Fun & Leisure – Page 3 – Well Eye Never

November 2024 Favourites

Hello there, welcome to my latest roundup for November. As with October, we’ve continued having work done on the house, but I’m happy to say that it’s now all over for the time being. And it has been worth it, despite the inevitable stress, disruption and cost involved over the past couple of months. The kitchen had been badly in need of refurbishment, so it’s now much safer, brighter and looks more modern, while the lighting in the living room has been improved and the outside of the house has been repainted. So it’s been lovely to get back to normal in time for Christmas. We may have more work done next year, as there are other things we want to do, but we’re not rushing into anything. This has been quite enough for the moment!

Despite all of that, however, I have been able to meet up with some of my friends for meals and entertainment, which has been a welcome distraction, and there are a few things I’ve been watching on TV and DVD. The meal and theatre show I went to with Emily were free PR visits for her to review, but nothing is sponsored to appear here and all opinions are my own regardless. So I’ve still got a fair amount to talk about in this month’s post and video, and I hope you enjoy!

September 2024 Favourites

Hello again! Because my 41st Birthday Favourites included the first half of September to cover the Paralympics, I had considered combining the rest of the month with October for a joint Favourites post later on. However, there are enough bits and pieces from the latter half of September that I can make a little post and video from, including another tasty free meal, a nice bit of comedy and some great factual entertainment.

So let’s get straight into it, as this won’t take long. As ever, nothing is sponsored to appear here and all opinions are my own, and I hope you enjoy!

Ross Noble – Online Stand-Up & Other Reviews

Back in March I had a great time seeing a live show by the brilliant comedian Ross Noble, and followed it up by rewatching and reviewing all of his DVDs in May and June.

He switched to online releases from 2017 onwards, as he didn’t feel there was a market for DVDs any more, which was a shame, but at least we can still enjoy his hilarious improvised comedy that way.

So for this final part of my trilogy of Ross Noble review posts, I’m going to look through his streaming releases, along with various other bits and pieces I haven’t already mentioned in the previous couple of posts. I’m not reviewing absolutely everything he’s ever starred in of course, these are just the main things I’ve taken an interest in. And you can see a wide selection of clips of Ross on my Youtube playlist as well. So I hope you enjoy!

41st Birthday Favourites

So another birthday month has rolled around. And while this time it’s not been quite as crazy as my big four-o last year, it’s still been busier than I expected, as I’ve been out for 3 enjoyable theatre shows and 2 nice meals, most of which have been free thanks to very kind friends of mine.

So I’ve got all of that to mention in this latest post and video, along with my PIP review decision, some films and TV shows I’ve been watching, and the sporting action in the Olympics and Paralympics.

As usual, none of this is sponsored to appear here, plus all opinions are my own, and I hope you enjoy. Let’s crack on with it!

July 2024 Favourites

Hello again, I hope you’re doing well. This has been a busy and enjoyable month for me, in particular because I got to see two theatre shows and eat at a restaurant for free, plus I enjoyed some more nice walks in the summer weather and have been immersed in the Olympics along with other things I’ve been watching.

The only downside was the fact that I had to have a telephone assessment for my Personal Independence Payments review, which they finally got around to a year after I sent the forms back. They would save so much time and money by not repeatedly reviewing people with incurable and lifelong conditions like mine, only asking us to request extra support if and when things change. But anyway, the assessment was very long, at nearly 2½ hours, of which I thankfully have a recording that they allowed me to capture. The lady I spoke to seemed very nice and was happy to listen to everything I had to say, but what she actually wrote down and how the DWP will judge it is a completely different kettle of fish of course. So we’ll see what happens, I’ll keep you posted.

Mind you, that issue is nothing compared to what some people are having to endure here in the UK right now. My heart goes out to everyone affected by the awful murders in Southport, along with the senseless violence by far-right thugs that has erupted in various cities since then. You cannot claim to have any genuine care about the country if you’re causing destruction, looting, assaulting the police, and attacking people purely because of their skin colour, religion, nationality, etc. That clearly isn’t protest, it’s just pure stupidity, criminality and racism. They don’t represent the UK, and they don’t realise they’ve been manipulated and radicalised into such behaviour by the misinformation being spread online that they blindly believe. It’s just crazy. I’m not going to discuss it in depth, as it’s a horrible topic and far more qualified people are already analysing it. It just might have seemed a bit odd or disrespectful if I hadn’t mentioned it at all, and I hope things settle down soon. Stay safe out there.

So with all that out of the way, let’s get on to the nicer and more fun things in this post and video, in which all opinions are my own and I’ve not been gifted or paid to feature anything here as usual. I hope you enjoy!

Live 8 Review

Back in March I posted a review of Live Aid, the iconic concert from 1985 that united people from around the world to support the victims of the famine in Ethiopia, to coincide with this year’s musical at the Old Vic that celebrated the occasion.

For a long time it seemed like such an event would never happen again, but 20 years later Bob Geldof and Midge Ure got together once more to organise Live 8. Ten concerts were held worldwide on 2 July 2005, viewed by 3 billion people, plus a final one on 6 July, to put pressure on the leaders of the countries attending the G8 summit to take stronger action to make poverty history. There had also been a 20th anniversary version of Do They Know It’s Christmas? the previous December as well.

Of course, how much of a difference the event actually made will always be up for debate, but it certainly changed things to an extent, with some commitments made with regards to increasing African aid and cancelling debts. But there will always be much more that politicians can and should be doing, and a discussion on that side of things is far beyond my expertise or the scope of this post, so I won’t be going into that here.

Double-page spread from the Live 8 DVD booklet, with a foreword by Bob Geldof in white text on a blue background. An image of the 8 political leaders from the G8 countries spans the top of both pages, while there's a photo of Bob Geldof at the bottom of the right page, below his signature in black.

In any case, the concerts featured a huge variety of artists, and whilst I felt it was much more of a mixed bag compared to Live Aid, it was still a lot of fun. I had also been far too young to see Live Aid when it took place, which meant I only got to watch it when it was released on DVD many years later, whereas I was able to see Live 8 when it was actually broadcast, as I recalled in my journal at the time.

I also bought the DVD box set of Live 8 that was released in November that year, presenting a wide selection of tracks, and that’s what I’m going to review in this post, along with some online videos that fill in the gaps. I’ve also created Youtube playlists for the UK concerts and the rest of the world, with lots of performances from the official Live 8 Youtube channel (where they’ve uploaded quite a few that were omitted from the DVD set), plus a selection of other clips. I’ve linked to a lot of the videos during this post as well.

So without further ado, and as a sequel to my earlier Live Aid post, I hope you enjoy this run-through of the different concerts and my thoughts on some of the performances!

June 2024 Favourites

It’s funny how things seem to come in threes. Last month I quipped that trying to eradicate mice from our house and the Conservatives from government was about banishing evil entities before they do irreparable damage, so what happens in June? I get Covid as well! Typical.

Thankfully there has been success on all three fronts. Our mouse problem is being dealt with effectively, so I’m just looking for a builder to do some repairs that will stop them getting back in. Covid affected Mum and I in a similar way to the only other time we had it in January last year, with Mum’s body effectively shutting down for a day to fight it, whilst I wasn’t that bad but still felt quite drained for a few days, not helped by it being the hottest and most humid week of the year so far. We’re both fully recovered anyway, and Mum having her booster jab a couple of months ago helped I’m sure. And now of course we have the sheer relief of the Tories being booted out in the General Election, after 14 years of chaos and one of the worst election campaigns in history.

I’m also glad that I was able to go out quite a bit during the first part of the month before Covid struck, by enjoying a sensory garden tour, exploring a new exhibition, having walks by the Thames and taking a day trip to the seaside. I met up with my aunt for a couple of those outings too, which was lovely – it’s just a shame we had to drop other things we had planned, as we had been trying to make the most of some time I had off work, and I had to miss a theatre show as well, but not to worry.

So there’s quite a bit to mention in this month’s post and video as usual, including things I’ve been watching and listening to as well as those outings, none of which is sponsored or gifted as usual. And I’ve also included my thoughts about the election campaign and results at the end. So I hope you enjoy!

May 2024 Favourites

Hello again, hope you’re all doing well. For me this month has certainly thrown up its share of surprises, and not just the exciting ones in Doctor Who. At home we had to call in the professionals to get rid of a few mice who quietly snuck in, and now in the UK we’re suddenly in the run-up to a snap general election. So there seems to be a running theme about banishing evil beasts who care little for human welfare and will continue to cause substantial damage if they’re not stopped.

But there are other things to mention as well. It’s been a relatively quiet month, but I’ve attended another fun musical, taken part in another audio description workshop, had some nice walks in the sunshine, and watched a few things on TV and DVD. So, with the usual disclaimer that nothing is sponsored to appear here and all opinions are my own, let’s crack on with my latest post and video roundup, and I hope you enjoy!

April 2024 Favourites

Hey there, hope you’re all doing well. I’m good, although like all disabled people in the UK I feel great unease over the government’s proposed changes to our benefits. My PIP review still hasn’t been dealt with after 9 months as it is. I’m not going to rant about it here though – I’ve posted a brief thread and shared several other posts on my Twitter/X page if you want a wider sense of people’s reactions. But please do read the proposals and respond to the consultation if you can (by 22nd July), as it’s vitally important to have our voices heard at this early stage. Same goes for the separate consultation about fit notes (until 8th July) too.

But anyway, on to much nicer things, and there’s plenty that I’ve enjoyed during this past month, including a couple of exhibitions, a West End musical, a theatre workshop, stand-up gigs and other comedy shows. One of the exhibitions was a press invite for my journalist friend Emily, and I’m due to be paid for the workshop I took part in, but nothing is sponsored to be featured here and all opinions are my own as usual.

So let’s crack on with this month’s post and video, and I hope you enjoy!

Paws On The Wharf

It goes without saying really, but guide dogs are beautiful, incredible and vitally important companions to many people with sight loss. And right now there’s a sculpture trail in London dedicated to these life-changing and life-saving animals. This post isn’t a sponsored ad for it, but it’s something I think is well worth exploring if you’re in the capital.

Paws On The Wharf has been organised by the Guide Dogs charity in association with Wild In Art (who were also behind Morph’s Epic Art Adventure & Walking With The Snowman that I saw last year).

It features 25 sculptures of guide dogs decorated in a variety of ways by different artists, which will be on display until 17 May, after which they’ll be auctioned off. It’s all about raising awareness and vital funds to ensure that people with sight loss will continue to be supported by these magnificent beasts.

Against a yellow background, next to a black and white QR code with colour around its edge, is black text that says Find 25 guide dog sculptures around Canary Wharf - a fun and free art trail until 17 May 2024. Give one of our sculptures a 'furever' home and bid at our auction event. Scan the QR code or visit GuideDogs.org.uk/PawsOnTheWharf/Auction

I had fun hunting them all down, so in this post I’m going to share some of my photos of these pedigree chums, all of which I thought were beautiful, and I hope you enjoy looking through them!

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