A show y'all might enjoy tonight...

One of my fave BBC TV shows is coming back to BBC America tonight at 8pm cet.

It's called Dragons Den and has a panel of millionaires/billionaires judging British peoples inventions and if they think they're worthy, backing them with their own money. The idea for American Inventor was taken from this show, but this is far superior and there is no ultimate winner over a period of weeks, it's all about getting investors weekly.

The judges are Brit' entrepreuners and highly successful in their own right, there are no celebrities in sight. They are self made success stories and brutally honest with that infamous British bluntness, this makes it both funny and cringemaking to watch at times.

I loved this show from day one and I think knowing many of you pretty well, you would also enjoy it. Plus some of the ideas put before them are the true epitomy of British eccentricity, and of course you have all the regional accents to enjoy!

Brit' Word of the Day....

Today's BWOTD came in to being because of a hugely popular Brit' TV show called 'Only Fools and Horses':

"Oh that's luvverly jubberley"

'Luvverley jubberley' = all is well/great

This was the catchphrase of a leading character in the show and within a few years it became a common phrase in daily use nationally.

The Bachelorette

Anyone else watching out there?

Oh boy I do not envy the lovely DeAnna Pappas this impossible choice from the last three at all. I was so pleased she let Graham go, he was just not as into her and would have broken her heart yet again I think. She does seem to have an unfortunate aptitude for picking that type!

So it's down to Jesse the adorable genuine snowboarder, Jeremy the 'perfect' man with a broken heart, or Jason of the sparkly eyes and all round lovely family guy. As I watched each hometown visit I liked each one just as much as the other!

My observations right now are Jesse is being so genuine and serious about taking his time to get to know her, his parents were awesome and he is just a great fun guy. But I am not at all sure he is ready for 3 kids in the next 4 years!

Jeremy is perfect in every way and it will kill her to break his heart after he lost both his parents. But I just don't see them together forever for some reason and she didn't seem to gel quite as much with his family.

Jason is just lovely, open-hearted and cute, with the most perfectly behaved 3 yr old ever! Plus his family were wonderful and what she is very much used to and he is ready for the marriage and kids.

So she has an impossible choice between three men who all have names starting with 'J' - how scary is that going to be at the next rose ceremony! "JJJJ"

I have absolutely no clue who she's gonna pick?

All you Anglophiles out there....

I have been meaning to give you the highest possible recommendation for the classic British BBC TV show All Creatures Great and Small for ages. We have been working our way through all seven series thanks to the wonderful Netflix and are now on series three and still adoring it. The Hubster is sure that this show appeared on PBS at some point, but it is without doubt one of the BBC's finest shows and if you are an Anglophile you'll love it.

It is based on the very famous autobiographical novels of the country vet, James Herriot. He moved from Glasgow to the Yorkshire Dales after qualifying as a vet in the 1930's and his books recount the wonderful tales of his work and personal life. The show actually charts from his first day, through winning over the cynical farmers, his courtship of Helen, kids and family life, his very eccentric boss and 'his' playboy younger brother, World War II and it's effects on their lives.

There are some wonderful characters developed over the years, by some great actors and the animals more than do their bit too. It is full of laugh out loud moments, heartwrenching tales and many heartwarming endings. It shows a way of life that sadly no longer exists and reminds you of the true values we should all still be striving for today.

When it first aired in the UK in the late 70's/early 80's, the books were an instantaneous hit and even spawned a Hollywood movie as a result; just compulsory viewing in most homes. But be sure and get the TV show not the movie, as being made over many years the plots are far more developed and you really bond with the characters.

Needless to say the scenic views of the Yorkshire Dales are breathtaking in every episode and it gives you a real feel for British country life as it was back then. It is very much family viewing, in fact my whole family used to sit down with crumpets and tea every Saturday night to watch it. The humour is in every episode and is at times side splitting, the Hubster loves this show as much as I do and we will one day invest in the boxed set.

The only thing he is not so crazy about though is the iconic theme tune, as I just have to whistle along and even the cats leave the room when I start to whistle ;-)

All I can say is if you've never seen it, then get onto Netflix and get it in your queue from the very first episode, as the stories do follow on. I think it says alot about it's popularity, that even now 20-30 yrs later, sometimes the discs have a 'short wait' listed next to them!

I have got to know many of you pretty well from your comments and own blogs, and I think just about all of you would love it. In particular I would bet good money on Willow, Daryl, Lynne, Sherri, AFF, Kay, Karla & Brad, Pam, Mary, Vickie, Stacey, Karen, Tammy, Rhea, Teresa, Linda, Snippety, Dee and Wendy all becoming 'James Herriot' addicts!

The 'BIG' review (without spoilers)

Well let me first of all say I am a Sex and the City utter devotee/afficianado and we re-watched all six series this year ready for this movie and so the Hubster could see it for the first time. I have been waiting for this movie for years and I was worried it might be a disappointment.

It's fabulous! In fact that's all I thought I was going to write as I walked out of the theatre, because that's all I needed to say. But then I read your comments and knew you needed more! LOL

So as a #1 fan of the series let me assure you, if you loved it on TV this will not disappoint. The Hubster and I both agreed they did a great job on getting the same feel, and a good storyline. They moved it along quicker being a movie, but not too fast and unlike some of the reviewers, we did not feel it was overlong but just right. All the original actors have returned which makes it seamless from the TV show. Obviously having to squeeze so much into a movie, means some of the ancillary characters like Anthony, Stedman & Harry have small parts though.

Although the story mainly revolves around Carrie's life, it also brings you right back into the other girls lives too and the various issues they are dealing with. They are all older and allowed to be, which is wonderful; all a bit more hardened by life and less frivoulous....but then aren't we all as we hit our forties.

We thought Samantha despite being the oldest looked the best and to be honest she just about steals the movie with the funniest lines and scenes. Jennifer Hudson does great as the only addition to the cast and Big is just a softer even more lovable version of himself.

The old laugh out loud humour is a big part of the movie and at one point the audience in our theatre even applauded with the characters on screen! It's funny, realistic, heartbreaking, affirming, it made me cry twice (the Hubster only caught me once though) and it made us all rock with laughter alot.

I LOVED IT :-) and will be first in line to buy it when it comes out on DVD, I may also go and see it again when it reaches our local town - it was that good!

I asked the Hubster for his thoughts; he thoroughly enjoyed it too but he had one complaint and I quote him here "not enough titties from Samantha"!

Girls just go see it and escape for awhile :-)

American Idol ends on a high

Great show, great result and for once I was just like Simon and really didn't care who won it! I am extremely chuffed for DC another Okie by choice, just like yours truly. I am so happy that his season long performance overcame not being the best last night.

Anyone know how old Donna Summer is because she doesn't seem to have aged at all and no 'Priscilla' signs of cosmetic work either!? Absolutely loved DC with ZZ Top and btw can someone tell George Michael he looks great, but he seriously needs to lose those 'Elvis' sunglasses! We've certainly both come a long way from Bushey in Hertfordshire ;-)

Way to go David Cook :-)

The new American Idol is.....

Our money and more importantly our votes are with David Archuleta after he totally blew David Cook out of the water tonight.

Let me deal with David Cook first because right now I am pretty frustrated/annoyed with him. He has just never learned that to win you can't be self-indulgent, you need to pick well known and popular songs to get the votes from the fence sitters like us! The moment he said what his third choice of song was (before he'd sung a note) and we'd never heard of it, we knew exactly what Simon Cowell would say and that he'd lost the competition. What was he thinking! He could have picked a Bon Jovi, Queen, Aerosmith, Van Halen, Coldplay, Lynard Skynard song, or any one of thousands of well-known rock songs that we all love! He only has himself to blame and when you're up against someone as great as David A he should have gone for it and he just didn't. I am sorry but when you're given 3 songs then 2 of them should have been showstoppers we all knew, end of story.

David A on the other hand totally changed our decision beforehand to vote for David C. 'Don't let the sun go down on me' was the performance of the season and gave me chills. What a superb choice of song for him and he just blew us away and David C! The second song was just okay but he sang it superbly again. Then he really nailed down the coffin on David C by pulling out one of the greatest and best loved songs written and knocked it out of the ballpark.

I have loved both from the start and been really torn, they are both stars of the future. But tonight David A showed his better understanding of what you need to do to win and he sang his socks off. The judges knew it by the end, the audience did and even Ryan seemed to agree. I just hope Ryan has an arm around him when he says "the American Idol is David Archuleta", because that boy is going to hit the deck for sure tomorrow night.

Just 17 years old and already THAT good...kinda scary!

>*UPDATE* Well DC may not have blown it after all - dialidol.com has him winning clearly right now and they've predicted it correctly the past 2 seasons! It's gonna be close, I'm glad for once I like them both and will be happy either way.

Do they really think we're that stupid!?

Whenever the L'Oreal hair colour ads for Recital, Preference or Natural Match come on TV, I just have to laugh and try not to be insulted!

I mean I'm sorry, but do they really think I believe Eva Longoria is buying her Recital, mixing the contents, putting on the impossibly annoying plastic gloves and then leaning over her bath or sink while she tries to evenly apply colour to her hair?

YEH RIGHT and on Saturday's I'm a Dallas Cowboys Cheerleader!

And I'm pretty certain the same applies to Heather Locklear, Charlize Theron and Penelope Cruz too. These stars certainly don't buy their hair colour in Walgreens, do it themselves and then have perfect hair with multiple tones in it, out of a box!

Okay rant over, I'm off to practice with my pom-poms ;-)

We're voting for the Cook!

Well after being torn between the two David's for weeks we are finally coming down on the side of David Cook for American Idol.

We just felt he did a better job overall tonight, although we didn't think the show itself was as good as last week! We also think David A has the little girl vote and would make the final even if he had really ballsed it up - which he didn't.

I also happen to love 'I don't wanna miss a thing' and he was awesome. Okay off to vote - Pam you'd better too tonight, as Syesha was good as well!

Ok the joke is over people....

Rant on.....Jason Castro made a mockery of American Idol tonight and he must now go home. He just seems to think he's 'the Dude' and doesn't even seem to take the judges comments seriously, he was a total travesty. I felt sorry for Brooke having to watch that and think I could have done so much better!

Anyway....rant almost off.... if he stays then AI will probably lose even more viewers and I swear he wouldn't have got this far without the hair that lots of little girls obviuosly think is 'cool'....rant off!

Moving on.... the night belonged to David A' resoundingly (sorry Pam but despite not liking him, surely you have to admit he sang the best?!), but Syesha was a close second and that girl is really giving the boys a run for their money, she rocked it too. David C's weakest night we thought, but we still love him, he needs to start picking popular well-known songs though before he does a Daughtrey! Simon Cowell had them all spot on tonight, let's just hope the fans listened to him.

The final will still be won by someone named David, I like them both so don't mind which....but going on tonight it's David A's to lose now.

*Jason has to go, so tonight I will finally vote - for the other 3!

Handbag of the day....Samantha!

Well let's start the week with a Top 3 fave' handbag, named for the inimmitable Samantha Jones from Sex and the City.

Samantha, because if you look at the outside there goes Carrie walking Charlotte's little dog and meeting Miranda crossing the street! Then you open her up and raunchy Samantha 'roars' on the inside :-)

I bought Samantha on my very first visit to meet the future Hubster and found her in a stylish local boutique. She was drastically reduced in the sale and cost me just 7 UK pounds($12)! There were 3 on sale there and many times after I wished I had bought the other 2 to give as gifts to friends, because this little bag always gets admired.

What makes Samantha so unique is she is actually a converted cigar box, or made to look just like one. So she is rigid and square, with the original cigar logo and writing on the back and sides and has a bamboo handle. The front has been padded and then had the design placed onto it and the corners overlaid with the silver effect corners. Finally the 'piece de resistance' is the surprise as you open her only to find the furry animal print lining. She is small and I even have to change wallets to use her, but she is well worth the effort.

If for some reason I had to part with all my handbags, Samantha would be one of the very last ones I would give up! I guard this little bit of handbag perfection ferociously ;-)

28 days and counting.....

Since the moment it was announced they had finally agreed terms, this is the movie I have been most anticipating for literally years. And now I only have 28 days to wait - the Hubster has already agreed to drive me 2 hours (4hr round trip!) to see it the opening weekend, if our local smalltown cinema doesn't have it on May 30th!

Sex and the City is by far and away my all time fave TV show, I own all 6 series and have rewatched them all in the past 6 months ready for the movie. This also gave the Hubster a chance to see them, as he didn't have HBO originally and I think even he might admit he has also became a closet fan of the show.

Yesterday the movie was featured on Oprah with the cast as guests and the first clip they showed actually made me tear up, so I'm in big trouble and will need kleenex! LOL

AI reality check time......

C’mon American Idol fans, well all those that aren’t under 16 and female, Jason Castro or ‘dreddy boy’ needs to go next week. I like him but he is no superstar and he doesn’t even have a particularly strong or great voice, and that hair is a total turnoff!

It’s time to let him and his Ukulele head off into the sunset, before AI becomes farcical and a mere popularity contest. Good luck to big softy Brooke, you go girl but now was also time for you to head home.

My money is firmly on David C, he’s just in another league.

Oh and absolutely loved the re-appearance of Simon Cowell's first love, highly entertaining and he was almost embarressed!

*Last day to enter Caption Competition & win – roll down*

Paula Abdul just lost it on live TV!

OMG we are still laughing!

Tonight the 5 remaining contestants on AI are singing 2 songs each, after the first songs, the judges quickly reviewed them so far.

Only Paula 'Prozac' Abdul also reviewed Jason's second song, which he has not sung yet!!!! There was laughter in the audience, stupefication from Ryan and Randy, and Simon did the decent thing and kind of tried to save her. Oh boy was she embarrassed and we were hysterical...LMAO!

I just knew being "live' would catch her out one day and this was it, who knows what's in that Coke she's drinking, but I want some!

***Roll down for a Competition with a Prize! Woohoo***

Hell's Kitchen

Quote of the night from the fabulous Gordon Ramsay:

"you're not a chef, you're just a showgirl with a feather coming out of her arse!!"

4 words sum this show up for us:

Hysterically funny compulsive viewing!

Finally have to weigh in on AI....

Ok I have been watching since the start and am happy to admit I love this show. Plus there's the added bonus of my fellow Brit' Simon Cowell keeping it real and giving Paula stick!

So here's my prediction for the top 4:

David Cook is the most well rounded of them all and already has 'star' quality and amazing stage presence, loved the white jacket this week. Plus he's kind of an Okie too :-)

I love cute 17 year old David Archuleta, he is my favourite. He always gets so nervous beforehand, then he looks like he's on the verge of tears as the judges deliver their verdict....I just want to hug him. I love his voice and he blew me away with his version of 'Angels' a Robbie Williams classic this week, which tragically the Americans only know via Jessica 'bloody awful' Simpson!

Michael Johns aka, 'the hot Aussie' is getting better every week and really showing his own style. He has a great voice and always seems to pick the right song, I am still in awe of his Bohemian Rhapsody a few weeks ago!

Brooke White, will be the only girl to give the boys a run for their money this year. She looks great, sings beautifully and plays the piano and guitar by ear, no mean feat according to my guitar playing Hubster. She makes the other girls look ordinary.

But I am going to predict the new American Idol this year will be called .......David ;-)

P.S > Carly's going home this week

Money no object, then why do this?

Remember Priscilla Presley when she used to look like this in Dallas? A naturally pretty woman, who didn't have to try too hard, although she was always a little heavy handed with the black kohl. Well it appears despite having an endless bank account, she hasn't managed to find the best plastic surgeon money can buy!

This is Priscilla nowadays.......

She is currently on Dancing with the Stars over here and I managed to miss her whole dance, because I was too busy watching her face trying to move! Literally nothing moves above her lips and as you can see above they look mighty strange too. She actually looks alot worse now than in this picture, like an over-inflated Morticia Adams!

It would be fair to say she has totally overdone the Botox and Fillers, she's 62 without a single line and ridiculously over-plump cheeks. In profile she is positively scary and seriously odd looking, it's such a shame to see a once pretty woman ruin her looks like this! She obviously has more money than sense and many insecurities.

You might not be into Dancing with the Stars, but it's worth a look just to see poor Priscilla trying to pull a facial expression, never mind a dance move!

Not too sure how to manage this!

We have a few TV shows we always watch and hey guess what? The schedulers have decided to put them all on the same damn night.....Tuesday!

7pm Biggest Loser / American Idol

8pm Biggest Loser/ American Idol / Dancing with the Stars

9pm Jericho / Dancing with the Stars / The Riches

And then in 2 weeks Hell's Kitchen also starts on YEP you guessed it - Tuesday night 8pm on Fox!

I would cuss (swear) strongly at this point, but I'll refrain....

We do have the late feeds from the West Coast and I am happy to just channel surf and catch crucial bits of the Biggest Loser. But no late feed for us on Fox or FX, so I guess we'll get DWTS on DVR, but that still leaves me with a problem at 9pm. We will watch Jericho but can't DVR The Riches and DWTS!

Math never was my forte and why oh why do they put other shows against the ratings monster that is American Idol? I mean you're never going to win the ratings war, so why not spread them out a bit. I am sure Pam will be adding her 2 cents to this in a bit....

If you're a friend, don't even think about calling here on a Tuesday please :-)

Guess what - no more blogging today folks!

Ok I'm hooked!

Well Matt Grant the new ‘Bachelor’ has me hooked for a few reasons:

He’s a Hertfordshire boy and I am a Hertfordshire girl!
I can pretty much read his face and tell what he’s thinking.
Seeing him deal with very pushy American women will be fun!
We have the same sense of humour :-)

Things which were entirely predictable:

He’s a Cambridge graduate – I told Hubster in advance he’d be either Oxford or Cambridge, they are just the ‘ultimate’ in posh to an American TV producer!

Like most British men, he dances like a drunk Uncle at a wedding.

Oh and how classy was the woman who gave him her knickers!

Something I never thought I'd say....

I am so very proud of Simon Cowell right now! So proud he made me blub over my baked potato, much to the Hubsters amusement.

He was on Oprah, who featured a 3 year old girl with Cancer and the very aggressive daily chemo' and radiation treatments she is taking. Her parents have to take her either 100 miles or 4 hours from home for these treatments. The mothers insurance through work meets the medical bills, but one of them has to be with her constantly. So they had lost one income totally and still had a mortgage, bills and huge gas bills to pay.

Simon stepped up to the plate and wrote a personal check to pay-off their $162,000 mortgage and also commented he is now her Guardian Angel, so if they need anything he will help them.

I am sure some cynics will think 'oh that's nothing to him' which is true, but you know what, he didn't have to do it. Apart from appearing like he has a bigger heart than he lets on, we could see no other advantage for him in making this gesture.

Way to go Simon.