Tuesday 1st January: So, a funny thing happened to me on New Year's Day...
At about 1 o'clock in the morning, Debbie and I were watching Jools Holland's Hootenanny show on BBC2. The Kaiser Chiefs were performing and I mentioned to Debbie that I didn't think they would be at that day's Leeds United game. Some of them sit just four rows in front of me and I doubted that they would be able to get back from London in time, assuming that, when the show finished, there would be some sort of party for the many celebrity guests.
However, that afternoon, at the match, one of the band - bass player Simon Rix - was in his usual seat. After a dire performance, at the end of which a much under par Leeds side had been beaten 3:1 by Oldham, I found myself standing close to Mr Rix and decided to try a little light banter. Something along the lines of:
Me - "You got back quick."
Rix (slightly quizzically) - "Yeah."
Me - "Was there not a big p*ss-up after the show?"
Rix - "Yeah, but we decided to come back because we thought the football would be good."
Me - "Oh well. Never mind..."
Recounting the tale the next day at work, one of my colleagues advised me that he had been told that the Hootenanny show is actually recorded in early December. So, either Mr Rix was humouring me (Wikipedia states that the pretence of the show being live is strictly maintained) or he was assuming that we had both been at some New Year's do. I'll probably never know.
Saturday, 5 January 2008
Sunday, 23 December 2007
The Hour is Nearly Upon Us
Sunday 23rd December: The presents are wrapped and, mostly, hidden.
The beer is in the fridge, keeping more than enough food company.
All that remains is to wish anybody reading this a very Merry Christmas and all the best for 2008.
Cheers!
The beer is in the fridge, keeping more than enough food company.
All that remains is to wish anybody reading this a very Merry Christmas and all the best for 2008.
Cheers!
It's Behind You. Oh, No It Isn't...
Saturday 22nd December: The last Saturday before Christmas and time for the annual trip with friends to York's Theatre Royal pantomime.
Sadly, this year's turn-out was quite a bit down on previous years. One couple weren't able to make it and the husband of another friend was still posted in Basra. Numbers were slightly increased by Elizabeth's first presence (although not her first pantomime - that honour went to the Grand Opera House, which she attended with a school friend's family earlier in the week).
For anybody not au fait with the famous Theatre Royal panto, it's not quite like all (or most of)the others. There's no big names, usually very little plot and it's more for the adults than the kids (although there is a bit of slapstick every year).
What there is, however, is a small, dedicated group of people (friends??) who come together every Christmas to provide brilliant entertainment. They are led by Berwick Kaler - writer, co-director and the best Dame out there. He should be, he's been practising for over thirty years. His script leaves plenty of room for ad-libs (usually his own, in an attempt to both get the rest of the cast laughing and to take the mickey out of his nephew, who gets better every year.)
This year, said nephew played the titular Sinbad and there was, surprisingly, quite a complex plot. As usual the cast, especially regulars Martin Barrass and David Leonard, were excellent and, in a bizarre synchronicity with our contribution to the audience, were missing a couple of regulars and had added a newcomer in the form of lovely Scot Julie-Anna Castro (Donna Kebab). The jokes came thick and fast, as did Kaler's naughtiness. The slapstick had been toned down but the sets were fantastic and seem to get better every year.
I used to go to the panto every New Year's Day, with the rest of my family and friends of my parents, until we were deemed "too old" to go. A few years back, we started going with the aforementioned friends and I now look forward to taking Elizabeth for as long as possible.
Sadly, this year's turn-out was quite a bit down on previous years. One couple weren't able to make it and the husband of another friend was still posted in Basra. Numbers were slightly increased by Elizabeth's first presence (although not her first pantomime - that honour went to the Grand Opera House, which she attended with a school friend's family earlier in the week).
For anybody not au fait with the famous Theatre Royal panto, it's not quite like all (or most of)the others. There's no big names, usually very little plot and it's more for the adults than the kids (although there is a bit of slapstick every year).
What there is, however, is a small, dedicated group of people (friends??) who come together every Christmas to provide brilliant entertainment. They are led by Berwick Kaler - writer, co-director and the best Dame out there. He should be, he's been practising for over thirty years. His script leaves plenty of room for ad-libs (usually his own, in an attempt to both get the rest of the cast laughing and to take the mickey out of his nephew, who gets better every year.)
This year, said nephew played the titular Sinbad and there was, surprisingly, quite a complex plot. As usual the cast, especially regulars Martin Barrass and David Leonard, were excellent and, in a bizarre synchronicity with our contribution to the audience, were missing a couple of regulars and had added a newcomer in the form of lovely Scot Julie-Anna Castro (Donna Kebab). The jokes came thick and fast, as did Kaler's naughtiness. The slapstick had been toned down but the sets were fantastic and seem to get better every year.
I used to go to the panto every New Year's Day, with the rest of my family and friends of my parents, until we were deemed "too old" to go. A few years back, we started going with the aforementioned friends and I now look forward to taking Elizabeth for as long as possible.
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