Britain's Got Talent... I Got Bored.

Well... What a rubbish investment of my time it was watching Britain's Got Talent.
Every night last week I watched it, thinking something good was going to happen. But it didn't.

I spent a significant amount of time studying Simon Cowell's ever changing appearance and incredulously interrogating Mr G with questions such as "What has he done?!" and "Can you see those bruises by his eyes?", as well as realising that I don't think I actually like him any more. But apart from getting sucked into the Cowell Panto, I found myself getting a little bit bored and irritated.

Well done to our local boy Michael Collings for getting through to the finals and coming across as a thoroughly likeable, cheerful bloke. Sadly, going up against a 12-year old, a Scottish guy and The Jackson 5, he didn't stand a chance in the public vote, but I still hope he has a big future ahead of him - he's got such a great voice.

Plymouth's Got Talent

I watched, for the first time, an entire episode of Britain's Got Talent on Saturday. I must confess this was primarily because I love new judge Michael McIntyre and was expecting him to be entertaining. What I wasn't expecting was this:
(You'll have to click on the link for the video because YouTube won't let me post it here)

As a proud Plymouthian I was amused to see Michael Collings rock up in his tracksuit, as if he had just been passing the train station that morning and thought "sod it, I'm going to Cardiff to audition for Britain's Got Talent. I'll get some muffins in the Spar to tide us over and we'll be back by teatime".

People have had a bit of a giggle at his relaxed attire, his "posh caravan site" home, and his Buffet City proposal to his fiance but do you know what? I love that this is who is representing our city, and not just because of his interesting, soulful, soothing voice.

Looking past the "sherbet leisurewear" I see a warm, funny and humble guy, representative of so many people who live in Plymouth, people I sit next to on the bus every morning, people I queue behind in the Co-Op and people who I watch fireworks with 'op the 'Oe every summer. According to his interview in The Herald, Michael says he might smarten up his look to a pair of jeans if he wins the show and performs in front of the Queen at the "what's it called again?" Royal Variety Show. I don't even know if I want him to do this, I vote he embraces his inner Plymouthian and goes onstage with his top off, hanging off the waistband of his joggers.

There's been a lot of talk about Michael being favourite to win the show - I doubt there are many people left in the country who have not seen the audition - but it's early days yet (remember early press for both Gamu and Danyl of X Factor fame) so I call for Plymouth to get behind our act and keep the support going strong!

GEDDON MIKE-O, YOU CAN DO IT!

The Plymouth Eye

News must have finally tricked down to the Westcountry from the capital about the installation of the London Eye, because last week a giant wheel appeared on Plymouth Hoe.
Has anyone been on it? More importantly, does anyone know what it's in aid of?

She's Adele-uva Good (Genius Plymouthian Wordplay)

I totally love Adele.

I was so excited when I saw she was coming to Plymouth Pavilions on September 4th that I momentarily forgot I'll either be in labour or nursing a newborn baby on that date.

Ah well, now I've got my nipple shields I'm sure Adele wouldn't mind me sitting backstage whilst she sings her beautiful lullabies to Baby G. She seems like a nice girl like that.

If you missed her on Radio One's Live Lounge the other week it's definitely worth looking for on YouTube. Not only does she sound even better live than she does on her album, but she also achieved what I previously thought was an impossible task - making one of Cheryl Cole's songs sound good.

I've put a little clip on the left hand side of her performing at The Brits.  Unfortunately we'll probably all be sick to death of this song in a few weeks because it is everywhere but for now if you've ever had a broken heart, enjoy Someone Like You....

A Merry Christmas? Maybe Later...

With only two days to go I am finally starting to get into the Christmas spirit. I'm not quite there yet because this afternoon I have to venture into the cardiac arrest-inducing death trap that is Plymouth City Centre to both start and finish my Christmas shopping.

In normal conditions it is bad enough; with the kamikaze pram pushers, screaming parents, fed up shop staff and arguing spouses, but add to that potent mix a couple inches of (now frozen solid) ice and snow, and the combination is deadly.

Once this mission is accomplished I will well and truly turn my Christmas on. I promise.

If you don't ever hear from me again it's because I'm in prison for murder.

A Teeny Weeny Vapour Cloud of Success?

Can we go, with Bompas and Parr, where we failed so miserably with Dirk Benedict, Sara Cox and Tom Daley?

When I say "we" I of course mean "I".

Further to my recent excitable posting about the incredible food masters, I have a monumental update from Mr Bompas who (and I quote) "will have a little think" about coming to Plymouth.

Now in my mind this essentially means it's a done deal and it's going to happen, but the hard part is going to be convincing them. We have a fabulous city in Plymouth, steeped in history and beauty, so I'm sure we can put them in touch with the right people to make one of their projects a reality. Thanks for all your suggestions so far - I'm going to email the list off tomorrow so there's still a bit of time to leave more comments and ideas.

Let's DO THIS.

Its Beginning to Look a Lot Like... Chaos

This morning Plymouth finally succumbed to the snow and was dusted with at least a 5mm covering of the white stuff.

Looking out the window as I was getting ready to leave the house, it was only natural to assume that I would probably be snowed in, or worse still, snowed out whilst at work. But no, it appears that Plymouth's infrastructure is just about supporting the weight of this treacherous blizzard. I give it another day before everything comes grinding to a crushing halt.

In the meantime I've been out and about taking photos on my new Hipstamatic iPhone app - which is, incidentally, the best £1.19 I have ever spent in my life. Here's some snaps of our glorious city...Perty, ain't it?

Meet The Sandercocks

I don't like to be judgemental but reading this story, which made the national news this week, I'm fairly sure it won't be long before the Sandercock family from Plymouth are expecting another baby into their troop. If nothing else, it may well hurry up their application for a bigger council house.

So, I thought we could have a little competition to guess the name of their next child...

I've thought long and hard about it and I have chosen:

Diddy.

Place your bets below...

Plymouth in the Springtime

If anyone was thinking they didn't recognise the photo on the previous post, that's because it was actually in Santa Monica (hark at me!), it was merely there for the purpose of illustrating my sunglasses rage.

Here are a couple of pics I have taken over the weekend of my hometown, Plymouth.
Not everyone agrees with me but it really is a beautiful place to live, and it's even more special when the sun is shining...