Tag Archives: The FA Cup

Food for Thought

June 9, 2017 Neil

Hi there, how are you doing? I hope you have had a really good couple of weeks. Mine have been pretty busy with some fun stuff happening. A couple of Friday’s ago, a good friend of mine invited me around to his house for some food and a few drinks.

Everybody has such busy lives nowadays, it is really hard to organise the time to meet up and see people. Which I think makes this time spent with mates and family even more special and precious. Even more so in light of the recent events in Manchester and London. So it was brilliant to catch up with one of my oldest friends and his family.

It was a lovely hot and sunny day. He has a very nice garden. So we had a few beers outside before he fired up the barbecue. Both him and his wife are excellent cooks, so the standard of food when I go round to there place is always high. He cooked up a selection of steak, chicken, salmon and sausages. Which was supplemented by a potato salad and finished off by a wonderful home made fruit salad.

This was all washed down with a few glasses of a twelve year old Rioja, which I supplied. I know my Red Wine. It was a fun night spent in great company with lovely food and drink. It is so important to enjoy and appreciate the simple things in life.

I also went out in Oxford recently for some food and drink. One of the things I really enjoyed from my recent trip to Barcelona was the Catalan style Tapas. Somebody told me about a great restaurant in the Jericho area of Oxford, which did this type of cuisine. So it would have been rude not to try it out. Firstly I sampled the wine. The Rioja there was very nice. Then I ordered a selection of four different dishes to try. Which is kind of how a Tapas style meal works. You have a little selection of what is on offer from the vast menu.

The first dish that arrived was baked goats cheese and honey. Which although I admit sounds a bit of an odd combination was fantastic. So that was a very strong start. Then the waiter brought out the spicy potatoes, the chicken and chorizo in tomato sauce and the roasted peppers dish.

The first two were nice and I enjoyed them but the peppers were a little disappointing. The first meal I had in Barcelona was a pepper dish and that was sensational. I was hoping for more of the same here, but sadly this offering was no where near as good. Mind you, I was too full for pudding, which I must confess is very rare for me.

After the food I continued the evening at a really nice wine bar down the same road as the restaurant with a few more glasses of what else but Rioja. It was a civilised evening. Some decent food and and few glasses of a nice Red Wine. Which is the kind of night I am starting to enjoy more as I get a little bit older.

Oxford is such a beautiful City. And now a really easy journey from my local train station. So I think I might end up doing some more exploring there before the end of the summer. I did work there for a bit at a radio station called Passion 107.9. But I did not really go out there that much at the time, so there is plenty for me still to discover.

I have to be totally honest for the first time ever in my entire life I had no interest in the FA Cup Final and for the first time ever I did not watch it. Normally I will want one of the teams to win, so support them for the day. Or I will really not mind who wins and just watch it hoping for a good and entertaining match. Sadly this year it was kind of like the perfect storm for me.

Being a Tottenham Hotspur fan, my two least favourite teams in the world are Arsenal and Chelsea. I wanted both of them to lose and did not want either of them to win the cup. Which I knew was impossible, so I avoided the game. That said well done to Arsenal on winning. Hopefully next year I will be able to return to the joy and excitement of FA Cup Final day once again.

My dad celebrated his sixty-fifth birthday last weekend. He also retired from work to. So he held a retirement party for all the people he has worked with for the last twelve years at his final place of employment. Fair play to him. He organised it all by himself at a local pub near by where he lives. There was food, music and some nice speeches, so I was very impressed. It was also nice to see how popular he was at work, judging by the number of people who turned up to be there with him. And the nice messages that he got in his many leaving cards.

During his speech I found myself in the rather unusual position of cameraman, so he could have a nice memory of the occasion. Although me, my mum and sister slightly spoiled the effect by laughing a little bit too loud at his former boss making fun of some of his quirks. Which he only discovered when he watched the video the next day.

I to played my part. He had a buffet there. When it was announced it was open. Nobody at all was going up to get any of the food. As they were all politely waiting for someone to go first. Luckily I stepped in here, went up and filled my plate up. Then suddenly everyone started following me and started eating. In life there are shepherds and sheep and that night I was the shepherd.

I am not saying he was really milking the occasion but we also went out for a nice Sunday lunch to celebrate. There is nothing better than heading out to a pub for a nice roast dinner, it saves cooking and washing up for starters. We returned to the same place where my dad had held his party the night before.

While there I continued my support of locally produced beer by having a pint of the award winning Chiltern Brewery “Beechwood” beer. The other bonus about having food out is that generally most places have a much better selection of puddings than you do at home. Which for someone who always likes to finish off any meal with something sweet is a big plus point.

Then the final part of his Birthday celebrations was a trip to Windsor Races. He booked us a table in one of the restaurants in the Club Enclosure. Which overlooked the the home straight. It was the first time that we had, had this experience at a course that we have visited many times. I have to say it was brilliant.

There was a glass of Champagne on arrival. A fish platter to share. Which was amazing and unbelievably the first time I had ever tried Crab and Mussel. It will not be the last. Then we had a top quality three course meal. I had the Pork dish for my main. Not only did it taste fantastic but the presentation was sensational. It was made to look like a rural country field with even the crackling made in to a gate. It almost looked to good to eat.

After the food was over we enjoyed a great evening of racing. I was wearing what has now become my lucky racing suit. I bought it for Aintree and had a winner there. I then wore it at Newbury and had a winner there. And once again at Windsor it gave me a decent winner. Which pretty much paid for my night. So next time I go racing, I make no apology for the fact that I will be wearing it again. It was a lovely way of rounding of my dad’s celebrations and a great way to enjoy an evening’s horse racing.

It was also the Britain’s Got Talent final last weekend. This year was a bit different as the judges did not actually have any say in the acts going through to the final. They were allowed to have their say on the performances but for the first time ever it was solely decided by the public vote. Credit where it is due. Doing it this way did mean there was generally a nice variety of acts. Although three magicians with two of them doing similar things was probably a little bit over the top.

As ever with this show there were quite a few people in the final who you could not see progressing any further. The whole act was what you saw and you could not really see it developing or evolving. But then if the competition is to just to win a quarter of a million pounds and perform at The Royal Variety Performance, I guess that does not really matter.

The show was brilliantly held together by Ant & Dec who for me are still the best presenting duo on television. Even when they make mistakes they help each other out, make a joke out of it and sort of just gloss over it. Which is a skill in itself. Love or hate the judges they do complement each other nicely. They all bring something different to the party across the entertainment genre. They do all have different areas of expertise.

I have said this before Simon Cowell has definitely mellowed a bit since becoming a dad. I mean he still can be honest and brutal when he needs to but he is better at talking to the kids. And certainly seems a lot more emotional about some of the performances that he witnesses. And much as it pains me to admit it, he is still the judge I agree with most often.

It was won this year by the very talented multi-instrumentalist Tokio Myers. Clearly a very clever and accomplished performer. Although it is difficult to see what he can do with it to develop and grow it. He may find it tricky finding a big audience to see an individual concert because he is not really a standard classical artist. And you wonder if the people he appeals to would go to that sort of gig. I think collaborations could be the future for him. That said congratulations to him. He deserved to win it.

In third place it was the comedian Daliso Chaponda. He was very good but I do think it is very hard to shine as a comedian on this show. They are clearly very restricted with what they can do and it also feels a bit forced. And it is not a typical comedy style audience. If you are a singer with a great voice you can sing someone else’s song and impress. Comics have to do all their own stuff. I just think it is tough, so personally I can never see a comedian winning it. May be there should be a spin off show just for comedian’s only. If that now happens I want royalties, as it was clearly my idea.

It is now less than a month until my next big stand up comedy gig at the Tringe Festival Roving Comedy Night. It takes place across four pubs in Tring on Sunday 2nd July. I am really looking forward to it. I will be on with some other former Roving Comedy performers from over the last eight years.

I made my first appearance there five years ago now. If you fancy coming along for what is always a fun evening. There are still some tickets available. You will get to see about sixteen comedians in one evening, in one venue. Including at least four professional comics. Follow this link for more details. http://www.get-stuffed.biz/tringe/2017/07/roving-comedy-night/

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

Les Good Times

February 3, 2017 Neil

Hi there, how are you doing? I hope you have had a really nice couple of week’s. Mine have been very busy with lots of fun things going on. The other Saturday to mark my Mum and Dad’s latest Wedding Anniversary.

We went on a family trip to the theatre in London. To see the matinee of the long running musical Les Miserables. We had brilliant seats. In the royal circle, no less. I had not seen it previously but just before it started my sister gave me a quick run through of the basic plot and we were away.

I thoroughly enjoyed the show. It is fair to say it is pretty emotional and heavy going. I mean the title itself does suggest that it is not exactly going to be a barrel of laughs from start to finish. The cast were sensational and fully deserved their standing ovation at the end. The songs are very powerful and meaningful.

A lot of the messages of the story are more appropriate than ever after recent world events. Which may explain how it keeps finding a new big audience year after year. If you have not cried at some point during it, you are not human.

The whole experience was made even better by the lovely glass of red wine I had during the interval. Well done to the Queen’s Theatre on this. As this is not always the case. When it comes to beverages in the West End. After the show had finished and we had all dried our eyes.

We continued the regal theme by heading round the corner to have a nice meal at the Queen’s Head. The steps up to the restaurant area there, were actually made in the town where I live Princes Risborough. It had that information written on them. Which weirdly made us feel very at home there.

I went to a fascinating recording of a new Radio 4 Extra short series called “The Comedy Controller”. It was part of a three programme special. Each one has a different era of comedy that they are focusing on. It features former and current comedy producers. Talking about great old show’s and their own experiences with making these show’s. And also trying to sell them to America.

The panel were Paul Jackson, John Lloyd, Jimmy Mulville and the excellent Beryl Virtue. These people have been involved in some of the greatest comedy programmes of all time including Steptoe and Son, Coupling, Blackadder, Spitting Image, The Young Ones and Whose Line Is It Anyway, to mention just a few.

During this event at the BBC Radio Theatre. Which focused on the sixties and seventies, as well as satire. They played some legendary bits of comedy for us to enjoy. The esteemed panel then discussed these show’s and performer’s from this period. Best bit for me was them telling stories about things that happened. While they were working on their various programmes. And they all had some great anecdote’s about trying to pitch English comedies to the American television executives.

As a huge comedy fan. I found it both entertaining and educational. To hear all these behind the scenes stories. All told in such an amusing way themselves. It was a real feel good evening. Sitting there and reminiscing.

The current series of the excellent Radio 4 Extra weekly satirical comedy show Newsjack is now under way. The first two programmes have now been broadcast. They have both been exceptionally funny. Although I think it is fair to say that there is a lot of good subject matter around at the moment. I was at the recording of the first one at the historic BBC Radio Theatre.

It was Angela Barnes’s debut as host. And personally I thought she was totally brilliant. She made it her own right from the start. Plus the supporting cast set the bar very high. As they were all brill. Showing such versatility and skill with the many recognisable impressions that they were required to do.

I have been submitting material once again for this programme. I missed out on getting any of my jokes in the first episode that I was at. Which was a shame. As it would have been nice to gauge the audience’s instant reaction. But the first one was so funny with so much clever stuff in there from all the other very talented writers. I really did not mind. I am as ever hopeful that I will sneak something of mine in there before this latest run is over.

I never tire of watching things at the radio theatre. It is such a lovely venue. I would really like to see one of the big music names do one of their small and intimate shows there. As they do for Radio 2 from time to time. I suspect that would be amazing.

On the way to BBC New Broadcasting House

Last Saturday I experienced the magic of the FA Cup at White Hart Lane. When the team I support Tottenham Hostpur. Took on the team my parents support. And the team I used to watch regularly when I was a teenager. I went with my mum to the game. She is a Wycombe Wanderers season ticket holder. So she got me my ticket for the match. Which meant we were in the away end with the Chair Boys fans.

We travelled to the game on one of the sixteen supporters coaches laid on. Fair play to Buckinghamshire as a whole. They really got behind the team and made a great effort. The fans looked stunning in the light and dark blue colours. And they made plenty of noise for the team.

The coach journey was comfortable, smooth and they even served hot drinks to buy on the way there and the way back. It was all very civilised. We got to the ground just after one o’clock. And the coach handily dropped us right outside a burger van. Which fulfilled our food requirements.

After soaking up the atmosphere outside for a bit. We met up with my Uncle and Cousin and made our way in to the stadium. We grabbed a pre-match beer to calm the nerves. As the place filled up with lots of very excited Wanderer’s supporters. We then headed out to take our seats and watch the players warm up.

The game itself was an emotional roller coaster. With me wanting Wycombe Wanderers to do really well but Spurs to actually win and go through. So when Wycombe were two nil up after the first twenty-five minutes. I was feeling some mixed emotions. Really pleased for Wycombe, while at the same time thinking my team were about to crash out of the cup. That was the half time score line.

In the second half Tottenham pulled it back to two all. And I was starting to think they could go on to win it. Then having already made our three substitution’s Kieran Trippier had to go off injured. Leaving us down to ten men. Not long after this from out of nowhere Wycombe go three-two up with a great header. Now I am really worried.

Fortunately a minute or so later Dele Alli equalises. I am thinking that it will be a draw with a replay back at Adams Park. So a good day for Wycombe. They get a lucrative second game. Which Tottenham could still progress from. Then from out of nowhere late in to injury time Spurs grab a winner.

I instantly see the Blue’s manager Gareth Ainsworth. Who had been kicking every ball drop to his knees and start beating the ground out of frustration. He had been so close to pulling off a big shock. And had just experienced that rug being pulled from under his feet right at the very death.

Wycombe Wanderers were a credit to him, the town and their fans. They were immense and gave a Premier League side a good run for their money. In fact I will happily admit that it was down purely to luck in the end. That my team progressed. Well done to Wycombe Wanderer’s and everyone involved with the club.

My friend Andy Holmes is soon to become the Political Reporter for BBC Three Counties Radio. I mean what a time to be covering this particular area of expertise. It will keep him busy. He decided he wanted to take a look round the area, he would be covering. So I said that I would go along with him to keep him company on the drive around Buckinghamshire, Hertfordshire and Bedfordshire.

Just think of it as a low budget remake of The Trip with Steve Coogan and Rob Brydon. Without the exotic location’s, six star restaurants and Michael Caine impressions. It was a nice way of catching up with a mate.

Plus very useful for him to find his way around. And get a feel of how the landscape of these places sits. For me it was a reminder of how lucky I am to live around here. With all the interesting villages and beautiful countryside. It was a fun day. I wish him all the best in his new role.

I went along to the Elstree Studios to see a recording of the E4 show Virtually Famous. It is hosted by the very funny Chris Ramsey. I saw him do some stand up at the Limelight Theatre in Aylesbury about five years ago and he was brilliant. The two team captain’s are Sean Walsh. Who I also have seen perform live in Tring.

And Vicky Pattison, who for a stunning looking lady sure likes her chocolate’s and crisp’s. She was snacking on them during proceedings. They were both excellent and very amusing. The other guests were Binky Felstead, Dane Baptiste, Joel Dommett and one of my favourite comedian’s Jimmy Carr.

It was a very entertaining and funny afternoon. Everybody playing their part in that but for me Jimmy Carr, as ever stole the show. Always razor sharp and totally on the ball. Happy to go to where ever he needs to for a laugh, no taboo subjects. He will just say it if he thinks it’s funny.

Joel takes a bit of stick regarding an online incident that he was involved in. If you do not know what I am talking about just google him. So another fun afternoon in a television studio. Watching the magic happen. Nice to see Andy Collins there on warm up duties to. That place is like his second home.

I also went to the famous Pinewood Studios to see a couple of episodes of the quiz show Debatable being filmed. It is presented by Patrick Kielty. Who is always good fun. It is made in a cosy little studio with a small and intimate audience. Taking their place on the celebrity panel, when I was there. We had Rick Edwards, Jonathan Edwards and Ann Widdecombe. Ann was lovely, very friendly and happy to chat to anyone. I am a fan of quizzes. It was good fun to play along in my head with the contestants, while there in the studio.

I also cannot fault the hospitality with a nice cup of tea and some biscuits supplied during the break between the two shows. It was Patrick Kielty’s birthday. So we did very briefly sing to him as a treat. You will probably be quite surprised about this. But I believe that he was planning on going out for a few celebratory drinks. He also had a further six shows to film the day after. So I hope they all went well for him.

I am up north this weekend to attend my friend’s wife’s 40th Birthday Party. Which I am really looking forward to. It will be nice to attend one, that is not mine and that I have not had the stress of organising. So that will be a lot of fun. And a great chance to catch up with them and their family.

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

Neil Quigley

Tag Archives: The FA Cup

Food for Thought

Les Good Times

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