The New Year Celebrations

Ok, there are a stack of photo's here from various nights over the Christmas and New Year Break. I'm going to try and get as many of them as I can up here for your amusement.

In the Mixer. What turned into a long session as we refused to give up the table.

(I could do a stupid joke about love is blind at this point.)

Christmas in Paris

A few pictures from the Work Christmas Lunch. Yes that's right, Christmas lunch in Paris. Get us swanning about.

River Seine near the Louvre

An Accordian playing Santa

Inside the Restaurant

Nine Black Alps - Astoria

Wednesday 14th December

Giles called me up having got a spare ticket for the Nine Black Alps at the Astoria. I'm fairly convinced that I've seen them before, probably just as a band on early at Glastonbury or something, but I thought it was worth seeing them again. I figured I knew at least one of their songs. I actually counted 4 songs that I knew. It's XFM, the songs creep into your subconscious when it's on as background noise.

We decided on getting a view from the balcony since it was rammed downstairs. It's probably as well, since there is no way I could have kept up with the kids in the mosh pit beating 7 kinds of crap out of each other. And to be honest it was a lot more fun watching it from our bird's eye view. The odd girl or couple wandering forward thinking they could see a gap nearer the front, only to find themselves in a whirlpool of teenage moshing. The crowd seemed to be enjoying the moshing and surfing slightly more than they were the music.



Watching the bouncers as they pulled the surfing kids clear of the barrier I came up with the theory of Bouncer Cricket. There definitely seemed to be some competiveness going on and so I conclude that you get 3 points for a pulling a kid clear. 1 point for an assist. Seriously there was one bouncer, who if he didn't get a hold on the kid first, went then to hold on to the back of the bouncer who had. And then 2 points for pushing the kid once he was over and on his way back round.

And so Bouncer Cricket is born.

Political Animal - Soho Theatre

Wednesday 7th December

Politcal Animal with Andy Zaltzman and John Oliver
Guests - Andy Parsons, Pete Cain

Another comedy night running on a twice montly basis, sadly on the same twice nightly night as the Book Club. Just this once we decided to pop along to this rather than the Book Club.

The night was a mixture of Andy and John doing their stand up followed by an act, then a break for beer, followed by a second half similar to the first, with the second act in like a headline slot.

Andy and John came on at one point with a new toy they wanted to market. The Tony Benn doll. A pure genius item. I'd sell it. They had bits of Tony Benn speech on CD pretending it was actually the doll talking. It sounded just like the ramblings of a mad man, very much like Tony Benn himself.

I think this comedy night could very much depend on the comedy acts as well as the crowd. Me and Caz made the foolish decision once again to sit at the front, just slightly to the side. As it turned out it was a small crowd and we spaced ourselves out evenly, with gaps everywhere so the acts couldn't direct the comedy in any particular direction without feeling like they were missing out some of the audience. I got picked on by Andy Parsons. My own fault for my positioning, but it wasn't so bad. Andy actually wasn't as shouty as he can be, maybe because it's such a small room, he didn't need to. The shouty technique is what normally puts me off with his comedy, so it was actually quite a good set.

A good evening but I suspect the lore of Book Club we won't be back unless there are some heavy weight acts like Chris Addison there.

The League of Gentlemen Are Behind You - Panto

Sunday 4th December

The League of Gents Panto has come in for some criticism in recent previews and reviews so I wasn't sure what to expect. I can see that as Little Britain is touring for the first time, the L of G's show might seem a little tired, since many of the characters have been here before. Still having seen the show I think the backlash was a little unwarranted.

The show was split into two parts, the first half saw Legs Akimbo trying to organise a community navity play. After an accident befell Olly (or rather the stage props befell on Olly,) the community decided to put on their own panto. So the second half was the panto proper. Or at least a shambolic panto with all the characters from the show we know and love. The Panto Cow is inspected by Veterinary Chinnery. The Ugly Sister/Dame is Pauline, complete with pen influenced garish costume.

I think if you paid for a League of Gents Panto, that is what you got. And funny too.

Mike's 30th

Saturday 3rd December

We spent this Saturday night in a scout hut tucked at the back of the Waitrose Car Park in Birch Hill, Bracknell, for Mike's 30th.

The first of the group to hit the milestone, it's frightening to think so many of us have it all to come in the next year.

It was a good night. Plenty of cheap pints and JD, until the JD was gone (shock horror, we cleaned them out!)

Here are a couple of photos I took with my digital camera during the evening, though I am sure there must be more floating about since there was a disposable camera on every table.

Big Howard Little Howard Show - 2nd December

Friday 2nd December

Howard’ show being as technical as it is, is always going to have problems, especially when relying on Macs and infrared connections, but Big Howard is used to this by now. He has little tricks to make us forget and just make it all part of the shows charm.

I took Dave along with us this time, having already converted Caz, so he could see what we were raving about. (My “it’s a ladybird” Little Howard impression isn’t enough apparently.) Making Caz and Dave sit on the front row was in hindsight only ever going to backfire, but I know they wouldn’t have been able to see any further back.

So sure enough as a technical problem occurred, which involved rebooting the main computer attached to the main screen, a quick 5 minute sketch on the laptop to the side of the stage was needed. Choosing a sketch from last years show, that I wasn’t fortunate enough to have seen. So I couldn’t have known what was coming. As Howard asked for a volunteer to go on a date with Little Howard, the shows 6 year old cartoon boy. I tried looking all around, bar right in front of me, where Big Howard was stood. As soon as I turned, thinking it was safe, I caught his eye and realized I’d been the intended target all along.

The date started pleasantly enough. Big Howard played the waiter, as Little Howard went about ordering Sunny Delight to drink. I was prompted by an onscreen script to ask for Um Bongo, as LH said “an excellent choice my dear.” The date went remarkably well, apart from him falling asleep when I replied to his question of what I did for a living, (a stock response for all 6 yr olds I understand.) There was an embarrassing question about what it was like to have breasts, to which my ad-libbed reply of “great” made a couple at the front laugh out loud if no one else.
Funny how when (prompted) to ask if we could get out of their as I wasn’t that chaste that I was chased by Big Howard back to my seat! Apparently propositioning a 6 year old cartoon boy is wrong. (Ok that was me joking.) He did tell me I looked ravishing, that I will take seriously. It’s not like I get told that everyday, cartoon boy or not.