We went down to Teddington Studios on Wednesday to watch the recording of two episodes of the new season of "A League Of Their Own". We had a great time and enjoyed the shows immensely. Along with the four regulars, the guests were Chris Evans, Dermot O'Leary, Tim Henman and Phillips Idowu and each of them added a very different flavour to the proceedings. It is going to be a very hard job for the editors cutting several hours of footage down to two chunks of thirty minutes or less. Paul took us to the green room after the show but this time Marion was under strict instructions not to ask for her photo with any of the celebs so we left them in peace and I had a chat with James Corden's dad who is a really nice bloke. "What has this to do with today's blog headline?" I hear you ask. Well, as we were unsure of timings and whether we would be taking Paul back to Limehouse we didn't bother booking a motel as I thought that we would be able to choose the most convenient on the way back up north. We started heading towards South Mimms but a quick call informed us that the place was full so a change of direction was in order and it was back through central London and London Gateway on the M1 next. Same story there so on to Luton where the bloke in the service station newsagents told us there was no motel on site only for us to spot one when it was too late and we were back on the slipway and on our way to Milton Keynes.By now it was 1.30 a.m and surely we'd find somewhere to get our heads down there. But no it was the same story. Fortunately the receptionist directed us to somewhere else and at around 2 a.m we finally got to sleep.In future I'll get a confirmed booking before I set off and congratulations to Days Inn, no sign of any recession there.
At the recordings we were extremely impressed with Dermot O'Leary who has real presence and confidence and oozes professionalism and with the always funny John Bishop but I liked Freddie Flintoff best of all. He announced his retirement from cricket the day after the recording which is a pity but he has a very natural way of telling a story, is very self deprecating and naturally funny. It's sad that injury has forced premature retirement but I'm sure that he will have a very long TV career.
Teddington studios back onto a weir behind which are the famous navigational locks. We arrived early and had a walk. I was amazed to see a bright green parakeet in the trees on the river bank and thought that it was an escaped pet. But then we saw another and another and realised that there was a colony of them. I remember reading recently that Ring Necked Parakeets had become naturalised in the south of England but certainly didn't expect to see so many. It was obvious that the locals were used to them as they were given no more attention than the many wood pigeons that shared the tree tops.
The phone started ringing earlier in the week as news broke about a commercial coffee machine exploding in a Sainsburys store in Hampshire. I have been in the business for over twenty years and my family has been involved in producing pressure boilers for most of the past fifty years and this is the first instance of a pressure related accident that I have ever come across. The machine was sold by a reputable Italian firm although I don't know if they still manufacture in Italy or like many have contracted to the Far East. There are tens or maybe hundreds of thousands of expresso machines in use throughout the world and I can't help but think that something highly unusual must have happened to this piece of equipment as most pressure vessels have more than one fail safe device. Our only pressure boilers, the WB2 Supreme models have a safety valve, an operating pressure switch, a safety pressure switch and cut out and taps that would open long before dangerous pressure levels built up so an explosion is well nigh impossible. I am sure that the machine in question would incorporate similar safeguards.I read on the internet that a stuck safety valve was the cause but this alone should not be sufficient and I await the results of the inquest into the cause of the terrible accident.
If all goes well I should hit the target weight at the weekend. I've always wanted to be in one of those slimmer of the year photos, preferably one with a cardboard cut out of the earlier me. Well I haven't got a cardboard cutout so I'll have to make do with that other staple - holding out the waistband of the trousers that once fitted snugly. More on this next week if successful.
A big thank you to Jenny Buckley who, with the help of MCS of Southport (Mainframe Computer Solutions), our very own IT Crowd, has managed to get us back up and running with emails. We've got the internet too after a fashion but it is very slow and I am still trying to get the broadband back up. So thanks again Jenny and Steve and your team. You can't imagine how bad it has been without it - I had no idea what's been happening on YouTube and Twitter for almost a week. We'll soon put that right
Congratulations to assembly worker Lee Moore and his partner Emma. They are now proud parents of baby Ellen who was born yesterday morning. Ellen weighed in at just under seven pounds and she and her mum are both doing well. I look forward to getting a photo to put on the blog when Lee gets back to work from his paternity leave.
Yesterday evening at the gym I had a surreal experience. I was sitting on an exercise bike (the only apparatus that I can use at the moment) setting the controls when suddenly I looked up and a woman was standing right in front of me her face a few inches from mine. I jumped in surprise. She was massively overweight (20stone plus) and she had a neat goatee beard. "I'm an ugly sod aren't I?" she said. To which there was only one honest answer but, before I had chance to utter it, she went on to add that the DHSS were paying £1,100 for her to have her beard removed. Why I was brought into this confidence I have no idea but it was a very strange moment. Fortunately, as I was lost for words and the conversation was all going one way, she left and went on to repeat her story in a very loud voice to the lady on a nearby treadmill. I felt sorry for her but if she had appeared as a character in "Little Britain" Lucas and Walliams would be accused of being over the top.
Sad to read the news that Freddie Flintoff's recovery from his knee injury is not going to plan and the chances are that he won't be able to play again for at least another four months (if ever). Oh well that might mean that he is available as team captain again for the new series of Paul's show "A League Of Their Own" which was announced yesterday. Having seen Freddie's memorable rendition of "Suspicious Minds" at the recording of an episode of the last series, it would be great to see him back. There's a big article about Freddie in today's Guardian (click here) in which, amongst the list of alternative money making opportunities available to him, the bizarre possibility of him wrestling in the USA's WWE or similar is suggested.
This year's football close season has been a disaster on the betting front. Last year my son gave me a lot of help in betting on Big Brother and I ended up a winner as the footie season kicked off again. But this year's betting has gone pear shaped. The tactic was to pick an outsider who might grow in popularity and lay the bets in the last couple of weeks of the show. Paul suggested Caohomine might fit the bill. The plan was running well and I put steady bets on her until I stood to win thousands if she won but then, just as her popularity was on the rise, she walked out before I had chance to lay the bets so I am left with a best case of a £500 win (with an extremely unlikely housemate)and a worst case of a £190 loss on some of the more likely ones. Fortunately the potential loss on the favourite is under £55 so I may not have had my fingers burned as much as I thought. The dilemma now is whether to bet against her (Corin) and guarantee a loss of no more than £100 or to stick with her. I've got two weeks to decide. As I haven't seen the programme I suppose it was all a bit of a er (is "gamble" the right word?)betting on the show.
Twiddling my thumbs a bit a the moment. I am all psyched up to get cracking on our new computer system. It's in Australia but I can't log on to it yet. I'll have to pass my time somehow. How about a trip to the local lake in all this glorious balmy sunshine?
No, my headline today is not a homage to the mighty? Liverpool who once again put in a magnificent effort last night against a mediocre side and came away with a wonderful 1-0 defeat for the second time in a week My headline refers to son Paul's new show "A League Of Their Own" which aired for the first time last night on Sky1. Paul devised this show and has worked on it for months so, naturally, when it aired, Marion had to put on a bit of a do and here is our conservatory suitably decked out in red and blue for the teams and (if you look closely)with the table decorated with miniature sporting medals and trophies. Our closest friends came to join us and, even if it was not their cup of tea, they were all very polite about the show. Having been at the recording it is difficult for me to comment as I knew what was coming next (and they cut an awful lot out) but I thought that James Corden, Jamie Redknapp, John Bishop and Freddie Flintoff pulled it off very well and raised a good number of laughs.I am not going near the Digital Spy website as they pulled Paul's last show "The Colour Of Money"to bits and made us all feel sick for a week so I'm sticking with my own opinion. Well done son.
Sky's advertising with proud mum's hand penned addition.
There was not enough time to blog yesterday as our new boss Michael Crouch from Australia joined us for a factory visit. He is back again later today so I am writing this in the very early hours of the morning. I will be adding some photos later today after I have been to Preston to collect another of our new Australian colleagues Alan.
