claytoncast

Well that’s it then. England is out of another World Cup. A further blast of patriotism wasted on a bunch of philandering, cuckolding over paid underachieving juveniles. Now there’s just the tennis and the very English Mr Murray. Of course he’ll be Scottish again by the end of the week. Anything less than a place in the final and his roots will start to show once more. I’ve never really supported any national team in sport. Well, I lie - I got quite excited when Torvill and Dean were in the world championships in Bolero year. I can’t understand how a blanket belief in ones country can help perfectly reasonable people look past the facts. I suppose it’s a kind of faith. Well if football is the modern religion, then this is the point when I have to own up to being an atheist. At least it will stop the current craze for all those chavvy little flags protruding from cars. I’ve had a reasonably quiet week, so managed to watch a fair bit of the tennis, and managed to find space...

We've just had our summer holiday. Today sitting here at home it has started to seem like a dream. Long days of sunshine, sea and togetherness. For Richard and I that is what our holidays are about - time together not interrupted by the pressures of work. yes, we do check e mails but we limit it to an hour a day in the early evening. We love to spend time lying side by side engrossed in books, or this year, with our Amazon kindles. This year I read the engrossing "Millennium trilogy by Stieg Larsson while Bill Bryson has been making Rich chuckle on his sunbed. Boat trips, Turkish baths , shopping - this year a little football(For Rich of course) and romantic dinners. This was our second year at the gorgeous Piynar Villa Hotel and it felt like returning to spend two weeks as guest of old friends. Sevgi and Mustapha who own the hotel make one feels so welcome. We made new friends in the bar each evening and spent the days in the privacy of our villa with our own pool. Holidays t...

..... That we are now sitting in the business terminal at Dalaman airport in Turkey waiting for our delayed flight home. BMI allowing I should be able to do a full update on here for all my readers tomorrow....... With pictures! Sent from my iPhone

Since we acquired a car a couple of years ago, Bank Holidays have proved an ideal opportunity for a night away from home. Our ideal is to drive down to a nice hotel near the coast on the Sunday, have a long walk, a nice dinner and then do something fun on the Monday before heading back home late on the Bank Holiday Monday. So this last weekend being a Bank Holiday weekend that is exactly what we did. The joys of a holiday are also in the planning and I like nothing better than to surf hotel websites etc looking for nice hotels and good deals. And this is what I thought I had for this weekend. The Bell at Sandwich is in keeping with the tradition of new trend boutique hotels, and one night dinner bed and breakfast at just over £100 for the two of us was a good deal. So Sunday afternoon we and our Citroen Splash, more affectionately knowns as Guy (Guess when he was delivered and you'll have it!) set off for our drive down to the coast. On arrival we were impressed by The Bell. Large ...

The week has ended with a burst of golden summer. We even rooted about in our shed - yes,we are the proud owners of a shed - and got the sunlounger and the deck chair out yesterday afternoon to spend an hour in the garden reading. Fabulously my Amazon Kindle works brilliantly in the sun shine - something the over hyped i pad won't do. This was a good dry run as in two weeks time it will be spending its days in the Turkish Sun on holiday! I'm so looking forward to our annual holiday this year. The spare bedroom is about to see some pre packing this week, which even for me is early. Normally I like to do it the week before, but this year the anticipation is high and I can't wait. I don't know whether it is just age, the run of various ailments that I've had this year or a general sense of recession related ennui but I want my holiday. I really can't get very excited about the jobs I'm doing at the moment and I want to be away from them. We've done Turkey e...

I spent the first term at Grammar school straining to see the blackboard. I just couldn't read the writing and spent most of each lesson asking the people sat next to me what it said. At the point at which I was in danger of losing friends, or worse still being moved to the front of the class, I was diagnosed with myopia. A school eye test told me I was short sighted and horror of horrors I would have to wear spectacles. Great pains were taken by both me and my mother to keep me out of NHS frames and a suitable sexy black framed pair were chosen. Very Joe 90 - this was 1969 after all. The first morning I wore them at school, full of nerves and trepidation, I sat in registration holding my head high only for our form teacher, the redoubtably busty Miss Pjnder to say "Clayton, take those off and give them back to whoever they belong to and stop messing around" It took every ounce of gall and fortitude to puff up my medium chest(at the stage I was one of the shortest boys in...

After all the excitement of my Prime Ministerial handshake last Sunday morning, and my following appearances on both of that evening's BBC News bulletins, this week would be hard pressed to live up to such heady heights. I found myself looking forward to the work in hand this week. Three jobs that I knew I'd enjoy. On Wednesday I was down in Wales working with some directors at a media company who produce corporate videos. Clever talented directors , but who had had no training in how to work with actors. They are not alone. These days hardly anyone bothers. Most tv shoots consist of reading the script and standing in position while the shot is lit and then going for it. Unless there is a camera error, the last thing a take will be redone for is the acting. An awful lot of directors in tv these days don't seem to have an idea about how to establish a dialogue with actors. We like to be challenged and pushed out of our comfort zone. These days budgets and sch...