Why does it always happen? We go months without anything decent on telly on a Saturday night, and then all of a sudden you have two good TV programmes on different channels, on more or less the exact same time!

I am of course talking about The X Factor vs. Strictly Come Dancing.

I will post more on this topic tomorrow. But for now, am going to bed. Night!

Update: Morning! Just wanted to add a few words about this whole The X Factor vs. Strictly Come Dancing thing. I fully acknowledge that they are both not top quality entertainment programmes, but they are good, harmless entertainment. They get everyone talking, so they can’t be that bad.

With Strictly Come Dancing, I enjoy the rare opportunity to watch ballroom and latin dancing on our TV screens, and it’s fun to see celebrities (albeit C-list celebrities) putting themselves on the line, both physically and publicly, to raise money for charity. I reckon either Colin Jackson or Zoe Ball will win, as they’re the ones who seem to have the most talent for dancing.

On the other hand, The X Factor is fun simply because we get to see people living the dream. I’m sure there’s something inside all of us that wishes we could become pop stars. I know I would love to be a pop star, but I can’t sing to save my life! We do have an interesting mix of finalists this year, and I think the strongest finalists are Sharon Osborne’s Brenda, Maria and Andy.

Out of Louis’ lot, Shayne is the best one, but I think he’s a bit boring. Chenai is too vulnerable in my view; she needs to toughen up if she wants to win the competition. She has been playing on the sympathy card a bit too much, and while I do sympathise, it is a little off-putting. Chico is too cheesy and doesn’t have the vocal ability (if he does, he needs to start singing instead of just strutting his stuff every week). Nicholas needs to vary his body language, as he seems to use the same gestures every week.

It’s all trashy nonsense, I know, but it’s fun! Isn’t that what Saturday nights are all about??

Rachel and I went to the Remark! Film & TV Awards on Saturday night, and had a good time, along with about 1,999 other people, mostly Deafies. It was so refreshing to walk around and see Deafies having convos in BSL, rather than hearies nattering away in their usual boring fashion. It meant that I could actually eavesdrop AND understand what was being said. Not that I was sticking my oar in peep’s conversations!

It was good to see Deaf culture celebrated in such a grand fashion, in a nice, posh, EXPENSIVE hotel (two bottles of Corona and two bottles of Black Smirnoff Ice cost over £14). There were some pointless aspects to the evening, such as the games that were put on and cost you a blue token (£1 each), and the lack of bars (there was only one small bar with the full range of drinks for 2,000 people, as well as another laid on bar selling only bottle of whatnot).

The awards themselves were good fun, and Clive Mason’s speech when he nabbed the Lifetime Achievement Award was a classic and got everyone all riled up.

The limo there and back was a bit squashed but good fun. We had a pink limo on the way back, which was colourful! There was plenty of champagne in the limo there. It was good to see RAD colleagues and friends all kit up in posh outfits, and all sorts of Deaf professionals and other peeps. Apparently, even Charlie from Beyond Boundaries was there with blonde extensions – never saw him!

All in all, pretty good night! I would say worth the £30 tickets!

I went to see the After Dark Cabaret last night at The Riverfront, Newport. What follows herewith is my review of the main acts:

Tyron Woolfe

Tyron is always consistent in the quality and delivery of his performances, and his dramatics for some songs from West Side Story were particularly effective, particularly A Boy Like That / I Have A Love. The best interpretation, however, was The Phantom of the Opera, which gave me, and a lot of other members of the audience, goosebumps. Excellent.

John Wilson

John is a poet and has not read his poems in public for nigh on ten years, so it was a real privilege to see him tonight. His poems were really powerful examples of the anger and frustration Deafies face in everyday life. From the Depths was a particularly imaginative piece of work, as John uses the vehicle of the hunting and killing of a whale to describe the education system that focuses on oralism.

Barry J Roberts

Barry had an interesting act. Having collaborated with AMP Dance Theatre, he produced a short dance piece that had a strong impact in its delivery. Basically, he mimed the hurt that is caused by abuse, with the very graphic display of committing suicide at the end. It left us all a little shell-shocked, but it was particularly effective.

Ramesh Meyyappan

Ramesh’s act was easily the best of the night. His skits literally left us all breathless with laughter. The second one, where he called up three members of the audience (and left us all scared shitless that he was going to pick us) and got them to imitate his mime, and putting them altogether at the end to depict a cowboy riding a horse, climbing up a drainpipe and through a window, to meet with his lover, who was depicted preparing herself for his impending arrival, and then the jealous husband who killed the cowboy with a fencing sword! Ramesh is a natural comedian, and honestly, he was an absolute delight to watch.

MCs Jeff Wilson and Maggie Hampton

They both introduced the acts successfully and raised a few laughs with their stories and banter, but I think perhaps they should have let the presence of Deaf artists speak for themselves.

All in all, this was a first for Wales, and we should bear that in mind. If it becomes a regular event, then it should improve. I would go and see it again, that much is certain.

P.S. I’m sure J will be so happy to see such a looong post from me!

I’ve just been watching Musicality on Channel 4, and I feel so uplifted and happy!

What is it about musicals that make people feel this way? Musicals, as we all know, were very popular up to the 1950s and 1960s, but then the movie distributors like MGM and Paramount stopped making them. Only recently, they’ve started to make a come back, but only in small numbers.

First of all, what is a musical? Dictionary.com describes a musical as a A play or movie that contains musical numbers. Compared to a play or a drama, a musical basically entails of the same thing, with the exception that the characters suddenly burst into song and dance in the middle of acting out a performance! It’s fabulous. I think we all feel like singing and dancing at certain moments in our lives e.g. when something goes our way, or we get a good result, we feel like singing “We are the champions, we are the champions, we are the champions, of the … wooooorllld!” and perhaps dancing a little jig and making groovy moves (like Andy, my CA!) or perhaps just looking into the sky dreamily and happily.

I remember when I was a young boy, I was obsessed with The Sound of Music, even though it wasn’t subtitled. I used to watch the film over and over again (without subtitles), and when I finally got to watch it WITH subtitles, all the songs still seemed so familiar. I was also obsessed with Grease and Grease 2, and I must be the only person in the world who prefers the songs in Grease 2 to the original ones in Grease! I will be the first person to admit that the acting and plot in Grease 2 is a bit, erm, diabolical, but the songs are great e.g. “Score Tonight” and “The Hands of Time”.

For some reason, I have this inbuilt desire to be a singer and dancer on the stage. Quite a strange thing for a Deafie to want, but it’s true. Sometimes when I’m alone in bed at night in the dark, I start singing (silently, some of you will be pleased to know) to myself and acting out the part!! Argh! The truth is out! The secrets of Rob Wilks when he’s alone in bed!!! Oops!

Anyway, what you guys think? Do you all harbour the same love for musicals as I do? Why do we love musicals generally?

A play or movie that contains musical numbers.

Watched Dreamcatcher last night on DVD, the film based on the novel by Stephen King. It was hilarious! Not the film itself, but Stuart’s reaction to it. The film is not the best I’ve seen, and it really helps if you’ve read the novel like I have, to understand it properly. Stuart hasn’t read it, and he was kept screaming “This is shit!”. Admittedly, it is a very weird film, and a lot of it wasn’t explained very well. If you hadn’t read the book, you would understandably be incredibly confused.

Here’s a synopsis of the book:

Four men, who reunite every year during hunting season in the woods of Maine, encounter a disoriented, incoherent stranger who drags them into a terrifying struggle with a creature from another world. Their only chance for survival lies in their past and the boy they once rescued as a child.

Anyway, all the above made for a very entertaining evening.