Tag Archives: theatre

Food and Funny

April 2, 2022 Neil

Due to the situation over the last two years most of the comedy nights I had been to were open air events. A couple of weeks ago for the first time in a very long time I went to a “normal” comedy night inside, something which at one point was a monthly occurrence. A friend of mine was down in London for the day so my girlfriend and I decided to book a hotel and plan a night out in town meeting up with my mate beforehand. Unfortunately owing to a string of unexpected developments this did not happen but even though that was the real reason why we organised it, we still had a great time.

We had booked tickets to the 99 Comedy Club in Covent Garden. It was being held at a University Student Union bar which gave it a real air of nostalgia. We arrived and had to go down about four flights of stairs to get to where it was taking place. It was a bigger area than I was expecting with a civilised queue for the bar. As it was an actual college venue the drink prices were favourable for central London, therefore we had a couple of glasses of wine each that were it is fair to say better quality than we were expecting.

There were three acts in total on the bill plus the compere. One of the reasons we had picked this gig was because I like the comedian Chris McCausland and he was performing. I have always found him funny on television but I had not seen him live. He was the opening act and he was brilliant as I expected. I like his style and I think he has some great and obviously unique material, so that was a good start to the show. Between each of the acts they had an interval so you could go to the bar or the facilities.

The next comedian on stage was Marlon Davis who I had seen before. His set was slightly disrupted by a drunk member of the audience which I always find a bit annoying. But he was having some fun with her and seemed to be enjoying the situation. He appears to have quite an innocent way and doing some quite gritty jokes which works very well, I think. There are so many excellent comedians up and down the country get out to see them if you can, one thing we all need at the moment is a laugh.

The final act was Fin Taylor who you might recognise from The Mash Report or Have I Got News For You. I thought he was very funny and would happily see him again. It was a well-run night with three very good comedians. The show lasted about two hours and was finished by half past ten, giving us time to have a quick drink at a pub on the way back to the hotel, as well as one in the bar when we got back to where we were staying. Comedy and a few drinks is always a classic combination for a good night out.

Before we went to the comedy club we had dinner in a nice little place in Leicester Square that we discovered last year. It is called the Cork and Bottle. From the outside it just looks like an old shop front but you go in then down some stairs and it is actually a cosy French style wine bar. That happens to do very nice food. We had booked a table there this time but we have managed to walk in and get a seat previously. They do provide gluten free food options and they were great with me and my coeliac requirements.

I had the Pumpkin and Butternut Squash Curry with rice which is amazing. Not sure why but I seemed to be very hungry so I also had some Brie with Gluten Free bread and a huge bowl of ice cream for dessert. And as it was of course a wine bar it was all washed down with two very nice glasses of Rioja. Lynda and I both like it there and it is fast becoming one of our go to places in London when we fancy some food and drink in nice relaxed surroundings.

I appreciate all I seem to do is to go out and eat a lot. I would like to say that is not true and I do lots of other things in my free time but last Saturday Lynda and I did go out for a nice meal in St Albans. The key thing when finding a restaurant nowadays is that they have to be able to cater for a Coeliac like me. I have an app on my phone that is set up to suggest such places all over the country. We found one that was called Lussmans that had been recommend by several people who have the same condition as me and who had been there.

When we arrived we were shown upstairs to our table and they took our jackets to the cloak room before we were seated. Our waitress came over to me and explained the gluten free options and the steps they take there when preparing food. That instantly put my mind at rest. The food was lovely. I had the pulled pork and lentils dish for my starter followed by a cod and shrimps creation with leek and apples for my main. As I have said before you must always finish a meal with something sweet so I had the dark chocolate mousse for my pudding.

They had a gluten free beer on the menu that I had not seen before so I decided to try a bottle of that. It was called Green’s and it was really nice, so I will be looking out for that in the future. After I had finished that which was only for research purposes you understand I then had a couple of glasses of a very nice medium priced red wine that they had.

It was an enjoyable dining experience. The Staff were brilliant. Once we had finished we retrieved our coats and then found a pub to have some more drinks in. I am not saying we picked the place that all the locals liked but no word of a lie the Mayor was there standing at the bar wearing his chains, I presumed as a nice welcoming party for my entrance. I really wanted to see if he would let me borrow them for a photo but I never got round to asking him in the end.

Grand National 2018 — If I was Mayor what I would wear!

It was Mother’s Day last Sunday so I went to my parent’s house to cook dinner for the whole family to give my mum a day off. I did roast beef with carrots, peas, sprouts, cauliflower and broccoli as well as roast potatoes, parsnips, Yorkshire puddings for those that were allowed them and gluten free gravy. I am not saying I am the greatest cook in the world but I do produce a nice roast or a decent steak meal when I am required to.

I am also a terrible judge of portion sizes so it is fair to say I filled my Mum, Dad and Sister up with their food to such an extent that they all needed a two hour break before they felt ready to face pudding. Although I do not cook for more than one person very often I quite enjoy it when I do and even I was impressed with how well this last effort turned out. We had a relaxing afternoon just having a good old chat and a bit of a laugh. I did also get her a card and present to. I am not looking for a medal or anything but I did the washing up myself. By which I mean I put everything in the dishwasher and turned it on.

Like most of the country I have been doing a lot of remote working recently but in the last month I have started to slowly return to the work place. I am in up to three days a week now, which is great as I like the place where I work. There is always lots going on and you never know who you might bump in to and who might be sound checking outside ready for their performance on The One Show that evening. The worst thing about it is the daily commute. The trains are often rammed and it takes up a lot more time to travel there and back again, time that I was previously using as part of my exercise regime. It is funny how quickly you can adapt your routine when you need to. I am just about getting the hang of it again now.

England have played a couple of football friendlies as the Premier League took a break for a week. I was delighted to see Harry Kane go past Gary Lineker and draw level with Bobby Charlton’s total goals for England tally of 49. That was the benchmark for such a long time until Wayne Rooney scored 53 goals during his career for his country. Kane is just four goals behind Rooney. He is clearly going to become the greatest goal scorer of all time for England. He has also played 52 less games that Wayne did in total so far. I am a big Spurs fan so I know how great he is as I see it week in week out but I feel sometimes that he does not always get the respect he deserves for his goal scoring achievements.

Last night we went to see an amateur production of Evita at the Eric Morecambe Centre in Harpenden. It is where the comic genius lived and it was the first time that I had been to the venue that was named in his honour. The reason we went to see it was to support Lynda’s cousin who was playing in the Orchestra. It is a great show which I have seen a few times before. The cast were excellent and it was all done as true to the original as possible. It is always pleasing to see people performing on stage just for the pure enjoyment and nothing else.

I am looking forward to next week as at last I get to go to the Aintree Festival once again. I have been many times over the years and it is always a great few days. I go and see my mate Jeff and stay with him. We go to Ladies Day on the Friday before partying in Liverpool city centre in the evening. Then we watch The Grand National some where local the next day. It is always fun and normally takes me at least a week to recover from it. I will tell you what it was like this year next time we speak.

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

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

Happy Birthday To Me

December 18, 2021 Neil

It was my birthday the other Friday the tenth of December. As you get older in life some people tend not to celebrate birthdays that much and even try to ignore and forget them. I am very much of the philosophy that each one should be suitably marked. Achieving another year on the planet is no small feat so you really should reward yourself for your effort I feel. I only tend to have a party on what I consider landmark birthdays and as my next one of those is not for a few years yet this time I enjoyed a weekend in London.

I think as far as I can remember since I have been an adult at least, I have taken control and planned exactly what I was doing for my special day, be that a party, a weekend away or just a night out. This time however it was slightly different. My girlfriend Lynda is a good organiser of things and she told me around six months ago that she had booked us both something to do on the evening of my birthday in London and that I should keep it free. A couple of months later she admitted that she had also arranged another surprise for me on the Saturday evening.

With two events planned over two nights it made sense to stay in London for the whole weekend. Together we booked a very nice hotel to stay in for a couple of nights. That took a lot of thought as we were trying to get the location right, which she was attempting to suggest without giving the game away about what we were doing of course. We settled on The Great Scotland Yard Hotel just off Whitehall. I managed to organise to work from London on the Friday and after I had finished I walked across town to meet Lynda who had already checked into the hotel. As soon as you went in and met the staff you could instantly tell that it was a well run establishment.

I collected my key from reception and then went to the room to see Lynda. At this point I still had no idea what we were doing but I knew we had to leave in about ten minutes, so I had a quick cup of tea and opened some cards before it was time to quickly get changed and head out. She obviously had to lead the way as I did not know where we were going. Then all of a sudden we were standing in the queue at The Garrick Theatre waiting to go in and see The Drifters Girl. It stars the brilliant Beverly Knight and as you have probably guessed it is the story of the Drifters. I gigged with the group on my birthday in 2007. Just to clarify I was not singing it was a dinner and dance at a huge venue in Yeovil. I was the DJ and they were the Cabaret. They were great and it was amazing to watch them from the side of the stage.

I am a fan of their music. They have released some great and very memorable songs. We had good seats near the front of the stalls and Lynda had the foresight to pre-order some drinks so it was not long before I was enjoying a red wine. I ordered us some interval drinks to because well it was my birthday. The show was fantastic, the whole cast were wonderful and most of them had to play multiple roles, that they did perfectly and very cleverly. Beverly Knight was excellent she has such a sensational voice and her American accent was perfect. It is a very slick and well put together show. By the encore we were all on our feet singing and dancing along to the songs. Lynda had done very well with the first surprise, I thoroughly enjoyed it!

After the show we went across the road to the Cork & Bottle Wine Bar in Leicester Square. It is a little downstairs place where we decided to go for a bit more wine and some late night food. They had a few gluten free options and I ended up with a carrot and peanut curry with rice, which was very nice. We stayed in there until closing time and then made our way back to the hotel. The bar there was already closed and that may not have been a bad thing as we had a full day ahead of us the next day, so it steered us to bed. Due to me being at work it had been quite a long yet enjoyable day. Plus it was my birthday weekend so there was another surprise waiting for me on the Saturday evening.

We had breakfast included in our stay so made sure we got up to enjoy that. As you would expect from the quality of the hotel we were in it was very nice. I had the omelette which was great. Not wanting to waste the day we got organised and went for a walk along the South Bank. There just happened to be a small Christmas Market there, it would have been rude not to have a Mulled Wine while we were there so we did. We then decided we needed some more food so we went to Prezzo as they do a very good gluten free menu. I had some garlic bread and pasta as I was aware we had an afternoon and evening of drinking lined up so thought it best to line the stomach properly. After lunch we returned to the hotel to relax and get changed before the evening entertainment.

The toilet in the room was a bit more advanced shall we say than anything I had ever experienced. I do not want to be too graphic but when you have done what you need to do there is a control panel that offers jets of water followed by a drier option. Therefore it is a good way of reducing paper use in this situation. I had never tried anything like that before but now having experienced it for myself I really want one. It makes everything simpler and yet more exciting. We got dressed up and went to enjoy a drink in the classy hotel bar. We had two things planned for the evening one that I knew about and my second birthday surprise present from Lynda. The first place we were going to was a cocktail bar that she had wanted to go to for a while. That we actually managed to book at table at for this night the last time we were out in London together.

It is a place called Cahoots in Soho. We walked there in the rain which was not ideal but on arrival they showed us to the table we had booked in the underground section. It is designed like a tube station and you sit in little carriage compartments. It is all very nicely done and is set in the 1940’s just after the end of the war. They have a comprehensive list of cocktails many of which are unique to the place. It is very dimly lit and the menu is in a newspaper. My eyesight is not great so I was finding it hard to read it for a laugh Lynda passed me the candle on the table, which I took and titled slightly. I had not realised it was full of wax and managed to drip it all over my black trousers which made them look shall we say a bit suspicious in a certain light, until I managed to fix them a little in the toilet.

The drinks have all sorts of different names while I was there I had a Vera Lynn, a Judy Garland and a Lovely Bunch of Coconuts. The first one came in a glass that was a replica of the singers head. The drinks were great and not normally what I would have ordered ingredients wise but sometimes it is good to try some new things and push the boundaries. Lynda had three cocktails as well including their own version of an Old Fashioned that she really liked and as she is a bit of a connoisseur of that drink that is high praise indeed. I still did not know where we were off to next, although I did know it included us eating at some point. It was back towards the hotel, was all I knew so Lynda led the way once again and we found ourselves in The Strand outside one of the big impressive hotels there.

She had booked us into a very nice restaurant called Indigo. The reason she was taking me there was it only serves gluten and dairy free food. Therefore for the first time since I have been diagnosed as a coeliac I could go in to somewhere that not only could I choose anything off the menu to eat but also somewhere that there would be absolutely no chance of cross contamination. It was such a cool and classy place that had a nice and relaxed vibe to it. I instantly loved it in there and that was before I had seen the wine list or even the menu. It was such a lovely and sweet place for her to book so I could relax, choose whatever I wanted to and enjoy my food.

We of course ordered some wine first which for the record was very good. They then brought us a gluten free roll with diary free bacon sprinkles butter. That combination was sensational and already a great start to the meal. Next up I had the belly pork starter which was fantastic. Not only was the food great but it was like Master Chef “style” presentation to. Lynda had the crab for her starter. My main course was Halibut with crushed potatoes and crab sauce, which again was melt in your mouth good. She had the fish and very chunky chips. Then for pudding I had the most amazing chocolate mousse I think I have ever tasted it was just ridiculous. There was one more surprise when they came out with a piece of chocolate cake with happy birthday written on it and a candle for me to blow out, which I thought was a really nice touch.

I had a wonderful time there and will definitely be going back there again. It is a fine dining place and of course their prices reflect that but I would say the food was worth every penny. If you are coeliac or gluten or dairy free I would recommend you go there as a special treat for a big occasion. If you have no dietary requirements I would still go the food and whole experience you have there is brilliant. It was honestly the perfect place for me to eat out for my birthday. It may well become my go to place when I want to mark a special occasion or just fancy eating at possibly one of the safest places I know for my medical condition.

We then went back to the hotel with full and content stomachs and had a couple more drinks in the bar including some Champagne to toast the occasion. We went to go to bed at a reasonable time but when we got to our room none of our key cards would work. I went to the reception and a security guard came back with me to use the master key but that still did not open it. He then had to radio down for another member of the team who came and stuck a screwdriver in a certain area before producing a conventional key and managing to get us into the room. In the end it took us half an hour longer to get in the room than it should of. Modern technology is great when it works and very annoying when it does not.

On the Sunday we got up and had breakfast. I had the omelette again well if it is not broke do not fix it. We then checked out leaving our bags being looked after by the hotel to spend the afternoon mooching around. We had a look around the Christmas Market in Trafalgar Square, before having a stroll around Convent Garden where the better tree of those two places is located. We then went to have a drink in my favourite pub in London Waxy O’Connor’s just off Leicester Square. I have been going there for years, normally I would have a pint of Guinness but now I am gluten free that is no longer an option so I just had to make do with a pint of cider. I was pleased that I could introduce Lynda to the place for the first time though.

Then as we had obviously not eaten enough food during the weekend we went for a late dinner at another gluten free friendly place Cote Brasserie. I still managed to put away their Toulouse Confit and Crème Caramel for pudding washed down by a glass of red wine. We then decided to go for a walk down The Mall and back through St James Park before having one final drink then calling a close to the weekend. I had a brilliant time and was delighted with both of my birthday surprises. That does really put the pressure on me now though as it is Lynda’s big day in March and it is only fair that I organise something as impressive and clever as what she did, wish me luck!

There is literally never a dull moment with my football team Tottenham Hotspur. A Covid outbreak among the players and the coaching staff led to a couple of our games being postponed. This may mean as we refused to play in effect we could be removed from the Europa Conference. I am totally fine with that as I have said before despite the fact we were in it I could never really see the point of it. We lost a few Premier League games but that was agreed and other clubs have been granted that right earlier in the season anyway for the same reason. It is a shame though as we were just starting to get in to a rhythm and put a few wins together. But the health of the players and their families is more important than anything else of course. I look forward to seeing what happens when we return to action. Come of you Spurs!

Christmas Day is only a week away. I have nearly finished all my present shopping which is pretty good for me. I am just going to have a quiet day with my parents on the actual day. Then on Boxing Day I am planning to go and see Tottenham play Crystal Palace before disappearing for a few days to a hotel with Lynda to relax and build ourselves up for New Year’s Eve. It should be fun we are staying at a bit of a quirky hotel. which I will tell you more about next time we speak. Whatever you are doing have a great Christmas, eat, drink and be merry!

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

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

Fortune Favours The Brave

November 20, 2021 Neil

It already seems like a long time ago now but I hope you had a nice fireworks night and you got the chance to go to a big display to see the sky lit up with lots of bright colours. As a child I was really scared of fireworks so I hated going to those things but as an adult I grew to like them and ended up hosting plenty of bonfire night events over the years. My girlfriend went to one in St Albans where they had twenty minutes worth of fireworks set to the music from James Bond. She had a video of some of it on her phone that she showed me and it looked spectacular.

I did not manage to see any fireworks in person this year. My sister had been invited to a Wedding Reception on the Saturday of that weekend. She has a dog that is sadly getting very old now and does not like being left on her own at the best of times. Let alone when it was likely there would be lots of loud bangs going off, so I agreed to dog sit for her. The animal and I generally get on alright so when I got there she came over to me and had a stroke with a bit of fussing. It is a pleasing site when a dog greets you wagging their tail.

I had a list of instructions of what to do including what time and how much food I could give her and also what time she was allowed to have the various tablets she requires, that she takes with honey. That is now something I am thinking of adopting when I have to take any tablets now. We both went into the living room and I turned the TV on. I put the volume up reasonably loud to try to drown out any fireworks and because after years of headphone wearing my hearing is not the best. I chose what we watched though just to try to at least give the illusion that I was in charge.

I managed to get the dog to have her food and tablets at the correct times. Then she settled down and fell asleep on my foot, which was good as she was no trouble at this point and bad as it meant I could not move for about two hours. We did have some issues as a few times she thought my sister was upstairs so I had to take her up and down twice to prove that she wasn’t. The dog’s legs are a bit weak and she cannot do the stairs anymore so I had to carry her up and down. When my sister got back after her night out I am not sure who was more relieved to see her, the dog or me?

I had my Flu Jab a couple of weeks ago and for the first time I got a bruise in the area that I had the injection. I am not sure if I somehow upset the nurse who was doing it or it was just one of those oddities. Anyway I felt fine afterwards. A few days ago due to me being both an asthmatic and a Coeliac I had my Covid Booster. It was very quick and simple and I suffered no big issues from having it. Anything that means I can keep going out to enjoy the things I like doing and that helps me not to die is fine with me. I am very happy to trust medical science as I have been relying on it since I was born.

Last Saturday afternoon Lynda and I went to the theatre to see a play that has been playing in London since 1989. It is on at the Fortune Theatre near Covent Garden, where it has been since the day it opened. Obviously as it was a play I had not seen before it was also a venue that I had not visited either. It is quite a small compact little theatre, the toilets are particularly cosy, but it is as you would expect such as place to look and feel. It does of course have a bar so we enjoyed a glass of wine in our seats before the performance and during the interval.

The play was The Woman in Black. I do not want to give too much away but it is a ghost story. It has a cast of two, Terrence Wilton and Max Hutchinson both of whom were brilliant. The production I think is very cleverly done it is atmospheric with a few little surprises for the audience along the way. The story unfolds and builds nicely and I enjoyed it. As I have said many times before I just love the whole experience of going to the theatre and the connection with a live performance developing in front of you.

After the theatre we went for dinner. There is an Indian style place near Covent Garden that Lynda likes. She has actually got some of this restaurant’s cook books and has made me a few dishes from it during the last eighteen months. Due to the world closing down she had not been there to eat for a while and was keen to do so. And as they have a decent selection of gluten free meals on the menu it seemed like the obvious choice as we were in the area. It is called Dishoom. They only offer bookings at certain times or if there is big group of you. Otherwise it is simply on a first come first serve basis, it is extremely popular.

I am not a fan of queuing for anything but I was aware how good the food was in this place and we had plenty of time on our side so we joined the line outside. One of the staff comes past with a tablet and books you in and then you just wait your turn. They did bring us out a bit of Chai Tea to enjoy while we were there. The queue moved at a reasonable speed and we found ourselves at the front door with the next available table for two set to be ours. We got ushered in to the front desk. It is huge inside and has two floors. We got taken to our table which was in the corner of the conservatory area. I thought it was a great location.

To celebrate the fact that we had actually made it there at last we had a cocktail each. I had their version of a Pina Colada which was lovely. I had told them I was coeliac when we booked in so there was already a gluten free menu for me on the table. I then got given the allergen folder to aid my decision in choosing dishes that were safe for me to have. I had a nice selection to pick from so I went for the following the Mutton Curry, Paneer Tikka and Gun Powder Potatoes along with some rice. The food was amazing it was such a tasty and filling meal. The staff were brilliant and it was a really nice dining experience.

After the meal we decided to go and have another drink somewhere before we got the train home. We found the Cork and Bottle Wine Bar in Leicester Square. From the front it just looks like a disused shop but when you go in and walk down the stairs it is a nice little traditional wine bar in the Parisian style. Obviously they had an impressive selection of wine in there. I tried a large glass of their Rioja which was very nice. We only stayed for one relaxing drink in there before deciding to head home. It was an excellent Saturday out. You cannot go wrong with the theatre followed by an exquisite meal then rounded off with a few drinks, just perfect.

England have qualified for the World Cup in Qatar next year then. It is taking place during November and December. That is going to be so strange for me having it on during my birthday. Supporting the national team in a competition during the winter is going to be extremely out of the ordinary. We made quite light work of getting there and winning our group. It will be tough of course but we have got a pretty decent squad containing a lot of young players who all being well could be available for the next two or three tournaments so it could make for some interesting times going forward, hopefully.

Once again during this international break Harry Kane has proved what a world class striker he is, never mind the opposition you can only score against what is in front of you. He will almost certainly beat Wayne Rooney’s total and become England’s all time top goal scorer. He has already got more competitive goals than the current record holder. I am not sure why but I still do not feel Harry always gets the respect he deserves from all of the England fans. He is a very special player and proving to be a decent captain. I might be a bit biased of course, but his goals suggest I am right.

I have been very impressed with the way Antonio Conte has come to Spurs and already made a huge impression. He has taken control and began changing things plus been honest and upfront and about the task facing him. You cannot argue with this guy’s passion and determination that is why he is a winner. I never wanted to have Mourinho at the club I just felt he was not right for us. I liked Nuno but he just seemed like a stop gap and I think he knew that himself probably. Conte needs to see this through as at least a three year project I think, it will not happen overnight but this is as excited as I have been for a while about a new Tottenham manager.

I am going to see us play Leeds United at home tomorrow. It will be a difficult game as they all are. He still has not had much time to work with the whole squad yet. It is tricky coming in mid-season when you want to change things and put your stamp on it but the games just keep coming thick and fast. We are still in all the cups at the moment and if he can grab one of those in his first half a season then that will be an amazing start. I expect there to be plenty of ups and downs before the end of the season, but getting the first league win under Conte this weekend would be a big bonus. Come on you Spurs!

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

I am going to Taste of London at the Tobacco Docks today I will tell you what that was like the next time we speak. Have fun and we will catch up again soon. Stay safe! Cheers Neil.

A Right Spectacle

November 6, 2021 Neil

The clocks went back last Saturday which always seems to leave me a bit disorientated for a week or so even though I did take advantage of the extra hours’ sleep. I think that when you reach November the year just seems to disappear before your very eyes. I am preparing myself the best I can for winter being an Asthmatic and Coeliac I am having my Flu Jab today and my Covid booster injection in ten days. I have so much booked in for the next three months I have no time to be ill so I am happy to take every precaution available. Plus I do have two older parents so I need to do what I can to help protect them.

I have been wearing glasses since I was five and contact lenses since I was twelve, as I have terrible eyesight. If I can I prefer wearing the contacts not because I dislike the look of my glasses it is more, that I do not like the feel of them on my head. I like to be frameless when I am out and about ideally. That said I very much require both of them to function and see during the day. I left Lynda’s place the other night wearing my lenses. As I have spent the last twenty odd years in radio and I am often in studios my phone is mostly always on silent.

When I arrived at my place and parked up I picked up my phone and noticed four missed calls and a message from her. The message was a picture of my glasses with the text “Did you forget something?” At one time I had several pairs of glasses but one by one I managed to break all of them and I now have only one pair. I literally cannot see anything without assistance and there was no way that I could keep the lenses in all night. Lynda lives about forty minutes away from me but I had no choice other than to jump straight back into the motor and go and pick them up.

That meant I got to enjoy an extra eighty minute round trip that of course ended with me doing the very same journey that I had done earlier. I was starting to understand what it was like for Bill Murray when he was filming “Ground Hog Day” Although he did at least get to correct his mistakes in affect in real time. This incident has made me decide to order a new pair of glasses as a back-up. As to be fair if my current ones broke I would be in a bit of trouble and before you suggest it no I am definitely not getting one of those chains to keep them around my neck, not yet anyway.

The other Saturday another fairly rare event took place I watched a new film. Lynda is a big fan of Denzel Washington and she had for a while wanted to see his latest movie. I had managed to put this off for a bit but eventually I ran out of excuses and agreed to see it. This decision was helped by the offer of a gluten free pizza from Pizza Express, which we had delivered before we settled down to watch the film. It was really nice and already with my limited amount of experience of being Coeliac I have discovered decent pizza bases that I can eat are hard to come by. This one was good so I will be using them for a take away again in the future.

The film is called The Little Things it also stars Rami Malek and Jared Leto. It is kind of a murder mystery come cop thriller with a former detective demoted to an officer and shipped out of town finding himself accidentally back at his old station assisting a younger cop with a case against the wishes of his bosses. I am sure you can guess who is playing what role but just in case Denzel is the old guy and Rami the younger bloke with Jared playing the prime suspect. It is good but quite intense and at the same time it is a little odd in places. At the end of it you are left to make your own mind up about what happened you do not really get any definitive answers.

I enjoyed it and it kept my attention all the way through despite some accusations that I talked too much during it. I thought I was enhancing it with my own sort of director’s commentary but that was not the case apparently. You cannot really go wrong with the quality of actors that were in it. Any police movie put together in this way does feel a bit like Lethal Weapon to me, although the dynamic of that was actually reversed with the younger guy being a bit more stable than the more experienced man. There was a bit of blood and gore but it was not too bad, I think I only had to cover my face and look away from the screen a couple of times.

We went to the theatre last Sunday afternoon to see The Mirror and the Light. It is the third and final part of Hilary Mantel’s Wolf Hall trilogy. It is playing at the Gielgud Theatre on Shaftesbury Avenue. At school I was really into History I did it as one of my GSCE options and got a B in it as it happens. One of my favourite periods of history was that of The Tudors. That is where the play is set as it tells the story of the demise and ultimately the death of Thomas Cromwell. Who had worked his way up from the gutter to being Henry the Eighth’s right hand man, much to the annoyance of many of the nobility at the time!

The whole thing is very cleverly put together, it is basically the story of his trial but you see how he ended up where he did due to the things he did and the decisions he made, as the play times shifts between events and the questioning at his hearing. The cast as you would expect for a Royal Shakespeare Company production are fantastic. The brilliant Ben Miles is Cromwell and Nathaniel Parker is Henry VIII. I thoroughly enjoyed the show it is brilliantly written and performed. It is fast paced and they get through a lot of action and dialogue. It is certainly worth seeing if you get the chance. In case you were wondering the wine there was very good and only £5 a glass, which is not that bad for London theatre land.

After the show we went to a place that offered gluten free fish and chips. It is called the Mayfair Chippy. Relax it also does regular fish and chips to, they cater for everyone. We had booked a table there at a time that meant we could have a very leisurely walk from the theatre. The food was really good. The piece of cod that I had was excellent and it came with chips and mushy peas. I also had a gluten free battered wally which if you are wondering what that is as I was it is a pickle. We had a lovely meal in there and a nice glass of Rioja. It was the perfect end to an entertaining afternoon in the West End.

I have a very small amount of shares in a few race horses through an excellent company called Owners Group. They are brilliant in that they send you weekly updates on your horses, lots of videos of them and they give you the chance to visit them at their stables. And when your horse is running you can enter a ballot to get an Owners Badge and be with your horse before and after its race. I have one horse trained by Dan Skelton called Rock Legend who finished third in his last race a few weeks ago. It was his first run of this season so we are hoping he will be better for having it and hopefully will be a bit more competitive in his next outing.

I also have one with the ace Julia Camacho called Proclaimer. After returning from a wind operation he has had a very good last couple of months winning his last three races in a row. He is a wonderful horse. The day after his last win we got sent a lovely video of him back at his stable enjoying a couple of well deserved Polo mints. I am very much looking forward to seeing him run again soon. Four in a row would be a massive ask but it does seem that he is improving all the time. And he is still relatively young so hopefully we can have some fun with him during the next couple of years.

Lastly I have a horse with the Champion Trainer Paul Nicholls OBE in Somerset called Stage Star. He was the first horse I got shares in and I have been to the stable to meet him. He made his debut last season and managed to win, come second and then third. A couple of weeks ago he had his first race this season his first over hurdles and won very comfortably. He looks like a very exciting prospect who we are hoping that if he keeps progressing could find himself featuring in some big races. He has already had runs at Ascot and Aintree. I am really looking forward to seeing him get back out on the track again soon.

One of my favourite television programmes is back on this month. They have not announced exactly when yet which does seem a bit odd. As if you want people to watch something it does help to tell them when it is on. I am talking about I’m A Celebrity Get Me Out Of Here. They are back in the Welsh castle again this year instead of in the Australian Jungle. However that does not alter the thing I enjoy most about it which is Ant & Dec. This programme gives them the perfect vehicle to just mess about and have fun at the celebrities’ expense. I have purposely avoided seeing who is rumoured to be going in as I liked to be surprised during the first episode.

I have met countless former camp mates over the years and they all say it is the best experience ever, even though from the outside it can look pretty miserable at times. I am such a fan of the show when I went to Australia the other year I spent three nights at the hotel that they go to when they get kicked out of the jungle. It is an amazing hotel and it was fun seeing all the areas that I recognised from many years of watching the show. Weirdly one of the Bell Boys there does look a little bit like Dec. Maybe it is his Australian cousin or something. I must say I prefer it when they all get on and have a laugh together rather than when they are arguing and falling out. That is what I want to see this year.

I was at the Tottenham Hotspur game against Manchester United last Saturday evening. We played well for the first ten minutes then totally disappeared from the game. It was an awful performance and the longer it went on the worse we got. The confidence just seemed to drain from all the players and they started making errors.

During the second half I think that was the worst atmosphere I have seen at the new stadium. There were boos at half time and full time. People are entitled to their opinions but there we no boos from me as I will not turn on the players and would rather support and encourage no matter how bad things are.

Since that game of course we have sacked Nuno Espirito Santo and replaced him with Antonio Conte. The question is if he was the man we wanted and we were linked to him in the summer why did we go for Nuno, surely it would have been better for Conte to be in from the start. How we look a more interesting proposition now when we are possibly in a worse position I do not know. Like many things that happen at Spurs it does not make much sense. I will support the club whoever is at the helm and whoever is out on the pitch wearing the shirt. All I ask for in return is 100% effort and commitment, playing badly is not a crime but not trying your best is.

I still think we have a better squad of players than they have proved themselves to be during the last three years. But I do not know why they are not performing and bonding. Something has clearly been wrong with the culture of the team for some time and I think the new boss’s biggest challenge is sorting that out. We lost a lot more creativity then many people think when Christian Eriksen went. He was the conductor for me when we were at our best under Mauricio Pochettino. One thing is for sure there is never a dull moment being a fan of this team. Come on you Spurs!

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

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

The Name Game

October 23, 2021 Neil

Despite the obvious mask wearing in certain situations things in my life do now seem to be more or less back to normal in the things that I am doing and the places that I am going at least. That said I am still trying not to get too close to strangers and I keep my distance if I am able to. For me personally with how things look globally and in the United Kingdom especially that just seems like common sense and good practice to me to protect myself and those around me as much as possible. It is no real extra inconvenience plus as it gets colder the mask will help keep me warm I reckon.

A couple of weekends ago my girlfriend and I ventured up north to see some friends of ours. We went to stay at one of their houses for the night. This required a Saturday afternoon trip up the M1. It had been a while since I had been on it for that length of time but I think it is fair to say it is not one of the most exciting stretches of road. We were on it as far as Stoke and then it was A roads all the way to our destination of Congleton in Cheshire. It was somewhere I had never been before but on arrival my first impressions were that it seemed like a nice place.

When we arrived at their house as it had been a journey of over half an hour I required a cup of tea. That is simply a basic human right when you have been travelling any distance as far as I am concerned. We were meeting some other mates there so there were six of us in total. The plan was to hit the town and have a few drinks then some food. Our hosts had very kindly done some extra research and found a place that did gluten free meals and booked us a table there. Even before we left the house we may have had a couple of glasses of fizz each, which is of course the perfect way to begin any event.

It was about a ten minute walk to the High Street and our first stop was this rather dark and trendy looking Cocktail Bar. We arrived in there just as their Happy Hour was starting so Lynda and I enjoyed some “two for one” Margaritas. We only stayed for one drink before moving on to another very friendly pub. Then it was time to head to the table that they had booked us for dinner. When we got there and tried to order our food they had run out of nearly everything on the menu. We did all however manage to find something to eat. I had a gluten free halloumi burger with salad. To be fair to the staff they were really nice and looked after us well, all things considered.

Next up we went to a bar that we had passed on the way up that I really wanted to go to as it was called Quigley’s. Naturally the first thing I did was had my picture taken pointing to the sign outside. I was tempted to show them my driving licence at the bar to see if I could get a discount on my drinks. I did not do that in the end but I did swan around like I owned the place. It was a nice pub but it did have quite a young feel to it. I think it is safe to say we were the oldest people in there, but I liked it and would definitely go back if for no other reason than its magnificent name.

We then stopped off at one more pub on the way back to the house. There was meant to be a DJ in drag performing in there but sadly the event had been cancelled. We stayed for a drink anyway as they did have some decent music on. When we got back to where we were staying it was time for dessert. Lynda had made a gluten free Cherry Bakewell Cheesecake so I had two large helpings of that and may be a couple of glasses of red wine before we all decided to call it a night and head to bed.

The next morning our host cooked us a huge breakfast which I really enjoyed. You cannot beat a nice fry up after a night out on the town it kind of just resets the body does it not? Once we had digested enough food to be able to move off our seats we jumped in the car and headed back down the M1 to home. It was a fun night out in a new place that had lots of decent venues to spend time in. The best of them of course was the one named after me. I do not know if it is owned by any distant relatives or not but I am really hoping they could become the next nationwide pub chain. That would be pretty cool!

As part of her birthday present for this year I took my mum to see the Elvis Tribute Artist World Tour at the Waterside Theatre in Aylesbury recently. It was the first time I had been to see this show to. It features a backing band and three different Elvis Tribute Acts all of whom have won the competition that is held in Graceland as part of Elvis Week. That is basically the premier event when it comes to pretending to be the great man and is technically endorsed by his estate as they are involved in the staging of the celebration. As you can imagine as a result of this I was expecting big things from these guys.

First on it was Dean Z who came on dressed as 1950’s Elvis and did a few of his early hits followed by some of his early movie songs. He is from America and did look a lot like him and certainly displayed his famous energy on stage. Then we had an English performer in Ben Thompson who covered a lot of the film songs. He had a fantastic voice and was really good. They all have the moves and the way he talked down to a fine art, that is clearly why they have all won the big contests to be the best portrayal of him.

Dean Z then returned wearing the leather suit from the famous 1968 Comeback TV Special. That was the thing that kind of relaunched his singing career after his movies had stopped. You could not fault his effort and stage craft like the man himself Dean is clearly a born entertainer who loves being up on stage. He really did seem to be enjoying himself and to be fair quite a few of the women in the audience also seemed to be really enjoying it to. The first two performers were on for an hour and fifteen minutes then it was the interval.

As mum and I were having a proper rock and roll night out I got us some water and ice- cream during the break. The final “Elvis” was the winner of The World’s Greatest Elvis (apart from the real one of course). His name is Shawn Klush and I had heard of him before. He has toured on his own many times but for whatever reason I had not quite managed to see him in action until now. He was portraying the seventies Las Vegas and touring Elvis complete with of course the white jumpsuit and silk scarfs to hand out to the ladies and also the occasional gentlemen in the audience.

I thought he was excellent, he looked the part and had all the moves but he looked very natural doing them, which is not always the case with some tributes. His attention to detail was spot on I thought. Does he have the exact same voice as the real one of course not nobody can sing with the range, power and emotion that the actual Elvis Presley used to but Shawn can really sing and entertain and he does try to keep it as authentic as possible. He did eighty minutes on stage.

During the whole evening they did so many of the hits finishing as Elvis always did in his live concerts with “Can’t Help Falling in Love” and no encore. By the time that song had finished Elvis was normally in the car and on his way from the venue before the announcement that Elvis had left the building was made. The great thing was all of them were massive fans of the man and his music. They saw it as a celebration of his memory rather than actually believing that they were really him. It was a great night out and I am glad I caught the show happily my mum really enjoyed it to.

We are both big fans of Elvis Presley a couple of years ago we went to see “Elvis” and the London Philharmonic Orchestra play the 02. Elvis was on video and the orchestra were on stage. They were joined by members of “The Kings” TCB band for a few of the songs including his long-term drummer Ronnie Tutt. Sadly he died last weekend at the age of 83. If you watch any of the live footage of Elvis from 1969 until his death you will see Ronnie sitting there just behind him on the drums. The connection they had really comes across in all of their performances.

Last Thursday night Lynda and I had a midweek night out at the theatre for the first time in a very long time. We had managed to get some very good and reasonably priced tickets to see Blithe Spirit at the Harold Pinter Theatre in London. I met her after I had finished work and we grabbed a quick bite to eat at Pizza Express round the corner. I had a rather nice gluten free pizza and a nice glass of red. It was then time to go to the venue for the play. I prefer to get in there a bit early to get to the bar and have a drink before the show and place your order for the interval to avoid any unnecessary queuing.

For the record the Malbec there was very nice I would definitely recommend it. The play was brilliant it starred Jennifer Saunders, who was hilarious and wonderful as she is in every single thing that she does. Just in case you are not aware of it Blithe Spirit is a comedy based around an eccentric clairvoyant “Miss Saunders” who has a talent for bringing back deceased wives so it appears. It is lots of fun and was written by Noel Coward no less. If you fancy a quirky, easy and entertaining night out go and see this show, although you will have to be quick as it is only on until the sixth of November.

Last Saturday as Lynda had been sent a voucher for a free bottle of Prosecco from Prezzo we went there for dinner to take advantage of their generous offer. I quite like it there nowadays as they are fully Coeliac accredited and have a good selection of gluten free meals for me to choose from. We walked there and back so it was quite a healthy evening apart from the three course meal and the bottle of fizz. While we were eating a couple of teenagers came in to eat and they were holding hands over the table and smiling at each other it was lovely to see, although it did make me feel really old to be fair.

I do not watch much television really but I do like a good chat show. I am clearly quite a nosy person as I like finding out people’s secrets or what happened off screen or in their private lives. I have been lucky enough to interview quite a lot of celebrities over the years. Surely it is about time I got given my own chat show Graham Norton cannot go on forever. Mind you I might be wrong but I think the producers may already have Jack Whitehall lined up for that gig. I think I just like the idea of drinking wine and having a laugh with people as that is what I do most weekends anyway.

Neil Quigley & Russell Brand

Tottenham returned from the latest international break with a win away at Newcastle. A good result in the end bearing in mind they were on a high after their recent takeover. We are currently fifth in the Premier League and just four points off the leaders, which if you say it quickly and do not look into it to closely sounds encouraging. We have a difficult game away at West Ham United tomorrow in which anything can happen! They are always up for the games against us and would love to beat us. Hopefully we can nick the three points come on you Spurs!

May I remind you that the clocks go back next weekend so you will get an extra hour in bed or an extra hour partying totally up to you! When the clocks change it always reminds me of somebody I played Sunday football with as a kid. Every single time the clocks altered you could guarantee this lad would always be either an hour early or an hour late for the match that weekend depending if it was October or March. To be fair to him he was consistent, it was the same every year. He was really bright apart from when it came to amending the time on clocks and watches seemingly.

London River Cruise — A well known clock

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

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

Neil Quigley Presenter