Tag Archives: Gluten free

Taking Care of Business

July 9, 2022 Neil

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Right Royal Fun

June 11, 2022 Neil

As I said previously this year seems to be going by so fast, it appears that the weather has not caught up yet and realised that it is actually summer. I have massively benefited recently from always carrying an umbrella with me plus I have seen people in the last week still wearing scarfs and hats which feels a bit wrong for June. Mind you as soon as there is a glimpse of the sun you can smell nothing but barbeques so it is good to know that as a country we are all being suitably British about the situation.

A couple of Saturdays ago now Lynda and I went up to Manchester to see some friends. We drove up during the afternoon and arrived to a champagne reception from our hosts, well after I had enjoyed a cup of tea that I always insist on having on arrival anywhere that I have endured a journey of thirty minutes or more. We had a civilised catch up before it was time to get changed and jump in the taxi they had booked to take us all to the restaurant that they had organised. During this trip it was the first time I think that I have ever seen a driver obviously turn up his radio to drown out what we were talking about and I promise you it was not that controversial or boring.

We arrived at the restaurant, which nowadays is always my cue to point out to the staff that I am a Coeliac requiring the gluten free menu and possibly the allergens menu to. They were great and the food and atmosphere in the place was also good. It was a Tapas style venue but due to my dietary requirements I had a straightforward starter and main while the rest of them shared a selection of dishes. For the record I was fine was this and still had a dessert option I could and did enjoy. It was some ice-cream that came with a small glass of sherry. Not a combination I had ever had before but I found it quite agreeable and may even have discovered a new drink option.

After we had eaten we had a table booked in a really nice bar called Ivy Asia. In there we had some very nice wine and spent the evening talking and laughing. There was a really cool and classy vibe to the place. I would definitely go there again. The next morning our friends did us a totally gluten free fried breakfast which I really appreciated. They even just did gluten free bread for everybody which removes quite a big cross contamination risk so I was very happy about that. We had a fantastic weekend just relaxing and hanging out with mates. I always like going out in Manchester but just never seem to do it very often.

It was my Dad’s 70th Birthday on the Thursday right at the start of the Jubilee Back Holiday weekend. He was not really sure what he wanted to do and I only just managed to get out of him what he would like for a present the week before. In the end I just decided I would go and see him for the day and cook a family roast dinner for the evening. It worked out well as his brothers and sister popped in to see him for a cup of tea and a quick chat during the day. Then he and mum went to church while I prepared the roast beef feast. I do quite a decent roast if I do say so myself although I am not great at judging portion sizes so we all had a massive plateful of food.

We opened some lovely red wine to accompany our meal and then he had two cakes to enjoy for his pudding. When we had finished eating we had a rest to let our digestive systems get to work. Then I started playing some music I thought he would like but had not had the chance to listen to for a while. We ended up doing this for about two hours with both of us taking turns to choose the songs. It was I guess by my standards at least, a low key celebration but he seemed to really enjoy it and we all had a fun time. I think we went to bed around midnight which is sensible for a man of his age of course.

I love a night out at the theatre and in particularly a good musical. Lynda managed to get a couple of tickets from Sky VIP to see the latest Andrew Lloyd-Webber musical version of Cinderella. It has of course hit the headlines for all the wrong reasons recently with the way that the cast were informed about the show closing in London a lot sooner than was originally planned. They all found out on social media instead of being personally informed in advance which is totally unprofessional and unforgiveable really. It closes tomorrow but we went and saw it last Friday.

I was not totally sure what to expect I had seen the odd number from it performed on various television shows before it opened and I did know that it starred Carrie Hope Fletcher. However I had no idea how the storyline differed from the original version that we all know so well. It was on at the Gillian Lynne Theatre which looks very non descript and concrete from the outside but is actually quite spacious and nicely organised inside. We had good seats in the middle of the stalls.

I thoroughly enjoyed it, the songs are excellent and catchy as you would expect from a Lloyd-Webber musical. The whole cast were brilliant and Carrie was sensational in the lead role. It is a modern slight reworking of the original tale with some characters and parts of the story very similar and some others very much not. It is easy to follow, staged perfectly and does I feel reflect the world we live in very well at times but ultimately it is a story and show based on a fairy tale where happy endings are the order of the day. I am glad that I managed to catch it, there was quite a bit of humour in it which of course appealed to me.

Before we went to the theatre we had a nice meal in Wahaca. It is on the list of places where I can eat as they do provide a decent choice of gluten free dishes. The other reason we went there is that Lynda had found that they do a great Margarita cocktail. I can now confirm this to be true as after she ordered hers I decided to try one to and they are very good. We had quite an impressive selection of Mexican food between us started off with some vegetable nachos and for me at least finished off by ice-cream with chocolate sauce. It certainly gave me the energy to enjoy our planned entertainment.

While we were at the theatre we got a message from some friends who happened to be in London to but seeing a different West End show. As we had not seen them since New Year’s Eve we decided to meet them for drinks afterwards. Much to our surprise we found a pub that had plenty of seats and no queue at the bar to have a few drinks and a catch up in before we had to get the last train home. It was a brilliant night out, food, theatre and friends is I feel always a winning combination.

It was a weekend for seeing mates which is never a bad thing. I am not sure how but it does seem hard to find the time at the minute to see people. Last Saturday afternoon we went to see our friends Adam and Katy at their house. Embarrassingly while we were there we worked out that we had not seen each other for nearly a year. It was great to see them and they even got some specially gluten free treats that I could enjoy with the copious cups of tea I consumed during the three hours we were there. I was in my element with friends chatting, laughing and drinking tea, that is basically what I was born to do!

I did enjoy seeing all the celebrations for the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee during the special Bank Holiday Weekend. Trooping of the Colour was as ever a fantastic spectacle and I always enjoy a good flight past seeing all of those iconic aircraft fly over The Mall and Buckingham Palace is always brilliant. It was enhanced even more this year by the reaction of Prince Louie. He was the star of the whole weekend for me! The concert on Saturday was as you would expect slick and sensational.

The Pageant was both totally British and bonkers in equal measure. I would also love to know who booked the celebrities for the various buses and what their selection method was. It looked great fun and I wish I had been there to see it in person. I know a few people who were involved with the float on behalf of the Bridgwater Guy Fawkes Carnival Club. They worked on the sound for the floats, when I was in Somerset I did loads of gigs with them, which were always good fun!

Seventy years in one job is a huge achievement and personally I think she has been and continues to be amazing. She was so good in that skit with Paddington that I think they should have given her a role in both of the films. Stuff like that really appeals to her sense of humour that we all need to have whatever industry we work in I think. Congratulations Your Majesty it was brilliant to see your appearances on the balcony and the interactions with your great grandchildren. Now please rest up a little so we can wave at each other at Royal Ascot this coming week. I am going on the Friday and I am already very excited about it.

Last Saturday night Lynda and I returned to the scene of our second date. It was a restaurant in Berkhamsted called Tabure. Since our first visit my dietary requirements have changed so I had to drop them an email to check they could accommodate me. They sent me a very quick and detailed reply that instantly put my mind at rest so I booked us a table. We went for a quick pre-dinner drink in The Kings Arms, which is where we ended up until closing time after the initial date in that town.

Tabure is a Turkish style restaurant where a bit like Tapas the dishes are sharing options in a particular section of the menu, although you can have individual meals if you like. To make the sharing easier and it better for them to manage my issues Lynda agreed to keep to only gluten free dishes. It was over two years since we had eaten there so we had kind of forgotten how good the food is. Let me tell you it is amazing, I have been lucky enough to eat in some very nice places but this one is right up there. We will definitely not be leaving it so long before we eat there again. The Staff are also brilliant and they do serve an exquisite Malbec there.

I am now starting to get quite excited about Baz Luhrmann’s new film about Elvis Presley. Despite previously playing it cool and saying I would see it at the cinema but I was in no rush to, after seeing the trailer and the hype from the Cannes Premier I went and booked tickets to see it in London on its UK release date. Tom Hanks plays the manager Colonel Parker and Austin Butler plays Elvis. As you would expect from a Luhrmann movie visually it looks amazing and I cannot wait to see it.

This weekend we are off to the Welsh/English border to spend a few days with my oldest friend and his family. We met on our first day in Primary School aged four and we have been mates ever since. I am really looking forward to seeing them. I will tell you what we got up to next time we speak.

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

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

All of the Arts

May 14, 2022 Neil

The year seems to be flying by to me. The weeks are passing by so quickly, it does not feel like fourteen days since we last spoke. I think part of the reason for that might be when the world reopened again after the lockdowns, due to the fact we felt aggrieved at not being able to do anything, we just said yes to everything we could and our diary rapidly filled up. You know you must be pretty busy when you actually have to book a quiet weekend of not doing much into your schedule. I have always liked keeping active and experiencing as many different things as I can but I seem to have upped the ante a bit so far this year. I am not complaining, just reflecting.

Two Saturdays ago Lynda and I went to The Rex in Berkhamsted. She had been there before but this was my first visit. Obviously we went for a nice meal in the area first. As ever our restaurant choice was fuelled by my gluten free requirements. We ate at a Lussmanns which was just a five minute walk from the art deco cinema where we were going. The food and service were both great. I always like to ideally round off any meal with a dessert. They had a few coeliac friendly options on the menu and I went for the panna cotta with chocolate. I will be honest I just expected a little dribble of melted chocolate on the top, however the whole plate was swimming in the stuff and it was amazing!

The Rex is tucked away just off the High Street. The entrance looks quite low key really but when you walk into the auditorium it is very impressive. The top level is just set up like a standard cinema but the two levels below that have big red comfy chairs in groups of four set around tables. This is the area where we sat and one of the reasons I wanted to go, as even I liked the idea of watching a film sat at a table in nice surroundings while having some wine. That is the other great thing about the place it has a bar in the auditorium where you can get drinks as you enjoy the action on the big screen.

The film we were seeing was Kenneth Branagh’s new version of the Agatha Christie classic Death On The Nile. As well as directing it Kenneth also played the lead Hercule Poirot. The cast included Gal Gadot, Tom Bateman, Russell Brand plus French and Saunders. I am not sure if this was just the surroundings or the nice glass of Rioja I had during it, but I really enjoyed it. There was quite a lot of humour for a film that in the end had a fairly impressive body count. I must admit I have not seen the original so have nothing to compare it to but it kept my attention. I did like the atmosphere and feel of the place, seeing a movie there felt like an occasion. I would happily go back and watch something else.

The following night a mate of mine who runs quite a lot of comedy events around the Hemel Hempstead area had one on at Boxmoor Social Club. I had been meaning to catch up with him for ages so Lynda and I went along. We got there quite late so ended up at the front to the side of the stage, which can sometimes be dangerous unless you know the organiser, compere and some of the acts. Then it is totally safe to be that close to the action. It was a bit like an old fashioned working man’s club everyone there was nice and friendly.

The host for the night was Matt Hake who I have gigged with a few times in the past and like me is a former attendee of a Logan Murray Comedy Course and a Tringfest Roving comedian. Both of which were amazing fun for the record. He was great as always. The two opening acts were both good and set the tone for the night perfectly. Having tried it myself there is nothing harder than making a room full of people laugh and they achieved that. The closing act for part one was someone I have seen a few times before called Stu Turner. He combines comedy with magic. That is a winning combination in my book. I always enjoy his act and like most comedy magicians he actually does a few very impressive tricks.

The headline act was somebody I had admired from a far for many years and who I remember watching as a child on television. He even appeared in an episode of one of my favourite programmes Only Fools and Horses, playing a comedian at The Nags Head. I was not disappointed I thought he was excellent. It is always a good sign when you are watching a comic and your face is aching from laughing so much. His name is Jeff Stevenson, he has been in show business a long time and even appeared in the 1976 version of Bugsy Malone as a fourteen year old. He does a lot of work on Cruise Ships so if they are your thing keep an eye out for him while on board. It was great to see him in action. The whole night was good fun, well done to Lee Bryant for putting it all together.

I have been working in the Radio Industry in some form or another since I was twenty which it is fair to say is a long time now. In all of that time I had never been to what were the Sony Awards and now are the Arias. My old boss and I Steve Carpenter did go to an event in London where they announced the nominee’s in 2007 as we had entered and we felt we might have a chance of being shortlisted. We were not in the end but we had a nice afternoon out and got to meet a few people. A last minute opportunity arose this year to go to the ceremony at the Adelphi Theatre in London. It was a bit of a rush to get there from work but I arrived about ten minutes before The Radio Academy Audio and Radio Industry Awards began.

Heather Small kicked things off with a live performance of Proud. The event was hosted by Rylan with Fleur East as the live voiceover who did make a few appearances on stage to. It is just like every other single industry awards in that they encourage people not to make the acceptance speeches too long and it seems to go on for way longer than it should. It was nice to see so many broadcasters both presenting and receiving prizes. Tony Blackburn as you would expect was on top form, as was Scott Mills and Shaun Keaveny. The first person to swear was Vanessa Feltz and it was lovely to see the wonderful Adele Roberts win the special moment award for her honest and emotional return to Radio 1 after her Bowel Cancer treatment.

We also got music performances from Tom Odell and Callum Scott plus a surprise live link up with Lyse Doucet in Ukraine. I have had the pleasure of working with her at the World Service in the past and she is an exceptional person and journalist. Rylan did a great job hosting the event being funny and entertaining while moving things along when he had to, which was not always easy at times. There was of course an after show party. They had hired out an entire pub just around the corner. I did get a very quick word with Rylan as I was arriving at that. There were a few live DJ sets and the chance to catch up with some radio people who I had not seen for a while including my former Ivel fm colleague Scott Temple. He was there with his current station Pirate fm as they had been nominated for an award. It was great to see him and I look forward to hopefully being there again next year.

Lynda managed to get us a couple of tickets to see Blondie in Birmingham last weekend. The gig was on the Saturday night so we thought that we would make the most of it and book a hotel nearby so we could have dinner and a few drinks before the concert. We found a place to stay that was near several decent bars and just a five minute walk from the music venue. On the way to dinner we found a nice bar by the canal to have a cocktail each to kick start proceedings. Then we ate at one of my new favourite places Miller and Carter. They are Coeliac accredited so I am safe to eat there plus they do have a fantastic range of aged steaks and a pretty decent wine selection.

We arrived at the Utilita Arena just as the support act was starting. It was Johnny Marr and he was brilliant. He played a lot of the old Smith’s stuff which went down very well with the crowd. Not only is he a great guitarist he can really sing, do not say this too loud but I think I might prefer his voice to Morrisey’s. The queues for the bars were massive but we noticed the food places did a limited selection of drinks so got ours from there to save time. We had great seats in the second block back and right on the end of the row which meant it was easy to pop out for drinks or comfort breaks.

Blondie were on at nine and made a great entrance they almost just materialised on stage. They played for an hour and forty minutes and did all of the big hits as you would expect. I really like their late seventies and early eighties stuff and of course Maria from the big comeback in nineties. They are not all the original members of the band they have got in a little bit of youth in a few areas. Their former bass player grew up near my parents until he moved to America and then joined the group. They had Glen Matlock from The Sex Pistols on bass guitar for this gig.

They sounded great. Clem Burke is clearly the musical driving force behind their sound. That is the first time I have seen him close up. He is sensational, must be up there with the greatest drummers of all time, so much energy. Talking of which Debbie Harry of course still fronts the band and let us face it she is basically Blondie. Now seventy-six years old she puts in a high octane performance still dancing around the stage while belting out all those well known hits. Although she did have to remove her heels three songs in but I am more than happy to accept that as being perfectly reasonable. It was an enjoyable night listening to some iconic music. Needless to say we may have gone out for a few more cocktails after the gig, well if a seventy plus year old can still be rock and roll so can we!

When we had arrived in Birmingham my oldest friend and his wife noticed from our social media that we were there and messaged me as they were coming to the city for a different concert the next day. As luck would have it their train got in an hour before ours left so we arranged to meet up for a tea at the station for a bit. It was great to see them both and catch up on what has been going on in our lives. In the end we got to spend a bit more time with them as our train was cancelled and the next one that we could get was an hour later, so that actually worked out brilliantly, a very happy coincidence that we both happened to be randomly there at the same time. We are going to see them for the weekend in a month’s time and I am really looking forward to it.

We are now getting to the business end of the football season with just two games to go. I have renewed my season ticket so I will be there at the matches during the next campaign cheering them on through the highs and lows. Oh the joys of being a football fan. I hope that Antonio Conte stays and the club back his plans as I think he could really make an impact at Tottenham given the time and support. I was of course at the North London Derby in the week the atmosphere in the ground was sensational and as ever it was great to beat Arsenal and pretty comfortably on this occasion. We just need to win our last two games and see what they do. We still have an outside chance of Champions League football next season.

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

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

Time After Time

April 30, 2022 Neil

I hope you enjoyed your Easter Weekend. My mum still insists on buying me an egg which although I always tell her that she does not need to, I did as ever enjoy. In other news I did find some gluten free Hot Cross Buns that I had with some mini eggs for breakfast on the Sunday. Chocolate is an acceptable breakfast food for that weekend that is just a fact!

The trains were completely screwed during the Bank Holiday weekend, with lots of cancellations due to engineering works. Therefore I had to for the first time ever drive to a Tottenham game. Parking at the stadium is not that easy, so I decided to be organised and use one of those parking websites to book someone’s driveway. It worked out great to be fair I found a space in a nice little cul-de-sac about a thirty minute walk from the ground. The sun was shining and it was quite warm so it was a pleasant stroll. Even the traffic there and back was not too bad. In fact what was on the whole a decent experience was quite predictably ruined by the team getting beaten by Brighton thanks to a goal in the last minute. That made the walk back to the car in the sun a little bit less fun.

When I got back to Lynda’s after the match she was doing a barbecue. Her brother and his family were there along with her aunty and one of her cousins. It was nice to see everyone and have a laugh. Plus to be fair the burgers and sausages did actually cheer me up after the football. It was still nice enough to sit out in the garden and eat. The food was great as ever and there just happened to be some homemade gluten free chocolate chip doughnuts for pudding to. I think I may have eaten my own body weight in meat but in my defence I did miss out on lunch while I was watching Spurs lose.

I do not have my own Netflix account but Lynda does and the other Sunday night she managed to convince me to watch one of the films on there. I do not mind a good heist movie I normally find them quite entertaining. The one we watched was called Red Notice. It starred The Rock, Ryan Reynolds and Gal Gadot. I actually really enjoyed it, helped by the fact that it was more of a comedy than a thriller. There were some nice set pieces and nods to lots of other well known films plus a rather surprising but obvious cameo at the end. If you fancy some easy to watch light hearted fun, I would recommend it. This film is not going to change your life but it certainly will amuse you for a bit. Maybe I could still be the new Barry Norman with insight like that.

I appreciate I am a little behind the times on this one but last weekend we finally got round to completing series three of After Life. I like Ricky Gervais and always enjoy his shows, as ever there were some very funny and largely unexpected moments. It is I guess in many ways sadly a pretty accurate reflection of real life and the different types of people we come across most good some of course bad. This may just have been me but if I am honest I did not like it quite as much as the first two series. It was still good and I am glad I have seen it but it just felt like something was missing somehow. As far as I am aware he is not doing any more of them and it did tie up a lot of the loose ends nicely in the final episode as you would expect.

I did keep getting a bit distracted as a lot of the outside shots were filmed around the Hemel Hempstead Old Town area so I kept seeing a few locations that I recognised. I have the same problem when I very occasionally see any Midsomer Murders or Morse as a lot of that was made near where I live and always like to work out where they were. The first series of After Life used Beaconsfield quite a bit and I do remember watching an old episode of The Professionals where I was thrilled to see Bodie and Doyle driving through Old Beaconsfield in their Capri’s. Not sure why I like seeing places I have been to in random television programmes but I do!

I have recently celebrated the fourteenth anniversary of the day that John Nettles came on to my radio show in Somerset to film for a documentary that he was doing about the arts. I interviewed him on my show and then he asked me some questions afterwards. Both sections were used in the finished programme. During my bit to camera when he was asking me about the pressures of live radio when things go wrong I out of nowhere uttered a phrase I had never used before saying “you have just got to power on basically” which I still maintain is good life advice. I have a DVD of it which I do watch every now and again. John was great and it was a pleasure to meet him and appear on screen with him.

Late Easter Monday afternoon I met up with a mate of mine who I had not seen for a while. It was a nice day so we decided to go for walk, meaning not only could we have a good chat but we could also get some fresh air and do some light exercise. He suggested we go to Dunstable Downs. Even though I must have driven past it a hundred times I had never actually been there, so I caught up with him there. To be fair it was also pretty much the half way point between us which as I am not a massive fan of driving was another selling point for me.

The car park machine either accepted change which I did not have on me or you had to pay via an app or by calling a phone number. Annoyingly I did not have any 4G signal so I could not get the app which left me with the phone number. I called the automated line thinking that I could just pay for the parking and be done, but oh no! I had to first create an account then assign a credit card to it before trying to enter the registration number of the car, in to some sort of voice recognition system that could not seem to understand a single word I said!

Ten minutes into this process just as I was losing the will to live and still miles away from completing the task in hand my mate arrived and lent me the change to pay at the machine. Most of them accept cards nowadays but not that one. Anyway to relax after my parking issues we had a nice ninety minute walk with a tea break at the cafe in the middle. It was good to see him to talk radio, football and quote various comedy shows’ dialogue at each other, a great way to round off the Bank Holiday weekend.

Last Saturday Lynda and I went out for a meal at Pizza Express. It is on the Coeliac UK accredited list, which means that it is totally safe for me to eat there. I booked us a table for 8pm and when we arrived the place was packed. We both had a three course meal each with a couple of glasses of wine. By the time our main had arrived we were the only people still left in there. We had the whole restaurant to ourselves.

The girl who was serving us had already told me her mum was also a Coeliac which made me feel relaxed as she was clearly fully aware of the condition. Then as I was paying she spotted the screen saver on my phone which is a picture of Harry Kane and Heung-Min Son she told me she was not only a Spurs fan but was also having a trial for our ladies team. We had a lovely meal in there and needless to say our waitress got a nice tip courtesy of the information we learned about her.

I have a new fun challenge at work next week as I am covering for someone who is off on holiday and working on Radio 4 Extra. I just hope I do not break the station while he is away. I am sure it will all be fine!

I am looking forward to going to a Comedy Night at the Boxmoor Social Club in Hemel Hempstead tomorrow night. It is being run by a mate of mine Lee Bryant. He puts on a lot of events in the area. Back when I was doing a tiny bit of stand up comedy I did a few gigs with him. I will let you know what this one was like next time we speak.

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

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

Grand Weekend Away

April 16, 2022 Neil

I first went to Ladies Day at Aintree in 2010 and had such a good time within three years it had basically become a tradition. I would go up every year on the Thursday afternoon and come back on the Sunday staying with my mate Jeff. A group of us would then go to the races on the Friday, then watch The Grand National in a pub around Liverpool on the Saturday. Then of course Covid happened meaning I had not been able to go on this pilgrimage since 2019.

Fortunately the world has now reopened so the festival was back and welcoming spectators once again. Last weekend Lynda and I got the train from London to Liverpool Lime Street on the Thursday and set off on another fun adventure. Before we left we had a big meal at Leon who are a fast food chain that caters for gluten free people like me, so they have become a bit of a regular option for me.

When we got to Liverpool we then took another train to the station nearest Jeff, where he picked us up and took us back to his place. We had a cup of tea and a chat to him and his fiance plus I got to meet his son for the first time. Then Jeff, Lynda and I went out for a few drinks at a lovely local bar he knew. The plan was to ease ourselves gently in to things but failing slightly, we had a few more drinks back at his place before we took ourselves off to bed. We managed to have a bit of a lie in before it was time to get a late breakfast and get our suits on and head to Aintree. A big breakfast is very important as you can never be totally sure when you will eat again.

We were joined at the house by Jeff’s sister for a pre racing glass of fizz. The girls got a lift with Jeff’s girlfriend’s dad while we jumped on the train. We met up with them at the entrance before all heading in together. We had got tickets in the festival zone which is basically a huge marquee with bars, big screens, bookies and a stage where a band plays in between races. It is great in there as you get to have a drink, place your bets, watch the races and sing along to the band without moving too far. The racing was first class. Lynda had a couple of winners early on but I had no success on that front whatsoever. We always leave before the last race so we can get the train in to the city centre a bit ahead of the rest of the crowd. I did manage to get a quick picture with the Grand National Trophy before we left.

We arrived in the city centre and on the way to the first pub we decided to get some food. They all found a pizza place for a quick snack, while I found a subway where I managed to get a chicken salad box, not the ideal mid drinking session food but often as a coeliac you have to be a little creative in these situations. After a few different random bars including a quick dance in a place called Flares we ended up in a cocktail bar that we seem to every year now. It just so happened to be two for one happy hour so we had a few cocktails, me of course with the sweet rum and pineapple ones.

Next door there was an Only Fools and Horses themed bar. Jeff had told me about it ages ago and I really wanted to see it. Nobody else fancied it so Jeff and I literally popped in there for five minutes just so I could get some pictures of the place. We were straight in and out with the photos. I have no idea what the staff or the other customers thought we were up to. I liked it in there and the pictures are great. We then went to Eric’s on Matthew Street for more drinks and a bit of live music.

By this point we had been out for ten hours so we decided to call it a night and head back to Jeff’s for another drink and some takeaway pizza. This was my first experience of Domino’s gluten free offering and although it only comes in a small size it was very tasty. It was fantastic to get dressed up again and spend the day at the races. The atmosphere is brilliant and I always have a good time when I am out in Liverpool. My granddad grew up there and for that reason I have always felt an association with the place.

I woke up the next day feeling a lot better that I possibly deserved to, which from previous years’ experience was a bit of a result. Jeff is a huge Everton fan and they had a lunchtime kick off so he went to the game, while Lynda and I went for a nice walk round Crosby near where he lives to find some food. We tried the Moroccan restaurant that Jeff and his girlfriend recommended to us. The food was really good in there and once again we had a big meal to set us up for the day. We then went to a great bar called Inside Number 4 where we found a table near the bar to watch the day’s racing from Aintree including of course the main event The Grand National.

Jeff joined us after the match and we had some drinks while seeing the races. In the second race of the day one of the horses that I have shares in Stage Star was running. He led pretty much from the start but then tired quickly as they came to the home straight and sadly never troubled the winner. That was a bit of a shame as we thought he might run well and with a bit of luck he could win it, but sadly that was not meant to be. The Grand National is such a tough race to find the winner of, there are forty horses and thirty of the hardest fences there are, so a lot can happen over the course of the race.

I did manage to back the horse that finished fifth each way Fiddler on the Roof so I did get a little money back but there was no way I would have picked out the winner. Although with hindsight as it was Sam Waley-Cohen’s last ever race I guess it was one I should have done just in case, as it would make an amazing story as indeed it did in the end. Big congratulations to him that is one way to finish your career off on a high by winning one of the biggest occasions in the world. Fair play if you picked Noble Yeats and had a few pounds on him, you did very well there.

Last Season in the FA Cup my team Tottenham were drawn away to Marine. It was during lockdown so no fans were allowed to go to the game. That meant the club would have missed out on some vital extra ticket money, so they decided to sell virtual tickets to raise some funds. Lots of Spurs fans bought them and with the money they have been able to build a few new things at their ground including a brand new bar. The club’s base is near where Jeff lives so on the way back to his we stopped in there for a few drinks and if I am honest to see the Tottenham game which they had on the TV’s there. It was a nice bar and as Spurs won it was a lovely experience all round.

When we got back to the house we again ordered a Domino’s pizza delivery and I had exactly the same one as the previous night. Jeff is a massive Beatles fan and I had not got round to watching the Peter Jackson documentary Get Back. Therefore we watched the final part of that which culminates with that iconic rooftop concert on top of the Apple Building in London. I really enjoyed it but it is quite long so that meant we all had another late night, but having fun and being a bit rock and roll was the whole point of the weekend.

We had another leisurely start to the day on the Sunday, which did mainly involve drinking tea and chatting. Lynda and I had to get the train home so Jeff and Fiona took us into Liverpool City Centre and we had a walk round the Albert Dock with them before we left them to have a very nice steak meal at Miller and Carter. Afterwards we just about managed to get ourselves to Lime Street Station to get on our train back to London. It was as ever a fantastic weekend, it was great to see all my mates up there and I am already looking forward to Ladies Day at Aintree 2023.

Although it was not meant to be for Stage Star at Aintree another one of my horses Proclaimer just won his eighth race the other night at Kempton. He has been successful there several times this season so it is turning into his favourite place. Obviously he cannot keep winning and eventually the handicappers will catch up with him or he will have an off day, but he has been magnificent this year. He is being entered for his biggest ever race this week, so it will be very interesting to see how he does in more high class company.

My football team Tottenham have been doing a little better again recently they have managed to string a few wins together with good performances while scoring a lot of goals. I was happy when Antonio Conte got the job and he has finally got the team playing in a certain pattern and style of play that seems to suit the players we have and is making us seem a lot more stable and competitive. Admittedly if you have two world class players like Harry Kane and Heung-Min Son up front that also helps quite a bit. It could well be an interesting and entertaining end to the season now, I hope.

I went for my annual dentist check up in the week. I am sure when I was at school we had a special assembly one day demonstrating that we should really scrub our teeth clean, well either I imagined that or they were wrong. Although my teeth are perfectly healthy the gums are receding at a rate that could cause me real problems in the future. I need to adapt the way I clean my teeth. I already have an electric toothbrush but now need to just place it on each tooth and let it go between them for a few seconds. Hopefully I can master this new skill and keep my teeth and gums in good order.

Have a great Easter Weekend whatever you decide to do. I will be hunting down some gluten free chocolate eggs and possibly some Hot Cross Buns to as my way of marking the occasion. I may have a glass or two of red wine across the long weekend but as that was drank at the last supper I think that is perfectly acceptable and dare I say what he would have wanted.

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

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

Neil Quigley Presenter