Archive for November, 2010

A Humbling Inspiration

Posted: November 15, 2010 in Uncategorized
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A couple of weeks ago, I saw an entry in the TV Listings about Fearne and Denise ‘doing’ Machu Pichu and I thought, ‘That looks interesting’ so I set Sky+ to ‘tape’ it for me. Well, on Saturday I had me some me time so I settled down to watch Denise and Fearne ‘doing’ Machu Pichu, to raise money for Breast Cancer.

Now I’ve seen many things that have left me feeling humble: I’ve seen many things that have inspired me but to watch what I watched on Saturday really bowled me over. To watch celebrities trekking up to Machu Pichu was just out of this world; as was the scenery. And when you remember that this place is so high, the air is thin and breathing can be a challenge (I guess for that reason, it’s a sight I will never see) and the risk of altitude sickness is ever present, to see these girls achieve the trek was: – The only word I can think of is emotional. Of course, it wasn’t just Denise Denise Van Outen and Fearne Cotton taking part: They were joined by Alexandra Burke, Amanda Byram and Gabriella Cilmi. The really mind blowing bit though was the fact they were also joined by 6 VIPs: Paula Dixon, Lisa Rees, Jenny Steele, Gaynor Sinton, Annabel Reynaud and Lou Rall, each of whom have been diagnosed with breast cancer.

To hear of their own personal experiences, some of which are by no means over and then to sit there in the comfort of my own living room watching them take on the trek and to reach Machu Pichu was too much for words.

I’ve watched it again and still, I’m moved by the whole thing. I salute them all.

But, I find myself wondering, why on earth hadn’t I heard of this before the event. Why did I record and watch it? (If I hadn’t been interested in Machu Pichu, I would have missed it) Why didn’t I get the chance to donate? Well I found the fund raising site and have rectified the last bit.

If you haven’t seen it, make sure you do. You wont regret it. And if you feel moved to support them after watching it then do so here.

PS: Having watched them achieve what they did, maybe, just maybe, I’ll think twice before I moan about having to cycle up another blooming hill.

Strictly Come Dancing, or is it?

Posted: November 8, 2010 in Rant
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So, how many people watched Strictly Come Dancing last weekend and wondered just what on earth is gong on. Is this a dance show or a comedy show?

I have always understood that the whole purpose of the competition was to pair a number of non dancing celebrities with professional dancers who would then train the celebrities to see who could become the better dancer. What a wheeze of an idea. It brought all the glamour and glitz of dance combined with a number of well known and much loved celebrities into a sparkling dance competition that provided addictive viewing to the masses.

The whole thing was made even better by the addition of a a number admirably qualified judges who gave their opinion and constructive (most of the time) criticism on the performance of each pair and marked them accordingly. The public were then involved in the show by allowing them to vote for their favourite pair and the combined scores then enabled the judges to have a final say on the bottom two couples.

This format worked well, really well, really really well. So why on earth did the producers decide to muck around with it. Under the current format, it’s inevitable that the dancers won’t be fairly judged. There will always be the hard core of the general public who don’t care about the quality of the dance. They just want to see some of them get the chance to make a fool of themselves week in week out, and annoy the judges to boot.

There were other dancers that have been are still are far worse than Jimi and Flavia. The whole thing is a farce. But you know what? Nothing will change. Do you know why? Because all the time there are people like me moaning and ranting about the whole sorry affair, the producers will sit there, rub their hands in glee, pat themselves on the back and say haven’t we done well. Everybody’s talking about us.

I would love it if the judges were to refuse to take any further part in it but I know they can’t but maybe they should take a firmer stand for any future series.

Perhaps there’s a way of voting the producers off.

Test Item

Posted: November 8, 2010 in Uncategorized
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Just a line item to see how Windows Live Writer is with blog updates.