The weather has become the best of the best, blue sky, hot sun and a cooling breeze. Several days are promised with more to come over the rest often summer. On Friday morning, Friday, I concentrated on the planting and with the two new long and wide containers and all the available pots I found a home for all the plants purchased two days before. I then cleaned the patio flagstones and chip pieces, cleaned the drains and swept the garage area floor. Everything is almost ready to paint the walls in stages around the plants, but before then the kitchen is to be tackled. With lots of cricket, the fine weather and preparation for departure I am unlikely to start of the walls before the next trip and it will require a major effort to sort out the kitchen but I am set on a sort out an rearrange which will be of use if the end of self aware consciousness comes sooner than later.
I rested over the lunch time I enjoyed a kipper, then two pieces of white fish and half a melon and coffee. I finished off the garage and washed the kitchen floor. It was then time to prepare for the evening’s cricket at the riverside. I took with me three rolls filled with coleslaw and luncheon meat, a pecan twist, coffee and cold water. For the 20-20 and larger crowds additional security is employed both outside and inside the stadium. The is a nuisance but acceptable as long as it does not interfere with the enjoyment of the event. The first annoyance is that a decision was taken to close use of my usual car park close the entrance for members until the other two parks were full. This can mean being trapped inside a park for sometime. However a new exit was in use which enabled an even quicker getaway than usual as we had out own traffic line whereas by the usual and to join in with those existing from the next car park to mine.
I got myself an end seat on the balcony of the Member’s lounge to enjoy my early evening meal and read the local paper. I then went for a walk about, meeting a former colleague who I had not seen for over a decade. He is not a member and been brought along by someone who is, so there was only brief opportunity to talk about cricket and the publication of the expenses of one of the two Member’s of Parliament for South Tyneside.
The less said about the game, again, the better. Durham had a disastrous start after winning the toss and electing to bat this time. Smith and Blackwell were out for ducks and Collingwood for 9 after the openers had a bright and positive start. With the score 55 for 5 the game was over, or was it? A spirited end pushed the score to 144 and then Durham’s bowlers contained the opponents Leicestershire so that although they retained their wickets they were behind the run rate needing ten off the last over. The decision was taken for Paul Collingwood, the Captain of England’s one day side to bowl the last over. He was hit for six off the penultimate ball and the opponents scored the wining run off the last ball. What a disaster, The crowd was the best ever except for an international although this also had mixed consequences It appeared that a lot of free tickets or reduced tickets had been passed to Durham University who turned out in number and became a drunken noisy rabble taking little interest in the game. There was even a streaker which disrupted the concentration of the players. This resulted in the security stewards being told off by their boss and they started to stop anyone standing to enjoy the game from the walkways around. Irritating. I was making my way to the gents when this occurred just before the end of the game. I had found a seat in the sun behind the wicket.
I started to watch a film but became tired and went to bed. The combination of exercise and fresh air meant that I slept well for the great part of nine hours only rising once. This meant a late start for the day, I had in mind to buy a panama type hat and set off to Newcastle mid morning. There were crowds everywhere and Newcastle was impossible. There was a canvas version at Marks and Spencer’s for sixteen pounds but only the design was different from my Slazenger. However in BHS I found a panama which with a sale discount of a fifth only cost £8. It is an extra large size which means not suitable for very windy conditions but other comfortable. I look naff in hats but with being overweight I look naff anyway and with the hot sun forecast I now have a choice for different weather conditions, functions and moods.
For the past eight weeks or so and every night except one over the past week my evenings, apart from the cricket have revolved around Britain’s Got Talent. I am not fan of putting up for public ridicule people who cannot sing or perform but who seek publicity or of eccentric acts put into the semi finals in order create publicity and balance. It is interesting that although 200 acts went through for semi final consideration that the successful 40 were all featured in the audition programmes and therefore many of the 200 under consideration never performed on the TV shows.
The semi finals produced some disappointing performances and half a dozen acts which did not make the final ten might have achieved similar performances to those in the final but, and it is a big but, all merited their place and reflected the innate common sense, fairness and good judgement of the British public. Hopefully UK politicians will note and fear what is to come
Such was the excellence and range of performances that it is impossible to predict how the British will vote. The dark horses could be the father and son comic dancers called Stavros Flatley, an over weight Greek restaurateur and his over weight son who pranced around the stage with bare bellies with a take off Irish dancing and Michael Flatley in particular. I thought their semi final performance was not as good as the first but their performance this evening showed genuine dancing ability. Their honesty about their limitations appears natural. A similar nice act was 2 Grand, a recently widowed grandfather whose voice has become shaky and his Granddaughter who had a good voice but nothing spectacular. The were endearing and merited a place in the final but were not expected to go further. In a similar category I would put schoolboy Aidan, a self taught dancer similar to last year’s winner who produced an electrifying performance of singing in the rain to out shone the then twelve year old girl Farrer with a mature operative voice.
An indicator of what has happened in the past, the first winner was Paul Potts and man with an operatic voice who had gone on to make a great career including performing in the USA as well as having a successful album. Similarly although 12 year old Farrer did not win and chose to be signed up by a classical record company rather than the commercially minded Simon Cowell, she has had great success while continuing to develop both as a school girl and singer with a voice which needs to be trained. One can foresee a healthy professional career for her although whether she will be become as great as her voice at twelve suggests remains to be seen, probably by others in a decade and little more. The young dancer who won last year has appeared in the West End and released a DVD and will have some form of career although it could be short as the number of male dancers who become household names are few, Wayne Sleep, Michael Flatley. Returning to Aidan given he was self taught practicing in his bedroom he merited the final appearance.
How far those behind the programme assist some with ideas and others not, I have suspicions, and that it depends on commercial potential. In some instances there is only room for one commercial success at the present time.
This was so with the decision not to support the girl violinist and to support the saxophonist, giving him top of the billing last night and which out him into third position. He is nice guy with a family who has struggled to make it for two decades. His image is that of a busker on the London underground and his appeals for public sympathy became something of a whine. The violinist on the other hand was exceptionally talented and visually appealing and I did not understand the put down she received from Simon except that h the quarter from last year playing similar slimed down instruments have gone on to have worldwide success and an album. On Sunday morning I learnt that the saxophonist was already signed to Simon and had an album as well as featuring on other records and accompanying major live acts on the concert circuit. This leaves a nasty taste Simon Watch it.
There were two school age singers Hollie was barely out of primary school and in the semi final broke down but gathered herself and then won the hearts of everyone by successfully continuing. She gave an exceptional performance in the circumstances and I am not sure if the professional stage life is for her or if her voice will also stand the test of time. Shaheen Jafarhholi goes to stage school and therefore already had the background to perform in public. His voice has been compared to that of Michael Jackson at a similar age, and I was surprised he did not reach the last three. He should have a professional career.
Shaun Smith is also a likeable 17 year old who appeared to be an adjusted A level student who also plays Rugby whose pop voice suggests he would have also reached he final stages of the X Factor and may have a career if he is signed up and gets the right record. There is a question mark though as to whether he is significantly different from 100 others.
This brings me to the two Street dance groups, both black and difficult to separate until the final. Flawless from North London produced their third flawless performance, bold, imaginative and energetic. Diversity comes from Dagenham and Leytonstone and Essex, three sets of brothers and four of their friends. They include an I.T> systems engineer, a bathroom installer and one in telesales. The choreographer, Ashley Banjo is a physics university student. I thought their act was brilliant and agreed with Amanda Holden that they had “ blown Flawless out of the water. They were the outstanding act and Simon Cowell said that were the only act to get his ten out of ten.
Susan Boyle was outstanding in her audition performance and fully justified the tens of millions around the world who watched her performance on You Tube singing If I had a dream and which led to interviews on major talk shows in the USA. Simon Cowell is now second to President Obama in terms of being a household name in the USA. However Susan appeared a bundle of nerves in the semi final and looked like a scared rabbit caught up in the headlights. There were rumours that she was considering withdrawing from the show and then she might be asked to leave because of outbursts and reactions to the pressures. On the night she performed the original song again and sang it much better with more passion and intensity, According to the Wikipedia the group Diversity won the audience vote with 24.9% Susan came second and the saxophonist third.
The reference to learning difficulties reminds that on my way to Newcastle a mother brought her son onto the train who had a severe condition and was prone to shout, swear and attention seek. She clearly could not cope and resented having what she regarded as a problem and an embarrassment. One wondered why she subjected herself to the situation without help as clearly what happened was not unusual. It was a very difficult situation for the other passengers. My thoughts were with the mother and with her son but there was nothing I or anyone could do,
I started to watch the film again after the show, it is called casino. I became tired again and went to bed and sleep although waking up early on Sunday morning. The subject of the morning remained that of public manipulation by thee media and politicians
I rested over the lunch time I enjoyed a kipper, then two pieces of white fish and half a melon and coffee. I finished off the garage and washed the kitchen floor. It was then time to prepare for the evening’s cricket at the riverside. I took with me three rolls filled with coleslaw and luncheon meat, a pecan twist, coffee and cold water. For the 20-20 and larger crowds additional security is employed both outside and inside the stadium. The is a nuisance but acceptable as long as it does not interfere with the enjoyment of the event. The first annoyance is that a decision was taken to close use of my usual car park close the entrance for members until the other two parks were full. This can mean being trapped inside a park for sometime. However a new exit was in use which enabled an even quicker getaway than usual as we had out own traffic line whereas by the usual and to join in with those existing from the next car park to mine.
I got myself an end seat on the balcony of the Member’s lounge to enjoy my early evening meal and read the local paper. I then went for a walk about, meeting a former colleague who I had not seen for over a decade. He is not a member and been brought along by someone who is, so there was only brief opportunity to talk about cricket and the publication of the expenses of one of the two Member’s of Parliament for South Tyneside.
The less said about the game, again, the better. Durham had a disastrous start after winning the toss and electing to bat this time. Smith and Blackwell were out for ducks and Collingwood for 9 after the openers had a bright and positive start. With the score 55 for 5 the game was over, or was it? A spirited end pushed the score to 144 and then Durham’s bowlers contained the opponents Leicestershire so that although they retained their wickets they were behind the run rate needing ten off the last over. The decision was taken for Paul Collingwood, the Captain of England’s one day side to bowl the last over. He was hit for six off the penultimate ball and the opponents scored the wining run off the last ball. What a disaster, The crowd was the best ever except for an international although this also had mixed consequences It appeared that a lot of free tickets or reduced tickets had been passed to Durham University who turned out in number and became a drunken noisy rabble taking little interest in the game. There was even a streaker which disrupted the concentration of the players. This resulted in the security stewards being told off by their boss and they started to stop anyone standing to enjoy the game from the walkways around. Irritating. I was making my way to the gents when this occurred just before the end of the game. I had found a seat in the sun behind the wicket.
I started to watch a film but became tired and went to bed. The combination of exercise and fresh air meant that I slept well for the great part of nine hours only rising once. This meant a late start for the day, I had in mind to buy a panama type hat and set off to Newcastle mid morning. There were crowds everywhere and Newcastle was impossible. There was a canvas version at Marks and Spencer’s for sixteen pounds but only the design was different from my Slazenger. However in BHS I found a panama which with a sale discount of a fifth only cost £8. It is an extra large size which means not suitable for very windy conditions but other comfortable. I look naff in hats but with being overweight I look naff anyway and with the hot sun forecast I now have a choice for different weather conditions, functions and moods.
For the past eight weeks or so and every night except one over the past week my evenings, apart from the cricket have revolved around Britain’s Got Talent. I am not fan of putting up for public ridicule people who cannot sing or perform but who seek publicity or of eccentric acts put into the semi finals in order create publicity and balance. It is interesting that although 200 acts went through for semi final consideration that the successful 40 were all featured in the audition programmes and therefore many of the 200 under consideration never performed on the TV shows.
The semi finals produced some disappointing performances and half a dozen acts which did not make the final ten might have achieved similar performances to those in the final but, and it is a big but, all merited their place and reflected the innate common sense, fairness and good judgement of the British public. Hopefully UK politicians will note and fear what is to come
Such was the excellence and range of performances that it is impossible to predict how the British will vote. The dark horses could be the father and son comic dancers called Stavros Flatley, an over weight Greek restaurateur and his over weight son who pranced around the stage with bare bellies with a take off Irish dancing and Michael Flatley in particular. I thought their semi final performance was not as good as the first but their performance this evening showed genuine dancing ability. Their honesty about their limitations appears natural. A similar nice act was 2 Grand, a recently widowed grandfather whose voice has become shaky and his Granddaughter who had a good voice but nothing spectacular. The were endearing and merited a place in the final but were not expected to go further. In a similar category I would put schoolboy Aidan, a self taught dancer similar to last year’s winner who produced an electrifying performance of singing in the rain to out shone the then twelve year old girl Farrer with a mature operative voice.
An indicator of what has happened in the past, the first winner was Paul Potts and man with an operatic voice who had gone on to make a great career including performing in the USA as well as having a successful album. Similarly although 12 year old Farrer did not win and chose to be signed up by a classical record company rather than the commercially minded Simon Cowell, she has had great success while continuing to develop both as a school girl and singer with a voice which needs to be trained. One can foresee a healthy professional career for her although whether she will be become as great as her voice at twelve suggests remains to be seen, probably by others in a decade and little more. The young dancer who won last year has appeared in the West End and released a DVD and will have some form of career although it could be short as the number of male dancers who become household names are few, Wayne Sleep, Michael Flatley. Returning to Aidan given he was self taught practicing in his bedroom he merited the final appearance.
How far those behind the programme assist some with ideas and others not, I have suspicions, and that it depends on commercial potential. In some instances there is only room for one commercial success at the present time.
This was so with the decision not to support the girl violinist and to support the saxophonist, giving him top of the billing last night and which out him into third position. He is nice guy with a family who has struggled to make it for two decades. His image is that of a busker on the London underground and his appeals for public sympathy became something of a whine. The violinist on the other hand was exceptionally talented and visually appealing and I did not understand the put down she received from Simon except that h the quarter from last year playing similar slimed down instruments have gone on to have worldwide success and an album. On Sunday morning I learnt that the saxophonist was already signed to Simon and had an album as well as featuring on other records and accompanying major live acts on the concert circuit. This leaves a nasty taste Simon Watch it.
There were two school age singers Hollie was barely out of primary school and in the semi final broke down but gathered herself and then won the hearts of everyone by successfully continuing. She gave an exceptional performance in the circumstances and I am not sure if the professional stage life is for her or if her voice will also stand the test of time. Shaheen Jafarhholi goes to stage school and therefore already had the background to perform in public. His voice has been compared to that of Michael Jackson at a similar age, and I was surprised he did not reach the last three. He should have a professional career.
Shaun Smith is also a likeable 17 year old who appeared to be an adjusted A level student who also plays Rugby whose pop voice suggests he would have also reached he final stages of the X Factor and may have a career if he is signed up and gets the right record. There is a question mark though as to whether he is significantly different from 100 others.
This brings me to the two Street dance groups, both black and difficult to separate until the final. Flawless from North London produced their third flawless performance, bold, imaginative and energetic. Diversity comes from Dagenham and Leytonstone and Essex, three sets of brothers and four of their friends. They include an I.T> systems engineer, a bathroom installer and one in telesales. The choreographer, Ashley Banjo is a physics university student. I thought their act was brilliant and agreed with Amanda Holden that they had “ blown Flawless out of the water. They were the outstanding act and Simon Cowell said that were the only act to get his ten out of ten.
Susan Boyle was outstanding in her audition performance and fully justified the tens of millions around the world who watched her performance on You Tube singing If I had a dream and which led to interviews on major talk shows in the USA. Simon Cowell is now second to President Obama in terms of being a household name in the USA. However Susan appeared a bundle of nerves in the semi final and looked like a scared rabbit caught up in the headlights. There were rumours that she was considering withdrawing from the show and then she might be asked to leave because of outbursts and reactions to the pressures. On the night she performed the original song again and sang it much better with more passion and intensity, According to the Wikipedia the group Diversity won the audience vote with 24.9% Susan came second and the saxophonist third.
The reference to learning difficulties reminds that on my way to Newcastle a mother brought her son onto the train who had a severe condition and was prone to shout, swear and attention seek. She clearly could not cope and resented having what she regarded as a problem and an embarrassment. One wondered why she subjected herself to the situation without help as clearly what happened was not unusual. It was a very difficult situation for the other passengers. My thoughts were with the mother and with her son but there was nothing I or anyone could do,
I started to watch the film again after the show, it is called casino. I became tired again and went to bed and sleep although waking up early on Sunday morning. The subject of the morning remained that of public manipulation by thee media and politicians
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