The 'George' Dream - realised.

Hello again, hello.

I wrote that line many years ago and gave it as a gift to a struggling singer called Lionel Richie - never heard of him since.

Mrs B is sequestered in her boudoir watching the rugby and I was watching an old western whilst preparing her breakfast crumpets, but then I discovered the sad news concerning the death of George Baker.

Suddenly many thoughts crystallised in my head, so after devouring said crumpets, I decided to let loose and show you my crystals.

For several weeks I have been having the 'George' dream, a dream in which someone called George dies - sadly it was that thoroughly nice George Baker. In hindsight, his name has been at the back of my mind all week.

Join me as we drift back in time, it has been a week of highs and lows and I suppose getting my flu jab on Wednesday morning was the start of a reflective process that leads me to this entry. The reason I have the flu jab is because of my heart attack - it's one of the perks of surviving, you get bumped to the top of the list for flu jabs.

The nurse always says the same thing, 'just a little scratch', before she impales you with a knitting needle that basically skewers you to the chair. That moment of intense agony rattles throughout your body and reminds you of two things - one, I am alive and two, I tend to over dramatise things.

Every day is a bonus day and in recent times, Mrs B and I have tried to enjoy as many days as we can by doing the things that we want...more of that in a minute.


So after having the jab on Wednesday I had two funerals to conduct, both tragic affairs but one I suppose tipped the balance in that it was for a baby - born asleep.

I don't need to spell out how awful these things are do I? Heartbreaking.

On Wednesday evening it was Rock Choir rehearsals and we had a few run throughs of Oh Happy Day before moving onto the Abba song, Waterloo. In hindsight, the juxtaposition of those songs on that day now seems perfect.

So, Wednesday drew to a close and I bet you can get what came next...yes, you are right, it was Thursday.

One of the things Mrs B and I do as often as we can afford to, is go to London and see a show. On Thursday, we boarded the 12.28 from Nottingham to St Pancras then got a taxi to our hotel which was within easy walking distance of our venue of choice - The Royal Albert Hall.

The hotel - the Kensington Green Hotel - was a late choice as we could not get a room in the Holiday Inn which we would have preferred. There were other hotels available but they were quite expensive at £220.00 plus VAT, so we (sorry I) decided we should try this '4 Star boutique hotel close to Harrods'. There was an offer on if you paid in full before arrival - that should have given me a clue!

To say that Mrs B was disappointed with the standard of the room would be like saying Hitler caused a few minor problems in Europe during the war - she was DISAPPOINTED!

I could list the things wrong but there was one little detail that tipped the balance - bloody fingerprints on the wall. I kid you not - I fully expected Horatio Caine to walk in, stand sideways, take off his sunglasses and make some pithy remark about the finger of suspicion pointing at us.

Sufficed to say, we made our displeasure known and after dumping our bag we left the hotel to roam the streets of Kensington for the next hour or so. We knew we had to go back and sleep there but we decided to only return when we were so tired that we might not notice the flaws.

We walked through Kensington Gardens and then went for a coffee and a meal before picking up our tickets for that evenings show - Idina Menzel, supported by Marvin Hamlisch conducting the Royal Philharmonic Concert Orchestra.

For those who don't know who Idina Menzel is - shame! Have a look at this video to educate yourself.

Idina Menzel - Wicked


If I have to tell you who Marvin Hamlisch is, then please stop reading the blog.

Anyway, the concert was brilliant, the whole ambience was spot on (apart from the screaming fan sat right behind us) and for me seeing and hearing the great Hamlisch play a piano no more that 60 feet from where I was sitting - well that was just magical. And here is where the news about George Baker comes back into play.

Ian Fleming thought that George was the perfect actor to play James Bond, he didn't get the part of course but he did appear in several Bond films including The Spy Who Loved Me, the theme of which was written by Marvin Hamlisch.

Anyhoo, moving on....

The concert was brilliant, but it was like an all time high which suddenly ended when we realised we had to walk back to that hotel.

After a restless night, we arose early and made our way to the station where we breakfasted at Le Pain Quotidien. I highly recommend this option, their organic bread and preserves were yummy!

Arriving back in Nottingham, Mrs B went her way and I mine as we had separate tasks to accomplish - but as I drove back to Mansfield I listened to the discussion on the radio about how BBC2 will be changed because of cutbacks - 56% of their output will be repeats.

People were phoning in with their suggestions for repeats they would like to see, Poldark was a front runner, as was I Claudius...which starred Derek Jacobi and George Baker as Tiberius.

And then here we are, Saturday morning and Mrs B is booing the French as they thrash England and I am reflecting on this week, life and death and now what comes next?

For me and Mrs B, another busy week. I have work and I also will be down in London on Tuesday to record a show which will be broadcast on Radio 4 (more details nearer the date of airing) and then on the weekend we are back in London to see Vanessa Redgrave and James Earl Jones in Driving Miss Daisy.

This is what life is about - enjoying the chances you have.

We can't change the sadness that death brings but whilst we are alive we should try and live.

Rest in peace George -

George in I, Claudius