Today, for the first time in many, many years I was sent home from work as I did not feel very well. Migraine, mostly, interspersed with some sickness and diarrhea. The funny thing is that the guy who sent me home, who is Jennifer's boss, is normally a total ass, but sometimes he suprises me with casual acts of kindness. We were understaffed at work, and what with Jennifer being off work this week on leave, I was prepared to hang on for today. Jennifer's boss wouldn't hear a word of it and even arranged for somebody to give me a lift home.

This has been such fun. Illness started last night, which accounts for the fact that I did not post last night. Whatever it is has probably been caused by Jennifer trying to kill me with her cooking.

I was back in the house by 10am. I retired to my bed with a bowl in which to be sick and anti-shit tablets to stop the... er... shit. I slept a lot and dreamt massive sex dreams. Some girls are very naughty...

I am up now and feeling much better now. Waiting for food.

Hungry.

There are some evenings when the frustration gets so acute that you just want to undress, wash, clean your teeth, go to your room (the front bedroom, which is my room, as opposed to the back bedroom, that used to be our room), grab your MP3 player and lie in the dark listening to music for hours on end to shut the world out.

That was last night. I don't think that Jennifer even knew I had gone to bed.

I turned my MP3 player off after listening to this song by the Seekers. It was my Gran's favourite song. It was played during her funeral service. I always find this song very emotional.

Yes. I will love my Gran until the day I die.



Today was a much better day.

Hmm...

OK, then. As the Suburban Hen said on the comment on my last post, "Kung Fu Panda" is OK. Sadly, though, when you are talking a broad appeal animated movie, 'OK' really isn't enough to cut it, now is it?

It is not a disaster, but I thought that "Kung Fu Panda" was a bit disappointing.



"Kung Fu Panda" is big, bright and colourful (and, by the way, looks wonderful in an IMAX DMR print). It does have wonderful animation, some nice comedy sequences and good characters, but "Kung Fu Panda" is not nearly as funny as it could have been, and is severely lacking in character.

I think the worst crime of "Kung Fu Panda" is the waste of a potentially top class voice cast. Half the fun of modern animated movies, especially for adults, is in the spotting of various celebrity voices having fun. "Kung Fu Panda" manages to leech all of the character and idiosyncraticness out of the voices of fine character actors like Jack Black, Dustin Hoffman, Angelina Jolie, Jackie Chan, and others, that you may as well have used a cast of unknowns.

A real shame, then, but not a total waste. My Nephew (12 years old) liked it. My Niece (11 years old) thought that it was OK.

Great minds think alike, eh Hen?

"Hellboy II: The Golden Army".



I took my Nephew to see this on Sunday afternoon. He used words like 'sick' (which apparently means 'really, really good') and 'awesome', to describe it. I don't think I would disagree with one word of that.

I really enjoyed "Hellboy II: The Golden Army". I thought that it was better than the first "Hellboy" movie.

It is action packed and very funny (great slapstick), and as far away from the brooding and dark comic book hero as it is possible to go. Hollywood take note. It is possible to make a good comic book movie without having to go 'dark' on the material. I read recently that, with the success of "The Dark Knight", it is believed that a 'darker' take on the next Superman movie, and other movie adaptations of DC characters, is the way to go. Rubbish. Horses for courses. 'Dark' will not work for every adaptation. Here is a crazy idea. Try making the next Superman a not boring film. That is the way to go.

Anyway...

"Hellboy II: The Golden Army" would be nothing without it's cast. Ron Perlman was perfect as Hellboy, and so was Selma Blair as Liz Sherman. Nice to see Doug Jones this time being able to use both his body and his voice as Abe Sapien. I also really loved Seth McFarlane's ectoplasmic scientist Johann Krauss and the 12A rating pushing German pronunciation joke. My Nephew especially liked that one.

It is extremely important to point this out. "Hellboy II: The Golden Army" is a stunningly beautiful looking movie. Imagine the creatures of "Pan's Labyrinth" multiplied by a thousand and you will get some kind of idea of the range and variety of creatures that fill the screen during the Troll Market sequence. Amazing. Really amazing.

It is such a shame that a lot of movies have been squashed during this Summer of "The Dark Knight". According to IMDB "Hellboy II: The Golden Army" only just made back it's budget on it's US release. Hopefully worldwide "Hellboy II: The Golden Army" will do well enough to give us a 3rd movie.

I know, I know. I said that I was going to write about work yesterday, but I didn't. The weekend has been frantically busy. I am really tired, so this will be short.

Jennifer and I were at work on Saturday morning. Jennifer, desperately trying to get certain things completed before her week off, drafted me in to help. I think we were successful enough, but her boss will still moan on Tuesday morning that we could have done better. Bollocks to him. I have no respect for a man who is a brown nose and an arse licker, with no concept of the difference between really easy problems, more difficult problems and really difficult problems. He thinks that they are all the same. Total ass.

Nicer things.

Yesterday afternoon I met Niece 2 for the first time. Niece 2 has lots of black hair, hazel eyes, is more Mediterranean coloured than pink, and is already working on a pretty good pout. She is very small, but weighed a ton when I picked her up. We made a little bit of a connection. Niece 2 looked straight at me, gave me a serious frown, yawned and then fell asleep. It is hard work being a baby.

The treat for my Nephew (Niece 2's Brother), was to take him out to see "Hellboy II: The Golden Army". Just him and me. We had a good time. Nothing in the world like seeing a film like that with a pre-teen boy. I will write about what I thought of the film, next time.

Yesterday evening. Mostly we dossed in front of the TV. "The X-Factor". "Who Wants To Be A Millionaire". "The Thomas Crown Affair" (Brosnan and Russo version).

Today, haircut for me, shopping with Jennifer for hours. "Casino Royale" in the evening. Food in between.

Tired, tired, tired.

Tomorrow we are taking Niece 1 and my Nephew to see "Kung Fu Panda" at the IMAX. It is not a film I was bothered much about seeing, but Jennifer insisted. She wanted us to do something together with the kids. I think she just wanted to see another film on that huge screen.

Desktop change day! (Actually yesterday, but I was too tired last night to turn on the computer to report Thursday's momentous decision.)

What was it to be this time? A pop group? An attractive lady? A stunning piece of architecture? A bacon sandwich?

No. A cartoon character.

Muttley.


Cohort of the evil Dick Dastardly. Driver, pilot and collector of medals. Sneaky and untrustworthy. Possibly asthmatic. An all round thoroughly bad egg.

Muttley was portrayed by... er... Muttley in two classic series: "Wacky Races" and "Dastardly And Muttley In Their Flying Machines" . Still worth a look.

There has been a change at work. I will write about that tomorrow.

Gary Glitter refuses to return to the UK without his new girlfriend.

He's at the hospital right now, awaiting her birth.

**

Sorry.

**

Bad night.

Jennifer deleted an extremely important phone message, meant for me, by accident. Jennifer was embarrassed. Then she got angry, saying that it wasn't her fault and that something was obviously wrong with the answerphone. Then I got angry.

Then Jennifer called me names. I decided to avoid the poison and come up here to surf the net and play music.

Indeed.

I think I will have an early night. It will do me good.

I have excellent news. I am an Uncle for the third time.

Sister 3 gave birth by C-section this afternoon to a little girl. New Niece is 7 pounds and 2 ounces, very pink, has lots of black hair and, according to my Mom, the Cornelius nose. True, I never knew that there was such a thing as the 'Cornelius Nose', but I stand corrected.

Other than that, I know nothing. Jennifer and I will be seeing Sister 3 at the weekend. Must make a note to buy my Nephew (New Niece's Brother) a little gift at the weekend.

Really brilliant! Another Cornelius on stream for visits to Christmas pantomimes, circa 2013 through 2025.

Changes to the blog: Niece is now renamed Niece 1. New Niece is now renamed Niece 2.

Got to keep these things in order.

Jennifer loathes it. It is deeply wrong. It is cheap, nasty and bad. It makes fools of the sad, the bewildered and the misguided.

I am mortified to my soul, but I really love "The X-Factor". What can I say? I am obviously a lesser human being.

The highlight of the first episode that went out on Saturday? Got to be this pair of geniuses.



I did have a work story, but I am still laughing. Another time.

More films, I'm afraid. Two films I have seen that I have not written about yet.

"Miss Pettigrew Lives For A Day".



It may well be as slender and as insubstantial as Paris Hilton's last meal, but I really enjoyed "Miss Pettigrew Lives For A Day".

"Miss Pettigrew Lives For A Day" is a very silly, 30's set screwball comedy. Amy Adams (in the best role that Marilyn Monroe never played) is the ditzy, strangely monikered, actress/singer Delysia Lafosse, juggling boyfriends and career choices with the aid of the stoic Francis McDormand, the titular Miss Pettigrew of the title: rubbish, sacked and homeless governess, currently Ms. Lafosse's 'social secretary'. Ms. Adams and Ms. McDormand give two very good performances, in a film full of good performances. Lee Pace, Mark Strong, Shirley Henderson, Ciaran Hinds are all excellent.

My word, I do hate the word, but "Miss Pettigrew Lives For A Day" really is delightful. A lovely little surprise of a movie on a grim Sunday afternoon. It will be gone from British cinemas in a week. I urge you to go and see it while you have the chance.

"Elegy".



Everybody is allowed to do a job just for the money, I know that I do, but when it comes to the acting profession, I irrationally think that I expect a little bit more from our finest thespians. I don't know why. I just do. Take, for example, the actor Ben Kingsley.

Ben Kingsley sometimes annoys the hell out of me. He is one of the best actors in the world, but sometimes plys his trade in the likes of shite like "Thunderbirds", "A Sound Of Thunder" and "The Love Guru". Such a waste. Such a shame. Thank God he occasionally realises how good he is and signs up for a movie as sublime as "Elegy".

"Elegy" is a great movie. Ben Kingsley is supreme in it. He plays David Kapesh, an expat British teacher and writer. Kapesh is selfish. He is a player and a commitment phobe, who takes and drops lovers at the drop of a hat. That is until he meets Penelope Cruz's Consuela Castillo, with whom he begins a pretty standard affair and, against all expectations, and much to his dismay, falls in love with her.

"Elegy" has some seriously good, sure footed performances. Ben Kingsley is on Oscar worthy form. It is as different, but as good a performance, as his Oscar nominated turns in "Sexy Beast" and "House Of Sand And Fog". Patrica Clarkson, as Kapesh's long standing mistress, defines hurt and betrayal, Penelope Cruz completely puts word to the lie of one daft critic who said that she simply cannot act in the English language, but the surprise here is Dennis Hopper: His performance as Kapesh's best friend is light years away from the eye rolling villain that he normally portrays to make a crust.

"Elegy" is erotic, touching and beautiful. I think that it is a cracking movie and deserves a bigger audience.

Nearly forgot. The latest desktop. This lady.



Malin Akkerman as Laurie Juspeczyk/Silk Spectre II from the upcoming "Watchmen". So looking forward to that film.

This week has been a bit of a washout as far as blogging is concerned. Never mind. New dawn, new day and all that kind of thing.

It is probably a bit late for this, but finally some thoughts, from me, on "The Dark Knight".



"The Dark Knight" has been the cinema sensation of 2008. It has been, very nearly, universally acclaimed by the critics. It is the biggest film of the year so far, by far, and is unlikely to be overtaken by anything else released during 2008. For weeks "The Dark Knight" was the #1 film on IMDB's top 250 films list (which surprised me a little bit, as it was a very new film), although it is down to #3 this week. It has endured unprecedented levels of hype and has come through unhindered as a big, solid hit movie. A perfect Summer blockbuster.

I don't think that "The Dark Knight" is a perfect film, but it is a really good film, if not a great film. Certainly it is the best high octane, high weaponry action film released in many a year (for high octane, high weaponry, I think "Heat" or "Die Hard") and would still have worked even if it had not been a Batman movie. It has great set pieces, a huge scale (I saw it on an IMAX screen - Good Lord! - highly recommended) and had good performances by the whole cast, but especially by Heath Ledger, Gary Oldman and Aaron Eckhart. Particularly Aaron Eckhart. He had the most difficult character arc to follow during the course of the film.

I said that "The Dark Knight" is not a perfect film. It isn't. Let me elaborate.

1. It is too long. Sorry, but it is. Sometimes you can have too much of a good thing. The first half of the film could have definitely been trimmed.
2. Bale's Batman voice sometimes verged on the ridiculous. I kept thinking of The Kurgan from "Highlander".
3. Michael Caine's screen time as Alfred was little more than an extended cameo. I seem to remember he had more screen time in "Batman Begins".
4. Ditto Morgan Freeman as Lucius Fox.
5. Maggie Gylenhaal's Rachel Dawes really had nothing to do. True, I will admit that her final scenes were crucial to the motivation of Harvey Dent in the latter part of the movie.
6. Unlike in "Batman Begins", this time around Batman/Bruce Wayne was not nearly as interesting as the villains. The typical curse of any Batman film.

I am being picky. Sure I am. Minor issues.

I really enjoyed "The Dark Knight". I definitely recommend it, even if you cannot stand superhero movies.

30 years ago today my Dad died. It has been a weird kind of a day.

To be honest there were no massive feelings of sadness in my head. It was a normal working day, and I was too busy to indulge in gazing soulfully out of the window with a sad expression on my face. Earlier this month the family had discussed going out for a meal, or maybe doing something else to mark the day, but in the end my Mom decided that she didn't want to do anything at all, so the idea was dropped. We did have had a memoriam put into the Evening Mail newspaper, under the name he was known by at work, which was not his real name. I strongly objected to that. His real name should have been on his memoriam. It was the name that we knew him by. Fuck everybody else.

Doesn't matter.

I think about my Dad, sometimes. I dream about him in times of trouble. My Dad would have been 73 this year. When my Dad appears in my dreams, he is always the age he would have been if he had lived. In my dreams we are always outside, on a bright and sunny day. He is always wearing his suit. (He was of the generation that dressed down for work and dressed up to go out and drink.) He is smoking a cigar and has a pint in his hand. He always asks me, "What's going on, Son?" and I tell him. Then he always says, "Ah, things'll be fine. Don't you worry." Always the same. I wonder if he will continue to age as I get older.

My Dad never saw his children grow up and he never saw his grandchildren. My Dad was the biggest Clint Eastwood fan in the world, from "Rawhide" onwards. My Dad would have had a drink to celebrate Clint finally getting an Oscar.

I miss my Dad.

It is a bit late now to be posting anything of substance.

I finally saw "The Dark Knight" over the weekend. I also saw "Elegy". Both really interesting films. I will write about those over the next couple of days.

Sorry. I am really tired.

I did see episode one of "Spooks: Code 9" this evening. It is a turd. Dreadful, with not even the saving grace (re. "Bonekickers") of being unintentionally funny. Imagine a spy series made for the "Hollyoaks" audience. Inept and cack. I will not be watching again. Bring back the proper "Spooks".

That is all.

Dress down day, where for the princely sum of a quid fifty (donated to charity), the great and the good dress up in their casual clothes. Always an interesting experience.

In my department alone...

I saw a girl who was dressed in what appeared to be a romper suit. The kind of thing your Mom would have dressed you in when you were 2 years old.

I saw another girl who appeared to have come to work in her negligee. Negligees are pretty see through. The lady was wearing a blue bra. I noticed.

I saw a young Asian guy dressed from head to toe in black. Black shoes, black trousers, black polo neck sweater. He looked like an Asian version of Ilya Kuryakin out of "The Man From U.N.C.L.E.". I told him as much. He asked me what "The Man From U.N.C.L.E." was? Hah! These kids, eh?

I saw Jennifer wearing black boots, blue jeans with a pattern on both of the back pockets that looked like somebody with white paint on their hands had neen groping her arse, and a peasant top that kept slipping down, so giving a nice view of her cleavage. A bit more cleavage than I ever see at home, mind. (The last time I saw her naked? That would be February, maybe.)

Me? Black boots, black jeans and a white Union Jack T-shirt. The one that I wore for the Sex Pistols gig. Simple, classic, stylish.

It's hard being a fashion icon, but I persevere. A couple of times I have been walking around the park and young ladies have accosted me to ask if I am Brad Pitt. When I say "No", those ladies always ask me if I am sure.

Sigh. It happens a lot. Poor Brad.

(One of the above statements is a lie.)

It's Thursday! Time for a change of desktop.

The Fabs, I think. This picture.



This is one of my favourite photos of the Beatles. It was taken during the preparations for the "Our World" broadcast of 25th June 1967, that was the first, live, television show to be transmitted around the world by satellite. The Beatles contributed a new song that John Lennon sang live to a pre-recorded backing track. There has been some disagreement as to whether the song was specifically written for the broadcast. Ringo and George Martin said that it was, but George Harrison and Macca were unsure. I seem to remember that in the "Anthology" documentary, Macca said that it was an unfinished song that John had 'knocking around during that period' and that it was just 'tweaked for the occasion'.

Whatever. Doesn't matter. It is still a great song. Simple and direct. A real, evocative classic. Elvis Costello certainly thought so. He sang it at "Live Aid".



**

The pay reviews have finally come through. I got 4.4%, Jennifer got 3.2%. Add those to the 1.5% we both got in January, as the initial increase pending synchronisation of the merged company pay reviews in July/August, and there is really very little for me to complain about. Jennifer tells me that I got the highest percentage increase out of everybody in the team.

I'm great I am!

"The X-Files: I Want To Believe".



"The X-Files" television series ran for 9 years between 1993 and 2002. For the first 6 years or so I was a huge fan. I think that I lost interest in "The X-Files" at about the same time that David Duchovny did, although I kept watching due to some kind of misplaced loyalty. Was Duchovny staying in the series? Was Duchovny leaving the series? Who the hell knew? He kept popping up to tease the audience.

By the time "The X-Files" finally finished, I was kind of relieved. I didn't have to stay in on a Thursday night anymore (phew!) and, anyway, it had gotten kind of boring.

Then, last year, they announced that there was going to be a second "X-Files" movie and that David Duchovny and Gillian Anderson would both be on board. Hmm... OK. Might be intriguing? What did become of Mulder and Scully after the events of "The Truth"?

Sadly "The X-Files: I Want To Believe" isn't intriguing. Not at all. In fact, and it pains me to say this, I really wish they hadn't bothered to make the film at all.

It was nice catching up with Mulder and Scully: Both of them older, but obviously still the same characters and the same sexual chemistry. The bizarre casting of comedian Billy Connolly as a tormented ex-priest suffering from visions worked really well and he was good. Surprisingly, maybe, so was Amanda Peet as the leader of an FBI task force, who wants to involve Mulder in the case at hand.

But, "The X-Files: I Want To Believe" comes across as nothing more than an extended episode of the television series, and not an especially notable one. Way too low key and quiet. Plodding, not exciting, and with barely a reference to the extensive mythology of the television series. In fact, other than the main characters, "The X-Files: I Want To Believe" could have been any FBI procedural movie with a supernatural/sci-fi bent.

"The X-Files: I Want To Believe" was a big disappointment. Possibly one expected by the studio who, in their wisdom, decided to release it opposite "The Dark Knight". Frankly, no contest.

Hello.

Saturday evening could have gone better.

I would love to tell you all about Them Is Me at Bar Academy, but sadly this will not be possible. My Brother and myself were ejected from Bar Academy about 30 seconds after the band came onstage.

The reason?

I had drunk 3 bottles of Magners Irish Cider in The Square Peg before the gig. I then drank 3 bottles 0f Grolsch Premium Lager while enduring the two unlistenable thrash metal support bands. By the time Them Is Me came onstage, I was paralytic. My Brother had made me give up my spot on the barrier and made me sit down towards the back of the room. I was woozy, then dizzy, and then I vomited all down my T-shirt and my jeans. My Brother dragged me off to the toilet, where I finished being sick. Then, a very nice man from security (and I mean that - he seemed very concerned) said to my Brother that it might be a good idea if we left. We did.

Across the street, I was sick on myself, again. I drifted in and out of consciousness. People across the street, queueing to get into Ramshackle, looked and pointed. I was the guy you see out of his tree, with his face smudged out, on those regular stories on the news about teenagers binge drinking. After an indeterminate amount of time, my Brother coaxed me to my feet and we started move. He said that no taxi or bus would take me home, looking the way I did, so we were going back to his place.

I remember going up Bull Street, crossing Corporation Street, and heading up to Temple Row. I remember my Brother propping me up against the wall and having an altercation with somebody who called us "A pair of queers". I don't know what happened as I was studying the wall, but my Brother looked fine when he came back.

I don't remember going past Birmingham Cathedral onto Colmore Row. Or going through Victoria Square, the Central Library, Centenary Square and then the International Convention Centre. I remember being on the canal, because I remember being sick again with the Malt House behind me. I remember arriving at my Brother's house. He dumped me on the settee and made me drink a glass of water. He then gave me a bowl, in case I was sick again. I wasn't. My Brother rang Jennifer to tell her that I would be staying at his place overnight. He woke her up. She was in bed, long returned from the wedding.

Sunday.

I awoke at 7am. Amazingly enough, I had a tiny little headache. Really nothing. Hardly any hangover at all. Perhaps not so amazing. Quite a bit of the alcohol, and the prawn salad I had eaten before leaving home, was on my T-shirt and my jeans. I cleaned myself up as best as I could and I left. I didn't wake my Brother.

I was home by 9am. A shower, a change of clothes and then Jennifer made me a bacon sandwich. I drifted in and out of sleep all day, in front of the TV, until it was time for us to leave to catch "The X-Files - I Want To Believe".

My chest hurts me today. I think I have strained something. My throat is also very sore. My skin looks blotchy. I look fucking 60. Jennifer says that I went out on Saturday night determined to get wrecked for whatever-the-fuck reason was in my head. Mid life crisis? Competing with my Brother? Who the fuck knows. She might be right.

I am not pleased with myself. I am a dickhead. I am a fucking idiot. I am a prat and a damn fool. I am kind of ashamed. Pillock.

I am a nearly 45 year old man. I should not behave like a 25 year old. Nowhere near good enough. The only saving grace about this, I suppose, is that I do not do this kind of thing every week. It will not happen again. I vow it.

This morning I put the money that my Brother spent on his ticket for the gig back into his bank account. I then sent him the following email.

"----- Original Message -----
From: 'Jerry Cornelius'
To: 'Frank Cornelius'
Sent: Monday, August 04, 2008 7:22 AM
Subject: Saturday
Frank,

Sorry about spoiling Saturday. I was a dickhead and I know it. I have never been a great drinker. I am old enough to know when I should stop and that mixing drinks is never good. Good night up until the vomiting, though.

I have put the cost of the ticket back into your bank account, so at least you will not be out of pocket in that way.

Thanks for looking after me. See you later.

Jerry."

I got a reply this evening.

"From: 'Frank Cornelius'
Sent: 04 August 2008 20:05
To: Jerry Cornelius
Re: Saturday

Dont be a pratt you dont have to give me the money back, best laugh i've had in ages !!! Shortest time i've ever had in a gig too, stone cold sober too..... Anyway, roll on next time, just dont mix the drinks stick to bottles of beer or one type of drink fun though. !!"

My Brother is a true star.

How peculiar was that? I couldn't read my own blog. The problem was down to the html for website counter, supplied by http://www.sitemeter.com/. Once I had removed the html, no problems at all. I will need to investigate that further, but not now. No time.

Reasonably uneventful night, last night. Jennifer watched "Grey's Anatomy" while I scanned the newspapers. I have never seen the appeal of "Grey's Anatomy" myself. All pretty formulaic stuff, if you ask me, but Jennifer loves it. For my television medical fix I prefer "Scrubs" which, I suppose like most television, is just as formulaic, but is also hilarious, frequently biting, kind of touching, with great music and features my hero, Dr. Perry Cox. While at work I do try to channel Dr. Cox at least once a day.

We then watched a concert on BBC4 featuring footage from the Stax tour of Norway in 1967. The footage was 41 years old and was still electrifying. Booker T & the MG's, the Bar Kays, Arthur Conley, Wilson Pickett, Sam and Dave and Otis Redding. Not brilliant, but fucking brilliant. Even Jennifer, who is the most rhythmically challenged white girl in the history of mankind (her words), tapped a finger (not in time, mind) to the performances. Had to turn the sound on the TV right up. Red hot. The death of Otis Redding was such a loss. He was 26 years old when he died. Such a shame.

I am out this evening with my Brother seeing Them Is Me at the Bar Academy. Them Is Me is the band formed from the ashes of Reef. I know nothing about Them Is Me. Come to that I know nothing about Reef either, bar one song. ("Place Your Hands"?) It should be a good night, even if the band are shite.

Nap time. I am an old man, especially when planning to party all evening, except that I cannot really indulge too much. Jennifer and I have a double date tomorrow with David Duchovny and Gillian Anderson. Got to be fresh for Gillian.

I changed my mind about posting today. If there is something to write, and there is time (only just - I have to get dressed for work in 7 minutes), why not just write it?

A while ago I booked tickets to see the production of "Cabaret" at the Birmingham Rep on 30th August. It is a show that I have always wanted to see live, as I have loved the movie with a passion. At the time of booking there were no cast details, especially the crucial role of Sally Bowles, so it was all going to be a shot in the dark.

They announced that Wayne Sleep would be playing the Emcee, months ago. I actually think that is really good casting. I find Wayne Sleep kind of creepy anyway and that will fit in exactly with how the Emcee is supposed to be. This week they announced their Sally Bowles. It is this lady.



She is Samantha Barks who came third in the BBC's "I'd Do Anything" reality show.

First reaction? Killer singer. (She can sing anything.) Killer looker. (I mean, look at her.) Moves really well. (Look up a clip on You Tube, if you want.) But... Way, way too young. She is 17 years old. Sally Bowles is a woman in her mid 20's who has been around the block a few times. I am not at all sure that Sam will put that across. I don't know. Maybe she will turn out to be a brilliant actress as well as a singer. I hope so.

That was Friday's post. Over and out.