September 2007 Archives

The lovely  multi talented Pauline Daniels has asked me to let you know that  John Gorman, ex Scaffold  and ex Tiswas (and many other things) is doing his one man World Premiere show at The Liverpool Academy of Arts Actors Studio 36 Seel Street, Liverpool L1 4BE, Telephone  0151 709 9034 from 8th October until 13th October all performances start at 7.30 and all tickets £10

If you like your theatre intimate, close-up and personal – you will LOVE the Liverpool Academy of Arts.   Go on – Give it a try!

Peter Price is not only a stand-up comedian, an award winning broadcaster, an Echo columnist and now a writer (sorry Adrian!) – but he is also a very dear friend!   This week was a very special one for him, the official launch of his autobiography ‘Namedropper’. 

I have not read it yet, and if I was to be honest I am a little nervous about reading it – it will be strange to read things I don’t know about him.  The press launch was held at the Living Room, with a Q&A lunch straight afterwards. 

A lot of people Peter knew came along to the lunch and Peter held a moving and emotional – no holds barred Q&A which was both hysterical funny but also very moving.   

Spare a thought for Jon Arne Riise who called into the Living Room for a bite of lunch and had a very bemused look on his face when we asked him to pose with Pete for a pic – he obliged without hesitation – even though he did not have a clue what was going on!

Namedropper is available from www.merseyshop.com priced £8.99
www.thelivingroom.co.uk

Alastair Machray (Editor, Echo), Lynne Machray

Cllr Berni Turner, Teresa Bickley (Carolyn Hughes PR), Elizabeth Nelson (Bridesworld), Audrey Benson, Glenda Gittins

Peter Price

Jon Arne Riise and Peter Price

KING COTTON MAKES YOU THINK
DO WE STILL HAVE VIRTUAL SLAVES IN INDIA AND CHINA??

My mind is still whirring, debating and analysing life after the amazing production of King Cotton at the Empire Theatre on Tuesday night. A co-commission between the Culture Company and The Lowry, this ambitious new musical, written by one of my favourite writers Jimmy McGovern, has finally come to fruition after six years in the making. King Cotton serves not only as a great reminder of the amazing talent we have on our doorstep, but also the sacrifices that were made by so many to achieve things we take for granted today. Jimmy McGovern’s interview in the programme literally made me stop in my tracks – Do we still have virtual slaves in China and India producing much of our consumables at ‘slave labour rates?’ Are we modern day masters? ‘Fair trade’ is not a fancy new phrase from nowhere, it has deep roots and in our world of relative plenty we should spare more than a thought to where our luxuries come from and what price people are paid to produce them! What do you think?
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That said, King Cotton has a fabulous cast (lovely to see John Henshaw who I worked with on ‘Nice Guy Eddie’), an amazing brass band, stunning set and chilling lighting. Most of all, it is written by one of the greatest writing talents not only this city, but this country has produced in Jimmy McGovern. It is an emotional workout, and reminded me that we should be grateful for the lives we have.

Are you a Jimmy McGovern fan? What do you think is his best work yet? (I say that in the hope that there is much more to come!)

Jen Heyes (Cut to the Chase) and Paul Corcoran (Agent Marketing)

Jayne Moore (Agent Marketing) and Tayo Aluko (Bisayo Group)

Alison Cliffe (Ness Gardens) and Carole Baldock (Orbis)

Jane Lloyd (Empire Theatre) and Jimmy McGovern

Julie Anderson (Culture Co) and Jonathan Harper (The Lowry)

In the past the Living Room have hosted intimate showcases with some great artists including Paulo Nutini, Peter Grant, Corrine Bailey-Rae and Chris De Burgh.

When artists do the circuit for smaller, more intimate gigs, it is sometimes the prelude to their mass publicity schedule.... I love music, and love the opportunity to see new artists perform. I remember having to practically drag my friends to see an unknown artist at a Living Room
showcase some time ago.... they absolutely loved it, raved over it for weeks. He was amazing, and it was a week before his now infamous appearance on Parkinson and his explosion onto the music scene - his name - JAMIE CULLUM!

Tori-Bragg is, by all accounts, SENSATIONAL.... SO WHY NOT JOIN US!
Either email me... or call the Living Room Liverpool on 0151 236 1999 - Or Living Room Chester on 01244405910

Il Bacino, Liverpool's first high quality food store and bistro is open up at Brunswick Dock, will offer a range of fine continental meats, cheeses, breads, oils, wines and other delicacies for a range of palates and budgets.

It is located in the building formerly occupied by Harry Ramsden's in Brunswick Way and will sell around 140 wines from around the world. Il Bacino will be the only retailer of celebrity favourite, Cristal champagne, in Liverpool.

The £500,000 venture is the brainchild of businesswomen Lorraine Tomlinson who gave up the rat race in the City to bring "something new to Liverpool" and Patricia Anderson who was a Director in the NHS

www.il-bacino.com

Trisha Anderson, owner of Il Bacino, with husband Dr David Anderson and friends Dr Rob Gilles and Kate Brizell.

Lorraine Tomlinson, owner of Il Bacino (middle) with friends Diana Buffini, Lucie Wood, Seema Vohra and Sanjay Vohra

Phillip Gray, Michael Sandys and John Tuson, Kirwans Solicitors

Stars came out in force for the launch of Geisha, the seventh Liverpool venue from award-winning leisure group Korova Corporation. Geisha on Myrtle Street is a pan-Asian bar-restaurant-club serving up delicacies from Japan, China, Thailand and beyond. Entertainment at the launch was provided by DJ Greg Wilson who span a heady mix of Electro Funk to get the party going.

Guests including Carol and Seany from Big Brother, Liz McLarnon and Claire Cooper and Jessica Fox from Hollyoaks, were able to try some of the 50 sakes available at Geisha as well as sampling some mouthwatering delights from the extensive restaurant menu.

Hollyoaks’ Claire Cooper and Jessica Fox arrive at Geisha.

Liz McLarnon and Radio City’s Kev Seed

Bridie Blower and Laura McHugh, Korova Corporation

DJs Phat Phil Cooper and Andy Mac

Jeanette Woods
Georgia Webster

Chester’s classy ladies turned out this week for an evening of female indulgence at the Blackhouse Grill in Chester.

Robert Young – Development Director, Cruise
Emma Plazalska – Press and PR, Cruise

Cruise Clothing displayed their collection of Top Ten designer Bags and Shoes for the season, while celebrity designer Philip Armstrong wowed the Chester jet set with some of his amazing creations.

Tony Burke – Philip Armstrong Couture
Philip Armstrong – Philip Armstrong Couture

Ubersassy products proved to be enormously popular with ladies. Champagne, cocktails, fabulous canapes, shoes, bags , Desligner clothes and quality cosmetic products – heaven for the ladies.

Frank Rubino – Blackhouse Grill, Chester
Gary O’Reilly – Blackhouse Grill, Chester

www.blackhousegrills.com

www.cruiseclothing.co.uk

www.philiparmstrongcouture.com

www.uberproducts.com

The winner of the International Pizza Making Championship 2007 gave out free slices on Sunday (September 16) as part of Liverpool Food Lovers Festival.

Pizza chef Vito Rosa, who was crowned with the title in Rome back in July, welcomed members of the public to sample his handiwork at his workplace, Il Forno, during a one-day celebration.

The popular Duke Street restaurant, which has recently been named as one of the top 10 Italian restaurants in the UK by Antonio Carluccio, teamed up with Italian brewing company Birra Moretti to provide visitors with tasters of their beer while Il Forno served nibbles.

Helping to provide a soundtrack for the day were two live jazz bands, including 'The Easy Orchestra'.

I have just had friends round for drinks and the main topic of conversation was the artwork in my apartment – My friends Sandra and Adam from Yaffe Fusion Art produced a lovely piece for my apartment…. Three separate canvasses… which fits perfectly in my apartment.

See if you can spot my favourite building, the Royal Liver Building, in this Yaffe masterpiece. OK – the one on the left is obvious, but did you spot the very diluted (or is it difused) clockface of the Royal Liver Building in the middle canvass. Just to the right of my face.

The last night of Mrs Brown is legendary – the hugely talented Brendan O’Carroll really IS Mrs Brown. Whenever I go to see the show I always try to get ‘last night’ tickets as Brendan invariably goes slightly off script here and there and causes mayhem on stage – which all adds up to hysterically funny entertainment.

So, on Saturday I got some tickets for myself and a group of friends to go along – nothing too dangerous there then. That was until I decided that we should all have Champagne and Cocktails at my apartment first – big mistake!

Lee Lynch (probably the best mixologist in the world) very kindly came along to take care of the cocktails – I did not realise how many cocktails you could consume in just over an hour. Special mention to the amazing Basil Grande’s, and Cosmopolitans.

The show was awesome, but the pre-drinks, coupled with the interval drinks and the post show drinks ensured that Sunday was pretty much a right-off for me. I tried desperately to get onto the ferry to go out into the Mersey to wave good-bye to the Clipper’s – but failed miserably…… Ah well…. I did enjoy them when I drank them!