Tag Archives: glastonbury

By Royal Appointments

July 6, 2019 Neil

I hope you enjoyed last Saturday. It was gorgeous. Sunny and warm. In fact it actually saw me getting my legs out and donning a pair of shorts. My rule is that I will only wear them if the temperature is above twenty five degrees Celsius. Unless I am playing sport. We have had quite a few pleasant days. They have just not been as hot. As I would have liked them to be in the main.

I was lucky enough to make two visits to Royal Ascot this year. I was there on the first and last day of the festival of horse racing. On the Tuesday I took my Dad there for the first time. We set off suited and booted. To get the train to the Berkshire course. This involved going into London first. To then get the tube to Waterloo. Just to alleviate any doubt wearing a three piece suit on the Underground is like you are in a Sauna. Which coincidentally is somewhere else people rarely talk to each other. And also avoid eye contact.

We managed to get a seat on the busy train from Waterloo to Ascot. It might have been the best dressed train in the world. It is not every day. Everyone in a carriage is wearing at least a suit. If not as in many cases Top Hat and Tails. It is wrong to portray stereotypes of course. But everyone did seem to be very friendly and nice to each other. So there may be something in the way people dress. And the way they behave. At least in public, possibly before they have started drinking too much.

Sadly it was a bit of a wet and showery day. We were undecided if we should bring jackets or something to fend off the rain. In the end my Dad did not bring anything. I brought the world’s smallest umbrella. Which I got for three Euros when I was in Rome. It was all we had. So when it started raining as we arrived. I had to try to use it to keep the both of us dry. As we walked up the busy road to the entrance. With limited success. We got in to the Queen Anne Enclosure and happily the rain eased a little.

We grabbed a rather nice Chicken Burger for lunch. Got a couple of race cards to study. Then somehow managed to get ourselves a seat undercover at one of the outside bars. Where we treated ourselves to a glass of beer. Then it was time to take our place at the Parade Ring to watch the Queen arrive.

She is a massive racing ran and she loves this meeting. She has not missed one single day of Royal Ascot since 1953. And to be fair to her that was because it was the day of her Coronation. Therefore she did have a slightly more pressing engagement that particular day.

I have said it before, I am a big fan of the Queen and the Royals. I think they are great ambassadors for the country. They bring in a lot of tourism from abroad. And they are well loved and respected all over the world. The Queen for me is an amazing lady. Always acting perfectly in every situation. I wish I could learn that skill. I have to admit I really enjoy watching her arrive. Normally on the first day a lot of the family come along to support her.

I got a really good position to see them all arrive. The Queen was no more than about five metres away from me. When she went past in her horse drawn carriage. Also in the procession and going right by me were Prince Andrew, Princess Anne, The Countess of Wessex, Prince Charles, Camilla Duchess of Cornwall, Princess Beatrice and Princess Eugenie. Plus the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge. I am totally convinced that Prince William waved at me as he went past

With the Queen in attendance and the Royal Standard flying on top of the stand. It was time to get the racing underway. I had a terrible day on the betting front. And did not have any winners. In any of the six races. My Dad however did have two winners. During the races we grabbed some Fish and Chips. They were tasty. The standard of food on offer was generally pretty good.

After the racing had finished for the day. We had another drink at one of the many bars in the enclosure. We then went to a pub on the High Street in Ascot. For one more final drink. As we waited for our taxi home to arrive. It was a fun and enjoyable day. Despite the rain. The quality of the races was excellent. They were almost all close run things with exciting finishes. I then watched the next three days of the festival from home. And happily did rather better on the betting front.

The final day of Royal Ascot this year. I was back in another three piece suit. At the house of two very good friends. Getting ready to jump in a taxi and once again make my way to the world famous race course. Before we left, we had a glass of fizz to toast the day ahead. This time it was a dry and sunny day. Which does just put everyone in a much better mood.

After a pretty decent walk from where our taxi dropped us off. We entered the Queen Anne Enclosure. As I had been there just a few days before I took our group on a short tour. To help them find their way around. Then we went and got ourselves a drink. Well it would have been rude not to.

I was back in the Parade Ring again to watch the Queen arrive. Then it was on to the day’s racing. I managed to pick the winner of the first and third race. So I was a bit more successful than my previous visit. A bit earlier in the week. We had a few drinks during the afternoon. It was all very sociable.

We got talking to lots of different people from all over the country. At one point a very beautiful women. Who I can only presume must have been a little drunk. Stopped me to tell me what gorgeous blue eyes I had. As she walked past me. I will take that compliment all day long. And for the record I do have nice eyes.

At the end of racing everyday. They have a traditional sing-song at the Bandstand in the Queen Anne Enclosure. I made sure that I was down there right in the middle of it all. The band are the Band of the Coldstream Guards. And they are absolutely brilliant.

A singer joins them for about forty-five minutes. It is just classic song after classic song with the whole of Ascot joining in. It is so much fun and a real feel good part of the day. At the end of the last song on the last day. There was ticker tape everywhere. It looked amazing. This is always one of my highlights of the day at Royal Ascot.

After I had finished my Pimms that accompanied my partying around the bandstand. I got another beer and rejoined my friends. We then discovered an open air disco on the course. And spent a good hour or so dancing there. I can confirm I have definitely still got all of the moves. The DJ was playing some top tunes.

As we were leaving the race course. We randomly saw the former footballer Andy Cole. We were on our way to another pub again in Ascot. To have a final drink to celebrate a fun and very enjoyable day. We met a few more new “friends” in there. Before getting a taxi home. It is such a epic event. You get to dress up, see some great racing, do a bit of partying and have a few drinks. What is not to like? I will be going there again next year, for sure. And I cannot wait.

In a piece of genius timing. The day after my second visit to Royal Ascot. A good friend of mine had organised a game of Foot Golf. For his birthday over in Milton Keynes. Happily it did not start until early afternoon. And I managed to get a lift over there. So I did not have to drive. I had played the game once before. At a course near to the famous Pinewood Studios. I had been rubbish on my debut. And I was hoping to put in a better performance this time round.

There were eight of us in total. So we split up into two groups of four. I have always considered myself a pretty decent footballer. And have played for some good teams and been fairly successful within them. But I do seem to really struggle with Foot Golf. I was terrible at it once again. In fact we had one hole. Where we all had to use our weakest foot. And unbelievably this was the hole that I did the best on. The only one I won. So may be I am actually left footed. And have been using the wrong foot during my “career”.

Despite me being awful at it. It was a good laugh. And great fun. The birthday boy won overall in the end, very fittingly. Afterwards we got a bite to eat and had a drink in the club house. Which was a perfect way to round off the afternoon. I would certainly play another game of it at some point in the future. Purely on the basis that I cannot get any worse at it. Mind you I am still better at that, than I am at actual golf.

I was lucky enough to get to see the new Gloria Estefan musical “On Your Feet” the day before its Press Night. It has been a massive hit on Broadway for the last few years. She and her husband Emilio are very involved in the production. In fact it was their idea to do it in the first place. It features so many of her amazing back catalogue of hits. I have been a fan of her music for years and remember listening to it quite a bit as a teenager.

The show is all about Gloria and Emilio’s lives. Both of their families were immigrants from Cuba. Trying to make their way in America. In a way they came from almost identical backgrounds. It tells the story of how they met. And how they managed to take their Cuban Sound and conquer not just America but the world with their music. Gloria had the songs, the voice and the stage presence. While Emilio was a great producer and businessman.

They make a great partnership in life and in work. Which causes a bit of friction with Gloria’s family at times. It is a real life story, so it does include the terrible bus crash. That she was badly injured in. But it is basically an inspiring and uplifting tale. Showing how love, hard work and desire to succeed can make your dreams come true. The cast are excellent. The band and overall sound are spot on. And the dancers are stunning, as are their routines.

As I said earlier the whole thing is carried along nicely by the great songs. You do not win twenty-six Grammy’s for nothing. At the end the whole audience were up on their feet swaying their hips and all joining in. The rhythm is gonna get you. And there is nothing you can do about it. A powerful and uplifting show. Where the good guys, all win in the end. Worth seeing if you want to learn about the Estefan’s while enjoying a bit of the Cuban Beat.

Last Sunday it was the latest Tringe Festival Roving Comedy Night. I have been lucky enough to perform at this event in 2012 and 2017. It is so much fun. This year I was there to watch and support the new class of 2019. All make their stand up debuts in Tring. Just like I had done seven years ago. It is always a brilliant night. And this one did not disappoint.

I was in The Castle. I like to try a different pub every time I go and see it. The stage was set up in the beer garden. The way it works is, the Roving Comedians go around four pubs in groups of three. They have a professional comedian with them. Who then headlines their mini show. The “Rovers” get five minutes each and the Pro’s get ten minutes. The compere at The Castle was the brill Joe Jacobs, who I had previously seen perform at The Musical Comedy Awards up in London. A couple of months ago.

Joe Jacobs opened the night, warmed up the crowd, introduced the three trainee comedians, who were all great. Then he welcomed to the stage the first headliner of the night. The always hilarious Silky. He has been involved with this pretty much since it started. He is always quality. After my debut in 2012. I gave him a lift back to his hotel. I have been harassing him whenever he appears at this event, ever since.

There is a short break before the set up is repeated. The next lot of first timers and the second headliner. Who was the fantastic Jayde Adams. The professional comedian with the next batch of Tring new bees was the wonderful Rich Wilson. Who is always a top quality act. I have seen him a couple of times before and he has always made me laugh.

Lastly we had two more of the Rovers. Before the last headliner of the night. The very funny Ben Norris. Who closed the show with a brilliant set. Well done to all the Roving Comedy performers. You were all brilliant. And I hope you enjoyed it, half as much as I did when I did it. You smashed it! It was another very enjoyable gig.

Afterwards I went to The Kings Arms to gatecrash the after show party. As I know from my time’s doing it. This is the place where we all end up. I managed to have a quick chat with the lovely Silky. He had been performing at Glastonbury and had driven up specially to be part of things in Tring. He is brilliant bloke and a very funny man. So do try and see him live, if you get the chance.

I also managed to grab a quick word with the man who puts the whole Tringe Festival together. The fantastic Ben Moorhouse. It was great to see and talk to so many other “Roving Comedy” comics. From all of the different years. That it has been running. We all have a common bound and shared experience.

Lastly I got to speak to my comedy guru and teacher the resplendent Logan Murray. Every comedian who makes their stand up comedy debut on the Roving Comedy Night. As part of the process attends an eight week comedy master class with Logan.

And not only is he stupidly funny. He is also such a nice and lovely person. It was brill to catch up with him briefly. He seemed rightly proud of his latest batch of students. Who he had now set free out in to the world of comedy. A fantastic night. I look forward to going to see it again next year.

It was also the Glastonbury Festival last weekend. I was there back in 2007 when The Killers last headlined the Pyramid Stage. I camped there for three days in the the backstage area with VIP access. And I must say it was brilliant. This year I had to make do with watching all the action from the comfort of my own house. And with the use of a clean toilet, anytime I wanted it. It was tough but I survived it.

I did watch The Killers set. And I thought they were fantastic. I mean they are from Las Vegas, so they should know how to put on a show. Brandon Flowers is a great front man. You cannot take your eyes off him and he really sustains the audiences attention. I think he might have pretended to the rest of the band that they were not going to dress up for it. And then at the last minute went out and got himself a stand out suit. But lets face it, nine times out of ten, the singer will be wearing the most elaborate clothes.

Their guests on stage were a bit random. Jimmy Carr made a brief cameo sweeping the stage. They were then joined by the Pet Shop Boys for a couple of songs. I can only imagine the pop duo had not seen the weather forecast. As they turned up in winter coats and a hat. Then they were replaced by Johnny Marr. To finish things off. I thought they closed the Saturday night perfectly. A lot of their big songs work really well in this kind of arena.

I also caught Liam Gallagher’s performance. That man definitely has the swagger to own that stage on such an occasion. He did a mixture of his own songs alongside a few classic Oasis anthems. It did amuse me. When he did Rock N Rock Star. And then straight after it started moaning that he was cold. As someone had advised him not to wear his Parker. Living the dream. Rock excess is not dead! Excellent set from him. Looked and sounded the part. Completely as expected.

The artist I was most excited about seeing perform this year was the lovely Kylie Minogue. I really did wish I was in that cow field in Pilton to watch her fill the legends slot. This pain was eased slightly by the fact that I got to see her play at Radio 2’s Festival in a Day at Hyde Park last September. She was sensational that day.

I thought she was totally amazing. Her choice of songs were perfect. To reflect her thirty years in the business. She has during that time released at lot of very good pop songs. Songs we all know and love. And can sing along to. I thought she looked stunning in each of the outfits she wore. However four outfit changes in a hour set at the biggest festival in the country. Is possibly a little bit over the top.

She was clearly enjoying herself. Which was fantastic to see. She was meant to headline Glastonbury back in 2005. But unfortunately she had to pull out when she was diagnosed with Breast Cancer. Happily as we now know that story ended well. And she got to appear on the stage finally. And do her thing in a massive field in Somerset. I am a huge fan of hers. She always puts on such a great show. She is very hardworking. And I get the impression, she is lots of fun. Nice one Kylie!

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

Stand Up and Make It Count

June 23, 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. It has been a pretty decent week weather wise and I do think I am more of a Spring/Summer person, as I do like the sunshine.

The other Sunday afternoon I met a mate and just went for a few drinks in and around London. When you have no timescale and no real plan. You can just wander around and go where the mood takes you. And let’s face it there are lots of options in the Capital.

We started off just by Bond Street before making our way to Soho to enjoy a pint in the legendary Dog and Duck. From there it was just down the road to The Cambridge just opposite the Palace Theatre. In there we tried a few different halves of some local real ales including an intriguing plumb flavoured porter, which was lovely.

Next we headed to a tried and tested favourite The Albany at the top of Great Portland Street. The main reason being that they do a fantastic Sunday roast in there. Which once again did not disappoint. Then we called it a day and went home. I do like relaxing and fun afternoons like that.

I have always been good at going to the Dentist pretty regularly, which I appreciate some people do struggle with. Now I have got to the stage where I actually book my own clean and polish appointments without being asked to.

I would not say I particularly enjoy these extra trips but my dentist is very nice and I always feel better for them. It is a pretty thorough clean which I am relieved I do not have to go through every morning and evening when I am brushing at home. I mean what do they use to power that special tooth brush? I am guessing it is the battery from an pneumatic drill by the sound of it.

I had a bit of a disaster the other week. I was walking out of work when I decided to look at my mobile phone. As I was getting it out it got caught on the side of my pocket and fell out of my hands only to fly about a meter through the air and come crashing down twice on the screen. Needless to say this did not do it much good.

In fact it pretty much shattered the whole display screen. Luckily it was still somehow working but with the screen broken and big cracks in it. It was pretty hard to read anything on it. After doing quite a bit of emergency research on what to do next. I was advised that as I had insurance it was best to claim on that and get a new replacement phone.

So I phoned the insurance company and they said it was all fine. They could do it but there was an excess charge of one hundred pounds to pay. But as this was considerably cheaper than buying a new I-phone. I went ahead with the claim. So you have to send them the broken phone and then they assess it before sending you out the new phone. This process could take up to seven working days. I got my first mobile phone in about nineteen ninety-nine and I had not been without one since. Like most people pretty much my entire life is on my phone, so I was a bit concerned about being without it for a whole week. But basically I had no choice. So away it went.

I will be honest I actually found not having one to be quite liberating. It meant I actually had to talk to people and just spend time chilling and thinking when I was travelling to places. Although I will admit it was annoying not to be able to check the internet whenever I wanted. It did feel a bit strange only being able to speak to people by email or through Facebook when I was near a computer.

But I did not actually miss it as much as I thought I would. I mean I still managed to have friends and meet up with them prior to ever having a mobile, so I should still be able to do that. However it was really odd not having one. But I kind of liked the freedom that no one could get in touch with me, like some wild and crazy maverick just going through life by himself.

That said I was pretty happy and excited when the new phone arrived. Happily they under promised and over delivered, as I received it within five days of making the initial claim. Although setting up the new one was a bit stressful. I use I-cloud so all my settings and documents were saved there, ready to install on the new device.

However as a part of this set up Apple send you a code to your phone, which at that point is not set up so you can’t see it. So unless you own another Apple device that you can log in to, it means a long call to Apple Support to get it sorted. Credit where it is due, the lady I spoke to was brilliant and very helpful and talked me through it. But we can certainly file this in the nothing is ever simple is it file. Mind you I got it all sorted and set up. So I am now back in the twenty-first century. And have a mobile phone with me again at all times, just like the rest of the world.

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

I went to see a Radio 4 Sitcom pilot being recorded at the BBC Radio Theatre last Monday. It starred the brilliant Tony Law. Who was the professional comedian that I was with when I did the Tringe Festival Roving Comedy Night for the first time five years ago. More on that later.

This comedy was written with him in mind and has his name in the title. As I have met him and do kind of know him we did have a brief Twitter exchange beforehand. Although to be fair as it was such a lovely hot and sunny day it was just me checking the air conditioning was on. Which for the record it was.

So Tony Law being Tony Law he had dressed up in character for the performance. But to be fair his stage gear is usually pretty distinctive anyway. The cast also included the great Helen Lederer and excellent Nina Wadia. The basic premise is that Tony is an explorer, who leads his own unique crew around the world on missions. A little bit like a kind of radio Indiana Jones.

It was a fun night and I really enjoyed the show. It is just a pilot but the episode will get played out on Radio 4 at some point and then the powers that be will decide if it gets a series or not. I enjoyed it and would like to see it get a series, mainly because I think it is something that Tony Law deserves. Keep a look out for it. It is worth a listen, if you like your comedy a little surreal and slightly off the wall.

I had my first experience of Royal Ascot this week. It is an event I had always wanted to go to but never quite got round to. Until I decided very last minute to go along to day one of the festival on Tuesday.

I had been to Ascot a few times before but as soon as you stepped off the train at the station you can tell that it is a big deal. The atmosphere is ace and hits you right from your arrival. All the bars have marquees and music blaring out and there are just very well dressed people everywhere.

I had managed to get myself a ticket in the Windsor Enclosure and headed straight there. It was around lunch time, so my first port of call was the food stand to get a pretty decent burger. As you know it is important to fuel yourself properly for these occasions.

It was a lovely hot day and my hair does not offer the protection it once did so I then decided to check out the Ascot shop and buy myself a Royal Ascot baseball cap. Which did an excellent job keeping me from burning my head. Although I am not sure it went that well with my suit.

Now I know opinions differ on this but I am a big supporter and fan of the Royal Family. So I made sure that I secured myself a nice spot to see the Royal Procession. Which takes place before the start of the days racing.

It was a spectacular sight with the military horses leading the way followed by the carriages containing the Royals. It was great seeing the Queen and Prince Phillip go past smiling and waving. And it was the first time I had got to see Prince William and Princess Catherine in the flesh, which was nice. Once they had gone past, it was time to get down to the racing.

I had a bad day on the betting front. Despite wearing my “lucky suit” I did not pick any winners at all. That is the first time in four meetings that it has let me down. But I am seriously thinking about burning it. That’s show business. I do not think I was alone I saw a lot of happy bookmakers at the end.

Despite my lack of success it was a great day. The whole thing has a party atmosphere to it and it was an exciting day out. It is such a spectacle. I am already hoping and planning to go back and do it again next year.

This weekend it is the Glastonbury Festival. I have been twice before to this amazing event. In fact this year is the tenth anniversary since my first visit. I camped there for the whole weekend and had a brilliant time. Although we did have back stage passes and were in a special area with our tent.Which did make the whole experience a bit more exciting and interesting. I saw some brilliant and amazing acts and performances.

I would really like to go back to do it all again but I never quite get round to organising it. If you have never been I would recommend you try to go along once to experience it but tickets are so hard to get hold of as the demand is so high. It is well worth experiencing though. The atmosphere there is so special. There is so much on offer to see and do. You will miss much more than you actually manage to see but the things you do see will become a special lasting memory.

Next Sunday 2nd July it is the Tringe Festival Roving Comedy Night. I made my debut at this great event five years ago. And this year I return to the event at which I gave my first ever stand up comedy performance. I am really looking forward to performing. It is going to be a fun night.

It will be great to catch up with the members of the Roving Comedy Club and my comedy guru and teacher Logan Murray. He will be the host at one of the four pubs in Tring that are taking part. One of the four venues has already sold out. So if you want to get some tickets for one of the other venues, I would not hang about. Roving Comedy Night

So you buy a ticket for one of the pubs and stay there all night to see all of the comics performing. While the comedians move around and perform in each of the pubs. So we have a great laugh and giggle moving from pub to pub and experiencing a completely new audience every time. Headlining each of the groups of comedians at each venue will be Carey Marx, Paul B Edwards, Silky and Arthur Smith.

The first time I did it, it was one of the best experiences of my life. I was happily recommending to people that they should do it, so when the opportunity came up for me to do it again. I did not hesitate and said yes straight away.

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

Task in Hand

July 9, 2016 Neil

Hi there, how are you doing? I hope you have had a really good couple of weeks. Mine have been busy as ever, with lots of fun things going on. Well for starters the episode of Task Master. That I went to watch being filmed was shown on Dave. It was the one that included them making their own videos for nursery rhymes. Which were mostly terrifying, I thought.

Now the eagle eyed amongst you. May have caught a quick glimpse of me on a couple of occasions. As they were going in to and out of the tasks on the big screen. It was a great evening. And the finished show was equally very funny.

The latest episode of Task Master. Which was on last Tuesday night featured the Mayor of Chesham in one of the task’s. Alex Horne who actually came up with the idea for the show and co-presents it with Greg Davies, lives near there.

So I guess he must of thought it would be nice to get the town and county on the show. And put Buckinghamshire on the map. So the task they devised was simply to entertain the Mayor Peter Hudson in his chambers.

It was interesting to see the different ways that the contestants on the show went about this. My favourite was Joe Wilkinson. Who simply went to the local shop and came back with forty-two Calypso Ice Lolly’s and six cans of strong lager. To give to the Mayor.

Although a special mention deserves to go to Richard Osman. Who wrote a special poem about the Mayor and town. Which he read to him while juggling. Personally I think this performance should mean that they make him the next Poet Laureate for Buckinghamshire.

I was talking about the show on Twitter, while I was watching it. And this led to a very quick online conversation with the man of the moment himself. None other than the Mayor of Chesham, Councillor Peter Hudson. Basically he said he had a lovely time recording it. And that he thoroughly enjoyed the experience.

He also said that each comedian actually spent thirty minutes with him doing their bits. He said they were all great people. I thought he was brilliant on it. And did an excellent job. I am very jealous that he got to spend half an hour with all those people, specially Kathryn Ryan.

I did watch a little bit of the Glastonbury Festival coverage on the BBC. I have been to it a couple of times myself. Once for the whole weekend. Which was an amazing experience. And the second time I just went for the Sunday afternoon.

Both times I had a back stage pass. So it was good for celebrity spotting and getting around the site easier. I am not a great fan of camping. But I would really like to go to the Festival again in the future. That is the only place. That could possibly get me back in a tent.

Although the camping there was not massive fun. The great acts, good times and memories created out weighed all of that. That is the part that makes me want to get involved with it again. It is crazy how a dairy farm in Pilton is totally transformed in to a temporary home. For one hundred and eighty thousand people and the who’s who of the music industry. But anyway I wasn’t there this year but I did watch a few of the performances on television.

The first one I caught was Madness on the Saturday afternoon. They were performing at an American Football game. That I was working at last year at Wembley Stadium. So I got to hear them sound checking with just a small handful of people. Which was brilliant. They sounded great. And they really do have that unique sound. So you instantly know it is them.

I thought they did a great job at Glastonbury. Suggs was in his element messing about on stage in front of that many people. And as any band should at a Festival. They banged out all the big hits. Top work from a top band. A couple of year’s ago and went and saw Suggs’s one man show at The Waterside Theatre in Aylesbury. That was also a really funny and very entertaining night.

The next performance I saw was from the Saturday night headliner Adele. I know many people felt that she was an odd choice to close the first day of the weekend. But she is an exceptionally talented and very popular singer. Who has won many many awards. She is renowned for putting on great live shows. She is a massive Glastonbury fan. Who has been going there since she was a young girl.

And lastly she is a Tottenham Hotspur fan. All of those things meant that she was an obvious and excellent choice for this slot. As far as I am concerned.

I thought that she was absolutely brilliant. For starters that singing voice of her’s is just sensational. She has a real presence, warmth, and connection with the audience. When she is on stage. Plus that back catalogue of songs. That she already has, is phenomenal. She is seemingly so down to earth to.

Her interaction with the crowd is just so relaxed. Not least her language. I think it is fair to say she swears a bit. In fact I think she may swear more on stage. Than any other artist I have ever seen. She got several people up from the crowd to have photos taken with her. She went down and chatted to the fans in between songs. She was so chilled and very happy to pose for photographs and selfies!

What I think I am saying is that I might be a little bit in love with her. I bet she is great fun on a night out. Not to mention a bit useful to have around for some Karaoke. The way she talks to the audience and then launches in to great songs.

She is a bit like a one women modern day version of the Rat Pack. I thought it was brilliant how she ended her performance. By finishing her last song, saying “see you later” as she picked up the pint of cider she was drinking and slowly headed of stage. Genius. Great gig by a super talented and lovely person.

It has become a tradition to have a “legends” act on the Pyramid Stage on the Sunday Afternoon. The two times that I was there. This slot was filled by Shirley Bassey and Neil Diamond. Shirley came on stage in an evening gown and diamond covered wellingtons and belted out all her biggest hits.

And the American came on in normal stage attire and played all his biggest songs. As you can imagine “Sweet Caroline” was quite the sing-a-long that day. This year it was Jeff Lynne’s ELO who were playing. He is another cool cat who is pretty chilled and relaxed on stage between the songs it is fair to say.

As you would expect from a man of his calibre. There was nothing missing from his set at all. All the big hits brilliantly delivered. I think my favourite bit was when he played Mr Blue Sky. The whole of Glastonbury was singing and dancing along in the pouring rain. Which kind of sums up the festival for me. It is all about forgetting what is happening around you and just losing yourself in the music and in the moment. Then the last thing I saw was Coldplay, closing the whole thing.

Neil Quigley with The Beatles — Neil Quigley

I thought they put on a fantastic show. And you could tell that they were in the middle of a big stadium tour. By how slick and good their performance was. It sounded and looked great watching at home on the television. I like the way they got their kids on stage for one of the songs. Nice to share the amazing experience of playing to such a big crowd with the family. And it will certainly give them all something to remember.

The interaction with the organiser Michael Eavis was something different. Plus as I was watching I was saying that unusually there were not any real surprise guests this time. When they suddenly brought out Barry Gibb from the Bee Gees. To do a few songs with them.

And then just when you thought things could not get any weirder. They decide to bring out Michael Eavis to sing My Way. I have not seen any official announcement. But when that happened I was thinking that was his sign off from being the man in charge. And that the baton would now very much be passed to his daughter Emily. She has been getting more and more involved with things every year. So that would make sense. I enjoyed my little slice of Glastonbury. And who knows I may even find myself up to my knees in mud. While enjoying live music in a field in Somerset for the festival next year.

The less said about England’s exit from the Euro 2016 Football Championships the better I think. Let me just say that the performance against Iceland was disappointing, to say the least. Unfortunately none of the players involved in that game came out with any credit. We got what we deserved from the game.

Sad to see Roy Hodgson depart as England Manager. I have met him and I do really like him. But I think he has taken the team as far as he can. Trouble is there is no obvious replacement. But on wards and up wards. Let us look to the future and not to the past.

Well done to Wales for making it to the Semi-finals of their first tournament since nineteen fifty-eight. After England went out everyone was trying to find something that made them Welsh, so they still had a team to support.

The best I could do is the fact that I once spent a week on a caravan holiday in Tenby with my cousin. Which I believe qualified me to be Welsh for ninety minutes. To support them against Portugal. Sadly it did not happen for them on the night. But they can all be proud of what they achieved. Together we are stronger is possibly a mantra, we could all use currently.

Last Sunday it was the final day of this year’s Henley Royal Regatta. I have worked at a couple and had a great time there last year. So I went along to catch up with my mate and former Regatta Radio colleague George Thomas.

After stopping off at a well known supermarket to get some food we then headed down to the Thames to catch some of the action. Last year I watched some of the racing from the river. This year we found a nice spot on the river bank to eat our food and watch the competitors go by.

While we were there I got to witness the great Mahe Drysdale the current Olympic Champion fly past me. We then had a walk to the start of the course to have a look round. And while I was there. As I am always one to support local business’s. I did treat myself to a nice pint of beer from the Rebellion Brewery. Who are based in Marlow. It is fair to say I am a big fan of their work. I had a lovely afternoon.

There is something so very English about the Regatta. The atmosphere is great. It is all good fun. And I am already planning to go there for a bit longer next time.

Last night I went to the ITV London Studios on the South Bank to see an episode of Mr & Mrs being recorded. It is always great seeing the master Mr Phillip Schofield in action in a studio. He is just so good and so consistent. Despite the madness going on around him. He rarely makes any mistakes or has to do anything again. One take wonder. He is a legend. Although he did get the giggles at one point.

The couples on the show were, Emmerdale’s Adam Thomas and his wife Claire. From Strictly Come Dancing Kevin and Karen Clifton. Dad’s Army and Eastenders star Ian Lavender and his wife Michelle. It was a fun night. All the pairs were very entertaining. And all revealed way too much about their personal and home lives.

My favourite couple were Kevin and Karen. as I am a big fan of the show they appear on. They do seem perfectly suited. They are both a little bit crazy. But in a fun and a safe way.

Some of the expressions Karen pulled were amazing. Not sure when the series will be shown. But I suspect it will be some time in September. Keep an eye out for it. It is well worth a watch.

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

Grand Holiday

June 27, 2015 Neil

Hi there, how are you doing? I hope you have had a really good couple of weeks. Mine have been fantastic and included a top week spent on holiday in Gran Canaria. I stayed in Playa Del Ingles with a mate of mine for seven days chilling and relaxing in the brilliant sunshine. That is the Canary Islands trade mark. During their last winter the lowest temperature they had was twenty degrees celsius. The trip it is fair to say, did not get off to the greatest of starts though.

We were waiting outside my friends house for the taxi to take us to the airport at around three thirty in the morning. When I got a phone call from the driver informing me that he was waiting at Luton Airport. And he was wondering where we were. He had misread his instructions and got the journey the wrong way round. Fair play to the Taxi company though. When they realised the mistake. The owner got up raced over to us and still got us to the airport in plenty of time for our flight. But it was a bit more stress than I was hoping for, right at the start of proceedings. Specially at that time in the morning.

Thankfully the rest of the journey went very smoothly, great flight and ride from the airport to the hotel. And by one o’clock that day. We were sitting looking out at the sea having a drink. It was the second time I had been to Gran Canaria. And once again I can have no complaints about the weather. While we were there the average temperature during the day was around twenty eight degrees celsius. Which makes a rather nice change from being here at home in England. So therefore I have returned tanned and relaxed from from my time away.

Playa Del Ingles roughly translates as the English Beach. Now do not get me wrong I do love England. But it is like no beach I have ever been on in Britain. We have lots of great beaches but the weather, sea and atmosphere are never that hot back home. That said the sea there is a little lively at times. It made paddling in the sea quite a challenge with an occasional battle to stay on your feet and in your costume. Depending on if the tide was coming in or not.

Then right next door are the Maspalomas Dunes. Which are amazing. We went for a very long walk through them and it is like being stranded right out in the middle of a desert. If you do ever go there they are definitely worth a visit. But just be aware that they do actually back on to a nudist beach. So you may see some more sights that you actually bargained for.

There are lots of Irish Bars around. You could hardly move for them. But as a Quigley this was fine with me and I always made sure I went to at least one or two of them every night, we were there. All the people we met in the resort were really friendly and helpful. We also found this nice beach bar called Sahara. Which during the afternoon had a guy with a guitar playing and singing a variety of cover songs. He was really good. It was great to sit there listening to him.

Although I think he was Spanish and just kind of learnt the English lyrics to each one. Which did lead to a couple of shall we say interesting pronunciation’s of certain words. Our particular favourite was just one word during his version of Matthew Wilder’s Break My Stride. Each time I hear that song in the future it will remind me of this holiday. “I’ve got to keep on mooing”

This weekend it is the Glastonbury Festival from that world famous farm in Pilton, Somerset. While I was working in Yeovil I was lucky enough to be able to go along and experience this magical event for myself. The first time I went it was for the whole weekend from Thursday to Sunday. It was with Robbie Lane a colleague and friend of mine from the radio station. We had backstage passes and got to pitch our tent in the backstage camp site. This is behind the two main stages the Pyramid Stage and the Other Stage.

There was a bar and cafe there. Plus a special path to get to each of the two big stages. Which meant it was possible to move between them in about ten minutes. Which if you have ever been to the Festival, you know will take normally at least forty minutes. If you are going the public access way there. I had an amazing time and saw so many great performances from lots of different acts and bands including The Waterboys, Lily Allen, Amy Winehouse, Kaiser Chiefs, Artic Monkeys, Killer’s, Paul Weller, The Who, Shirley Bassey, Iggy Pop, Manic Street Preachers, Arcade Fire and Kasabian to mention but a few. Great times. Even if it did mean sleeping in a tent.

While we were living back stage for the weekend. As you can imagine we rubbed shoulders with quite a lot of celebrity’s who were there. Just to give a little flavour of what it was like. Here are just some of them Will Young, Mark Owen, Stephen Merchant, Kate Moss, Keith Allen, Harry Enfield, Dara O’Briain, Jo Whiley, Marc Ratcliffe, Phil Jupitus and many many more. It was awesome to be there soaking it all in. The site it is held on is huge and there is so much going on. You are always going to miss more than you will ever get to see there. Brilliant fun, though.

The second time I literally just popped along for the Sunday to see Mark Ronson, Neil Diamond, Scouting For Girls and The Verve. I did again have backstage access. So I did make sure I visited the bar area. So I once again got the full VIP Glastonbury experience. I am enjoying this years coverage and watching and listening to as much of it as I can.

I am missing not being there, but not necessarily sleeping in a tent and wading through all that mud. If you have never been and one day get the chance to go. Even if you are not sure if it is your thing or not. Just do it and trust me you will have a great time. I still plan to go to it again at some point in the future.

As ever I have got a busy week coming up with lots of fun things to do. On Monday I am once again back at the London Studios in Waterloo to see the legend that is Phillip Schofield record a new episode of Mr & Mrs. I am looking forward to it. I really like the awkwardness of that show sometimes. It will be interesting to see which couples are on. And also if there are any answers to the questions that can’t possibly be broadcast so have to be re-done to make them television friendly. I have long admired Mr Schofield, since I grew up watching him present children’s TV from the broom cupboard. So I am very excited about seeing him in action live for the first time. It should be lots of fun and a good evening out.

Being a massive fan of live comedy. I do like to get to as many gigs as possible. So I am off back to the Museum of Comedy to see the excellent James Acaster on Wednesday. He is doing a work in progress show in preparation for the Edinburgh Fringe Festival. Talking of great live comedy this year’s Tringe Festival kicks off tomorrow night with The Roving Comedy Night. Good luck to the latest batch of trainees. You will all be great and will really enjoy the experience to. I am sure you will all make the teacher the lovely Logan Murray very proud.

I still have such fantastic memories of being part of this myself. It is great that you on your first gig get to perform with a professional comic. Which helps so much and really adds to the excitement. To find out more about this year’s Tringe Festival, just click on the link. Tringe Festival

If you remember a couple of weeks ago I did some filming for the new series of the Sky One show hosted by Lee Mack called Duck Quacks Don’t Echo. Well this coming Friday I am going to the Pinewood Studios to see an episode of the programme being recorded. They have a panel of celebrity’s who argue the case for certain myths or beliefs. Before they then show an experiment that they have carried out to try to prove or disprove the theory. And see if that person is right or not.

I have no idea currently who we be on when I am there. But I am a fan of Lee Mack, so I will be happy just seeing him. However the guest list for the first series of the show was pretty impressive, so I am expecting this one to be just the same. You never know it might be the one that features the experiment that I was involved in. Which would be brilliant and very funny.

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

Festival Season

June 22, 2013 Neil

Hi there, how are things with you? I have had a very busy but fun couple of weeks with quite a lot of that time being spent in London. Sometimes with little time to eat meaning that at one point I had to have two McDonald’s within the space of three days. Which for someone who tries to eat healthily and have my five portions of fruit and vegetables a day was a moral dilemma for at least a few seconds. Although they do now try to offer a more balanced food selection in the said fast food restaurant nowadays. There was no way I was ordering a salad. Burger and fries were the choices on both occasions. I have to say they tasted great but I was hungry again about ten minutes after I had finished them. I would also like to point out that prior to these incidents my last visit to that establishment would have been around a year ago. My body is a temple you know, in that it is getting older and has seen better days.

The other week I went along to see the much maligned Spice Girls inspired musical “Viva Forever”! Mainly because I have got some history with the Spice Girls but also simply because I wanted to see it . Firstly I guess it’s confession time then. I actually went and watched them turn on the Oxford Street Christmas Lights not long after they had made it big. The night was hosted by Neil Fox and they honestly took a limo from their hotel to the stage which was about two hundred yards, if that. I then went and saw one of the Wembley Arena Shows on their very first UK tour, where Dani Behr was the warm up DJ. And I also went and watched one of the re-union shows at the O2 arena a couple of years ago, so you could say I’m a fan. Therefore it was only right I went and saw the show written using their songs for inspiration. I was aware the reviews had not been great and that it has already been announced that the show will close at the end of this month. But I thought I would still see it anyway. I have to say it was the first time I had been to the Piccadilly Theatre and it was very nice. We had great seats two rows from the front and right in the middle. If I had been any closer I would have been in the show. Personally I have to say that I really enjoyed it and had a great time. It is written by Jennifer Saunders who is one of the greatest comedy writers and performers in the country, so there were some really funny laugh out loud moments in it. It kind of pokes fun to say the least at reality TV singing shows and the notion of fame and celebrity itself with the main story about Viva and how she deals with the madness of it all.

Viva Forever at the Piccadilly Theatre, London

It is a very different sort of musical because of the amount of comedy in it. It is not going to blow you away like say Les Miserables, but if you go along for a laugh and to enjoy some songs you recognise, while not taking it to seriously, you will have a good time. And you to could be trying to remember the dance moves to Stop when the cast perform a medley of Spice Girl hits for the finale. If you are quick obviously. For the record I did used to know that dance pretty well when I did a lot of disco’s in the nineties but I can confirm I do not know it so well now though.

Next Sunday see’s the start of the Tringe Comedy Festival in Tring with the sold out Roving Comedy Night taking place across four pubs in the town centre. So therefore it is almost a year since I made my comedy debut at the event last year. It was such a fun and exciting evening. Good luck to any of the comedian’s making their debuts at this year’s event. I had a brief chat with one of the professional comedians Silky who will be involved on the night recently and he was saying he is really looking forward to it as it is such a fun night to be involved with. If you are over eighteen and have not witnessed my debut at last years Roving Comedy night here it is for you.

The highlights of my first ever Stand Up Comedy Gig at the Tringe Festival in Tring. Over 18’s only. This video contains swearing and material of an adult nature. Thanks to OfficialTV.

So the Roving Comedy Night really starts things off and then there is three weeks of performances from top comedians giving previews of the shows they will doing at this years Edinburgh Festival. A majority of the gigs take place at the Court Theatre in Tring which is a great place to watch comedy and actually a venue that many of the UK’s top stand Up’s like playing. It has a great reputation among audiences and performers alike. For more details about this year’s event click here http://www.get-stuffed.biz/tringe/

After a break last year Glastonbury is back for 2013 all across next weekend. I spent five years working at a radio station in Somerset, so I know how much the event means to the people there and how many of them are involved with making it happen in some way. While I was living in Yeovil in the West Country I was lucky enough to go and experience Glastonbury for myself. I went to the festival in 2007 and was fortunate enough to be able to camp in and have full access to the back stage area. Moments after we had pitched our tent me and my mate just saw all three of the Geldof sisters walk straight past. Over the weekend our backstage celebrity spots included pretty much the whole Radio One team who were there covering the event, Will Young, Mark Owen, Harry Enfield, Marcus Brigstocke, Stephen Merchant and Kate Moss to mention just a few.

Probably the best thing about our passes were that there was a backstage walkway between the Pyramid Stage and the Other Stage which meant we could get from one to the other in about ten minutes. So we could see some of each set, if there were two bands playing at the same time, who we wanted to take a look at. Which anyone who has been would know would have been impossible, if you had to walk between them in the normal way. Over that weekend some of the acts I saw play included Amy Winehouse, The Killers, Artic Monkeys, Paul Weller, Kaiser Chiefs, Shirley Bassey, The Who and the Manic Street Preachers. I had a totally brilliant time and would recommend it to anyone even though it does get a little bit muddy in places, so do always take your wellies with you. The one disappointment was I went and watched the Waterboys open the Pyramid Stage at midday on the Friday and they did not play The Whole of The Moon in their set. One word of advice to bands and artists at Glastonbury. We just want your biggest hits whether you are fed up of playing them or not. If you are going this year have a brilliant time. I think the Rolling Stones on the Saturday night are going to be absolutely amazing.

I am looking forward to being involved with Regatta Radio at this years Henley Regatta from the Wednesday 3rd to Sunday 7th July. It is going to be great fun and I can’t wait to meet the rest of the team and see what interesting and fascinating people I bump into at the event while I am there. I have already had the pleasure and the honour of meeting Sir Steve Redgrave previously, but there must be quite a good chance I may run into him again surely, across the five days of boat racing.

And finally on Sunday 11th August I am delighted to be taking part in the very first Radio Rocks Music Festival at the Westcott Sports and Social Club in aid of Stoke Mandeville Hospital Radio. Which is where I started by broadcasting career. Do not worry though I will not be singing just doing some hosting and a little bit of comedy. I am really looking forward to working with my old mate Dez Kay again at this event. The fund raising concert will be headlined by Brian “Nasher” Nash from Frankie Goes to Hollywood and the line up will also include the hugely talented Nickita. For more details and for ticket information click here http://www.tickettailor.com/checkout/view-event/id/8971/chk/5dfb

Neil Quigley back at Stoke Mandeville Hospital Radio with Martin Kinch

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

Neil Quigley Presenter