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.

You're hired

THE Apprentice is reaching its last couple of episodes and it has proved to be for me addictive viewing again.

On Wednesday night the contestants had to sell a number of items on a live shopping channel.
It seemed to be a difficult task, and one I think would be challenging to have a go at.

Surprisingly Debra, who had been one of the weaker contestants, took to it like a duck to water and the producers at the channel said they would be happy giving her a job.

Lorraine and Howard struggled, but it was surprising to see Howard fired, as he seemed to be fairly good at selling.

This Wednesday (June 3) the contestants will be interviewed by a panel of Sir Alan Sugar's business colleagues.

Moving on, I think Susan Boyle was better in the final than the overall winners Diversity. Susan's performance of I Dreamed A Dream from Les Miserables was powerful.

I thought that Diversity's audition was stronger than the dance they did in the final.

Anyway that's the end of Simon Cowell's shows for a few months.

Big Brother next! The 10th series of the show will start this week, yes it has been going that long.
Davina McCall will be hosting the show again this year.

We will be introduced to this year's contestants on Thursday.

The Happy Gilmore

I WAS not fair on 10-year-old Natalie Okri that she was made to stand in front of the cameras as The Britain's Got Talent judges decided on her fate.

She had already been made to sing live in front of millions, a feat most adults would find difficult, let alone a child.

Natalie then had to wait while the public were given their chance to vote.

Susan Boyle went through first, while Diversity and Natalie had to go infront of the judges, who had the final say.

Amanda Holden went for the singer, but Piers and Simon chose Diversity.

The 10-year-old was obviously devastated and she broke down in tears. It was not right someone so young was built up and then knocked down, ie exploited, just for the purpose of television.

Meanwhile golfer Padraig Harrington has been trying out a new golf swing that involves the player running up to the ball before he or she hits it.

The new shot has also enabled the player to gain an extra 30 yards.

This new swing has been named The Happy Gilmore following the 1996 film featuring Adam Sandler.

Harrington is not planning in adopting the routine into tournament golf as he looses accuracy.

The Royal and Ancient Golf Club, the sport's ruling body, said it was something they would not want to encourage.

Blackpool is worth a look

THIS year many people are deciding to spend their Summer holiday in this country in a bid to save money.

So it is good to see that Blackpool has come up with a good advert on YouTube to try and encourage more people to visit the town.

At first in the advert you think you are watching something about Paris as the trailer has a French actress and shots show iron towers, but by the end you realise the subject is Blackpool.

Ok, so Blackpool does have its negative aspects such as it is used by many people for drunken nights out. However it has many good attractions too.

I have many happy memories of visiting Blackpool with family and friends. Blackpool Pleasure Beach has some truly scary rides.

I can first remember going on the Pepsi Max Big One and being petrified as the carriage was pulled hundreds of feet into the sky and then dropped almost vertically. It didn't help that the week before we went on the ride it had broken down at the very top.

Another good rollercoaster is the Grand National, where you race an opposing carriage.

I have other happy memories of visits to the Sandcastle, which had a wave machine and water slides.

One musn't forget too the Blackpool illuminations, taking a car ride as a child down Blackpool promenade to see the illuminations is like entering another world.

Maybe Blackpool doesn't have the weather of a Mediterranean resort, but it does have plenty to provide hours of fun and entertainment.

Slow down

AN interesting group has started called the Slow Movement.

They recently held The Slow Down London festival with activities such as walking as slowly as possible across Waterloo Bridge. They contrasted with the businessmen running to their trains.

The idea behind the movement is to encourage people to stand away from the fast pace of modern life and take stock of what they are doing.

The “slow” in the movement does not mean we have to move at a snail's pace, but the ethos is that we enjoy what we do and don't try and cram too much into the day and by doing this miss the best bits.

Other activities during the festival included: wine tastings, orchestral performances, and yoga workshops.

Organisers were trying to emphasise the point that you don't have to live in the countryside to “live slow.”

Meanwhile, I wasn't the lucky person who bought the winning Euro Millions ticket.

That honour went to someone in Spain, who by having the numbers 4, 23, 24, 29, 31, and lucky stars 8 and 9, picked up £110m.

If that ticket was bought by one single person, then they would become the world's biggest lottery jackpot winner.

The last highest lottery win was in Italy in October 2008 when someone scooped £81m playing Superenalotto.

Just by keeping the £110m in the bank you would receive an estimated £1,959 in interest a day.

So near, yet so far

I must have had two numbers in the National Lottery Saturday draw now for at least the last three weeks.

It is like getting so far in a sporting competition and then just missing out.
Just as you get nothing for coming second in sport, you pick up nothing for two numbers in the National Lottery.

I have always thought £10 for three numbers is too little, though it must be about time that they looked again at the prize fund.

£50 for three numbers would be more like it, with maybe £5 for two numbers and less for the jackpot.

Meanwhile, I have a lot of respect for those people that take part in the London Marathon.
It is a gruelling 26.2 mile street race around the streets of London.

Amazingly the race started only in 1981, and since then 711,260 people have taken part.

In the early days about 7,000 people took part, but now as many as 46,500 compete in the race.

Moving on I want to see the new film State of Play.

It has a good cast in Helen Mirren, Ben Affleck and Russell Crowe and from what I have read about the plot, it sounds like a good story.

New films wanted

Film bosses are turning to old favourites for ideas to reduce risks in the recession.

This year films such as: The Karate Kid, Robocop, Highlander and The Never Ending Story, are to be remade.

I think original films are often the best though, and remakes inferior.

For example the remade The Italian Job hardly compared with the 1960s classic of the same name, which starred Sir Michael Caine.

What about the remake of Psycho? You don't see that in lists of classic films do you?

Critics have said film studio bosses are running out of ideas, however they have defended the decision pointing out good movies are good stories and can be told over and over again.

One film I would like to see though is the planned new film version of Graham Greene's Brighton Rock.

Meanwhile, I didn't think Kenny Perry was going to win The Masters, he came very close though.

For me the most exciting part of the event was the charges made by Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson. You could almost feel the electricity coming of that group.

Angel Cabrera was a worthy winner though.