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.

Flying iPods

I think the decision about Freddie Flintoff’s selection should have been decided upon on Thursday, ie the day before the fourth test was to start at Headingly.

To leave it to the morning of the test was unwise as it must have left a feeling of unease over the England side.

The matter should have been sorted out sooner because a team very rarely relies on just one man.

This was a crucial test that if England had won, they would have taken back The Ashes.

There is nothing worse than seeing a field of happy Australian players, or an England batting collapse. When England start to collapse, there is an almost inevitability about it.

Meanwhile it was disturbing to read that an 11-year-old had claimed her iPod Touch had “popped, emitted a big puff of smoke and flown 10ft in the air.” Apple has refused to comment on the issue.

Also it is now being said Facebook is uncool.

The suggestion comes after Ofcom, which is a media regulator, recorded a 10% drop in 15 to 24-year-olds using the site while there was a 25% increase of 35 to 54-year-olds on them.

Facebook may be uncool, but I think it is here to stay.

It may not be used very much by those people in their late 30s but those in the teens, 20s or early 30s rely on it more and more to communicate with friends.

The Street goes from strength to strength

With all the fuss over the licence fee, one programme is proving it is worth the money.


The Street, which is written by Jimmy McGovern, returned a month ago to BBC1 for a third series and I have been gripped ever since.


This year the programme has already attracted the Hollywood names of Anna Friel and Bob Hoskins.


In the first episode, Hoskins played a landlord who stood up to the local hard nut. The story was similar to the film High Noon and saw Hoskins bar the son of the local gangster after he caught him having a cigarette in the pub’s toilets.


The local gangster viciously beats up the landlord, but Hoskins shows up his son when he serves him a drink with a decorative umbrella in it and saying he is treating him just like his father does.


The second episode saw Anna Friel play a mother of two who has to turn to prostitution to pay for her sons to go to a better school.


She starts a relationship with the man who comes to do some work in her house, little does she know his father is one of his clients.


This episode had more ups and down than a fiddler’s bow, but it did finish with a happy ending.

The following week’s stories told the tale of how a soldier coped after coming back from Afghanistan injured and on Monday (August 4) we followed the man who is mistakenly called a hero.

It such a shame this is the last ever series to be made.

TV decisions

IT was a shame The Open golf clashed with The Ashes Test at Lords.

The Open is the greatest prize in golf and The Lord’s Ashes test is the most prestigious event in the world of cricket.

Those lucky enough to have Sky were able to switch between the golf and the cricket.

It was hard to concentrate on one event, when both were on at the same time.

Just like last year at The Open it was a golfer in his 50s who was making the headlines. Last year at Birkdale it had been Greg Norman, while this year it was Tom Watson.

Tom Watson went very close to winning the Claret Jug, but you almost knew when he made five at the 18^th that he would lose the play-off.

Stewart Cink seemed to be in the dominant position throughout the play-off and there was an inevitability he would win in the end.

Turnberry proved to be an excellent venue for The Open and it provided some amazing back drops to some memorable action.

The Lord’s test was equally exciting.

England fought back well after the draw in Cardiff and notched up their first win against Australia at Lords since 1934.

On Sunday night I was unsure if they could pull it off, but there was no need to worry as Freddie Flintoff was on a mission taking five wickets in the second innings.

The Ashes now looks like it could go either way.