Wednesday, 27 August 2014

"When in Rome....." PART ONE:



"The Scales - Oh, The Scales!"



WEIGH-IN THURSDAY



Well, I've finally done it I've reached my GOAL WEIGHT of 70lbs loss, with
4lbs off this week - so for all you premature doubters, you know who you are!
Yah-Boo-Sucks Ya Mother Fakers! And YES! that brings me to a
 Total Weightloss of 5 Glorious Stones - Yippee!


"MR TOAD'S WILD RIDE"
(Ian McNeice's Blog)





Well what with one thing and another I've been away quite a lot recently
and have not been able to attend to my BLOG for which I sincerely
apologise. First there was a 3 day Convention in Bournemouth:


Where there was an extraordinary Burlesque Show!



Yes! Those braces are painted on!


She was a Burlesque Dancer to "American Woman" - great!!


Then there was a signing at a Forbidden Planet Type Store in Birmingham



and now, this weekend, I'm off to:



Wow! I was just a few pounds heavier in those days!




Above are a couple of teasers of what I'm up to this weekend!




ALL WILL BE REVEALED NEXT WEEK ALONG WITH A 
BLOG OF EMILY and JIMMY'S FABULOUS WEDDING!





Wednesday, 20 August 2014

"The Truth, The Whole Truth, and Nothing but the Truth, So Help Me God!"




WEIGH-IN WEDNESDAY

When I told my children at Emily's Wedding at the weekend that I wasn't going to
publish a Blog today - I was going to leave it to the following week so I would have
some time to lose the weight I had probably put on they were outraged! "No Daddy!"
they all cried, "that's the whole point of having a Blog - you have to take the good 
with the bad. You have to be honest and tell it like it is. Even iff you've put weight on
it must be a true record of your progress" but I said in my defence "OMG look at the shit 
I've got from THE EVIL ONE just for "plateauing"-  he'll crucify me if I've put weight on"
"So be it!" they replied "The truth is the only way forward" 
So here goes:

Traver nin sevimli Spag Bog &: The Wedding Weekend bütün ləzzətli alır, belə ki, 
Friday Night Sarımsaq Çörək & Jenny Raspberry Pavlova, bütün əla Canopies, 
The Hog qovurmaq, şənbə günü Şokolad kek & Wedding Cake, Saranın Chilli & 
Bazar günü Fresh Fruit & Cream, Coconut ilə TRAVER nin Balkabagi Curry 
Bazar ertəsi Raysın & Kate əldəqayırma Ice Cream & Fruit doğramaq (sevindirdi qeyd etmək deyil 
üç otel səhər yeməyi), mən bir məəttəl iki funt qoymaq üçün idarə !! Belə ki, çox deyil girov zərər və növbəti Çərşənbə inşallah bir əldə zərər.

"The Truth, The Whole Truth, and Nothing but the Truth, So Help Me God!"


MR and MRS JIMMY ROBERTS



A full Report of THE WEDDING will appear in a SPECIAL BLOG that 
will be posted in a couple of days when I have a bit more time.



Friday, 15 August 2014

"Does my Arse look big in this?" PART TWO



WEIGH-IN FRIDAY

Well, I tried to lose those pesky 2 lbs by Emily's Wedding but with one thing and 
another - children arriving from foreign parts, re-union meals, and so on and so
frigging on - I've plateaued once again - NO LOSS/NO GAIN - still the same!
"No Excuses You FAT F..K!!" I can hear the EVIL ONE yell from the top of the
Hollywood Sign - and of course he's right - but hey, there's always next week - 
but with the Hog Roast at Emily's Wedding - I don't hold out much hope
 - I know, I know, "NO EXCUSES MRS!!"


ROBIN WILLIAMS






When I was in LA I had the good fortune of working with Robin Williams. The movie
version of DON QUIXHOTE that the director FRED SCHEPISI was due to make ran
into severe financial troubles. John Cleese was to play the title role and Williams was
to play SANCHO PANZA. On a Sunday a cast that included Williams, Cleese, Sigourney
Weaver, Stockard Channing, Alfred Molina and Robert Leonard was assembled in a 
posh hotel to read the script in front of an invited audience of Studio Heads in the hope
of securing investors to aid the stricken movie. I'd worked with Fred on the movie:
THE RUSSIA HOUSE - which is why I was invited to complete the cast for the
reading. Sadly, in spite of all that talent no one invested in the movie and it was never
made - but I had been able to witness first hand a masterclass in improvised genius from
a comedy legend.


1951-2014

For your enjoyment here is a brilliant clip from "The Birdgage"


Click on the above


"SHAKESPEARE IN LOVE"




At the start of the week I went to see my friend Anna Carteret play Queen Elizabeth in 
the stage version of "Shakespeare in Love" which was terrific - really enjoyable. Judi 
Dench won an Oscar for playing the same role in the Screen Version and very kindly
sent Anna a good luck card on her First Night.



Anna as Queen Elizabeth.


An American friend called Jane who Cindy and I worked with on ACE VENTURA 
joined us for the evening. She's spending the best part of a year travelling all over
the world visiting numerous countries - lucky thing!





AIRPORT ARRIVALS

I seem to be living at Heathrow at the moment - what with the Pick Ups of
Travers, Jenny and Angus - all arriving for Emily's Wedding on different 
days.


Jenny's arrival from San Francisco


THE TEA WAITING FOR JENNY


Raspberry Surprise Cakes



Lemon & Thyme Cake



Duck Egg & Salmon Trout & Cucumber Sandwiches




Angus arrival from Chile - with beard!



MAISIE'S EXHIBITION IN DUBLIN


Maisie's Piece in the Exhibition is below:





MAISIE:

"That peice is from a project I am currently working on. A lot of which will be inspired by my recent trip to South America which will help develop my current practice. 

That peice in particular is a Moth I spotted in the Amazon Jungle in Bolivia they was larger than the size of my hand." 






Block T Annual Members Exhibition 



One of the other Exhibits.



The Artist: Maisie Alice McNeice



Maisie talking to a guest about her piece:

"Yes, I think it is one of my better pieces, I think the depth of shadowing
I've managed to capture and the almost photographic detail I've successfully
achieved is tantamount to an award-winning entry - lets hope!"



A WEDDING IN THE FRENCH ALPS

Just as Travers and Jenny arrived in the UK they flew off again - this time to village
in the French Alps called Annecy which overlooked a beautiful lake. They were there
to attend a the Wedding of Calla and John Guillot.






The Bride, Calla - a friend of theirs from UCSB Santa Barbara was marrying
a french man called John Guillot and the reception took place in a restaurant called
L'Amandier owned by the God Father of the groom. Travers said he'd never had
food like it - it was extraordinary - he's obviously never tasted any of my dishes'
from the Hairy Biker's Cook Book!!






Now, Travers, that's definitely my kind of Pool Party!



WATERMELON

Thanks to Emily I've been experiencing the delights of Watermelon again.
Delicious, refreshing and easy on the calories!






100 grams of Watermelon = 30 Calories
GO FOR IT!



RETURN TO HAMPTON COURT


This time with Travers & Jenny. Jenny is an absolute sponge for English Royal
History and Hampton Court is a brilliant place to take her to.









This time I managed to have a look around the incredible gardens which 
I missed before - stunning.



Caught chatting to my Agent on the Phone:
"What do you mean they don't want me, I could have sworn my name was
all over that frigging job!"






SYON PARK

To round off their stay with me I took Travers & Jenny for a stroll around my
"other dwelling" - SYON PARK. They loved it from feeding the Swans, Ducks, and 
Canadian Geese....



.....to exploring the hidden gardens and gasping in awe at the architecture of
the Great Conservatory they had a lovely time.


See if you can spot the plane - clever shot, eh?



Me & My Daughter-in-Law


MY PRESENT

Sitting down at breakfast before we went to Hampton Court Travers told me they had
bought me a present but unfortunately he had forgot to give the correct address so
the gift wouldn't arrive before they left San Fran for London. Jenny had come to the 
rescue and said not to worry she had got them to re-direct the package to my address
here in Brentford. At that very moment there was a knock on the door - and guess what -
it could not have been timed any better - there was my present:



A FITBIT

Get fit. Sleep better. All in the One™

THE ONE™ WIRELESS ACTIVITY AND SLEEP TRACKER
If you want to turn fitness into a lifestyle, the One™ is for you. For starters, it never rests. During the day, it tracks your steps, distance, calories burned, and stairs climbed. Come nightfall, it measures your sleep quality, helps you learn how to sleep better, and wakes you in the morning. The One™ motivates you to reach your goals by bringing greater fitness into your life – seamlessly, socially, 24 hours a day.


Well - just look at my "STATS" for my very first day of wearing my Fitbit!


So my day at Hampton Court included: 7,930 steps, 3.5 miles and a burning off of
2,701 calories - for which I'm called a "champ". I went on the tube recently wearing 
my Fitbit and when I returned home I received this email:


Well, that's what you get for climbing all those stairs in the Tube and NO I'm
not referring to the escalators!!


Here is my last nights Sleep Pattern.


THANKS TRAV & JENNY 
I THINK I'M GOING TO HAVE FUN WITH MY 
NEW GADGET!!


EMILY and JIMMY'S WEDDING

is finally upon us and today, Friday we head off down south towards
Littlehampton and the surrounding areas for a weekend of family
celebrations.


Invitation hand printed by Maisie

WATCH THIS SPACE FOR MAJOR WEDDING BLOG NEXT WEEK!!



As always please leave your comments - they will be much appreciated