Typecast

Many times I have wondered how people can find themselves so emotionally involved with a 'celebrity' that they participate in public grieving on social media channels.  I often think it is so that they can 'be seen to care' or to join in with a trend.  I usually comment on the passing, sometimes share a relevant news article and then wait until the next Deadpool newsletter . Hearing about the sudden and shocking passing of Victoria Wood was different.  I immediately understood why people feel the need to communicate their grief. And why they feel so completely and utterly bereft. Victoria Wood is someone who's comedic genius I have grown up with. Even before I was old enough to understand her observational humour, I remember her appearing on our family television. Then slowly, and surely, some of the jokes felt as though they made sense - the Northern intention, the strong women used in her sketches... but just the way in which she managed to cover almos...

Do you remember that time that I had my own quiz show on a community radio station? It all came to an abrupt end due to time constraints and recording logistics but it has always been on the back burner, waiting for a time to come to life again. Not so long back, one of the original team members and show producers asked if I'd like to be a part of a Christmas recording of his own radio show - Wit's End - and, if there was the opportunity, to record a one-off special of The Big Cheese.  So we sorted some dates out and some willing participates and got both recordings 'in the can' in November. For first time listeners, The Big Cheese is a regular cheesy quiz show with Christmas-related questions that aren't all that difficult (feel free to shout out the answers and let me know how you get on) and Wit's End is very much a satirical panel show. Both were huge fun to record and this was the first time that The Big Cheese had been recorded in front of a ...

Never did I think I would have a blog post with the title "Threesome" in it and, if I'm being totally honest, it's probably not what your Google search or inquisitive mind is looking for here.  Sorry and all that. A short while back I was flicking through the billions and trillions of Sky channels and found a British comedy called Threesome (I wasn't looking for Sexcetera , honest).  I've managed to watch all of series 1 from the beginning and we're now into series 2. The premise of the show is that Alice is turning 30 and feeling old so her boyfriend (Mitch) and their gay best-mate-cum-flatmate (Ritchie) decide to give her a drink and drug-fueled present that makes her not feel old - a threesome.  A few weeks after the party, Alice finds out she's pregnant at almost the same time Mitch finds out he is infertile...  There were hilarious guest spots from Pauline "Mrs Doyle" McLynn and Adam Garcia (swoon...) and it's probabl...

I'm the first one to  take to my blog for a good old rant  come out fighting in my child's corner but that is because I know them best.  I would not allow them to be placed in a position that I knew they would possibly not feel comfortable in or be able to cope with.  Are we at risk of singling our children out more by wrapping them up in cotton wool?