Tag Archives: radio

Ear We Go

May 22, 2021 Neil

We have arrived at the next point on the roadmap then and the rules have again been relaxed in regards to who we can see and the places we can go. Everything seems to either be a roadmap or a traffic light as the United Kingdom starts to reopen after the latest and possibly longest of the three lockdowns. As I generally live in my own world anyway I have not actually found it that tough, I appreciate I am very lucky in that respect. It has been an opportunity to reflect on things and think about what I want to achieve moving forward. Happily it is still world domination!

I am taking the approach of easing myself back into things gently and I have not been to any hospitality style venues as yet. I am planning to catch up with some friends soon most likely at one of our houses. Part of that is I am actually quite busy at the minute and have a set routine that no longer has any pub time built in. I think it is fair for people to start going out and doing things in their own time when they feel comfortable doing so. If you want to take advantage of the new freedom now great, if not no drama, return to it when you feel you are ready to.

I have actually ordered one of the Lateral Flow Covid Test kits. They are free and you test yourself twice a week to make sure you are not carrying the virus even if you do not have any of the symptoms. As I am going to be coming into contact with more people it makes sense to me anyway to be able to protect the people close to me and give myself and them peace of mind when I see them. One thing I will say though is that every time you take the test it is still an ordeal. It does not get any easier or less intrusive the more you do it. But I still think it is worth it personally.

I had my second Covid Vaccination about a week ago now. I am team Astra Zeneca. I had no real side effects other than a bit of a sore arm for a day where the needle went in and I did feel slightly more tired than normal for a couple of days, a small price to pay for something that should give you protection from a virus that could kill you. I am an asthmatic and have Coeliac Disease that puts me in the high risk category, which is why I got both my jabs so soon. I am not as old as you think I am. Tony Hadley also had his second jab at the same place as me on the same day. It was quite the showbiz day down there by all accounts.

I have had a bit of a health related service over the last couple of weeks. As well as becoming fully vaccinated against Covid I had a hospital appointment to have my ears looked at. I have this issue with them which means they get quite clogged up on a regular basis. Normally I have this simple procedure every six months but due the pandemic I had two appointments cancelled meaning it was nearly eighteen months since they had been dealt with.

The build up means I have trouble hearing so I either cannot hear people so they think I am ignoring them or my television is so loud it makes the whole of the house shake. It does sometimes cause a bit of Tinnitus for a short period of time to. The way it is dealt with is by using a tiny vacuum cleaner device that sucks all the debris out. It has a little camera on the end, which is attached to a big screen so the nurse can see where she is working. As I am squeamish I do not watch it as I am happy to rely on the health professional’s skill in this area.

It does make a huge difference when I have it done. I can hear so much more clearly and it does improve my balance, which also sufferers with the more stuffed up my ears get. It looks like they are back on track with this service so I will not have to wait so long next time thankfully. I have been having this done regularly now for the last five years. It is actually quite relaxing when it is being done. It does make a bit of a buzzing noise so it does feel a little bit like there is a friendly Bee in your ear. I can confirm though the ears are once again in tip top condition. (Who said that?)

The next part of my body to be looked at was my teeth. I was very overdue a check up and luckily my Dentist had started doing them again. I managed to book an appointment but the way it was done was obviously a bit different this time. The form that you usually fill out in the reception area needed to be completed online prior to my arrival. Then when I was outside the surgery I had to sign in online and wait across the street to be called in when they were ready for me, while trying not to look too suspicious. I wish I had dressed as a spy with a big brown jacket and dark glasses but sadly I didn’t.

After a short wait a hand appeared round the door and welcomed me in. I had to go straight into the dentist’s chair. It was weirdly nice to see her again and have a chat. My teeth were fine no need for any fillings or worse, which is always good. She did take some X-rays which were more uncomfortable than I remember. The only issue I have is receding gums I presume they must share the same genes as my hair. There is not much that can be done for them other than me not trying to brush so hard. That feels like it goes against everything that I was a taught as a kid. It was the final part of my body MOT although I have a feeling my eyes will need looking at again soon.

The other weekend I watched yet another film. That has been one of the big things for me during this last year. I think I have seen more films during the last twelve months than I have in the last ten years. The latest one was a continuation of my mission to catch up with the back catalogue of Quentin Tarantino. I seem to get on alright with his movies. I think he might have an attention span as bad as mine by the way his films tend to jump around a bit. As well as tell the story of about four different characters. Then of course there are the set pieces he does and the often quotable lines that they include.

My girlfriend and I watched “Inglourious Basterds”. It was originally released in 2009 so I am still a bit behind with the latest releases. It stars Brad Pitt, Christoph Waltz and Diane Kruger. It is set during the Second World War and it is pretty gory so I spent a lot of it with my hands over my face or looking away from the screen. There are elements of truth about it combined with complete fantasy brutal in places but still gripping and exciting. It maintained my interest all the way through, which is no mean feat! I enjoyed it, if that is the right word for a film about this subject. It was thought provoking and a sad reminder of what humans are capable of doing to each other.

I have mentioned before that I have had some involvement in quiz show development for television. Some of which have made it on to our screens and many of which sadly have not. It is tough trying to basically find new ways of reinventing the wheel as a quiz where you ask questions is pretty much the same however you dress it up with quirks. Recently I watched a bit of the new Channel 4 quiz show with Tom Allen called “Quizness”. Firstly I feel I need to say that I like Tom and think he is great but the actual idea behind the programme was not for me. I found it tough to get in to.

I am a big quiz fan and enjoy answering the questions while playing along at home. I sadly lost interest in this one during the first round. It might be quite a fun quiz to play but it is really hard and confusing to watch in my opinion. Many people will like it and that is fine and good. I happen not to which is also fine. We cannot all like the same things and we are all entitled to our own opinions. But this one was not really for me!

I had a Zoom chat recently with one of the producers of a potential new television show. They are looking to film a pilot episode of it and wanted to see if I might like to be involved. It seems like a fun idea so I said I would be happy go along and take part. I cannot say any more about it at this stage as it is still in the development process but they explained the concept to me and I think it could well have a place on one of the big main TV channels. I am still waiting for confirmation of the filming date but I will let you know more when I am able to.

The Premier League football season ends tomorrow. It has obviously been a strange competition this year. Only a handful of games have had any fans in attendance with most of the matches having been played behind closed doors. Manchester City I think fully deserved the title. They have been the best team by a mile. It has been an odd season for my team Tottenham Hotspur.

We started off really well with some great results and playing attacking football. We were at the top of the league in December. Then we started dropping points and playing a more defensive style of football. We went out of the Europa League and dropped away from the top four. At which point we sacked our manager Jose Mourinho. We then lost the League Cup final to Manchester City.

We really flattered to deceive I feel. Even though a lot of Spurs fans seem to disagree I think we have a very strong squad. One that I felt should have been strong enough to claim a Champions League place. The issues were I think behind the scenes and for whatever reason the manager was not getting the best out of everyone. It looks as if Harry Kane will still finish as the League’s top scorer which is a great achievement for a fantastic player playing in a very inconsistent side.

There have been some reports this week that Harry wants to leave the club at the end of the season. If there is some truth in this I must say I cannot really blame him. He is in his prime and wants to be able to compete for silverware. No Spurs fan would begrudge him that. I mean he has been a great servant to us. However he does seem like an actual fan of the club. He could possibly become the clubs all time top scorer in the next three seasons. I wonder if he might be with us still in August. I hope so but will understand if he is not.

I have renewed my season ticket for next season. Obviously I do not know if that means I will be able to go to every home game. That will depend on any capacity restrictions that might be in place still. One thing I do know is that I will go there and support which ever eleven players have been selected to play, the same way I always have done in the past. Win, lose or draw as long as they have tried their best and worked hard during the match I will clap them off the pitch.

A lot of supporters seem to think their side should win every game and the players should be perfect every week. They are human and this is the real world so that is not possible. The expectations that some fans seem to have now are unbelievable and will only lead to them being upset and disappointed. Live for the moment, believe in the players and the club, enjoy the good times and deal with the bad times. I will be as optimistic as ever that we will win something next year. Come on you Spurs!

It was the final edition of “Quigger’s Plays Pop” last Tuesday night. The forty-fourth episode of my little online Pop Quiz that I started during the first lockdown as a bit of fun to try to entertain and cheer people up. It then returned for lockdown two for a few weeks before I brought it back one more time for the latest and longest lockdown. Ten months of music based fun can still be found on my Facebook page.

It was great fun but I am pleased it has come to an end as that means people can go out and socialise with real people once again. When the country fully reopens properly I do plan on hiring a venue and doing an actual real life version of it. Where I can do the quiz and then we can all have a drink together afterwards. Here is the final Quigger’s Plays Pop in case you missed it. https://www.facebook.com/796795590/videos/10165049508260591/

A quick reminder that you can listen to me every Saturday afternoon between 2pm – 4pm on Radio Ninesprings https://www.radioninesprings.co.uk/

Have fun and we will catch up again soon. Stay safe! Cheers Neil.

May Be Getting Better

May 8, 2021 Neil

We are just over two weeks away from the next potential easing of restrictions; I have still only taken a slight advantage of the previous relaxation of the rules so far. I am perfectly happy to slowly return to doing things when they become more accessible and less controlled. The situation in the United Kingdom appears to be improving nicely as all the key numbers have dropped significantly during this latest lockdown. The vaccination programme so far seems to be delivering excellent results in our fight against this horrible virus.

It is impressive how many people have received the injection. Both my sister and girlfriend have now had their first jab, which is great. I am expecting my second one by the end of this month. The big test will be of course when we all start mixing inside once again. There have been some test events to decide the best way of achieving this and work out the risks. If everybody is honest and considerate with each other by isolating with any symptoms then taking a test when it is required, we can keep it under control, which has always been the aim of the game.

I am optimistic that we can still have a great summer within Britain. Personally I am looking forward to a lot of barbeques to see family and friends. The situation in some other countries is still a little bit of a concern as regards to new variants appearing, which could hinder the progress that we have made. That will make travel overseas a potential risk but if people are careful and follow any quarantine rules, hopefully it will all be fine. Meaning we can look ahead to a more normal winter this year. I still think the key is to concentrate on what we can do rather on what we cannot.

I must confess just for ease I have been avoiding shops for most of the last twelve months and buying pretty much everything online. The other week I just needed a couple of extra things for the Bank Holiday Weekend so I ventured out to one of my local Supermarkets. I only needed four items so I grabbed them very quickly. There were only two tills open and I always pick the wrong one, which was the case once again.

One of the cashiers had a problem with her till and the manager was there looking at it, so I joined the other queue behind a gentlemen who was doing his weekly shop and had a trolley full. I was minding my own business while socially distanced from him patiently waiting for him to finish. Then all of a sudden I got splashed in the face and head with something. I looked up to see the cashier had dropped a can of lager and it had exploded everywhere! I laughed and shook my head then realised she was completely soaked.

Therefore she had to mop herself up then wipe down every single item he had bought which had also been covered. The till next door had been fixed and two more customers served before it was at last my turn to pay. To add insult to injury from this issue the lager was not even gluten free so I could not even lick my lips. Mind you luckily for me when it landed on me I had my mouth shut for a change!

I have just got a new mobile phone this week. I have been with O2 for over twenty years mainly because it feels like it would be a pain to change provider and they have never done anything to annoy me. Out of the blue I got a call from a member of their loyalty team who said they were rewarding me for my long term commitment to them with a special deal on a new phone and contract. Owing to last year’s iPad incident where I accidentally cancelled my phone contract and had to buy a sim only deal to get myself back in the telephone game, I thought I would just buy my next phone outright.

I was thinking about looking for a new phone when the guy rang me, how do they do these things, have they got a sixth sense, or am I that predictable? Anyway he was really nice, helpful and friendly. I had a very long chat with him. In the end he did offer me a decent deal on a new mobile contract which included a brand new phone with a very reasonable discount on it. It was the first time as a loyal customer of that company that they had ever called with such an offer. Therefore I took the deal and the new handset arrived a few days later. As I use the brand of phone that pretty much self-destructs after two years, I did need to get a new one!

My girlfriend and I had a couple of nights away just prior to the last Bank Holiday Weekend. We booked an Airbnb Shepherds Hut just outside Trowbridge. It was a very cosy straightforward little place. That was basically situated at the bottom of a vegetable garden at the back of a row of cottages. It was nicely furnished and heated by a log burner. I was briefly in the Cubs but never became a Scout. I put myself in charge of keeping the fire burning. You would not believe the pride and satisfaction I felt when I managed to get it going from scratch on day two. I just sat there staring at the flame smiling at my excellent work.

There was one other thing that attracted us to this place for a little two night break and that was it came with a log fired hot tub. The hosts were great and very kindly made sure it was heated up so we could use it both the days we were there. We did not get there until after seven on the first night, so by the time we had eaten we did not venture outside to the hot tub until after nine. It was nicely lit and so peaceful. It was a bit chilly getting in and out of it at that time but we offset that issue by enjoying a couple of glasses of Champagne while we were in there.

We then enjoyed another outside soak the following afternoon once again accompanied by some fizz. It is so relaxing and invigorating to be at one with nature, while in the bath. The Rumple Hut to give it its rightful name also had a projector. On our final evening we set it up and using my girlfriend’s lap top we watched Star Wars “The Rise of Skywalker”, the final instalment in the epic series of movies. I am a huge fan of the franchise, so had already seen it the day that it came out in the cinema. She had only seen the first three original films but agreed to give the last one a go.

We set it up on one of the big white walls of the hut and I must say it looked and sounded really good. I enjoyed seeing the movie again. I do not watch that many films but I can happily watch any of the Star Wars films over and over again. There are some nice twists and turns as it wraps things up and tries to answer all the outstanding issues from the whole of the story, which is no mean feat. Plus it is great albeit very briefly to see nearly all of the main original characters make at least a small appearance in it. It was a cool way to spend our final night in the Wiltshire countryside before we headed home.

It was of course May the Fourth Star Wars Day in the week. As a fan I do always celebrate and mark this occasion. I currently own a Star Wars T-shirt and a child’s Lightsaber. I used to have a big box of the original Star Wars figures and toys including the Millennium Falcon. I sold it all at a car boot sale about a year before they made the first of the final three films, which I will admit with hindsight, was very bad timing. I went to a Star Wars Exhibition at the O2 Arena about five years ago, which was brilliant. May the force be with you!

I had a great Bank Holiday Weekend relaxing while having a few drinks and enjoying some delicious gluten free food. As ever I was spoilt. We had two nights of steak firstly with potato salad then with pesto pasta the next night. A lovely prawn risotto dish with a bit of a homemade Chinese feast to round things off on the Sunday. All of this food was of course made by Lynda, who is an excellent cook. But I did contribute towards the pudding. I made a banana with whipped cream topped with hundreds and thousands. Do not knock it until you have tried it, tasted great I will have you know.

We also watched the most recent Russell Howard Netflix special called Recalibrate. I really like him and have seen him live quite a few times. In fact I saw him do a very early small work in progress gig for this very show at the brilliant Bill Murray Pub in Islington. From that I could tell that this was a much more angry and frustrated Russell than normal. That was clearly how he needed to pitch this show to make it work. The finished performance was hilarious there is one bit where he talks about what his Nan said at his Grandads funeral that made me cry with laughter. Well worth seeing if you simply need a good old fashioned laugh and we all need that sometimes.

I have just about recovered from the disappointment of Spurs losing the Carabao Cup Final at Wembley to Manchester City. They are a brilliant side, but I do not think we really went for it enough, we sat back a lot, when I would have liked to see us attack a bit more. That said it is no disgrace to lose to them. Since that defeat we bounced back beating Sheffield United four nil with Gareth Bale scoring a hat-trick. We started that game with the closest to the team I would like to have seen start for the last four months.

We still have no idea who our manager will be next season. All of the ones I really want already have jobs that I suspect they will not be leaving to come to us. Ryan Mason is doing a great job under the circumstances. We have just four games remaining starting with a trip to Leeds United today. Even if we win all of these matches there is only a very slim chance that we will qualify for the Champions League. If we fail to achieve that then it will be harder to attract new players and tougher to keep the players we have. I think depending on how the season pans out there could be quite a lot of changes at the club during the summer.

My weekly Pop Quiz has celebrated its first birthday. I marked the big occasion by presenting a special hour long version of it. I just added a few extra rounds some of which were there when it all began during lockdown one last April. I have had a lot of fun doing the quiz and trying to keep people entertained and amused when they were unable to leave their house or socialise with other people.

It has given me chance to chat and catch up with a few people which has been great. I have decided though as things will open up further in a few weeks I am going to do the final one of Tuesday 18th May. That means there are just two weeks left for you to get involved. Here is a link to the anniversary edition of “Quigger’s Play Pop” in case you missed it. https://www.facebook.com/796795590/videos/10164966924145591/

A quick reminder that you can listen to me every Saturday afternoon between 2pm – 4pm on Radio Ninesprings https://www.radioninesprings.co.uk/

Have fun and we will catch up again soon. Stay safe! Cheers Neil.

Art of Management

April 24, 2021 Neil

I still have not taken advantage yet of any of the relaxations of the rules. Due to the unique way that it grows I have been cutting my own hair for over a year now. I have no fashion sense so I have not rushed out to the shops to buy any clothes that do not suit me. Plus I still have a pretty impressive supply of wine at home. Add to that the fact that I have not quite got the desire to sit outside fully wrapped up while having a pint of cider. However if you have quite reasonably been out and about more sampling things I hope you have enjoyed it and felt safe.

It is nice to see a lot of my friends now getting their first jabs as well as my parents and older relatives receiving their second injections. I should get my next one in another four weeks, which I am obviously looking forward to. The more protected I am the better as far as I am concerned. As a long time sufferer of Asthma and also someone who needed several pints of blood after a nasty haemorrhage when I was nine I have been happy to rely on medical science to keep me alive. I can confirm that my opinion on its worth has not changed.

I will slowly ease myself back out into the world, seeing friends and going to pubs when I feel the time is right. Everybody can decide to do things again when they want to and at their own speed. As long as we continue to look after ourselves and each other the new roaring twenties are just around the corner. That is going to be some decade of partying. I am branching out a little bit, my girlfriend and I are off to stay in a Shepherd’s Hut in the middle of nowhere next weekend for a slight change of scenery, which we are both looking forward to.

It was the Grand National a fortnight ago today. I am usually up in Liverpool for the event and I hope to be back there for it next year. It was a bit weird watching on the television with no fans at Aintree. It always amuses me when they travel over the Melling Road as I have driven up and down that road lots of times, although not on a race day of course. The big race itself did not disappoint. It had as much drama and excitement as always. It is arguably the most challenging course for jumps horses and one of the biggest tests of stamina that the animals involved will probably ever face.

It was won this year by a horse called Minella Times, which is trained in Ireland by Henry De Bromhead. It was ridden to victory by the ace Rachel Blackmore, who in doing so became the first ever female jockey to win the race. She has already established herself as one of the top riders in Ireland and the United Kingdom. Both of them had already had a brilliant Cheltenham Festival, which is the other really big meeting in the jumps racing calendar. I happily had backed her to win so that earned me a few pounds. I also had the fifth placed horse on an each way bet, so it was a decent afternoon for me.

The evening then got even better. One of my horses that I have a few small shares in Stage Star was running in the final race of the day at Aintree. Therefore after I had celebrated my Grand National win I settled down to watch this race. Originally Harry Cobden was due to ride him but he got injured after falling in an earlier race and had to go to hospital. Then Bryony Frost was lined up to do it but sadly she also had a fall in the National and ended up in hospital to. In the end Harry Skelton ended up taking the ride. It was a big step up for Stage Star but he had run well in his last race at Ascot just being beaten by his stable mate Knappers Hill.

He started well and was travelling nicely in the middle of the field. It was a big race with twenty runners. With about three furlongs to go his jockey gave him a shake up and he went to the front. At this point I was screaming and shouting getting very excited. As it looked for a few moments like he could win it but he was overtaken once again by Knappers Hill in the final furlong and then passed by a second horse as he ran on to finish third. It was a great run from a horse that we hope has a lot of potential.

He went off at a price of 22/1 and as I had an each way bet on him he did win me a little bit of cash. It was a National Hunt Flat race but the plan is to run him over hurdles in the autumn, which we think will suit him better. That will be after he has had a well deserved break this summer. I am looking forward to a time when I can once again see my horses run in person at the track. The adrenalin rush you get watching them challenge for the lead in a race is brilliant. Not to mention the feeling when they win!

It is pretty easy to manage my Gluten Free diet at home. It simply means that I have to think about my meal choices a little bit more in advance. Or if I want something particular I have to hunt down the Gluten Free version. I have just found a food company who produce and do home delivery of their own products. Mainly I have used this to expand my snack options like biscuits and bars. Although I have found a new cereal to try, it is the closest to my old favourite one that I have found.

Thanks to my girlfriend I had my first experience of Gluten Free pasta last Saturday in a Lasagne she made. It tasted amazing and I would challenge anyone in a taste test to be able to spot the Gluten was missing, you honestly could not tell. The week before it was a Gluten Free Pizza to try, which again was lovely. She is basically working through the things that when I was first diagnosed with Coeliac Disease I thought I would no longer be able to eat.

After we had finished our food we had another online comedy night to watch. It was hosted by Laura Lex, who I once saw do the warm up for Ben Elton’s Upstart Crow. And perform as one of the headline comics at the Tringe Festival Roving Comedy Night. She was great and did a top job setting the tone for the show. The first act on was Tez Ilyas who was excellent, really enjoyed his set. Then it was Troy Hawke, who is a character act, which I honestly think some of the audience did not realise. To be fair it did take me a bit of time to get on board with it, but he did make me laugh.

The headline act was somebody who I really like. I have seen him live twice at Glastonbury and then doing some new material at the Old Rope Comedy Night in London. It was the hilarious Ed Byrne. He has such an entertaining way of telling his stories, while doing very unique and individual to him jokes. He knows the craft of comedy inside out and is so comfortable on stage. He even added an extra couple of jokes to his performance as he was not happy about the laugh that his last planned joke received. He told the audience exactly what he was doing and blamed us for it, which I thought was great. Top fella!

I recently watched Shaun of The Dead for the first time. I appreciate as ever with regards to films I am a bit behind the times with this one as it was released in 2004. It has a great cast and is good fun. It was a bit weird watching a Zombie Apocalypse after the year we have all had. Many aspects of it in a way strangely seemed quite familiar. There are some great quotable lines in it. Plus a lot of good cameo appearances. I will hold my hand up as someone who does not like horror or any blood. As a result there were a few bits that I found too gory and had to look away from the screen for. I am so bad I cannot even watch Casualty. I hate anything injured body or flesh related.

The film starred Simon Pegg and Nick Frost. It was directed by Edgar Wright. Three years after this one the three of them teamed up again for a movie called Hot Fuzz. A lot of it was shot on location in Wells in Somerset. I was working for Ivel fm in Yeovil at the time. After the big London premiere they then decided to have a smaller one in the cinema in Wells. One of the journalists who worked at the station with me got wind of this and managed to get hold of the person who was organising it. He tried to get us tickets to see the film but the cinema there is pretty small, so all they could offer us were two tickets for the after show party in a bar next door.

We went along of course, even though it was a midweek event. I think he drove us there so I had a few beers. The place was packed Nick Frost and Edgar Wright were both there but Simon Pegg was unable to make it. They both gave a short speech. Then the DJ took over. As it happened he was somebody I knew anyway, so I got all the gossip about the film from him. It was a strange night to be honest so we did not stay too late. I have still not seen the whole film. I did once almost get invited to the London Premiere of a Guy Ritchie film but that is a story for another time.

Tim Lovejoy formerly of Soccer Am and currently of Sunday Brunch on Channel 4 is doing quite a few podcasts at the moment. One of these is a football one called A-Zidane of Football with a Derby fan mate of his called Blake. I make a brief appearance on the S episode edition talking to them about my team Tottenham. This was prior to the two big pieces of news to come out of the club in the last week. It was fun to do and good to talk to the both of them. If you missed it and fancy having a listen here is a link to the one that I was on. https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/ep-235-a-zidane-of-football-letter-s/id1196671475?i=1000517361706

Well where do I start with the last two weeks in the life and times of my team Tottenham Hotspur? As I feared we were well beaten by a not even firing on all cylinders themselves Manchester United team. Then we drew away to a similarly lacklustre Everton Side. The game was so bad that both sides deserved to lose. At the end of the match to add injury to insult Harry Kane limped off with what looked like an ankle injury. I did apply to be one of the two thousand fans at Wembley to watch us play Manchester City in the League Cup Final tomorrow but I was not successful in the ballot.

Although with hindsight, what has happened during the last seven days makes that pale into insignificance. First there was that “big” announcement about the so called big six clubs in England wanting to be part of a new European Super League in their eyes replacing their involvement in the Champions League and Europa League. I am ashamed to say Spurs were one of these clubs. This proposed league was fixed with always with the same teams and no promotion or relegation. Therefore completely pointless, it was totally driven by greed and they massively misread why fans support their clubs. It is now not happening thankfully after all the English clubs pulled out after pressure from their fans.

I have not renewed my season ticket yet. This latest money driven elitist stupid failed plan means that I will have some serious thinking to do to decide if I will renew it or not? I was already on the edge with VAR ruining things but this could well be the last straw. I love going to the match and cheering on the team, I want to see them win things. Not play in a pointless midweek European non-competition. That will not be the case now, but even so the way it came about has left a bitter taste in the mouth. Realistically I will probably renew it as I enjoy it and it did take me over forty years to be able to get one.

The day after that story broke Tottenham then decide to sack the manager Jose Mourinho. I was not a fan of his before he joined us and I would say to anyone who would listen before he came that I did not like or enjoy his style of football. And that I did not want him as our boss. I was a huge fan of Mauricio Pochettino and was upset when he was fired. I had grown to accept Mourinho as a man but the way he had the team playing and that fact we were not winning were hard to accept.

The timing of the dismissal was crazy. It should either have been done a month ago when we were still in touch with the top four or at the end of the season. Doing it the week before a Cup Final in a competition he has a good record in seems mad. It would have been a huge ask against City but he has pulled off some big shocks over the years, so to relieve him of his duties now is very hard to justify. There does not appear to be any one lined up so Ryan Mason and Chris Powell are stepping up from the Under 23’s to take control until the end of the season.

They are both great guys and I am sure they will do a good job but it is not the ideal preparation for a club looking to win their first silver ware since 2008. I will be watching the action from Wembley on my television tomorrow and cheering the team on as always. No one is really expecting us to win but stranger things have happened. Jose did not seem to have a clue what his best side was seventeen months into the job. I hope the two new coaches can make firm decisions a lot quicker and find I hope a more attacking formula. To Dare is to Do! Come on your Spurs!

Amazingly my weekly lockdowns’ Pop Quiz is one year old this Tuesday. I started doing it around a month into the first national lockdown purely as something for people on a Tuesday night to do. Everything was shut and you were not allowed to socialise or visit anybody. It gave me something to work towards and prepare each week. I had a lot of fun putting it together, designing the rounds and writing all the questions. Lots of people were joining in and enjoying the music based fun, which was great.

The first series lasted until the end of lockdown one. I stopped doing it when we were allowed back out. I honestly thought that was it and I had put it to bed. Then in November the second national lockdown happened, so I brought it back on the same night and in the same time slot as before. It was great to see all the old participants return for the latest version. This one only lasted about five weeks but did also lead to me doing a Christmas Special during the festive period.

I thought that it might be a fitting way to end it but then in January this year lockdown three occurred. Therefore what else could I do but bring it back for a third series. During the last twelve months I think I have written well over one thousand questions. I dressed up as Elvis Presley for the end of series one as I did think that one could be the last ever quiz. In all of the other shows I have worn the same grey jacket. In every one Pinky Punky from Mallet’s Mallet has sat just behind me.

For the anniversary programme I am going to do an hour long special of “Quigger’s Plays Pop” starting at the earlier time of 8pm. As well as having more questions than usual I will bring back a few of the old rounds and may even test people’s memories with some of the same questions I used during the heady days of the first series. It should be a good laugh. As ever as well as the quiz itself I will try and throw in some facts or stories of some of my encounters with people from the world of music. Join me this Tuesday at 8pm for the birthday pop quiz. If you missed it here is the link to last week’s show. https://www.facebook.com/796795590/videos/10164939561950591/

You can listen to me on Saturday afternoon’s between 2pm – 4pm on Radio Ninesprings https://www.radioninesprings.co.uk/

Have fun and we will catch up again soon. Stay safe! Cheers Neil.

Jump Around

April 10, 2021 Neil

I will be honest I am still pretty much just keeping myself to myself despite the easing of the lockdown regulations. I am happy to wait a little bit and see what happens as people mix in controlled situations together. Plus as we can only meet outside at the moment I am also waiting for the weather to consistently warm up a bit. I am not a fan of the cold. When the temperatures start averaging around twenty degrees then I will start catching up with people.

There are more business’s being allowed to reopen from Monday including hairdressers. I appreciate that some folk are very excited about that but as I have been cutting my own hair for a year now I no longer require their services. Pubs can serve food and drinks if they have an outside area or beer garden. However I think I am going to once again wait a bit to see how that is going before I sample it. I am still being extra careful but also as much as I want to go to pubs I do want it to seem like a place of fun rather than having a drink in your local doctors’ waiting room, if you know what I mean?

Everything so far in the United Kingdom looks quite encouraging as we slowly unlock things. The latest measures in place appear to have been working and hopefully if we are sensible and courteous we can keep things under control going forward. As much as I would love to head off on holiday somewhere exotic, some other countries do not appear to quite be on top of things yet. I understand how if this is not managed properly it could undo a lot of our hard work. Frustrating though that is for everybody. It could be the year for exploring those parts of Britain that you have been meaning to but never got round to.

I hope you had a fantastic Easter Bank Holiday Weekend and got to eat lots of chocolate, it is what Jesus would have wanted. Mine was brilliant, even though I did not set foot outside at all during the four days. I did however manage to find plenty of things to do to keep me entertained. On Good Friday evening my girlfriend got us a ticket for an online comedy night. It started quite early I thought at 7pm. Mind you I was already on the red wine by then to be fair. The event was hosted by Kiri Pritchard- Mclean. She was excellent and did a top job warming up an odd gig with a small Covid safe live audience there in the room alongside the now normal Zoom audience online.

First on was Daliso Chaponda who if you remember was on Britain’s Got Talent and has since had his own show on Radio 4. He was ace as he has been every time I have seen him, very funny and clever. Then it was a comic who I actually discovered via TikTok. He is a one liner comedian in the style of Tim Vine and Milton Jones. That style of comedy is a lot harder than it seems and requires an exceptional amount of wordplay skill and the ability to be very economic with your words, which is why I could never do it. His name is Mark Simmons and I really enjoyed his set it had some lovely lines in it.

The headline act was Nina Conti. I have been trying to see her live for a while and this is the closest I have managed so far. When I was in Edinburgh last I wanted to see her show there but it was totally sold out. She is an amazing Ventriloquist who mainly performs with her trusty sidekick Monkey. But she also has a bit in her act where she gets people up from the audience and puts puppet masks over their faces and makes them talk, which is always hilarious. As ever I thought she was great!

I have been a fan of ventriloquism for years as a child I used to love Roger De Courcey and Nookie Bear, as well as Ray Allan and Lord Charles. The gig was a wonderful start to the long weekend. All the performers were good despite the strange way it was set up and the fact that none of them had performed live for a while, obviously. I do hope that they do more of these gigs as we build up for the return of actual live comedy with some bigger audiences. There are so many brilliant venues I regularly used to visit to see top comedians do their thing. I cannot wait till these reopen and I am once again able to laugh out loud with a room full of strangers.

On Saturday afternoon we ended up watching Shrek. It is one of those films that you can watch over and over again and it does not require too much attention, which is always a winner for me. It is a brilliant film with a great singalong soundtrack. Which character are you? I think I am definitely “Donkey”. It is hard to believe it is twenty years old this month. I spotted something watching it this time that I think I had seen online somewhere and then totally forgot about.

The logo lettering for the ruler of the town of Duloc, Lord Farquaad is a white f on a blue background. It does look kind of familiar to how a well-known social media networking website looks. Facebook was launched in 2004! Mark Zuckenberg would have been I guess about seventeen years old when the movie was released. Even if he did not mean to I reckon at the very least he saw it and subconsciously used that for his site design. Or that is what I would have told my lawyers anyway!

Later on that evening we watched Creation Stories which is loosely based on the life of Alan McGhee, who was the man behind Creation Records. Irvine Welsh helped write the screen play and apparently did shall we say embellish certain aspects of the story. It is directed by Nick Moran who was in Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels. I do think that you can detect the influence of that film and Trainspotting in this one.

It is mainly about how Alan achieved what he did while seemingly being constantly out having a great time. That in a way does make his success even more impressive and surprising. His record label’s biggest discovery was probably Oasis. They do get referenced in this but they are very much on the fringes of things. Paving the way for a biopic of the Gallagher brother’s, which if they make very soon they can use all the actors who played the band in the McGhee story and save a bit of time during the casting process.

It was for me an unusually film heavy weekend. But we did also enjoy lots of top quality food, some decent red wine and in my case a bit more Gluten Free Beer. The final movie we saw was the Spike Lee directed Blackkklannsman. It is based on a true story about a black police detective who wants to infiltrate his town’s branch of the Klu Klux Klan. He makes the initial contact with them via the phone and then speaks to the leaders of the group on the phone throughout the movie. But for obvious reasons he could not meet them in person, so another white but Jewish detective pretends to be him to get in with the organisation.

It is a fascinating and terrifying story. It was very cleverly told and although a massively serious subject there is a lot of comedy in it. The main man Ron Stallworth is played by John David Washington. The character is kind of like the original Beverley Hills Cop in style and brashness. Adam Driver plays his colleague who has to pretend to be him when meeting up with the white supremacists.

I felt quite a bit of tension throughout it and you so want the good guys to win and there are moments when you fear they will not. At the end of the film there is some footage that shows the language that these guys were using back in the seventies appears to be the same as what Donald Trump was reciting in a lot of his speeches. Certain key words and phrases really stuck out. Having just seen the movie it definitely struck a chord with me.

It is the Aintree Horse Racing Festival this weekend culminating in The Grand National later this afternoon. The event did not even take place at all last year. Before that it was always a highlight of my year. I would travel up to Liverpool on the Thursday afternoon to go to my mate Jeff’s place. We would then get all dressed up in our suits and go to Ladies Day at the course on the Friday. That was always a top quality occasion and if I am honest quite a big day on the alcohol front.

Then on Grand National Day itself we would find a nice pub in or around Liverpool to watch the race in both of us hoping to have backed the winner to justify the party we were actually going to have regardless of the result. This will be the second year I have missed but hopefully things will be at the stage by next year, where we can restart this wonderful tradition. It is always such a funny and lively weekend. Plus a great excuse to get dressed up and cheer on some of the best horses in the country.

One of my horses “Stage Star” is actually running in the final race of the festival, which takes place after the main event. He is set to run in the 6.20pm at Aintree. It is a National Hunt Flat Race and only his third appearance at a track. It is a big step up even though the first couple of appearances were encouraging this will be a much bigger test. I hope he runs well, enjoys himself and comes home safe. If he does happen to win I will be celebrating, that is for sure. It is a shame that under the current restrictions I cannot be there in person but I guarantee I will be watching from home.

I have really settled in to my Gluten Free diet now. Generally it does not cause me any real issues but every now and again there will be something that I discover I cannot have. Or more accurately I will have to hunt down the Gluten Free version of. There does seem to be one for pretty much everything, which is nice.

As a result of my Coeliac Disease diagnosis I had to have another vaccination this week. It is recommended that sufferers get the Pneumonia Vaccine due to an increased risk of complications if it is contracted. Quick simple and painless as with all these things and I now have the little bit of extra protection I need.

There was a break from Domestic football as the International scene took centre stage for a few weeks. England managed three wins out of three. That means we top our World Cup Qualification Group. Harry Kane managed to add to his goal tally and is at number six on the all time scorers list, six goals behind fifth placed Michael Owen and nineteen goals behind first placed Wayne Rooney. I certainly would not back against him beating that record the man is a goal machine!

Tottenham returned to action last Sunday. You can always rely on them to ruin a decent weekend. The performance was actually not too bad but we conceded a goal in the last ten minutes to draw away at Newcastle. A win would have put us into the top four. That has kind of been the story of our season so far, we have very much flattered to deceive.

We face Manchester United at home tomorrow and I have no idea how it will turn out. I fear the worse but hope for the best. Whatever happens I will be fully behind the team cheering them on. As that is what supporting the team means to me.

My Pop Quiz continues every Tuesday night at 8.30pm still. I plan on keeping it going at least until we are allowed to sit back inside pubs and restaurants again. That seems like it will be at least a month or so away.

Since I started it last April I have set and asked over one thousand questions. Here is the latest episode of “Quigger’s Plays Pop” in case you missed it. https://www.facebook.com/796795590/videos/10164882543415591/

I have now been doing my Saturday Show on Radio Ninesprings in Yeovil for over a year. That seems to have gone very quickly. If you have listened in at any point thanks very much I hope I made you laugh or at the very least made you shout at your radio! You can listen to me on Saturday afternoon’s between 2pm – 4pm on Radio Ninesprings https://www.radioninesprings.co.uk/

Have fun and we will catch up again soon. Stay safe! Cheers Neil

Park Life

March 27, 2021 Neil

It has now been over twelve months since the United Kingdom had its first National Lockdown. We are now in Lockdown three and like The Police Academy films ideally we would have all liked them to have ended after the initial one. They both basically followed the same story and sadly did become a little less entertaining. However we are hopefully moving in the right direction and starting to get on top of the situation regarding this very nasty virus at last.

The real test of course will come when everything slowly starts to open back up again. Then we will get the chance to try to remember how to order drinks in a pub, sing at football matches and purchase a ticket for the theatre. We are not quite there yet and it will not just be enough to get things under control here. For things to truly begin to get back to somewhere near to normal the whole world needs to be able to contain this thing together. Sadly it does seem that some Countries are faring better than others at that.

Obviously nobody is totally enjoying the current situation. Life I think is about how you look at it. Try to concentrate on the things that we can do over the next few months rather than the things we cannot. Then make the most of everything you can still do within the rules. People will also begin to allow themselves to do things at their own speed when they feel comfortable enough. Some will jump back to it straight away some may wait a bit and see what happens. Each to their own! We all have to make the right decisions for ourselves.

I have now been Gluten Free for over a month after being diagnosed with Coeliac Disease. Happily I am still finding it easy to adapt my regular diet accordingly and do not really feel that I am missing out on too much. I still get way too excited when I check a bar code on my phone application and the smiley face appears telling me that it is safe for me to have it. My girlfriend is doing a sterling job giving me Gluten Free desserts as my general motto when it comes to food is that you should always end a meal with something sweet. I feared that I might have to stop with that philosophy but it is still possible even with the new restrictions I have.

I can no longer have standard Lager, Beer or Stout so I am on a little bit of a mission to find the best Gluten Free version of these options. I have already found an early leader in the Lager category. It is called Daura and made in Spain by the people that make Estrella. It is so far the closest to the real lager taste that I have found. It is completely fine for me to drink, in moderation of course. It is actually approved by Coeliac UK and has their emblem. That sign is basically a big tick for me on anything I see it on. I have studied food labelling in the last month more than at any time during my entire life.

For the first time since I was eighteen there was no Guinness for me on St Patrick’s Day this year, as I am no longer allowed to drink it. For many years I went to Waxy O’Connor’s in London, had a few pints of the black stuff, enjoyed the live Irish music and basically had a great time. I did not get to go last year which was a real shame. That place is my favourite pub in the Capital and I am looking forward to going there when we are allowed to once again. I will have to find a new drink to enjoy there of course.

I have always felt I qualified to celebrate because not only do I have a name with Irish origin “Quigley” but my Granddad was actually born there. The family had a small holding in County Mayo. I have not had the chance to go there yet, my Uncle has and sadly the actual farm is no longer there. I would like to visit one day. I imagine it would be a bit like Ant & Dec’s DNA Journey and it would turn out that I was in some way related to everybody in the local pub. This year I raised a cup of tea to St Patrick, while wearing my green rugby shirt that I won in a competition at Waxy’s about seven years ago.

I hope you somehow managed to give your Mum a nice little treat on Mother’s Day this year. I appreciate this may not have been easy and there is a chance you have not seen her for a year or possibly longer. I ordered mine a card from a well-known greetings card website. Their name rhymes with “Spoon Wig”. It has been a tough year for everyone so I thought I would splash out a bit as she deserves it. As I was placing the order I saw an option that said giant card. I thought I would get her that. I did not bother looking at the dimensions as I honestly presumed giant meant A4 size. Why would you need one bigger than that?

Anyway I also sorted out some chocolates and arranged to get them delivered to her on the day. That afternoon she sent me a picture of her holding the card and it was massive! It was almost as big as her. It looked like one of those oversized cheques that they mock up to give big prize winners. My Mum liked it but my sister was annoyed as she got a normal sized card, so it looked like I had tried to outdo her in the appreciation stakes. That was not my intention. In fact it was simply due to me not really paying attention. I just hope she does not think all of her future cards will be this size or she is going to be very disappointed.

I am generally very clumsy. In fact it is a bit worrying how often I seem to catch my arm on door frames or hit my head on cabinet doors. I often compare myself to a cross between Frank Spencer from “Some Mothers Do ‘Ave’ M and Mr Bean. I sometimes think that I could have been a slapstick comedy superstar like Norman Wisdom or Charlie Chaplin. I reckon I could easily have fell through that bar like Del Boy in Only Fools and Horses. I am not sure how I seem to manage these things.

The other week I was just walking down the stairs to get a glass of water albeit with nothing on my feet. When I tripped and somehow fell forward on to just one of my toes, which buckled under me and for a brief moment had all my weight on it. At this point it made a bit of a strange noise as I regained my footing. I thought I had broken my toe initially but now I think I might just have sprained it. Either way it has gone a very impressive colour and I have had to rest it. There is nothing more annoying than injury yourself doing something simply unexpected and ridiculous.

It was the Cheltenham Festival recently. I am a big horse racing fan so this is always one of the highlights of my year. I normally try to go on the Wednesday, obviously I could not do that this year and sadly I did not manage to get there last year. Although as that was when the Pandemic was starting to take hold of the country I was totally fine with that situation with hindsight. I watched all of the races from the comfort of my home this time. The television coverage is very good to be fair. They do it really well and make it as inclusive as possible.

The racing is always top quality at this event. It takes place at the home of National Hunt Racing. The course is set in the countryside of the Cotswolds and looks stunning. As part of the meeting there is a competition between the Irish Trainers and the rest of the United Kingdom. Ireland ran away with it this year. They had the winners of pretty much all the big races. Ireland’s Rachel Blackmore became the first female leading Jockey at the event, riding the most winners over the four days.

When it comes to any gambling the golden rule is never bet more than you can afford to lose. For example when I actually go to the races I budget in any stake money as part of the cost of the whole day and expect to spend it. If I have any winners and return with some money that is just a bonus. I had quite a good Cheltenham. I saw and had a bet on every race and ended up fifty pounds up for the week, which I was obviously very happy with. Next up in a couple of weeks it is the Grand National Festival at Aintree. I would normally be there but of course cannot do that this year. However one of my horses might be running there, which is very exciting.

I watched the film Wild Rose last weekend. Unusually this one was kind of my suggestion for a change, much to the surprise of my other half. It is about a young Scottish woman who is desperate to make it as a Country singer. That is what peaked my interest as I am a fan of that genre of music. Plus I had heard some good things about it. The cast list is impressive it features Julie Walters, Sophie Okonedo and Jessie Buckley who plays the title role. It was quite a good watch. I was hoping there would be more music in it than there was. It has a pretty gritty and real storyline.

The king of the UK Country scene Bob Harris makes a brief cameo appearance in it as does his real Radio 2 producer. The best bit for me was when Rose-Lynn goes to Nashville. I have been there and I loved it there, so it was great to see it on screen. It brought back lots of memories of my trip there. I would happily go there again. Such a cool place with live music pretty much everywhere all of the time. I do not want to spoil the ending but they kept the movie true and pretty realistic, I would say.

I started my weekly Pop Quiz during the first Lockdown thinking that I would do it for a few months and that would be it. It has had a few breaks but we are now on series three. Within the next month it will celebrate its first anniversary. I am planning on doing a one hour long special birthday programme. It began as a bit of a distraction and some music related fun on a Tuesday night. I never intended to still be doing it now but here we are. I am still doing it and enjoying it.

You can join in with the latest episode this Tuesday on my Facebook page at 8.30pm. As ever there will be thirty questions spread over six fun and different rounds. There is always an audio round to test your skills for recognising songs from short clips of them. I always wear the same “showbiz” jacket when I present it. I might give that away on the very last show. I really enjoy doing it but when I have to stop that means everything is back open and we are out socialising again. Here is last week’s Quigger’s Plays Pop to enjoy in case you missed it. https://www.facebook.com/796795590/videos/10164825151995591/

It has not been the best few weeks for Tottenham Hotspur. We were beaten by Arsenal in the North London Derby, which means both of us won our home games against each other this season. We then got knocked out of the Europa League by Dinamo Zagreb despite being two goals up from the first leg. We lost three nil after extra time. It was such a disappointing lacklustre performance it almost made me angry.

We did thankfully manage to beat Aston Villa away before this latest international break. That leaves us still sniffing around the top four places in the Premier League. We need one big final push between now and the end of the season.

You can still listen to me on Saturday afternoon’s between 2pm – 4pm on Radio Ninesprings https://www.radioninesprings.co.uk/

Have fun and we will catch up again soon. Stay safe! Cheers Neil.

Neil Quigley

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Park Life

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