Tag Archives: radio

That’s Life

April 24, 2015 Neil

Hi there, how are you doing? I hope you have had a good couple of weeks. Mine have been on the whole brilliant with lots going on. A few weekends ago I was up in Liverpool for the Grand National Weekend. I had a fantastic weekend. I always enjoy myself up there and needless to say owing to the rather large event happening, the place was buzzing. I stayed with my mate Jeff Nolan. I travelled up on the Thursday. He met me off the train and we went for a catch up in his local pub. He lives near Aintree, so the place was packed with very smartly dressed people. Who had been enjoying the first day of racing.

Now we had obviously had this conversation previously but I had forgotten somehow. I was staying with Jeff from the Thursday night through to the Sunday. So as we are talking I say, it must be your first Wedding Anniversary soon? To which he replies yes it is this Saturday. What sort of mate am I? I had pretty much invited myself to stay and in the process managed to gatecrash my friend’s first year marriage celebrations. Not ideal but at least I was there to wish them both a very happy anniversary on the day itself in person. And I did buy them both a drink.

We actually went to Aintree for Ladies Day on the Friday. All dressed up in our suits and looking pretty smart and dapper, if I do say so myself. We did pop to the pub for a few pre racing drinks. But don’t judge us, we were not the only ones, pretty much everyone had the same idea. And the place was packed. I have to say I did spot some of the women wearing some pretty eye catching outfits. As you would expect for Ladies Day of course. I enjoyed the afternoon. Slightly helped by the fact, we had a couple of winners between us. Which always aids the enjoyment I find.

To beat the rush we headed in to the centre of Liverpool just before the last race to continue the party. We visited a few different venues including a couple with a Beatles theme. We went to the Hard Day’s Night Hotel and popped in to The Cavern Pub for a quick Fab Four sing-song. It was a great day out with good mates. I would recommend a day at Ladies Day to anyone. The atmosphere is great and the fun continues long after the racing has finished for the day.

On Grand National Day itself we went round to Jeff’s parent’s place to watch the Swansea against Everton game. He is an Everton season ticket holder so there was no way he was missing the match. Then when it had finished we headed to the pub the watch the big race. After visiting the bookmakers on route to place our bets. I thought it was an enjoyable and exciting race and thankfully all the horses were fine at the end of it.

None of the selections I made on the day were successful but I did manage to win the Wembley Sweepstake. So thank you to Many Clouds and jockey Leighton Aspell for making that possible for me. I also managed to pick the winner of the Scottish Grand National the week after. So again thanks to Wayward Prince and the jockey Robbie Dunne. It is a shame I did not pick the winner of the Irish National to complete the treble. In Liverpool on Grand National Day it is fair to say the celebrations continued well in to the evening. It was a great weekend, so much fun. Thanks to Jeff Nolan and his family for putting up with me. And apologies for spoiling their celebrations. I am already looking forward to my next visit up there at the end of May. To witness the end of the Premier League football season.

On the train journey home from Liverpool I managed to do something that I have not done for years. As I was getting on my second train of the day I was putting my luggage in the rack above the seats. When I caught my funny bone on the top of one of them. I had forgotten what a totally odd feeling that is. There is that quick shot of pain that only lasts for about a second or so. Then your whole arm goes instantly numb and feels really weird for the next few hours. Hopefully it will be a while before I hit it again. But it has confirmed to me that it is called your funny bone because it is different not because it will make you laugh when you hit it.

For the last couple of Summers I have had a brilliant time working with Regatta Radio in Henley. To bring full coverage of the Henley Royal Regatta to the airwaves. Sadly I have been advised that Regatta Radio will be taking a break this year and will not be broadcasting at the event. They do plan to return next year though. Hopefully working more closely with the event’s organisers to provide even better coverage.

There is still a chance I could be involved when they do return. I am really going to miss working with the extremely hard working and enthusiastic team there this year. I have learnt so much about rowing over the last couple years, thanks to mainly the very talented commentators we had working with us there. Although as I am not going to be working there this year. I may have to spend a day there actually just enjoying the rowing. If I can get myself a ticket of course.

"Gloriana" looking very regal at Henley Regatta — “Gloriana” looking very regal at Henley Regatta

You will hopefully be pleased to hear that my crown fitting is complete and went well. And that I am now the proud owner of my very first crown. The first of many I suspect. I was surprised by how quick the final part of this procedure was. I got to the dentist, sat in the chair. She then fiddled about with my mouth for around a minute. Yanked the temporary one out and then literally banged in the new one. Then she just did a bit of filing and the job was done. I was in and out in five minutes. Despite being told that I could eat or drink with it straight away. I still waited two hours to do this so I felt safe with it. Old habits die hard I guess.

It was all happening this week. As well as the dentist’s I had my annual eye test at the opticians. Now as a glasses and contact lens wearer I do always like these regular appointments to make sure my prescriptions are up to date and that my eyes are in good health. So after all the normal and obvious tests. With the whole better with, better without questions, with the different lenses held up to your eyes. Where most of the time I find I can’t see any difference between them at all. Anyway after those tests, they do a few other checks including a field of vision test.

Now this is probably just me but it reminds me of the sort of test that Yoda would have set Luke Skywalker at the swamp in Star Wars. You do one eye at a time. By sticking your head in to this machine and focusing on a single red light. Then you have to press a button to show how many green lights you see flashing, every time the red light moves. It is a game I weirdly really enjoy. I am a very competitive person and I like winning. So I was really trying my at it best. In my excitement I did inform the optician that I was very competitive. So when she gave me my score at the end. She said that I got one hundred percent. Now I am not totally sure if I did or if she was just telling me that so I would feel pleased with myself. But I did walk out with quite a spring in my step.

Talking of Star Wars I did see the second teaser for the new film last week. It looks absolutely brilliant and I loved the the fact we got to see some little snippets of the original stars including a shot right near the end of it featuring Hans Solo and Chewbacca. It is fair to say one of them does appear to have aged better than the other. I really can’t wait for it to come out. But I will have to be a little bit patient, as it is not due to be released until the 18th December. I now wish that I did not sell all my original Star Wars figures a couple of years ago. It is going to be an extra special Star Wars Day on May the Fourth this year, I think.

As with everybody’s lives there is light and shade and good and bad days. Last Wednesday I attended the funeral of my Uncle. The last time I had seen him was New Years Eve. I gave him a lift home after a party. He was happy, had enjoyed a good evening. And was ready for the start of the brand new year. He died after a short illness in hospital. The last memory I have of him, is how I intend to remember him. My thoughts at this time are with my aunty and my two cousins. The day itself was a celebration of his life, which is what I believe these things should be. RIP Uncle Kevin.

You may or may not have heard about a new web streaming app that has recently been launched called Periscope. Basically it can give you the ability to broadcast live to the internet through your mobile phone or tablet. So you can do short video broadcasts, which will go live to a web page and then will stay stored on your Periscope account as videos. I have just started using it as have Philip Schofield, Tony Blackburn and Chris Moyles to mention but a few. So if you have the app or follow me on twitter. Do keep an eye out, as I will be producing more and more live webcasts and videos on there over the coming months.

I went along to Windsor Races with my parents recently. I am partial to a bit of horse racing and Windsor offers great Monday evening race events all the way through the summer. Normally with some great post-racing entertainment. Windsor is a lovely little, friendly course right next to the Thames. So it is a great place to spend the evening, in my opinion. The parking there is great, the portions of the fish and chips are quite unbelievable and they do get a lot of the top jockeys and trainers there. I had a good night with two winners and a place bet coming in. Which does all add to the enjoyment, if you can correctly select a few horses. Watching the races certainly gets the heart rate up and gives the vocal cords a good work out. Or it does for me at least. I suspect I will be back there a few more times over the coming months.

Over the next week or so I am going to be seeing a few different television shows being recorded. Which I am looking forward to. As it is always fun in the studio watching these programmes being put together. The first of these will be The Last Leg with Adam Hills, Josh Widdicombe and Alex Brooker at the Fountain Studios in Wembley. I am then also returning to the same studio just a few days later to watch an episode of Play To The Whistle being filmed with Holly Willoughby, Bradley Walsh and Sean Walsh.

Then finally a couple of days later I am off to the Elstree Studios to see Celebrity Juice being filmed. I am slightly concerned that Holly will think I am stalking her. When I keep turning up at every single place that she is working. They all feature top comedians. And are mostly light hearted shows. Who do not take themselves too seriously. So they should all be a right good laugh. Which is always a very important part of my world.

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

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

Fools and Horses

April 9, 2015 Neil

Hi there, how are you doing? I hope you have had a good couple of weeks. Mine have been great with quite a bit going on. I managed a celebrity spot on the train in to London the other day. Now to be fair I already knew that this particular person lived in this certain location, so I was always keeping an eye out for them every time I stopped at their station. So statistically it was bound to happen eventually and it did on that morning. I was just sat in my seat minding my own business when the unmistakable figure of Robert Lindsay walked past and took a seat slightly further down the carriage and facing me.

I was close enough to hear the full conversation he was having with his friend, with that wonderful and very distinctive voice that he has. So I am well up to date on his latest projects and immediate plans. He is a truly great all round performer. He can do it all act, sing, dance the lot. Most recently he has been starring in Dirty Rotten Scoundrels in the West End. In the eighties he was starring in the musical Me and My Girl. When it was in London and then he went with it when it transferred to Broadway. In that show he does an amazing version of the Lambeth Walk. He seemed like a really nice friendly and approachable gentleman. So hopefully it will not be long before he is back on our television screens again.

A few Saturday’s ago I went and saw my mate Andy Holmes perform in the Harold Pinter play Betrayal at the Queens Park Arts Centre in Aylesbury. If you are already familiar with it. You will know that it has three main roles. One of which, he was playing. It is always slightly odd I find seeing a friend performing on stage. You want to enjoy the show but you are also just rooting for it to go well for them at the same time. I have seen him in a couple of things before but this was possibly the most dramatic piece that I have personally witnessed him in. I really enjoyed it. I thought the whole cast were great. And I know from speaking to Andy the time and effort that they had all put in to it, to make it work. Which I think showed in the performance.

He did have a couple of kissing scenes in it. In the fairly busy bar afterwards he made the mistake of asking me what I had thought of his love scenes, to which I replied well that is the most action you have had in ages. He did tell me later that the actress who he had to kiss actually had her husband in watching that night. Now I am no actor but that has to be a little bit awkward surely. It was a lovely fun way to spend the evening and congratulations to everyone involved with the production.

After seeing the play I then went to a pub in Aylesbury for a quick fortieth birthday drink with someone I have known for about twenty years now. His name is Colin Morton. We met when I joined Stoke Mandeville Hospital Radio. This is how and why I decided to join. It was while I was in my final year of a Leisure and Tourism course at Aylesbury College that I really developed an interest in radio. Mix 96 had recently launched in Aylesbury, so I wrote to them and managed to get a week’s work experience there. It was while I was there during that week that someone suggested that I joined the local Hospital Radio, so I did.

Neil Quigley back at Stoke Mandeville Hospital Radio with Martin Kinch

Colin was already there and had his own show. You start out as a producer gathering requests from the wards. Then you get trained on the equipment and hopefully get your own show. All of which I did. Colin then got a job at Mix 96 hosting the evening show and the Saturday Sports Show. I have to thank him really for getting me involved in the Sports Show. As I think he suggested me, when they needed someone to come in and ring up all the local football clubs to get the scores. And then to read out the half time and full time scores from these games. Which I then did. And the rest as they say is history. That is what really gave me my break in radio, if you like. So it was great to see Colin and Andrew Duthie, who was also there for a nice catch up and to talk about old times.

I am still doing quite a bit of work at Wembley Stadium. I was there taking some people around on behalf of the Football Association before the FA Trophy Final between North Ferriby United and Wrexham. I was taking a select group of North Ferriby fans round. It is always great to be there on a match day. Walking through the Mixed Zone, being in the players tunnel and then going pitch side. You can really feel the excitement of the occasion building up. It was a cracking game as well with the underdogs winning five-four on penalties after a three all draw in extra time.

So well done North Ferriby United. I like to think my tour was a lucky charm for them. I think some special praise needs to go to the Wembley ground staff to. On the Friday Night England played Lithuania there. Then on the Saturday a Rugby Union game between Saracens and Harlequins took place. And then the FA Trophy Final was there on the Sunday. The pitch looked perfect and there was not even any trace of the rugby pitch markings from the day before.

It is always good to do new things in life and experience things for the first time. So last week I went for my first ever crown fitting at the Dentists. This was required because I have had a root canal treatment. And apparently to protect the tooth you need a crown on it. So to make sure that the finished crown fits they have to take impressions of your teeth. I have to confess I didn’t find that process much fun and it does not leave a very pleasant taste in your mouth at the end. It seemed like she took an impression of all my teeth not just the one required. So I am now slightly concerned she may be worried that all my teeth may be falling apart, and that she will need to replace them all. I have a temporary one on at the minute with the proper one due to be fitted in a week or so. Wish me luck.

On Good Friday I went with my mum to see Wycombe Wanderers play Oxford United in League Two. Now as a teenager I was for a couple of years a season ticket holder at Wycombe. I also briefly played for their under sixteen side and I did have a trial game for their youth team. However I did not get selected. I instead went and played for two years in the Aylesbury United Youth Team. Funnily enough my first game for them was in a one-nil win against the Wycombe Wanderers Youth Team in Beaconsfield. The Wycombe/Oxford game was pretty poor for the home side specially in the first half but they did battle back and make a fight of it in the second half. Although ultimately it was in the end a very disappointing result for the team who are currently chasing promotion. Plus let’s face it no one likes losing to their local rivals.

Before the game I managed to catch up with a couple of people I know. Firstly Daniel Freeman, who was there to report on the game for Sky Sports and my good friend Nathan Cooper, who was there covering the match for BBC Radio Oxford. Strangely the three of us have all previously worked on a game together before. When I was working at Ivel Fm in Somerset, Yeovil Town then managed by Russell Slade got to the League One Play Off Final at the then newly built Wembley Stadium in 2007 against Blackpool.

We managed to get full commentary rights to broadcast the whole game live on the radio. To do that we needed two excellent commentators to help us. I already knew Daniel and Nathan and luckily they were up for getting involved. So the three of us produced a full show from the National Stadium with Daniel and Nathan as the two commentators and me operating as the co-commentator for both of them. While presenting the show before and after the game. It was a busy but fun day out and I thought we did a brilliant job covering the occasion. It was great to see them both at Wycombe and good to see them still doing at excellent job reporting on football matches and bringing them to life on the radio and television.

Last Saturday it was the final show in the current series of the brilliant Ant & Dec’s Saturday Night Takeaway. Once again there was nothing missing from the programme or the series. In my opinion it has taken all the best bits from about twenty different big Saturday night television shows from the past and put them all into one show. In handy bite size sections. But it all works so well and is great family entertainment. This weekend we will still be able to see the Geordie boys on our screens. As the new series of Britain’s Got Talent starts on Saturday. And if the first instalment is anything like the London audition show I went to see. We will be in for a crazy time.

There will be acts that will take your breath away and leave you feeling like that is the best thing you have ever seen. And then on the other side of the scale there will performances that will make you cringe and even cause you to cover your eyes and ears, so you do not have to witness it. I don’t know if it was just the session I was at but Simon Cowell seemed a lot nicer and more compassionate in his critique. So I am not totally sure if he was just in a really good mood that day or if becoming a father has seen him mellow a bit. I reckon we will know for sure if this the case or not by the final at least. The audition shows are always bonkers and give Ant & Dec plenty of comical moments to enjoy. Good luck to all involved with it and let us hope for a worthy winner this year.

I had a really nice Easter weekend which did involve eating quite a bit of chocolate. But life is all about balance and give and take, so I did actually go for a morning run on Good Friday and Easter Monday. To be fair that was not only to work off the sweets I had consumed. I did manage to have a few drinks with mates to, so these calories had to be dealt with and burned off. I met one of my friends in Marlow. Which is always a place I enjoy going to, specially in the summer. Normally for a nice walk along the river there. It really is a nice and relaxed place to meet people and have a good chat and a catch up. And it does boast The Hand and Flowers Pub, which has two Michelin Stars and is run by top chef Tom Kerridge.

I am up in Liverpool this weekend enjoying being there for the Grand National Race meeting weekend. I love the city and always really enjoy spending time there. I came up for this festival about five years ago and had a brilliant day out at Aintree for Ladies Day. It is an amazing experience everybody really dresses up and has a top time. This time I am just up there and enjoying the partying after racing rather than being at the track itself. The place is packed out in the evenings, with either people celebrating wins or drowning their sorrows, if they have lost. For sheer atmosphere alone watching the Grand National in a packed pub in the centre of Liverpool is only second to actually being stood there on the course at Aintree itself. I will tell you more about my time in Liverpool next time we speak.

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

Viva Las London

March 28, 2015 Neil

Hi there, how are you doing? I hope you have had a good couple of weeks. Mine have been nice and busy, with quite a few fun things going on. I have made no secret of my total appreciation for Ant & Dec. And the great job they do on our televisions. I was watching Saturday Night Takeaway on ITV player a couple of Sunday’s ago and was surprised to see Wembley Stadium featured on the show.

You know how they always use different locations to display the audiences faces for when they randomly select one to play “Win the Ads”. Well they were using the giant screens at the front of the stadium to do this. Now I was working in the Wembley area on that Saturday evening. I did wonder why the central Arch was fully lit and bright red in colour, as I was waiting at the train station to go home. Then obviously when I caught up with the programme the day after, I realised why. If I had known in advance I would have gone there and tried to get myself in the shot. May be that is why nobody told me.

Well I can confirm I did use my surname and my minimal Irish roots to justify going to London to celebrate St Patrick’s Day in style this year. I went to my favourite pub in the capital. Which just so happens to be the Irish Bar in Rupert Street off Leicester Square called Waxy O’Connors. I have long maintained that they serve the best Guinness in London.

And I certainly enjoyed having a few pints of the black stuff in there on this special occasion. It was as you would expect packed full of lots of very happy people, who were dressed mostly in green. There was traditional Irish music being played by a live band. The atmosphere was great, everybody was just there to have a good time, a few drinks and a bit of a sing-song. I really enjoyed it. It was a great way to spend the day.

Waxy O'Connors St Patrick's Day — Waxy O’Connors St Patrick’s Day

While I was in London celebrating I managed to also catch up with a couple of friends, who I used to work with. Including one who just happened to have randomly been up in London for a few days from his home in Cornwall. It just shows you the power of social media. I put on Twitter my plan’s for the day ahead. I then saw that he said he was coming to London, so we exchanged messages. Then a few hours later we were meeting up in a pub for a couple of drinks.

His name is Scott Temple. I used to work with him at Ivel Fm in Somerset. So it was great to see him and have a good catch up. Which did of course include a bit of reminiscing, as well as a more general conversation about radio. He is currently working at Pirate Fm in Redruth. So all things considered the day worked out perfectly. I think I might do a very similar thing next year on March 17th.

I went to see the Book Of Mormon last Wednesday. It was a musical I have been wanting to see for a while and I had heard some brilliant things about it. So I was excited to finally get to see it. I have to confess that prior to going along I did not do any further research on it at all. So I had no idea about the plot, the cast or what to expect at all. It is currently showing at The Prince of Wales Theatre. Which is one I do like and one that it easy to find, as it is right in the middle between Piccadilly Circus and Leicester Square. I had a decent seat near the front of the balcony. Which I settled in to just before curtain up, with absolutely no idea of what to expect.

From the opening number, which was an upbeat real show setting song. That was brilliantly written and cleverly performed, I was transfixed. It does warn on the tickets that it contains explicit language and I would agree it is not for the faint hearted. But you need to remember that it is written by the people behind South Park. So you should already realise that no subject is taboo. And that they will be happy to use the full colourful range of the English language that is available to them. As they confirm beyond no reasonable doubt about ten minutes into the performance.

It is so hard to do a funny musical with songs that are catchy, that contain great lyrics and that make you laugh out loud. But the team behind this production manage that with ease. The cast many of whom have come with the show from Broadway are all brilliant. Aside from the main plot itself. There are so many small sub plots and lots of random and sometimes surreal visual jokes. That you really have to concentrate on what is happening on stage or you might miss something.

It is a totally brilliant show, thoroughly entertaining, extremely funny. And you might find that it can actually start some big serious conversations about life and your views on it. If you are not easily offended, are open minded and fancy a laugh. I would go and see it while you can, as it closes in London fairly soon.

I finally got round to going for a meal at my local Indian Restaurant last week. It has only been open for about ten years. May be I have been somehow subconsciously avoiding the place. As the building it is in used to be a library when I was a young child. So I think the last time I had previously been in there was when I got a book out when I was about five. Anyway the reason I went along really was because my mate Alvin was there doing his Elvis Show.

It was an all in fixed price for a set menu meal with the entertainment included. Firstly I have to say the food was fantastic. A great big selection of starters to share. Followed by a huge selection of main courses to pick from with rice and naan bread included. So for that alone I will be definitely be going back there. The staff were really friendly and helpful to. So it was a nice all round dining experience.

I have seen Alvin perform many times in the eighteen odd years I have known him. In anything from small venues to big West End Theatres and he always puts on a great show. With the same energy and enthusiasm. Which is the mark of a great performer. My mum is a big Elvis Presley fan so he once made an appearance at one of her birthday parties for me. He was brilliant and brought the house down. As ever on this night in the Indian he was great to.

He is a massive fan of the man he portrays and has studied every detail of the performances his idol used to give on stage. And brilliantly recreates them. Alvin is also a very good comedian, so he mixes his great vocal portrayal of the King with lots of jokes and lots of humour. If you know anything about Elvis. You will know that he himself had a great sense of humour. He liked to laugh, be a bit cheeky and have some fun while on stage performing with the audience. Which is something Alvin replicates in his shows. So we had a funny night, enjoying classic songs, effortlessly sung by a mate, who was rocking a very stylish Elvis Presley white jump suit.

My comedy teacher has just released the third version of his book “Get Started In Stand Up Comedy (Make Em Laugh). That man is Logan Murray. As well as being an author on the subject. Logan also runs lots of Stand Up Comedy Courses at various locations throughout the year. I was lucky enough to attend one of his eight week courses in Tring a couple of years ago. When I became part of the brilliant Roving Comedy Night as part of the Tringe Festival. This was when I finally got my first taste of doing some stand up comedy. After thinking about giving a try for about the previous five years. Logan is a hugely experienced comedian and a brilliant teacher.

It was quite intensive in that the sessions were three hours long. But the time flew by as it felt like we were just messing about and having a laugh the whole time. Doing many improv and joke writing exercises. While trying to release our inner child. Then after seven weeks of basically pratting about each of the group had produced five minutes of original material to perform four times in four pubs in Tring on the Roving Comedy Night. Not only is he a great teacher, funny, interesting and engaging. He is so encouraging and is happy to give up his own time for you to go through your routine and to give you some one to one coaching in the lead up to your first big performance.

If you have ever wanted to try stand up comedy. My advice would be just go out there and give it a go. You will never know if you are any good or not until you try. I would recommend having a look a the book first or even better if you can why not do one of the courses. Even if you do not become the next big thing and if the gig at the end of it is the only one you ever do. It would still be worth it for the great experience. And you will still learn things that will help you with your everyday life. Doing the course does give you a great insight into comedy and it will certainly give you a good giggle, which I personally think is very important in life. Make jokes not war.

I did manage a celebrity spot, while I was in London recently. Well I did thanks to a little bit of assistance anyway. It was while me and my sister were walking through the ticket barrier at Marylebone Station. As we were going through I saw a women with blond hair heading towards me. I thought I recognised her. I was convinced I knew her or had at least met her before somewhere. So I gave her a very nice polite smile as she walked past. Then moments later my sister turned to me and said did you see Jo Joyner just then?

Now I have to confess I do not really watch Soap Opera’s. So I did not realise it was the actress who played Tanya Branning in Eastenders. Now as I said she did look familiar, but I have never met her previously. So I now just hope she did not think my smiling at her was too weird. I was only being friendly to someone I thought I already knew.

April is already looking like it is going to be a really fun month. It is of course Easter Weekend next weekend. So that means you can legitimately have chocolate for breakfast right? And who doesn’t enjoy a nice Hot Cross Bun or two? I am going up to Liverpool for the Grand National weekend, which I am looking forward to. It will be absolutely buzzing up there for that event.

Then at the end of the month I have been offered the chance to go along and see an episode of Celebrity Juice being filmed at the Elstree Studios. I am a big fan of the show. It normally gets some very good guests on it. It is crazy enough on television, so I am expecting it to be total carnage in the studio and lots of fun of course.

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

Celebrity Squares

March 14, 2015 Neil

Hi there, how are you doing? I hope you have had a good couple of weeks. Mine have been great with quite a bit going on. I had to go for my annual contact lens check up appointment recently. I have been wearing them since I was fourteen years old. So it is a pretty straightforward process. Which I am very familiar with. Just in case you are not. This is what happens. You arrive wearing the lenses, then they check you can still see perfectly through them. To make sure your prescription is correct.

They then check the fit of them using a giant piece of equipment that would not look out of place in a Bond villain’s lair. Before then getting you to take out the lenses. So they can put a blue dye in your eyes that is so strong, you have to leave the lenses out for at least five hours afterwards. Because it might melt them, sorry I mean stain them. Just in case you care, all was fine. I passed the MOT and have another twelve months contact lens wearing to look forward to.

I was lucky enough to be at Wembley Stadium for this year’s Capital One Cup Final between Chelsea and Tottenham Hotspur. I was there before the game to help take some competition winners around the venue. While we were strolling about. We saw Kris Kamara presenting Goals on Sunday for Sky Sports, wearing a very shiny grey suit. And Ricky Wilson from the Kaiser Chiefs and The Voice, who was there doing some filming. He was great, very nice, friendly and approachable. He was very happy to chat to everyone and everyone did want to chat to him.

The competition winners were also treated to a question and answer session featuring a former player from each of the teams. These players were Frank Sinclair and Darren Anderton. It was good to see Darren Anderton again. The last time I had met him was in a nightclub in Watford about sixteen years ago. I did then get to stay and see the game itself. Which as a Spurs fan was ultimately a bit disappointing. Without wanting to seem bitter, I thought my team did well. We were a bit unlucky when Christian Eriksen’s free kick hit the bar. And were just beaten by two deflected shots in the end. The atmosphere in the stadium was fantastic. It was still a good day out at the home of football. Despite the result.

I was back at one of my favourite locations, the BBC Radio Theatre the other Wednesday. To see an episode of the Radio 4 Extra comedy Newsjack being recorded. It was the first one that I had been to that featured the show’s new host Nish Kumar. I thought he did a brilliant job with it. They do quite regularly change the front man of the programme. Then the show itself kind of takes on their style and personality. And I have to confess I did like the feel of it with Nish at the helm. There were some really clever topical jokes on the night. Which makes me proud to have written jokes for the show in the past. The show combines the jokes with short sketches.

It always features a high quality cast of established and up and coming comedy performers. At the recording I went to the cast were Lewis Macleod, Jocelyn Jee Esien and Freya Parker. All three of them were excellent, so funny. I am still doing some writing myself for the show. So hopefully I will get some more of my material featured on it before the end of this current series. Although there were no celebrity spots in the BBC Cafe before watching the radio recording. They do currently have a clever little mock up of part of the Eastender’s set in there. Which does look pretty cool. Basically you can sit on a bench, so that it looks like you are in Albert Square itself.

I have now finished John Cleese’s autobiography “So Anyway”. It is a very interesting read. Well written and extremely funny. It was fascinating to learn about his upbringing, school and university years. As well of course how he forged a career in comedy. And ended up being involved with the rest of the team. Who then went on to become Monty Python’s Flying Circus. He doesn’t shy away from the rumoured friction between him and some of his former colleagues. But he never deals with this in a crass or nasty way. And to be fair he himself shoulders some of the blame for it all.

The only slight disappointment for me was that he does not talk about writing and making any of the ace Monty Python films. Nor does he cover writing and filming one of the greatest comedies of all time, Fawlty Towers. And there is no mention of some of his films like Clockwise and A Fish Called Wanda. The way it was left though. I am very much hoping that there is a part two of the book to come. In which he will cover all of these missing subjects. If that is not the plan currently. Please can someone ask Mr Cleese to get writing and make this happen. I need to know what went on here. Although if history has taught us anything. We may have to wait until his next divorce before he produces this book to pay for it.

I am loving the latest series of Ant & Dec’s Saturday Night Takeaway. For me they are still the best presenters in the business. And the show has just, the perfect format for a Saturday Night. It has some of the very top people in television working on it. And you can see that from the features and the attention to detail in all aspects of the show.

The floor manager for it is the brilliant Alan Conley, whose CV reads like a who’s, who of all the biggest programmes on the box. The audience are whipped in to a frenzy every week by Andy Collins. You can feel their excitement and enthusiasm bursting through the screen into your living room. Then they top the whole thing off with the always brilliant End Of The Show, Show. Which on the last show was a magic act featuring the two cheeky Geordie’s as glamorous assistant’s. Let us be thankful though that they decided not to put them in leotards.

Last week’s Ant versus Dec featured the boys going head to head to see who was the best at reading the news. While answering questions by filling in the blanks on the Autocue. The segment was hosted and anchored by the excellent Mark Austin from ITV News. He is a truly brilliant newsreader in my opinion. I have been lucky enough to meet him once.

When I was working down at Ivel fm in Yeovil. We had a local lady who was being featured on that evening’s main ITV news programme. So they came down to do some filming of her while she was at the radio station. Mark Austin also came along to so he could interview her himself. He is such a nice man. He came in, said hello to everyone. Then just sat quietly reading the paper. While he was just waiting to do his bit. And at the same time he was very happy to join in and get involved with any office banter that was going on. Proving like with most serious news people. That he has a very good sense of humour. He does not seem to age either. He is like the George Clooney of journalism.

Last Monday afternoon I went to the ITV Studios on London’s South Bank to see an episode of Celebrity Squares being recorded. It featured both the aforementioned Andy Collins and Alan Conley who were both working on this show, carrying out their normal roles brilliantly. It’s hosted by Warwick Davis. Who I actually think is brilliant at it. He is sharp, funny, he moves the show along nicely and gives everybody chance to contribute to it. It is the first time I have ever been to a quiz show recording. And I did really enjoy it. You do really want both of the contestant’s to do well. Plus it is still fun to play along in your head from the comfort of your seat. Obviously I can’t give away anything that happened. So you will have to wait until the series airs next month, to find out how it went. And if someone managed to win the jackpot or not.

On the show I watched. This was the Celebrity Square’s panel. Tim Vine, Ana Matronic, Joe Lycett, Duncan Bannatyne, Sarah Millican, Tess Daily, Joe Wilkinson, Rickie & Melvin and Milton Jones. They were all on good form and as you would expect all the comedians were very good value with their exchanges with Warwick and the contestants. Although as is often the case I predict some of the funniest jokes and moments will not make it on to our television screens. Mainly because of taste and decency issues. Apart from one bit which I do not think will make the edit simply because of one of the celebrity’s flying skills.

I have actually interviewed one of the panel before. A few years ago I had the pleasure of chatting to the lovely Ana Matronic. It was when I was working at Mix 96. Her band the Scissor Sisters were just about to release their latest album. So I got to talk to her about that and her career in general. To hear the interview just click on the link here. http://www.neilquigley.co.uk/interviews/

So it was Comic Relief Night last night. It is always great fun with some amazing and memorable moments featured on the main show. This year it is the event’s thirtieth anniversary. I can’t believe it has been going that long. It actually makes me feel quite old. As I can remember the very first one.

It has now raised around one billion pounds for various charities both within the United Kingdom and abroad. Which is an exceptional achievement. As every event passes there are more and more different sponsored events and television shows made under the Comic Relief banner. To help with the fundraising. Amongst them this year were special versions of The Great British Bake Off and Strictly Come Dancing. But the one I watched myself was “Let’s Play Darts”.

I have always liked the sport and at various times in my life have played it quite regularly without ever being any good at it. I do enjoy watching it on TV. So a show that featured darts and comedians was always going to be something to attract my attention. I think it is pretty fair to say some of the celebrities on the show were better at the sport than others. Though pairing them up with professionals made the matches more fun and it most cases slightly more competitive.

I have read Lee Mack’s book. So I do know that at one point in his life he did want to be a darts professional. So he spent a lot of time practising the game as a teenager. So I knew that he would be good. The surprise of the competition for me was Tim Vine. I had no idea he was a serious fan of the sport and a decent player. The two of them are friends and play against each other a lot. Which from what I saw, they must be very close games. Well done to Lee Mack on winning with his partner Martin Adams. I hope they bring it back for the next Comic Relief as I think it was good quality entertainment. While at the same time of course raising money for excellent causes.

I am really looking forward to going to see The Book Of Mormon in London this week. I have heard some brilliant things about it and I am glad that I am finally getting round to watching it. I saw Avenue Q last year which I thoroughly enjoyed. And the songs in that, which are brilliant were written by the same guys, who wrote the songs in this. So therefore I should love it. I will let you know what it was like, next time we speak.

Now with a name like Quigley you have probably already guessed that I do have some Irish roots in my family. This Tuesday it is St Patrick’s Day. I have had some brilliant times on this day over the years. I do remember one year I was out with my mates in London. I had already had a few pints. When a mate of mine who was working for a radio station up north at the time. Gave me a call on my phone and asked me to describe my St Patricks’ Day celebrations. Which I did live from the balcony of the Punch and Judy pub in Covent Garden. I hope I got across in the piece how much fun I was having. While hopefully remaining very professional. I have to confess I am partial to the odd pint of Guiness not least on special occasions. So when you combine all this information. I think there is a good chance I could well be out for a few drinks to celebrate this year. Well it would be rude not to right? Happy St Patrick’s Day for Tuesday.

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

Showbiz, Fun, Life

February 28, 2015 Neil

Hi there, how are you doing? I hope you have had a good couple of weeks. Mine have been nice and busy, with quite a few fun things going on. A few weekend’s ago I had a great catch up with one of my oldest friends from school. We met when we were just four on our first day at Primary School and it is fair to say, we are both a little bit older than that now. So have therefore known each other for many years. I had a really lovely evening having a drink with him, his wife and his son. And also meeting for the first time his eight week old daughter.

It was great to see them all. They live up north so obviously we do not see each other that often. It was nice reminiscing and telling his son about how we were perfect pupils when we were at school. No really we were. Neither of us were ever given a detention or sent to the see the headmaster. So needless to say I wasn’t exactly the edgiest or coolest person at my school.

Talking of which. I have mentioned this before but believe it or not there is another Neil Quigley. Who is a very well respected dance music DJ and Producer. He has recently produced a stripped down remix of the big Madonna hit Vogue. Which appears to be getting quite a bit of attention on the internet. How do I know this you might ask? Well on Twitter I am simply @NeilQuigley and the other Neil Quigley is @djneilquigley.

During the last week or so people on the social networking site have been getting us a little confused. And I have been receiving quite a few compliments on my new take on the Material Girl’s classic song. While I am delighted to take the credit because I have listened to it and it is very good. I think it is probably the right thing to do to point out on here that it is definitely nothing to do with me and not something I have worked on or produced.

I had to go and buy a new suit for something the other day. I always get a bit swept away when I go into a proper suit only shop because the staff are so good in those places. You will be hovering around just looking at a couple of different styles. Then they will spot you and hone in on you from nowhere for the kill. They will instantly pick out two suits that they think will look good on you. Then just by looking at you, they will tell you what size you are and pick the relevant garments off the peg. Before you know it you are trying one of them on. It fits perfectly and looks great. So a few minutes later you are paying for it. While the same member of staff is still trying to sell you a matching shirt and tie set to go with it.

Those guys are amazing. Many years ago on my lunch break. I went into a designer tailors just to look at some nice suits with a view to buying one possibly at a later date. But some thirty minutes later I was sitting back at my desk having just spent around five hundred pounds on an Armani Suit with a shirt and a tie combination included. Wondering how on earth that just had happened. It looked great. But it was a very brief and expensive outing that I was really not expecting.

I have been speaking to an amazing man called Ray Coates recently. He is a singer, who seven years ago was diagnosed with throat cancer. Which left him virtually unable to speak for a year. Happily he is now free of the disease and has been for five years now. He wants to give something back to the people who helped him and in turn hopefully help others in the future.

So he is trying to record an album of original songs. Which he is planning on both writing and recording himself with the help of other singers and musicians. Once completed he hopes the album will raise awareness and much needed funds for 20/20 Voice. Which is a head and neck Cancer Charity. Ray has already released the first single from the proposed album it’s called “The Voice Within”. Which is available from I-Tunes and Amazon now. If you want to find out more about Ray Coates or download the song just click on this link http://www.raycoates.co.uk/

I told you last time we spoke that I was reading John Cleese’s Autobiography “So Anyway”. Well I am nearly three quarters of the way through reading it and it is totally fascinating. Now I thought I knew quite a bit about his past and how his career developed but I was very wrong. I have learned lots of things that I did not know so far. For example he had tickets for every single England game for the 1966 World Cup Finals but after watching the first group match against Uruguay, a goalless draw gave away his final ticket to Bill Oddie. As he could not see the home country making the final. He was wrong and suitably gutted for missing the greatest moment in English football history.

I have said this before but I love Twitter and here is another reason why I do. I follow John Cleese, so I sent him a tweet just telling him how much I was enjoying his book. And he replied with these words. “So anyway…thank you Neil Quigley for your kind remarks”. And if you do not believe me check out the screen shot picture below. It’s not every week you get a mention from a comedy legend.

I was back working at Wembley Stadium the other week. While I was there I actually got to very briefly hold the actual FA Cup that was used between 1911 and 1991. So it was the very trophy that my team Tottenham Hostpur had lifted in 1961, 1981, 1982 and finally in 1991. It was retired and a new one was used between 1992 and 2013. Then Arsenal last year got their hands on a brand new one. The base the cup sits on holds so much history as it has inscribed on it all the teams that have won the competition since it started in 1872 up to Spurs. Who were the last team to receive that version in 1991.

Talking of lifting trophies at Wembley. Tomorrow it is of course the Capital One Cup Final between my team Tottenham and Chelsea. I am very excited and really looking forward to seeing the game. I hope we can win it. I had a great day out in the national stadium for the 1999 League Cup final when I witnessed Spurs beat Leicester City by one goal to nil. The whole day was brilliant fun, before, during and after the game itself. I am very much hoping for more of the same this time round. Also while I was there this week. I caught sight of the great Luis Figo. The former Portuguese footballer was there for the press launch for his bid to become the next FIFA President.

I do like varying my meals and eating lots of different styles of food when I can. There is an Indian Restaurant and Takeaway in the town where I live. Which I have been meaning to try for about the last five years but had never got round to it. Until last Saturday that is. I was working in London and returning home quite late in the evening. So basically I could not be bothered to cook. And I had not had an Indian Meal for ages. So while I was on the train home I found their website, decided what I wanted to eat.

Then when I was about twenty minutes away I called them with my order. Happily timing it perfectly meaning I walked straight from the train station to the takeaway. Where my food was ready to collect instantly. I just ordered a mild chicken curry, some rice and a garlic naan. When I got my meal home I found I had also been given a complimentary bottle of lager and a couple of poppadom’s with a mint dip. Which I thought was a very nice touch. Which was very much appreciated by me. The food was great. I will be taking advantage of this facility more often in the future I think. In fact I am off to experience my first meal in the restaurant next month. As a mate of mine is performing his Elvis Presley Tribute Show there on the 18th March.

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

I watched as I do every year the Brit Awards. I have been lucky enough to attend it in the past and it is a great night out. I thought this year’s show was brilliant. It was expertly hosted by Ant & Dec, who have to be the best presenters in the business. I always feel so relaxed watching them in action as I know everything is in safe hands and they are in total control. The Brits is a tough gig. As host you are mainly playing to the people watching on TV but needing also to include and get some reaction from the guests. Who are usually to too busy talking or drinking to really get involved. But the lads pitched it all brilliantly, linked it together faultlessly and kept it moving along nicely. While still putting their stamp on it and making it entertaining. Pure Class. Not as easy as it sounds. In the past many have tried and many have failed. Pleased they are already booked to host again next year.

There were some great performances on the night. The British music scene is in a very good state at the moment I think. Not only are they all hugely talented but they are nice, polite, humble and supportive of their contemporaries. Which I felt made for a very good atmosphere at the event. Well done in particular to Paloma Faith, who I think is amazing. Ed Sheeran, who simply gets up and belts out great songs, just him and his guitar. He has sold out Wembley Stadium for three nights this summer. I thought both of their live performances were sensational. In fact all the acts who played on the night were excellent and put on great shows.

There is one performance I of course have to mention and that is Madonna. She closed the show performing her latest single. I did genuinely gasp when her cape didn’t release and she got pulled back down some stairs. But fair play after falling in a heap. She dusted herself down and continued with the song, including some quite vigorous dance moves. I like her and she has done so much for the music industry. So I felt bad for her when her big appearance did not go quite to plan. Or did it? As that clip of her stumbling has been watched by millions of people all over the world. She is still a great live performer and knows how to put on a show. But the important thing is she was OK.

Finally on the Brits it was nice to see Jimmy Page there presenting one of the awards. He was looking really well, just so cool and relaxed on stage. As I guess you would expect from one of the greatest guitarists of all time. This is a true story. I once went to a fancy dress party at his house. Where I got to meet the great man himself. While I was dressed as Elvis Presley in full Las Vegas white jumpsuit mode. And while Mr Page was dressed as an eighteenth century Lord of the Manor. It was a truly surreal but brilliant night. He was so friendly and nice to talk to. A brilliant bloke who does a lot of unsung charity work.

Elvis Presley's American Eagle White Jumpsuit — Elvis Presley’s American Eagle White Jumpsuit

This week saw the start of the latest series of the brilliant Radio 4 Extra Topical News Comedy Show Newsjack. A programme which I have written jokes for in the past. I will be again be doing a bit of writing for it this time around. There is a new host as Romesh Ranganathan has moved on to be replaced by Nish Kumar. It is on the radio every Thursday night at 10.30pm for the next five weeks.

I am looking forward to going to the BBC Radio Theatre next week to see the latest edition being recorded. It is always a decent night out there. I am really hoping I will be there to witness some of my material being used on the night to. As far as I am concerned there is still something pretty cool about hanging out in the BBC Cafe before you head in to the theatre. You never know who you might bump in to there, so I will be keeping my eyes open to see who I can spot.

On Thursday I went to the Duchess Theatre in Covent Garden to see the fantastic “The Play That Goes Wrong”. A friend of mine told me about it last year, sometime. She said she had heard it was very good and definitely worth seeing. So I had been meaning to see it for ages. Then last week just after I had booked tickets to see it and was looking forward to it. Ant McPartlin no less went to see and he said it was brilliant and he wasn’t wrong. I had some cracking seats right in the middle and five rows front the front. I am so glad I went to see it because it is hilarious. I was laughing from start to finish.

The fun starts as soon as you enter the auditorium. It is so well performed the whole cast are amazing. And it is fair to say it is quite a physical piece to perform in. The title does give you an indication of what to expect but sitting there and seeing it. You can’t believe just how wrong it goes. There are so many laugh out loud moments. It is madness and mayhem half of the time. There is never a dull moment. It is not Shakespeare or the Phantom of The Opera but if you fancy a good old fashioned laugh for a couple of hours. I would go and see this show. The timing required by the actors to make it all work is phenomenal.

I am looking forward to going to see the first episode in the new series of Celebrity Squares being recorded at the London Studios. I wonder which big stars will be in the squares on the night. I have seen Warwick Davis before at Panto Press Nights at the Waterside Theatre in Aylesbury. He is a really nice bloke. And does a brilliant job hosting the show. I think he is really funny and does have good comedy timing in my opinion. I will tell you what it was like next time we speak.

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

Neil Quigley Presenter