So, what's new Dave? |
April 20, 2008
CONTENTS...
showreel
production |
Let me produce
your Showreel.....
I've been editing video
and producing DVD's for some time - now it's time to branch out and offer
my services to my fellow actors. I can make you a super bespoke DVD
- it may just land you that next job!
For more information, see
my Showreel page
My own 5-minute edit Showreel
is below. I've also done some work for actor Chris Clarkson, you
can view clips from his TV appearances on his web
site. Click the link for Film Clips to see his work (and my editing).
|
April 10, 2008
CONTENTS...
showreel
house
work
|
My Showreel
on YouTube.....
I've prepared a 5-minute
edit of my Showreel, now available on YouTube and right here -
Loving
the new house....
My new house is just amazing.
It took a while to get everything unpacked and sorted out, but
I am now enjoying the new place, it's perfect for me and the kids
love it.
Work....
It's been quiter than
I would like, had a few auditions but no-one wants me :-(
I am, however, now offering
my services in preparing Showreels for fellow actors.
I will take
your DVD's or VHS tapes and (for a very reasonable fee) edit
a DVD Showreel for you. I can also prepare web-ready edits for
you
to
use on Spotlight,
YouTube
or your favourite video hosting site.
Just send an e-mail for
details - showreels@mcclellandmedia.com
|
February 20, 2008
CONTENTS...
older
moving work
|
I am older.....
Yes, unbelievable
as it may seem, I passed the half-century mark in January. Had a quiet
birthday, but have done lots of celebrating with the kids over the
last couple of weeks.
Moving....
I move house this weekend,
great new place, an old mid-terrace in the centre of Poulton-le-Fylde,
lots of room and a great feel to it. Can't wait to get sorted out
in the new place
Work....
I did a couple of TV projects
before Christmas, the first is on TV Monday March 3rd - THE ROYAL
TODAY, 3:30pm on ITV1. I also did an episode of A TOUCH OF FROST,
don't have a broadcast date yet
|
November 30, 2007
CONTENTS...
getting
older....
work |
Getting Older....
Well, my old friend Kim
Davis got older this week.... hit that millstone oops, milestone
of 50. Which means I am approaching that half-century at speed as well.
What happened to all those years? I certainly only feel like my late 20's,
early 30's, though sometimes I have aches that creep on me. Kim is having
a party tomorrow, so let's hope the alcohol is mild, the food soft and
easily digested and we are all in our beds by 10pm. Or not, as the case
may be.
Work....
Done a couple of nice TV
projects that will be on TV in 2008, will let you know when. No panto this
year unfortunately, but that does mean I will be able to have more
time with family.
|
October 17,
2007
CONTENTS...
work -
emmerdale
thanks |
Emmerdale
35th Anniversary....
I was delighted to have
a small role in last night's 35th Anniversary episode of Emmerdale,
playing Fred Swithun, head of the champion pub quiz team from the
Cobblers
Arms.
Here's a few pics....
I have a couple more projects coming up, so stayed tuned.
Thanks...
Thanks to all my friends for
your love, support and messages over the past few difficult months. You
know who are you are and you hold a special place in my heart. I think
most of us are on Facebook now, aren't we?
|
July 13, 2007
CONTENTS...
work
banana
muffins |
Auditioning....
Been for a couple of
nice auditions since On Golden Pond closed, I know I wasn't succesful
for
the first, the second I am holding my breath and crossing everything,
it would be wonderful!
Keeping busy at home, researching
work, preparing for auditions, keeping up with industry news, etc-
and for your viewing pleasure I have created my very own cooking
show!
Don't get too excited, it's
only banana muffins, but I had fun doing it. The video is in 2 parts
and it's on YouTube - take a look... If you can't see the video below,
visit my YouTube channel here.
Part 1
Part 2
|
June 24, 2007
CONTENTS..
work |
On Golden Pond
is over....
After a wonderful run with
a great cast and crew, On Golden Pond at The New Vic closed last night
and I am home again.
I had a great time, made
new friends, met up with old friends, stayed in great digs and got very
wet. It seemed to rain from the day we started rehearsals. Now I wait
for the next gig.
|
May 11, 2007
CONTENTS..
d-i-v-o-r-c-e
work
|
I am now divorced...
xxxx and I separated in November,
we are divorced.
I am in rehearsal...
for ON GOLDEN POND at the
New
Vic Theatre. The show runs June 1-23. It's a wonderful
theatre and I am really looking forward to the run.
Apologies...
...for lack of updates. Life
has been difficult the last few months. For various reasons I am removing
pictures of the children from my web site, but will leave you with this
sketch of them...
|
Sept 10, 2006
CONTENTS..
unknown
stuntman update
off to
school
down
and dirty in the mud
apple
store |
THE UNKNOWN
STUNTMAN update...
The Unknown Stuntman will
be one of the features on Paddy's new DVD, released in October. He's
promising out takes. Let's hope I don't look too stupid! :-) DVD will
be on sale everywhere - and through Paddy's web site - http://www.patrickmcguinness.co.uk
Meanwhile I am keeping everything crossed it is picked up for a series....
makews tiping digffivult :-)
Off to school...
Big days for the kids last
week. Benjamin started school, Sophie started nursery. They both
looked
lovely, Benjamin isn't sure if he wants to go
again. Hmm, kids. Here they are in uniform....
REMOVED
Getting Dirty in the country...
Oh my! An invitation dropped
through the letter box to try the
Land Rover Experience - a half day off-roading in a new Land
Rover Discovery 3. What a brilliant experience it was!
I have loved this new model
ever since I first saw it on TV (driven by Patrick Stewart in a show
I can't remember the name of.... it was good but I remember the Landie!).
This thing was loaded - and
the off-road capabilities were second to none. I used to have an old
Land Rover - this was like another world. It felt so secure and safe.
I WANT ONE!!! My instructor was a great guy with expedition experience.
He took me on routes I wouldn't walk on, let alone drive a £40,000
vehicle. The Landie took it all in it's stride.
Now I just need the money
for one.... all donations gratefully received!
My favourite
shop...
To go along with me new Land
Rover, I would love a new Mac. The
Apple Store in Manchester's Trafford Centre is a Mac-lovers dream...
a chance to touch and play with the best computers available.... all
donations gratefully received!!!
Here's a pic taken with the
built-in camera on a new Macbook.
|
Aug 6, 2006
CONTENTS..
pics
from unknown stuntman |
THE UNKNOWN
STUNTMAN pics...
The Unknown Stuntman aired
Friday night, loved it, very funny. Let's hope it becomes a series :-)
Here are a few pics from
the show, Paddy McGuinness and Iain McKee are in a couple of shots.
|
July 31, 2006
CONTENTS..
on tv
this week |
THE UNKNOWN
STUNTMAN on E4 this Friday, Aug 4, 22;15...
I had a wonderful time shooting
the pilot for THE UNKNOWN STUNTMAN with Paddy McGuinness.
He's a very funny man and the show should be hilarious.
It airs Friday Aug 4th on
channel E4 at 22:15 - so stay tuned!
Here's some info about the
show from Paddy's Web Site - Patrick
McGuinness.
The
Unknown Stuntman
Chuck Stryker (with a Y) was Britain's, nay the worlds most prolific
and award winning stuntman. His career in the stunt world started in
the early 70's where he made the leap from doing the bins in Barnsley
to leaping into the bins (startled pimp) in the Sweeney, his first big
break......... literally, he spent a month in traction with six galvanised
pins holding is coxis together.
During the 70's and 80's Chuck Stryker built up a reputation as the
worlds number one stuntman, as Chuck puts it "Those where the days
when a stuntman was exactly that, A MAN and not a stuntPERSON or a bit
of high tech jiggery pokery, the worlds gone mad." From Smokey
and the Bandit to Ryan's Daughter if a stunt needed doing Chuck Stryker
was the Directors first port of call. In the words of Chuck himself,
"You leave a building through the front door, I leave
through the window...
or the roof... or the drain pipe... or perhaps one of those rubbish
shoots depending on the dimensions... Look you get the picture!"
Chuck had it
all, the money, the house in Hollywood, girls, celebrity friends and
name a stunt award he'd have probably won it. Things started to go wrong
in the mid 90's with the introduction of CGI (computer generated imagery)
or as Chuck calls it, "crap graphics indeed", which began
to put the traditional stuntman out of work.
Films like Highlander,
Labyrinth, Blue Thunder and the Colour Purple became more reliant on
this new way of film making and the once non stop phone calls, money
and offers of work all started to dry up for Chuck Stryker.
In 2006 the fast moving computer generated film industry as moved on
and in doing so as left Chuck behind, he now lives back home in Barnsley
in a one bedroom flat above piece-a-pizzas. The only thing that stops
the bitterness eating him alive is Paul Dreggs, a young ambitious stuntman
who idolises Chuck and wants to learn the craftsmanship of the stunt
from the original and true stunt master. Along with trying to get a
documentary about his life off the ground and teaching young Paul the
ropes Chuck now finds work where ever and when ever he can. A day on
Corrie as an extra in a fight scene, falling over a dead prostitute
in Hollyoaks to being trampled to death by a heard of Sheep on Daziel
and Pascoe, Chuck will do it and this is his story.
|
July 13, 2006
CONTENTS..
tv pilot
coronation
street
the kids
farewell
old friends |
A new TV pilot...
Great news this week, Ihave
a lovely role in a TV pilot written by and starring Patrick
McGuinness. Shooting scheduled for next week... more on this
later, once all paperwork completed.
Coronation Street
Pics...
A few pics from my episode
of Corrie... with Charlie Stubbs (Bill Ward) and Tracy Barlow (Kate
Ford)
from CSVU
England out of
the World Cup...
So, we didn't get to the
final. It was fun while it lasted and I admit we got caught up in World
Cup fever - though we didn't have one of those annoying flags on the
car.
Here are Benjamin, Sophie
and Joseph on the morning of England's final game...
REMOVED
Farewell Old
Friends...
Some very sad news from Canada
the last few weeks. Two wonderful actors passed away and I would like
to remember them here.
David Renton
was a lovely man and a superb actor. I met him the first time I worked
at Neptune Theatre and shared a dressing room with him. He was playing
the Ghost of Christmas Present and I remember him doing an
amazing make-uo job for the part. No one seems to do make-up like that
any more. I worked with him on a few productions and loved to see him
socially. A real gentleman. David did a lot to help
others. He was active in Actra and Equity, started the campaign for
a Performing Arts Lodge in Nova Scotia and offered advice to anyone
who asked.
Joseph Rutten
was another actor who graced the Neptune Stage. I saw him in a few productions
before I worked with him. I remember the first time we met, he came
up to me after a show I was in and congratulated me on my voice as I
was an actor who spoke properly. I think we only did Romeo and Juliet
as a show together. That was a tour and I got to know him quite well.
Though he could appear to be a curmudgeon, I thought he was great guy.
He had an amazing past, growing up in Holand during Nazi occupation,
moving to Canada, separating from his wife and children and enduring
poor health. I visited him in his flat a few years ago (before he had
to move because of a fire) and we chatted over coffee and he showed
me some of his collection of theatrical photos. I wish I'd dropped in
again before I returned to England.
Two lovely gents and the
stage is poorer for their final exit.
|
May 23, 2006
CONTENTS..
little
britain
|
How could I
forget Little Britain?...
I forgot to tell you about
Little
Britain in the last update. xxxx and I went to see the
live stage show at the Opera House in Blackpool. A wonderful show
by two
very funny men (with two actors doing a lovely job with supporting
characters).
I ended up on stage with
Matt Lucas in his Marjories Dawes character... I was a member
of Fat Fighters. Weighed on stage, I was 48 stones
and was rewarded with a VERY large t-shirt that can fit a dozen or so
people.
Very funny and thanks to
all the folks who I spoke with in the pub after, especially the couple
who bought us drinks.
The show was filmed for the
Christmas DVD release, so let's hope I am on it!
|
May 21, 2006
CONTENTS..
coronation
street
new showreel |
I am on Coronation
Street!!!...
Yes, faithful Dave watchers,
I have an appearence on Corrie!
I went to Manchester this
week to shoot a small role on my favourite show, air date June 11 in
the UK.
I can't divulge the storyline,
but I will tell you I am outdoors on the Street and enter one of the
houses along with two other characters.
It was a great experience
and evryone I met was lovely. Let's hope I am on there again soon!
A new Showreel...
I've been working on a new
Showreel DVD, adding clips from recent film and TV work. Thanks to the
wonders of the Mac and iMovie, this is all easy to do.
I've taken a few frame shots
off my Emmerdale episode and the Scummy Man film for
you...
Emmerdale
At Home Farm with
Alan Turner & Edna Birch (Richard Thorp & Shirley Stelfox)
At Home Farm with
Alan Turner & Edna Birch (Richard Thorp & Shirley Stelfox)
In The Woolpack
with Alan Turner, Edna Birch & Tom King (Richard Thorp, Shirley
Stelfox & Ken Farrington)
Scummy
Man
In
cafe with Nina (Lauren Socha)
In
cafe, left alone
With wife, Janet
(Anne Prendergast)
Closing credits
|
April 16, 2006
CONTENTS..
dvd review
stage
review |
The Reviews
Are In (again)...
Hi folks, great week with
a review
for the SCUMMY MAN DVD in the Guardian,
as scanned below...
Arctic Monkeys, Scummy Man
*** (Domino)
Dave Simpson, Friday April 14, 2006
The
Guardian
This unusual short film includes more than just the video for When
the Sun Goes Down. Two similar episode-like clips delve deeper into
the single's imagery, based on the real-life twilight zone around
the Monkeys' rehearsal rooms in Neepsend, Sheffield.
The two central characters are 15-year-old prostitute Nina (played
by Lauren Socha) and the vicious pimp George (Stephen Graham). Superb
acting grimly but compulsively captures a cycle of dependency, human
and narcotic. Set amid deserted warehouses and seedy neon-lit streets,
it has harrowing but very real scenes of injection, violence and,
occasionally, glimpses of humour and lives long since left behind.
In
fact, the problem with Scummy Man is that there isn't enough of
it. When a benevolent taxi driver (Rowe David McClelland)
offers a ray of hope (or is it another false dawn?), what began
as a pop short starts to look like the beginning of a full-length
drama.
STILL FROM THE MOVIE
The Stage
Review in print...
The Stage
review in the last update has appeared in the print version and
is scanned below...
A friend of
Patrick Poletti's was in the audience last night... Dean Lennox Kelly
who plays KEV on SHAMELESS. Great fella, had a nice chat.
|
| April
9, 2006
CONTENTS..
on golden
pond reviews
dvd released |
The Reviews
Are In ...
Hi Dave-watchers. On Golden
Pond is now open! Audiences have been great and so have reviews, a couple
of which are reproduced below...
From The
Stage
Norman
and Ethel Thayer spend each summer in their cottage on Golden Pond
in New England. It’s Norman’s 80th birthday, Ethel is
a decade younger and to date the summers have passed uneventfully.
But Norman now suffers both physical and mental deterioration and
Ethel fears for her future.
The couple’s
only child, Chelsea, long estranged from her irascible father, arrives
with her boyfriend and his 13 year-old son, Billy, leaving the boy
to spend the summer with her parents. She returns to find Norman establishing
a rapport with Billy she never had.
At this
point Stefan Escreet’s production picks up the pace that was
lacking in the early scenes and establishes each character’s
search for answers to the problems of growing up, growing old and
growing closer together. Jamie Williams makes an assured professional
debut as Billy, sharing the role with William Greenwell, and Rosalind
Cressy portrays well the bewilderment of an only child whose father
could not relate to a daughter. Her friendship with Charlie, now the
local mail man, is the one stable memory of a troubled childhood.
Rowe David McClelland shows the rejection beneath
Charlie’s comic bluster while Patrick Polletti, as Chelsea’s
boyfriend, makes the most of the humour in his introductory scene
with Norman. Thompson’s stage play is funnier than his much
darker screenplay.
But this
production’s strength lies in its two leading performances -
Morris Perry’s playing of the scene in which Norman doesn’t
recognise familiar scenes around the cottage and returns in panic
to the comfort of his wife’s reassuring arms will live long
in the memory, as will Ellen Sheean’s splendidly ebullient and
effervescent Ethel. Played in the round on Martin Johns’ evocative
New England setting, the production is worth seeing for these two
performances alone.
Anne Hopper
From The
News & Star
A
gentle insight into our golden years
Published on 03/04/2006
On Golden Pond, Keswick Theatre by the Lake, Keswick,
Friday, March 31
THEATRE by the Lake’s Easter production On Golden Pond manages
to be touching without descending into sentimentality.
And it
features a very strong performance by Morris Perry, an actor who recently
celebrated his 81st birthday, and who plays a man just a few years
younger than himself.
Norman
is a cantankerous, cynical and sometimes hurtful old curmudgeon who
finds it difficult to relate to anyone without upsetting or insulting
them.
Like thousands of Americans, he and his wife Ethel, sparkily played
by Ellen Sheean, head out to their holiday house by the lake for the
summer months.
They’ve
had 48 years on Golden Pond, at their house by the lake, andalthough
Norman is fixated by his own mortality, he is ready for one last hurrah.
His relationship
with his forty-something, childless daughter Chelsea (Rosalind Cressy)
is a very uneasy one.
When Chelsea
comes to visit with her new boyfriend Bill Ray (Patrick Poletti) and
his 13-year-old son Billy, played confidently on his professional
debut by Carlisle schoolboy Jamie Williams, it opens up all sorts
of bad memories for Chelsea.
But Norman
is able to live his second childhood through an unlikely relationship
with young Billy, who teaches him about chicks and kissing and the
brash language of youth.
The play
is performed in the round, which draws the audience in closer to the
family situation, and there are lots of witty observations, many of
them about the very topical subject nowadays of getting old.
Stefan
Escreet’s direction treads lightly but surely and, while a few
tissues are produced at the end, the performance manages to stay on
the affecting rather than the sickly side of the line.
On Golden
Pond doesn’t go anywhere particularly fast, but through Norman’s
droll humour it confronts growing old grimly, alleviated by his finding
a shared interest in fishing with the equivalent of the son he wished
he’d had.
It’s
not a play that sets the stage alight, more it offers an intimate
and gentle insight into the vagaries of relationships and how they
are all bound up together.
On Golden
Pond can be seen at the lakeside theatre until April 22.
ROSS BREWSTER
Scummy Man/Just
Another Day out on DVD...
The short films Scummy
Man & Just Another Day, inspired by the Arctic Monkeys
track When The Sun Goes Down are now out on DVD. I
pre-ordered from Domino Records and it arrived Friday. What can I say?
It's excellent. Buy it!
|
| April
2, 2006
CONTENTS..
dave
on stage
joseph
grows and grows
arctic
monkeys dvd release |
Dave On Stage
in the Lake District...
Hello loyal Dave Watchers.
I am currently on stage at Theatre
By The Lake in Keswick, Cumbria, appearing in
On Golden Pond. It's a lovely production to be in, directed
by Stefan Escreet with fellow actors Rosalind Cressy, Morris Perry,
Patrick Poletti, Ellen Sheean, Jamie Williams and William Greenwell.
The Stage Management team is Nigel Pentland, Jo Jones and Graeme Morrison.
Martin Johns designed the set, Jo Dawson designed lights, Charmian Hoare
is the dialect coach and Matt Hall designed sound. The production has
just opened and runs to April 22nd.
On
Golden Pond
By Ernest Thompson
Directed by Stefan Escreet
Designed by Martin Johns
Friday 31 March - Saturday 22 April
Every summer Norman Thayer and his wife Ethel return to their house
on Golden Pond in Maine. Faces come and go - much like the loons and
their chicks out on the lake – but the rhythm of life remains
the same. When estranged daughter Chelsea turns up for Norman’s
80th birthday, however, things look set to change. Chelsea and partner
Bill are heading for Europe and want to leave behind Billy, Bill’s
13 year-old son. In the weeks that follow, an unlikely, yet charming,
friendship forms between the acid-witted Norman and street-wise Billy,
but as the time comes for Billy to leave Golden Pond some old differences
have yet to be resolved…
This poignant and witty play - made famous by the film starring Jane
and Henry Fonda - captures the simplicity of life on Golden Pond.
Enter a world where second childhoods and second chances are still
possible!
Keswick is a great little
town in the Lake District and I am having a wonderful time exploring
the countryside. Why not come and see the show?
Dave in Keswick
Joseph
gets Bigger and Bigger...
Our latest addition
is growing like a weed. At 10-1/2 weeks he weighed in at 12lbs 12oz.
And is he gorgeous or what?
REMOVED
Joseph at 9 weeks
REMOVED
Joseph at 10 weeks
Arctic
Monkeys DVD released April 10...
The Arctic Monkeys
DVD of two short films based on the song WHEN THE SUN GOES DOWN is released
April 10.
The two films
are SCUMMY MAN and JUST ANOTHER DAY.
I am in both of them.
From
the Domino Records web site:
Warp
Films and Domino presents Scummy Man, a short film inspired by the
Arctic Monkeys’ recent single When The Sun Goes Down. The film
shows the relationship between a fifteen year old prostitute and one
of her nastier punters. Just Another Day looks at the same events
from a different perspective, so they take on different meanings,
plus the original promotional video for the track.
The
bars fill up with lairy boozers anticipating drunken frolics in nightclubs,
whilst on the edge of town in leafy suburbia Mum and Dad settle down
to their Chinese takeaways and Pop Idol phone-ins. Meanwhile, couples
stroll arm in arm to see the latest Hollywood shit flick, with plans
hatched to see the family for Yorkshire puddings at three the next
day. . .
And
the mind wanders to those who slip between the cracks of the surface
in the City at night - the underclass, or those who don't walk beneath
the neon lights of the high street shopfronts. These are the people
who lurk in the dark shadows over the river going out of town. It's
a world where girls roam the streets, out of sight and out of mind
of the moral majority. Scummy Man!! A window into that world.
I'm
watching now and I'm stuck to the wall in horror. Maybe my mind is
too attuned to wanting to believe this doesn't exist in the place
where I live. But it does, and here it is in full-frontal widescreen
grimness; the irony being that this world seems a million miles away,
yet it's on the doorstep, these are the characters with which you
and I share our Cities.
All
of this begs the question of why and how these characters come to
interact. How does our street girl come to allow herself to be bought
and sold like a commodity or used car? What draws the punter to the
street like a moth to a flame? How does the scummy man keep his hand
on the leaver, controlling his girls like dogs on a leash, making
promises, and keeping her scared and the like...?
And
much like the coin there's a flip side to the grim picture. Just Another
Day. A glimmer of hope and a chance to step out of the shadows and
back into the light. And the cars that cruise the streets might not
be all you might think. All things being about perception, this underworld
can be seen in a different light depending on how each person comes
to experience it. Each person has a story to tell, and this is theirs...
|
Feb
19, 2006
CONTENTS...
Joseph
arrives
Emmerdale
Arctic
Monkeys video |
Just a quick
update constant reader...
A New Baby McClelland...
I am delighted to announce
our latest arrival. a lovely little brother for Benjamin and Sophie.....
Joseph arrived January 16th...
REMOVED
Click on Joseph above to
see more!!! He's a great lad, a very well behaved baby and fitting in
nicely with the rest of us.
Now the kids outnumber us....
Oh dear!
Film, TV and
Pop Videos...
Delighted to be in a short
film "WHEN THE SUN GOES DOWN" to be released
on DVD in April 2006. Based on the Arctic Monkeys song of the same name,
the film was re-edited as a video for the song. The single went to the
top of the charts. The album is the fastest selling debut album ever.
This band is hot. And they deserve it, the album is brilliant!
As JOCK in WHEN
THE SUN GOES DOWN with Lauren Socka (NINA)
That's my car in the background and is featured as the taxi in the film.
Offers anyone for this piece of movie memorabilia??? :-)
As JOCK with Anne Prendergast (JANET)
Photo
from NME story
I am also highly delighted
to have an appearance on British soap EMMERDALE coming up. Playing Anthony
Hill in an episode to air March 1st. Joined my favourite regulars in
the Woolpack and visited Alan and Edna at Home Farm. A lovely experience
and I thank my wonderful agent Philippa!
Below is a photo of me at
Home Farm. Thanks to the cast and crew at YTV for making me feel so
welcome.
Three
young children + limited sleep = no more news for now :-)
|
| May 23,
2005 |
A Victoria
Day Update....
Greetings from a soggy Fort
Lawrence on a very wet Victoria Day long weekend. It's supposed to be
that first nice public holiday, a time to get outside and have some
fun. Instead we're inside, trying to stay warm and dry. Some stores
are open today, so we're going to venture out as we all have cabin fever.
Coming soon to
a TV screen near you...
I am glad to report some
TV work. I shot a day on the CBC TV movie Canada Russia
'72 a couple of weeks back. Just a small role, playing
a cab driver, so keep your eyes peeled when it's on TV (early 2006 is
what I've heard for air date).
I also have a part coming
up in a TV mini-series Beach Girls for the
US Lifetime Network. It's a nice role and I'm looking forward to shooting
it in the next few weeks. This series premieres on Lifetime in July,
hopefully it will be picked up in Canada as well. Stars are Rob Lowe
and Julia Ormond.
A nice pic of
the kids...
REMOVED
Playing outside, May 2005
|
| Dec 27, 2004 |
A Fun Christmas....
Hi folks. Hope you all enjoyed
the holiday season. While ours was lovely for us, the sad news from
Asia yesterday tempers everything. Our best wishes go out to the many
thousands suffering the effects of tidal waters.
A few holiday photos to share
with you...
REMOVED
Benjamin and Sophie try to sit in the tree.
REMOVED
Waiting for Father Christmas
The Kids were
up early Christmas morning - of course - and we had a fun day unwrapping
and a lovely Christmas dinner.
REMOVED
Benjamin and Sophie - present opening frenzy
REMOVED
Benjamin - Opening a new book
Daddy Christmas
After a tiring
Christmas day the kids were early to bed - leaving xxxx and I to
veg out with DVD's, a bottle of wine, beer and Black Russians. We
watched
a few episodes of Little Britain, a wonderful series
from the UK and the great movie Shaun of the Dead.
Yesterday was
a another lazy day and xxxx and I were both due in work today - but
blizzard conditions and heavy snow are keeping us home.
The
Drunk and the Eggs.....
I told some
colleagues a true story the other day while discussing drunken behaviour.
It brought back a lot of memories and I wanted to share it.
Some years ago
- must be in the 80's - I was out on a usual night out in Sheffield
with friends Kim and Jon. We all walked down to a bus stop by the West
Bar Police station. On our way, on a quiet lane off a major road, we
found an elderly gent lying in the gutter, face-up, clutching a box
of eggs to his chest.
This raised
so many questions - Why was he there? Why did he have eggs? Had he been
sent out for eggs and decided to have a quick drink - then another?
How had the eggs survived the journey that took him to he gutter? We
checked him out and he was talkative but wouldn't move, so we alerted
the Police from across the street. Two bobbies helped him to his feet
during which the egg-box fell to the ground, breaking his precious cargo.
It was very sad really.
We caught our
bus home leaving the Police to look after him, but this was just such
an unusual and funny event that I often think of it.
Happy
New Year to you all....
with love from
Dave, xxxx, Benjamin and Sophie.
|
| Nov 4,
2004 |
Great Vacation...
Hello again! Wow, been back
in Canada for almost two weeks now. For those of you who don't know,
we had a two week trip to the UK, Oct 9-23.
Flying in and out of Glasgow,
we spent most of our stay in Lancashire with xxxx's parents, but
had a brief trip to Sheffield and a few hours in Kirkcudbright, Scotland
on our way back to Glasgow. Kirkcudbright is the home to Maclellan
Castle,
so it felt like a homecoming of sorts.
We ate a lot, spent a lot
and came back with an extra case.
A few photos from the digi-cam....
REMOVED
Benjamin has
always been a big Bob The Builder fan - while we were over he wanted
to ride everyone he saw - and there are many - at 50p a ride it cost
us a small fortune!
REMOVED
Sophie loves Barney!
REMOVED
We met up with our old friend Camilla French at The Trafford Centre.
REMOVED
Benjamin and Sophie behind bars at xxxx's parents house.
My old movie-making mate Steve Moore, dapper man about town - met for
a coffee in Sheffield.
REMOVED
Benjamin loving a tree in Grasmere, the Lake District.
Maclellan
Castle in Kirkcudbright,
Scotland.
Unique Urinals....
I've created a new web page.
You will just have to take a look for yourself - it lives here.
A new President....
George W? What were they
thinking?
|
| Sept 7, 2004 |
Busy summer...
Wow, Labour Day over, the
summer almost over. Pretty crazy time for us here, so excuse the lack
of updates.
I'm working full-time and
did as much as I could at Live Bait Theatre over the summer. xxxx
has two part-time jobs to help keep the wolf from the door. At one
point
it looked the wolf might have pups in the kitchen, but we're doing
okay
now.
Visitors...
We had a couple of visits
from old friends from the UK this summer. First the Davies family dropped
by, all the way from Wales. Christine, John, Hannah and Emily dropped
by for a day of beer, barbecues and banter - had a lovely time. They
took lots of photos on their new digi-camera, but haven't yet mastered
the art of e-mailing them (hint-hint).
Then the Davis family came
for a week - Kim, Linda, Laura and David. Had a great time while they
were here, though all the jobs (see above) meant we couldn't spend as
much time with them as we'd have liked. The diet went to hell as we
ate and drank quite a lot!
Kim, Linda and Laura
REMOVED
David Davis, xxxx, Benjamin and Sophie
Coming up...
Just over 4 weeks now until
our trip to the UK! We fly into Glasgow and will spend most of the
two
weeks in the Blackpool area with xxxx's family. Two weeks is nowhere
near long enough for all we'd like to do, but plans include a trip
to Sheffield to visit the Davis's (and eat at Uncle Sam's Chuck
Wagon),
outings to Blackpool Zoo, the Lake District and Kirkcudbright - and
lots of fish and chips, sausage rolls and wonderful English chocolate
:-) Then back on Weight Watchers!
|
| June 21, 2004 |
Father's Day,
More Lost Pounds, Movies, DIY...
Ahh, the day after Father's
Day, what a lovely day it was, time with the kids, lots of nice
presents
(thanks Mummy for your help, especially the Blackpool FC football
shirt and the new Stephen King book), lots of food (great
BBQ) - what more can a Daddy ask for?
xxxx recently sent the photo
below to me at work, I really love it.
REMOVED
Sophie is walking
everywhere now. And she was just 10 months old last week. What a girl!
DIY 
My DIY work
is mostly over now after puttuing in a new window and door on our front
porch and two new interior doors as well. It's all looking good. But
after DIY every weekend of late, I was glad for a weekend off with the
kids.
Pictures of
the new door and window are here.... kinda boring, but it was hard work
and I'm pleased with the reults, so you get them anyway!
Weight
loss
Glad to say
the diet is still going well. I've lost 47 lbs now and I'm hoping to
reach 50 at the weigh-in next Sunday. Feeling great!
Movies
xxxx and
I managed to get out to a couple of movies recently, the disaster
flick The
Day After Tomorrow and the new Harry Potter movie, both
excellent.
Work
Work is going
well, had a couple of tests recently, did well on both with 93% and
94% scores. Now I'm hoping to move on to the next level - which means
more money!
|
| May 16, 2004 |
New Look,
Weight Loss, Finales, Photos and Bubbles...
So, I've made some changes
to this page. When I originally started What's New?
I used to keep adding to the original - it grew too large and so then
I did a new page each time. Now I don't have as much time to write,
but would like to do regular quick updates. So now we are back to the
original Blog-type format - it was really a Blog before Blogs existed.
Weighty issues...
xxxx and I started a weight-watchers
style diet at the beginning of April. I'm happy to report I've lost
36 lbs so far and I feel great. xxxx's doing well too, but I am not
divulging... Found a nice alternative to the thin little Weight Watchers
Bread - Ben's do a great Body Wise
loaf that has bigger tastier slices and the same point value. Thank
you Ben's!
Finales...
So Friends
finally left us, a very nice final episode to a show that we've loved
for years. But I have to say Frasier had the best final
episode. The pre-finale show was a great look back at the history and
the final episode was a funny, touching exit that had us laughing and
crying. Well Done! The final Scrubs was great too,
I hope we see that show back next season, it really is one of the most
creative touching comedy shows out there. The Practice,
another favourite, bows out tonight. These last few shows have been
a sad mix of our old favourite characters and new people being introduced
for the spinoff. All the new, except William Shatner, are pretty boring
characters, self-centred. I hope it gets better. Hope and Faith
has been pretty good this season - the finale was very funny! And I
hope Whoopi is back next year. Now looking forward
to a summer outside and catching up on movies.
Photos...
Sophie is 9 months old! We celebrated with a trip to the Wal-Mart Photo
Studio where we managed to get some lovely shots.... Like this one
REMOVED
Here's one of
her just after we'd dressed her, all ready to go and sitting on Daddy's
knee...
REMOVED
Do you
like my new glasses?
Bubbles...
Benjamin loves bubbles in his bath. He got some Bob The Builder
Mild Bubble Bath (by a company called Kid Care) as a gift and
just loves the bubbles - and loves the word Bubbles too. So we bought
some more Bob Bubble Bath. Imagine our shock when we read the following
warning on the back of the bottle...
Use
only as directed. Excessive use or prolonged exposure may cause irritation
to skin and urinary tract. Discontinue use if rash redness or itching
occurs. Keep out of reach of children except under adult supervision.
Guess who doesn't
get Bob bubbles any more? He just gets some Johnson's Baby Bath to create
a few bubbles. Who'd have thought a kid's bubble bath could be so harmful?
Makes you wonder.
The
Swan...
Finally,
back to TV and the the show The Swan. This is a show
that I feel dirty watching. It has volunteers undergoing plastic surgery
to win the chance at entering a beauty pageant. Every entrant so far
has had deep psychological issues and would have benefitted from therapy
and a good makeover. Instead they leave their family for 3 months to
undergo surgery and a diet and exercise regime. It's sick and I can't
stop watching.
|
| April
24 , 2004
|
The
kids are growing like weeds. Benjamin had a great 2nd birthday on February
7th and Sophie is very lovely, lively 8-month old - and she adores her
brother. For photos of Sophie and big brother Benjamin click the image
above or HERE
WORK...
In my last
update, I was about to start a contract in a financial call centre.
Well the contract finished and I now have permanent position there.
And benefits. After years without benefits, the coverage is a big relief,
especially with the family coverage. This position does mean I have
had to turn down some acting roles, but once I've had my feet under
the table a little longer, I think the option for unpaid leave for an
acting role will be possible.
Coming
up next...
THEATRE
I will be appearing in the Live Bait Theatre fundraiser, Hook,
Line and Singers April 30th. In the Elvis costume.....
FILM
Nothing. |