Tag Archives: Greg
PERSONAL ANNOUNCEMENT: 26 July 2010
So, it’s probably about time that I busted the lid on a few things that may help to explain my cryptic posts and ever-changing moods recently! There’s quite a lot of stuff going on here, so you may wanna pull up a coffee and a chocolate hobnob!
* Work people – please remember to show some discretion with the work related info below! No intention of leaving TM at this time, and I do very much enjoy my job! x*
Back in May, I decided that I wanted to move back to Manchester on a permanent basis. I mean, London is great an’ all (and I love all my friends to pieces here), but I’ve just not been happy – the dirt, the tourists, the expense, did I mention those fckn tourists?! 
However, this plan hinged on my ability to transfer my job back up North with me, as otherwise I’d have no viable way to finance this relocation. Unfortunately my employers have recently got back to me after a few casual and exploratory questions and it’s been decided that it’s not going to be possible for me to transfer my existing role back home, leaving that plan pretty high and dry at the moment. I’m currently assessing my options on a back-up plan.
As I see it, I have a few options:
- Move to Manchester anyway, and to hell with the expense! (which means I’ll probably be in a cardboard box by Christmas, as I’ll be without gainful employment).
- Stay in London and see if my outlook improves.
If I move to Manchester, I’m going to need a job (does anyone in Manchester know of anyone looking for a Finance guy and who are paying a decent salary?!) and if I stay in London, I am going to need a new flatmate!
At this point, I should announce that Greg and I have (very amicably) decided to go our seperate ways.
We’re both in mutual agreement that we’ve simply drifted apart over the last few months, and we both feel that this is for the best. There’s no underlying factors or malice to this, and obviously we’re still going to remain very good friends (so continue to invite us BOTH to things please heh!). The plan is for Greg and I to remain living together as pals until our lease expires at the end of September (well, someone has to cook and clean for me, right?!).
Therefore, I rather desperately need to find someone who is interested in house-sharing at the end of September / start of October, preferably in the Surbiton area – if this is you, please contact me ASAP! 
As you can see, things are very much up in the air at the moment, and have been for several months now, which has been doing my head in. I’ve not been able to discuss with anyone (bar a small number of unassociated people – thanks guys x!) and it’s nearly caused my brain to implode with all the implications wizzing around in my little noggin!
It’s good to finally be able to openly discuss these things with you all, and am sure that my/our fab friends will be there to help and support me/us every step of the way!
As a side note, we’d both very much like to thank Facebook for their heart-warming sympathy and sense of occasion at this delicate time!
Thanks for reading x
GIG REVIEW: Paloma Faith, SBE (29 Mar 2010)
Tonight I was lucky enough to get to see Paloma Faith at the Shepherds Bush Empire in London – and WOW, she blew me away!
Unusually, this was a gig that we’d actually paid to go see (Christmas present from Greg ), and so I’d been tremendously excited for months about it, to the point that I was worried that nobody could ever live up to the hype that I’d built up for the show. Needless to say, this fear was unfounded, and she absolutely smashed it! She was so endearing on stage and took up on ample opportunities to showcase her stunning voice, which absolutely filled the whole performance space.
Whilst there were no gimmicks, lavish sets or acrobatics etc, there were plenty of sequins, funky hats and several inches of dazzling high heels – perfect for strutting around the stage in and they (literally) helped Paloma to shine! There are costume changes, and she never looks anything less than glamorous, even (strangely) when wearing her yellow romper suit thing!
Highlights of the night have to include the encore of New York (the roof just lifted off the place, it really did – the general emotion of the audience just seemed to transcend above everything else); when she got a young chap who must have been around 11/12 years old (called Troy) up on stage and sang Romance Is Dead to him (to which he happily sang back every word – cutest thing EVER!) and an awesome but unexpected remix of Do You Want The Truth Or Something Beautiful.
(bit of New York from Warsaw, Poland)
A special mention has to go to her guitarist who was a very talented chap and helped to bring a rock-y live edge to Paloma’s marvellously theatrical songs and really set the venue alight.
The only “disappointment” (if one can even be silly enough to call it that) were that the audience decided to do the usual thing and shout and clap her on to an encore instead of singing ‘Play On’ back to her (which was also her faux- ‘last song of the night’) – bit of a pity, as a spontaneous audience reaction like that would have really lifted the roof off the SBE.
We seemed to be sat near the invited guests area, and saw Alan Carr and Leigh Francis (aka. Keith Lemon), who were sat very close by. We did send a quick coo-ee via twitter (you know, to scare them a little), but alas we don’t think they saw it heh!
If you’re reading this review in the immediate few days after I have published it, there are still a limited number of tickets available through Ticketweb for the remaining two Shepherds Bush dates and the singular Sheffield gig – quick, go snap them up!
Paloma Faith – amazingly brilliant chanteuse, absolute diva, my ‘Something Beautiful‘ 
2010 Whatsonstage.com Awards
Sunday 14th February 2010 marked the 10th anniversary of the Whatsonstage.com Awards, held each year to recognise the theatre-going audience’s favourite plays and musicals, both in the West End and out in the regions.
This year, Greg and I decided to go along for the craic (plus we wanted to do something fun for Valentine’s) and I think that we’re both rather pleased that we did. I’d been working all day and so was a little weary by the time 7pm came around, however once I’d been pap snapped a few times and gotten into my seat, I started to feel considerably more awake.
This is the third year that they have held a concert/gala performance when they announce the winners, and whilst the infancy was admittedly somewhat evident, I reckon that we all agree that this was a marvellous decision – it really was fun to see the performances (the awards themselves were actually rather rushed through in the end!).
The fact that these awards are voted for entirely by the general public make them a lot more open and thus also a bit of a popularity contest, which is still a great thing, but it does mean that technically great but not very popular musicals (such as Spring Awakening) are oft overlooked in my opinion. I will try not to rant about the travesty of Spring Awakening not picking up a single award… but I promise nothing! (GRR!)
This year’s show was presented by Biggins and Mel Giedroyc (of Mel and Sue fame, and a very last minute replacement for Sheridan Smith; who ultimately found herself engaged with her work on Legally Blonde). Despite this pairing looking cringeworthy on paper (yes Biggins, I am thinking of you!), they were actually both on TOP form! I have not laughed so much this year I don’t think, and they managed to turn a rather ‘I can see the strings’ event into a night to remember. Be it Mel’s comedy ‘strop’ over not winning the award she was up for (including expletives), or Biggins coming out as Susan Boyle and giving it a bit of the ol’ Les Mis, it was all-in-all, totally marvellous!
There were several great musical performances given throughout the night – I really enjoyed seeing Mazz Murray on stage outside of her Killer Queen role, and it was super to see some songs from Next To Normal get showcased at these awards. I’ve been rather excited about Next To Normal for the last year or so and I am really hoping that it comes over to the West End!
Highlight of the evening for me was seeing Sirs Patrick Stewart and Ian McKellen on the stage together (and their little kiss, of course!) – it was awesome to see them paired together in the West End and they rightly won the strangely named best ‘theatrical event’ award.
Alas, no linkable YouTube video at the moment, however THIS LINK will take you to the Whatsonstage website where you can see a video of all the night’s highlights and whatnot.
And so we come to the winners (and more interestingly… the break down of results!):
Source: Whatsonstage
 |
Best Actress in a Play | |
| Rachel Weisz A Streetcar Named Desire at the Donmar Warehouse |
24.8% | |
| Alison Steadman Enjoy at the Gielgud |
12.8% | |
| Fiona Shaw Mother Courage & Her Children at the NT Olivier |
9.4% | |
| Helen Mirren Phedre at the NT Lyttelton |
21.60% | |
| Juliet Stevenson Duet for One at the Almeida & Vaudeville |
7.60% | |
| Lesley Sharp The Rise & Fall of Little Voice at the Vaudeville |
23.80% | |
 |
The CAPITAL BREAKS Best Actor in a Play | |
| Jude Law Hamlet, Donmar West End at Wyndham’s |
40.80% | |
| David Harewood The Mountaintop at Theatre 503 & Trafalgar Studios 1 |
6.00% | |
| Dominic West Life Is a Dream at the Donmar Warehouse |
13.60% | |
| Ken Stott A View from the Bridge at the Duke of York’s |
14.90% | |
| Mark Rylance Jerusalem at the Royal Court Downstairs |
13.90% | |
| Samuel West Enron at the Royal Court Downstairs |
10.80% | |
 |
Best Supporting Actress in a Play | |
| Miriam Margolyes Endgame at the Duchess |
31.7% | |
| Amanda Drew Enron at the Royal Court Downstairs |
13.2% | |
| Carol Macready Enjoy at the Gielgud |
9.1% | |
| Hayley Atwell A View from the Bridge at the Duke of York’s |
18.8% | |
| Kate Fleetwood Life Is a Dream at the Donmar Warehouse |
16.90% | |
| Michelle Dockery Burnt by the Sun at the NT Lyttelton |
10.3% | |
 |
Best Supporting Actor in a Play | |
| Patrick Stewart Hamlet, RSC at the Novello |
38.0% | |
| David Dawson Comedians at the Lyric Hammersmith |
6.30% | |
| John Shrapnel Phedre at the NT Lyttelton & King Lear at the Young Vic |
6.3% | |
| Mackenzie Crook Jerusalem at the Royal Court Downstairs |
13.3% | |
| Marc Warren The Rise & Fall of Little Voice at the Vaudeville |
30.2% | |
| Simon Paisley Day Entertaining Mr Sloane at Trafalgar Studios 1 |
5.9% | |
 |
The BABY GRAND Best Actress in a Musical | |
| Patina Miller Sister Act at the London Palladium |
31.2% | |
| Charlotte Wakefield Spring Awakening at the Lyric Hammersmith & Novello |
22.4% | |
| Hannah Waddingham A Little Night Music at the Menier Chocolate Factory & Garrick |
14.3% | |
| Jane Horrocks Annie Get Your Gun at the Young Vic |
16.3% | |
| Kathryn Evans Sunset Boulevard at the Comedy |
8.1% | |
| Samantha Spiro Hello, Dolly! at the Open Air |
7.7% | |
 |
The SEE TICKETS Best Actor in a Musical | |
| Rowan Atkinson Oliver! at the Theatre Royal Drury Lane |
31.6% | |
| Alexander Hanson A Little Night Music at the Menier Chocolate Factory & Garrick |
9.2% | |
| Aneurin Barnard Spring Awakening at the Lyric Hammersmith & Novello |
15.60% | |
| Jason Donovan Priscilla, Queen of the Desert at the Palace |
20.5% | |
| Julian Ovenden Annie Get Your Gun at the Young Vic |
5.0% | |
| Tony Sheldon Priscilla, Queen of the Desert at the Palace |
18.1% | |
 |
Best Supporting Actress in a Musical | |
| Jodie Prenger Oliver! at the Theatre Royal Drury Lane |
29.1% | |
| Jessie Buckley A Little Night Music at the Menier Chocolate Factory & Garrick |
9.7% | |
| Julia Sutton Sister Act at the London Palladium |
16.1% | |
| Lesley Garrett Carousel at the Savoy |
6.90% | |
| Maureen Lipman A Little Night Music at the Menier Chocolate Factory & Garrick |
14.1% | |
| Sheila Hancock Sister Act at the London Palladium |
24.0% | |
 |
Best Supporting Actor in a Musical | |
| Oliver Thornton Priscilla, Queen of the Desert at the Palace |
28.7% | |
| Burn Gorman Oliver! at the Theatre Royal Drury Lane |
24.2% | |
| Clive Carter Priscilla, Queen of the Desert at the Palace |
10.8% | |
| Daniel Crossley Hello, Dolly! at the Open Air |
8.0% | |
| Gabriel Vick A Little Night Music at the Menier Chocolate Factory & Garrick |
9.6% | |
| Iwan Rheon Spring Awakening at the Lyric Hammersmith & Novello |
18.7% | |
 |
The MOBIUS INDUSTRIES Best Solo Performance | |
| Derren Brown Derren Brown: Enigma at the Adelphi |
25.8% | |
| Alan Cumming I Bought a Blue Car Today at the Vaudeville |
22.9% | |
| Clare Higgins The Fever at the Royal Court Downstairs |
10.1% | |
| David Hare Berlin at the NT Lyttelton & Wall at the Royal Court Downstairs |
6.8% | |
| Rob Brydon Rob Brydon Live! at the Apollo |
25.7% | |
| Sadie Frost Touched at Trafalgar Studios 2 |
8.7% | |
 |
The LES MISERABLES 25th Anniversary Award for Best Ensemble Performance | |
| On the Waterfront at the Theatre Royal Haymarket |
25.5% | |
| Arcadia at the Duke of York’s |
20.0% | |
| Dancing at Lughnasa at the Old Vic |
23.50% | |
| Our Class at the NT Cottesloe |
11.6% | |
| The Great Game at the Tricycle |
7.8% | |
| The Power of Yes at the NT Lyttelton |
11.6% | |
 |
The MILK TWO SUGARS Best Takeover in a Role | |
| John Barrowman La Cage aux Folles at the Playhouse |
29.9% | |
| Brian Conley Hairspray at the Shaftesbury |
15.3% | |
| Edward Bennett Hamlet, RSC at the Novello |
9.0% | |
| Melanie C Blood Brothers at the Phoenix |
21.0% | |
| Omid Djalili Oliver! at the Theatre Royal Drury Lane |
14.4% | |
| Roger Allam La Cage aux Folles at the Playhouse |
10.4% | |
 |
The NICK HERN BOOKS Best New Play | |
| Jerusalem by Jez Butterworth at the Royal Court Downstairs |
23.8% | |
| Burnt by the Sun by Peter Flannery at the NT Lyttelton |
10.1% | |
| Enron by Lucy Prebble at the Royal Court Downstairs |
19.6% | |
| Punk Rock by Simon Stephens at the Lyric Hammersmith |
18.9% | |
| The Habit of Art by Alan Bennett at the NT Lyttelton |
19.0% | |
| The Mountaintop by Katori Hall the Theatre503 & Trafalgar Studios 1 |
8.6% | |
 |
The WALDORF HILTON Best New Comedy | |
| Calendar Girls by Tim Firth at the Noel Coward |
48.3% | |
| England People Very Nice by Richard Bean at the NT Olivier |
14.4% | |
| New Boy by Russell Labey at Trafalgar Studios 2 |
9.8% | |
| Public Property by Sam Peter Jackson at Trafalgar Studios 2 |
7.8% | |
| The Priory by Michael Wynne at the Royal Court Downstairs |
10.4% | |
| Timing by Alistair McGowan at the Kings Head |
9.3% | |
 |
The SUPERBREAK Best New Musical | |
| Priscilla, Queen of the Desert by Allan Scott & Stephan Elliott at the Palace |
31.7% | |
| Been So Long by Arthur Darvill & Che Walker at the Young Vic |
2.9% | |
| Dreamboats & Petticoats by Laurence Marks & Maurice Gran at the Savoy |
4.9% | |
| Sister Act by Alan Menken, Glenn Slater, Cheri & Bill Steinkellner at the London Palladium |
29.5% | |
| Spring Awakening by Duncan Sheik & Steven Sater at the Lyric Hammersmith & Novello |
19.5% | |
| Thriller Live! by Adrian Grant at the Lyric |
11.5% | |
 |
The EMG Best Play Revival | |
| A Streetcar Named Desire at the Donmar Warehouse |
28.7% | |
| A View from the Bridge at the Duke of Yorks |
13.1% | |
| Arcadia at the Duke of Yorks |
11.3% | |
| Enjoy at the Gielgud |
8.2% | |
| Three Days of Rain at the Apollo |
12.3% | |
| Waiting for Godot at the Theatre Royal Haymarket |
26.4% | |
 |
The AMBASSADOR TICKETS Best Musical Revival | |
| Oliver! at the Theatre Royal Drury Lane |
43.2% | |
| A Little Night Music at the Menier Chocolate Factory & Garrick |
18.2% | |
| Annie Get Your Gun at the Young Vic |
8.6% | |
| Carousel at the Savoy |
5.8% | |
| Hello, Dolly! at the Open Air |
11.7% | |
| Sunset Boulevard at the Comedy |
12.5% | |
|
The SHAKESPEARE 4 KIDZ Best Shakespearean Production | |
| Hamlet RSC at the Novello |
29.80% | |
| All’s Well That Ends Well at the NT Olivier |
9.6% | |
| Hamlet Donmar West End at Wyndham’s |
18.6% | |
| Othello at Trafalgar Studios 1 |
14.2% | |
| The Winters Tale at the Old Vic |
12.9% | |
| Twelfth Night Donmar West End at Wyndhams |
14.9% | |
 |
Best Director | |
| Trevor Nunn Inherit the Wind at the Old Vic & A Little Night Music at the Menier Chocolate Factory & Garrick |
23.9% | |
| Gregory Doran Hamlet, RSC at the Novello |
22.9% | |
| Ian Rickson Parlour Song at the Almeida & Jerusalem at the Royal Court |
7.6% | |
| Nicholas Hytner Phedre & The Habit of Art at the NT Lyttelton |
10.9% | |
| Rupert Goold Enron at the Royal Court Downstairs |
14.7% | |
| Sam Mendes The Cherry Orchard & The Winter’s Tale at the Old Vic |
20.1% | |
 |
Best Set Designer | |
| Brian Thomson Priscilla, Queen of the Desert at the Palace |
42.00% | |
| Christopher Oram A Streetcar Named Desire at the Donmar Warehouse & Twelfth Night, Donmar West End at Wyndham’s |
14.30% | |
| Lizzie Clachan Money, Shunt at Bermondsey Street & Treasure Island at the Theatre Royal Haymarket |
6.9% | |
| Miriam Buether Judgment Day & When the Rain Stops Falling at the Almeida |
5.30% | |
| Peter McKintosh Prick Up Your Ears at the Comedy, Entertaining Mr Sloane at Trafalgar Studios 1 & Hello, Dolly! at the Open Air |
10.80% | |
| William Dudley Peter Pan at Kensington Gardens |
20.70% | |
 |
The WHITE LIGHT Best Lighting Designer | |
| Natasha Katz Sister Act at the London Palladium |
41.30% | |
| Johanna Town Speaking in Tongues at the Duke of York’s |
6.70% | |
| Kevin Adams Spring Awakening at the Lyric Hammersmith & Novello |
23.20% | |
| Mark Henderson Enron at the Royal Court |
11.30% | |
| Mike Robertson On the Waterfront at the Theatre Royal Haymarket |
8.20% | |
| Neil Austin Life Is a Dream at the Donmar Warehouse & Madame de Sade, Donmar West End at Wyndham’s |
9.30% | |
|
Best Choreographer | |
| Ross Coleman Priscilla, Queen of the Desert at the Palace |
27.4% | |
| Adam Cooper Carousel at the Savoy & Shall We Dance at Sadler’s Wells |
8.70% | |
| Anthony Van Laast Sister Act at the London Palladium |
22.80% | |
| Bill T Jones Spring Awakening at the Lyric Hammersmith & Novello |
16.00% | |
| Gary Lloyd Thriller Live! at the Lyric |
15.80% | |
| Stephen Mear Hello, Dolly! at the Open Air |
9.20% | |
 |
The DEWYNTERS London Newcomer of the Year | |
| Diana Vickers The Rise & Fall of Little Voice at the Vaudeville |
34.50% | |
| Jaime Winstone The Fastest Clock in the Universe at Hampstead |
4.00% | |
| Lenny Henry Othello at the Trafalgar Studios 1 |
13.50% | |
| Nicholas Hoult New Boy at Trafalgar Studios 2 |
9.10% | |
| Patina Miller Sister Act at the London Palladium |
31.30% | |
| Tom Sturridge Punk Rock at the Lyric Hammersmith |
7.60% | |
 |
Best Off-West End Production | |
| The Pirates of Penzance at the Union Theatre |
29.90% | |
| F**king Men at the King’s Head |
19.80% | |
| Forbidden Broadway at the Menier Chocolate Factory |
29.10% | |
| Kursk at the Young Vic |
6.90% | |
| Kurt & Sid at Trafalgar Studios 2 |
7.50% | |
| Stovepipe at the West 12 Shopping Centre |
6.90% | |
 |
The BOOKING OFFICE Best Regional Production | |
| Adolf Hitler: My Part in His Downfall Bristol Old Vic & tour |
25.80% | |
| It’s a Wonderful Life New Wolsey, Ipswich |
23.20% | |
| Spend Spend Spend Watermill, Newbury |
11.10% | |
| The Caretaker Liverpool Everyman & Theatre Royal Bath |
12.20% | |
| The Light in the Piazza Leicester Curve |
14.80% | |
| The Winslow Boy Rose, Kingston & tour |
12.90% | |
 |
The GROUPLINE Best West End Show | |
| Wicked | 18.80% | |
| Billy Elliot | 9.20% | |
| Hairspray | 10.10% | |
| Jersey Boys | 9.20% | |
| Les Miserables | 7.6% | |
| Mamma Mia! | 5.5% | |
| The Lion King | 6.5% | |
| The Phantom of the Opera | 6.20% | |
| War Horse | 18.0% | |
| We Will Rock You | 8.80% | |
 |
The AKA Theatre Event of the Year | |
| The pairing of Ian McKellen and Patrick Stewart in Waiting for Godot | 38.00% | |
| Peter Pan returning to Kensington Gardens in a purpose-built theatre pavilion | 28.0% | |
| The Bridge Project at the Old Vic | 10.7% | |
| The inaugural Udderbelly season at the Southbank Centre | 7.90% | |
| The launch of NT Live | 9.30% | |
| Two outstanding Tricycle cycles: The Great Game (Afghanistan) and Not Black and White | 6.10% |
Ugly Betty – CANCELLED!
Oi, Betty, NOOOOOOOOO! 
Sad times!
It’s not often that I buy a DVD box set of a TV show, however Ugly Betty was the first TV series that prompted me to do this, and I am absolutely gutted that it’s been cancelled as, for me, it was one of the best TV shows there’s ever been!
I’d only just managed to get Greg into this too…
Boo!
I am already planning to stage a renegade version of the show, based in London, so that we Ugly Betty fans can keep the dream alive heh! Greg is going to play Betty, and I have dibs on Wilhelmina (naturally!), but we still could do with a Hilda, a Mark and a Daniel for our fantasy make-believe show 
The below article on the cancellation is taken from the L.A. Times’ blog:
It’s the end of the Mode: ABC’s ‘Ugly Betty’ will wrap its run in April
January 27, 2010 | 1:28 pm“Ugly Betty” has gone out of fashion.ABC has decided not to continue the show beyond its current fourth season, Variety reports. The cast and crew were informed of the bad news this morning. The series finale will air in April.
With four episodes still left to produce, executive producer Silvio Horta said they will be able to send “Ugly Betty” off in style.
“We’ve mutually come to the difficult decision to make this Ugly Betty’s final season, and are announcing now as we want to allow the show ample time to write a satisfying conclusion,” Horta and ABC Entertainment Group chairman Steve McPherson said in a joint statement. “We are extremely proud of this groundbreaking series, and felt it was important to give the fans a proper farewell.”
The news is hardly shocking: After ratings began to cool during the show’s third season, ABC moved “Ugly Betty” to Fridays last fall, where viewership plummeted. At the beginning of the year, the network gave the show a final chance to perform, sticking it on Wednesdays at 10 p.m. The last-ditch effort didn’t help. This season, “Betty” has averaged 5.3 million viewers, a big drop from the third season’s 8.1 million viewers.
In its later years, “Ugly Betty” had toned down the outrageous storylines that had been its signature. When it premiered, the show was the surprise success of ABC’s 2006-07 fall lineup, creating buzz by scaling new melodramatic heights week after week. The series even won an Emmy for star America Ferrera. But the upkeep of the multiple super-soapy storylines soon became overwhelming, and Horta and ABC executives felt as though “Ugly Betty’s” original conceit — a Queens, N.Y., girl with journalism dreams works her way up from the bottom at cutthroat fashion-mag Mode — had been lost in all the intrigue.
Personal Update – 25 Jan 2010
So, it’s been a while since I sat down and wrote a post that was actually about me… I used to do this quite a lot (see my February 2008 posts), but stopped as these posts often don’t get much traffic or interest (though to be fair, those totally aren’t my motives for writing)… kinda understandable really; regrettably there currently is no real tight-knit community linking the core readership of this blog, especially among people I know in real life, though I am very grateful and humbled to ALL of the people who do read *every* post – bless you!
I may look into some ‘community-esque’ style features to add to the blog going forward as it’d be great to know just who is reading and get some interaction between folk going on – any suggestions folks? Feel free to comment reply them and we can all vote using thumbs heh.
Tonight, I am sitting at my newly upgraded PC, supping on an Innocent smoothie (they say it’s kids sized, but seriously, it’s not!) and flicking between Delta Goodrem, My Chemical Romance and the soundtrack from RENT on my Spotify player.
I had to take today off work, I was seriously exhausted this morning, it’s just been non-stop lately and my sleep patterns are knackered. Not only that, but last week Sainsbury’s sold Greg and I some mouldy grated cheese, which we had eaten about half of before we noticed it, so I still feel a bit ‘yuk’ after that incident. I know it sounds like a cop out, but seriously, I was a state this morning.
The week before last, I went back home to Manchester for a bit of good ol’ rest and relaxation, which sped by far too quickly for my liking! I spent one of the days pretty much just crashed in the AMC Cinema on Deansgate and watched a few films, both of which disappointed me greatly (Nine and Where The Wild Things Are), and I had a marvellous time on the Wednesday – it was my Granddad’s 77th birthday and so I turned up as a surprise and had chance to go play in the snow with my little niece, Lanah.
It also gave me the opportunity to pick out a few gifts for my niece and nephew and it was great to see that some of my favourite books from growing up are still being printed! “It’s Mine” was one of my absolute faves!
In the evening I caught up with one of my longest-known friends, Nick – I have known him since meeting my first serious boyfriend, Ben, making our acquaintance around 8-9 years now. Although drink prices in Manchester’s Village are very competitive, we decided to have a going-out-staying-in party in my Travelodge room instead. It was hardly the classiest of functions that I’ve ever thrown (total cost was £6.40!!), but it was great to just catch up without having to shout over music or fight your way to get to the restrooms etc! I think we stayed up until about 4am drinking (ouch), but it was a fab evening – plus seeing Nick’s HTC HD2 phone in operation, it prompted me to spur Greg into getting his HTC Hero, as I was seriously impressed!
Needs do as needs must!
Last week I was back at work, and have been seriously busy testing applications and programs as we’re undergoing a massive financial system upgrade, so it’s been all hands on deck for the last few months now. It’s my favourite kind of work, as I love stats, anything that’s geeky and system based, especially if it kicks out lots of data, but at times it’s very frustrating.
I’ve also decided that it’s time to get my life back in shape (yes, I know that I am three weeks overdue with deciding this as everyone else did heh); so have made a concerted effort to start going to the gym more often, and I have looked into healthier snacks and meals. In the past I’d kind of shirked this, thinking that it wasn’t my fault that there was no clear and free advice on what foods to best eat, but in reality, I never tried hunting this out! I’ve just booked my shopping for the next week and tried to make it as healthy as possible, with a few treats of course, so I’ll update with how that all works out in my next personal style post!
I’ve also noticed that many more people are coming to me with questions about blogging since New Year, which is a great thing, especially as I read a report the other day that suggested that blogging was rapidly dying out, with most people blogging for a few days and becoming disenchanted with early start out numbers and abandoning their blogs. Of course, in my opinion, it depends on your motive to be honest… this blog is mainly here for my benefit, and it’s really great that other people seem to like it, but blog readership figures don’t worry me that much – I get little real-life benefit from them. I love knowing that I can make a connection with people who contact me through or about my blog, and I like knowing that for the general people who I may never connect online with in person, I may have provided someone with the information or some enjoyment that they were looking for! Even a fairly established and often updated blog such as mine as it’s fluctuations – only last month I was averaging 2,500 hits a day, and this week, it’s been around 300 hits (its lowest in over a year!). Blog views are entirely seasonal and sometimes you just get lucky – so even if your motives are readership numbers, don’t lose heart, and hang on in there – it’ll happen for you eventually!!
Nothing much more to add to this post as the moment, I feel that I have rambled on with myself sufficiently and smashed several few grammar rules in the process; hurrah! I may go back to posting vLog posts in the future, but we shall have to see how my hair is looking before I commit to that (tonight, it’s an untamed shambles heh!).
Thanks for reading these ramblings – it is the people who read and take an interest in the random ‘Gari’ posts that make being social on the net so enjoyable!
Gari x
REVIEW: Avenue Q, London
I am slightly mortified to find that I cannot find my original review for Avenue Q, which I wrote for the show’s producers back when Avenue Q originally opened in the West End.
Suffice as to say, it was absolutely marvellous then, and it was just as marvellous last night when I took Greg to visit for his first time (my third, and hopefully not our last, as DelMac have just announced that it will transfer to the Wyndham’s Theatre from 19th March 2010 – hurrah for the last minute reprive!). In fact, Greg was so new to the notion of Avenue Q that he hadn’t even heard the song ‘The Internet Is For Porn’ before! 
Avenue Q succeeds by being both witty and original, and really creating a brand new genre of musical theatre, and so I am sure that the closure of the West End run will spawn off a UK tour fairly soon afterwards!
All of the jokes still remained fresh, and we were lucky to get a very receptive audience for our show, which really helped the performance come alive. Although it’s been running several years now, I still found it to be as fresh as the first time that I saw it.
We were sat in row C of the stalls, and so had a fantastic view of everything and it meant that Greg could oggle Daniel Boys from up close hah! (I was much more interested in Tom Parsons!)
Speaking of Daniel Boys, the current cast are really really good. Daniel Boys excels in the role, and I was absolutely thrilled to see Joanna Ampil was in the show as Christmas Eve. For those unaware of who Joanna is, to me it was about as perverse as seeing Dame Judi playing the character of Lucy The Slut ha! Joanna has an amazing voice and usually does awesome things in productions such as Miss Saigon, and so to see her in something so light-hearted and funny as Avenue Q was great!
The performer of the night though had to be Cassidy Janson. I’d seen Cassidy in Wicked a few years earlier, so I knew that she could really sing, but again, it was great to see a fresh new dynamic to her. Whilst singing ‘There’s A Fine, Fine Line”, Cassidy even managed to pull off a few tears, now that’s some hardcore acting (especially when only the people in the front few rows would notice).
So yup, a marvellously funny night, both Greg and I were in absolute hysterics! If you have chance to go and see this before it closes, I implore you to go!! Ticket prices have recently been reduced (top price tickets have historically been £60 and are now just under £40), so there’s never been a better time to go!
For those wanting to see Daniel Boys, you need to be quick as he leaves at the end of the month!
One thing that I’ve always said, and noticed even more last night, are the similarities between my partner, Greg, and Daniel Boys! Greg refuses to accept this… but I’ll let you decide for yourselves! (please vote in my poll below!)
I thought that I’d finish the post by linking to a few of my favourite songs
AVENUE Q on Spotify
New Super Mario Bros Wii: Baaaa-Baaaa!
Greg and I are loving the latest Super Mario game to come out on the Wii, but – for me – the best thing has to be the music and the dancing Koopas!
Nice little touch to see that the flowers and such also interact with the music.
Aren’t those baaa-baaaa’s infectious?! I’ve already been ‘amusing’ Greg by dancing along at home, and I can see myself randomly going ‘baaaa-baaaa’ at work tomorrow…!
Build Up to New Years Eve 2009
So another year has been and gone, and already it feels dated to be writing ’2009′ but not quite right to be writing ’2010′.
We’re entering a decade which, as of yet, has no formal name/coloquailism for it, but which promises to be a very exciting one in many areas, especially technology.
At the last minute today (30th December), a few friends very kindly asked me to head out to Hertfordshire to see in the New Year with them, so I’m pleased to have some plans in place for that, as New Year without friends would be terrible!! Alas, Greg is already committed to a New Year elsewhere as he’s out with work colleagues, and I’d originally shoo’d him out, not wanting to ruin his night by making him stay in with me (as was the original plan). Sure we’ll battle the airwaves to try and drunkenly shout ‘I love you, Happy New Year’ down the phone to each other around 00:32 when the networks recover heh!!
I am excited that this year, and this shows my geekiness, you can watch the Times Square NYE Ball drop online! If I am still up at 5am (and this is likely) I will try and watch via my mobile phone, which has flash support.
I have added the link for the webcast below so you can see the New Year in online if you fancy – the content linked to will automatically become active tomorrow (31 Dec) at 22:50 GMT.
NYC is -5 GMT, so if you’re in the UK, you’ll probably want to tune in around 04:50 01 JAN 10 for NYE itself.
The stream will also be available to iPhone users at iphone.livestream.com/2010/
Every year as the clock nears midnight on December 31st, the eyes of the world turn once more to the dazzling lights and bustling energy of Times Square. Anticipation runs high. New Year’s Eve at the symbolic center of New York City has become more than just a celebration – it’s a global tradition. The world holds its breath…and cheers as the clocks strike twelve. As the famous New Year’s Eve Ball descends from the flagpole atop One Times Square, an estimated one million people in Times Square, millions nationwide and over a billion watching throughout the world are united in bidding a collective farewell to the departing year, and expressing our joy and hope for the year ahead.
The full schedule for the night is as below (all times are per NYC, so UK viewers, remember to add five hours on – i.e. their 4pm is our 9pm)
4:00 p.m.
The Revelers
Revelers start arriving late in the afternoon on New Year’s Eve. By approximately 4:00 p.m., the Bow Tie of Times Square (42nd to 47th Sts. between Broadway & 7th Ave.) is fully closed to traffic. Revelers are directed by the NYPD to gather in separate viewing sections. As one section fills up, the revelers are directed by police to the next viewing section. As the evening progresses, revelers continue to fill the Times Square neighborhood along Broadway and Seventh Avenue moving uptown from 43rd Street to as far as Central Park.
5:50 p.m.
Beginning of Times Square New Year’s Eve WorldWide Webcast
6:00 p.m. to 6:05 p.m.
Opening Ceremonies – Lighting and Raising the Times Square New Year’s Eve Ball
The celebration begins with the lighting and raising of the New Year’s Eve Ball atop One Times Square. The Event Organizers, Tim Tompkins and Jeffrey Straus will be joined by representative of the Philips Lighting Company to flip the giant switch which lights the New Year’s Eve Ball and begins its ascent accompanied by special pyrotechnic effects atop One Times Square.
6:05 p.m. to 6:13 p.m.
Musical Performance by Taddy Porter
The Times Square New Year’s Celebration gets started with Taddy Porter performing Shake Me and I Gotta Love at the Nivea Countdown Stage at Duffy Island in Times Square between 46th and 47th Streets.
6:16 p.m. to 6:24 p.m.
Musical Performance by Delfina
The Times Square New Year’s Celebration continues with Delfina performing Kiss On My Listand Window at the Nivea Countdown Stage at Duffy Island in Times Square between 46th and 47th Streets.
6:25 p.m. to 6:28 p.m.
Nivea Vignette
Nick Lachey and Vanessa Minillo will play Simon-Sez with a group of revelers at the NIVEA Kiss Platform to entertain and warm-up the audience in Times Square!
6:45 p.m. to 6:49 p.m.
Univison Musical Performance by Zone D’Tambora
Zone D’Tambora performs Caramelo at the Nivea Countdown Stage.
6:51 p.m. to 6:55 p.m.
Univison Musical Performance by Ana Isabelle
Ana Isabelle performs Bidi Bidi Bom Bom at the Nivea Countdown Stage.
6:58 p.m. to 7:00 p.m.
Hourly Countdown with Carson Daly
As we approach the New Year, Carson Daly will appear at the Nivea Countdown Stage to wish the Times Square revelers “Happy New Year”, read some of the confetti wishes to be mixed into the confetti release at midnight, share his personal wish for the New Year and lead the revelers in counting down to the end of the hour.
7:10 p.m.
Times Square 2010 Hats and Balloons
The Times Square Alliance sanitation crews clad in bright red uniforms begin to distribute tens of thousands of fun handouts to the Times Square revelers for cheering in the New Year. Nivea is providing festive blue New Year’s Eve hats and blue balloons tied with silver mylar ribbons along with useful Nivea Lip Care product to keep our lips looking and feeling beautiful for that unforgettable kiss at midnight.
7:15 p.m. to 7:25 p.m.
NBC’s New Year’s Eve with Carson Daly: Musical Performance by the Broadway Show “Hair”
The Broadway performers of the hit musical “Hair” sing Let The Sunshine In at the Nivea Countdown Stage.
7:30 p.m. to 7:33 p.m.
Nivea Vignette
Nick Lachey and Vanessa Minillo introduce the Kiss Chain at the NIVEA Kiss Platform!
7:58 p.m. to 8:00 p.m.
Hourly Countdown with Ryan Seacrest
As we approach the New Year, Ryan Seacrest will appear at the Nivea Countdown Stage to wish the Times Square revelers “Happy New Year”, read some of the confetti wishes to be mixed into the confetti release at midnight, share his personal wish for the New Year and lead the revelers in counting down to the end of the hour.
8:52 p.m. to 8:55 p.m.
Nivea Vignette
Two romantic revelers will be featured at the NIVEA Kiss Platform for a special midnight practice Kiss …3..2..1.., Kiss like a billion people are watching!
8:58 p.m. to 9:00 p.m.
Hourly Countdown with Anderson Cooper
As we approach the New Year, Anderson Cooper will appear at the Nivea Countdown Stage to wish the Times Square revelers “Happy New Year”, read some of the confetti wishes to be mixed into the confettie release at midnight, share his personal wish for the New Year and lead the revelers in counting down to the end of the hour.
9:58 p.m. to 10:00 p.m.
Hourly Countdown with Surprise Guest
As we approach the New Year, a Surprise Guest will appear at the Nivea Countdown Stage to wish the Times Square revelers “Happy New Year”, read some of the confetti wishes to be mixed into the confetti release at midnight, share his personal wish for the New Year and lead the revelers in counting down to the end of the hour.
10:10 p.m. to 10:16 p.m.
ABC’s Dick Clark’s New Year’s Rockin’ Eve: Musical Performance by Daughtry
Daughtry performs a medley of Everytime You Turn Around and Life After You at the Nivea Countdown Stage.
10:37 p.m. to 10:43 p.m.
ABC’s Dick Clark’s New Year’s Rockin’ Eve: Musical Performance by Daughtry
Daughtry performs a medley of No Surprise and Home at the Nivea Countdown Stage.
10:58 p.m. to 11:00 p.m.
Hourly Countdown with Raúl de Molina
As we approach the New Year, Raul de Molina will appear at the Nivea Countdown Stage to wish the Times Square revelers “Happy New Year”, read some of the confetti wishes to be mixed into the confetti release at midnight, share his personal wish for the New Year and lead the revelers in counting down to the end of the hour.
11:05 p.m. to 11:08 p.m.
Nivea Vignette
Two romantic revelers will be featured at the NIVEA Kiss Platform for a special midnight practice Kiss …3..2..1.., Kiss like a billion people are watching!
11:20 p.m. to 11:25 p.m.
Times Square Sing-Along Featuring the Liberty Bells
The USO’s Liberty Bells perform a seventies medley and a special Service Salute at the Nivea Countdown Stage.
11:38 p.m. to 11:46 p.m.
ABC’s Dick Clark’s New Year’s Rockin’ Eve: Musical Performance by Jennifer Lopez
Jennifer Lopez performs a medley of Louboutins, Waiting For Tonight, and Let’s Get Loud at the Nivea Countdown Stage.
11:59 p.m.
The Sixty-Second Countdown
The Times Square 2010 Special Guest and New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg push the Waterford crystal button that signals the descent of the New Year’s Eve Ball, and lead the final sixty-second countdown to the New Year at the Nivea Countdown Stage.
The New Times Square New Year’s Eve Ball
The lighted Ball descends 70 feet in sixty seconds. The Ball is a geodesic sphere, twelve feet in diameter, weighing 11,875 pounds. The Ball is covered with 2688 Waterford crystal triangles and lit by 32,256 Philips Luxeon Rebel LEDs.
12:00 a.m. — New Year’s Day
2010 Sign
At the stroke of Midnight, the lights on the New Year’s Eve Ball are turned off as the numerals of the New Year “2010” burst to life shining high above Times Square.
Times Square Confetti Release and Pyrotechnic Effects
The world-famous New Year’s Eve confetti is released from the rooftops of buildings throughout Times Square creating a celebratory blizzard of colorful confetti as revelers welcome the New Year accompanied by colorful pyrotechnic effects.
12:15 a.m. – End of Show
Manchester Pride 2009: The Parade
Blimey, I’ve been back a few weeks now and have had very little time to get my Manchester Pride 2009 pictures on my blog!
It took me a whole day to create a video file for our friends and family, and another day to sort all of the pictures out before I could do that, and so I’m starting to get pretty sick of these pictures now heh!!
I had been planning a whole package of blogs to go with my trip, but at the moment, and considering the volume of content that I have, it really would be a huge draw on my time if I were to upload it all. I doubt I’ll get around to uploading all of the vlog posts that I did unfortunately, suffice to say, Greg and I had an amazing time, and absolutely loved our little trip away!
Most of my pictures can be seen on my Facebook page, though I have created a nice little video using Animoto (v. highly recommended!) for my blog!
Enjoy, and feel free to leave me some comments on your thoughts regarding Pride or the Parade etc!
