Poppy's health update

Took Poppy back to the vet for another blood test this morning to check out how her kidneys are functioning. I received a call from the vet this evening who explained that they ran two tests, one to check how the kidneys are disposing of waste, which was very slightly worse than before, and the second test (I can't remember the exact medical word for it) but basically the overall condition of the kidneys has improved a little. Obviously this is good news and I don't need to arange another blood test for about three months. In the meantime though, Poppy will have to carry on with the special diet and the tablets for her over-active thyroid.

A bad result

White Hart Lane was in good voice and the Spurs got off to a good start with several chances going begging. However, two bad defensive errors (one extremely foolish) put Man Utd 2 up by half time. Our boys upped the effort in the second half and it paid off with a goal, scrambled in by Jermaine Jenas. There were chances for both sides to score more but sadly that's how the game ended: Spurs 1 Manure 2. Peed off to say the least. We have to go to Highbury next week - when was the last time we won there? 'Nuff said. :-(

The one and only Mr Depp

I don't know why, but I just felt compelled to write something about Johnny Depp. I'm lying of course, I DO know why! He is the most fabulous actor there is, in my opinion, and I admire him greatly. There are many words to describe him: other than the obvious good-looking and sexy, he is mysterious, moody, mild mannered, laid back and private. The latter is certainly an achievement for such a huge star, I suppose mainly because he lives in France, but nevertheless, you hardly ever see him splashed over pages of magazines, or hear anything derogotory about him (anymore), despite the fact that he has had a bit of a dodgy past with drugs, rocky relationships with Winona Ryder and Kate Moss, and the apparent death of River Phoenix taking place in his nightclub. I won't go into that any further because that was a long time ago; I just wanna concentrate on the more positive aspect of Johnny's life. Unlike many famous people, he has managed a long-term relationship with French singer Vanessa Paradis - remember Joe Le Taxi? They have two children together and seem very happy.

Johnny has come a long way from when he started out in an American teenage tv show called '21 Jump Street' and his film debut in A Nightmare on Elm Street where he swallowed by a bed! Along the way, he has dabbled in music and is a very accomplished guitarist. Not many people will know that he once appeared on Top of the Pops in 1994 with the Pogues. He has also appeared in several music videos and was a guest guitarist on one of Oasis's album tracks in 1997. Quite remarkably he had a cameo role on UK television in 1999 in The Vicar Of Dibley and also appeared in a 'Suits You' sketch in The Last Ever Fast Show Christmas Special in 2000. I can't believe I've yet to see either - perhaps I will have to invest in the respective dvds!

Recently, on one of those Channel 4 shows"The best 100...", he was voted 2nd best actor of all time by his fellow thespians, only behind the legendary Marlon Brando. Wow! What an accolade for one so young - but totally deserved. What I admire about Johnny, and this is shared by many, is that he shys away from blockbuster movies and makes very unusual choices in the roles he plays. This is of course, with the exception of 'Pirates of the Caribbean' but who can blame him for that choice - all little boys want to grow up to be a pirate - right? Apparently, his daughter thought he was a real pirate after seeing Daddy in the film! Cute huh? Some of the big films he has turned down: Speed, Interview with the Vampire, Bram Stoker's Dracula, Legends of the Fall, Thelma & Louise, Robin Hood Prince of Thieves and Chaplin.

So when is Johnny going to win a 'Best Actor' Oscar? It's surely long overdue. I'm not going to exaggerate and say that every single one of Johnny's films are great, because some have been strange and not too exciting, but there's no arguing that he is probably the most diverse actor currently in the business. Who else can go from Edward Scissorhands to a mobster to Ed Wood to a drug dealer to Don Juan to an astronaut to Captain Jack Sparrow to an Irish gypsy to a Scottish playwright to a Victorian cockney detective to Willy Wonka? And that's just the tip of the iceberg.

Undoubtedly, Johnny enhances any film. If it's a mediocre film such as 'The Astronaut's Wife' the fact that he's in it makes you watch. Without him, I would have been disinterested. There are plenty of actors who are good looking, but most of them don't have the acting ability to go with it. Johnny is truly an exception.

Just before I go, Johnny just in case you happen to surf the net and miraculously wander onto my blog, I just wanna say 'Stay chilled and keep on doing what you're doing'!! Hehe! Like THAT'S gonna happen!!!!!!!!!

Bump! Back down from la-la land.....I wrap this dedication up with a huge round of applause for the talented Mr Depp.

The Lion King

Last night, John and I went to the Lyceum Theatre Covent Garden to see the award-winning show The Lion King. I went with little expectation that I would enjoy it and it didn't help that I already felt knackered, having done absolutely nothing all day long! We grapped a 'quick' bite to eat from a restaurant in Covent Garden, although the service was slow and disorganised! This left us running late with 10 minutes to spare before the show started.

The seats were very disappointing. John only booked them a week beforehand and maybe should have waited and booked at a later date to get better ones. We were in one of the boxes on our own with two, what I call, 'dining chairs'. The boxes faced the other side of the theatre rather than towards the stage so the view to part of the stage was restricted and we had to literally lean over to see properly. It was very uncomfortable and the show itself did nothing to take my mind off that. The costumes were brilliant but other than that, I haven't really got anything great to say about it. There was regular laughter in the audience but I didn't find it the least bit funny. It was probably a good show to most people, but it just wasn't my cup of tea. Even the ending didn't have that 'oomph' that you would expect; they could've made far more of it.

Never mind - you win some, you lose some. I think after seeing Mary Poppins last week, that's gonna be hard to beat.

A set back

Getting back to work has been great - yes really it has! However, these past few days have not been so good on my back. I went home Tuesday in quite a bit of discomfort, which even after a couple of painkillers didn't subside. Unusually, I was still quite restless in bed and couldn't get in a comfy poisition. The pain was still bad yesterday with the addition of burning all around the area so I called in work to say I couldn't come in. I was hoping a full day's rest would put me right again but alas this morning I still woke up with lower back ache and stiffness. Not a good idea to push my luck going in so called work again to say I wouldn't be there. I spoke to my manager and next week I will be re-discussing my rehab hours - clearly, it's too much too soon for me at the moment. I'm so frustrated - I was doing so well. :-( I just hope my Easter weekend won't be ruined by pain because John and I have the theatre booked for tomorrow night and we're going to the footie on Monday. Reading this you might say, 'well she can't be that bad if she's going out'. Well in answer to that, I absolutely refuse to let this problem totally impede my social life! Without it, I would be completely miserable and that's not good for anyone.

Welcome back Susie!

Yesterday, a good pal Sue returned to work after almost 10 months. She's had a real tough time with her health, her family, work related stress and other things and it was so nice to see her back. As I'm also on rehab hours at the moment due to my back problem, I offered to call for Sue on my way in so that it wasn't so daunting a prospect walking into work after so long. It was the least I could do because I knew how she must be feeling. Although only attending work for 2 hours this week, I'm sure it's broken the ice and she'll be ok.
So I thought today would be dedicated to he one and only Susie-Woo, dog-lover extraordinaire. She won't thank me for posting a photo on here but she doesn't have a computer so I guess it doesn't matter!

Saturday: Part 2

After wandering around Soho, Leicester Square and Chinatown, John and I found a very very reasonably priced restaurant just a few steps from the Prince Edward Theatre. For a mere £21 we consumed between us: minestrone soup, beef strogonoff with rice chips & veg, canelloni with chips & salad, treacle pudding with custard, apple crumble with custard, half a bottle of red wine, a lemonade, a bottle of beer & a cup of tea. Amazing value & very nice too!

The musical Mary Poppins began at 7:30 & we had good seats in the middle of the stalls in row O. Despite being knackered from the day's events so far & all the miles of walking, as soon as the show started, that was all forgotten. The scenery was fantastic, the cast were superb, and the songs were of course feet-tappingly great! It was all very cleverly done & one of the highlights was when Bert walked up the side of the stage, along the top upside-down & down the other side. Another was at the end when Mary Poppins glided over the rooftops on the stage & then came overhead above the audience & then finally disappeared into the blackness. The encores of Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious at the end certainly left the audience clapping along in appreciation & made sure you went home with a broad smile on your face. Certainly, for the rest of the night, I couldn't stop humming the tunes of 'Step in Time', 'A spoonful of Sugar' and 'Chim Chim Cheree'.
I've got to say that compared to the film, although it is an all-time classic, the musical was far far better and I would recommend it to everyone. I would certainly love to see it again someday.

Saturday: Part 1

Been looking forward to this Saturday for a while: a combination of football & theatre in London. Firstly a 12:45 kick off at White Hart Lane to see my beloved Spurs play Manchester City. We have a good record against City, apart from that dreaded FA Cup tie a couple of years ago where we went 3-0 up & lost 4-3 against 10 men. Not a game to forget in a hurry! :-( Because we had to get to the West End later, we had to get the train from the offset (we usually drive to Tottenham which only takes about an hour) but the train & tubes took 2 & a half hrs, followed by a mile's walk to the stadium. Thankfully the sun was shining & there were no wintery blizzards like in Sunderland!

The games against City haven't always been very pretty but on this occasion it was quite entertaining. The atmosphere in the stadium was very lively today (sometimes it lacks a little) & where we were sitting, there was good rapport with the other fans.

Our boys played really well in the first half. Other than Paul Stalteri scoring the opening goal a minute before half time (always a good time to score), the highlight of the half was undoubtedly when the opposition's goalie David James made a complete hash-up of dribbling around an oncoming attacker & gave the ball to us with the goal gaping wide open; unfortunately Mido wasted the chance by not spotting Keano waiting in the middle of the box! Our fans proceeded to chant 'England's Number 4, England England's Number 4'!! Of course our very own Paul Robinson is England's number 1 goalkeeper, with David James in 2nd and this chanting was very amusing!! The second half got off to a flyer with another goal scored in the 49th minute by Michael Carrick. Beautifully taken down on the chest on the right-hand side of the box & smashed into the back of the net. Woohoo! Except for this one piece of brilliance, Carrick had a lack-lustre game, looking far too casual in my opinion. With the World Cup selection coming up, he should be showing what he is truly capable of. Spurs slipped up a few minutes later, letting in a soft goal from close range. Typical! The rest of the game was a bit rough for us & we might have easily conceded an equaliser; thankfully we hung on for the 3 points. Phew! Now all our hopes are pinned onto Man Utd (Manure) beating the Gooners (Arsenal) tomorrow so they don't close the gap of 5 points Spurs have on them at the moment. I detest both teams, but tomorrow I will be routing for Manure!