Hols?

I'm trying to think of somewhere to go for a long weekend...with a bit of sun, culture, not too expensive. One of the upshots of cheaper travel is that it seems like we've all run out of places to go. I'd actually love to go to Italy but I've got to save somewhere for my summer hols. After an expensive trip to the States last year, it's got to be a cheaper Euro trip. So, on the shortlist for a long weekend are Copenhagen Nice Barcelona I've had to delete Paris from the list, I love it but I've done it to death on two trips...Amsterdam ditto done to death on a week's holiday. Mmmm.....went to Vienna last year, that was good. Why can't Sydney be located within a 2 hour flight..or failing that NYC?

Luverly

Just an excuse to post a pic of the lovely Derek Riddell...lovely Scottish actor who appeared in No Angels as the misogynistic, sometimes cruel Dr Jamie. There's truth that one day you can suddenly view someone in your life in a totally different light. It happened to Lia when she realised, "Mm...he's actually a bit of a dish" and I too came to appreciate Dr Jamie's finer points.

Maybe it's just a me thing but he is rather cute, ne c'est pas?

The Brits are Coming

No...not about the massive amount of Oscar noms that the Brits have accumulated. I've just noticed that my I-Tunes library is largely made up of bands who hail from Britain: the sublime Razorlight, rousing Kaiser Chiefs, iconic The Cure, fantastic Franz Ferdinand along the staples - Blur, Stereophonics, Cold Play. Throw in a touch of Take That (they are the new Boyzone apparently) and a lashing of Keane. When did British music get so good...I mean the 90s were a fallow period..save for Portishead and a bit of Happy Mondays/Inspiral Carpets/Stone Roses type music. Latest song that I'm enjoying is Just Jack's tune...bet I'll hate it this time next year tho!

Mr Grey Skies

Can't wait for spring...I suffer from a touch of SAD and have been feeling so ultra tired recently, doesn't help that I've been going to bed late and therefore can't get up in the morning but when it's grey and nondescript outside, it's not all that tempting. But the good news is...my star sign (and I've checked three different ones which are all converging on one theme) says this is the year I will find love. Promising. And in a rare twist of fate, the Evening Herald has its Guide to Finding a Man in 3 Weeks in today's issue. That old evening class chestnut....any time I've gone, there's been 12 other single 20 and 30 somethings looking for a man. Anyhow, three weeks and counting....what do you think the chances are? Snowball's...

Making sense of losing someone

A former work colleague...who was also a friend (and the two very rarely coincide) passed away this week. It's weird that he's gone, one moment full of life and then that spirit, that personality has disappeared. It makes you question why it happens to some people and is there any meaning to it all? Very sad, he'll be sorely missed..

Life imitates art imitates life....you get the idea

There isn't enough room to get into this Jade - Big Brother - racism debate in full. I've already had a heated pub conversation about it with my ex-boss who thinks Ms Goody is a blatant racist and should be shot.

I'm more interested in the mechanism of Big Brother and how Jade went in with a really positive media image - initially the other celebrity housemates weren't too keen on her but were won around (e.g. Jo from S Club 7 really didn't like her much but ended up her bosom buddy). So went wrong for Jade?

a) She was insecure about being on CELEBRITY Big Brother....ok, she is a celebrity and the 25th most influential person in the world (apparently) but she is still all too aware of how she gained her fame and Shilpa Shetty's star quality clearly became a threat to her.

b) When Jade's mother (the interestingly named Jackiey) left the house, Jade's role changed from being the mother to her mother back to being a 25 year old girl again...leader of the pack mentality with the 2 other girls.

c) Jade took it all too seriously sometimes...I guess in a situation like that, things of little importance become big issues. Look at George Galloway last year going on about his right to vote being taken away. When he was evicted from the house, he realised how pompous he sounded and how inconsequential it all was. So chicken and chicken stock aren't all that important in the great scheme of things, is the message.

But I have to say these things about the whole debate:

1. I don't believe that Jade is a racist. Like everyone (and we are ALL included) she has some underlying preconceptions and stereotypes about people...but she didn't like Shilpa for a variety of reasons (celebrity, class, women being bitchy to each other, insecurities). I don't think race was one of these reasons.

2. The newspapers have once again gone to town on this...it has been blown out of all proportion.

3. I'm suss about Endemol's role...it's been suggested they tipped Jade off about the controversy but going just by the diary room exchanges, they strongly hinted to her the whole situation. Maybe they had no other choice but to tip her off, but it devalues the whole concept of reality TV.

4. It has got people talking about racism and bullying which is a good thing...just let's not make Jade the scape goat for it all...there were two other people involved in the bullying.

5. And it was bullying of another person, no doubt about it.

6. Jade's career will be ok in the long-term, she's a fascinating character to the media and the public and if she can weather the storm in the short-term, she'll turn the situation around.

8. This is the beginning of the deathknell for Big Brother, I think, the series would have been so much better with the original 11 housemates...Donny Tourette, Ken Russell, Leo Sayer...all great characters, there was enough material there for a great series and bringing the Goodys in changed the dynamic way too much. Don't tamper with a great concept unless it's a well thought out idea e.g. Jackie Stallone entering in 2005, Chantelle as a celebrity imposter in 06.

Content with life?

Just back from seeing The Pursuit of Happyness at the cinema. I was looking forward to catching this but was slightly put off by a reviewer on TV during the week. She complained that the story was too pessimistic and that it was far fetched that so many bad things could happen to one person. Anyway, I had heard good things about the movie too so ventured out in the cold sleet-filled night. What a great film...and yes, there's one obstacle after another for poor Chris Gardener (brilliantly played by Will Smith, give the man an Oscar please!) but life is like that sometimes, one shitty thing after another. Maybe the reviewer was bored by all the misfortune and melancholy but I found it very moving and interesting, it really showed the cycle of poverty and how inescapable it can seem sometimes. Chris Gardener spent months living on his nerves...trying to keep strong against adversity and bettering his and his son's situation in life. He really did have such a strength of character not to give up. On a side note, San Fran looked gorgeous in the film but I was glad it didn't have too many shots of the Golden Gate Bridge etc...I was there last September and it struck me that a) you rarely see the Central Business District in movies and b) it has a huge homelessness problem that isn't widely known about outside of the States itself. Down past Union Square where all the tourists flock was an area that was populated by homeless people. It didn't feel safe for tourists to go there at night, lord only knows what it's like for the unfortunate people who have no place left to go, left vulnerable on the streets. If The Pursuit of Happyness did nothing else, it reminded me that homelessness is all around us but we rarely see the people involved. Let's hope it raises awareness with a lot of people.