Marky Baby's Blog

Phoebe & family

2009-07-18T12:38:00.000-07:00

I'm getting a kitten next month - here she is with her brothers and sisters and mam (and Rhys!!) - she's one of the black ones so it's kinda hard to tell which one she is, but she's the one with a white flash on her chest - she's gonna be called Phoebe! :)

back!

2009-07-16T15:27:00.000-07:00

I've been away for a while, but a few exciting things are about to happen so I've decided to start blogging again :)

see you soon
Mark xxx

KylieX2008

2008-08-19T13:10:00.001-07:00

kylie minogue

one word

superb!

countdown begins....

2008-07-22T06:14:00.000-07:00

Well this is officially the countdown for one of the best weekends of my year so far!

Apart from spending time with my brst friend, Adam, and celebrating our birthdays, we're seeing the new musical "Marguerite", starring our friend and client, Ruthie Henshall on Friday night and then on Saturday we see Kylie's first night of the KylieX2008 tour at London's O2 arena - we got the tickets in November and it's seemed like an eternity getting here, but there's not long to go now - I'm VERY excited because this tour looks like it's gonna be one of the best yet!

The reports will be in after the weekend :)

My Dad

2008-07-18T02:42:00.000-07:00

Today is my Dad's birthday - he passed away almost 5 years ago but I didn't want the day to go by without mentioning him on here.

He was the most amazing man and everybody loved him.

Back together?

2008-07-06T13:03:00.001-07:00

I was absolutely thrilled to see all four members of ABBA attend the Swedish premiere of Mamma Mia! The Movie in Stockholm on Friday 4th July.

It was the first time since 1986 that ABBA officially and publically appeared as a complete group and ABBA fans all over the world took notice!

Agnetha, especially, looked happy and relaxed and spoke comfortably in English to the international cast of the movie and the interaction between Agnetha and Frida was very touching - two friends who obviously, despite all the media's speculation to the contrary, like each other very much.

My friend, Martin Redhe Nord, also attended the premiere - he played Pepper (Peppar'n) in the original Swedish cast of the musical Mamma Mia!

Is a re-union on the cards? It's doubtful, but there's alway that littl glimmer of hope in me :)

The Rhythm IS Gonna Get Me!!!!

2008-07-02T07:36:00.000-07:00

As an early birthday gift to myself, I booked myself a ticket for Gloria Estefan's ONLY mainland UK show in 2008, at Wembley Arena, London, on 10th September - I'm soooooooooooooo excited - Gloria hasn't toured a full concert here since the "Destiny" tour in 1996 so I'm thrilled to have been able to get a ticket (and it's a great seat too!!) for this show, which is probably going to be the last ever as Gloria has decided that she's not going to tour anymore.

I've loved Gloria's music since I first heard Miami Sound Machine's "Dr Beat" way back in 1984 so I've been a fan for almost 2/3s of my life! What with having already seen the Spice Girls, Sugababes and Girls Aloud this year and the fabulous Kylie Minogue to look forward to later this month, seeing Gloria will be the cherry on the icing of a fab cake of concerts this year - anything else will be a bonus!!!! :)

and the winner is.....

2008-05-24T15:14:00.001-07:00

Russia!

well it made my top 10 but it seems that eastern european ballads are the winners these days. I don't think that western countries have a chnce to win anymore, not with so many eastern countries involved. I do think however that the rules shoul be changed so that ONLY the countries taking part in the final should be able to vote in the final, as they've made that the rule in the semi finals.

Anyway, congratulations to Dima Bilan - it is a good song, but I feel sorry for Charlotte Perrelli and Euroband cos they ha much better songs, just the votes didn't come in for them enough.

The UK were nver gonna do well with the song we sent, but it deserved more than joint last place - the voting was just random and songs from Spain, Latvia and Bosnia did so well when they were seriously crap songs!

Eurovision 2008 - the grand final - 24/5/08

2008-05-24T13:56:00.000-07:00

OK so here are the results of my jury (that's me and me alone!!) hehe
My votes out of 50 are in brckets for each individual song...

1 point to Norway(35) - La Norvege un point
2 points to Russia(36) - La Russie deux point
3 points to Albania(36) - L'Albanie trois point
4 points to the United Kingdom(37) - Royame Uni quatre point
5 points to Israel(37) - L'Israel cinq point
6 points to Portugal(37.5) - Portugal six point
7 points to Serbia(38.5) - La Serbie sept point
8 points to Ukraine(38.5) - La Ukraine huit point
10 points to Iceland(42.5) - L'Islande dix point
and the 12 points from my jury go to....Sweden(46)!! La Suede douze point

Things never seem to go my way in Eurovision lately so I doubt I'm anywhere near to the eventual top 10, but I like them all the same - please don't let Spain, France, Latvia, Georgia or Bosnia win!!

We'll get the results in around an hour I guess......keep your fingers crossed!!!!!!!

the results are.....

2008-05-22T13:58:00.000-07:00

WOOOOOOOOOHOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Congratulations/Grattis Charlotte Perrelli!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! :)

Also to all the Scandinavian countries, Denmark, Finland, Norway and Iceland for qualifying for the final too!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I couldn't be happier!

OK, so the 10 voted through tonight are...

1- Ukraine
2- Croatia
3- Albania
4- Iceland
5- Georgia
6- Denmark
7- Sweden (YAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAY)
8- Latvia
9- Turkey
10- Portugal

which means I got 6 right tonight!! :) (and I guessed right about Croatia, Latvia and Georgia!) - Poor Switzerland though - they did deserve to get through.

Roll on Saturday - let's hope for a Scndinavian top 5!!!! :) x

Eurovision 2008 - semi final 2 - 22/5/08

2008-05-22T13:31:00.000-07:00

OK, so here are my top 10 from the 2nd semi final of ESC08 with my votes out of 20

1- Sweden (18.5)
2- Iceland (15.5)
3- Switzerland (15.5)
4- Belarus (14.5)
5- Cyprus (14.5)
6- Albania (14)
7- Ukraine (14)
8- Portugal (13)
9- Denmark (12)
10- Czech Republic (12)

the two that finished bottom of my scoreboard were Hungary with 6.5 points and Latvia with a dismal 3 points - i hated it, but I have a feeling it will go through to the final - Bulgaria and Croatia were bad for me too, but I have a feeling they're gonna qualify too, as will Georgia, just because it's a song for peace by a blind girl. Now onto Malta - what the hell was she saying???? I understood one word - Vodka, and that was about it!!!!

PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE let Sweden, Iceland and Switzerland go through to the final!!!!!! If there's any justice in the world, they should.

and the first 10 finalists are...

2008-05-20T14:01:00.000-07:00

1- Greece
2- Romania
3- Bosnia & Herzegovina
4- Finland
5- Russia
6- Israel
7- Azerbaijan
8- Armenia
9- Poland
10- Norway

So I got 5 out of the 10 finalists right - I feel sorry for Slovenia and Andorra though - they were far and away the best songs but I'm thrilled that Belgium and Ireland didn't get through to the final.

Next stop, thursday night - fingers cossed for Charlotte Perelli :)

Eurovision 2008 : Semi Final 1 - 20/5/08

2008-05-20T13:28:00.000-07:00

OK so that was an experience!!!

I totally loved Slovenia and Andorra - Belgium on the other hand made me want to vomit and Ireland was just plain crap.

Did anyone think that the girl from Poland looked like Donatella Versace??? She was all teeth and tan! And Finland just want another Lordi without the gimmicks?

So my top 10 (with my points out of 20) are....

1- Slovenia (16.5)
2- Andorra (15.5)
3- Norway (14.5)
4- Russia (14.5)
5- Armenia (14)
6- Greece (14)
7- San Marino (13.5)
8- Israel (13.5)
9- Montengro (13)
10- Netherlands (12.5)

I wonder if any of these will actually qualify for the final - will report back later....

West End Eurovision

2008-05-17T09:03:00.000-07:00

On Thursday night, Sally Ann Triplett (good friend, West End leading lady and Eurovision Goddess) and I went to West End Eurovision, a charity event organised by West End MAD.

Sal and I arrived early and we watched Scooch's sound-check and then Avenue Q came on to do thier sound-check so Sal decided that she should get changed as she didn't want to see or hear any of the entries before the show as she was judging, but I watched!! hehe

We then went down to the champagne reception and chatted for a while with Frances Ruffelle and her beautiful daughter and then Sal introduced me to the UK's reigning monarch of Eurovision, the fabulous Cheryl Baker - she was lovely and we chatted about past contests and Sal and Cheryl told me thier ESC stories and then it was time to go into the theatre as the show was about to start.

The atmosphere was absolutely amazing - there were loads of people in from the theatres that were taking part - I was sat among the Mamma Mia and Wicked gangs and then the show started and our judges were introduced - Sal and Cheryl got HUGE cheers - I was beyond excited...

First on was the cast of Buddy and their version of Brotherhood Of Man's "Save Your Kisses For Me" from 1976, then it was Phantom Of The Opera with Prima Donna's "Love Enough For Two" (Sal's first ESC entry!) from 1980, tha was followed by Mamma Mia, who did "Ding-A-Dong", by Dutch entry Teach-In from 1975, and then it was the fabulous Avenue Q with ABBA's "Waterloo" from 1974, then, just as I thought things couldn't get any better, we had the cast of Wicked doing Gina G's "(Ooh-Aah) Just A Little Bit" from 1996, which was totally amazing, complete with a roller-skating, dragged-up James Gillan (genius), that was followed by Grease doing "Making Your Mind Up" by Bucks Fizz from 1981 and the show was ended by The Lion Kings entry "Drama Queen", Denmark's entry from 2007 by DQ.

Scooch came on a performed last year's entry "Flying The Flag (For You)" and then it was results time!! Wicked won the judge's award and then the top three acts, as voted by the audience, were called to the stage and the winners were..... Wicked!! And deservedly so!

Every show put so much effort into thier performance - dance routine, vocal arrangements, costumes, wigs and it was a great night, one that i going to be repeated every year and believe me, I will be going again and again and again!

If you didn't go this year, try to go next year and I guarantee, if you like Eurovision or not, you will have the best night!

a catch up....

2008-05-06T08:04:00.000-07:00

ok so i know i've been crap lately but i've been ill with the flu and my 2 year on/off relationship ended for good, so i had good excuses!!! :)

so my highlights since the Spice Girls concert........

Seeing "Make Me A Song" in London - starring Sally Ann Triplett and H from Steps :)

Charlotte Perrelli won Melodifestivalen (hooray!!) and Andy Abrahms won Eurovision - Your Decision (meh!)

Sugababes live in Cardiff, with my cousin Alex (Ali Ows) - they were bloody amazing and we had a fantstic night and it was great to spend time with Ali

I saw Eurobeat - Almost Eurovision in Cardiff last Friday (2nd May) with Ceri & Matt - it was great fun, very camp and laugh out loud funny.

and baby Jazzy was christened on Sunday (6th May) - she looked sooooooo beautiful - my little angel :)

and that's about it for now - Girls Aloud and Eurovision to come!!!!

amazing

2008-01-17T11:35:00.000-08:00

It was an amazing, amazing concert!!!!!!!!!!!!
I was expecting good, but I did't expect it to be as amazing as it was!
All 5 girls were great and got a fantastic reception from the crowd at the O2 Arena, but the one who got the best reception of all was Victoria - and I kind of got why - she's had to deal with huge amounts of crap from the world's press and I think it was the fans way of showing her some support - I thought it was lovely.
Can't wait for the DVD now!!!!! :)

Spice Countdown Begins!

2008-01-02T09:28:00.000-08:00

it's my 2-week countdown to the Spice Girls concert!!!

We see the girls at the O2 Arena, London on 16th January

Spice fever is starting to build and my friend Ceri is REALLY excited!!! :)

to all my friends....

2008-01-02T09:25:00.000-08:00

such a cutie!!!!!

2007-12-30T07:37:00.000-08:00

just because :)

Welcome to the family Jazmin

2007-12-23T09:22:00.000-08:00

My cousin, Janey, and her fiance, Alistair, had a baby girl yesterday (22/12/07) - she was 8lb 10oz and is gorgeous!

They've called her Jazmin Helen Evans :) I can't wait to see her for myself :)

Chicago 10th Anniversary Gala

2007-12-12T12:17:00.000-08:00

It was a truly amazing experience to see the host of spectacular performances at the Anniversary Gala.

The show opened with Ute Lemper (London's original Velma Kelly) coming up through the stage to perform All That Jazz and it was a huge rollercoaster of talent from there - Denise Van Outen, Aoife (the Irish Maria), Josephina Gabrielle, Brenda Edwards, Darius Danesh, Bonnie Langford, Anna Jane Casey, Duncan James, Jennifer Ellison, Caroline O'Connor, Charles Shirvell, Kelly Osborne, Paul Baker, Linzi Hatley,Ian Kelsey, Amra Faye Wright, the original company (including MD Gareth Valntine) and many more.

Our client and friend, Claire Sweeney closed the show with Nowadays - i love Claire - she's a lovely girl and has a big heart.

The whole show was stolen by one lady though - the GREAT, GREAT Ruthie Henshall - her Roxie was completely outstanding - I can't possibly begin to say how amazing it was cos I could never do it justice.

I was very proud of both our girls that night and the aftershow party was fab too cos I got to chat to the beautiful Oliver Thornton (RENT), the wonderful Zee Asha(Chicago/Taboo/Mary Poppins), Bonnie Langford, Ute Lemper, Rachel Pressland, Zac Nemorin and loads more and I had a wonderfully funny and touching chat with Claire's mum, Cathy Sweeney - a lovely lady :) Adam and I had a great time (thanks Claire :) xx)

excited MUCH!

2007-12-03T08:24:00.000-08:00

In 2 nights I will be in Chicago heaven! And to see the original cast of Ruthie Henshall (pictured) as Roxie Hart, UteLemper as Velma Kelly and Henry Goodman as Billy Flynn along with various others including Brenda Edwards, Gaby Roslin, Claire Sweeney, Anna Jane Casey plus many more all on one stage for one night only is going to be amazing!!!!

Plus I'll get to see Ruthie again - I haven't seen her in ove a year and it will be great to catch up :)

A full review will follow!

ooooooh yeeeeeeaaaaaahhhhh!!!!

2007-12-01T07:06:00.000-08:00

KYLIEX2008 - the tour

ooooh yeeeesss! 26th July 2008 - London

CANNOT WAIT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

album of the month (possibly the year)

2007-11-27T16:00:00.000-08:00

Kylie - X

This is a superb album

I REALLY hope that In My Arms, WOW, The One and No More Rain are singles - they're my favourites on the album (this week!)

Tangled Up Tour 2008!

2007-11-27T15:55:00.000-08:00

Yet another concert for 2008!!!!!! Woooo Hoooooooooooo!!!!

Girls Aloud in Cardiff on May 18th!!

My cousin Janey has booked tix for GA's 2008 tour - i LOVE GA and have done since they were formed on Popstars:The Rivals 5 years ago - I've seen a dvd of them live but it's the first time to see them in concert - i'm well excited!! :)

Nice & Spicey

2007-11-07T14:05:00.000-08:00

what a year 2008 is gonna be!!

On 16thJanuary I'm going to see the Spice Girls in the O2 Arena in London with my cousin Alex :)

I saw the Spice Girls on thier last UK concerts in the old Wembley Stadium after Geri Halliwell had left the group - they were good then but I'm really looking forward to seeing the reunion concert with all 5 Spice Girls on stage :)

WOOOOO HOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! :)

2007-11-02T13:21:00.000-07:00

Roll on April 23rd 2008!!!!!!!

I got tickets today for the Sugababes Change Tour 2008 in Cardiff and i was one of the first callers cos I got front row centre!! YAY!!!!!! :)

Very happy me :)

Sean

2007-10-29T11:06:00.000-07:00

My good friend Sean in Reno, Nevada, USA, played a character in a short film a couple of weeks ago - he's the blonde ;)

http://myspacetv.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=vids.addToProfileConfirm&videoid=20925802&title=Storyteller

October 2007 - Album of the Month

2007-10-26T13:35:00.000-07:00

OK, so I can't stop playing "Change" by the Sugababes - I love this album - I think it's their best album for a long time. This album shows a new level of maturity and Amelle has really found her place in the band with Keisha and Heidi sounding amazing as ever - my only gripe is that Heidi doen't get to sing lead enough for me, but I guess that's juat a personal thing (cos I think she's amazing!)

My favourite tracks are :-

About You Now

Never Gonna Dance Again

Denial

Change

Back When

Surprise (Goodbye)

Undignified

The only track I could live without is Back Down - not really my kind of thing but the rest of the album is fantastic!

2007-10-10T12:02:00.000-07:00

LOVE IT, LOVE IT, LOVE IT, LOVE IT, LOVE IT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

(and the video is SOOOOOO cool too!)

Helen as Reno

2007-09-30T01:38:00.000-07:00

My good friend Helen played Reno Sweeney in the Cygnet Players' "Anything Goes" at Putney Arts Centre this week - Adam and I went to see it yesterday and, although it was a good production, there was one thing that stood out - Helen - she was head and shoulders above everyone else - she was totally amazing and I was very proud :)

ATTENTION ALL KYLIE FANS!!!!!!!!!!!!

2007-09-21T11:30:00.000-07:00

KYLIE RETURNS WITH NEW SINGLE, ALBUM & DVD!!!!!!!!!!

With a sold out Homecoming tour, a hugely successful perfume launch, a touring exhibition and celebrations to mark the 20th anniversary since the release of her debut hit 'Locomotion, 2007 has been a great year for Kylie fans. And it's just about to get even better...

Kylie releases her fantastic new single "2 Hearts" on November 12th, preceded by the digital release on November 5th."2 Hearts" was written and produced by London based electro band Kish Mauve and finds Kylie sounding better than ever. Speaking about the track, Kylie said: "I loved it from the moment I heard it. It was a joy to record!"The single is the first taster from Kylie's eagerly-awaited new album 'X' which hits stores on November 26th.

The 13 track album, Kylie's first new studio album in four years, was recorded in London, Stockholm and Ibiza, and features the first new Kylie material since the greatest hits compilation 'Ultimate Kylie' in 2004.'X' includes collaborations with the likes of Richard "Biff" Stannard, The Freemasons, Cutfather & Jonas Jeberg, Bloodshy & Avant, Calvin Harris, Greg Kurstin, Eg White, Guy Chambers and Cathy Dennis.

Here's the tracklist!
2 Hearts
Like A Drug
In My Arms
Speakerphone
Sensitized
Heart Beat Rock
The One
No More Rain
All I See
Stars
Wow
Nu-di-ty
Cosmic

SHOWGIRL DVD AND WHITE DIAMOND

December 10th sees the release of the double DVD of Kylie's triumphant 'Showgirl Homecoming Tour' that wowed earlier this year. The fabulous 2-disc set features the full 2 hour live show and the complete 2 hour version of 'White Diamond', an intimate film that shows Kylie as never before. With access-all-areas back stage footage and interviews with Kylie talking about her feelings, worries and aspirations, 'White Diamond' documents how Kylie and her team take Showgirl Homecoming from rehearsals to the road first in Australia and then to the UK. With feathers and sparkle galore, no Christmas stocking would be complete without it!

(I'm VERY excited - the last part of 2007 is looking VERY good to me!!)

Come on babe, why don't we paint the town....

2007-09-20T09:35:00.000-07:00

OK, so words cannot express how excited I am about the Chicago 10th Anniversary Gala in London on 5th December - and will feature some of the original cast (Ruthie Henshall, Ute Lemper & Henry Goodman) along with people who have played Roxie, Velma, Billy Flynn, Mama Morton, Amos & Mary Sunshine during the last 10 years in London.

It's going to be superb!

Back!

2007-09-18T10:01:00.000-07:00

OK, I know I've been away for a while (July and August are not great months for me)

So.... my fave 3 albums this year so far are...........

1. Magnus Carlsson - Live Forever - the album (discotastic!)

2. Gloria Estefan - 90 Millas (amazing as always)

3. Natalie Imbruglia - Glorious - the singles 97-07 (cool album)

Congratulations to Mr & Mrs Care

2007-07-01T12:09:00.000-07:00

Congratulations to my good friends Bev & Simon, who got married at a wonderful ceremony in Cardiff yesterday - Bev and I have been friends for many years and Simon has now become a great friend too and I was thrilled to be asked to be one of Simon's groomsmen - it was a great but very tiring day and even though it rained, Bev looked the happiest I've ever seen her.

No Llores

2007-06-21T10:15:00.000-07:00

WAAAAAY beyond excited - roll on 18th September!!! :)

Any Dream Will Do?

2007-06-05T07:20:00.000-07:00

OK, so there really needs to be one outcome of Saturday's final to BBC1's Any Dream Will Do? (now that Daniel Boys has been taken out of the running) - everybody NEEDS to vote Lee Mead to be Joseph - and, although I did like Daniel, Lee was my favourite from show one - he's got a fantastic voice, he acts briliantly and he looks DAMN FINE in a loin-cloth!! :)

masterchef?

2007-05-28T09:02:00.000-07:00

Hehe, somehow I don't think so, but my Apple and Cinnamon cake came out pretty well - it's a basic sponge with some apples, cinnamon and sultanas thrown in - I've never been a great cake maker (or eater to be honest) but i think it tastes OK :)

More Lacey pics....

2007-05-24T14:52:00.000-07:00

taken Weds 23rd May 2007 - soooooooooooooooo sweet - bless :)

and the winner is....SERBIA!

2007-05-12T15:03:00.000-07:00

Much to my delight, (mainly that the oddities from Ukraine didn't win), I'm quite pleased that Serbia won because it is actually a good song and it made it into my points chart!

Congratulations to Marija Serifovic, who sang Molitva for Serbia - thier first time as a solo country in Eurovision (they used to be coupled with Montenegro)

Although the UK didn't do brilliantly, we did get points (cos the UK papers said we wouldn't!) and we didn't come last! (that honour was Ireland's, and rightly so) - by the way, thank you Malta for the 12 points!!! :D

the results of Mark's jury are in...

2007-05-12T13:59:00.000-07:00

OK, it was quite a good Eurovision this year - with the exception of Ireland, Romania and Bulgaria, everyone performed well and the results of my jury (me) are as follows...

1 point to France (La France, un point)
2 points to Turkey (La Turkie, deu point)
3 points to Belarus (Belarussie, trois point)
4 points to Finland (La Finland, quatre point)
5 points to Greece (La Grece, cinq point)
6 points to Serbia (La Serbie, six point)
7 points to Latvia (Latonie, sept point)
8 points to Germany (L'Allemagne, huit point)
10 points to Spain (L'Espangne dix point)
and the 12 points go to......

.......SWEDEN! (la Suede, douze point)

I have a feeling that Ukraine will win tho with their bizarre song, but I would love Sweden (or even the UK) to win

I will post the actual winner later ....

the results

2007-05-10T14:40:00.000-07:00

Well to say that I'm stunned is a bit of an understatement - none of the best songs got through!

I thought Switzerland was a certainty to go through, as well as Denmark but neither did!

The ten qualifying songs going through to the final on Saturday are....

1 - Belarus
2 - FYR Macedonia
3 - Slovenia
4 - Hungary
5 - Georgia
6 - Latvia
7 - Serbia
8 - Bulgaria
9 - Turkey
10 - Moldova

I got 3 right last year and 4 right this year, so in another 6 years I may get all 10 right!!!!! Seems very "Eastern" again (YAWN!)

Eurovision 2007 Semi Final

2007-05-10T14:13:00.000-07:00

OK, well it's been an interesting Semi Final this year!

I LOVE the stage with the huge screens - not quite sure about the runway but the stage looks great.

The male host (Mikko) is HOT! ;)

So, my Top 10 entries are as follows, (I'm not gonna even mention Israel and the Czech Republic who were awarded my lowest scores!!!)

1 - Denmark
2 - Andorra
3 - The Netherlands
4 - Austria
5 - Serbia
6 - Cyprus
7 - Malta
8 - Belarus
9 - Latvia
10 - Slovenia

Back later with the actual qualifying 10!!!!!!!!

Lacey pics

2007-05-08T11:27:00.000-07:00

Awwwwwwwwwww I went to see Clare and her new baby, Lacey Victoria Smith today (I gave Clare the idea for Victoria - Clare wanted a royal name as Leah's middle name is Alexandra, so I suggested Victoria and Clare decided she really liked that!!!! yay me!!!!) so anyway, here are some photos of one gorgeous baby :)

Welcome Lacey Smith!!

2007-04-30T13:30:00.000-07:00

My best friend, Clare, had a baby girl today!!!! She was 9lb 14oz and Clare and Lee (and big sister Leah) have decided to call her Lacey :) Can't wait to see her - pics WILL follow :)

a nice photo

2007-03-24T13:07:00.000-07:00

Just cos I like this photo!! hehehehehe This is my brother, Wayne, my sister-in-law, Ann and my nephew, Aled at Aled's 21st Birthday meal - Ann & Wayne are a LOT older than 21 ;) (and a lot older than me too!!!!)

strange week but Spring is here

2007-03-24T10:22:00.000-07:00

This week has been an odd week - work has been a complete nightmare - we're short staffed and trying to train new staff members too - plus it's been really busy with Westlife and Lionel Richie concerts in Cardiff (I never did like them!!!!) - it's just been a stressful week all round.

I argued with one of my best friends on Thursday - we've made up now but it was upsetting at the time - I hate arguing with my friends - especially this one.

I was supposed to spend today with Dan but the brakes broke on his car and it's just to dangerous for him to drive - so I decided to cheer myself up and went out and visited some family and then went to the garden centre and bought more flowers to plant in the garden - I love fuschias so i bought (even) more!! hehe The garden will have more fuschias than any other kind of flower in it before long!!! hehehe (they're soooooooooo pretty tho!)

I took some photos of the spring flowers today just to make me feel a bit more cheerful - most of them are flowers in the garden but the first one is of the Daffodils (Wales' national flower) growing along the roadside in our village....

today

2007-03-17T15:31:00.000-07:00

Today has been a good day.

Work went by really fast cos of people going to Cardiff for the Rugby (Wales v England - the most important game of the Welsh Rugby calendar).

Then, when I got home, my cds I ordered from Sweden (Sanna Nielsen's single and album and singles from Magnus Carlsson and Mans Zelmerlow) had arrived!! YAY!

THEN Wales BEAT England!!! As with every other Welsh person, I can take losing to any other nationality, but it's always worse when we lose to England (maybe because they gloat a lot about it) but today was "Victory For Wales" day in Cardiff :) Longyfarchiadau Cymru!!!!! (congratulations Wales!!!!!)

And it's Mother's Day tomorrow - I hope my mother will like what I've got for her - I'll take a photo tomorrow :)

Flying The Flag

2007-03-17T14:59:00.000-07:00

Well seems the oldest popsters in town are the UK's choice!

Scooch were chosen over Cyndi (although Terry Wogan got it wrong initially and said Cyndi had won!) - I think we'll do OK but not great with it although the line "would you like something to suck on for landing sir?" is a classic!!!!

Watch this space for Eurovision night to see where the UK (and Sweden) come in the final.

Making Your Mind Up?

2007-03-17T13:37:00.000-07:00

OK so the UK are the last country to choose our song for Eurovision - I'm torn cos I don't think any of the 6 songs to choose from are really good enough to win, but then again I hated Lordi last year! So here are the choices and what I thought....

Liz McClarnon - "(Don't It Make You) Happy!"- The ex-Atomic Kitten star opened the show - to be honest is was an OK song but not really Eurovision enough - she has a great voice but her lower register was weak and she looked a mess - her dress and hair were awful - not memorable enough - sorry

Brian Harvey - "I Can" - Well no, actually, you really can't! He didn't sing in tune and shouted the power-notes - it was a mess and he looked really uncomfortable - horrible.

Big Brovaz - "Big Bro Thang" - was a great performance - not entirely sure it's a classic Eurovision hit tho. The girls' voices are amazing but I'm not sure if Europe will get the funky/R&B/rap/rock thing - it will do well in the charts and I really liked it but I'm not convinced it's a Eurovision song.

Cyndi - "I'll Leave My Heart" - A haunting ballad - a bit like Celine Dion singing Loch Lomond (a traditional Scottish song)!! Great vocals and harmonies with the backing singers - simple but nice - not exciting enough though for me.

Scooch - "Flying The Flag (For You)" - hmmmmm what to think, what to think!!! It's like Fast Food Rockers meets Steps doing Deeper Shade of Blue. I think they're all kind of too old to be doing dance routines and cheesy pop now - I was a bit embarrassed for them to be honest.

Hawkins & Brown - "They Don't Make 'Em Like They Used To" - Great song, i just wish Justin Hawkins was a better singer - he sounded weak next to Beverlei Brown. Really catchy song and it got the audience going - I think having him has jeopardised the chances of this winning, which is a shame cos it's a good song.

The results show is on in 30 mins - I'll be back with the result.....

Friend's Mini Profile #2

2007-02-20T12:22:00.000-08:00

Name : Adam James Pepper
Birthday : 15th July
Lives : Clapham, London
Website : www.delovelydesign.com

Why he's my friend : Adam and I met via Paul in Minneapolis and we just clicked straight away - I think the fact that he called me a bitch in his first e-mail sealed it for me!! hehe We've been through such a lot together - some tears, many, many laughs and now we're partners in Delovely Design and he makes me laugh so much (especially the attempts at a Welsh accent) hehe And I like that we can talk to each other without actually having to say any words :)

My message to Adam : After 8 years of friendship, I still like you! WOW! That's really something! hehehehehehe Thanks for everything - you know xxxx

this week

2007-02-17T15:26:00.000-08:00

this past week has been an odd one - a couple of major highs and a couple of major lows.

The highs were my weekend in London - had a fab time with Adam on Saturday and we both had a great time at Michele's on Sunday - laughed and laughed til i was almost ill!! hehehe Another high was all the Swedish songs Dennis sent me - i love that he's so enthusiastic about the music I love!! And my ultimate high was spending Valentines evening with my boyfriend, Dan - we had such a lovely night, just being with each other, holding hands, kissing - it was perfect - and the things he wrote on my card just blew me away - I thought I'd been in love before, but that was nothing compared to what I feel for Dan - we've had a few rough patches but we've come through it and now we're in a great place :) I'm a happy boy and I love my Teddy he bought me - I've named him Hapus (the Welsh word for Happy)

the lows were Bryn's funeral and some crappy stuff that happened in work.

and Sweden - what is wrong with you??????????? Magnus Carlsson should SO have gone through to the Melodifestivalen final in Stockholm!!!!!!

Bryn Lloyd

2007-02-09T11:24:00.000-08:00

My cousin (by marriage), Bryn, lost his battle with cancer today.

He was a good person and it's been terrible to see him suffer, especially in the last year - we had some great family holidays when I was younger and that's how I want to remember him - always having a laugh and wearing trousers in every colour of the rainbow :)

S'long Brimbo x

even more snow!!!!

2007-02-09T11:19:00.000-08:00

well it's arrived about 7 weeks too late but we've had even more snow today!!! It was HORRIBLE to drive in and I was extremely glad to get home - i hate driving in snow.

:(

Friend's mini profile #1

2007-02-08T12:51:00.000-08:00

Name : Dennis Svedberg Hellström
Birthday : 25th June
Lives : Sandviken, Sweden
Website : www.bimboboy.com

Why he's my friend : Dennis is such a wonderfully kind person - nothing is too much trouble and he makes me laugh so much - he always sends me the most amazing Swedish music, especially his own (which is TOTALLY fantastic) and is always open to teach me more Swedish, but that's not the reason he's my friend - he's my friend because he's a genuinely nice person and I'm totally and utterly honoured to call him my friend and I love him loads. :)

My message to Dennis : Du är en av mina bästa vänner och jag är så glad att vi träffades. Jag älskar dig massvis! KRAM och PUSS!! XXXX

This morning's view...

2007-02-08T12:34:00.000-08:00

These are some photos of the view behind my house - normally we see fields for miles but today was just a carpet of white - nice to look at from the warmth of the house, not so nice outside in the freezing cold!!

SNOW!

2007-02-07T17:08:00.000-08:00

Well it's 1am here and it's started to snow!! We've been on a bad weather alert for a couple of days now and apparently it's going to snow heavily between 3am and 9am - I don't know how much we're going to get but maybe it will be enough for me to not be able to get my car out of the driveway so I'll have to stay home from work! hehe (wishful thinking I think tho)

I'm gonna take some photos tomorrow for Janelle and Christopher - I know you guys are in the midst of summer where you are and I know you'd love to be here at the moment (especially Chris)

I do love the snow :)

MFV07 - UPDATE

2007-02-03T12:21:00.000-08:00

The results are in!

The 2 songs going through to the Final in The Globe, Stockholm are:-

Tommy Nilsson "Jag Tror På Människan"
Anna Book "Samba Sambero"

and the 2 songs going through to Andra Chansen (2nd Chance) are:-

Elin Lanto "Money"
Uno & Irma "God Morgon"

--------------------------------------------

ANDREAS was ROBBED and came in 6th place - What's up with Sweden?????????? :(

Melodifestivalen 2007!

2007-02-03T11:57:00.000-08:00

This was the first time ever that I've been able to watch Melodifestivalen live, on-line - and I was SOOOOOO excited - Dennis told me today that I'd be able to watch it on the svt.se site - it was the first time it has been shown on the net as it happens :)

The first of the four semi finals comes from Jonkoping and this year's host is Kristian Luuk.

the songs (in order) are:-

1 - Elin Lanto "Money" - it was OK - she tried looking like Madonna I thought

2 - Andersson Och Gibson "Anything But You" - BORING COUNTRY CRAP

3 - Anna Book "Samba Sambero" - a good song - she looked like a demonic fairy crossed with a mediterranean widow!!! hehehe

4 - Addis Black Widow "Clubbin" - OH MY GOD so bad it was unreal - i don't even know how many keys they were trying to sing in

5 - Andreas Lundstedt "Move" - my favourite - really great synth sounds and a middle eastern feel - great performance

6 - Tommy Nilsson "Jag Tror På Människan" - OK but a bit ploddy - didn't go anywhere - hopefully it won't win if it goes through to the final.

7 - Sofia "Hypnotized" - Another middle eastern inspired song - kind of similar to Helena Paparizou tho

8 - Uno & Irma "God Morgon" - a nice song, reminded me a bit of a Roxette ballad.

I'll update later with who gets through......

Friends....

2007-02-02T13:39:00.000-08:00

I've decided that, once a month, I'm going to write a bit about one of my friends, just so whoever reads this can know why they're my friend and for my friends who know of each other but don't know each other to get to know each other (confused yet? I am!) hehehe

Hopefully my first "Friend's mini-profile" will be up over the weekend :)

The throat's not much better but I suppose I need to give the anti-biotics chance to kick in :)

GOD!

2007-02-01T12:43:00.000-08:00

Well I went to the doctor's today and I have a throat infection (again!) and I'm on anti-biotics (again!) I'm REALLY cheesed off :( I did get George & Mildred (series 5) in the post today (YAY!) and Full House Season 2 from my friend Paul (SB) in Minneapolis - he's such a sweet guy and i LOOOVE Full House hehehehe Paul knows me well :) AND i found out that i have more money in the bank than i thought and i got paid today and I'm going to London next weekend so woo-hoo!!!!!! :) maybe today wasn't as bad as I thought :)

I tried to persuade Ruth in work to go ice skating today but she won't go - i think it would be a laugh, even though i hate skating - i think we'd have a scream!!!! hehe I'm gonna work on her :)

and talking of almost dying...

2007-01-30T12:55:00.000-08:00

I nearly passed out when I saw this photo of Daniel Radcliffe (Harry Potter) in the newspaper today - it's a publicity shot taken for the play Eqqus which opens in London next month - oh my, how the boy has grown!

Goodbye?

2007-01-30T12:42:00.000-08:00

OK this could very well be my last post ever! I did my first work-out tonight for a LONG time - I feel OK now - actually I feel really good - but I may die in my sleep tonight! hehehe

This is stage 2 to the new me - I'm a month into the healthy eating kick and now the excercise regime has started - I don't know how long it's gonna last, but I have good intentions - watch this space :)

CBB Results

2007-01-28T13:22:00.000-08:00

OK well i got that wrong!!! hehe

Here are the final 6 in order...

6 - Jack Tweed
5 - Danielle Lloyd
4 - Ian Watkins (a winner in my eyes)
3 - Dirk Benedict
2 - Jermaine Jackson

WINNER - Shilpa Shetty - she did actually deserve to win despite the crap she had to deal with, not because of it

Celebrity Big Brother

2007-01-28T11:43:00.000-08:00

OK so this is how I think it's gonna be - I would LOVE Ian "H" Watkins to win CBB this year but I don't think he will - I have a feeling Jermaine Jackson will actually win, even though he really hasn't been THAT entertaining, I mean, how many times can you see someone wash a dish?

It's certainly been a CBB to remember - maybe not for the right reasons though - I don't think there was any racist behaviour in the house, but I do think there was bullying by 3 people who thought they were being funny or clever but it backfired and made them look like complete idiots - I don't think they were the sharpest knives in the drawer in the first place to be honest but they've really let themselves down through their actions.

I predict the outcome to be this (but we'll see if I got it right later)

6 - Danielle Lloyd (not gonna know what's hit her)
5 - Jack Tweed
4 - Dirk Benedict
3 - Ian Watkins (but should be the winner)
2 - Shilpa Shetty
Winner - Jermaine Jackson

I may be totally wrong, but I'll post the real result later - watch this space..... :)

Welcome!

2007-01-27T16:05:00.000-08:00

Just wanted to post a quick welcome to my blog! I'm sure I'll have lots of news over the coming year, but expect loads of crap gibber too! hehehe

Just bear with me, I'm new to all this :)

Happy 49th Birthday to my sister-in-law Ann - only one year til the BIG 5-0!!!!! hehe xx