Hello again, I hope all is well with you and that you have had a nice couple of weeks. I have had a brilliant few weeks catching up with friends and being a very small part in the events that they have very much been the big stars of. Which has been a lot of fun and made me proud of what they have achieved. The time has flown by and the weather is definitely now turning colder. I know this because as a man who has little insulation on my head I have had to bring out my winter hat for the first time this week to keep warm.

Last Friday I was an Usher at my mate’s wedding. The whole day and the evening were fantastic. The bride looked stunning and the groom looked probably as smart as I have ever seen him. Even though it was November it was a nice sunny day with a clear blue sky which all added to the occasion. The whole event went so smoothly and was rounded off by a brilliant party at the reception. Which saw me spending quite a lot of time on the dance floor.

I really enjoyed being an Usher and the Master of Ceremonies for this very special day. This meant I had a few little jobs to do throughout the day. In fact these duties started the day before. When I ended up helping the Groom and the Best Man transport some items to the Wedding Reception venue. This quite predictably ended up with the three of us having a lunchtime beer in the hotel bar. Which also doubled as an important logistics meeting for the following day of course.

I stayed with the Groom the night before and we had a very relaxing evening watching the film Dinner for Schmucks. Which if you have not seen it, it is a little bit odd to say the least. He however did miss a bit of the film when I sent him to the dining room to work on his speech. After he made the mistake of telling me he had not quite finished it. I can be quite the tough task master sometimes.

On the morning of the Wedding we all went for a big fry up. Before getting changed into our matching suits. When we went on nights out as teenagers we would often accidentally wear similar outfits but on this occasion it was acceptable and actually on purpose. I had to tie the Grooms tie for him. And I have to admit that it is very difficult trying to tie a tie on somebody else. After four failed attempts I was starting to get worried we might be late for the church. But we got there on the next go.

In fact we arrived with enough time to pop to the pub for a cheeky half first. Then after handing out all the button holes to the Wedding Party. I then had to meet, greet and sit everyone in the Church. While handing out the Order of Service. Next up I got to test my shouting skills by organising a picture with everyone at the church before we moved off to the reception. On arrival there I helped co-ordinate the rest of the required pictures, while enjoying some pink champagne. Which I have to confess tasted absolutely amazing. Then after announcing it was time to sit down for food I had to welcome in the Bride and the Groom in to the room. Who were then clapped to their seats.

Then came my favourite part of the evening when after dinner I got to host the speeches section, which I really enjoyed. All the speeches were brilliant and thankfully my little bits in between them seemed to go down well with the audience and the stars of the show. My final duty was the get everybody gathered round the dance floor to watch the happy couple take to it and perform their first dance. It was a very memorable and lovely day and it was an honour to be there and be so involved with it. And may I take this opportunity here to wish Mr and Mrs Ross all the best for the future and thank them for letting me be a part of their big day.

The last couple of weeks have seen a lot of Christmas Lights being switched on up and down the country. Emma Bunton and Melanie C sung together as the Regent Street Lights were turned on in London. That brought back some memories for me as I once went and watched the Spice Girls turn on the Oxford Street Lights. It was hosted by Neil Fox and I remember finding it quite funny that the girls actually got a chauffeur driven car from the hotel over the road to the stage. All of about two hundred metres. I have been a part of and actually organised quite a few Christmas Light Switch On’s over the years. They are fun and exciting occasions that I really loved being involved with. It does make you feel quite powerful and special when you are there up on stage leading the countdown and knowing that when you get to zero the lights will come on. To me that always means the start of the countdown to Christmas. Some of the people I have lit up town’s with include Jonathan Wilkes, Gary Lucy, Mike Sterling, Sue Hodge and Ben Langley.

Talking of Ben Langley he has been on a big UK Tour with a play he wrote, directed and starred in alongside Joe Pasquale and Andrew Fettes. I went and saw them perform it in High Wycombe back in September, which was show three of the tour. It was a very funny show and I really enjoyed seeing it. Being mate’s with Ben when I saw that it was coming to the Aylesbury Waterside Theatre for the penultimate night of the tour last Saturday I thought it would be nice to meet up with him again for a nice chat and catch up. When I suggested that to him I also mentioned that if he needed someone to do a certain thing that I had seen take place in the play previously I would be happy to do that. He said he would let me know and we just left it at that.

So last Saturday afternoon I met Ben for a cup of tea and nice catch up in the cafe at the theatre. It was great to see him, hear all about how the tour had been and his plans for Christmas and beyond. We then sorted me out a ticket so I could see the show. Which I was very excited about. Then about half an hour before the show starts I get a text from him asking if I wanted to do the “thing” I had previously offered to. So I immediately said yes and got the instruction to go and see him backstage during the interval. So I watched the first half of the show from the stalls. Just having a right good laugh like the rest of the audience. Then as instructed during the interval I went and met Ben in his dressing room. Now in the play there is a very random moment where someone in a Beaver costume appears and walks across the stage. It is a very surreal and weird moment in the show and I found it very funny when it happened, when I first saw it in High Wycombe. This is what I was now going to do in the town I was born in Aylesbury.

So while in his dressing room Ben got me the costume and I put it on. He then explained exactly what I needed to do and gave me the required stage directions. So the second half started and I was sat watching on the side of the stage until I was required. Then Ben gave me my cue and on I walked very slowly waving to the crowd and then to Joe Pasquale who was on stage doing his thing. Now I knew the next thing that was going to happen but it still threw me. A blow up doll fell from the ceiling and I have to confess it made a bigger thud than I was expecting and it made me jump unexpectedly. Being in the costume it was hard to judge but I think I got some laughs. Which is the whole point of it. Then the next bit was about two minutes later when the Beaver walks back across the stage with a carrier bag, as if he has just popped to the shops. On the way off the final thing I had to do was pick up the doll by its leg “like a Caveman” and walk off. Now I could not see that well out of the head of the costume. So when I bent down to pick up the doll I really could not see much at all. So instead of picking it up by a leg I actually managed to grab it by shall we say its crotch. At which point all I heard was Joe burst out laughing. Which as I walked off stage in turn made me laugh and as far as I could tell the audience went with it also and laughed to.

Joe did tell me when he came off stage that when I did that it nearly caused him to ruin his trousers with laughter. I completely loved it and had great fun being very briefly involved with a brilliant play, performed by a great cast. The whole company were really nice to me. So thanks very much to Ben Langley for letting me do it, it was such good fun to do and the best thing is nobody in the audience had any idea that it was me.

I was watching The Graham Norton Show the other week. When the guests included Lady Gaga and June Brown. Now I have never met Lady Gaga, although I would love to. I bet she would be fun and challenging to interview. For the record I have seen her sing live at the Brit Awards and she does have an amazing voice and is a great singer. However I have met June Brown. Who is best known for playing Dot Cotton in Eastenders and was on the show to promote her autobiography. I met June backstage at T4 on the beach in Weston Super-Mare several years ago. I went over to interview her for the radio station I was working for at the time. Within about a minute of the conversation starting she was telling me how she and her friend like to sunbathe completely naked in her friends garden because it is on a hill and has big high walls. Now I have to admit that is not an image I particularly needed in my head, but she was very polite and friendly and I do really like her. There is never a dull moment when she is around and she is a great actress I think.

I am still watching and enjoying Strictly Come Dancing. And still happy to see that my chosen couple of Sophie Ellis-Bextor and Brendan Cole are still doing well. I am also liking Susanna Reid and Kevin Clifton. I think they are doing great and seem to make a good fun team. Plus to be honest what is not to like about a talented journalist and presenter, who is very attractive and loves football.

While we are on the subject of television I have to mention the return of my favourite show of the year. I am once again really enjoying I’m A Celebrity Get Me Out of Here. I do not have a favourite camp mate and I really do not care who wins it but I just think Ant and Dec are fantastic on it. They are so brilliant at having fun at the celebrity’s and their own expense laughing and joking about everything. Which makes it such a entertaining and watch-able show. I tend to tweet along while watching on twitter. Which as the presenters do the same themselves makes it even more enjoyable. I have met quite a few winners of it in the past namely Kerry Katona, Christopher Biggins and Joe Pasquale.

Lastly I have been speaking to the producer of a brand new ITV show that I might well be involved with. If it happens filming will take place before Christmas. It could be a laugh if it comes off.

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

Hi there, how are you doing? I hope you have had an enjoyable couple of weeks. I have had a great fortnight doing lots of fun things, mostly involving just having a laugh with friends. Which is generally the best way to spend your time I think.

The other Saturday it was my mate’s Stag Do. Which as I am going to be an Usher at his Wedding. I helped organise. Along with another mate of mine, who is the best man. The basic brief from the Groom was that he wanted the day to involve football, comedy and a nice meal. And I have to say I think we more than delivered this for him on the day. You know it is going to be an interesting day. When you all meet up at Waterloo Station and are having you first pint in the pub there at eleven thirty in the morning. Our first stop was to be Griffin Park the home of Brentford. Famous mainly for the fact that it is the only ground in the league that has a pub on each corner. So we thought it would be very rude not to have a couple of drinks before the game in at least one of them. Now the surprise we had lined up for the groom here was that he and a couple of us were actually going  to go on to the pitch at half time and take some penalty kicks. And then we were all going to have our picture taken together on the pitch with the Brentford mascot’s.

You should have seen how white his face went. When the best man informed him of this just before the match kicked off. So at half time we did indeed go down on to the pitch and take our penalties. I went first and scored easily, the next person scored to. Then came the star of the show our groom. Who actually managed to miss his penalty. Which came as no great shock to me because he has actually missed every single one I have ever seen him take. Now I know I should have been disappointed for him, but if I am honest I was still running towards the fans behind the goal celebrating my penalty at this point. Before returning to our seats for the second half we did indeed have our picture taken on the pitch. It was a great experience doing all that during a sold out League One match. Good fun!

Then straight after the football it was off to dinner at an Italian Restaurant in Charing Cross. This is how good the timing and planning was. While most of the group travelled straight to where we were getting our food. Me and another mate sneaked off to book everyone into the hotel that we were staying at that night. Then we met them in the Italian just as they were getting ready to order. Perfect timing and carried out with military precision. The meal itself was lovely. And from there we went just round the corner to the Covent Garden Comedy Club. Which was what I would a call proper comedy venue with beer served in plastic glasses and a capacity of one hundred and fifty seats. All facing the stage at the front where a single microphone on its own was standing.

It was a great gig hosted by the very funny Craig Murray. Who is actually the guy from Yorkshire on the Plusnet TV adverts. And featuring three great comedians including the headline act who was the brilliant Kerry Godliman. Who plays Hannah in Ricky Gervais’s Channel 4 sitcom Derek. She is fantastic in the show and also an exceptionally funny live performer. We all laughed lots and left the comedy club feeling great. After that we just found a pub near by and ended the night chatting and drinking before heading back to the hotel for some much needed rest.

You know sometimes when someone catches your eye but at first you do not pay that much attention to them. Until you then look round for a second glance. Well I was waiting at a train station the other day. When out of the corner of my eye I saw someone struggling down the steps with a golf bag. I was then aware that this person had sat down behind me. Then a couple of minutes later I look round to find the former Westlife member and Kerry Katona’s Ex husband Bryan McFadden there looking chilled and relaxed and sporting a very meaty beard. Before I got chance to have a chat to him my train arrived and I had to go leaving him sitting there.

I have been doing a bit of work at Wembley Stadium over the last few months. And I have been there the day before and the day after England football internationals and the NFL American Football International Series games. Now somehow the level of activity and the buzz around the place seems to be so much bigger, when our friends from the States visit. They seem to make big international matches for our national sport appear almost low key in comparison to the force that is the NFL. When it is in London town.

From the way the stadium is dressed and set up, to the massive fun parks and the entertainment they put on in the surrounding car parks. To the pre game show and general enthusiasm throughout the games. The whole event just seems amazing. And tickets for these games sell out very quickly. Not only that but the home American team always brings their cheerleaders with them. Which also brightens up the place before and during the matches. Well they do for me anyway. On at least two occasions recently I have been in the middle of something. When they have walked past me. Which I have to admit I have found very distracting but in a very good way. That said England is my country and football is my game. So I would always choose to watch them play over the NFL game’s every single time.

On to Strictly Come Dancing and it’s great to see the couple I am supporting this year Sophie Ellis-Bextor and Brendan Cole still going strong. They had a bit of  a wobble last weekend but I am expecting great things from them this time out. All the couples seem fun and really nice this year. But I have to admit I am warming a lot to Susanna Reid who is totally brilliant with her party Kevin Clifton from Grimsby. When I was at the filming of the launch show for this year. His father ended up accidentally having a starring role off camera. As in between the recording. He was randomly chosen to do an impression of Len Goodman from the judging panel and he didn’t do a bad job to be honest.

I have to admit I am a little bit annoyed that Dave Myers is getting some stick, with some people suggesting he should quit the competition. It is fair to say he is not the best dancer but he is working hard and he is very entertaining. Plus the show works on the public vote system and as long as people are enjoying his performances and voting for him. He deserves to be in the competition as much as any of the others. They are the rules and that is how the show works. If you do not like him just make sure you actually vote for your favourite. Oh and lighten up it is just a bit of fun TV for a Saturday Night.

Last Sunday I attended my Friend’s son’s first birthday party. Which was a very nice affair. With what I have to say was some great party food including my own personal favourite item of cheese and pineapple on cocktail sticks, I love that! Somehow during the big cake moment I ended up being the official photographer. Having been handed the camera by my mate’s wife. I got a couple of good pictures and then just at the moment when I had the perfect family and cake shot lined up. I pressed the button on the camera only to find that the memory card was full, so I couldn’t take it. So alas the moment was lost. Technology is great when it works, but very annoying when it doesn’t.

My mate Ben Langley is on tour all over the UK currently with his brilliant play Ha Ha Holmes. He wrote it and stars in it alongside Joe Pasquale and Andrew Fettes. I have seen it and it is absolutely brilliant. On Saturday 16th November it comes to my local theatre the fantastic Waterside Theatre in Aylesbury. If you are free that night go and see it and you will have a good old fashioned laugh. It is a great way to spend a Saturday evening.

There is still an outside possibility that I could within the next couple of weeks be making a small and brief cameo appearance in a comedy stage play currently on a UK Tour. Even if I do. You may not be aware of it until after the event. But if it does happen rest assured I will definitely mention it.

Next Friday I will be an Usher for my mate’s Wedding. We have already picked up the suits and all look very smart. I have my list of jobs and tasks for the day to make it all run as smoothly as possible for the happy couple. I am also hosting the speeches section at the reception. The jokes for this are already written and have been cleared by the bride and groom. So next time I speak to you I will tell you how it all went.

I have been invited to play in a charity football match in December. Which I am really looking forward to. I will give you more details about it nearer the time. Just in case you fancy coming along and seeing me in action. Which should provide you with a couple of laughs at the very least.

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

Hello again, I hope all is well with you and that you have had nice couple of weeks. I have had another pretty busy fortnight myself and as a result the time just seems to have flown by. Talking of which this weekend sees the clocks go back and so the official end of British Summertime. It would seem that different people have different ways of using the extra hour we get. I spoke to one mate who was excited because he would get an extra hour to party on Saturday night and another mate who was equally as excited to get an extra hour in bed asleep. However you choose to spend your additional sixty minutes use it wisely this weekend is my advice.

I am actually on a Stag Do this weekend, so the chances are that I will be spending my extra hour drinking and dancing in a London club. So at least I will not be wasting it. I am really looking forward to it. It has been quite a while since I have been out with all my mates. And because it is one of my best friends that is getting married, we have similar interests and tastes. So the plans happen to include everything I like to do as well. Result. We are going to watch a football match first, then we are going for a meal at a nice Italian Restaurant, before heading off to a comedy club and then finishing the evening in an 80’s and 90’s bar. Which just happens to be easy walking distance from the hotel where we are staying. I will tell you all about it in a couple of weeks as there might well be a few other surprises on the way that the Stag does not know about yet, which we do. So obviously I can’t say any more at the minute. I do not want to be accused of doing what Michel Roux Junior did to the Great British Bake Off Final. It will be a lot of fun though that I can say for sure.

The England football team have qualified for the World Cup Final’s in Brazil next year after their recent victories over Montenegro and Poland. I was actually in working at Wembley Stadium the day after the Poland game and the atmosphere around the place was great. The Football Association are based there, so there were a lot of very happy people around and it felt fantastic to be involved with it all. I am still doing quite a bit of work behind the scenes there at the minute, which is great fun. Not least because you never know who you might bump into next there.

In the last week a TV presenter who was very much part of my childhood celebrated his birthday. That man was the legend that is Timmy Mallet. I have to confess that as a kid I did love The Wide Awake Club and Wacaday. And thinking about it now Mallet’s Mallet although it did ultimately involve being hit on the head with a foam hammer. Did have some educational value and possibly encouraged us to improve our vocabulary and sharpen our minds to reply quickly in conversations. It would be interesting to see how many former contestants of the game actually went on to do very well in their English GCSE’s. Over the years I have been lucky enough to meet Timmy on a couple of occasions. He is exactly as you see him on the television enthusiastic, lively and entertaining as well as being very friendly and nice. He is a top fella. He did some special radio shows for a station I was working at and I co-produced a couple of them. He was also brilliant to work with to, so good and talented. I did get the chance to wish him a happy birthday for which he did then thank me for. Which is something I never saw happening when I was ten year’s old and watching him on TV during the school holidays.

I have mentioned my use of Twitter before. I like it and think it is a fun way of staying in touch with people and having a laugh about life in general or certain TV programmes. In fact it is a great additional tool to use when watching the X-factor. I find it really does enhance my enjoyment seeing other peoples opinions on what I am also watching. And bare in mind that I do follow a lot of comedians. They always seem have lots of amusing observations to share. So I see it as a light hearted and fun place to communicate with people you like, and use it as a promotional noticeboard for things you or your friends might be doing. That I have to confess is why I find it hard to understand how some people treat it from time to time. If you dislike a celebrity or are making a joke about them or criticising them I think if you just write their name. That is kind of like having a chat with your mates and making that point about the person in question. Which I think is all right as long as it is not libelous. But it is when people do that but include their @ twitter handle in it. For as far I can see no reason other that to just be nasty or offensive, it is wrong. To me that is like walking up to that person in the street and saying it straight to their face. Which I personally think is totally unnecessary and pointless. I have seem some of the abuse that celebrities on the social networking site have been subject to and as far as I am concerned that is not what it is for. It is just there to follow people you like, see what they are up to, interact and have fun. And to keep in contact with friends.

A discussion I was having with a good friend of mine in the week reminded me about some of the things I used to do in my early career. When I was starting to go out do disco’s for the first time. It was when I was a volunteer at Stoke Mandeville Hospital Radio. To help with fundraising, to keep the station on air me and some of my colleagues used to go and and perform at parties for a donation to the charity. As these built up we started to slowly add more and more things to the act. As we were giving our time for free. We did always make sure we had a good time and enjoyed ourselves to. And for that reason there were normally three or four of us who all went out together to events. Now I am not totally sure where it came from but somebody introduced a props box. Which among other things contained an Indian head dress, a construction workers hat, a policeman’s helmet and a cowboy hat. It also had in it some Afro style wigs. This led to us actually getting a bit of a reputation for and even receiving requests to perform are legendary YMCA and Blame it on The Boogie routines. We did these dances at so many parties and concerts over the years. I am worried that some video footage of one of those routines will appear at some point. So far it hasn’t but that is not to say it won’t in the future.

I have to confess I am still watching and enjoying this series of Strictly Come Dancing. Since we spoke last Vanessa Feltz and Julien Maconald have both left the show. Which means the couple I am supporting Sophie Ellis-Bextor and Brendan Cole are still very much in and in fact seem to be near the top of the leader board every week. It is such a good fun and entertaining show. As is the week day spin off It Takes Two. Which kind of sucks you in further to the whole thing. It is actually wanting to make me learn to dance despite the disaster of my previous one and only salsa class. Which was not pretty. I think I would need to be working at least nine hours a day with a professional dancer just like the celebrities are on the show to stand any chance of being able to put at least a couple of steps together.

The latest series of Newsjack ended on Radio 4 Extra on Thursday evening with me again having some of my material recorded for the show. There is something very thrilling about having your jokes read out to a live studio audience and then getting that instant reaction back from them. There will be a new series of the topical news show next year.

In the week I was having a twitter conversation with the TV Channel Gold that ended with them saying that I have a lovely sense of humour. Which is now a quote I intend using on any promotional material for my future stand up comedy gigs. Neil Quigley – “He has a lovely sense of humour” – Gold TV

There is currently an outside chance that I could me making a one off cameo appearance on stage in a play next month. I can’t say any more at the moment but if it does actually look like it is happening, I will let you know.

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

Hi there, how are you doing? I trust the last couple of weeks have treated you well and you enjoyed the last bit of nice weather before the Indian Summer turned into the English Autumn literally overnight. Which has led me to finally accept that winter is on its way and it means I have looked out my big coat to wear. Which I have not actually needed since about April I think. I am already getting fed up of people telling me how many weeks and shopping days there are until Christmas. I already know. It is the same amount every year. Just tell me when there is only one day left and I will do all my present buying then. Like I always do.

The other Sunday I was lucky enough to be working behind the scenes and backstage at Wembley Stadium. When the NFL came to London for the first of two International Series American Football games they have taking place there this year. It was the Minnesota Vikings against the Pittsburgh Steelers in an AFC North League Match. It was a sell out with the tickets all going as soon as they were released. There were quite a few celebrities watching the game. I spotted Vernon Kay, Greg Rutherford and the comedian Milton Jones. I later found out that Cheryl Cole was there but unfortunately I did not see her.
I also managed to watch the pre-game entertainment while stood in the tunnel area . It featured  Tinie Tempah who certainly lived up to his name when he had finished his set and walked past me. He is very short. In fact any eagle eyed viewers of Sky Sports coverage of the event may have seen me standing behind the singer when he was being interviewed after he came off stage. Then singing the American National Anthem before the game was Kiss frontman Gene Simmons. Who was very friendly, nice and down to earth backstage happily posing with anyone who wanted a photo and actually going to get his own food from the canteen after his work was done. The noise and the fireworks as the two teams came out was insane. I am not sure if I have ever seen at atmosphere like it at a sporting event. And I had a great vantage point from where I was standing. Finally on the way out I did get to see and have a quick word with a lot of the Steelers players though I have to confess as I am not their biggest fan I could not tell you who any of them were, so I may have been speaking to some of the biggest sports stars in America without having a clue. To be fair to them they were probably more interested in their huge boxes of takeaways they were carrying back to there coach than me anyway. It was a great fun event and if you get the chance to go to an NFL game in England my advice would be to definitely go.

Some relatives of mine were over from Australia recently. So we had a big family party so we could meet up with them and have a good catch up. Obviously with them living on the other side of the world we do not meet up very often, in fact one of them I had probably not seen for about twenty-five years. It was interesting hearing their views and opinions on places they had visited while in the UK. Which we may be sometimes take for granted and do not always appreciate how good they really are. It was great hearing about Australia to. How things work there over there with regards to education, communities and the odd  fact that during parts of the year the country has three different time zones. Then the conversation turned to how many animals and creatures over there can kill you. Which would appear to be most of them if you are not careful. Though they did tell us the best way to catch Black Widow spiders in a jar. Which is something I never plan on trying. Despite the obvious dangers it has made me decide that I would very much like to visit them and the country at some point in the future.

I am looking forward to my duties as an Usher at my mate’s wedding next month. Last weekend we went to be measured and fitted for our suits for the big day. I always find it a little unnerving when the gentlemen who work in those sort of places can just look at you and tell you what size you are from just doing that. I actually do go shopping for my own clothes and still could not actually tell you what size I am. It was good fun getting dressed up and finding out that we all needed bigger waist sized trousers than we thought we did. My mates wife to be was there overseeing matters. I guess just to make sure we did not all turn up in clowns suits or something. But I think when she actually saw him dressed up in some wedding attire the whole thing suddenly became very real and it kind of hit her that she would be getting married in five weeks time. We however at this point were focusing more on the Stag Do in a fortnights time, so that is mostly what we were talking about and getting excited about.

It is another cracking series of Newsjack on BBC Radio 4 Extra at the moment, with some really good and funny topical sketches and observations. I have had some of my jokes recorded for the show this time round but they have not quite made the final edit as yet this run. But with two weeks still left to go I am still optimistic that I will achieve this accolade by the end of this run. It is very a good laugh writing a whole host of one liner jokes every week for it. For a sample of these at any time of the year you can always follow me on Twitter I am simply @NeilQuigley

I am really enjoying this year’s Strictly Come Dancing. Every year you do get to know the professional dancers better and as they get more confident their personalities come out more which seems to draw you into the show even further. So they become an even bigger part of the show. Plus I think that the combination of the different characters within the celebrities this year is really good. All have their own traits and quirks which makes them all pretty likeable and interesting while giving you enough information so you can easily decide who are your favourites. Great to see the couple I am supporting this year of Sophie Ellis-Bextor and Brendan Cole doing so well their Charleston last week was amazing for what was only week two of the competition. I am a little disappointed though that my favourite professional dancer Aliona Vilani has already been voted out of the competition but I am assured she will still appear in a lot of the upcoming professional dances so I will still get to see her on my television on a Saturday and Sunday night.

You know when you get days where things do not quite go your way and you just have to put your hands up and accept it as just one of those days. Last week I was just working on my computer in the middle of doing something important when suddenly the hard disk drive failed and the whole thing stopped working. After some research on the good old trusty internet via my phone I discovered that this was a fatal issue and required me to actually buy a new one before I could get the computer going again. Then later that same evening I had arranged to meet a friend of mine at a lovely little proper country pub that I knew of. And that if I am honest I had not been to for a while. I then turned up at said pub and found myself in the car park in total darkness looking at a drinking establishment that had clearly been shut for a while. This led to an embarrassing phone conversation where I had to tell my friend that I had actually invited them to a place that no longer existed and could we change the location at very much the last minute. Which we did and it was fine and I had a good time. But it did top off what had not been one of my better days.

In other news I was walking down the High Street in the town where I live the other day when I just happened to walk past JK from Jamiroquai. He was buying some fresh fish from the market. Having lived in the area for such a long time now he really does just blend in brilliantly. As the place where I live is quite small, so pretty much everybody looks familiar to each other. So nobody really pays any attention to him. Which I think might be why he has stayed here for so long. That and the fact that his house is in a great location and is really nice. We do have quite a few famous faces in the area who you can randomly see around from time to time including one of my acting heroes David Jason. Who I have seen around and been in the same room as on a few occasions but sadly I have never spoken to him yet. I am delighted to hear that he is bringing back his character Granville for An Open All Hours Christmas Special this year. Seeing him act in a comedy used to be the highlight of my festive period for many years when he was still doing Only Fools and Horses. You just know it is going to be brilliant.

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

Hello again, I hope all is well and that you have had nice couple of weeks. As ever I have a nice mixture of things that have happened or are happening in the near future to tell you about. This will not include anything about Celebrity Big Brother as after the first episode I did not watch anymore of it. But I did notice that it was won by somebody who is only famous and I do use that term very loosely for living in a house where everything is recorded and then shown on TV. Surely then I can’t be the only one who feels that may be she had a little bit of an unfair advantage there. Next year I reckon David Blaine should enter. He is used to being watched for over a month in just a glass box hanging above the Thames. So an actual house should be a piece a cake for him. Plus people would not be able to fire golf balls at him in there. Shazam!!

Earlier this month I went and watched my mate Ben Langley perform his new show Ha Ha Holmes and the Hound of the Baskervilles at the Wycombe Swan in High Wycombe. Ben has written the show himself as part of the Ha ha Brand that he has been working on for the last five years or so. He stars in it himself alongside the very talented Andrew Fettes and the comic genius that is Joe Pasquale. It is a very funny almost old time variety type show with the gripping storyline, great jokes, audience participation, songs, slapstick and lots of ad-libbing. The cast look like they are having as least as much fun as the audience. I managed to catch up with Ben before the show and have a good chat to him. Which was really great for me to hear about how well things are going for him personally and professionally. And I also got to go and hang out backstage with him and the rest of the cast during the interval, as they got themselves ready for the second half. Which was a great experience to see the sort of things that go on and are talked about at this time. The whole cast were lovely and I did get to very briefly meet Joe Pasquale. Which is yet another King of the Jungle from I’m A Celebrity Get Me Out Of Here that I have now met. The show is touring all over the country for the next couple of months. I would recommend seeing it if you can, and if you just want a good fun and silly night out. Find out more here http://hahaholmes.com/

Now believe it or not there is another Neil Quigley in England. He is a big dance music DJ who as well as regularly gigging all over the world also produces and remixes new music. Weirdly he does look at little bit like me and it is fair to say we have very similar haircuts but I promise you we are not related. Normally then this name share causes both of us no problems at all. Apart from may be us competing with each other to see who has the most links to them from various internet search engines. However every now and again this can cause some confusion in the world of social media. For example the other week I was very surprised to get a tweet from a South African music label promoting a new house music album featuring a track mixed by me. Fair play they did realise their mistake quite quickly and worked out that they had got the wrong guy so sent another tweet apologising for this. However I do wonder if I can still claim any royalties for my “work” on this new track.

I made a return to playing Five-a-Side football last Friday as a guest appearance at one of my mates regular sessions. One day I will remember I can no longer run around and play like I am still a teenager. On the plus side I did manage to put in a decent performance scoring three goals in the process and on the negative side I managed to bruise my ribs so have not been able to do any exercise since. This is very much why I limit myself to only playing football about five or six times a year. I am far too injury prone nowadays. It’s still good fun though.

There are only a few television shows that I actually tend to watch but here is news of one I will definitely be seeing. A former boss of mine is going to feature in the next series of Come Dine With Me. Steve Carpenter who hired me for Ivel fm in Yeovil and who I worked with for the five years I was at the radio station has recorded an episode of the cooking show. Which is expected to be shown next month. I do always like watching people I know or who I have met on the TV. It somehow always makes it more watchable and interesting for me. This will be brilliant Steve is a great bloke, who likes a laugh but does not suffer fools gladly which makes me suspect there could be some interesting exchanges between him and the other contestants. He is also a very good cook and has made quite a lot of meals for me over the years, when we were working together. He is the king of the BBQ but do not just take my word for it, ask him and I guarantee he will tell you he is to.

This weekend sees the NFL International Series come to Wembley Stadium with the Pittsburgh Steelers playing the Minnesota Vikings. It is sure to be a spectacular and amazing occasion. And I am lucky enough to be working behind the scenes during the day at the Stadium. Which I am really looking forward to. I will tell you more about what I was actually doing and how it was the next time I speak to you. My main mission is to at least meet both the team’s cheerleader squads.

I am really not one for wishing the year away and do not like mentioning the C word to early but with Strictly Come Dancing and the X-factor Boot Camp Shows starting this weekend that does mean I think the countdown to Christmas has kind of unofficially started. As both of those shows will end about a week before the big day. So basically because I have met her and because he lives locally to me and I saw him at the Aylesbury Pantomime press night last year I am supporting Sophie Ellis-Bextor and Brendan Cole in Strictly this year. And I think we are due a female solo singer to win the X-factor this year, but I have no idea who that will be at this stage.

Talking about the start of the X-factor. Over the years I have ended up either hosting or being a judge for many different singing and talent competitions. And believe it or not I can actually sympathise a little bit with the judges on these types of television shows. You have to try and be positive and encouraging with constructive advice, but at the same time you do need to be entertaining for the audience in the studio and at home. And not say the same thing every time. Plus I do think you have a responsibility to be honest with people and if they have no chance or are not good enough you do really need to tell them. It is surely unfair otherwise. Now love or hate Simon Cowell when he was still a judge on the X-factor I rarely disagreed with what he said and he was normally just saying what I was thinking. However I do think I may have put it in a slightly nicer way sometimes. But he is there to make an entertaining TV show and get it talked about in the papers and on the internet. So again I can very much see why he does it the way he does. And although it is very public way of being rejected a lot of people who have been successful in the world of media will have be rejected or failed at some point Simon Cowell included. Before he dusted himself down and managed to lift himself to the position he know finds himself in globally. To quote what Sean Connery once said to Darius “You only fail when you stop trying”

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