Tag Archives: Neil Quigley

Happy New Year 2021

January 2, 2021 Neil

I hope that you had a nice and enjoyable Christmas however you spent it, all things considered. I suspect your celebrations were more than likely a little bit different this year. I had a very quiet one at home without a few of the things that had become a staple part of my day. For example this was the first year since I was eighteen that I have not been to the pub to meet some members of my family for a quick pre-dinner drink. That was always a highlight and set me up for the afternoon nicely, but for obvious reasons that did not happen.

This did mean that I did not have any deadlines to meet or places to be, which in turn did lead to a much more laid back morning. I had a big fry up with sausages, bacon and eggs for breakfast as has always been the tradition. I have not been to Church on Christmas Day for many years since the morning I went with my dad while I was still a bit drunk from the night before, which was not ideal. This decision was unaltered by the current conditions. Therefore with no places available to get alcohol either the pub or the church I made myself a cup of tea and opened my presents.

I am always extremely grateful for any gift I receive I got a few things that I needed and had requested like a new dressing gown and tie in the team colours of the horses that I own shares in. I had also asked for the latest Dolly Parton Book. It is basically her life story told with the help of the lyrics of one hundred and seventy-five of her songs. I expected it to be a normal sized book that you could read on a train or in bed. I was wrong it is the size of a suitcase and weighs a ton. I am going to need to buy a crane or a music stand to read it. That said I am very much looking forward to completing it.

I did make a lot of phone and video calls. It was great to see and catch up with people albeit of course not in person. We still had a good chat and a bit of a laugh. I will admit that I made sure I had a decent supply of red wine to help move the day along a bit. I did also try to message online or text as many people as I could in case they were on their own, so at least they could have a bit of interaction with somebody on Christmas Day.

Morecambe and Wise are always a massive part of my annual festive celebrations. I could just watch them all day long. They are fantastic. It has been quite tough for some this year, but for some perspective when the two comedy greats were starting out in the early days and working in the theatres. Long before the big television shows. They on occasions spent Christmas Day alone together in their lodgings and were struggling so much at that time dinner would be a can of tuna between them. Christmas was not what we wanted it to be this year but I suspect yours was hopefully still better than that! It does highlight the old adage that it is not where you start but where you finish that is important.

I did watch the Queen’s Speech which I thought was perfect. She has a nice calming voice and she says simple things which seem logical and also make lots of sense. I have said this before but I do wonder if any of our politicians have thought about trying this approach. I did spend the rest of the evening watching television as to be fair there was not much else to do. I took my first look at Michael McIntyre’s new game show The Wheel which is quite good fun if not a little bit random. I then watched the new one off version of Blankety Blank hosted by Bradley Walsh. That was quite enjoyable and nostalgic. He did a great job and the panel were all good on it to.

I ended the day with the Britain’s Got Talent Special. That was easy to absorb and entertaining, which is what is required when you are full of chocolates and grapes by that time of the evening. It was nice to see the judges joining in with the acts and some familiar faces on it. It was filmed with a Zoom audience which meant we did get a bit of laughing and clapping. I then went to bed only to have a pretty similar Boxing Day the day after. It was more low key than normal that is for sure but I still feel that I enjoyed this year and made the best of it.

During the last twenty-five years I have spent a lot of New Year’s Eve’s doing gigs or working on radio shows. This included a run of ten in a row. They were always great fun and as a DJ it is very hard to have a bad night as everybody is well up for the party. When I was at the BBC I did manage to watch the fireworks on the South Bank of London from the roof of Old Broadcasting House. That was a pretty surreal experience. As I worked a lot on this night normally when I did not have a job I was more than happy to just stay in and have the night to myself. Therefore staying in and doing that this year did not really bother me at all.

I had a nice relaxed evening listening to music while enjoying a few drinks. I stayed up until after midnight to welcome in the New Year then went to bed and just slept until I naturally woke up. I suspect my neighbours were relieved that I did not do what I did seven years ago and have a four hour karaoke marathon with a mate of mine. To be fair to them they never complained but sadly I am tone deaf and cannot sing a note so it would not have been a good listen, although I did actually really enjoy it.

Happy New Year, have a brilliant 2021. Things will improve for us this year, patience and empathy to each other will I think be the key. We will get there!

I gave up making New Year’s Resolutions a long time ago. I never really stuck to them and my view was that if I thought that I had to make those changes to my lifestyle I should do them when required and not wait for a certain date. That said I do often try to eat more healthily for January. Sometimes I will try to take a month or so off the booze, depending on what events I already have in the diary.

As I have got older I have tried to exercise and eat more sensibly. I think setting goals for the year is a good thing whether that is personally or professionally. But nobody will be able to change their life in any way unless they really want to. And if you have been putting it off until now may be you do not want it enough.

We all have lots of challenges ahead of us during the next twelve months some of them we know about and some of them will appear out of nowhere and take us by surprise. All we can do I think is deal with them the best we can. We are obviously still trying to get the virus under control, which we will have to work together to achieve. It will also be our first year outside the European Union for more than forty-five years, so that may take a while to adjust to. I am a very positive person, so let us all have a successful and productive year that we can all be proud of.

I watched the Christmas Special of Upstart Crow during the festive period. I am fan of both Ben Elton the writer and David Mitchell who stars in it, I think they are great. It was as ever very clever. What Ben has always done with this show is although it is about the life of one William Shakespeare he has always woven in lots of topical jokes. He just makes them fit in with the time that the play write was alive. It was a double header episode with David and the brilliant Gemma Whelan set during The Plague. Therefore a lot of the jokes were of course actually about the current situation that we find ourselves in.

I have been to see a recording of one of the previous episodes. Ben Elton came out and did a bit of stand up as part of the warm up. The whole cast are fantastic. David Mitchell is so good at remembering and delivering those ace monologues that are written for him. I do like that each show is also linked to a particular one of his plays. It is almost too genius for its own good. I was looking forward to seeing the stage version of it in the West End but sadly due to you know what its run was cut short before I had the chance.

Just over two years ago now I got a very excited phone call from a mate of mine telling me that he had managed to get invited to a low key secret gig at The Cavern Club in Liverpool. It was all very cloak and dagger. He found out about it at the last minute. And then got to witness a private concert by Sir Paul McCartney at the place where things really started to take off for him and his band “The Beatles”. (Yes I know the current Cavern is not the original as it was knocked down years before the replica was built but it was the best he could do to keep it traditional).

It was shown on the BBC over Christmas and is still on the I-player now. I have been to the Cavern quite a few times and it is a tight, small and cosy venue. My friend had managed to get himself right at the front just to the left of the stage. At the end of the first song the camera cuts to him and it looks like Paul thanks him personally. He is understandably made up about that. It was a great gig he does some Beatles songs, a few from his Wings days and a selection of his solo tracks. He is playing with his actual band. That plays with him on all of his Arena Concerts.

He is such a talented musician and performer and as ever he moves effortlessly from playing the bass, to the guitar to the Keyboards and back again. It was a pretty similar set to the one I saw him play at the O2 Arena about four months later. My mate pops up on screen a few more times at random moments. At one point claiming it was his big Birthday when it wasn’t. That happens for him this year. He is a huge McCartney fan so to see him play this gig in his hometown is one of the highlights of his life. If you did not catch it and you are a fan of his it is definitely worth watching.

Sir Paul McCartney's place — Sir Paul McCartney’s place

Things have not quite been going so well for my team recently as we managed to jump from first to eighth place in the Premier League in a week. However as a Tottenham Hotspur fan I am well used to this sort of thing and it never surprises me. We appear to be having a bit of a dip I just hope it does not last for too long.

On the plus side we are still doing alright in all the cup competitions. It would be nice to win a trophy this year. After all it has been a while now. We have a lot of big games coming up, I will as ever watch the matches support them and see what happens.

You can listen to me still on Saturday afternoon’s between 2pm – 4pm on Radio Ninesprings https://www.radioninesprings.co.uk/

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

Online and Doing Fine

December 5, 2020 Neil

The second national lockdown in England has ended. We now find ourselves in a selection of different tiers. It is almost as if they have based the latest policies on a sketch from The Frost Report in 1966 featuring John Cleese, Ronnie Barker and Ronnie Corbett. I am in a Tier Two area. It will not change what I have been doing since March. I am still working on the policy the less people you come into contact with the less chance you have of catching or passing on the virus.

I will admit I am being extra cautious but as an Asthma sufferer I feel this is a sensible approach to take. I do not really have the desire to return to a pub or even the theatre until they are more like how they used to be. When you could order a beer stood at the bar or sit next to other people. Plus the whole point of going to the pub was to have a break from the people you live with. Dragging them there with you just defies the reason for going in the first place.

I hope whatever situation, you find yourself in you are coping with it all currently. There is some light at the end of the tunnel. We will get through this and at some point things will return to normal. And we will be able to go back to doing the things we love. We just need to be a bit sensible still and to respect each other. Like everybody else I have lost pretty much a whole year’s worth of events. My diary is the emptiest it has been for years. But on the plus side I have seen many more films this year than in the last ten!

I took part in my first ever online Zoom Games Night recently. It was organised by a friend and former radio colleague of mine. He got in touch with everyone using the new way to liaise about every event now by setting up a “WhatsApp” group for it. He did oversubscribe it a little as there were only eight places available on the night. These were allocated on a first come first serve basis and I made the cut for the inaugural edition.

The way it worked was we had a Zoom Meeting that we all signed in to using the secret ID of course. Therefore we could all see and chat to each other. Once we had finished catching up we got down to the business in hand. For the games the person hosting had set us up on an American website that offered online games. We could see the screen on the Zoom Call. Then we also had to log into the website Jackbox Games on our own mobile phones.

At the start of each game we got given a special code to enter which connected us all to the same one. The way it worked was we could put our answers into our phone and then when the time was right these would be displayed on the main screen for everybody else to see. We played three different games, although they were all along the same lines. We had to fill in missing words or give joke meanings for phrases. Then two of us were randomly pitted against each other with the rest of the players voting on who had given the funniest or best suggestion.

It was a bit weird at first and took a little getting used to but when we got the hang of it, it was a good laugh! The games we played were quite silly and simple. Light hearted fun and the chance to have some interaction with other people. I am ultra-competitive so I was a bit disappointed that I did not win any of the games. That said they were not quizzes with exact answers more like parlour games designed for a laugh. I would definitely do it again. Plus it gave me the chance to use my green screen and put up some different backgrounds, simply to amuse myself really.

I watched yet another film last weekend making this year a record breaking one for me on that front. I normally average at best five of them in any twelve month period. I am definitely into double figures now, as ever though I am still a bit behind the times with my movie selections. They do also have to fall into a certain category to make me want to put them on and commit to them. This latest one was written by Richard Curtis and directed by Danny Boyle. As I have in the past enjoyed both of their work this convinced me to at least give it a try.

The film was “Yesterday” which was released last year. That for me is like watching something almost brand new. The premise of it is that a strange synchronised event happens at the same time worldwide. Kind of like the year 2k bug that never materialised. The outcome of this is that nobody remembers The Beatles and there is no record of them existing. The star of the piece somehow avoids the meltdown of the planet and he still remembers them. He is a musician so then starts releasing their music pretending that they are all his songs.

This leads to him supporting Ed Sheeran on tour. Ed appears in it as himself. It is a Richard Curtis film so obviously ultimately there is a massive love story at the centre of it. The best thing about it for me was all The Beatles’ songs that it features. It does have a great cast to. I appreciate when you put the plot down in writing it does sound a bit odd but it all kind of makes some sense when you are watching it. Apart from one bit towards the end which seems to put a massive whole in the concept of it. I will not spoil that here though, you will have to work that out for yourself.

I would say it is an easy film to watch and enjoy. You do not really have to concentrate too much. It does you could argue have a fairly predictable ending. But then you could make that argument about a lot of movies. I did find that when it had ended that I had to listen to all the other Beatles songs that it did not include. It really put me in the mood to hear their music and that is never a bad thing.

Owing to the fact that I am so rock and roll nowadays I have been playing a few games of Scrabble during the last couple of weeks. It has now turned into a bit of a Sunday afternoon pastime. I had not played for years until a few of weeks ago I challenged my girlfriend to a game. It was all going very well by which I mean I was winning and managing to use up lots of my letters. Then she put down the word “Phoenix” on a triple word square and then in that one move I basically lost the game. I did keep playing until the bitter end but it was all in vein. I was defeated!

After that I was not overly keen to play again but the following week we found ourselves going head to head once again. This time it was a timed game as I made it very clear that we had to be finished before the Chelsea v Tottenham game started. It is important to have your priorities right in life. This time the letters and the board worked in my favour. I managed to make two decent words including a Z both on extra points squares. I went on to win and level things up in the series doing so five minutes before kick off. I suspect we may have to play the decider this weekend as we are both very competitive. We may struggle to leave it as a draw.

I have enjoyed this year’s I’m A Celebrity Get Me Out Of Here. It has been different with it being at the castle but they have kept the key elements the same the best they could. Ant and Dec have been on top form throughout it. They are more relaxed at the trials so are laughing at the camp mates a lot more, may be because they are in Wales and not being bitten by bugs in the jungle. I was pleased that they all got on with each other. They have all supported and helped each other when they have been struggling. That has been great to see.

I never had a favourite this year so was not bothered about who won the crown. It has just been a bit of fun and a nice distraction every night. Just like catching up with old friends or more accurately eaves dropping other people’s conversations. Having now worked in radio myself for over twenty years I have got a fair few showbiz stories to tell. I am not sure if I should hold on until I can get into the jungle to spill them or maybe I will just write my autobiography. I have already got two titles standing by for it either “The Real Neil” or “Power On Basically” If you want to know why “Power On Basically” is one you will have to read the book that technically does not exist yet.

I finished a run of four brand new episodes of my online Pop Quiz last Tuesday. I did them weekly during the last national lockdown. I also did sixteen of them during lockdown one. They are all still free and available to watch on my Facebook page. Each one is about half an hour. It is just me having a bit of fun and asking some music based questions. Here is a link to the latest edition, if you fancy checking it out. https://www.facebook.com/796795590/videos/10164325111415591/

As things stand at the minute Tottenham Hotspur are still top of the Premier League. It has been a long time since that has been the case at the beginning of December. I am not getting carried away or too excited as there is still a long way to go. But as someone who likes to live in the moment I am enjoying it right now.

We have another huge game tomorrow with the North London Derby against Arsenal. It is a match that could go either way. I am looking forward to it and hope we can take maximum points from it but it will be tough. COYS!

It is my birthday this coming Thursday 10th December. I do like to try to take the day off for it when I can. That will seemingly not be a problem this year. I am somebody who embraces and enjoys my big day. Every year you complete in this game called life is always worth celebrating. Although events this year mean it will be pretty low key. I think I might just stay in cook myself a nice meal and may be have some drinks.

Staying in is the new going out. Plus Tottenham are playing at home in the Europa League that night so I can watch that on the television and pretend I am there. That is where I would have been if the world was normal. Just to clarify for the 19th year in a row my showbiz age will remain at twenty-five!

You can listen to me still on Saturday afternoon’s between 2pm – 4pm on Radio Ninesprings https://www.radioninesprings.co.uk/

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

Strictly I’m A Celebrity

November 21, 2020 Neil

Hopefully we are now over half way through the second National Lockdown in England, if it does end on the originally planned date of the second of December. Personally it has not affected me too much. I am mostly working from home as I have been lucky enough to do since the first one. I am able to exercise outside at a park near to where I live. It is nice to get out in the fresh air for a bit although I have not yet bumped into my Morgan Freeman type character.

There have been some encouraging developments with potential vaccines, which does appear to be good news. However it still may be quite a while before life returns to anything like it was before this all started sadly. It is just not going to suddenly stop and disappear and it is presenting the country with its biggest logistical challenge since the Second World War. Something I am sure we will all come through if we work together and for each other.

Luckily for me one of my favourite television shows is back on our screens nightly for around the next three weeks. I do not watch a huge amount of TV but I always closely follow “I’m A Celebrity Get Me Out Of Here. I am a fan of Ant & Dec this show gives them the perfect platform to do what they do best, mess around and have some fun at their own and the campmates expense.

I have met a lot of the former stars of the show many of whom actually won it! These include Christopher Biggins, Kerry Katona, Carl Fogarty, Pat Sharp, Timmy Mallet, Tony Hadley, Katie Price and Tommy Cannon.

This series is of course going to be a little bit different as due to the current global situation. They are not in the jungle in Australia but at a castle in Wales. I am particularly gutted about this as at the start of this year I went to Australia and being such a huge fan of the show I stayed at the Versace Palazzo on the Gold Coast.

That is the Five Star Hotel were the celebrities stay after they get voted out of the show. I was looking forward to posting pictures of me in the same locations that they showed the ex-campmates in. I am going have to wait until next year to do that providing of course they use all the same places when they presumably go back to the Jungle again.

They seem to have a really good and interesting selection of people taking part this year. It is a very strong line up, possibly helped by the fact a lot of their dairies would have been quite empty and that they were not required to be on a plane for twenty four hours. I liked the way they adapted the opening challenge to the new surroundings using the cliff. That was really clever and I think set the scene for what was to come nicely. It will basically be the same but different, as simple as that.

I was thinking after I had seen the new living arrangements that they might be going easy on them this year. But then I changed my mind when they covered everybody in bugs within the first five seconds of the first team trial. They are a very competitive bunch on the whole and of course include a man who has four Olympic Gold Medals, so he knows a thing or two about mind set and motivation. Plus the man is clearly a winner, not to mention a Knight. That works well with the Castle setting of course.

There is not anybody who I desperately want to win at the moment. I do prefer it when all the campmates get on well and have a good old laugh with each other rather than start arguing. But I am also aware that a big falling out does make for good television. I think this year though for the good of the world it would be nice if they were a tight unit.

It is a show that I do not think I could ever do but everybody I have spoken to who has been on it says it is a once in a lifetime amazing experience, so never say never I guess. I am looking forward to the rest of the series. I think it is going to be a funny one!

Another television programme I enjoy at this time of the year is Strictly Come Dancing. Like everything in the world it is a little bit different. However the main thing about it that appeals to me is the joy and enthusiasm the celebrities get from dancing itself. Alongside the brilliant bond that forms between them and their professional partner.

Happily these two things still remain the same this year. I tried one two hour Salsa class around fifteen years ago, struggled with the basic steps and never returned. Despite that I still reckon that these amazing dancers could teach me to do a passable routine, mainly down to my work ethic and their patience I suspect. But I still feel it is achievable.

Last weekend there was said to be a shock exit but when you get two half decent people in the dance off one of them has to leave. All the judges can do is decide from the bottom two which the viewers vote for. I enjoyed Anton being a guest judge, he was supportive, positive but also I thought fair. Surely when his time as a dancer on the show comes to an end this move would be the natural progression for him.

Even though at one point there was talk of him hosting it, if I am honest I think he would make a better judge. I do not really have a favourite this year, which is good as that means I can enjoy each of the performances with no interest or concern about the outcome. It is a fun, happy and lively show perfect for Saturday night.

My girlfriend and I are trying to have as many different weekend meals as possible. In a way we are pretending that we are going to a certain style of restaurant every Saturday night. Except she always ends up doing the cooking. For the record she is fine with that! Most recently we went with a home-made burger. Believe it or not that is something I had not had for ages. I tend to avoid fast food places, which has been very easy for me during most of this year.

“We” made the actual burgers ourselves. By that I mean that Lynda mixed up the meat with the spices and created the headline part of it if you like. Then I got to construct my own creation within the bun. If you have not had them at home for a while I would recommend it. The best bit is that you can decide on the ingredients and the ratios. None of this one Gherkin or one slice of Cheese rubbish. You can put as much of those in it as you like. I built my own perfect hamburger. Another bonus is you do not feel hungry again ten minutes after you have eaten it. I enjoyed it more than a man of my age should have.

I watched the new Michael McIntyre Netflix Special. I used to have a stand up show on DVD for Christmas every year. These do not exist anymore as the digital platform shows seem to be the replacement. I have been lucky enough to see him do a small warm up gig once and he was very funny. What I think he is really good at is finding things that we all do and can relate to and making them funny and amusing. I appreciate that sounds really easy but try it and you will find out it is not at all. It takes a lot of skill to achieve what he does.

I am not sure if he felt more freedom within this medium but he did swear a bit more than I expected although to be fair nowhere near as much as Frankie Boyle. It is a very well put together piece of comedy. Each story or anecdote builds on the previous one and then leads to the big pay off at the end. It is clever, amusing and relatable. I think that sums his stuff up nicely. It is worth a watch and easy to absorb.

During the first Lockdown I did a weekly pop quiz on my Facebook page for about sixteen weeks. People seemed to enjoy taking part and I had fun doing it. Therefore I decided to bring it back for this latest one. There have been two new episodes in series two so far with two more currently expected in this run. Each one lasts about half an hour. It consists of six rounds each containing five questions.

I have called it “Quigger’s Plays Pop” in honour of a pop quiz that I used to watch on television as a child. Using that title made it quite easy for me to create a theme tune for it. I host it on a Tuesday night at 8.30pm. If you are free and fancy having a bit of music based fun then why not join me? You can play on your own or in teams it does not matter. https://www.facebook.com/neil.quigley

A couple of horses from my small stable raced in the last fortnight. “Rock Legend” made his debut at Aintree. He was ridden by Harry Skelton and is trained by his brother Dan Skelton. He did alright for his first time on the track but was a bit weak, so will be held back for a while as he needs more time to grow into himself.

“Force Ten” had an outing at Taunton over the hurdles. He came in sixth out of seven. It was another bit of much needed racing experience for this young horse. Who is under the guidance of the great trainer Paul Nicholls. We may see him race again sometime next month.

Tottenham Hotspur for about an hour were top of the Premier League a couple of weeks ago. It did not last long but it felt good while it lasted. We have since had the International Break with the domestic season back this weekend Spurs face Manchester City today in what will be a massive game for us. It gives us a chance to put down a bit of a marker to the teams around us. I am excited and nervous about the match in equal measure.

As ever from England performances there were plusses and minuses in the results from the three games the national team played. Harry Kane passed the fifty cap mark and in doing so he becomes the most capped Tottenham player ever. If he does stay at White Hart Lane for his whole career, I can see him beating practically every record for the club and possibly for England to. Congratulations Harry he is one of our own!

You can listen to me still on Saturday afternoon’s between 2pm – 4pm on Radio Ninesprings https://www.radioninesprings.co.uk/

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

Walk The Line

November 6, 2020 Neil

We are back in a National Lockdown in England once again then. Although this one is slightly different with places of education remaining open. The second wave of this virus due to the timing of it was always going to potentially be worse than the first one sadly as was the case with the Spanish Flu of 1918. It is quite interesting the parallels between these two events just over one hundred years apart. Samuel Pepys Diary extracts about the Plague in London also make interesting reading and are strangely relatable to the situation we find ourselves in.

It is not an easy thing to cope with and it is something none of us wanted to happen. As far as I can see the major factor in the decision is not overwhelming the NHS. I think we can all agree we would like there to be enough beds and staff available if we require any urgent medical attention. I certainly would anyway. A very high number of people have sadly died due to the virus (far too many), happily many people do recover from it but a percentage of these require hospital treatment which is where the capacity issue might occur.

I am naturally a very positive person and I will look for the best in every situation. I appreciate that I am lucky in this respect and lots of people will find this enforced lockdown tough. What I would suggest though is find a daily routine you can stick to, it will give the day a bit of structure and give you some focus. If you are able to a little bit of exercise is good for the body and mind. Talk to people on the phone, video chat and email just keep engaging regularly with family and friends. Nobody is in this alone. We are all in this together going through more or less the same thing.

I know it may seem a little difficult at the minute but with a bit of luck and a social conscience approach from everyone we will get through it. Then we can once again meet mates down the pub, go to the football, a night at the theatre, a day at the races and do all the things I am missing. But unless you and your associates are healthy and well, you cannot do any of those things anyway. Therefore let us stay safe, be sensible and look after ourselves and each other. Please spare a thought for me as this weekend though, I should be relaxing at a wooden lodge with a hot tub and a wood burner for company. But obviously I am not. However that is fine I will do what I need to then enjoy that when I can as my reward.

Right then that is all the serious stuff out the way! For legal reasons I would like to state that everything else I mention took place before lockdown. Although I have not really ventured out much since the original version of it, so having to do it all again will not affect my week that much to be fair. I am actually getting quite used to having to socially distance from people and possibly I am now enjoying it way more than I should be. Plus wearing a mask means it is easier to avoid talking to people I do not want to. See always looking for the positives!

I have talked before about my slightly competitive nature. Recently my girlfriend purchased the game Jenga. I could not remember if I had ever played it before or not. I definitely used to play and was if I do say so myself quite good at Ker-Plunk as a kid. I figured that was a game with similar principals to this one. Therefore I thought I would be pretty good taming those wooden blocks. She challenged me to a game filled with confidence about my ability for this task I accepted.

I lost the first game after about three moves causing the whole of the tower to come crashing to the ground. To say I was annoyed is possibly an understatement. I cannot stress how much I do not like losing. Obviously I could not leave this battle here, so we rebuilt the blocks for another game. I was taking this second one much more seriously. In fact so much so that it was taking me up to five minutes to make one move, so great was my desire not to pick the wrong brick to remove.

Suddenly in my head this had turned into a game of Chess. It was also at this point that a bit of Cricket style sledging crept in with both sides giving as good as they got. It got quite tense and slightly brutal for a time. I did not consult The Guinness Book of World Records but I think this could have been the longest game of Jenga ever. I won it and was so happy and delighted that I broke into the Carlton victory dance from the Fresh Prince of Bel Air, which I will concede was not the coolest or most grown up way to react to my victory.

I should have quit when I was ahead or to be totally accurate when I was level. However against my better judgement we kept on playing. It was a disaster! I only won two out of the next five games. This crushing defeat means that I will never play Jenga again. She wants to buy the giant garden version. I am now worried that she is trying to bury me under a barrage of big wooden blocks. I have never been any good at DIY, which is why I am rubbish at this game I think. It is all construction and common sense. Those are very much not my department.

Once again I am massively behind the times when it comes to films. The other weekend I finally got around to watching “Walk the Line”. Only a mere fifteen years after it was originally released. I am a big fan of Country Music and like the music of Johnny Cash. Therefore you would have thought I would have caught it sooner but it shows how great my reluctance to see movies is, even when they are on subjects that I am interested in. Add to that the fact that its two main stars Joaquin Phoenix and Reece Witherspoon won Oscar’s for their performances in it. It is not as if I was not aware of it when it came out.

After waiting so long to see it I thoroughly enjoyed it. I did not know Johnny’s story that well so I found it very interesting. I kind of knew the main points but it filled in a lot of gaps for me. Joaquin and Reece were fantastic. I can see why they got their Academy Awards for their performances.

I have been to the historic Sun Studio’s in Memphis where Johnny Cash recorded a lot of his early hits. Up on the Studio wall they have a picture of him with Carl Perkins, Jerry Lee Lewis and Elvis Presley under the heading the Million Dollar Quartet. They were the four biggest stars under the guidance of Sam Phillips at his studios at that moment. I am pleased that I got round to watching it in the end.

I did manage to get my Contact Lens Annual Check Up and Eye Test in before the country shut back down. I have been going to the same Optician since I was five. I have been wearing glasses since then and have used contacts since I was thirteen years old. I think I might have been one of the youngest wearers of them back then. After begging people to have them so I could see properly to play football. Anyway I have to have my eyes and lenses looked at every year to make sure they are alright.

It was all done in a safe and as socially distanced way as possible. I was required to wear a mask which was fine with me. It was the contacts check first. That all went fine, my eyes and lenses were all good. I could see at an acceptable level. Although my long distance vision in them could have been slightly improved by upping my prescription but that would mean my short sighted vision would not be as good. As I do a lot of work on the computer I opted to keep them as they were. Therefore apologies if I do not spot you across the road from me but on the plus side I will still be able to read your social media comments clearly.

The eye test in the mask was slightly more challenging. It is hard enough sometimes to read those little letters on the chart as it is without having to do it through a fog, when your glasses steam up. The Staff there were all lovely and I did not need a new prescription for my eyes. Therefore I did not have to go through the stress of choosing new glasses. Especially at the moment as you have to thoroughly clean all the pairs before and after you try them on. It is bad enough picking ones that suit you when you cannot actually see without this distraction as well. When Covid is under control I might treat myself to a new pair of glasses to celebrate!

It was Fireworks Night, November 5th on Thursday. Obviously this year there were no big displays in the conventional way anyway. I used to be terrified of them as a child so I used to hate going to see them. But as I got older I began to really enjoy a nice display.

During my association with Mix 96 I went to their event at the Aylesbury Rugby Club lots of times. It was set to music and always fantastic. I have many memories from it over the years including carrying Kym Mazelle across the mud to the stage. Then one year having to stop the countdown midway through and then fill for ten minutes until they were actually ready to start it.

When I was at the BBC one year I ended up watching the New Year’s Eve Fireworks from the top of Broadcasting House, which was cool. Like most things that have not happened this year I am sure that Fireworks Night as we know it will return next year.

It is the only night during the winter months that I tend to stand outside for a couple of hours in a field while drinking beer out of plastic glasses. Well I say that but the way things are going that could be how I am celebrating Christmas this year I guess.

It has been quite a good couple of weeks for the “Quigley Stable”. I own a small amount of shares in a few race horses. I was delighted when one of them “Stage Star” won on his debut at Chepstow the other week. He performed perfectly bearing in mind it was his first ever race. Thanks to Paul Nicholls for getting him ready and Lorcan Williams for riding him to victory. He will have a well-earned rest for a bit then continue his training and education at Ditcheat.

Last Monday “Force Ten” had his first run over hurdles at Plumpton. It was his first outing this season after he made his racing debut last year. I have been luckily enough to visit and see both of these horses at their stables. It is great to see both of these young horses doing so well. Another one of my horses “Rock Legend” is due to start his race career tomorrow. As ever I hope he runs well and returns home safe.

Once again it has been a rollercoaster ride being a Spurs fan. We beat Burnley away in a tough game in the Premier League on the Monday night. Then three days later we were beaten away in the Europa League by Royal Antwerp. That was a disappointing defeat. Then in the next league game the following Sunday we just about managed to get the better of Brighton at home. Thanks to the first goal since his return from Gareth Bale.

Owing to the way the other results had gone somehow that win moved us up to second place in the Premier League despite giving away three points in the last minute of games against Newcastle United and West Ham United. This season will have many more twists and turns. However you cannot beat the feeling of your team sitting near the top of the table, so I am going to enjoy it for as long as it lasts, which will probably be until the end of this weekend if I am lucky. Come On You Spurs.

You can listen to me still on Saturday afternoon’s between 2pm – 4pm on Radio Ninesprings https://www.radioninesprings.co.uk/

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

Devon Help Us

October 24, 2020 Neil

It looks like the current way in which we are required to exist will continue for a while still yet. A return to how we would all like it to be appears a long way off. Restrictions across the United Kingdom look like they will get tighter everywhere in the coming months. It is tough and difficult at the moment but it will improve. I am trying to accept everything with good humour and trying to laugh and have a bit of fun still at every opportunity.

All anyone can do at the minute is to make the best out of every situation while looking after themselves and those around them. There has never been a time before in my lifetime where our actions can have such a big effect on those around us. We need to think and be aware of what is required of us in certain situations. I am still not going out much at all but when I do I try to make sure I follow all the rules. The NHS is in danger of being overwhelmed potentially and that must be avoided in all of our best interests.

Last weekend I went to Devon for a mini break with my girlfriend. It is nice to have a change of scenery as often as possible I find, due to the fact that my life does feel a lot like Groundhog Day currently. We had booked an apartment on a Holiday Park in Woolacombe. It was the first time that I had stayed at a camp like that since I was ten. We drove down there on Friday afternoon. We left just early enough to avoid any traffic, which was a bit of a result.

On arrival we picked up our key. They came out to the car to greet us and give us what we needed so there was minimal contact. Once we had unloaded the car we had a cup of tea and then popped out to see what the onsite pub was like. They had an app for the whole site that you could use pretty much anywhere you were including of course the pubs and bars. They had an outside area under cover at the front so we had a few welcome drinks there.

To make things easy on the first night Lynda had pre-made a lasagne that we just had to cook in the oven. So we came back from the pub to enjoy that with some garlic bread and a few glasses of wine. The accommodation was basic but perfectly fine. Everything was self- contained plus it was only a five minute walk from The Old Mill. As it had been a fairly long drive (for her) we just had a relaxing night in.

After a pretty leisurely start to the morning we had a quick walk around the Holiday Park to see what there was and what was at the time still open. The beach was a forty-five minute walk or a seven minute car ride away, so we hopped in the motor and drove down to the car park on the sea front. We went for a nice walk along the sand and even down to the sea, which I can confirm goes out a long way on that beach. It was the first time that I had been down there. The beach is huge and the views from it are very picturesque.

Then with our lungs full of sea air and our trainers full of sand we got back in the car and went back to our temporary home. The App that we used in the pub could also be used to have food delivered to your apartment, so we got some baguettes sent over. I had fish fingers in mine as basically I am still just a big kid.

The place was busy but not totally packed. It was Covid friendly with the staff and all the guests sticking to the rules. It was well organised. That evening we went and had a meal at the pub. Once again we were well looked after. Everything was safe and we had lots of space away from the other customers.

On the Sunday we just chilled and took it easy. We had another stroll round stopping for a drink outside one of the bars. Again the App did the business the drinks were delivered with minimal human contact. It is not the way I really like to do things and one of the reasons I do not venture out much.

But in these times it is the best and safest way for all parties involved. To finish the last full day we had another of our now famous Baked Camembert and Wine nights. This time we had it with Chilli Jam and Garlic Bread. Trust me it tasted amazing!

We came home on the Monday morning. You had to leave the place by ten o’clock. To make sure we were on time I set the alarm on my phone for eight, not realising the battery was very low. I woke up in the morning checked my phone for the time and it was dead.

I then ran to the kitchen to check the clock there fearing I had overslept. It was exactly eight, so that was lucky and saved us rushing around like mad things. It was another lovely relaxing weekend away. I may not be able to get abroad at the moment but I am still enjoying exploring England.

I am asthmatic therefore I have been having the Flu jab every year for over a decade now. If you qualify for it, personally I cannot see why you would not have it. I went and got this year’s shot the other Friday. I happened to book the appointment straight after my mum. We went up to the Doctors together for one of our stranger mother and son outings. We got there a bit early so we were waiting at a safe distance from the door. When we saw there was no queue we wandered over and someone came outside to check us in.

I thought we would go separately but we were invited into the nurse’s room at the same time. That was fine by the way. It just so happened that the person giving us the injections was in my year at Secondary School. It was nice to see a familiar face as she stuck the needle into my arm. Who am I kidding? I am far too squeamish to watch that taking place.

It does not hurt when they do it, it will not make you feel ill either. The only side effect is your arm might hurt for a day or so. I would say that is a small price to pay to lessen the effect of flu if you catch it. Obviously this does not cover “Covid 19” but I have my fingers crossed that our brilliant scientists will crack it and hopefully next year’s injection will. I am happy that I have had it.

Have you noticed that for various reasons now getting through a week seems like a big achievement, add to that the fact you cannot do a lot of things you enjoy at the moment. My girlfriend and I have by accident started a regular ritual to mark the official start of our Saturday night. We now always start proceedings with a bottle of Champagne.

It started randomly about six weeks ago and so far we are managing to keep it going. After another long and testing seven days there is something a little bit soothing about some bubbles. Plus it feels like you are celebrating the occasion.

Another film passed the “Neil Friendly” list recently. As I am staying in more I am watching more movies but I still need to be convinced to commit to them and give them my time. This one was sold to me as Guy Ritchie’s return to his roots and in the style of Lock Stock and Two Smoking Barrels and Snatch. They are two films that I had seen and enjoyed in the past. The film in question was The Gentlemen. It was released in January. Therefore this is quite a modern and up to date movie for me to watch.

It has a great cast which includes, Charlie Hunnam, Hugh Grant, Matthew McConaughey, Colin Farrell and Michelle Dockery. I must confess I really enjoyed it. It is very fast moving, there are some ace set piece moments and I found a lot of the dialogue very funny. I am not sure if I was meant to or it was just my strange sense of humour that meant I found it amusing. In a way and I am not sure if this is a compliment or not I thought it was a bit like a British version of Pulp Fiction. I think the only slight downside was that my language was very gangster for a day or so after I saw it.

I applied to be on the next series of “Beat the Chaser”. I quite fancy myself as a bit of a quizzer. Plus it seems like a bit of fun. Add to that the fact that Bradley Walsh is a good laugh I thought it would be an interesting experience. I filled out the form online and then forgot all about it until I got a call from one of the producers. They wanted an initial chat, which means I had in effect got through the first stage. We talked for a bit and then she gave me two general knowledge quizzes both of which were really hard.

Then about ten minutes later she phoned me back to invite me for an online Zoom audition. It took place last Monday. There were eight of us potential contestants on the call and three producers from the show. We played a few silly games and then had thirty seconds to talk about ourselves. I was picked to go first for everything which was fine with me. I am always happy to take centre stage. All I will say is that half a minute is nowhere near long enough for me to talk about myself and say how great I am!

They made their decision there and then about who they were going to put through to the show itself. I was not selected on this occasion. I wish everyone who made it the best of luck. I will watch the next series to see how the people from my audition do, mainly so I can just claim I would have done much better regardless of how they actually do. It was fun being involved with it and I do from time to time offer to be on various television programmes, so I am sure another opportunity will appear soon.

It could be an exciting few weeks for the Quigley Stable. One of my horse’s “Force Ten” is due to make his seasonal debut at Wincanton tomorrow. I have been down to visit him in the past at Paul Nicholls stables in Ditcheat. It will be his first season over the hurdles.

There is also a chance that another horse “Stage Star” will make his first ever racecourse appearance in the next few weeks. I am excited to see them both in action and I wish them well. Rest assured if they do race I will be watching.

I was slightly amused when I saw the headline “Quigley signs for Yeovil Town” the other day. I mean I have played at Huish Park in a Staff versus Media game once. That was several years ago now so I thought either The Glovers had been secretly scouting me since that match or it was not me that they had signed.

Obviously it was not me but a much younger and better man called Joe Quigley, who as far as I know is not a relation. Oddly we were both born on the tenth of December albeit twenty odd years apart. I hope he has an excellent season.

Tottenham Hotspur’s latest Premier League match at home to West Ham United summed up what it is like to be a Spurs fan in just ninety four minutes. We go three goals up within the first sixteen minutes with our two main goal scorers setting each other up for one each and then Harry Kane grabbing his second. It is looking good we are totally in control of the game.

Then with twenty minutes to go Gareth Bale comes on as sub for his second debut after returning from Real Madrid. This of course leads to more excitement and much delight. In the eighty second minute we concede a sloppy goal. The nerves start jangling a little bit. Then three minutes later we give away an own goal. Now we are looking shell shocked and scared.

Finally with the last kick of the game the visitors equalise with a stunning strike from outside the penalty area that flies in to the top corner. We draw the game. If you want to experience every emotion possible within just two hours I would suggest you support my team. Unbelievable! Despite the fact I was disappointed and strangely for me a bit angry at the end of the match I will be fully behind the team next time out. That is what support is, not turning against them as soon as it does not all go your way.

The clocks go back one hour overnight into Sunday tonight as the United Kingdom moves in to British Winter Time. That is just what we need at the moment for it to be darker in the mornings and the evenings.

Mind you to be fair we cannot do much or go anywhere so it may as well be dark while we are stuck in our houses. On the plus side we do get an extra hour in bed tonight. As ever I am all about the positives, which is what I look for in every situation.

You can listen to me still on 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