Tag Archives: NFL

The Sky Bars The Limit

November 14, 2015 Neil

Hi there, how are you doing? I hope you have had a really good couple of weeks. Mine have been busy with lots going on. I mentioned previously that a member of the Wembley Stadium management team was leaving. Well on his last day there, they arranged a few drinks in the evening at the Sky Bar at the Wembley Hilton. The hotel is used by a lot of the teams, who play at Wembley. And also by artists who are performing at the Arena next door. It was though the first time that I had been in there.

It is a very cool bar. Which would have wonderful views right across London. If it wasn’t for the great big stadium in front of it. You do get a brilliant view of the stadium. And from that vantage point you can see what a spectacular building it is. It did provide a lovely backdrop for the occasion.

They also had potentially the most addictive bar snacks ever in there. They were like miniature chilli flavoured rice cakes. It was impossible to just have one and walk away. You could not stop helping yourself to at least three or four every time you walked past them. Trust me they seemed to disappear very quickly. Personally I thought they complimented the drinks very nicely but then you would expect that kind of class from a hotel of that calibre.

I was once again working behind the scenes at the final NFL American Football Game of the year at Wembley Stadium between the Kansas City Chiefs and the Detroit Lions. It was a fun weekend working with both the teams, VIP guests and the officials from America. Also at the game were the Spurs forward Harry Kane and the singer and actress Alexandra Burke. So I was in very good company. It was great to see the Military Wives performing the National Anthem. They did a brilliant job and looked to be having a good time.

The pre-game show saw Madness perform three of their biggest hits. I was lucky enough to be one of the few people inside the ground when they were sound checking. So it did feel like Suggs and the gang were giving me a bit of a private concert. They were sounding fantastic and as you would expect went down an absolute storm before the start of the game. It was great seeing over eighty thousand folks all doing their best Madness style dancing in the stands.

It was another successful NFL International Series at the home of English Football. There will be at least two matches played at Wembley Stadium next year to. If you ever get the chance go along and give it a try the atmosphere is always electric. The Americans really do know how to put on a great show.

I hope you enjoyed a safe and fun Fireworks Night. For the first time in as long as I can remember I did not actually go to a display this year. As much as I do like them. It was nice to take a break. Owing to working in Radio for over a decade. I have been to and hosted a lot of these big events over the years. I have also sometimes organised the entertainment element of them. So I have booked acts to perform, hired staging plus Sound and Lighting. I have even stage managed a few of them.

Making sure everything goes to time. This normally included having the Fireworks set to music. So as you can imagine the timing on something like that is very critical, to say the least. I have loved every minute of doing them. I had great fun being involved and standing up on the stage, seeing the people really enjoying themselves. But it was certainly a nice and refreshing change to have a slightly less stressful Bonfire Night. This year I just kicked back and relaxed with a nice cup of tea. While watching others’ displays from my window.

Neil Quigley point’s the way on stage at the Mix 96 Fireworks.

I do like live comedy. And I do like to see as many different comedians as I can perform in person. Last week I managed to tick another person off my must see list. When I went and saw Sean Lock do a Work in Progress gig at the Leicester Square Theatre in central London. The last time I was there was about twelve months ago. When I was taking part in a Stand Up Comedy competition myself. It is fair to say that there were slightly more people there to see Sean.

I have seen quite a lot of these warm up kind of shows from many different comics and most bring on bits of paper and books to remind them of their new material. He had a big white board flip chart on stage with him. Mind you it seemed to work a treat as the new stuff he was doing seemed to flow expertly and effortlessly. And most importantly it was very funny.

All of the top comedians do tend to have their own brand and style. So nobody else could do the jokes and material that he does. As it would not really work without his personality and seemingly slightly grumpy outlook on life. They talk about finding your own voice in comedy. That is something all the top performers have. It is not just about telling the jokes. It is about making it sound conversational and natural. It was a top night out. If you have tickets for his tour, you are in for a treat.

Something else that I would recommend seeing is the latest Derren Brown Show called Miracle. It is on at the Palace Theatre in London until the 16th January next year. I was lucky enough to go along and see its opening night in the Capital. It has been on tour around the country earlier this year but will now be based in the West End for a couple of months.

I am massive fan of what he does and I have seen him live before at The Waterside Theatre in Aylesbury. This latest show has got all the magical ingredients that you would expect from one of his appearances. All of it just leaves you thinking. How on earth did he do that?

There is plenty of audience interaction with lots of different people involved in the elements of the evening. There is also a lot of humour and jokes in the show. Which all just adds to the entertainment. I like the way he makes no secret of the fact that he will be able to slightly manipulate people to do what he wants. Yet there is nothing at all you can do about it. It does touch on one of his earlier Channel 4 televisions shows (which I also love), for a bit.

It is a positive and feel good production. Which will leave you feeling upbeat and with a big smile on your face. The stuff he does on that stage is amazing. You can clearly see the dedication and hours that have gone into honing his almost super humans skills. Not to mention the way that he and the production team have put it all together, in to such a great piece of theatre. With his breath taking mind skills. He is the nearest thing that I have ever seen to a real life “Jedi”.

Later tonight I am going to the last ever Laughing Badger Comedy Night. It is a comedy club that was set up by Hertfordshire impresario Lee Bryant around three years ago in Hemel Hempstead. I was honoured to be one of the acts who performed at the very first one. It was my fourth gig after the Roving Comedy Night at the Tringe Festival. Night one was headlined by the former Hollyoaks and Casualty actor turned comedian James Redmond. Who is a top bloke and really funny. It also featured the brilliant Flange Krammer. He is well worth seeing by the way, if you get the chance to.

I did about four or five of the Laughing Badger Nights and really enjoyed them. It is a shame that they are ending. But I am assured by the main man that they are going to go out with a bang. It will be a memorable end to what has been a fun venture. I am really looking forward to it.

It will be lovely to catch up with some friends and have a good old giggle. No one knows the list of comedians who are performing yet. But I have a funny feeling that Lee has some good things up his sleeve and lined up for us all. Congratulations to him for running them for the past few years and I wish him all the best with his future projects and plans.

This weekend is packed full of comedy for me. Tomorrow I am going to the BBC Radio Theatre in London to see two separate stand up comedy shows recorded for a new BBC Three show called Live at the BBC. They are keeping the acts a surprise at the moment. So at this point I do not know who I will actually be seeing. I am also not sure when it will be shown on television either. But I am really looking forward to spending Sunday afternoon in a lovely venue. Enjoying some top quality comedy. I will let you know who the comedians were next time we speak. But I am confident it will be a great line up.

Many years ago when I was working in Yeovil I met a great gentlemen called Neil Sands. Who came on to my radio show to talk about his Country and Western show that was playing at the Octagon Theatre in the town. He is a very interesting man who has done a lot of cool stuff. He was a professional wrestler for a while for starters.

And if anybody of a certain age remembers going to Bagley’s Warehouse near Kings Cross on a Sunday to enjoy the crazy party that was “The Church”. He was actually one of the main people and promoters behind that. Next Friday I am looking forward to catching up with him in Chesham. Where he is performing in his latest show called “Christmas Memories” at the Elgiva Theatre at 2pm.

And finally my favourite television programme of the year also starts tomorrow night. I’m A Celebrity Get Me Out of Here returns with Ant & Dec at the helm expertly steering the ship. I have met two of the camp mates on this year’s show. But you will have to wait until my next update to find out which two that is. In fact I have met one of them on more than one occasion.

And if I am honest they are such a top person I already want them to win the whole thing. Even before the competition has started. This series I fear will pretty much take over my life for the next few weeks. Well certainly my evenings at least.

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

Back to The Future

October 31, 2015 Neil

Hi there, how are you doing? I hope you have had a good couple of weeks. Mine have been good and very entertaining. So on Wednesday 21st October it was “Back to The Future Day”. The actual date Marty and the Doc headed to when they went into the future in the 1989 film Back To The Future II. If I am honest the biggest issue for me with this was that as someone who remembers 1989 and who is now living in the actual 2015.

I have not really noticed much of a difference. Except we do have a bit more technology at our disposal. And I have got a little bit older. Well at least physically so, if not mentally so. That and of course the film makers were wrong about us having flying cars and hover boards now. Which with the amount of air traffic controller strikes in Europe, is probably a good thing.

So what does all this really tell us? Well surely do not take fun family films set in the future too seriously. Or expect them to predict the future. That said it would still be pretty cool to own a DeLorean.

While we are talking about blasts from the past. TFI Friday has returned to Channel Four for a one off series. After the success of the one off birthday special earlier in the year. I used to love the show when it was on first time around in the ninety’s. It was at the time when Brit Pop was possibly at its peak and Chris Evans was flying on the Radio 1 Breakfast Show. As well as presenting the official start to everyone’s weekend. Live from the River Side Studios at 6pm every single Friday night.

It was listening to him during those Radio 1 days. That made me decide that I wanted to work in radio. It sounded like he was having the time of his life every morning and then you could see the pictures proving that he was on the television every Friday. First time around the show did seem to get crazier and weirder the longer it went on.

But then we have learnt since, thanks to his books. That it was only really echoing his personal life. And the direction that was heading in at the time as well. It did however make for must watch television. As you really did not know what was going to happen next. And a lot of the time, I am not totally convinced he did either.

I have really enjoyed the revival series so far. The guests have been amazing, U2, Take That, Steve Coogan, Dawn French, and actor Nicholas Hoult to mention just a few. The latter having the honour of being the first person to swear on this new incarnation. Even though it is now on at 8pm instead of 6pm. It was still very inappropriate for that time of the evening. But with plenty more shows still to come, you would not bet against him being the last person to do that.

I think may be because it is such a mad atmosphere, that kind of feels like you are just out in a pub with a few mates. It sees people so relaxed they almost forget where they are. And that they are on television sometimes. It is my dream to be in that bar having a few drinks on one of the current shows. That would be amazing!

It is still brilliantly odd and unpredictable. They will get people in to be guests and then just give them thirty seconds on the show and make them do ridiculous things. Chris is a bit older. And we all know he has calmed down a little bit. So it is slightly harder to conjure up exactly the same magic as before. But he looks like he is enjoying it. And even all these years on. There is absolutely nothing like it anywhere else. It is positively unique.

And he is using it to get all his family and even some of his ex wives some air time to. Good luck to him, if you are in that position of course you would do that. I am still hoping I might just get the chance to see one of them live in the studio before this series ends.

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

I was at the lovely Tabernacle Arts Theatre in London the other week. To celebrate another television programme enjoying an anniversary. Would you believe that the Fast Show is Twenty-One this year. To mark this occasion I was there for a recording of a special show featuring its two creators Paul Whitehouse and the excellent and very personable Charlie Higson in conversation with Danny Wallace.

They talked about the show, how it came about, what it was like making it and much more. Then played a few classic clips and sketches from it. I am not sure exactly when this will be shown on television but it is certainly worth keeping an eye out for it. I had a very enjoyable time there. And credit where it is due. I have to say the fish and chips I had there before the show were very nice. So compliments to the Chef. Who judging by the amount of other people who were dining was having a very busy night.

A member of the Wembley Stadium management team is leaving this week. So the other day we held a surprise social gathering and presentation for him. It was in one of the brilliant pitch view restaurants there. We got there first and then he was lead in to the room to applause and cheers. Then a few people gave some short speeches, talking about his time working there and also including what he did before he joined the place around thirty-five years ago.

Here is what he used to do. And how cool is this? He is a hugely accomplished Bass Guitar player. Who used to be in a big rock band called Taste. They played in front of around two hundred thousand people at the Isle Of Wight Festival in 1970. On the same bill as Jimi Hendrix and The Who. I have seen the footage on DVD and it looks amazing. He went on to play with several other bands including The Spencer Davis Group for a few years in the seventies. A really top bloke. And such a talented fella. I would very much like to wish Charlie McCracken all the best for the future.

Last Sunday I was again working behind the scenes for the latest NFL game at Wembley Stadium. It was a big clash between the Jacksonville Jaguars and the Buffalo Bills. It is always such a fun event to be involved in. During the course of the day I ended up escorting the Jaguars Video teams to their positions for the game, showing coaches and owners to their boxes, plus helping the VIP guests get to and from pitch side to watch the players warm up. And finally directing the Bills to their team buses at the end of the contest. Always an interesting day. You get to help and meet such interesting and lovely people.

Congratulations to the Jacksonville Jaguars who won their first ever game in London beating the Buffalo Bills by 34 points to 31. Their owner Shahid Khan also owns Fulham Football Club. So the whole of the American Football Team squad went and saw their English football counterparts play at Craven Cottage the day before. Seeing them come from behind to win clearly also inspired the American team.

A win in London is good news as they have signed to play one game a season at Wembley for the next five years. I asked one of the coaches from the Jaguars just before kick off. If he had enjoyed his latest trip to London? His answer was “I will let you know in about four hours”. With a win under their belts as they flew home on their plane that evening. I am guessing that he did.

Having worked in the radio industry for more than a decade I know lots of different people from all over the country. Due to the nature of the beast you just have to up sticks some times and go where the work is. One of these people is my mate Robbie Lane. He now lives in Lincolnshire. But I met him when we were both working at Ivel fm in Yeovil. He happened to be in London the other Monday and organised a get together with me and a few of his other friends, in a nice restaurant in Covent Garden. We went to the exquisite Tuttons.

As it happened I had actually eaten there once before. A while ago now, as part of my twenty-fifth birthday celebrations. It is in a great location and if you can get a window seat. You can see all the goings on at one of the capitals most popular tourist attractions. Which if you like people watching as much as I do is fantastic. The menu was impressive and varied. The staff and the atmosphere in there were also both great. Just in case you wanted to know. I had the Lamb Cutlets, which were delicious. It was really nice to catch up with everybody. I do like eating and talking, two of my favourite pastimes. So it was another fun night looking back at the past and forward to the future at the same time.

I am still enjoying Strictly Come Dancing. Even though my favourite couple of Jamelia and Tristan continue to struggle and ended up in the dance off last weekend. Thankfully they in my opinion deservedly survived leading to Ainsley Harriott and Natalie Lowe leaving the contest. Don’t get me wrong I do like them both to, but I did think my girl did perform slightly better on the night.

The competition is very fierce this year and a lot of them could be in with a chance of walking away with the glitter ball. Statistically it is looking like it will be a women who wins. Mainly because all the celebrity’s who have gone so far this time around have all been male. I think Jay McGuinness and Peter Andre are the only two men, who can possibly trouble the ladies for the series title. As ever good luck to all the couples ready for this weekends Halloween Special.

Neil Quigley talking to Victoria Pendleton

The countdown is on to my absolute favourite television show of the year. I’m A Celebrity Get Me Out Of Here. Ant & Dec are hilarious on it. They are just so good at poking fun at all the camp mates. ITV have not confirmed the exact date it will start yet. But have said that it will be around the middle of November. Already the rumours have started about who will be doing it this year. I hope they are fun and up for a laugh. As well as the challenges.

I am hoping there will at least be a couple of people that I have met in the past in there. I have met four of the previous Kings or Queens of the Jungle in the programmes, now thirteen year history. Do not expect me to do much during the three weeks it is on, watching it will play a large part in most of my evenings during that time. It is the best thing on television in my humble opinion.

In the next week or so I am very much looking forward to seeing the excellent comedian Sean Lock perform live for the first time and seeing the latest show from Derren Brown in London. I have been to one of his stage shows before. I love what he does and think it is so clever.

I would like to have his skills. When it comes to pretending that he can mind read. That would be great fun if you could do that. If it was used in a responsible and fun manner like he does, of course. I will tell you about both of these things, when we speak next.

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

Under My Skin

October 17, 2015 Neil

Hi there, how are you doing? I hope you have had a really good couple of weeks. Mine have been busy with lots going on. I do spend a lot of time in and around London. Which with my tea drinking addiction means I visit a lot of Coffee Shops. To keep myself topped up or sometimes just to kill some time before meetings. I went in to one of these establishments at Waterloo Station recently.

It was the chain where they ask you your name and then write it on the cup, supposedly to make it easier to collect your drink when it is ready. It always seems a bit of a waste of time though when you order tea. As they generally do this straight away and then hand it directly to you anyway. I was pretty sure when he asked my name I said Neil but I can only presume he did not believe this and actually thought I was a character from The Matrix. As when I received my cardboard container of tea it said “Neo” on the side.

I was back at the Elstree Studios the other Friday to see another edition of Celebrity Juice being recorded. It has since been shown on television. It was the one that featured Ben Hanlin, Sara Cox, Rylan and Judge Rinder. It was totally hilarious. And if you thought some of the stuff that went out on air was too rude. You should have seen some of things that did not make the final edit. It was a bit of a crazy evening and it is fair to say that a couple of the regulars really got in to the spirit of things. At one point Holly was threatening to try something that she believed she could definitely do. But was actually so dangerous the stage manager had to step in and stop her.

Judge Rinder looked pretty confused through pretty much all of it. If you saw it on TV you will know. He read out two of Lemon’s Law’s on the show. There was a third one that they got him to read out in the studio, which almost caused me to hurt myself laughing but which can very much not be repeated.

It was as ever a good fun evening. I was sitting right at the very front in the middle. I was that close I could have almost reached out and touched Keith Lemon. It was brilliant to see Sara Cox in person. I have liked her on the radio for years now and I think she sounds excellent on the Radio 2 Breakfast Show. When she stands in for Chris Evans. Rylan seems like a very nice bloke, who is up for a laugh and doesn’t take himself to seriously. And I will never tire of seeing Holly Willoughby in action in a TV studio.

Last time we spoke I said it would be good to see Andy Collins again. Well I did not have long to wait, as he was doing the warm up duties for the evening. He was on top form. And kept the whole audience pretty much on the edge of over excitement all night. If you saw it, you might have noticed a lot of the crowd were standing up and cheering. They were so hyped up. It is such a wild and crazy show but so entertaining. And such a good laugh.

I was working behind the scenes at the NFL American Football Game between the Miami Dolphins and the New York Jets at Wembley Stadium a few Sunday’s ago. It is always a huge spectacle, when they come to town. From the pre game gatherings in Regents Street in London the day before to the big fan park that appears outside the ground on match day. The whole thing just builds and builds right up to kick off.

My role was to assist VIP guests to get to where they needed to be. This included showing one of the Miami Dolphin’s Vice Presidents to their Box. Taking the coaching teams to and from the vantage points that they were watching the game from. And directing the New York Jets players back to their team bus. I also got to witness Laura White sing the National Anthem before the start. She has an amazing voice and always does a splendid job. I did also manage to spot the force of nature that is David Hasselhof pitch side, enjoying the game.

I quite like watching American Football but I can’t claim to completely understand how it works. But it does seem very tactical. I did not have a team that I supported. But this may now have changed as I discovered that I have a namesake playing for the New York Jets. Ryan Quigley wears number four and is the Punter. So therefore I am now adopting them as my NFL team. Well at least until he either leaves the club or retires from the sport. So as I said I had to help show the players back to the team bus after the match. They were all so polite, nice and a pleasure to work with.

To put this in English Football terms that would have been like me talking to all the Tottenham Hotspur squad. Which would have been amazing and highlights how cool this was, to be that close to these superstars. If you think our footballers get paid a lot of money have a look at what some of the big NFL stars get paid. As ever it was a terrific experience working at this event. I am hoping I may also be involved in some way in the other two matches that will be taking place at Wembley Stadium in the next month or so.

It has been another brilliant series of the Radio 4 Extra topical news show Newsjack. The last episode of the current run was on Thursday night. I have really enjoyed writing jokes for it once again. Several of my jokes have made it in to the scripts and been performed in front of the live audience during its recording. But unfortunately none of them have quite made the edit and made it on to the show this time round.

It will next return to our radio’s for a new series in the new year. Congratulations to all the writers who had their material included. Having experienced it in the past it is a nice feeling and gives you a nice warm glow. When you get something on it. The cast and producers have done a wonderful job and I have really enjoyed listening to each programme.

It is no secret that I am a massive comedy fan. A couple of years ago now I got to see the Geordie Chris Ramsey perform at the Queen’s Park Art Centre in Aylesbury. As part of the Tringe Festival. It was just at the time when he had filmed the sitcom Hebburn. But it had not been on television. So I guess you could say it was just before his career really took off. It was basically a warm up gig for his Edinburgh Festival Show about rolling the dice and the concept of chance. It was proper laugh out loud funny.

There is actually some video footage of me reviewing this show somewhere. In it I am pretty sure I said something along the lines of “with his slight Geordie lilt, it is just like having a lovely chat with a mate” it all felt very warm and inclusive. He is returning to the Queen’s Park Art Centre next year on Friday 4th March. With his latest show “All Growed Up”. I would recommend going to see it if you can. You will not be disappointed.

I had a brilliant evening at the London Palladium seeing Sinatra recently. Firstly I have to say it is just such a great and iconic theatre to be inside. Just being there gives me a buzz. The show features a twenty-four piece orchestra and a massive troop of dancers plus video footage of Frank Sinatra himself. Who appears singing all the songs and telling you little snippets about his life. So you get a brief behind the scenes history of his career in his own words. And a great selection of his best known songs. In effect performed on stage by him. It is all very cleverly done and nicely put together.

During the interval I got talking to the man sitting next to me. It turned out that he was a huge Sinatra fan. And that he had actually been at the Palladium watching when “Ol Blue Eyes” made his first appearance on stage there in 1950. It was a brilliant show, which has now sadly finished in London.

I saw one of the last West End performances of it. To make the evening a bit more authentic the person I was with suggested we should drink Whiskey during it. I am not even really a fan of the drink at all, but I went with it and oddly it did feel right and add to the occasion a little.

I was very sad to hear of the death of Jim Diamond. A lovely man and amazing singer. I had the pleasure of interviewing him once when he came in to my radio show at Ivel fm in Somerset. A total professional and very easy person to talk to. I do remember having a slight argument with him about his best song. I was saying it was “I should Have Known Better” and he was adamant it was “I won’t Let You Down” which he released when he was the lead singer with the band PHD. On reflection he was the best man to judge it, so I am happy to accept his suggestion as the correct one.

Then on the day things got even better. When he got out his guitar and was joined on the saxophone by the legendary Snake Davis. He performed a couple of live acoustic songs. His voice was out of this world and it honestly made the hairs on the back of my neck stand up. It was an big honour to see him and Snake play in that small room with just me sat in there with them, listening intently. RIP Jim.

It was also the first time I met the brilliant Snake Davis, a sublimely talented musician and also one of the nicest blokes you could wish to meet. He was in the M-People. He has toured with Simply Red, played at several Prince’s Trust concerts and with the Eurythmics. And my favourite Snake fact is….. it was him that recorded the famous Sax solo on Take That’s “A Million Love Songs”

My chosen couple on Strictly Come Dancing this year nearly fell at the first hurdle as Jamelia and Tristan found themselves in the bottom two on the first vote off moment. Happily they survived and Iwan Thomas with his partner Ola Jordan became the first couple to leave. I am still sticking with them as my favourites. Even though I have to say other partnerships are looking much better notably Jay McGuinness and Aliona Villani. Their Pulp Fiction inspired Jive was ridiculous for week three of the competition.

Anthony Ogogo and his partner Oti were the next two to go. I always get drawn in to this show. I love it and know absolutely nothing about dancing. I only lasted just one session when I tried Salsa lessons, many years ago now. Once again Zoe Ball and the team are doing an amazing job on It Takes Two. The nightly spin off show. Where you get all the behind the scenes gossip and can just enjoy the wonderful relationships developing between the celebrities and their professional dance partners. I am still hoping to find time to go and see one of the live Saturday shows his series. Fingers crossed.

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

Cats and Dogs

November 22, 2014 Neil

Hi there, how are you doing? I hope you have had a good couple of weeks. Mine have as ever been very busy, with lots going on. Let’s start with some good news I have had the third and final part of my Root Canal treatment done. The tooth is now all good. Plus there was not too much pain caused by the last part of this procedure. I have to confess that when I found out I required this dental work. I was not exactly looking forward to it but actually it wasn’t as bad as I feared. So if you discover you need it in the future don’t panic or worry, it is fine. And it is a lot more common than I realised. That said I have no plans to have to go through it again any time soon if I can possibly help it. My dentist was telling me that she is thinking of having a gold crown fitted to her teeth. But as I have no plans to become a rapper in the near future I am planning on sticking with a more conventional material and colour personally.

The other Friday I went for a night at the Dog Racing in Wimbledon. I have enjoyed quite a few evenings out over the year’s watching the Greyhounds at various tracks all over the country but this was the first time I had been to Wimbledon. I got there early so went and had a couple of drinks in the town centre first. With it being the home of English Tennis. I guess I should not have been too surprised that the main shopping centre there is called Centre Court. I mean it would have been a travesty not to call it that surely. The stadium itself is quite a way out of town, so I got a taxi there to meet the rest of my mates.

As there was quite a large group of us. We decided to have the meal in the restaurant option that they offered. It was a fixed price three course meal with your entry and a race card included. All for a very reasonable price to be fair. Plus they came round to the tables to take your bets, so you did not even have to get up to do that. Which was a bit of a bonus. I had a few winners, which always makes things a bit more enjoyable. It ended with a few us of deciding to get a taxi back from Wimbledon to Marylebone Train station. Now this meant that we got a lovely late night drive right through the centre of London. Bearing in mind a lot of the Streets already had their Christmas Lights switched on and a lot of the big stores had their festive window displays up. It was a pretty colourful journey. One of the people in the taxi with us actually used to be a tour guide on an open top bus around the Capital. So he was giving us lots of historical information and facts on the areas we were passing through. Making the journey even more interesting.

I was once again working behind the scenes at the final NFL International Series American Football Match this year at Wembley Stadium between the Dallas Cowboys and the Jacksonville Jaguars, a couple of Sunday’s ago. It was a really good day. I was helping the Jaguars coaching staff and Video team get around the place and escorting them everywhere they needed to go. This did mean that a lot of the time I was stood around the tunnel area in the lead up to the game. I have to say when all the players came out in their groups and did their huddles and various chants right in front of me. That by the time it came to start the game I was feeling pumped up and ready to join in. I could have just grabbed a helmet and gone out there and got involved. Those guys really know how to gee themselves up and get motivated for a match.

There were quite a few familiar faces around the place to. I saw Carla Bruni, Jonathan Trott, Vernon Kay and the London Mayor Boris Johnson walking around. And I was standing right in the tunnel area just as Michelle Williams and Laura Wright walked out to sing the two national anthem’s. Both of which were sang so beautifully.Two really rousing performances from two very attractive ladies. Who both looked stunning for the record, when they went past me. It was a real goose bump moment watching them in action.

Last Wednesday I went and saw my mate Ben Langley perform his excellent current play Ha Ha Hood at my local theatre, The Waterside in Aylesbury. Now I first met Ben around Ten years ago when he was in pantomime in Yeovil. And I was working for the radio station in the town. So I have known him for quite a while. I saw this show near the start of the tour. When it played in High Wycombe. And I enjoyed it so much that I jumped at the chance to see it once again. In its final week of travelling up and down the country. Now since I saw it the first time around sadly one of the stars has had to leave the production due to illness, I wish Bobby Ball a very speedy recovery. But the rest of the cast remained the same with Ben, Tommy Cannon, Su Pollard, Andy Pickering. Then Pete who was standing in for Bobby and who was totally brilliant as were the whole cast yet again. It’s just a good old fashioned proper funny show, with jokes, innuendo, songs and general silliness. It is simply laugh out loud funny with plenty of audience interaction. So you have to be ready to get involved and let yourself go, when seeing it. I did and I had a great night.

Neil Quigley interviewing Ben Langley in Yeovil

I got to catch up with Ben Langley backstage in his dressing room before the show, which was an experience. Great to have a nice catch up and a chat. Then about five minutes later I was then sat in the audience watching him doing his thing on stage. After the performance I went and joined Ben and the rest of the cast for a quick drink in their hotel. You could really tell they were all enjoying the show and having a good laugh doing it. Plus it was nice to very briefly be a part of the camaraderie of a group of touring actors. I did manage to have a chat to the comedy legend that is Tommy Cannon. Which featured the Ronnie Barker statue that is outside the Waterside Theatre in Aylesbury. And that the last time he had been to Wembley Stadium, was when he scored a cracking goal in the celebrity match before the 1988 FA Cup Final between Liverpool and Wimbledon there.

My favourite television show of the year started its three week run last weekend. I have been looking forward to it for about the last month and was very happy to see the return of “I’m A Celebrity Get Me Out of Here” to our TV screens. For me it is just a perfect evenings entertainment. Ant and Dec are the best presenters in the country no question and they are brilliant on it. They just spend to whole series laughing around and making jokes at the camp mates expense and I absolutely love it. Now in the past I have been lucky enough to talk to many people who have been on the show, including a couple of Kings and Queens of the Jungle along the way. They all seem to have very fond memories of their experience of doing it and would not change anything about it. I have met in no particular order Kerry Katona, Christopher Biggins, Katie Price, Joe Pasquale, Brian Harvey, Bobby Ball, Tommy Cannon, Antony Costa, Simon Webbe. Timmy Mallet, Britt Ekland and Pat Sharp. So having spoken to that many former camp mates, I do consider myself quite an expert on it.

I have previously interviewed one of the current contestants. When he was promoting his autobiography and doing a book tour several years ago now. I had a great chat with former World Super Bike Champion Carl Fogarty. He was so laid back and fun to talk to. And despite his amazing achievements he was so modest and down to earth. As soon as I saw him in this year’s line up. I knew he would be good. Nothing phases him and he just laughs at everything. I think he could actually be in with an outside chance of winning it. Already this current series has been great. And so far they are all being so entertaining in their own way. That I do not want anyone of them to leave. The two Geordie’s are at the top of their game and this one is shaping up to be a classic. I am a Twitter fan and user and it makes watching the show very interactive and even more entertaining. When you view it, while using the social networking site at the same time. If you do follow me on Twitter I will apologise now for the amount of I’m A Celebrity Get Me Out Of Here tweets you will see from me. But hopefully you will find at least some of them amusing. As my main goal is just to have a good laugh along at what is happening. So my top three to win are Carl Fogarty, Jimmy Bullard, or Mel Sykes who is tough, determined and let’s face it pretty easy on the eye, shall we say.

This Sunday sees the England Women’s Team play Germany at Wembley Stadium. Which is the first time that the ladies have played a match at the new place. A bumper crowd of around 55,000 is expected. There was obviously women’s football at the stadium during the 2012 Olympics but that was Team GB who were playing in that not England. So all the best to Mark Sampson and his squad in what is a very difficult game against the current European Champions. I have been lucky enough to meet an England Women’s International. Sadly she is not available for this game because she is recovering from a long term serious injury. That she picked up playing for her club side Notts County.

Her name is Ellen White and she is from Buckinghamshire. She is a centre forward who has scored seventeen goals for the national side in forty-seven appearances. And she represented Team GB at the Olympics in 2012. So has already played at Wembley Stadium. I met up with her just before those games and she was rightly very much looking forward to them. You may well have heard her on Five Live or seen her on BBC 3 giving her expert views during coverage of the women’s games. In fact she will be at Wembley covering the game for the BBC. It will be a great spectacle this weekend. Ellen is currently very busy working hard in rehab, so she is ready for the start of next season. Plus she is also getting married very soon to. So I would like wish her all the best for that. And say that I can’t wait to see her back playing again.

I am actually pretty loyal when it comes to the things I use in my everyday life. For example I have only ever been with one bank all my life. And whenever I have changed cars it has been down to them giving out rather than me trading them in. I am not a fan of change for changes sake. My first proper mobile phone was a Nokia and I stuck with them year after year until their technology kind of slowed down a bit compared with the rest of the market.Then I reluctantly got a Blackberry, which I happily had used for around the last five years. But recently it was starting to play up a little and I was having problems with the battery.

As I was due an upgrade I went into my local phone shop. Just to discuss my options. And then less than an hour later I found myself walking out with a I-Phone 5 having traded my Blackberry in then and there. It seemed that everyone I knew had one and the new Blackberry option did not do it for me. So I have gone to the dark side and invested in my first ever Apple technology item. So far if I am completely honest I am undecided if I like it or not . Or if it is any better than what I had previously. I think it may grow on me but either way I am stuck with it for the next two years. So I will have to learn to love it. Mind you it is much easier to take “selfies” with than my old phone.

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

Shows and Tells

November 8, 2014 Neil

Hi there, how are you doing? I hope you have had a good couple of weeks. Mine have as ever been very busy with lots going on.I mentioned last time that I went up to see a mate of mine in Liverpool for the weekend and that he had a two year old daughter. Well apparently since I left she has been randomly asking after me quite a bit at various points during the days. Including when she was at Nursery. So much so that one of the staff there actually asked my mate’s mum who Neil was when she collected her one day. She said she didn’t know so unfortunately for my mate and his wife it now looks like everyone at the nursery thinks his wife is having an affair with some bloke called Neil. I have apologised several times to my friend but it is still happening. He actually sent me a text last night saying she was found in a room by herself shouting for me earlier in the day. His daughter not his wife that is. I’m very surprised by the impression I seem to have made and yet at the same time I am thinking about employing her as my agent.

A few Saturday’s ago I went to the Cadogan Hall just off Sloane Square in London to see my mate Mike Sterling performing in Stars of the West End. It was the first time I had been to the venue. Which has recently been refurbished. It is a fantastic building to watch shows in with really nice and helpful staff. For somewhere that is right in the heart of London the place weirdly has a really lovely community feel to it. The show itself was absolutely fantastic. It featured Mike alongside fellow West End Stars Shona Lindsay, Tom Soloman and Jayne O’Mahony performing songs from many great musicals backed superbly by the West End Sinfonia led by the brilliant Toby Cruse. Mike who has played the lead roles in both Les Miserables and the Phantom Of The Opera heroically sang the big anthems from both of these great shows in the breathtaking finale’s to each section of the performance. The whole cast were great and it was a really enjoyable night out being entertained by some truly talented people. I happily did manage to catch up with Mike Sterling for a very quick drink after the show. I am so showbiz! It was really good to see him in action on stage, chat to him and hear what he has been up to. It is always nice to see people you know doing well.

I was once again lucky enough to be working behind the scenes at the last NFL International Series Game between the Detroit Lions and the Atlanta Falcons at Wembley Stadium. The game was yet again played in front of a sell out crowd. Who were treated to an on stage performance by Little Mix as part of the pre game show. It was a fun day. There is always a great buzz about the place when the American’s are in town. My roles included escorting various VIP’s to the Field area to watch the players warm up before the game then showing them back to their seats before the action got under way. After the match I was helping to direct the Detroit Lions back to the team bus. They were all very friendly and really nice. Mind you they had won the game with a last second field goal, which I am sure helped their mood some what. I ended up watching the exciting finale to the game on a television in the players tunnel. That had about a five second delay on it. So we heard the cheer then had to wait to see the pictures on the screen before we could be totally sure exactly what had happened.

There is always quite a good celebrity turn out at these NFL events. Guests at this one included Tim Lovejoy, Joey Barton, Alexandra Burke and of course Mr American Football himself Vernon Kay was there. Vernon plays for the London Warriors American Football team. I did happen to have a conversation with one of his team mates. The training regime and food intake required for players of the sport is pretty impressive. A fact highlighted by the way the NFL players leave the stadium with giant pizza’s all to themselves to eat.

Due to the fact there were a few very slight complications the sequel to my Root Canal treatment at the dentists has now been turned into a trilogy. As all the best movie franchises are. I went back for the second phase and discovered there was actually still a slight issue and outside risk of infection relating to one of the three roots of the troublesome tooth in question. So my dentist had to dig out a little more of the root. Which was about as much fun as it sounds. But once again fair play to her it did not hurt at all and I suffered no after effects. It just means I have to wait another week before the procedure will be finished. As part of the visit I saw my first ever x-ray of a tooth, as she explained to me the situation. Strangely I quite enjoyed looking at it and it gave me a good understanding of what was going on. Plus as I am not a parent that was as close I have ever come to seeing a personal scan relating to me.

Last Monday I went for the first time to the ITV London Studios on the South bank. Some of the television shows that are broadcast from this location include Ant & Dec’s Saturday Night Take Away, Good Morning Britain and The Jonathan Ross Show. I was there to see the latest It’ll Be Alright on the Night being filmed. Outside the building there is a wall of hand prints of lots of the stars who have presented shows from there. Including Lorraine Kelly, who according to this display does have ridiculously small hands. Then as you walk in to the studio itself there are lots of great pictures on the walls showing stills from many of the different shows that are produced there. I have always been a big fan of the out takes clip show, for just about as long as I can remember. From back when it was hosted by Denis Norden and his clipboard. The current host is now of course Griff Rhys Jones who has fronted the programme since 2008.

Once everybody was sat down and in position. The first thing that happens when they are ready to get going is that the warm up man comes out to tell the audience any information that they need to know about the recording, check audience levels for the sound department and get the crowd ready for a night of laughing, cheering and clapping. The man charged with this role for the evening was a bit of a legend himself. It was none other than Ted Robbins. Who as well as being a hugely experienced comedian and warm up man, also appeared in both series of Peter Kay’s comedy Phoenix Nights. So as you would expect there were several big screens up so we could see the clips and then react accordingly to them. I quite liked the idea of being one of the first people to see all these brand new bloopers before anybody else.

Before we got started Griff came out and had a bit of a chat to the audience. He was really good from start to finish, he’s very good at what he does. Then it was time to get the recording started. Ironically there was a slight technical fault at the start of the show so they had to re-shoot the opening twice in the end. It was great fun to watch. And there are as ever some very funny moments during it, featuring the great and the good from the world of television. There is no confirmed date for this latest episode to be broadcast as yet but it is expected it will be on our screens either during December this year or January next. Either way keep an eye out for it so you can see some more examples of when television goes wrong. And to see if you can hear my unnaturally loud clap or even catch a brief glimpse of me on the screen.

Last week I spent the day in London doing a couple of different tours. That were both taken by friends of mine. The first one was called The City Square Mile Walking Tour. Which as you would expect from the title involved walking around a section of the city. That was historically the original centre of the capital. It was truly fascinating learning about which businesses were originally based there. How lots of the streets got their names. Plus all the information about the old and new buildings on view. And discovering how many Roman remains can be seen right in the heart of London, if you know where you are looking. Towards the end of the tour the guide took us to a new shopping centre. Which seemed a bit odd at first until he took us up in a lift to a viewing area at the top, which gave us a great view over London.

The second tour I did on the same day was at Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre. Now I have to confess I did not study the great Bard at school, so I do not know much about him. But in my defence it seems that nobody really knows that much about him and a lot of what we believe is calculated guess work. The Globe opened in 1997 and it is an exact replica of what it is believed the theatre looked like that the Chamberlain Players and The King’s Men performed Shakespeare’s play’s in during the 1600s. It is a brilliant place. I really like the way they try to put the performance on there in the manner and style that they would have been performed it in. Back when these plays were new and being shown for the first time. It was a very interesting tour, during which we got to try out several of the different seating areas for size and learned lots about the theatre. Plus the customs and behaviours of the people during that period in history. Having been there I now really do want to go and see a Shakespeare play performed there. I think that would be amazing. It is on my to do list for next summer when their new season of plays start.

My mate Ben Langley’s play Ha Ha Hood makes another appearance in Buckinghamshire this month at the Waterside Theatre in Aylesbury this coming Wednesday 12th November. I saw it in High Wycombe earlier in its UK Tour and I have to say it is brilliant. It is just a good old fashioned variety comedy show with plenty of big belly laughs guaranteed from an amazing cast. It stars Tommy Cannon, Bobby Ball, Su Pollard, Andy Pickering and the man who also wrote it, the man himself Ben Langley. The show tells the story of Robin Hood twenty years after where we all left the original story. And it is fair to say things have not necessarily worked out how we would have expected them to. If you saw the latest episode of the new BBC Four Comedy Detectorists you would have seen Ben make a brilliant cameo appearance as a deliver driver towards the end of it. I am very much looking forward to seeing the show in Aylesbury for the second time. And hopefully I will get the chance to catch up with Mr Langley while he is in town. If you fancy a fun and crazy night out then go and see it. You can find more details about the show here http://www.hahahood.com/

I can finally tell you a little bit more about the new quiz show that I was helping to do a little bit of research and development with earlier in the year. For starters I can now reveal the name of it. It is called Smart Ask and twists the conventional quiz format on its head. As the contestants are the ones who write and compile the questions in the hope of baffling a team of experts in to giving the wrong answers. The more questions they get wrong the more money the players can win. A pilot was shot in London last weekend hosted by Robert Webb. They are hoping to film the first series of it at the start of next year. Which is still something I might be involved in. You will see quite a bit of publicity about it when it is launched, as it will offer a top prize of half a million pounds.

I am again very much looking forward to working at Wembley this weekend behind the scenes at the final NFL International Series Game for this season between Dallas Cowboys and Jacksonville Jaguars. It is as ever bound to be a star studded affair. And being the last one of the year I believe there are some pretty spectacular things being lined up before and after the match to mark the occasion. Normally it is only the home team who bring their cheerleaders over for the game but I have heard some rumours that both team’s troops will be coming to England for this game. Which for the record I am perfectly fine with and have to say this seems like an excellent idea. I will let you know how it all went next time we speak.

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

Neil Quigley Presenter