What Would Ted Lasso Do?

I happened to stumble across the TV show Ted Lasso during a challenging time in my life. Meeting the character, Ted, and others, has really helped to change my perspective on things. It is an inspiring TV show and I have loved it.
I ordered the book, ‘What Would Ted Lasso Do?’ because I loved the series so much. I wanted to read more about Ted’s positive attitude and have a permanement reminder of the lessons I was learning in the show.

If you’re a fan of the show, or if you love the idea of a positive approach to life then the book is worth a read.

Believe
One of my most loved concepts from the show is the idea of ‘Believe’. I now have a Ted-style poster on my home office wall. Believe is about believing that something great will happen. Right now I need to believe that everything will work out in my life. I have to believe.

Be Successful
This chapter focuses on Ted’s use of Coach Wooden’s Pyramid of Success and his belief that winning isn’t important – it’s about helping his players become the best versions of themselves that they can be. When I was a headteacher this was always my philosophy – by motivating and encouraging people to be the best versions of themselves then this would result in success for the school. And it worked.

Be Curious
Ted describes a quote from Walt Whitman – be curious, not judgemental. This is really powerful – if we all did this the world would be a better place.

Be Optimistic
Ted says, “I believe in hope.” Being optimistic is a choice and it will improve your mindset the more you do this.

Be a Do-Gooder
Ted loves to help other people. I need to try to do this more. I have thought about volunteering but not sure yet what I want to do.

Be Open to Therapy
Recently I have had some counselling sessions. I enjoyed them but I wasn’t sure if they were what I needed. I still have a couple more to go and I will be more open-minded with them. This chapter also reminds me of the importance of talking.

Be A Good Parent (to Yourself)
This chapter reminds us that people’s behaviour is often the result of poor parenting. We can work hard to show that we can improve as people by learning from good people – and that we can try to do for our own children by modelling the right sorts of behaviour.

Be More Like a Woman
This chapter reminds us about toxic masculinity and how to avoid and remove it from our lives.

Be Forgiving
Be a goldfish – they are always happy because they have the shortest memory span. I love this concept. It is hard to forgive. Recently I have been put through the biggest trauma in my life. Forgiving is my next step, but staying angry forever is not something I am prepared to do. I am trying to be a goldfish.

Be You
“Listen to your gut, and on the way down, listen to your heart and between those two things, they’ll let you know what’s what.” Sounds like more great advice from Ted. Be yourself.

Be Kind
This short chapter reminds us to be kind to everyone else. That’s what Ted does. That’s why people love him. And I love how, in the show, this kindness is paid forwards by everyone he meets. Something else for us all to try to do – be kind.

I know that I’ll watch the show again and again and will read this book everytime that I do!

Neighbours: The Celebration Tour

After Neighbours ended in 2022 I was devastated. I know that people think that watching Neighbours is sad and something you did when you were a kid. But I was someone who loved the show and its characters and watched it every day. One comfort was knowing that I had managed to book tickets for the Farewell Tour in March 2023.

Fast foward a few months later and the news broke that Neighbours would be returning and the Farewell Tour would be revamped as the Celebration Tour! Absolutely amazing!

We watched the live show in Manchester at the Bridgewater Hall. The show was presented by Leah Boleto who was a brilliant host – she came over as a genuine fan as well as a competent presenter.

During the show we met each star in turn – Ryan Maloney (Toadie) then Alan Fletcher (Karl Kennedy) and then Jackie Woodburne (Susan Kennedy). They were then replaced by Annie Jones (Jane Harris), then April Rose Pengilly (Chloe Brennan) and finally Stefan Dennis (Paul Robinson). They each shared some great memories from the show and shared insight into the characters they played.

After the interval all of the actors returned to the stage whilst they played some clips and discussed moments in the show. Of course, they discussed how they found about about the news of the cancellation and then the excitement of the show returning!

Alan Fletcher and Stefan Dennis were always going to be my favourites on the stage and they were really funny. But all of the actors were fun, insightful and really interesting to listen to.

The tour has made me really excited for the show’s return – which they will apprently start to film three weeks after the tour ends.

Happy Valley

What a finale!

This Sunday I watched one of the best final episodes of a TV series ever.

Over the years there have been some iconic TV shows that I have loved. I’ve obsessed with them and watched them again and again and read all about them online. And then the final series/episodes were rubbish. Sometimes, I think that writes know how to create suspense and intrigue, but don’t know how to round it all together and conclude things properly. Special mentions here go to Line of Duty, Game of Thrones and Lost.

Sally Wainwright knows how to do this and managed to write the perfect ending for Happy Valley.

We only recently started watching the show, binge watching the first couple of series in a just a few weeks. We caught up with series three as it was shown and this was annoying as we meant we had to wait a week between episodes. But, each week the episodes of series three were worth waiting for.

The finale was excellent. It finally gave Catherine and Tommy chance to confront each other. You actually began to feel sorry for Tommy at one point. And then he told Catherine that he forgave her. He forgave her?! No way would Catherine be having that.

One of the things to love about Happy Valley is the use of humour and character quirks inbetween all of the dark. When Tommy had met his fate, the way Catherine told her sister, Clare, that they’d had a bit of a tussle was the humour that we all needed to get over what we’d just watched.

It was great to see Ryan coming of age and Catherine’s realisation that he was not going to be like his dad, but be a happy, well-adjusted, pretty flipping normal kid, was beautiful.

Catherine managed to catch Tommy and Darius at the same time and that left the dodgy school teacher and the dodgy pharmacist remaining. It turned out that dodgy Mr Epworth had been caught blackmailing students for photos, which was just creepy, although not entirely unexpected. And just as I thought the dodgy pharmacist had got away with it, Catherine gave the detective the information needed to bring him down as well.

The finale seemed real and there were no unexplained moments (although I’d have liked to see Daniel, Ann and Neville one more time).

I think we all need to be more Catherin Cawood. I found her inspiring: honest, selfless, intuitive, hard working, formidable, and funny.

The perfect ending to a fantastic TV show. Perfect.

Neighbours

I can’t tell you how gutted I am about Neighbours ending.

I know that sometimes think it’s cheesy. Sometimes people think that it’s something I should have grown out of by now. But I am unashamedly a Neighbours fan.

Growing up, Neighbours was one of my favourite TV programmes. It was a talking point at school and with friends. Everyone seemed to watch Neighbours. My addiction seemed to fizzle out when I started working and socialising more when I was 17/18. I then didn’t watch for another 19 years!

In 2015 I started to watch again as it was the 30th anniversary episodes and I just carried on watching. Gradually it became part of what I did every day.

The news that Neighbours was due to end was a real shock and I was building myself up for how it would end. Over the last 37 years Neighbours had developed a reputation for not being altogether serious. Would they let it end properly or would it all just be Bouncer’s dream?

In the end the final few episodes were perfect. Sure, Kylie said three words in the final episode and clearly did not want much to do with anyone else on the cast. But it was a perfect run to end the show. The drama did not cease. The returning cameos were part of a plan and were not twee or laughable. Each person gave a performance deserving of a loved show that was ending.

The last episode rounded things off brilliantly. It gave a sense of conclusion, a sense of finality and yet somehow seemed to leave the door open for a comeback. I know people are hopeful that Neighbours will return. I am doubtful of this, but I, too, carry the hope.

Gutted.

How do you begin to describe a street? Do you talk about the houses? The bricks and the mortar, the gardens and the trees?

Or do you talk about the people? The young, the old and everyone in between,

Where do you begin with the history? Do you begin with your own or those who came before you?% When we moved to Ramsay Street, the community was already here. The Ramsays and the Robinsons, the stories from those early days are legendary! And their legacy still lives on today. There have been many families over the years of all shapes and sizes. Some of them unexpected and friends who became like family, whether they were related or not.

Love has always been a central thing – how many romances were born on this street? Things seldom ran smoothly of course, but they usually worked out in the end.

I think of all the people who never crossed paths who could have been great friends. And those who kept turning up whether we welcomed them or not. The street always has a way of bringing people back.

Then I think of the people who can’t come back. The people gone too soon. How would they look if they were still alive today? If they’d been allowed to reach their potential. So many people that were lost, and then others.. others who were just lost.

I think you have to acknowledge everything, celebrate it all. The good, the bad, because all of that makes us who we are.

Everyone deserves a place in the history of Ramsay Street…even those who watched us from a far. Together, we have been the perfect blend.

Susan Kennedy

Best TV shows of 2020

I don’t watch enough TV. I have, however, loved some TV shows this year.

The Mandalorian
So, the quality of The Mandalorian is incredible. Each season is like an 8-hour film. I love how The Mandalorian is connected to the Star Wars universe but has a completely different story. If only the sequel trilogy had attempted the same thing then it would have been so much better. Apart from the cuteness of Baby Yoda, the action is the best thing to watch. The episode where Baby Yoda is kidnapped by Dark Troopers is ace!

The best thing about The Mandalorian is probably its legacy – so many quality programmes are now being made in the Star Wars and Marvel cinematic universes now that Mando has convinced everyone that it’s possible.

The Great British Bake Off
It’s cheesy but I almost cried when the Bake Off was announced as returning. There is something so comforting about this programme. It is perfect escapism TV – for an hour or so each week COVID didn’t matter. All that matters was if Peter could bake a cake. A brilliant series!

The Fall
Ok, so The Fall wasn’t released this year, but this was the year that we binge-watched it. It was totally captivating. Incredible programme.

Neighbours
I don’t watch any other soap so Neighbours is a totally guilty pleasure. Each day it is reassuring and entertaining. There have been some brilliant plot lines this year. The only problem has been that we have not been able to watch as many episodes this year because of COVID!

This Country
This year we fell in love with This Country. The show has flown straight in as one of my favourite comedies ever. It is hysterically funny!

The Last Leg
The Last Leg is the programme that has summed up the year. In January/February it laughed at the idea of COVID. Then by the end of the series there was no audience. It returned with Adam Hills in lock down in Australia and Josh and Alex presenting from their homes via Zoom. It returned again in a socially distanced form at the end of the year. That they awarded Dominic Cummings the Dick Of The Year Award over COVID tells you how much we all hate Dominic Cummings.

Gogglebox
Quite possibly the best programme ever. Entertaining, uplifting, comforting and awkard every single week, the stars have really cheered me up this year.

The Stranger
I’ve already written about how much we enjoyed The Stranger. It was awesome.

Alan Partridge Ranked

I am a massive fan of Alan Partridge.

Today the new AP podcast series is released on Audible and I cannot wait.

To celebrate its release, I have ranked the Alan Partridge output from least best (there is no worst) to most best (not an actual phrase, but it helps make my point). I’ve not included the Comic Relief specials as they vary so much in quality.

On The Hour
I am not very familiar with this, so it must rank lowest.

The Day Today
This is great – there’s just not enough Partridge!!

Knowing Me, Knowing You With Alan Partridge (radio)
This is so funny! It’s only so low on the ranking because everything else is so good! Stand out moments include the scene with the child prodigy!

Open Books with Martin Bryce
An underrated classic! I love Partridge’s facial expressions in this!

Alan Partridge’s Scissored Isle
Such a funny documentary. Stand out moments include the supermarket scene (“Do you need any help packing?”) and (“Look, just think about lowering your rates of interest!”.

This Time with Alan Partridge
Partridge’s most recent output gets better and better each time you watch it! My favourite parts are the exchanges with reporter Ruth Duggan. And also Alice Clunt Fluck – I see what I did there.

Knowing Me, Knowing You With Alan Partridge (TV) + Knowing Me, Knowing Yule with Alan Partridge
This remains a classic! Parts of this are so funny – stand out moments include Roger Moore at Chiswick roundabout and Sprunt!

Alan Partridge: Alpha Papa
Not always rated very highly, this still makes me laugh! It is just easy watching and it is great to see Partridge on the big screen! The soundtrack is also great!

Alan Partridge: Welcome to the Places of my Life
Pinetree Productions has managed to make something of solid gold here! Welcome To The Places Of My Life is so entertaining! Love it!

Mid Morning Matters with Alan Partridge
Such a brilliant couple of series – so varied in content. There’s several stand out moments per episode. “Inception” is probably the most quoted!

I, Partridge: We need to talk about Alan
I have read and listened to this book so many times now and yet it still makes me laugh out loud. It is so well written – classic Alan. I love hearing all of the events from I’m Alan Partridge from Alan’s point of view, which of course is never what actually happened.

Alan Partridge: Nomad
I wasn’t sure if they could top I, Partridge, but they have and it is superb! I love the part with his swimming pool dual with the pensioner and the part when he interrupts a live recording of the One Show!

I’m Alan Partridge
It had to be, didn’t it? Twenty-three years since it was first released I still quote lines from I’m Alan Partridge almost on a daily basis. It is still laugh out loud an it still feels up-to-date even after all this time. Just brilliant!

The Stranger

I first saw parts of The Stranger on Gogglebox and really wanted to watch it. I don’t watch enough TV so lockdown was a good excuse to binge watch it.

The Stranger came out on Netflix a few months ago. We’ve only just got round to watching it!

I really enjoyed it and loved seeing how all of the characters linked together.

Alpacas aren’t used enough in TV programme. And this was certainly the first time I’ve seen a headless one. I loved Paul Kaye’s character who was driven to absolute despair by his sick daughter. Seeing how his role in the mystery developed was excellent.

At first it was hard to take the detective seriously due to her role in crap sitcom, Benidorm. But now I think it will be hard to take her seriously in Benidorm as she was so good in Stranger.

The Stranger was great. Discovering the truth behind her lifestyle was captivating.

The main character, Adam Price, was intriguing. He was really well played by Richard Armitage who managed to bring a feeling of honesty to the role whilst adding in an element of suspicion to help keep us guessing.

Visually it was amazing and the filming locations were incredible. The bridge was spectacular (apparently in Lancashire). I recognised parts of Stockport too.

Some of the criticism that I’ve read of the programme said that some of the most dramatic parts of the storyline proved to be explained away too easily. Maybe this is right but it certainly didn’t spoil the show for me.

Well worth watching!

The Apprentice Winners

The other day Andrew Bloch tweeted a photo of a gathering of
the winners of The Apprentice.

Nothing has been announced yet, but you could sense this was
more than just a social gathering. Perhaps there’s a documentary on its way
about the winners.

Here is my recollection of the winners

Tom Pellereau (2011)

Tom was a brilliant person on The Apprentice – he was so funny to watch! He was the first winner of the new format. Prior to him, the winner would be given a job working for Lord Sugar.

I always thought that was a bit awkward. It’s all very well getting a
job but would it be a good job? Surely the job could be literally anything
(although well paid). The change to an investment prize of £250,000 must be
better, even though Lord Sugar would take a 50% share in the business which is
quite an amount to give up! But suddenly the rules of the show were to change –
after all those tasks, proving yourselves to be the best person the show would
become a form of Dragons’ Den where the person with the best business would get the investment. That felt odd, and its a scenario that I still don’t feel quite
right about. But I put it aside because it’s great to watch!

I seem to recall that Tom lost just about every task. And the person he was
up against in the final (Helen?) had won just about every task. In the old
rules, she would have won the series. Tom’s investment that he was proposing was something to do with a chair (can’t remember anything about it). And Lord Sugar said if Tom would change the investment to another invention of his, a nail file, then he would be the winner. And Tom did, and Lord Sugar picked him.

This first series has always made me a bit suspicious of the process. I don’t think anyone since has ever been allowed to change their mind about the business (and there have been some brilliant people who maybe should have been allowed to). And when you get some of the weaker people who stay to the end you wonder if there’s some inside knowledge of how good their business idea would be (Alana, for example).

Tom’s business is expected to turnover £5 million this year!

In the same series there was also Susan Ma. She was ditsy but was a memorable person on the show. I can recall that she was not in the final two but Lord Sugar liked the idea of her business. And on You’re Fired afterwards he announced that he was going to invest in her. It turns out that she’s the most successful of the lot! The Tropics brand is worth £150 million!

Ricky Martin (2012)

Probably my favourite Apprentice contestant ever! At first we all thought he was a bit bonkers and would get nowhere – just because he was called Ricky Martin! But he was sensational throughout. I remember he nailed the interview round – Claude Littner said he was ‘in awe’ of Ricky.

Ricky’s Twitter feed is great – he is always interesting and is supportive of others. I’m really glad that his science recruitment company is doing well – it is expected to turn over £15 million this year.

Leah Totton (2013)

The year after my favourite person won, my least favourite person won. There was something about Leah that was so easy to dislike. She annoyed me throughout. I wanted Luisa to win (at least out of the final two I did). Annoyingly Leah’s cosmetic surgery business is going to turn over £3 million this year. And Leah doesn’t look like she’s aged a day since she won – funny that!

Mark Wright (2014)

Why is it that Apprentice winners often have already famous names? Mark Wright was the Australian that always talked sense. He was cocky but likable and I was really pleased when he won. He deserved it! He is expected to turn over £5 million this year.

Joseph Valentine (2015)

Joseph was noticeably missing from the winners gathering. This is because Lord Sugar sold his part of the business back to Joseph in 2017. And then just last week his plumbing and gas fitting business went bust. Lord Sugar would surely have seen this coming – he wouldn’t want to be associated with a failure. Joseph was a great contestant – he worked damn hard every week and I really liked him.

Alana Spencer (2016)

Alana was up there with Leah as the worst winners. She was pretty hopeless throughout and was annoying. Somehow she won. I can’t remember who she beat in the final, but whoever it was must surely have been better than Alana. She bought out Lord Sugar’s shares in 2019. You can still find her ridiculously priced cakes at food fairs across the country.

James White and Sarah Lynn (2017)

Every year Lord Sugar agonises over who should win. And every year he says what a tough decision it is. In 2017 he couldn’t be arsed to make a decision and invested in them both. I remember wanting someone else to win and not really caring which one of them would win the final. And the fact that there was no actual winner made me feel very cheated after twelve weeks.

James was good throughout and probably had the better business idea (recruitment). Sarah was a better person on the show but her business idea was selling sweets which didn’t seem like a very unique business for Lord Sugar to invest in. But he did and both companies are going, although James’ sounds more successful. His has turned over £2 million in two years. (He wasn’t at the photo shoot).

Sian Gabbidon (2018)

A worthy winner. Sian was quietly strong throughout and was a deserved winner in the end. Her swimsuit business seems to be going well (no huge figures yet, but then she’s only been running it for a year or so).

Carina Lapore (2019)

The 2019 series probably had some of the most memorable characters ever but there was only really one consistently stand out person and that was Carina. She was great throughout – funny and good at what she does. Her bakery business sounds nice on Twitter!

Apparently Lord Sugar has also invested in the runner up, Scarlet Allen-Horton’s business. It’s also a recruitment firm – he has a thing for recruitment firms.

Favourite Theme Tunes

Here’s a list of my favourite theme tunes ever!

80 Days Around The World
The Big Bang Theory theme song is instantly recognisable and one of the most memorable.
Although I didn’t watch the show until I was in my thirties, I remember the theme song from when I was a child. I would love to go to a pub like the Cheers bar.
If you can do this rap then you are cool. There is absolutely no doubt about this.
One of the few theme tunes to actually cross over into the charts. I’ll Be There For You is such a great song.
Maybe it;s because I loved the show. But sitting through the full intro was vital to understanding the show and this is non-negotiable.
What a theme song! I remember the show a little bit, but the theme tune will be forever etched into my brain!
Such nostalgia. Neighbours was always the better programme, but Home And Away had the better theme music.
Howard’s Way is probably the best theme tune ever!…
And the jazzy end song version is bloody brilliant! The full version of this is called Barracuda by Simon May.
An absolute classic theme! I’m not a fan of dogs, but I’m a fan of this theme song.
How has this show not had a film remake?
Just brilliant!
Lots of love for the theme song!
The Raccoons. You can run with us!
The best show that was ever on in the school holidays!

Josh

The latest comedy that we’ve rewatched is Josh, starring Josh Widdicombe, Jack Dee, Beattie Edmondson and Elis James. It came out in 2014 and ended in 2017. It’s an underrated classic!

Our Sunday night tradition is to have an earlier night and watch a couple of episodes of a TV comedy. The latest one is Josh. It’s one I watched when it was first out. I think I probably appreciated it even more the second time around.

There are some real laugh out loud moments as the three flatmates make their way through life whilst dealing with their weird landlord.

I’m sat here trying to decide which episodes are my favourites but I honestly couldn’t pick. Seasons Two and Three are sublime.

It’s now on Netflix or it’s available on DVD.