Blog to resume from Monday 17th October

Folks, we do apologise for the long silence here at Jeremy's Whispers.  With everything that's been going on lately, we've been too busy to update the blog.

Normal service will resume on Monday 17th October, when we will be releasing news about Jeremy's new Russian Commercial Aircraft Museum, his new book and the latest information about the Charity Gala being held in Nottingham on 18th March, 2012.

The IT Boffins @jeremyspake.com

Search for a Star

Followers of my exploits will know that I'm an enormous fan of charitable endeavour, so much so I support 29 worthy causes across the world.  Over the last 11 years I've had the honour to be the Patron of the truly amazing children's charity - When You Wish Upon a Star, which is about to celebrate it's 21st Birthday!! 

Never being one to miss an opportunity to help raise much needed funds, I suggested to the charity's founder - Barbara White OBE, that we hold a Gala Concert in Nottingham (the charity's home), which would give talented performers from across the Midlands the chance to join me on stage for a spectacular night of entertainment.  The event itself will take place at the wonderful Royal Concert Hall in Nottingham on Sunday 18th March, 2012, which sounds like a long way off...but trust me it isn't!  Time is of the essence as the hunt for the best acts to join the show gets underway!

So if you're based in the Midlands and have an amazing talent - be it as a budding singer, pop group, choir, magician, dance group, orchestra or barber quartet (to name but a few of the acts we're interested in seeing), we'd love to hear from you!  Auditions are taking place at the Royal Concert Hall on Saturday 10th September, in order to dazzle myself and the rest of the Judges you need to complete an application form which is available from the charity's website: www.whenyouwishuponastar.org.uk

As they say...There's no business like show business!

5live Manchester Madness!

Regular listeners to Tony Livesey's late night show on BBC Radio 5live, will know that I joined a small but illustrious panel of experts on Thursday night live from Manchester Airport, as we celebrated the start of the holiday exodus to sunnier climbs!

The show was full of fun and laughter as we met some of the weary travellers, their friends, relatives and of course taxi drivers!  We even managed to catch a brief chat with Carl Lewis' former manager, who'd flown in with a couple of very tall athletic guys to participate in a Trafford running event.  I have to say, the athletes left us feeling ever so slightly out of shape!!

Throughout the show we stood huddled over what looked like a car battery, connected umbilically to one another by headphones, and thus restricted in movement unless we all shuffled along the concourse together.  Tony Livesey was a superb host, and I for one thoroughly enjoyed chatting with my fellow panelists, Rosie and Bob!

A big thank you to the Manchester Airport Team, especially Russell, for making us all feel so welcome, and of course for keeping the coffee coming!  Much appreciated by me in particular as I'd been on my feet for 20 hours by the time we'd finished the show...and before you all start moaning at me that I'm looking for sympathy I'm not, I just want to emphasise my thanks...honest!

Sardines to Hungary

Call me old fashioned people, but I am a bit of a traditionalist and therefore enjoy being treated like a human when I travel.  Don't get me wrong, I don't expect to be lavished in first class style everywhere I go, but I do expect a little civility and decency when I'm on the move. 

I recently had the great misfortune of having to travel with a relatively new central European airline, and must say it's not an experience that I shall be repeating again in a hurry.  Why, I hear you ask! Well, let's start with the departure gate experience. At both ends of the journey it was nothing short of shambolic, staff unaware of even the simplest of procedures, and totally lacking in any people skills (as is now the norm in the service industry...alas), still if you don't pay a lot, they don't pay a lot...ergo...effluent tends to be the end result!  After the usual stampede to board from buses, which we had stood on for 25 minutes awaiting the arrival of the incoming aircraft, people bundled over one another to get the best seats, even those poor unfortunate fools who'd been mad enough to part with extra cash to board ahead of the horde, found themselves having to take pot luck.  I myself generally head for the back steps in such situations, people like sheep seem to be conditioned to boarding through the front door, perhaps its a desire to check the whites of the pilots eyes...trust me sometimes it's best not to get that close to check!

Any old how, having managed to find a spot I attempted to squeeze my 6 foot frame into a seat with a pitch of just 28", I kid you not!!  Whilst the aircraft was brand new and for a change looked very clean, having only been delivered about 3 weeks earlier, they clearly went to a sardine factory for cabin layout design!!  Next to me the customary goliath nervous of flying didn't make things any easier, and then there was the Ogre like creature directly in front of me, who despite the fact that the seats didn't recline, found their build was such that the back of the seat buckled under the pressure of keeping said occupant in the UPRIGHT direction!!  Deep joy...

The fun really started when the crew (in both directions) made announcements...which in neither of the languages spoken were audible...that said, the safety demonstration was very visual and the bored looks on the faces of the crew were reminiscent of the old border controls in the Soviet Union, whereby the border guard/immigration official would engage in a staring competition to out wit you and put you on edge.  I can honestly say that I wasn't in any way filled with confidence, in truth I felt nervous for those less familiar with flying, who if God forbid anything happened would be clueless as to what was required of them.

Now I could bore you with the delights in flight, but I probably don't need to state the obvious...it was of course lack lustre and left me feeling shameful that a once great indsutry has come to this...Having said all of that, there are some terrific carriers out there both low cost and full service whom I enjoy flying with...

The moral of the story, stick with what you know best I guess...or perhaps more importantly you get what you pay for!! 

Busy times...

Folks, my humble apologies to those of you who drop in regularly, it's been a bit frantic around here of late, which is why I've not been blogging as much as I would have liked.  That said the tweets keep coming, so if you want a more regular update on things you could always drop by at Twitter and follow me @JeremySpake.

April is here already!

As shocking as it is, April has already arrived and that's a quarter of the year confined to the history book of life!!  Of course we continue to see the madness of globalised interference by others, as well as a great deal of unrest...one can't help but wonder what is really behind the revolution taking place throughout the world at the moment.  Still not for me to comment, there's enough conspiracy theories out there to feed on without me adding to them!!  Let's hope that we might encounter one day of peace...hope springs eternal!

The year's challenges continue apace here at Jeremy Spake HQ...training for the climb up Mount Fansipan in Vietnam in aid of the children's charity 'When You Wish Upon a Star', continues unrelentingly so much so that my treadmill has put in for a transfer to the home of a couch potato...

My latest book is also nearing completion. No doubt the marketing guru's here will let you know more about that once it's printed and ready for official launch later in the year...it's been an exciting project and I can only hope that folk enjoy reading my latest tomb.

On the cinema front, there's been a few releases of late, I managed to grab a few hours last week to see The Eagle, now not being a fan of the Roman Empire I was a reluctant observer.  However, I was pleasantly surprised, and despite some mixed reviews of Channing Tatum's performance, I actually enjoyed the film by and large thanks to the part played by Jamie Bell, who in my humble opinion out shone the Lead to deliver a convincing performance of Anglo Saxon Briton...  Next on the agenda is Killing Bono, I'm a huge U2 fan, so hope I'll not be disappointed... only time will tell later this week. 

Mount Fansipan Fundraising goes live

As regular visitors to my whispers know, I'm climbing up Mount Fansipan in Vietnam in October in aid of the wonderful Children's charity - When You Wish Upon A Star, who make the dreams of seriously ill children come true.  The climb will take up to 5 days to complete, and I will then be spending a few days in a local orphanage helping with a project to make life a little bit easier for Vietnamese children.  

Training for the challenge is well underway, but I need your help to raise much needed funds for the charity to continue it's fantastic work.  To make life easier the Team here have created a Just Giving link so that you can donate and help me to help the children not only in the UK but in Vietnam. Go to http://www.justgiving.com/jeremy-spake for more information and to make your donation!

Thanks in advance for your support, it's very much appreciated! 

Challenge 2011 Steps Up a Gear

Folks, this week sees the next important step to me securing my HGV licence as part of my Charity Challenge 2011.  As you know, the plan is for me to drive an articulated lorry across Europe to Belarus to deliver aid to the victims of the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Station accident, which believe it or not happened 25 years ago!

If you're a road user in and around South Essex and East London I would avoid the area all next week as I attempt to get a grip with the challenges of driving lorries...I pity the poor instructor if I'm honest.  I must of course remember to keep a civil tongue in my head when I'm cut up by other road users, or abused by the instructor for making a hash of things...

Needless to say, the team here at Jeremyspake.com will be keeping you up to date with progress and the odd shot of me attempting to pass my test!

Mount Fansipan Training Underway

Despite my best endeavours I cannot resist the pressure from the Team to get into some serious training for the climb up Mount Fansipan in Vietnam.  I've got 6 months to develop the stamina required to reach the peak of the mountain in aid of the children's charity 'When You Wish Upon a Star', who make the dreams of seriously ill children come true.

This week has seen the delivery of a state of the art treadmill to the office, to ensure that at lunchtimes, and those quiet moments when I'm not writing my latest book or developing new television programmes, I can hop on board under the watchful eye of the Team and get in some much needed exercise.  Running for 10 minutes at 12 mph, with a gradient of 10% is proving more challenging than it sounds...TRUST ME!!



Sir Norman's Tribute

With just over 24 hours before the first in series of tributes to Britain's comic genius the Legendary Sir Norman Wisdom, I thought I'd give you all a gentle reminder that you can still get tickets to join us at the De Montfort Hall in Leicester from 7.30pm.

The night promises to be one of fun and frolic, with a diverse range of acts all paying tribute to a much missed friend.  I'll be your compere for the night, and look forward to seeing you all there!

Visit my website for details of how to book!

Tacho!!

Apologies to those of you who thought you'd be reading about the wonders of Mexican food, or for that matter all things Hispanic...alas no...I'm referring to the wonders of the Tachograph, possibly the blight of every commercial vehicle driver around the world...and at the moment the details of these little devils are spinning in my head thanks to the challenge that was set me by the wonderful people at Chernobyl Children's Project (UK). 

The challenge of trying to remember what rules apply to which scenarios is not for the feint hearted!  Blimey, there's GB Domestic, EU, AETR and then if that wasn't enough to send you to sleep there's the National Rules of other countries to be bothered with!  

As you'd expect, like everything in life, there's the exceptions to the rule...Having embarked on the quest to acquire my HGV Licence, I now have a better appreciation for the amount of rules and regulations that the folk at the wheel have to remember...

It will be interesting to see whether I pass the theory...it can't be that bad...can it?

Black Swan...

Being an enormous fan of classical Russian ballet, I guess I had to be really, I have been eagerly awaiting the release of Darren Aronofsky's Black Swan. 

I must confess I was a little disappointed, not because the acting was poor, far from it!  In general the film is brilliantly executed and puts a very modern twist on Tchaikovsky's stunning ballet.  Indeed the original Tchaikovsky score is cleverly used throughout the film to maximise suspense and manage emotions, and Natalie Portman without doubt gives a truly superb performance throughout.

So why was I disappointed?  The film contains occasional moments of pure quattro formage, yes loads of cheese, which are totally unnecessary and do nothing to enhance the film in any way whatsoever. 

Despite one or two misgivings I would recommend people try and catch Black Swan, especially if you are a fan of Tchaikovsky.  My personal rating for this film is 6 out of 10, the deletion of a few scenes could push this film to an 8.

Highway Code...

It's been 24 years since I last had to read the Highway Code...blimey despite driving an average of 35,000 miles a year, I'd forgotten, or should I say taken for granted, my knowledge of all things Highway related! 

As you know folks, I've embarked on the challenge of learning to drive an HGV as part of my Charity Challenge 2011 commitment, and as you might expect the Highway Code plays an integral role in getting my HGV Licence...I'm having fun getting the grey cells back into cerebral action (about time too some would argue).

I may have been better off sticking to writing my new book!

Challenge 2011 Underway

Throughout 2011 I've agreed to undertake a host of challenges in support of my favourite charities.  The first of the many challenges requires me to learn to drive an articulated lorry in just two weeks, and then drive much needed aid across Europe to Belarus in support of my newest charity - Chernobyl Children's Project UK.

This doesn't sound like much of a challenge really, I hear you say!  You'd be wrong if you thought that...firstly, learning to drive an articulated lorry requires me to pass three separate tests, not to mention a medical!  Once I've successfully passed these hurdles, I then need to source the lorry and the aid to fill it with.  All of this has to be completed in record time as I am due to be in Belarus by the beginning of April, and still don't have my provisional licence from the DVLA etc etc...as you can see there is more to this challenge than meets the eye.

Believe it or not it's 25 years since the tragic accident at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant, and I'm eager that we do everything we can to help the thousands of children still suffering as a result of the fallout.  Belarus was by far the worst affected area in Europe, and the Chernobyl Children's Project has been working tirelessly since 1995 to provide real tangible support to the victims.  I'm hoping that readers of Jeremy's Whispers will be generous and make donations to help us improve the situation for so many children throughout Belarus, and I will of course be keeping you updated on progress, and ways in which you can lend your support.

A an enormous thank you goes to Nick Harvey of RSM Driver Training in Basildon, Essex, who has generously agreed to fund and provide the all important training needed for this challenge to succeed! 

A must see in 2011 - The Kings Speech

For those of you who are regular visitors to my blog, you'll know I have a real passion for film and love nothing more than visiting a cinema to watch a great movie.  Well, yesterday I wasn't to be disappointed when I managed to grab a few hours out of my busy schedule to see Colin Firth in 'The Kings Speech'. Much to my surprise, and for the first time in ages, the cinema was completely full (an airline mans delight to see so many bums on seats!!!).  Once the largely older audience had settled down (this was a matinee showing after all), and stopped rustling their bloody sweet wrappers the film started.

This British masterpiece tells the story of King George VI, and his battle to overcome a stammer with the assistance of an Australian voice coach Lionel Logue (brilliantly played by Geoffrey Rush).  From the very outset it is clear that the casting is nothing short of sublime!  Without exception, each member of the cast delivers an outstanding performance, which blends together superbly to tell a little known story about the British Monarchy. 

The film is full of touching moments, many of which occur between Colin Firth (Bertie - King George VI), and Helena Bonham Carter (Queen Elizabeth), who have an on-screen magnetism which is nothing short of stunning.  Whilst Colin Firth and Helena Bonham Cater clearly excel, Geoffrey Rush stole the limelight for me personally.  His characters complexity was delivered in a simple and fun way, which had you praying for his success and hoping for the Kings approval.

A combination of light and dark moments, inter twinned with a fair amount of humour make this a great film.  The audience I sat with appeared to be feeling the highs and lows with the characters, which for me is the sign of brilliant acting!

If like me, you are a fan of great cinematography, superb dialogue, outstanding acting and historical reality this is without doubt one of the highlights of the 2011 cinema calendar, so make the effort to go and see it in your local cinema!

It's Christmas (no I've not gone mad)...

Счастливое Рождество

Я хотел бы желать всем моим российским друзьям очень Счастливое Рождество сегодня! Я надеюсь, что Вы все имеете замечательный день и что Дед Мороз приносит счастье Вам и вашим семьям.

For those not in the know today is Christmas Eve and tomorrow marks the big day itself...Christmas Day in Russia, and I'd like to send my most sincere best wishes to all my Russian Friends for a truly wonderful day filled with happiness, laughther and maybe the odd glass of vodka!

Happy Christmas!

p.s. how old is that photo! 

Nursing a cold...

If like me you've had a cold/flu over the past couple of weeks you have my sympathy.  Pain the backside being under the weather.  For me it's normally a head cold, and this time around has been no exception...it feels like a killer whale has beached itself in my head, and now I am going to need Captain Haddock to pull the damn thing out!!  That said, I'm not one of those guys that sits claiming that he is dying of man flu, quite the opposite in fact, I generally get on with things which annoys those who think I should be making more of a fuss about feeling physically drained.

In fact now that the New Year has arrived, I've gotten back into my daily exercise and healthy living regime with an hour spent in the gym yesterday and a couple of hours on my cycle this morning...made all the more challenging by a runny nose!!  Apologies probably too much information I know.

Any old how, here's to 2011, and I hope that as the months unfold you'll all be enjoying a better and more productive year than last.

Get Signed Up...January Jog FAST Approaching

Join the first of the 2011 Santa Runs...ok I know it's a bit early to be talking about Santa already, but the truth is that this run was postponed from December, 2010 thanks to the spell of Siberian weather that gripped the UK.

It's not too late to join me and the fabulous people from the children's charity When You Wish Upon a Star on Sunday 16th January, from 09.00 at Wollaton Park in Nottingham.  There's no excuse not to be there to help raise much needed funds for this wonderful charity who help seriously ill children realise their dreams!

The jog, sprint, stroll or crawl isn't over a huge distance, and even I can manage to complete the course so there really is no reason not to get signed up and join us.

For further information and a sponsorship form visit the Santa Run!

Welcome to 2011!

I would like to be one of the first people to welcome you to 2011!  I hope that you are recovering from all the revelry last night??

A great night was had by all in the world of JeremySpake.com.  I know that a few party goers will be feeling a little bit like my friend the polar bear here, a great deal the worse for wear this morning...not yours truly though!  The secret to getting drunk but not suffering for me personally is to stick to one type of drink!  Not easy when you're out on the town with a bunch of lushes!!!  Still I achieved success, irritatingly I know!  I'm told that a full fat cola will cure your hangovers...personally I always found being presented with a bowl of lard soup quickly suppressed the throbbing pains in my head as I quickly tried to come up with an excuse not to have to eat the soup!!

I hope that 2011 proves to be a great year for you!

С новым годом!

Jeremy