Steak sales up

IT was interesting to find out that steak sales have increased by nearly 200%.

It is said the reason behind this is Brits are eating comfort food in their own home instead of going out to restaurants.

Figures show sirloin and rump cuts are eaten the most – and, although expensive, fillet steak is being eaten by more and more people too.

Sainsbury’s have reported rump and sirloin steaks are up by 200%. While Marks and Spencer has said sirloin and rump sales are up 40%. And fillet has increased by 70%.

They say you should never sit infront of a comedian during a stand-up show and I think they are right.

I normally would not dream of sitting in the front row, but last week during one of the comedy shows I found I had to sit in a seat next to the comedian.

He did pick on me saying I look scared but shouldn’t worry. Thankfully he soon picked on someone else and left me alone.

It was a good night and it took my friends and I to four venues across town, with a different comedian at each place.

Meanwhile, Liverpool is having a bad time of it at the moment.

After a brilliant victory against Manchester United supporters were more hopeful, but defeats to Arsenal and Fulham have not helped the cause.

Put your clocks back

DON’T forget to wind your clocks back next weekend.

British Summer Time officially ends next Sunday and it is the ninth before the Christmas period.

On the downside it gets darker much earlier at night, but I quite like the feel of the season in the run up to Christmas and the sense of excitement.

The lights in the shops twinkle at night and the Christmas lights start appearing from the end of November.

Although the clocks may go back next Sunday, winter does not officially start until Monday, December 21.

Meanwhile Colin Montgomerie has pledged to do better than Nick Faldo at next year’s Ryder Cup, which will be held at Celtic Manor in Wales.

Nick Faldo was criticised when he was captain. When Faldo played he kept himself to himself and he failed to gel the team together and also had difficulty communicating with the press.

Monty is more of a team player and, although he has not been as successful as Faldo, he is very highly respected by the top players on the European tour.

He also has a very intense character and I hope he does not get too carried away.

Montgomerie will be pitting his wits against the American Corey Pavin – another strong character.

Interview with golfing great Seve

Seeing the pictures of Seve Ballesteros in the papers over the weekend was upsetting, but it was good to read that his willpower was unaltered.

The golfer – who won three opens, two Masters and 91 tournaments – has remained positive since being diagnosed with cancer a year ago.

The Spaniard is fighting for his life and wants to play in The Open next year at St Andrews, which is where he won the event in 1984. He says this was his greatest win.

It was also Seve’s determination that brought about Europe’s success in The Ryder Cup in the 1980s. I am sure his passion rubbed off on the other players.

Seve Ballesteros and His Fight for Life, an Inside Sport Special will be shown on Wednesday, October 14 at 10.45pm on BBC 1.

Meanwhile do Premium Bonds ever pay out?

Mine never seem to, but I haven’t given up hope - yet.

Luckily the interest rate now on Premium Bonds, which determines how much money you can win, has been increased from 1% to 1.5%.

Apparently many people with £1,000 of Premium Bonds won’t win anything over a year.

I suppose you have more chance of winning on them though than on The National Lottery.

Watching the Red Arrows

It was amazing to watch the Red Arrows at Southport again this year.

I have lost count of the amount of times I have seen their display over the years, but they are just as good every time.

There is always a sense of anticipation before they arrive and they never disappoint.

My 21^st birthday, 10 years ago now, coincided with the Southport Airshow and I will always remember the Red Arrows flying past during my party.

My favourite manoeuvre of theirs, is when they almost fly towards each other and then turn away at the last moment.

Their display is on for about 20 minutes, but you are transfixed throughout.

All of the Red Arrows team are fast jet pilots from frontline Royal Air Force squadrons.

Meanwhile, there is nothing worse than having to wait for ages in a queue in a supermarket while nearby there are lots of empty check outs.

I am not saying it is the fault of the sales assistants, but the managers – who should be making better use of their staff.

Finally The X Factor is as addictive as ever, but do we have to be subject to the programme over two nights.

On Saturday we had to wait till after the first advert for any of the hopefuls to sing. And Sunday’s programme was solely dedicated to the judges’ decisions.

I wonder what will be Christmas number one this year.

Beatlemania

Whoever decided to re-release all the Beatles’ albums in a digitally re-mastered format came up with a brilliant idea because there are 11 of them in the top 40 this week.

None of the fab four’s records hit number one spot though. Vera Lynn’s best of collection took that honour.

The Beatles’ album to reach the highest spot (5) was Sgt Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band, which may be their most famous, but I don’t think is their best. My favourite has to be Abbey Road, it was released in 1969 and was the final Beatles’ album recorded.

On Abbey Road the songs seem to run seamlessly one after the other. Some of my favourite tunes are: You Never Gave Me Your Money and Carry That Weight.

The cynic in me says why do you need to buy the albums again, however I have yet to hear the new recordings. It must be a big money spinner for the record label EMI.

It is amazing so many of the albums have hit the charts as you, as yet, can’t buy Beatles’ music on iTunes.

You can also now buy a new computer game called The Beatles Rock Band where you get the chance to be Paul, John, George and Ringo and score points against each other.

This is another novel idea as it will introduce a whole new generation to McCartney and Lennon songs.

Live Forever

SO Oasis have split, which is sad.

I can remember very vividly first hearing Live Forever by Oasis on the radio and being blown away by their sound.

This is the first Oasis’ single I can recall and I still think it is their best.

The band split after Noel left and he said on the internet, “the lack of support from my management and bandmates has left me with no other option than to get me cape and seek pastures new.”

In the 1990s Oasis and Blur were two of the biggest bands on the scene and their music dominated the charts.

I like them both, but I think Oasis are better as their sound is grittier and seemed to hit a chord with me.

When the bands released singles on the same day, I preferred Oasis’s Roll With It to Blur’s Country House.

In 2001 or 2002, I can’t remember now, I had the good fortune to see an Oasis’ gig in Newcastle. They were brilliant. As soon as they started to play you were transfixed and as they continued the quality of their output did not diminish.

Their first album – Definitely Maybe – is probably their finest. I also like their album of b sides – songs like Acquiesce and Half The World Away rank among their best.

Congratulations on Radio 2 for having a Beatles’ weekend. Even though the songs are 40 years old, they are still relevant today.

Nothing like a good brew

A BREW can help people in times of stress, it’s official.

Psychologist Dr Malcolm Cross from City University has released findings of a study he has done which shows just one cup of tea can reduce anxiety after experiencing stress.

In the study people were put through a stressful situation and those who were not given a cup of tea had a 25 per cent rise in stress. While individuals who went through the same ordeal and were given tea had a four per cent decrease in stress.

Mr Cross believes the actual act of putting on the kettle can help alleviate stress.

He said: “Put simply, the findings illustrate what most mothers would tell us: if you’re stressed, anxious or just feeling blue, make yourself a nice calming brew.”

Meanwhile why is it that the winning lottery numbers often come in a close sequence, i.e. Saturday’s draw was 16, 31, 32, 46, 47, and 48.

I bet not many people would have had 46, 47, 48. Oh well, there is always next week’s draw.

Moving on, it is good to see tennis player Andy Murray has moved up to world number 2 in the world, replacing Rafael Nadal.

Nadal and Roger Federer have each been one or two for the last five years.

I now think Andy Murray has a good chance of winning this year’s US Open, the first Brit to do so since Fred Perry in the 1930s.