Sugababes - Taller In More Ways

Another highlight of my holiday this year was being able to enjoy the Sugababes' new album, Taller In More Ways.

Now I'm no music critic - I simply don't understand it well enough to write about it. And my taste is very eclectic, which would suggest I don't appreciate any particular kind of music, it's just whatever appeals at the time.

I've always liked the Sugababes though. I think they are different from a lot of artists in that they are fairly original (apart from borrowing the odd bit of 80's music for songs such as "Freak Like Me") and their tunes, while catchy, are never really alike.

I went to see them live at Hammersmith Apollo in 2004, a concert I really enjoyed. I had a really good seat in the stalls, close enough to make eye contact with the girls (I swear to this day Kaisha was waving at ME at one point). It was marred only by some idiot behind me shouting out how much he loved Heidi and how he wanted to marry her (yes mate, you're behind me in the queue) and paying an extortionate amount for a pint of diet coke (it was lent at the time and I was abstaining, believe it or not).

Anyway, back to the new album. I thought it was a lot stronger than the previous one, "Angels with dirty faces", which I also own. There are a number of good tracks on there, such as their recent hit "Push The Button" (love the video) and a cover of the 80's track "Obsession" - damned if I can remember who sang the original though - most unlike me.

The best track (IMHO) however is the sixth track on the album, "Ugly". This beautiful ballad is, I assume, about bullying, and the lyrics certainly ring true. Take the chorus for example:

"People are all the same
and you only get judged by what you do
Personality reflects name
And if I'm ugly then so are you."

And also, sadly:
"I grew taller than them in more ways
But there will always be the one who will say
Something bad to make them feel great".

And:

"Everybody talks bad about somebody and
Never realise how it affects somebody and
You bet it won't be forgotten
Envy is the only thing it could be".

I'm delighted to be able to tell you, in case you didn't already know, you'll be hearing the song pretty regularly soon as it is being released as a single a week Monday. Look out for the video - I saw it the first time on MTV hits last weekend and loved it. Great message from the girls at the end too. Not so sure about Heidi's hairstyle mind you..

As fate would have it, I did an internet search at the weekend and found out the Sugababes are doing a UK tour early next year. Suffice it to say my ticket is booked for Hammersmith Apollo! And, as luck would have it, it's the day after I will be competing in the Reading Half Marathon! So I can have a day out in London the next day, have a few beers and enjoy the concert in the evening. That should keep me going during the race :)

www.sugababes .com

Copyright © Jonathan Weedon, November 2005

Happy Birthday Scarlett!

http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0424060/

I doubt she's reading this but you never know..

It seems odd that she has just turned 21..somehow it feels like she has been around a lot longer than that. And if you look at her filmography its easy to understand why. Whilst I have seen one or two of the films she made while still a little girl, I first remember seeing her in "Ghost World" and then in "Eight Legged Freaks" (a weird choice for the world's biggest arachnophobe!). But, like many people I guess, I really fell for her when I saw her in the wonderful "Lost In Translation", for me her best performance to date.

She has entertained me in numerous films since, and not just with her incandescent beauty. In my humble opinion, the mark of a great actor or actress is the ability to play different roles with equal aplomb. Ms Johansson can certainly do that. Her character in "The Perfect Score" - a rebellious Goth - could hardly have been more different, from say, her character in "A Good Woman".

Whilst it met with indifferent reviews (to say the least) I greatly enjoyed "The Island". I heard somewhere that some critic had said a "soap actress" could have played the role as well. As far as I'm concerned, Scarlett did everything that was asked of her in that role - mostly to look incredibly hot in a leather catsuit. (Well, she managed to usurp Alicia Silverstone's position of my official dream woman in the process, so she did a pretty good job of it).

I'm really looking forward to seeing "Match Point" when it opens in the UK next year, in which she plays a femme fatale. Judging by its' score on imdb.com it'll be worth the wait.

There's also a rumour that Andrew Lloyd Webber is in talks with this incredibly beautiful young woman to star in a stage version of "The Sound of Music" in London next year. If that's the case I'd better start getting some of my writing published PDQ - I'll need all the extra cash I can get.

You can read more about Scarlett here: http://www.scarlettjohansson.org/

Copyright © Jonathan Weedon, 22nd November 2005

Holiday Reading Part Two - Mike Gayle

A Mike Gayle novel seems almost an essential part of my holiday reading nowadays - a holiday without his latest bestseller would be like a holiday without sunshine - almost unthinkable.

In the last few years I have come to love his writing - I think I was introduced to his work by a friend who recommended "Turning Thirty". This I enjoyed because I had (in the not quite so distant past) had the experience of entering my fortieth decade and there was so much in there I could relate to, for example "turning thirty means only going to the pub when there is somewhere to sit down", or the horrified looks on your friends' faces when you suggest going clubbing on a weekday night.

Like many of my favourite authors, I think Mike Gayle's work has matured with time. Certainly I think he has tackled some of the difficult issues people face in relationships. I loved the hilarious "Mr Commitment" (probably a bit too much in there I can relate to!) and enjoyed "My Legendary Girlfriend" - although I did find the latter rather sad in places.

His last three books, however, have been his best, to my mind. On my last visit to Gouves, in late 2002, I read "Dinner for Two". This is about a couple who are trying, unsuccessfully, for a baby. At this time the male protagonist discovers he has a 13 year-old daughter from a one-night stand he had on holiday at the age of 17. Gayle tackles an extremely sensitive subject with pathos and humour, makes you feel for all of the characters involved, and I couldn't put the book down.

Last year I read "His N Hers", which is a love story told from both sides, over several years. Basically this is about a couple meeting, getting together, splitting up, meeting new partners, then regaining contact (due to the ill health of a cat) and realising they really were meant for each other all along. A great read, but hardly an original storyline I felt.

This year, however, I had no idea I was in for such a treat. "Brand New Friend" (bet he listened to Lloyd Cole when he was younger!) is, to my mind, his best novel to date. This tackles so many aspects of the male and female psyche, and is extremely amusing to boot.

Rob, the main protagonist, is reluctant to leave London to be with his girlfriend, Ashley, in Manchester, because he can't bear to leave his mates behind. Eventually he agrees to give it a go, and tries to make new friends, but with limited success. He even puts an ad in a local paper and goes out on "bloke-dates". In time, however, he does find a "brand new friend" who he feels completely comfortable with. There's just one problem - she's a girl..

So the book also tackles the age-old issue of whether men and women can just be friends without sex - or love, for that matter - getting in the way, but with a refreshing difference. Like any great writer, Gayle throws in some interesting plot twists, for example the heart-wrenching revelation: "There are things you can have and things you can't..It takes one to know one." (You'll have to read it to find out what I'm referring to).

Once again Mike Gayle has created characters to whom you can relate, who you feel for and who you root for. You really get emotionally involved with these people. I can't remember the last time I read a book written by a man where I wanted to cry when I reached the end. (Only I didn't because I was in the beach bar at the time and the sexy Greek waitress was heading my way so I had to keep my stiff upper lip).

The really great thing about Mike Gayle's writing style - and it really shows here - is his use of short, snappy chapters. I think this is a great technique. I just think because most people are so pressed for time these days, its much easier to read an extra chapter if its just a few pages long. And when you're on holiday it works too - you find yourself just turning the pages, wanting to find out what happens next.

That to me is the key to being a good writer - it doesn't matter what you write about, or how flowery your vocabulary is, or how factually accurate you are, you have to make the reader want to keep turning the page.

And you have to leave your reader waiting impatiently for your next offering. Mike Gayle certainly does that for me.

http://www.mikegayle.co.uk/

Copyright © Jonathan Weedon, November 2005

Jean Weedon, 22 January 1929 - 05 November 1996

It will be obvious by now why I don't really celebrate Guy Fawkes' night. No fireworks at my place. Just a quiet night in by myself.

It seems unbelievable that nine years have passed since my mum passed away. I know for a fact I still haven't got over it - the fact that she still appears regularly and vividly in my dreams is testament to that. I suppose at 28 I wasn't ready for it. I guess you never are, really.

So anyway, let me tell you a few things about this wonderful lady. She led an entirely selfless existence. In fact she spent most of her life doing things for other people. She was a teacher most of her working life (at least in the time that I was alive), teaching a variety of subjects including R.E. and working with special needs children. In her last post, at the John of Gaunt School in Trowbridge, she became a head of year and was feared by many of the children at the school. Funny really.

You'd think that would be enough of a challenge for most people, but not my mum. She also brought up five kids, mostly on her own. Dad was working in other towns a lot of the time you see, and would often be home only at weekends. When I was in my first year at Comprehensive school he was away at University and we only saw him in the holidays. How Mum coped on her own I'll never know. And now there's me, barely able to look after myself.

Even in the summer, our holidays would usually be spent in her hometown of Batley in West Yorkshire, where we would look after her mother, my Nana, while Auntie Shirley and Uncle John were on holiday. It must be the fact that I am half Yorkshire that has given me my love of cricket and beer.

It's easy to say that someone was "too good for this world" but in some ways I don't think it's unfair to say that about my mum. She was meant for someplace else. Somewhere bad things don't happen. One of my most vivid memories of her was when I had just passed my driving test and was allowed to drive her Metro. We were in the car one day and I was driving. We passed my sister Amanda's ex-boyfriend's house and Tanya, Amanda's little girl, was outside playing. Ian (Amanda's ex) wasn't her real Dad but had she had come to regard him as such. Anyway, mum asked me what I thought she was doing there. I replied, nonchalantly, "Just visiting her Dad, I suppose". This set mum off crying. She couldn't stand the kind of sadness you see on a daily basis. Funny the things you remember.

67 is no age to die. (Christ, I want at least another 50 years, not 30). Not only that, but mum became very ill not longer after she retired and was pretty much housebound for most of her retirement. It seems shitty and unfair that someone like that, who spent all her life working and looking after other people, should not only die at a young age but also not get to enjoy her retirement properly. She should at least have been allowed that.

I guess that's why I have a relaxed attitude about certain things. That's why I go on holiday and not care about the expense, for example. I might not be able to do it when I'm older. And there’s no point having lots of money in the bank when you're dead.

I can still remember the day she died quite vividly. I hope I never have a day as bad as that ever again. The previous evening I was playing squash when I got a phone call telling me to phone home. The news was that mum had gone into hospital again. I think I knew then I was never going to see her alive again. When the phone rang early the next morning, I knew the news was going to be bad.

I remember going to see her for the last time in the chapel of rest. Needless to say I got very upset. But I don't think it sank in then, or at the cremation for that matter. I know when it hit me - in the days after when I went for dinner at my parent's cottage in Melksham for the first time since her death. I remember breaking down crying in the kitchen and Amanda (always the strong one) having to look after me.

Time now to pay tribute to some of the people who looked after me and kept me going in those dark days. My best friend, Graeme, and his ex-wife Mia (I never got on with her but to be fair to her she was good to me at that time) took me for a slap-up meal at the Running Horse (I call it the trotting donkey myself) with their kids, Carl and Anders who were infants at the time. The idea was just to try and cheer me up. It did, if only for a short while. Looking back, it was an incredibly kind and thoughtful thing to do. As I say, it’s funny what sticks in your memory.

I remember saying to Graeme a couple of years ago on a train back from a boozy day in London, it was a shame he never met her. Despite the amount of whisky entering his bloodstream, he told me that in a way, he felt he already knew her. He said I was a very kind and gentle man and he imagined mum would have been just the same. I'll always remember that.

Another thing about her was her remarkable courage and determination. Not long before she passed away, my sister Fiona got remarried to Richard. The service was held in the church at the end of our street. Mum was pretty much bedridden by then. There was no question of her attending the reception or party in the evening, but she was damned if she was going to miss the service. And so despite everything there she was, maintaining her dignity and enjoying the day, despite being in a wheelchair. Does it make you feel humble? It does me.

Her spirit lives on. Whilst today has not been a great day, tomorrow I'm doing something in her memory. Growing up I used to spend many weekends in a village near Melksham called Bradford on Avon, either going swimming at the leisure centre there with my sisters, having afternoon tea with mum and dad in the tearooms or walking by the canal. So it's kind of serendipitous that there should be a race there this weekend.

It's going to be hard - a 12km multi-terrain run. Quite unlike the ones I've done before. I have to run through a river at some point - should be interesting! It'll be fun though. I'm determined to enjoy the event, my beer afterwards and the day in general. I think she'd have liked that.

Holiday Reading Part One - Nick Hornby

Time to write some reviews of the books I enjoyed whilst on my hols..and time to pay tribute to the works of some of my favourite authors..

I've always been a big fan of Nick Hornby. For me he is the King of "lad lit" - the genre to which I aspire. "High Fidelity" is right up there in my all-time top 5. I remember loving it so much when I first read it I lent it to a young lady friend of mine, Sam (17 at the time), beseeching her to read it. She did, as did her mum. They both loved it.

"About A Boy" is right up there as well. If anything I felt I identified a little bit with the main protagonist, Will. And I don't mean the positive bits - rather his shallow, self-centred and introspective existence. Maybe someone will come into my life one day and “show me the way” as Marcus did..

I have never read "Fever Pitch" believe it or not. No Sir. I should, I know - it's just that I don't much care for football so can't see how I could fully appreciate it. If anyone thinks differently, please let me know.

So it was only to be expected that I would be champing at the bit to read "How To Be Good". To be honest, I was disappointed. I didn't identify with any of the characters and couldn't really see the point of it. I guess we all read books now and then, which are actually very, very good but for whatever reason we just don't get into them.

This year I was hoping for a return to form with "A Long Way Down". The reviews I had read seemed positive enough, and I read in the paper that Hornby had sold the film rights before the book was published. The man clearly knows his business. So I bought my copy from www.bol.com (great prices, poor selection) and saved it for my holiday.

Whilst it was not my favourite read of the week, it was certainly worth the time and the money (and then some). As you may know, it focuses on four main characters, Martin, Maureen, Jess and JJ, who meet under inauspicious circumstances - attempting to throw themselves from a tower block on New Year's Eve.

Hornby tells the story from each of the character's perspective and here lies his skill - he creates characters that you may not identify with, but who grow on you, who you feel for and make you understand what makes them tick. Whilst the story is heavy going at times, it is well paced and the dialogue is cracking. Some of the barbed comments and swearing (I like swearing in books; I think as a writer you need, occasionally, to use the language people speak). The writing style is superb: easy going without being patronising, yet intelligent enough to keep you interested.

So why was it not my favourite? I suppose a lot of it was down to timing - I was on my holiday, in one of my favourite places. I had found a way out of a job I hated and had a new challenge. I had just achieved a major ambition, running a half marathon and was still very much on a high. (Drug addicts everywhere: take up running. It's cheaper). Life could only get better if Jessica Alba was sunbathing by the pool. So I guess I really felt I had nothing in common with any of the characters and the idea of ending it all was complete anathema to me.

Having said that, I did sympathise with the characters. Hornby makes it impossible not to. I'd like to give an example by citing a paragraph from page 154, told from Maureen's perspective. I hope Nick doesn't mind. Maureen, in her fifties, had sex only once and as a result has a severely handicapped son who needs looking after 24/7. So she hasn't had much of a life and come New Year's Eve, felt she could no longer cope.

At this stage in the novel the four main characters have decided to go away on holiday in Tenerife. As you can guess, Maureen has never had a holiday (Christ, I'd be in a padded cell if I didn't get away every year!). This is what she thinks about the prospect, and I thought it was a particularly brilliant (yet, on the face of it, astonishingly simple) piece of writing:

"I wanted to tell Jess that I hadn't even seen an English beach since Matty left school; they used to take them to Brighton every year, and I went with them once or twice. I didn't say anything though. I may not know the weight of many things, but I could feel the weight of that one, so I kept it to myself. You know things aren't going well for you when you can't even tell people the simplest fact about your life, just because they'll presume you're asking them to feel sorry for you. I suppose it's why you feel so far away from everyone, in the end; anything you can think of to tell them just ends up making them feel terrible."

Now creating characters and then getting inside their heads like that - that's a special gift. Thankfully it was given to Nick Hornby.