Sleep Deprivation

Well, it's a week since the show and I'm still recovering. I must be getting old.

Got to get myself together for Thursday though, Singing backing vocals at a blues gig.

I must be mad!

Another Opening of Another Show

A tiring week coming up. We open in Pinafore on Wednesday. It has become the show from hell.

We started with one director, who was brought in from outside. Some of the members didn't like him, and although we don't know exactly what happened, his position became untenable and he "left".

One of the members stepped into the breech and started correcting everything they perceived wrong. With 4 weeks to go. We are now putting on something that would work as a school production for 5 year olds. Which to be fair, is who she teaches.

To go into the rest of it would take too long. We won an award last year for best musical. We won't this year.

There is a possibility I am going to Direct next year. They won't fucking know what hit 'em. I've directed before. I don't own a pair of kid gloves!

An Evenings Entertainment

Presently surrounded by young ladies discussing lingerie and, what in the idustry is known as "bedroomwear".

I don't know how I cope!

T'good Old Days

Graybo, (for it is he), linked to a post about Blogging in the old days.

Yep, proper blogging back then. Discovered I started May 2001. We had to be up in the morning at 5:30 to shovel coal into the blogomotive and connect all the rods between the hammerboard and the interwebnetoscope. Once you'd done that it was 4 hours to type just one word. They've made it too easy for everyone now.

As for joining Twitter. I don't even know how to go about getting a flock of singing amazonian trumpet birds, so I'll avoid that.

I'm a Medical Marvel, Me!

I had a check up at The Royal Marsden last Friday. Just routine, but for the first time since the op I met my consultant surgeon.

He has confirmed that the biopsy on my lymph nodes did show a trace of cancer. Smaller than a pinhead. I already knew that. What he was so "excited" about, and he was, is that I am the first person who has a) had a sertoli cell tumour and b) they have found a trace of cancer on the lymph nodes.

Up till now he could only advise that it was a possibility. Now he can say it's happened. Those who had the op before me made the right decision as if the cells had seeded they wouldn't have been seen but would have grown at a later date.

It makes having the op worthwhile for my own health and for others.

I admit, it does make me feel warm inside. Maybe it's a bit egotistical. I don't know. But I feel like I have advanced cancer knowledge and will help others in the future to protect their health.

And I've been written up. In a number of journals. And I'm the subject of lectures now and in the future.

And now there is one mother, presently holidaying in Blackpool, who has been proved right when she said her son was special. Just not in the way she'd hoped.

Smelling of Roses

Our local sewage treatment plane, Mogden Lane, are holding drop-in sessions.

Think I might give those a miss!

I think he's telling fibs!

Normally I don't buy croissants from supermarkets because basically, they are crap. A bit like southern fish and chips. However, for reasons I shaln't go into here I ended up with a box of Tesco Finest Croissants.

The famed chef Raymond Blanc, the only man whose French accent has got stronger the longer that he has lived in England, endorses not only these but also their Pain au Raisin and Pain au Chocolat.

All three carry exactly the same endorsement bar the name of the item. It goes;

These are the best .......... I have tasted outside of my own kitchen!

Really?

Monsieur Blanc is, as already mentioned, a Frenchie. Now, I have visited France a number of times and, hand on heart, I don't think I have ever had any of those items as poor as Tesco's.

But maybe he didn't mean In the whole world, just the UK. Now, There is a chain of French bakers and patissiers called Paul. I haven't had their stuff much because I still don't think they make it as well here as they do in their French stores, but I bet they are better than Tesco's.

Perhaps he didn't mean other chains. Now, there is another well known French chef in this country, Michel Roux. I've never judged his food myself, but those in the know regard him as the best Chef de Patisserie there is, anywhere, in the world. Now, croissants etc are not normally patisserie items I shouldn't think but I've a feeling Michel can knock out a quick bakery item well in excess of the Tesco Finest range.

Perhaps he meant literally outside his kitchen. Like, the other side of the door. Then maybe he is right.

But to be honest, I think he's going to find it bloody hard to prove in a court of law.

Autumn Clean.

As you can see I'm having a bit of a change.

Some links have gone, partly because they were dead and partly cos Blogger didn't transfer them and I haven't got round to finding them yet.

Why has Masher got no little blue blip beside his link? Who knows. Does Big Blogger know something we don't?

Anyway, expect more minor tweaking.

Food Parcels

I sort of started a diet last week. This morning in the post came a letter from the British Red Cross. I haven't opened it, but I presume it is the arrangements for them to fly food parcels in to me if I start feeling faint.

God bless 'em!

The future isn't Orange.

Not for me anyway.

I decided to set up a wireless network for our machines at home. It has been a nightmare. And all because of Orange. When Marj set up her ISP accont they gave her the username. There is a problem. It is 36 characters long. Most routers, etc, accept only a maximum of 32 charcters. And Orange won't issue her a new username. They accept the only way to overcome the problem is to cancel the contract and take out a new one. So we are. With someone else!

Now we just have to wait while they drag their heels giving us our MAC code. They say 5-7 days. We'll see. It should have been immediate and were at day three and nothing yet. I feel a complaint coming on. And compensation.

The Ends of the Earth.

Off for a week in Colwyn Bay. Looking forward to any few minutes when it isn't raining.

Day Out

I shall be spending the day at Moda UK watching models parade about in skimpy underwear.

There may be photos!

But not for you lot. You perverts!

The Sound of Music

Well, this is something you don't see too often in Surrey.



We were at an anglo-swiss wedding yesterday. As we arrived at the reception we drank Pimms on the lawn and listened to an Alpenhorn. Pretty certain I've not done that before.

Fame & Fortune

I see I am on the radar of the esteemed London Blogger Diamond Geezer. Hello, if you pass this way.

I'm off knocking doors to try find business. This is the least favourite activity of my life but there's a too good incentive to miss for doing so.

Anyway, it's taking my mind off Barclays Bank who up till a month or so ago were fine but in the last month have gone absolutely down the drain. I shan't rant here though, tempting as it might be. All I will say is that now completes my entire list of high street banks who have broken banking law. What is moes worrying is that the people you talk to don't even know that. Computer says "jump". And they do.

Delusions of Grandeur

I'm not sure who are the most delusional. England fans who though w might win the World Cup or the players in post match conferences talking about how they played.

Matthew Upson missed the best chance of the conference when asked "Where do you go from here?" He failed to say "home".

Other great comments were, the ubiquitous, "We have to take the positives from it". And I think it was John Terry who said he thought "I really don't think we have played as badly in this tournment as people have made out." Cue hysterical laughter!

I have an answer. In future the England team should avoid any Premier League player. We should choose a squad of players who in all honesty never expected to play for the country. Would they win? No, of course not, but then could they be any worse, but what you would get is a squad of players who would really give 110% because it would be the highlight of their careers.

And whilst we're changing things, please stop the players being trained in media relations. I'm sick of, "we have to take the positives from this", "our work rate was really good" and "we all gave 110%".

Maybe now we'll stop treating footballers as demi-gods. Particularly Rooney. Well, that's when anyone discovers where he went missing for the last fortnight.

Time Travels

For those of us Leeds United fans of a certain vintage, Rob Greens' blunder on Saturday took us straight back to the days of Gary Sprake.

Black Comedy

I was at a performance of Black Comedy by Peter Schaefer last night. In fact I was at it on Thursday as well because I was helping Front of House.

The play takes place in the 1960s and is a typical farce of people being in the wrong place at the wrong time. The unusual thing about it, or it was for me as I haven't seen it done before in my limited theatrical experience, is that it takes place during a power cut. Well, the main fuse goes. This means that, in order to facilitate the audience, the lighting is in reverse. The ensemble starts in stage darkness and they are thrust into light when the fuse goes. Acting in full light very warily but at the beginning when all is meant to be well, striding round a cluttered stage as though they can see perfectly, seems to be quite difficult acting to keep going for 90 minutes plus. There are times when people strike a match or shine a torch and they go into semi-light. Well done the lighting man who kept pace perfectly.

If you get the chance to see it sometime I'd take it. It's funnier than those comedies that that Shakespeare wrote.

Oh God, It's a Camel.

So, as of a few minutes ago it is a hung Parliament.

Get ready to re-run this in about 6 months time.

Here comes the disappointment for all those who think that a hung Parliament means everyone works alongside each other in harmony and the world gets better and the fairies come out at night and do the housework.

The good news for us though is that Ann Keen has been ousted as our MP. She and her MP husband Alan have been known as Mr & Mrs Expenses for years. He however has held on to his seat in Feltham.

This election has turned out to be a rather unsatisfying feast.

Knife crime.

Just had Hospital Heroes on BBC1. 25% of all trauma admissions at The London Hospital are for knife wounds. Probably a more worrying but more accurate statistic than anything put out by the politicians this week on crime.

Why Stars and Celebrities Aren't The Same Thing.

Last night in Brentford there was a special concert. It was a fund raiser for the local church. These things are normally sparsely attended but last night it was packed. 400 local people came to watch plus a few from further away.

The person performing lives nearby and has done for 25 years. He wanders around the area and drinks in his local and is pretty much left alone, partly because most people are too young to remember him. The age group there last night were the key. Mainly around the 50 mark as his heyday was the late 70s. In fact his three major singles were all in 1979.

The reason so many came out was that just a couple of years later he stopped touring. For 20 years! And he only started touring when he started recording once more a few years back.

For those who remember that era, it was Nick Lowe. (Cruel to be kind : I Love The Sound of Breaking Glass).

And the reason for the title?

He obviously gave his time for free and in return set a few conditions. Not ones you'd normally expect though.
1) Because he knows his concerts have a high demand he only wanted publicity to be kept locally and by word of mouth pretty much. (The tickets still sold out with two weeks to go).
2) The only people to get in free were himself and his wife and kid if they wanted to come. Everyone else in his entourage, manager, two band members and technical people plus close friends, had to buy a ticket. And they did.
4) Tickets were to be kept at an affordable price. They were. Just £12.
3) It was pouring down with rain but 40 minutes before he was due to appear he walked through the door, shook off his umbrella, shook hands with the doorman said hello to the people on the ticket desk and quietly slipped in whilst the support act were playing. No fuss, no melodrama.

He played for just over the hour, a mixture of mainly "new era" songs and a couple of older ones. You could have heard a pin drop. I spoke with the vicar who I know and asked was he working out how to get the church this full on a Sunday? He reckoned he would have to get him to lead the worship. He was doing. Every member of that audience was there to marvel at the man, talented, quiet, unassuming, gentlemanly and a throughly good bloke.

And becaue of this thoroughly nice bloke we reckon the total raised will be about £8000 to keep a couple of the churches community projects running.

Now, that's the difference between a star and a celebrity.