Tag Archives: Beer

Messi Time

October 12, 2018 Neil

Hi there, how are you doing? I hope you have had a really good couple of weeks. Mine have been busy and fun. As a season ticket holder at Tottenham Hotspur. I managed to get myself along to the Champions League game against Barcelona at Wembley Stadium. It was a match I had been looking forward to since the draw was made.

Unfortunately going in to it we had a few injuries to key players. But I still felt we could give them a good game. Although we were a goal down inside the first two minutes. Thanks to some genius from the legend that is Lionel Messi. And possibly a little bit of poor decision making from the otherwise excellent Hugo Lloris.

It was a very exciting game to be at. The place was full and the atmosphere was great. Well it was at least for the first few minutes. Then it did go a bit quiet when they scored. Spurs put in a battling performance. There were two moments. When we pulled goals back. That I did think might see us grab a draw or even the win.

Even if we had managed that. Although we played well. We would not really of deserved it. Barcelona were by far the better team. It was an honour to get to see Lionel Messi play in person. He is still, I think the best player in the world. And Yes I have seen Ronaldo play to. He struts around like he owns the place. Always finds space. He can pass, dribble and shoot better than anyone.

He scored two great goals and hit the same post twice. It was a great pleasure to see him play. That Barcelona side has a lot of very good players. But he still looks head and shoulders above of all them. It is possibly the first time I have seen my team lose. And not been too disappointed. We gave it our all. And we were just beaten by a better team.

A few Friday’s ago some mates and I made our now annual visit to the Ascot Racing Beer Festival. It is just a good excuse to all meet up, have a laugh and watch some racing. Oh and have a few drinks. Well it is a beer festival. So it would be rude not to. We decided to go a bit crazy. And spend an extra five pounds each for the King Edward VII Enclosure.

One of my friend’s took responsibility for buying the tickets. I then sensibly checked out the dress code requirements. And sent them to the Whats App Group. That we had set up for this event. This is how seriously we were taking it. We had to wear a shirt with a collar, tie, and a Jacket. I suggested we should all wear suits. Which to be fair, everyone did.

On the day. We met up outside the race course. As the friend who bought the tickets, still had them. When I arrived I noticed that he was not wearing a tie. Almost straight away I asked him if he had one with him. He said no. Then claimed it was not a requirement of the stand we were going in to. I however said otherwise.

Anyway as we go to walk into the King Edward. He is stopped and told he cannot go in without a tie. The gentlemen informs him that he can buy one downstairs. He then heads off to find himself some neck wear. With us being the great friends we are. We went straight into the enclosure to all get a beer.

We then get a message from him saying the cheapest tie he can find is sixty five pounds. We offer to forfeit the great views and private bars we have. To spend the day downstairs with him. He feels bad, so he goes out in to the High Street to find a tie. But he still cannot find one.

Then he comes back in to the racecourse and finds another shop in the grounds. Where he buys a tie for fifteen pounds. He must have been gone about twenty minutes. He then comes and joins us in the stands for the rest of the day. The moral of this story is always make sure you read all Whats App messages properly.

We had a great afternoon, chatting, catching up and laughing. They also had my favourite locally brewed pint there. Which is Rebellion IPA. They are based in Marlow. So it had not had that far to travel to Ascot. It was lovely as ever. I also sampled a pint of the very local Windsor & Eaton Brewery’s Champions Day Ale. Which was also very agreeable.

I think everyone had at least one winner during the day. We had a great view of the whole course and the finishing line. From where we were up in the King Edward VII Enclosure. Once the racing was over. We then went to a pub in Ascot for a few more drinks. Luckily they had a barbecue there selling cheeseburgers and hot dogs. We had somehow neglected to get any food during the afternoon. So it was a much needed snack.

It was a brilliant day spent with good friends. We have already made plans to do the same thing next year. Hopefully my mate will make sure he wears his newly purchased tie to. We then got a taxi home. Stopping off in High Wycombe to get some more food.

I was not sure what I fancied. Then I spotted a new Chinese Take-Away. I just grabbed some Chilli Beef and some Dim Sum. The food was great, although I ate it using just my fingers. It was not till I had finished. That I noticed they had put a plastic knife and fork in the bottom of the bag. But on the plus side I will know that next time.

Last Saturday I had the pleasure of attending my cousin’s wedding. The ceremony was in a local church in Monks Risborough. In fact, it was the church associated with my Primary School. Therefore for me, being in there waiting for her to arrive. It bought back memories of concerts, Harvest Festivals. And the time I played a Monk in a play there.

I did have plenty of time to do this. As she was about fifteen minutes late arriving at the church. Her husband to be, was cool about it. And took it all in his stride. Plus to be fair, he had already predicted that should would almost certainly not be on time.

It was a really lovely service. My dad gave a reading towards the end. Which he did flawlessly. It really was a job well done. And I was very proud. I did give him a little bit of coaching. When he first started rehearsing it. Therefore I think I should get some of the credit for his performance.

With the marriage ceremony completed. It was then off to the Reception. Which was being held in Burnham Beeches. They had laid on a mini bus to take us there and back. We each had a little snack goody bag to enjoy on the way there. Keeping our energy levels up until the Wedding Breakfast later on. It was Champagne on arrival. Credit to the waiting staff. They were very proficient at topping up glasses. My planned one glass of fizz turned in to being two.

We had some photos taken. Then it was time to sit down for food. The meal was great. I thoroughly enjoyed it. Once the deserts had been tidied away it was time for the speeches. My cousin sadly lost her dad a few years ago.

Her Mum gave her away in the church. And her Sister in effect gave the Father of Bride speech. Although she very much did make it her own. It was an exceptional speech and performance. Pitched I felt perfectly for the occasion. Plus it was very funny. I rate myself as a bit of a public speaker. But I am not sure I would have wanted to follow that.

That task fell to the Groom. Who did a splendid job. Before passing the baton on to the Best Man. He did a fantastic job to. Nothing was missing . It was a text book speech with all the key elements in there. After the speeches it was time for a few more group photos. While the room was reset for the evening do and disco.

I must admit that is probably the most I have danced for a while. But rest assured I still have all the moves. I am more than match fit and ready if Strictly Come Dancing come calling.

They also had one of those photo booths there. You know the ones where they have a bit of dressing up box. And you can go in and take silly photos. I ended going in there five times with different people during the evening. It was good fun. I am looking forward to seeing some of the pictures.

I had a really lovely day. Talking to lots of relatives. I had not seen for a while. Having a bit of a boogie. Taking funny photos. But mainly of course celebrating the special day of a beautiful couple. Who I wish a very healthy and happy life together. Congratulations to the both of them. Thanks for letting me share your big day with you. We left just before midnight, so I did not turn in to a Pumpkin.

There is quite often something unusual or interesting happening outside my place of work. Which I must confess, I like. As I walked out the door to head home the other evening. There was a full orchestra and large choir performing the classic song from Mary Poppins. That is “Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious.”

It sounded brilliant. And I must confess it did put a spring in to my step. And make me smile, as I went past them. I enjoyed it so much I would now like that to happen every time I leave to go home. It was in my head for the next two days. I could not stop singing it!

People of Buckinghamshire and surrounding areas. This is your last reminder that the brilliant Evita comes to the Wycome Swan from the 23rd October for a week. My good friend. The super talented Mike Sterling is playing Juan Peron in it. I went and saw it a few months ago in Great Malvern. It is a sensational production of a classic musical.

I am going to the opening night on the Tuesday. I am looking forward to seeing the show once again. Plus catching up with Mike. As I said if you can get yourself a ticket to see this then do. You will not be disappointed.

Lee Ryan was voted off of Strictly Come Dancing last week. It was a shame to see him go. He is a nice bloke and good fun.

I did a gig with him in Yeovil once. During his solo career. After he had performed he stayed around for the rest of the night drinking and chatting to the audience.

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

Much Ado About Nothing

October 13, 2017 Neil

Hi there, how are you doing? I hope you have had a really good couple of weeks. Mine have been very busy with loads of fun stuff going on. During my school days I never studied any Shakespeare. I did not get to read or see any of his plays. I did however visit Stratford-Upon-Avon for a weekend as a teenager with my Cousins and my Uncle and Auntie. While we were there we did go and see a few Shakespeare related tourist attractions. Then I will be honest I had kind of forgotten about him until Ben Elton did a sitcom based on him starring David Mitchell called Upstart Crow. I guess this kind of got him back in to my mind again. And started me thinking that as a lover of theatre and performance in general. That I should at the very least go and see one of his plays.

A few years ago I went on a tour of the Globe theatre in London. Which is a replica of the very theatre that he used to put his plays on in the capital during the early sixteen hundreds. I remembered from the tour that it was an inspirational and spectacular place. Since that visit it had been in my plans to see a show there. I put these two things together and I decided the only place to see a Shakespeare play for the first time should be the Globe Theatre. I went to see the current version of Much Ado About Nothing. Now the Globe does have basic wooden seating on three levels and also private balcony’s. Traditionally these were for the rich and even for Royalty. While peasants would stand up to watch the action in the yard area on the floor level. I decided that I wanted to do it traditionally this way. Plus I had never stood at the theatre before.

The tickets to stand and watch the play in the yard were just five pounds each. It is an open air theatre by the way, so if it rains you will definitely get wet seeing the show from there. I wanted to have as authentic experience as possible. There was a Mexican theme to this particular production so the staging, costumes and music were adapted for this. But everything else was pretty much directly from the script as written by the great man himself. It did take me a few minutes to adjust to the South American feel of things and to get in to the rhythm of the Shakespeare style speech patterns. But I have to say I absolutely loved it.

The whole cast were fantastic and it was all so cleverly and smoothly done. They pretty much used the whole theatre as their stage and walked amongst us poor people in the yard area, as they would have back when it was originally performed. The story line, plot twists and development of the saga were so good and very easy to follow. Plus it does contains so many laughs. Fair play to the “man” he did pack quite a bit of comedy in to this piece of work. As well as some nice drama and tension. I would without hesitation certainly go and see another performance there. Five pounds for nearly three hours of top class entertainment is exceptional value for money. I am now keen to see more of his work.

I took a trip out to the Brixton area of London with a friend the other week. It is not often I venture that far south of the river but I always think it is good to experience new places. We had a bit of a look round and found a very nice pub to have a pint in. By what looks like a really fancy new flat development. Then we decided to go and get some food. We stumbled across The Blues Kitchen. Which was a place I had heard of before but never been to. As there are actually not that many of them around.

They play Blues Soul and Funk music. And specialise in New Orleans style food. So we are talking lots of barbecue meats and fried chicken dishes. Which we of course took full advantage of. We had a starter that consisted of ribs, wings and sweet potato fries. Then for my main I had fried buttered chicken, which was lovely. Their portions are very generous. I was so full when I left there, I could hardly walk. Plus if you are into you Bourbon. They have the biggest selection there I have ever seen. I would certainly eat there again but they do only have places in Brixton, Camden and Shoreditch.

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As I have mentioned before Tony Law was the professional comedian who headlined my first ever stand up comedy gig. I had seen him perform a few times but only doing ten or fifteen minute slots. I had never seen one of his full length shows. I put this right last Monday. When I went to the Soho Theatre in London. To see him do his show from this year’s Edinburgh Festival called “Absurdity For The Common People”. It was my first time at this venue. It is a great place to watch comedy and also it seems to attract a lot of decent comics. When I was waiting in the bar before the show I spotted Alex Horne who had also been doing his show there earlier in the evening.

Tony Law kind of goes against almost every lesson I was taught in comedy school. He is so unique and has his own very well crafted style. You would have to go quite a long way to see such a surreal show covering so many random and historical facts. It is so out there, sometimes it is impossible to tell what he is completely making up and what if anything is actually true. But the important thing is that it is very funny. You are never quite sure where he is going to go and what he is going to do next. He always has on such strange outfits. Sometimes he will reference them and other times completely ignore them. He is a top man to and was very supportive and helpful during my first ever gig. It was great to get to finally see a full show of his.

I went to see the musical Kinky Boots recently. It was another one that had been on my radar for a while. Ever since I saw the cast perform two numbers from it during one of the Sunday Night At The Palladium recordings, I was at. I think I do vaguely remember seeing the film when it came out. Would you believe it was actually released back in 2005. And another fun fact Nick Frost was in it.

The music and lyrics for the musical version were written by Cindy Lauper. It originally opened on Broadway. Where it won a Tony Award. I have to say I thought it was brilliant. It has a great story behind it with a bit of pathos to it as all good plays do. It is very colourful and spectacular. The songs are brilliant. Plus the cast were fantastic. It received a well deserved standing ovation at the end of the performance.

I had a quality day out with friends at the annual Ascot Beer Festival Race Meeting. A full programme of races with an onsite selection of beverages from local brewers. I mean what is not to like? I had not seen all my mates together for a while, so that was brilliant for starters. It was so good to have a catch up and chat. While enjoying the racing and sampling a few of the ales on offer. Luckily for me they had two of my favourite local brewery’s there. So I did enjoy a couple of pints from Rebellion in Marlow and XT, who are from Long Crendon. I did also try an ale from another beer producer, who I had not heard of but who are based in Prestwood.

Mind you I had a terrible day for picking the winners. However I was not alone as we all struggled apart from one of us who managed to get a couple of wins. Two more had some placed horses, so got some money back. Although one of my friends who is not really a gambler managed to put on a five pounds each way bet, which he then got six pounds fifty back from, so despite coming second in the race and sort of winning. He was still three pounds fifty down there. Once the racing was over we just went to one of the pubs in Ascot and had a few more drinks. It was a fun day out with good friends. Which is always time well spent.

The day after the races I had been invited by another mate on his birthday outing. Which was a day trip on the Waverley, the last sea going paddle steamer in the World to Southend-On- Sea and back. I had to catch the boat from Tower Pier in London at nine thirty in the morning.

Which after a day out at the races the previous day was not as easy as it may sound. Anyway I got on board just after nine in the end. It really was an impressive sight as I walked up to the vessel and it looked great against the back drop of the Tower of London and Tower Bridge.

It has a restaurant, tea room and a couple of bars. On arrival the first thing I did was grab a bacon roll and a cup of tea. I then managed to find the rest of the group with the birthday boy. There were about fifteen of us in the end, I think. We set off down the Thames passing all of those great iconic sights. The boat is so big that they had to raise Tower Bridge for us so we could get under it. Which is possibly a once in a life time thing to pass under it in those circumstances.

There was commentary provided on the things to see as we headed down the river. It was very impressive I thought going through the Thames Barrier. I had never seen it that close up. Inside the ship there was a viewing area where you could go and watch the steam powered engine in action. That was hugely impressive. Its top speed is apparently around twenty-five miles per hour.

They do of course have toilets on board the ship. Now bearing in mind it was about a three and an half hour journey to Southend. I did have to use them a couple of times. I did not mind however as they had port holes in. So you could be at the urinal while looking out and enjoying the views along the river. It was almost therapeutic. When we docked on the pier at Southend and got off the boat.

We had about four hours there. So we tried to do as many sea side style things as possible. We took the train down the pier. Then had fish and chips on the beach overlooking the sea. Played a round of crazy golf. Had a couple of pints in a pub on the sea front. Got an ice-cream. And finally enjoyed a stroll down the pier on our way back to catching the boat.

During the journey back to London I enjoyed the hospitality of the bars on board. Got another fix of the toilets and admired the working steam engine. Making sure I was back on the top deck to enjoy coming up the Thames in the dark and seeing everything lit up. It was a great experience and a thoroughly enjoyable day.

I will be honest it is probably something I would have never of done had I not been invited to. Which would have been a shame, as I really enjoyed myself. After being on a cool boat all day, it made the train journey back from London to Buckinghamshire seem a bit dull.

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

Racing Away

October 15, 2016 Neil

Hi there, how are you doing? I hope you have had a really nice couple of week’s. Mine have been quite busy with some fun things going on. A couple of Saturday’s ago. I went to Ascot for an afternoon of racing with one of my best mate’s.

He turned forty earlier in the year and me going to the races with him was part of my present. Always treat people to something you enjoy doing yourself, as a gift. That is my tip. Now we randomly selected a date that we would both be able to make. And would you believe it just so happened to be their Beer Festival meeting. I mean what are the chances of that?

We got to the course around midday and collected our race cards, our beer tokens and our festival pint glasses. They had over two hundred and eighty different beers to try there. So if we were to get round them all. We certainly had our work cut out.

I do have a couple of favourite local brewery’s. And as luck would have it. They all turned out to be there. These are the Rebellion Brewery in Marlow, XT Brewery in Long Crendon and The Windsor & Eaton Brewery. Which I am sure you can work out for yourself, where they are based.

So to be honest we stuck to these brands during the afternoon. Just sampling a few of their different ales. I hasten to add. It was a fun afternoon. Ascot is a great course with a fantastic grand stand from which to enjoy the races. But as it is a venue that is often visited by Royalty. I guess that you would not expect anything less. It was nice just enjoying a few drinks and trying to win some of the beer money back on the races.

Although it is fair to say we were not very successful on that front. We both had horses pipped at the post. That would have got us a win each. And the only success we had was my friend got a second place for a horse that he had backed each way. I do enjoy an afternoon at the races but I have still never met a poor bookmaker.

We grabbed some food while we were there. To keep our energy levels up of course. I did like the combinations of some of the food and drink outlets they have there. For example we enjoyed a lovely real Cumberland sausage hot dog from the Champagne and Grill Bar. Where you could buy a bottle of Bollinger with an accompanying hot dog or burger. And to my surprise many people were.

Another great afternoon out. Most people get dressed up to go to the races. So it has the feel of being at a giant wedding. With the added bonus of some horses to shout for. Always a great day out win or lose. Although let us be honest, it is better if you do have a few winners.

I am really enjoying this series of Strictly Come Dancing. Once again there are some really good and entertaining couples. And I always like seeing the close relationships that develop between the professional dancers and their celebrity partners.

I would still not like to pick a winner yet at this stage of the proceedings. I think there has to be a few of them in contention. Personally I have not got a favourite yet. So I am actually a little bit sad when I see any of them leave. But that is the deal. And the way the show has to work.

I did feel really sorry for the first one’s to go Melvin Odoom and his partner Janette Manrara. I think he is just the sort of character you want around the place. Upbeat smiley, fun and to be fair to him not the worse dancer there by a long way. Also it is a shame to see a fantastic dancer like Janette go so early. But again that is the nature of the beast.

It was unfortunate to, in the way it happened with Anastacia being unable to take part in the dance off due to injury. I really like her and with what she has been through she is truly an amazing person. But it just seems almost wrong that by not dancing she went through. I appreciate they are the rules and they have to be in place for matters like this.

And ultimately it was the public who decided who went. So basically anyone who was not happy with the outcome. Unless they voted for Melvin cannot complain. If they thought he should still be in the competition. They should have voted for him.

Although he has done a bit of television presenting. He is best known for being on the Kiss FM Breakfast Show. Which is a big national station and has some very impressive listening figures. But I think the audience that listens to him on the radio would not necessarily be the kind of people, who may watch the show. And even if they did. I imagine they would probably not vote.

Which possibly led to him going so early on. Even though there are less accomplished dancers than him still in the competition. Or to look at it another way. It is just a fun Saturday night entertainment show. They know what they sign up to and being voted out is all part of it.

The next celebrity to go was Tameka Empson. Who was was sent home by the judges after a dance off with Laura Whitmore. Again to be fair I thought both of them were very unlucky to be in the bottom two. There were worse performances and neither of them really deserved to leave the competition at this point.

But the best dancers are not always the most entertaining. It goes out on a Saturday Night. So why shouldn’t we enjoy some silliness and appreciate the people who are trying their best but just ultimately making us laugh.

Yes it is a dancing competition but part of the reason it has lasted so long. Is that the celebrities involved are not dancers. It was a shame to see Will Young leave the show for personal reasons. I thought he was progressing along very nicely with his partner Karen Clifton.

I wonder who will go this week. Or if indeed anyone does after this shock departure. I have no idea what they will decide to do. But I suspect they will carry on as normal and as ever one couple will be out on Sunday.

On the way to BBC New Broadcasting House

Last Tuesday evening I managed to get myself a place in the audience for The One Show on BBC One. It is their mid evening magazine style show that is on Monday to Friday at just before seven. It just so happens to be filmed at the same place where I work. But it was the first time that I had been in their studio.

The guests on the show I saw were Jasper Carrott and Alistair McGowan. I have been a massive fan of Jasper Carrott for pretty much as long as I can remember. My dad was a fan and used to watch his shows. So I think he may well have been the first comedian I ever saw.

We met up in the Media Cafe in New Broadcasting House to check in. Then about fifteen minutes before the show was due to go on air. We were taken in to the studio. Already sitting on the famous green sofas were Matt Baker and Alex Jones. There were just ten of us.

And they were nice and friendly making a point of say hello and welcoming us when we arrived. The floor manager Paul was brilliant as well. Telling us all what we needed to do and having a laugh with us. He also works on Strictly Come Dancing. So is a busy man at the moment.

They then bought the two guests Jasper and Alistair in. The actual show itself goes very quickly and there are screens up so you can watch all the films that they feature. As the studio is small you are actually very close to the action, so get a great view of what is going on.

I for example could see the two presenters auto cue. And I was pretty much looking straight at Jasper Carrott for the whole programme. It was a great experience. And one I may well try to repeat in the future. Then after the show had ended Matt and Alex came over for a quick chat and so the whole audience could have a big group photo with them.

I am still delighted with the way the Premier League season is going currently. Tottenham Hotspur sitting in second place. Still unbeaten in the league having defeated the leaders Manchester City in the process. Ruining their one hundred percent winning start. As I said previously I cannot remember a better time to be a Spurs fan than now.

And at the moment we are still missing Harry Kane. Imagine what could happen when he is back. I am aware that there is a long way to go. But whatever happens I intend to fully enjoy this season. And hopefully get along to a few games. Specially as this is our last season at White Hart Lane.

Last weekend I was out and about in London. As I often am nowadays. I was enjoying a nice walk around the South Bank. Stopping off for a relaxing cup of tea on my travels. It was getting to around two o’clock. When I realised I had not had any lunch. So after weighting up the pros and cons of a pub lunch or food on the go. I opted for the latter. And went to the nearby Borough Market.

If you have never been. Imagine a market jam packed with every type of food you can think of and lots of people. It is always so busy down there. All the stalls are amazing. After walking around the whole place first.

I settled for a home made Chicken Burger. Which was exquisite. The quality of the meat was exceptional. And way better than you would find in any fast food restaurant. I really must remember to eat there more often. When I am in that area.

In the last couple of week’s I have been working on some new and interesting BBC radio shows. The other week I had the pleasure of working with the extremely talented news reader Tom Sandars. On a World Service News Bulletin.

He is a regular on many of the BBC’s stations including Radio Two. In fact you may have heard people trying to make his toes tap. When Sara Cox is covering the Breakfast Show for Chris Evans. Not only is he brilliant at his job. But he is a really nice person to.

I also walked straight past the radio legend that is Simon Mayo in the office the other day. I was desperate to chat to him about Tottenham’s season so far. But as I do not actually know him. I just settled for a knowing nod and a smile, as he went by.

My final recent BBC celebrity spot was the brilliant Huw Edwards in the staff canteen. Enjoying some food before the big evening news show’s.

I am looking forward to seeing Sunny Afternoon at the theatre in London. It is another one of those shows. Where you already know the songs are ace before you go. It is based around all the music of The Kinks.

I believe it is kind of the story of how the band were formed as well. A bit like the English version of The Jersey Boys. I will let you know what I thought about it next time we speak.

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

Neil Quigley Presenter