to keep fit. But running twenty-six miles in one go, I fear could be too much for me. Of course I guess the older I get the harder it will actually be if I do ever find the motivation to apply and then the luck to actually secure a place. No immediate plans on that front but as ever with life I will not rule anything in nor will I rule it out.

Neil Quigley at Mix 96 Tour De Vale Bike Ride

I recently went to meet a friend of mine for a drink in the Wembley area. We went to a new bar which is just across from Wembley Stadium. In fact you get a fantastic view of the iconic venue through their window. It is a new craft beer pub with to be fair a huge selection of different locally brewed drinks. The music in there was pretty cool with The Rolling Stones, The Jam, Bon Jovi and Bruce Springsteen playing while we were there.

However it was not very busy. We were oddly the only two people in the place. So if you want a quiet drink in that area. That place would appear to be a safe option. If it is still there and open, which unless it gets a few more customers may not be the case.

Last weekend the two FA Cup Semi-Finals took place at Wembley Stadium. I am not going to lie I was gutted about the Tottenham result after they were beaten by Chelsea in the first game. I really felt we had a good chance of winning the cup this year. Worryingly we have now lost seven FA Cup Semi-Finals in a row, since we won the competition in 1991.Which is an unwanted new record. Plus with the strong possibility that it could be our home next season, our current record playing there is terrible. Which is not ideal to say the least.

In the match we did not quite seem our normal recent selves. We made a few mistakes and gave away a few bad goals but still battled back to two all at one point. Then even when Chelsea took the lead again I thought we could get a goal and take it in to extra time still. But once that rocket from Matic nestled right in the top corner of our net. It was game over sadly. It has been a great season but it still looks like we will once again miss out on any silverware. Which is a little bit disappointing. But hey upwards and on wards.

Britain’s Got Talent is back for another year. This is the first time in three years that I have not managed to get along and watch one of the audition shows. When I have done that in the past it tends to give me an idea of the level of talent on show for that series. This year I have no preconceptions, so it has been very interesting to see so far. Ant and Dec are brilliant as ever. They do really make the show, specially their interaction with some of the nutters and odd acts that the show still does seem attract.

I was also surprised that Simon Cowell has already pressed his Golden Buzzer. Being a dad has definitely caused him to mellow. He is just a big softy nowadays. Personally I think that a singer or a dance act will win it this year. But I have no idea which one at this stage.

Another television show that I have sat in the audience of a few times now has returned to our screens. Celebrity Juice is back on. It has to still be one of the maddest shows ever. They get brilliant guests on there and get them to do unbelievable things. That I am sure they would never have imagined they would do in a studio but once they are there and the cameras and rolling. They tend to just go along with it. It is just very silly fun most of the time.

The recording generally lasts around two hours. They do the opening first as you would expect. But then they just talk to each of the guests and have general conversations amongst themselves. Often these chats are then put in to different parts of the show in the edit. Once they are happy they have got enough fill in banter, they then play the games in the correct sequence. The last bit to be filmed is the buzzer round at the end and then the scores.

So just like you see on television the recording finishes with them all dancing around on stage. Last time I was there I had a seat right on the front row, so I had a great view of the action. In fact on his way on to the stage Keith Lemon left me hanging, as I went in for a high five with him. It is a fun night out at Elstree to watch the craziness. I am enjoying this latest series as ever, it is still bonkers fun.

I am still doing some work for the BBC. Which I am really enjoying. Sadly I was not in the building the other Friday when the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge made their surprise and brilliant appearance on Radio 1. I have watched the whole thing and they and all the presenters did a great job.

I have most recently been working on some more Radio 4 programmes including the flagship Six O’clock evening news.

Have fun and we will catch up again in a couple of weeks. Cheers Neil.

At The Races

April 14, 2017 Neil

Hi there, how are you doing? I hope you have had a really good couple of weeks. Mine have been pretty busy with some fun stuff happening. I am of an age where quite a few people I know are celebrating land mark birthday’s.

So a couple of Saturday’s ago I attended a party to mark such an occasion at a golf club just outside Maidenhead. It was actually on April 1st but it was after midday, so it was not just a big elaborate joke, it was a genuine do.

I had a lovely night catching up with friends, who I had not seen for a while. The birthday girl seemed to have a great night and really enjoy herself. Which is the main thing of course. I decided to drive but to be honest did not fancy drinking water or lemonade all night. So I compromised by having a few bottle’s of Becks Blue. Which believe it or not is a non-alcoholic lager. Which I would argue tastes better than actual Becks.

I have to confess as a younger man I could not see the point of beer with no alcohol, as that defied the whole object of drinking it. But when you are driving it gives the illusion of drinking beer. And possibly due to some sort of placebo type effect it makes you feel a little bit drunk, even though you are definitely not.

There was also some live music provided by a great bloke called Steve Carroll. I had seen him perform many years ago at a pub in Eaton and remember him being brilliant. I can confirm that my memory was correct. This time he was joined by a female singer. It was just them and their guitars playing some belting songs. And fair play they played for two and an half hours non-stop.

The range of songs was so wide and varied. At one point they went seamlessly from Cotton Eyed Joe by Rednex straight in to 500 Miles by The Proclaimers. They were fantastic and had everyone up dancing and singing along. It was an entertaining evening and nice to be able to drive home from a party and not worry about having a hangover the next day.

Neil Quigley TV Radio & Live — Neil Quigley TV, Radio & Live

Since we spoke last The Boat Race has taken place. It is always a great spectacle and occasion. I do keep an eye out for it and try to watch it every year. After working for a few year’s at the Henley Regatta. I have learnt a little bit more about rowing. So I understand it a little bit better than I did previously.

The training and dedication required from the crew’s is amazing. Bearing in mind they are fitting this punishing regime around studying for some very impressive and tough qualifications. I think makes it even more of a wholesome event. One year I really must go to London, find a nice pub overlooking the Thames and see it. I think that would be good fun.

One big sporting event that I do always try to attend now is the Grand National Meeting at Aintree. Happily this year was no exception, so for the third year in a row I headed up to see my good mate Jeff Nolan on the Thursday before the big race on the Saturday.

To start to soak up some of the atmosphere already building up in the area. He lives right by the famous race course. So when I got there we headed out for a few drinks at a near by pub to catch up, see and meet up with some of the people who had been at the race course to enjoy day one of the festival.

Everyone dresses up and makes a big effort when they go. So there were some very smart people in the particular pub chain we were in that evening. Which you could argue was different to the norm. We only stayed for a few to make sure we kept our powder dry for the next day.

So it was back home for some nice food and to work on the latest episode of his Chasing 40 Podcast. And then as always tends to happen when we get together to listen to some classic and great music. The selection this time included a live performance by Bob Dylan and The Rolling Stones.

We were up early the next morning to get ready for the big day ahead. It is now a tradition that we go to Aintree on the Friday for Ladies Day. So after a hearty breakfast to set us up nicely for the day. We head out to pick up the rest of his mates who are joining us.

Then it is time to get the suits on. This was a debut performance for a brand new suit, which due to a lack of time I ended up having to order online. Which much to my surprise actually fitted fine. I actually must know my own clothes measurements better than I thought I did.

The first stop was the local pub which was already full of men in suits and ladies in their best outfits. Shall we say starting to fuel themselves up for the day. Both with food and drink. Then we made our way to a pub which is right by the entrance to the famous sporting venue. This again is full of people drinking and having a good time. There is a fun and party atmosphere everywhere you go over the weekend.

Next it is time to head in to watch the racing. The place is huge with lots of different sections and bars for you to get refreshments and put bets on. For example there is a giant tent with big screens to see the races and a live band who come on and do a few songs in between the races. It is like a giant all day party.

There was also a special area dedicated to Red Rum to mark the fortieth anniversary since the legendary horse’s third Grand National victory. There is a statue of him at the race course permanently and there was also an exhibition with photos and memorabilia from his glittering career. Which was amazing and fascinating.

Also for a bit of fun they had a photo opportunity where you could have your picture riding Red Rum over a fence at Aintree. Only an idiot would turn down this great and free opportunity. I jumped at the chance (pun intended) and you can see my picture below.

Sadly I only had one winner while I was there and that was a horse called Fox Norton, which came from behind to win an exciting race in the run in. Happily I was outside in the glorious sunshine to cheer it home.

There is something almost magical seeing those amazing creatures thunder past right in front of you, specially when one of them is about to win you some money. It adds to the whole occasion and gives you a nice warm feeling inside. Or that could of course just have been the beer.

With thousands of people there, it is to say the least a bit busy and the trains after can get a little bit crazy. So as the party continues on in Liverpool City Centre anyway. We left before the last race to get ahead of the crowds and save any queuing at the station. I have been going there for many years now so there are possibly not that many places that I have not been to at least once.

Our first stop was The Crack. Which was John Lennon’s local when he was home. Which gives it quite a cool vibe and you can see how he would have felt at ease there chilling with a pint. It is off the beaten track, so not a busy place. They have a jukebox. Which I was straight on, to choose some songs on as soon as we arrived there.

Then we headed off to The Jacaranda. Which is a cool bar where The Beatles used to do some early gigs around the same time they were also doing The Cavern. So like a lot of the bars around it has a musical history feel to it.

While we were there the whole pub was involved in an impromptu sing-a-long to The Smiths “This Charming Man”. This included a lot of Morrissey impressions from people up on the dance floor. I am pretty sure there were people filming it, so I would not be to surprised if a video of it made an appearance on You Tube at some point.

Our final destination was The Cavern Club. Which is not the original Cavern sadly that was just down the same road but knocked down years ago. There has been a new thing added to Mathew Street since my last visit and that is a statue of Cilla Black, which I saw as we walked to the Cavern. Now despite it not being the original venue they do still have great live bands there. And quite a few big names have played there over the year’s.

It has a really friendly feel to it and it is always a fun place to just hang out. We had a good old sing along to the band as the party continued. Earlier in the day a famous book maker firm was giving out some freebies including some sun glasses. Which I am modelling in the picture below. It was our last venue of the night. We then headed back to Jeff’s to get a pizza and reflect on another brilliant Ladies Day.

We decided to go and watch the Grand National on Saturday in Liverpool. But before that there was one other sporting event I wanted to watch Totttenham were playing at home against Watford in the early kick off at twelve thirty. So we assembled the same squad as the day before in the pub to watch that.

It was a pretty straight forward win in the end. Keeping up Spurs great current run, which for the record I am very much enjoying. I have said before that I do not think Chelsea will slip up but if we can chase them all the way, finish second and win the FA cup. It will have been a brilliant and fitting season for what could be our last one at White Hart Lane.

So then after a trip to the Bookies to get our bets on for the big race. We went to a big sports bar to watch the action. It was a brilliant Grand National this year I thought, for starters no horses were injured, which is always the main hope. It was an entertaining and interesting race seeing those equine athletes majestically float over those iconic fences. It had everything.

Congratulations to the winner One For Arthur and to you if you picked it and put some of your hard earned cash on it. I selected five horses this year and none of mine were ever really in it. So if you selected the winner you have my up most respect, well done. It is and always will be for me the greatest of all the horse races. I am already looking forward to next year’s.

We found ourselves in the Cavern Pub after the race. Which is just across the street from The Cavern. It had a live three piece band performing. There are lots of signed pictures and guitars up on the walls from some of the famous people who have either visited of actually performed at The Cavern. From here me and Jeff went back to Aintree to meet his cousin James who had been at the Grand National itself. And who had backed the winner.

We stayed out with him to help him celebrate his triumph. Before it was time to call an end to what is always a brilliant weekend. The next day there was time for some breakfast, then it was time for me to catch the train back to Buckinghamshire. Great fun as always, in fact I have already booked up to go back and do it all again next year.

Have fun and we will catch up again in a couple of weeks. Cheers Neil.

Barcelona

April 1, 2017 Neil

Hi there, how are you doing? I hope you have had a really nice couple of weeks. Mine have been very busy with lots of fun things going on. The main thing in particular was a visit to a European city that I had never been to before. So as the United Kingdom was getting ready to remove itself from the European Union I was finally embracing a new area of it. For my fortieth some friends of mine clubbed together and got me a travel voucher, which I used towards a long weekend away in Barcelona. So that is where I was last weekend.

I flew out very early on the Friday morning from Luton airport. As I was only going for a couple of nights I decided I would only take hand luggage on the plane with me. This was the first time I had ever done this and ended up losing my deodorant and face wash at security control. As they contained over one hundred millilitres of liquid. Which is not allowed seemingly. I never even thought of that issue. To be fair to the good people of Barcelona I did replace those items as soon as I arrived in the city.

I had a pleasant flight there with Easy Jet. They looked after me well and were all happy and friendly. When I landed in Barcelona I decided to take the train to my hotel. I will be honest it did take me a little while to firstly find the train station there and secondly work out roughly where I needed to get off. I took the train in to the centre and then I used their Metro network to get nearer to the hotel. I was impressed by the fact that on the underground trains there is full 3G available. This proved very useful when I got a bit lost and had to re-check my route. As I could do that while still sat on a Metro train.

My hotel was situated in the Gothic Quarter of the City. It was just off La Rambla, which is a very vibrant and busy street with lots of places to eat and drink. The street off it where the hotel was where I was staying, was very easy to find as the start of it was between a Mcdonald’s and a KFC. Two places which I am very familiar with. So it made the place I was staying very easy to find.

When I arrived it was bucketing it down with rain. But even so after I had checked in to the hotel. I thought I should still try and do some exploring and sight-seeing. The architecture and style of some of the buildings is breath taking and I took a look inside a few of them that were open to the public. In fact not long in to my walk I stumbled across a statue showing St George standing over the dragon. I have not done any research on this, so I have no idea why they have a tribute to our patron saint on display, may be he was actually Catalonian.

The rain then got the better of me for a moment, so I went in to a coffee shop to sample the local tea. I am not saying that it was not very good or up to my normal standard but that was the last time I attempted a tea until I got home. After sheltering for a bit I headed back out in to the wet and continued looking at the great Cathedral’s and regal state buildings. As well as the very narrow and populated old streets.

I was trying to stay out of bars and restaurants for as long as possible, as I did not want to start drinking to early. But the rain was not easing and I was getting wetter and wetter. So I gave in and found a lovely little bar to stay dry in. I had my first glass of Spanish red wine. With my motto for the weekend being to try new local things only. I had a stuffed peppers dish followed by a green raspberry cheesecake. All of which was fantastic and which may or may not have been washed down with a second glass of red.

When I left there the rain had become so heavy it was practically biblical, so I decided it was not worth trying to see anymore of my surroundings. So I made the executive plan to just visit a few bars close to my hotel for the evening. They were all very nice and friendly and thankfully for me with my terrible language skills. They all seemed to speak English or in some cases have English staff.

The atmosphere was relaxed and I got chatting to many different people from all over the world during the course of the night. It did seem that there were quite a few Americans visiting, which I do not know why but that surprised me a bit. I then headed back to the hotel at a reasonable time, as the next morning I was going to go and do the thing I wanted to do most while I was there.

I am a big football fan. I have been lucky enough to visit a lot of big stadiums over the years. I spent some time working at Wembley Stadium. So as I was in Barcelona for the weekend. There was one place that I had to visit. The stadium with the biggest capacity in the whole of Europe. I am of course talking about the Nou Camp, the home of the epic Barcelona Football Club.

I was way too excited for a man of my age as I got off the Metro Train, walked down towards the ground and got my first glimpse of it from the outside. It does look pretty old and basic as you approach it. But then when you get a bit closer and see the colours and massive pictures of the star players on it, it looks very impressive.

I arrived and got my ticket for the Tour Experience after a slight scare, as at first the machine was not working so I could not get one. But happily it was swiftly fixed and I was heading towards the entrance with my ticket in my hand and a big smile on my face,

The first thing they do is take a welcome photo against a green screen, which they let you see at the end, against a selection of different back drops. There are several other photo opportunities as you move through the tour, which I will tell you about later.

Then you head through to the Barcelona FC museum. That is just sensational. They have so much memorabilia on display including some ridiculously old and original shirts. They also have a signed Maradona shirt, the boots Ronald Koeman wore when he scored that winning free kick at the old Wembley in the European Cup Final in 1992 and a shirt and pair of boots belonging to Lionel Messi.

And then the trophy cabinets are immense. They seem to hold every trophy the club has ever won. Including the trophy’s they currently hold. And their five Champions League Trophy’s. I have done the Tottenham Hotspur tour and it puts our trophy room to shame, that is for sure.

You then get to head out in to the stands, it was nice to finally be inside this great home of football. From there you can make your way down to the press room and on to a replica of the away dressing room. The whole tour includes lots of great pictures and interactive video displays as you walk round.

Next they give you chance to walk out that famous tunnel. Which does actually have its very own elaborate chapel. You walk up some steps to get pitch side. Where you can take some photos and sit in both the home and away dug outs. The pitch looked amazing, although they did appear to have a bit of a problem with pigeons there bizarrely. Next up it is the corporate areas and then the press box. Which I have to say offered a great view of the pitch.

Heading down from there, they give you chance to have your picture taken with a replica of the Champions League Trophy with the Nou Camp in the background. I have got my picture and it is brilliant. I also have a picture of me celebrating with the team after the 2011 Wembley win, one with the current team and one of me and Lionel Messi with our arms round each other.

The tour was brilliant. I would definitely recommend it if you are a football fan. It is a spectacular and historic stadium that has been graced by many of the world’s greatest players at some point or another.

Now happily the weather on my second day was much better, the rain had stopped and the sun was out. So after I left the Nou Camp I headed back to my hotel to drop off all the pictures from my tour. I then decided to head out for a walk to try and find the Barcelona beach. I mean the city really does have everything.

To get to the beach I had to walk past the port. Which had some of the most amazing Yachts I had even seen moored there. It would appear there is obviously money about. It was a nice stroll and being as in my head I was on holiday I treated myself to an ice-cream.

I eventually found the beach. It is fair to say the sea was a bit lively and was actually full of surfers catching some waves. I found myself a beach side cafe overlooking the sea. Where I treated myself to a glass of Sangria and some Tapas. Both of which I thoroughly enjoyed, while listening to the sound of the waves in the background. I returned to the hotel to get changed before heading out for a traditional Spanish meal.

So I found a nice restaurant in which I tried my first ever Paella. I never take pictures of my food but for this big occasion I made an exception. It was lovely and accompanied by a glass of red wine. I then hit a few more different bars in the area for the rest of the evening. Like in England the clocks also go forward, so technically I lost an hour when I was there.

On my final day I did the typical tourist thing of taking a City Bus Tour, which lasted about an hour and an half and was very interesting and educational. They really do have some stunning looking buildings. Much like London there are old style ones mixed in with brand new ones. They also have a huge aquarium which I visited.

It has a part of it where you walk through a special tunnel with different species including Sharks swimming alongside and above you. It was fascinating and the closest I have been to a shark. All to soon it was time to come home late on the Sunday. Again another lovely flight with Easy Jet led by a funny and amusing cabin manager. All in all it was a great weekend in a city that I would be happy to visit again in the future.

Next weekend I am looking forward to my annual trip up to Liverpool for the Grand National Meeting at Aintree. I always have a great time when I visit the place. But there is always something special about these four days.

We normally just go to the course for Ladies Day on the Friday but there is talk of possibly making it on the day of the big race to. Either way the atmosphere in what is always a party city is electric. It will be a lot of fun. I will tell you all about it next time we speak.

Have fun and we will catch up again in a couple of weeks. Cheers Neil.

Thoroughly Modern Me

March 18, 2017 Neil

Hi there, how are you doing? I hope you have had a really good couple of weeks. Mine have been fairly busy with some fun stuff going on. Now as I have mentioned before I am a big fan of Strictly Come Dancing. One of my current favourite dancer’s on the show is the brilliant Joanne Clifton. So when I discovered she was going to be starring in the new touring version of Thoroughly Modern Millie. And that it was coming to one of my local theatre’s. I decided that I had to get along to see it.

Therefore a couple of Tuesday’s ago I did just that at The Swan Theatre in High Wycombe. I have to confess that although I am a huge fan of musicals, it was not one that I had seen before. I did not even know what the story was about, which actually made a nice change. Seeing something that was completely new to me. I was genuinely surprised and absorbed by the plot.

Happily and conveniently for the show’s title I thoroughly enjoyed it from start to finish. The whole cast were fantastic. The songs were great. It featured a live Orchestra, which always enhances any performance, I think. It is quite a high energy, fast moving show with a relatively small cast, so some of the actors have to play a couple of different parts. It is fair to say that everyone is working hard while on and also off stage. As ever, like with most musicals it has a story line that looks at perceptions, decisions and morals with an element of good versus evil. But there are a few clever twists in it, which I really liked.

Now we come on to the main reason I went in the first place. The gorgeous Joanne Clifton, who shines in the lead role and carries the whole show so effortlessly. She really has not taken the easy option here for her first big production. As this part requires her to do an American accent. Which she does perfectly. She seems to have an aura around her, which attracts your attention and means you cannot take your eyes off her. Which I believe demonstrates star quality.

It really is a stunning performance. She has a great voice and really belts out those big numbers. Her acting is believable. And there is of course no need to question her dancing, she is a world champion in that arena.

She is definitely going to go on to star in more musicals. And I would be amazed not to see her in the West End sometime soon. Right at the end, as the curtain was falling, after the play had finished. She and one of the other actors gave us a little bit of a classic jive to enjoy, which was ace. She was giving it her all right to the very last second. She seemed to be loving it and I must admit I loved watching it to.

I also spent another night in High Wycombe recently checking out a new shop that has opened there. It is called the Brewery Shop. And it does what it says on the tin. It is a shop serving a huge selection of different beers from lots of various independent and local brewery’s.

It does also have a decent bar area with a huge selection of different guest craft ales on tap. So you can sit in there and try lots of different drinks. It seemed nice and friendly in there. Plus the selection of drinks they had was impressive. I tried a couple of them while I was there. I would imagine that I will be going back there again to sample some more of them at some point.

Saturday Night Take Away is back on television for another series. And once again I am really enjoying it. It is one of the maddest show’s of the year. With the two Geordie geniuses acting as ring masters to the huge Circus. I have said this before but they have cleverly taken all the best bits from every Saturday night entertainment programme that there has ever been. Put them all together and adapted them to their own unique style.

I went and watched a show live in the studio last year and that was brilliant. The atmosphere in that studio is electric. It is just like one big giant party. The ninety minutes go so quickly. It is fun seeing them get things ready and set things up during the advert breaks. It is just plain old fashioned silly fun and very entertaining.

The two of them are in their element and are given a bit of freedom to ad-lib and create magic moments in this inclusive and live environment. Now while they are not comedians, the relationship and comedy timing that exists between them does at least slightly remind me of Morecambe and Wise. They certainly have that connection together and the ability to make the audience feel we are all in on the joke with them.

I like the new weekly serials that they have added over the last two years. They are both ridiculous and hilarious, full of silly and amusing jokes. And feature some great cameos with the lads very happy to send themselves up in them. Plus the end of the show show is of course always a winner. And in many ways the idea behind that, seems like another nod to the two comedy legends I mentioned earlier. I am looking forward to seeing the rest of the series. It is simply fun, which is what the world needs more of in my opinion.

The Nightly Show has now started on ITV1. I went to see the pilot version of it. At that time I felt it still needed a bit of work to get it right. And three weeks in I have to say I still think it does. It is the type of programme that the United Kingdom has been missing. They have been doing this kind of show very well in America for a very long time. Now I do really want it to work and for it to become a regular thing. But having watched a couple of episodes over the first few weeks. I think it is trying a bit too hard, it all seems a little too forced and they are trying to pack too much in, making it quite a difficult and awkward watch for me personally.

Although I appreciate it is not easy writing funny and topical material to order, every single night. But for me the opening monologue’s do need to be better. To set the tone, get the audience on side and give it that sense of the day. To make it unique and up to the minute. If you want to do a nightly topical show, it does need to be just that. Some of the guest choices have been a bit odd to. And I am not totally convinced the quick games with members of the public really add anything to it either.

I saw via social media that Danny Baker has offered his services to mould this show and build it up. Now love him or hate him. He has got form with this sort of thing from his past TV work. Which suggests he could may be give it the kick start that it needs. I do really want it to work and for it to be good. I hope they can tweak it and find the right vibe for it. That said the viewing figures for it are pretty good for a new show at that time, but I genuinely think it can be better.

Last Friday night I went with my dad to the Official Wycombe Wanderers Supporters Association Dinner at Adams Park. The home of the football team it assists. Both he and my mum are season ticket holders at the club. And members of the aforementioned organisation, as am I. It was a very pleasant evening including an enjoyable three course meal. That featured the best chocolate mousse dessert I have had for a while.

Since it was formed over twenty five years ago. It has donated over seventy-five thousand pounds to the club. It was good to see the manager Gareth Ainsworth there supporting the event. They auctioned off Myles Weston’s shirt from the FA Cup match against Tottenham Hotspur, which was signed by the whole squad. Plus there was a raffle in which I won a bottle of red wine, which topped off a very enjoyable evening, very nicely.

Talking of the mighty Tottenham Hotspur our season has been going through another quite decent spell. Well if you completely ignore crashing out of the Europa League that is. Certainly in the Premier League, things have been looking good with wins and good performances becoming the norm.

Still cannot see us getting past Cheslea though, I think they have the title sewn up already. The most exciting thing for me though is reaching the FA Cup Semi-Final. It has been far too long since we have been in one. Although we do now have to get past Chelsea in that to get to the final.

My only ever trip to Old Trafford was to see us lose to Newcastle in a FA Cup Semi-final, several years ago now. I have always loved the competition and it has been to long since we have had a shot at the final of it. When you consider that we have not won it since 1991 and that was the last time that we were even in the final.

We must be due another appearance, I hope. If for no other reason than Chas N Dave can release a new Spurs song for the occasion. I can’t wait for the Semi-final it is going to be huge. And if we get to the final I will have to try and get a ticket for that somehow. Come on you Spurs.

Yesterday it was the seventeenth of March and therefore of course St Patrick’s Day. I do have a surname of Irish origin. My Granddad was born there. Plus I have been over to Dublin four times. So as far as I am concerned that qualifies me to be able to spend this very special day in a pub, having a few drinks. This year was no different. I went to my favourite pub in London.

Which just so happens to be an Irish Bar called Waxy O’Connor’s. Where I enjoyed a few pints of Guinness. The atmosphere in there is always top quality. To add to the flavour of the occasion they have music playing all day plus a traditional Irish Trio performing live a few times during the day to.

Last year I won a competition on social media for my photos of the event. That prize pack included T-shirts from the place, which I really like. I was tempted to wear one of them this year but then I realised that I would look like the staff and end up having to serve people pints or tell them where the toilets were all day.

It was brilliant fun as ever and made even more entertaining by the fact they showed the Cheltenham Gold Cup live on the big screen. For a second during the race it almost felt like I was there. I always enjoy this day, every year. It was lots of fun celebrating with a great group of people.

I am looking forward to next weekend visiting and exploring somewhere that I have never been before. For my fortieth birthday some friends of mine got together and got me a travel voucher as a present. So I have used that to enjoy a weekend away in Barcelona.

I have never been to main land Spain before, so I am very excited. I have heard great things about the place from friends who have been before. I will tell you all about it and let you know what I got up to next time we speak.

Have fun and we will catch up again in a couple of weeks. Cheers Neil.

Neil Quigley Presenter