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Strictly I’m A Celebrity

November 21, 2020 Neil

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Walk The Line

November 6, 2020 Neil

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Devon Help Us

October 24, 2020 Neil

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Rock Legend

October 10, 2020 Neil

I will be totally honest with you, due to the current ongoing worldwide issue, which I presume you are aware of? I have not been up to that much recently. It really does limit the options of what you are able to do alongside what you personally feel comfortable and happy doing. We are all entitled to do whatever we want as long as we keep to the new required legislation. Personally I am still staying away from most public places. That is simply my own choice.

It is two-fold in that the less people you come into contact with it will reduce the chance of catching the virus yourself or passing it on to a loved one. Plus I do not really want to go to places where things are not as I would normally like them to be. You cannot really relax, you need to be on your guard and be more aware of what is around you. I appreciate this is not overly helpful to the businesses that are trying to keep going in very tough circumstances but it is how I view things at the minute.

Even the simple things in life are more complicated at the moment. If you are going shopping you need to remember your bag for life and a mask now. If you did want a pint in a pub chances are you will have to book a table in advance and then carefully select the five people to join you. At this time my desire for a pint is not greater than all the slight abnormalities I would have to except to have it. Also just for being in the wrong place at the wrong time you may end up having to self-isolate for two weeks.

I am doing everything that I am meant to do wearing a mask when required, keeping my distance from people when I am out. But for this all to work of course we are relying on everybody obeying the rules and being sensible. None of us are enjoying all the new rules in place but I do think if we all play by them, we can ultimately control the virus and equally as importantly possibly come together as local communities. It would be nice if this thing could unite us rather than divide us. At least that would be one benefit from this terrible thing. Sorry getting very John Lennon there to celebrate what would have been his eightieth birthday yesterday.

I have been staying in a lot which I have actually been quite enjoying. The other Saturday night my girlfriend and I had a Cheese and Wine evening. She had been given a big selection of cheese by a friend of hers so the original plan was that we were going to work our way through that. However she had to pop to the shops in the afternoon for something and ended up also buying a baked Camembert plus some Cheese and Onion bread. She had also made Hummus with a selection of vegetables.

I had selected a really nice Rioja to accompany our feast. I am not an expert at pairing wines. I will as a general rule always choose to have that variety with anything. The Camembert came with its own Red Onion style Chutney and we heated the flavoured bread. Needless to say it was delicious. There is really nothing not to like about any hot melted cheese on warm bread. One thing I will say is that if you are sharing a decent sized Camembert between two people with endless dough it is very filling. When you also add the Hummus and the grapes to that mix even when this is enjoyed across an hour, you will be unable to move at the end of it.

It was a very simple but extremely effective meal, although we did totally fail with the initial idea which was to use up the gift Cheese. The late edition to proceedings of the Baked Camembert, lovely though it was meant we did not end up eating any of the Cheese that we had planned to enjoy! Happily, though this does mean that we can have another Cheese and Wine night soon. We will just have to make sure that we do not add to the existing supplies next time as that is counter-productive it would seem.

I find that eating Cheese can lead to some pretty interesting dreams. This is something I am a fan of as I like a decent dream. I like to be entertained while I am sleeping. Have you found that you are either dreaming more or having weird dreams due to the lockdown? One thing I have noticed is that people I talk to or even see on television are starting to make cameo appearances in my dreams on the same night.

I appreciate this makes me sound slightly crazy but I really feel that I have dreamed things in the past that later on actually happen. It has only occurred on a few occasions. Happily they have always been good or positive things, so far at least! Just for the record I am not claiming to be the new Nostradamus. I only predict one thing about every ten years.

I am still keeping up my quite intensive exercise routine. Although I need to with the amount of food I seem to be eating. My girlfriend cooked me a fabulous roast the other week. She used one of Jamie Oliver’s recipe’s for Pork. The best thing about this meal is of course the crackling.

This is an easy thing to get wrong. We have all either broke our teeth on some or found it to be so chewy you have to give up on it. I am delighted to report that the crackling on this occasion was perfect, crispy but easy to chew and not at all tough. The whole meal was fantastic to be fair.

I am still continuing to watch more films than at any time previously due to the fact I am in a lot more and need to keep myself occupied. As a result of this my girlfriend is now trying to find movies that she describes as “Neil Friendly” meaning I will be able to watch them without losing interest. The latest one of these was Ocean’s Eight. I had seen all the Ocean’s movies with George Clooney and Brad Pitt already so I had a good idea of what to expect from it. It is an all-female cast led by the brilliant Sandra Bullock who plays Clooney’s character’s sister from the other films.

It is a good film, the cast are fantastic and it is of course a heist film made in the exact style as the others. It is easy to watch and follow the plot. There are some nice random cameo appearances in it. Then near the end James Corden pops up on screen with a speaking role. The odd thing about this whole franchise of movies is that you find yourself on the criminal’s side supporting them and willing them to achieve the goal they have set themselves. Fun, straight forward entertainment plus everything is better when Helena Bonham Carter is in it.

Did you see that to mark her forty-eighth birthday Gwyneth Paltrow posed naked for a photo in her garden that she then posted on her social media? It was all very tastefully done.

It is my birthday in two months I have not decided what I will be doing for mine yet but rest assured it will not be that. Let us all be thankful that she did not post a video showing us how she makes those intimate candles she sells!

I have a small amount of shares in a small number of horses with the wonderful Owners Group. My own personal stable has increased a bit in the last week. I have added a new horse called “Rock Legend” to my portfolio. He will be trained by Dan Skelton at his stables in Warwickshire. I also have “Proclaimer” who is trained and looked after by Julie Camacho. He has had a few runs this year and has finished in the top four on every occasion. I welcome “Rock Legend” to the group with a name like that I felt that I just had to have him on board.

My other two horses are trained by the brilliant Paul Nicholls at his stables in Somerset. I have been lucky enough to visit the facilities there and they are brilliant. All the horses are so well looked after and cared for. “Force Ten” had a few races last year and will it looks hopefully go hurdling later this month. “Stage Star” is due to make his racecourse debut later this month. It will be great to finally see him in action. He is a lovely horse and he has shown a bit of potential in training.

The Owners Group are fantastic. They send weekly updates on all of my horses to me. When they are allowed they organise stable visits to see the horses and meet the trainers. I get regular videos of them in training and I get the chance to attend races as an owner, when we are allowed to in the current circumstances.

It is wonderful fun and a great insight into the horse racing industry. Plus it is always nice and exciting seeing my horses on the track and competing in races.

There is never a dull moment supporting Tottenham Hotspur. The stress of watching the games I swear takes a few years off your life. We drew with Newcastle at home in the league thanks to some poor finishing and an unbelievable last minute penalty incident. How you can be punished when you are looking in the other direction and just jumping for a ball I really do not know. The current interpretation of that rule needs to be looked at. You can see players every time they are in the penalty area just trying to kick the ball at defenders hands. It is not even subtle.

Then two days later we beat Chelsea on penalties to progress in the League Cup. That was brilliant by the way. I really enjoyed that one I am not going to lie. Two days after that we go through to the group stages of the Europa League after winning 7-2 at home with Harry Kane grabbing a hat trick. That was another top performance from a team whose schedule for games was crazy. It reminded me of when I was thirteen and playing for two age groups at school as well as my Sunday team.

Just three days after that we were away at Manchester United in the Premier League. We concede a penalty inside the first thirty seconds and I am thinking here we go again. We equalised quickly and then soon after were in the lead. They then have a player sent off and we go on to win the game 6-1. Which I still cannot quite believe even now. A great team performance achieved with two key injuries, Dele only on the bench and we still have a certain Gareth Bale to come into the mix.

I am trying not to get too excited about the next few months. But I think there is at least a little room for optimism. I am starting to warm more to Jose Mourinho. Seeing the Amazon documentary has enabled me to see his style of management and has made it easier to understand his team selections and some of the things he says to the media. We could be in for an interesting season, we will lose games, things will not always go our way but I also think that there could be some more memorable moments around the corner. At least I hope so anyway.

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

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

Seals Of Approval

September 26, 2020 Neil

I am not sure if anybody else feels like this but for me this year still seems like it is very much on hold. My plan is to make the best of everything I can do and not worry about the things that I cannot do. We need to be sensible, stick together and look after each other like never before in our lifetimes.

We all deserve the same common courtesy and protection during these unusual times. The world has been through tough times in the past as has Great Britain itself and we will come through this one to. If at the end of it you can hold your head up high and know you have done what was requested and suggested of you to the best of your ability. That is all we can ask of each other.

The other important thing as far as I am concerned is to have a laugh at every opportunity. Life is short, it goes quickly but there is always time for humour and a bit of fun in my world, whatever the situation. In fact I seem to spend a lot of my time laughing at myself for all the stupid things I do during the day. Some weeks being in a house with me is like living with Frank Spencer. For the record they are just tiny silly things that I do nothing dangerous I have certainly never roller skated while I was attached to a bus!

As I have mentioned before I am spending a lot more time at home in light of the current situation. That has led to me watching more films than I would normally do. People are always amazed by not only the lack of movies I have seen but how many classic must see ones I have never seen. I find generally I really have to want to see a film before I am prepared to commit my time to it. Obviously I have more time at the moment so it is much easier for people to get me to sit still and see them as I have fewer excuses available to me to avoid them.

Until recently I had only ever watched one single Quentin Tarantino film. That was Kill Bill. My girlfriend could not believe this and she I think felt I was missing out. Therefore I agreed to watch one of them with her. We decided on Pulp Fiction. I was aware of it, although I do admit that I did not know Bruce Willis was in it. We sat down to see it at her place a few weeks ago.

Once we had firstly made ourselves some home-made Pizza’s. I say we, she made the base and produced a huge selection of toppings and I used these to create my own like a seven year old doing their first ever cooking lesson. I must say they tasted brilliant and were the perfect pre-film meal. You can put as much cheese on as you like when you make them yourself. I do remember visiting a Pizza place before going to the cinema as a kid on a few occasions at least!

Before it started she did explain that the plot line did move about a bit and promised me that it was not too gory as I am not good with that kind of thing. I enjoyed it. The time seemed to go quickly which is always a good sign. It was very easy to watch and follow despite the order that you see the story develop. I had been using the phrase “Zed’s Dead Baby” every time I heard a motorbike go by for the last twenty years and now I know the scene that it was actually from and the film.

The other thing that really surprised me was when Winston Wolfe appeared. I think I may have said out loud it is the bloke from that advert. I have seen several of those adverts for that Insurance firm and I had no idea that the character was from Pulp Fiction. I will be honest now I know this piece of information those adverts suddenly make much more sense.

Over the last three years I have started to do quite a bit of travelling and have visited lots of new countries and places. I decided that I was due a holiday but owing to the current implications of a trip to another country, excluding the fact that these can all change within a very short space of time anyway. I thought that this time I would stay within England.

My girlfriend and I decided we were going to book an Airbnb for a short break somewhere in the United Kingdom. We wanted to go to a place where they had nice beaches that would not be too busy. We did a bit of research on this subject and decided that Norfolk would be a good option. Then we just had to decide on the accommodation. Neither of us had used the holiday rental company before so it took us a while to narrow down the area and shortlist suitable properties.

We decided we wanted to be near to the beach and to the sea. Then we managed to get the choice down to either a Medieval Tower or a nice little cottage on a cliff. In the end we chose the one that had a garden. Therefore the other week we went on a four night break to a little fisherman’s cottage in Scratby, Norfolk. We drove up in her car and arrived to a sunny welcome at our pre-arranged check in time. We got the key to our blue palace for the next few days and moved our things in.

We got a text from our hosts saying that one of them would drop by later that evening to check that everything was alright. It was only a two minute walk to the beach. As soon as we had settled in we then headed off to get some sand between our toes. We walked along the beach to California, which is what the next hamlet along was called. I can confirm there was no Hollywood sign there though. After having a look at our new surroundings we walked the road way back to the cottage.

It had a lovely big secluded back garden with one of those big couple swing chairs at one end. We had a sit in that while toasting the start of our vacation with some Champagne, which was very relaxing in the evening sunshine, I can confirm. My girlfriend made us dinner and we may have also opened a bottle of wine, well we were on our holidays. The host did drop by and stayed in the front garden while we chatted to him. He gave us food suggestions and ideas of things we could do while we were there.

When I was a boy we used to visit a Holiday Park in Hemsby every year for about five years. I always remember having a great time there. As it turned out it was only a few miles down the coast from where we were. Therefore on our first day we had a walk down the beach to Hemsby.

We had an ice-cream and a quick look around the place. I had not been back there for probably about thirty two years. It had not really changed at all, everything looked very familiar it did bring back a lot of memories. We also had a quick game of crazy golf. Obviously it is the taking part not the winning that is the important thing, but for the record I won!

Then we walked a bit of the Norfolk Coastal Path up to Winterton on Sea. There we had a sandwich at the beach cafe. We do really know how to live when we are away. After a brief rest we walked back along the beach to Scratby. One of the best things about a seaside holiday in the United Kingdom is surely the Fish and Chips you can get on the coast. I was really looking forward to this treat. Now I had not had this meal for a while so I had possibly set my expectation levels too high, but we were both disappointed with the standard of fish and chips that we were given from the local chippy.

The next day we decided we would walk in the other direction along the beach and ended up in Caister on Sea. There was not a lot going on right near the beach, however we did find a quiet pub with a nice big beer garden. There were hardly any people in there so we found a table outside. I ended up having my first pub pulled pint of ale since lockdown began. I am not saying I really enjoyed it but it went down very quickly. We just had the one drink which might mean that my resistance to temptation has improved, but I somehow doubt that.

We walked back to the cottage again along the beach. We did plenty of walking and got lots of fresh sea air while there. That evening we ordered a Chinese from a place in Hemsby that was recommended to us and did deliveries. I phoned through our order. It was early evening so we had our curtains open, about twenty minutes after I had made the call a man on a scooter pulls onto next door’s driveway and gets out some food from his bike, while holding the menu from where we had ordered.

At first we thought maybe the delivery driver had got the wrong house, I even stuck my head out of the door to possibly get his attention. We thought they had our food, even though at that point we had not paid for it. Anyway he did not reappear from the house and later our meal arrived. It was fantastic. But I loved the comedy timing of the neighbour bringing home his food from the same take away. What are the chances of that?

On our final full day at our Norfolk coastal retreat we decided to take a drive out to Great Yarmouth. When I stayed in Hemsby as a child we always made two visits there one in the day for a look round and one at night to see a show. Lynda had also been there as a child, so it was nice reminiscing together about the place, while we walked down the promenade. We both remembered going to the model village. And also both think we have pictures of it somewhere.

We went for a quick stroll on the Britannia Pier. It has a theatre where I have seen Freddie Starr and The Grumbleweeds among others. There was also another theatre where we once had front row tickets for a Michael Barrymore show and my sister got to shake his hand at the end. Going to a performance was always a big part of my childhood holidays. We did of course go to the circus at The Hippodrome one year to.

After stopping for a milkshake by the beach and then getting a few gifts for people I decided I needed one more holiday treat from my past. I got some Candy Floss from one of the street stalls.

I had not had it for years, I do have a really sweet tooth but I must confess it tasted a lot sweeter than I remembered it had been a very long time since I had any of the stuff. I did not manage to finish the whole bag which would have been unheard of as a seven year old.

We headed “home” to spend some final time in the garden back at the cottage before setting out to do the last thing we had decided that we wanted to do while in the area. While researching our holiday we had discovered that a Seal colony had made one of the local beaches its home and that they could often been seen in the water and on land there. They are located at Horsey Gap Beach. We took a drive out there at around five o’clock in the afternoon. There is a car park there with about a five minute walk down to the beach itself.

Within ten minutes of being on the beach we had spotted a few seals bobbing about in the sea. We kept walking down the beach stopping for a bit, doing some spotting in the water and then moving on again. We had heard that hundreds of the animals can be found on the sand but at this point we had only seen a few swimming.

We decided to walk a bit further along the beach and all of a sudden saw a huge group of the creatures all lying together on the sand. There were small ones, massive ones, old ones and young ones. It truly was a wonderful sight. I am pleased we had decided to go and see if we could spot them. And that we were successful.

On the way back from the Seals we ordered an Indian Take Away from a place that again had been recommended to us. The food was ace and we had a nice last evening at the cottage enjoying that and watching “The Life of Brian” which is a brilliant film, so funny. The next morning we had to be up and out of the accommodation by ten o’clock. We got up early, packed our stuff and tidied up. It was my first experience of Airbnb. The hosts were great and helpful, the place itself was nice, it had everything it was said to and it was a simple and enjoyable experience.

Just before we jumped into the car to head home we had breakfast at the local tea rooms. It was as civilised as it sounds except that I had an American Breakfast with pancakes, syrup, scrabbled egg and the best bacon I have tasted in ages. It was a lovely end to a great English seaside break. I do like travelling abroad and seeing new and exciting things but there is still plenty to enjoy and discover on this little island of ours.

I have now watched all nine episodes of the Tottenham Hotspur Amazon documentary “All or Nothing”. It was interesting to see behind the scenes of my club and get more of an idea about the player’s personalities and the back room staff set up. I have now slightly changed my opinion of Jose Mourinho in view of his work ethic and how he deals with and manages situations.

It does highlight the many different factors that can influence not only the results on the pitch but team spirit and cohesion as well as the different relationships that form within a football club. Would I have watched it if it featured another club, probably not to be fair but it was a nice snapshot of a season with my team that I followed from the outside and have now seen how it was developing from the inside!

Spurs almost predictably had a poor first game of the new season. We lost at home to Everton. I think they will have a good year but I felt we really underperformed in that game. Since that set back we have progressed in the Europa League and won our first away Premier League match by an impressive margin. That victory included goals and assists from our two main strikers, which hopefully bodes well for the future.

The season will as ever have many twists and turns with plenty of celebrations and disappointments. One thing is for sure there is never a dull moment supporting Spurs. It is also great to have Gareth Bale back with us on loan. He went from a young player who seemed to be a bad omen who lost every game he played to our star player. We sold him for a then world record fee. I cannot wait to see him back in action in a Spurs shirt but it does look like we will have to wait until after next month’s International matches at least for that.

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

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

Neil Quigley

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Seals Of Approval

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