Jan Leeming - The Official Website

I'M A CELEBRITY ....... ITV 2

25th November 2008

I'm A Celebrity, Get Me Out of Here ........

Again this year, I was invited as a guest on the ITV 2 Programme, hosted by Mark Durdan Smith, which links up with the 'Jungle' in Australia. 

I nearly arrived 12 hours early!!  Having travelled for 11 hours on Thursday and got to bed at 1.00 am on Friday, I was looking forward to a decent sleep only to be woken by the phone in what seemed like the middle of the night - and you know how you panic when that happens if you've aged parents or an offspring about whom you constantly worry.  The call was to let me know that my car was outside - at 6.30 in the morning! The Car Company had got it wrong by 12 hours and, needless to say, I couldn't get to sleep again.

However, when I did arrive at Southbank later in the evening I was given a beautiful bouquet by way of apology though it wasn't the fault of the production team.

I enjoyed myself on the programme - they'd got a line up of the chaps in the Rainforest with Captions like - Wedding Bells, Romping Rampage, Not on your Life  etc. and I had to choose the celebrity according to my taste.  

I have to say I feel very sorry for the Contestants this year - they've had so much rain.  It's bad enough when you are hungry, eaten alive by mosquitoes, dealing with boredom and the close proximity of people you'd probably give a wide berth in everyday life - and then to be soaked day after day.  Although I'd kept an eye on the papers for news of the goings-on, I'd not been able to watch any programmes because of being on the QE2.  But I watched the whole of Friday's and someone who is beginning to endear himself to me is George Takei - from Star Trek.  He is very fit and seems an all round gentle and nice man.

So I'm now glued to it again and it's anyone's guess who will win - although it does seem to be a kind of 'tortoise and hare race' where those who do hardly any Trials in the beginning tend to stay in and go on to win.

What do you think? Send your feedback to contact@jan-leeming.com.

QUEEN ELIZABETH 2 - FINAL VOYAGE

22nd November 2008

QE2 LAST VOYAGE - Southampton to Dubai

It was a privilege to be invited to join the QE2 on her last voyage.

Jonathan and I flew to Rome where we joined the ship at the port of Civitavecchia.  We'd been assigned a 'Stateroom' which equates to a rather luxurious Hotel room and were looked after by a delightful Steward called Don.  He must have spent all his working life on the QE2 having put in 40 years of service aboard ship.  When I commented that he must be the longest serving person on board, he told us that the Maitre D in the Queen's Grill had put in 41 years and one other - 42 years.  I doubt anyone will ever see that kind of service longevity again.

Our first port of call was Naples and I'd booked us a tour to Pompeii and the Amalfi Coast.  On my return from Australia in 1966 - aboard the Castel Felice (a very far cry from the QE2) - I visited the ruins of Pompeii which in those days were quite sparse.  In the intervening years they've uncovered a  whole city which, in many respects, is almost complete with the exception of the roofs which burnt and collapsed  under the heat of the volcanic ash.  Our guide, Bruno, was extremely good and we spent a couple of hours wandering round the city being highly enlightened.  The rich Romans really did lead a very comfortable life and even the slaves were allowed to purchase their freedom.

Bruno had a keen sense of humour and when we came to the 'red light' district, he told us that the portraits on the wall explained the various 'delights on the menu' - he said it was like those picture menus one gets in faraway places where, because one can't speak the language or read it, you choose by picture.  There were some highly enlightening pictures!!!!!  Enough said.  It is amazing to think that the frescoes were painted almost 2,000 years ago and, buried under ash until the last century, look as though they were painted yesterday.

Hundreds of people perished in the disaster and were literally 'buried alive' - most of the remains have been reconstituted and are in the museum in Naples but a few have been left in glass cases in the ruins of Pompeii.

The big eruption of Vesuvius took place in AD 79 and it has erupted several times since then but people still continue to live dangerously close to it.  It is the most active volcano in Europe and the specialists know that it will erupt again so why folk continue to live there only God knows.

After Pompeii we set off for Amalfi - and what a drive that turned out to be.  I thought I'd been on some pretty hairy roads on the Swartberg Pass in the Cape but they were as nothing compared with the road along the coast. Hairpin bends didn't come into it - they almost bent back on themselves.  Our coach driver must have had nerves of steel.  The views were spectacular and the cliffs were dotted with houses wherever it was possible to build. 

On arrival at Amalfi we had a very indifferent lunch (they always seem to be very mediocre when one takes a tour) after which we were free to wander.  For such a small village, Amalfi boasts a very large and impressive Cathedral.

I wish we had had time to visit Herculaneum and also the famous Blue Grotto - maybe another time.  I was delighted that Jonathan was so interested in and amazed by Pompeii.

Our next port was Valetta in Malta.  It is very impressive and purports to be the most beautiful port in Europe with it's high walls and fortifications.  I'd visited Malta a few years ago so didn't go on any of the tours but we did go ashore and decided to visit the Co-Cathedral.  They say you should never judge a book by it's cover - and on my first visit,  I remember thinking that the Cathedral looked rather dull and more like a fortification.  How wrong could I have been - the interior is an explosion of Baroque splendour.  Having paid our entrance fee, we were handed audio guides.  I know Jonathan doesn't really like churches etc. so was concerned that he might be bored.  Far from it, he was completely in awe and very impressed.

The next day was a sea day on which I gave one of my four talks.  I had decided to give the 'Memories of a lifetime in Theatre and Television' because I reckoned the predominance of passengers would be elderly and would remember many of the people I'd met, interviewed, and of whom I had photos.  There were many 'Ah yes's' as I brought up pictures of characters like Wynford Vaughan Thomas  (probably Richard Dimbleby's predecessor), George Melly, Humphrey Littleton and folk of that ilk.

The theatre was almost full and it was very gratifying afterwards to have people make lovely comments, particularly several Americans who said that, despite not knowing all the people I'd mentioned, they'd found the talk thoroughly interesting.

It was our last night and we dressed formally - it really is lovely to see everyone dressed up and adhering strictly to the Dress Code.

We thoroughly enjoyed our four days on board and dining in the Queen's Grill was a lovely experience.  The food was superb and served faultlessly - a real touch of old-fashioned 'fine dining'.

As I had nothing much on paper, I was very concerned about being met in Alexandria for our onward journey to Cairo.  I shouldn't have worried.  In true Cunard tradition, everything fell into place.  We were escorted through customs and loaded the cases into a waiting car.  We didn't go very far before the driver stopped and started to unload our cases.  I had visions of us disappearing down a dark alley.  However, it was merely that we had to change cars (still don't know why). Our driver had no English and we had no Egyptian and we were to be in his care for over four hours driving to Cairo.  I noticed that his car was clean and whole - quite a rarity - so made the assumption that he was a good driver.  Good is an understatement.  If there is any lane discipline on the Highway, nobody pays it any heed and the cars weave in and out of lanes at will. 

Jonathan was rather upset that we weren't going to have time to see the Pyramids but as we approached the outskirts of Cairo, we did see three of them in the distance which pleased him somewhat.

I couldn't believe the ugliness of the buildings on the Cairo periphery - mile upon mile of Red brick squares with the occasional window.  I could only assume that it was cheap housing where, when someone moved in, they knocked out bricks and formed windows.  They made  our high rise flats look positively luxurious. 

As we got closer to Cairo city centre, the fun began - Talk about a white knuckle ride.  It defies description.  There are no lanes marked on the wide road - and even if there were, I doubt anyone would pay them any heed.  Our driver wove intricately in and out of lorries, cars, buses, hooting all the way - it was a bit like Formula 1 but with no empty stretches of Tarmac.  I've been told I'm a good driver but there's no way I would even attempt to drive in Cairo.  The drivers are all so aggressive and it really is the land of the quick and the dead. 

On the journey we'd been stopped several times by officials wearing dark navy uniforms and sporting Red berets.  I couldn't make out whether they were soldiers or policemen - nor could I understand why our driver had to stop at regular intervals and show his driving papers.  At one stop, there was an altercation and much shouting and I envisaged Jonathan and myself being thrown into an Egyptian prison. As our driver spoke no English, we still don't know what it was all about.

I don't think I've every had to show my passport so many times in succession and to what end, heaven only knows.  There were no smiles and no courtesy and it all felt very threatening.  I'd love to see the Pyramids again - as I did in 1966 - but if that means going to Cairo, I'll give it a miss and watch a documentary instead.

It would have been great to have been at Southampton for the Fireworks and lovely to be at Dubai when she docks, but Jonathan and I were grateful for our taste of luxury aboard the Queen Elizabeth 2 and felt honoured to have been passengers on part of her last voyage.  I find it sad that she is going to be a floating hotel in Dubai but I suppose that is preferable to being broken up in a shipyard.

The Picture below shows the QE2 at Valetta and the lime green dot is me!

What do you think? Send your feedback to contact@jan-leeming.com.

AMBASSADOR FOR HELP THE AGED

14th November 2008

HELP THE AGED

I was asked to be their Ambassador to launch the 'Winter Warmth Campaign'

Had to be in London very early on Monday and did back to back interviews all morning with Radio Stations up and down the country and one TV appearance on The Politics Show - which had me quaking in my boots.

The poverty figures for pensioners make stark reading.  One in three pensioners is only able to heat one room in which they live and one in four spend more time in bed in an effort to keep warm.  Many pensioners live in 'fuel poverty' - that is where they spend more than 10% of their disposable income on heating and lighting.  Many are trying to exist on a basic pension of £7,000 p.a.  - I'd like to see an MP trying to live on that - it probably wouldn't cover their restaurant bill for a month.

There's 5 Billion (yes billion not million) in unclaimed benefit sloshing around in Government Coffers and the very people who've earned it are not claiming - maybe they are too proud or are put off by the ridiculously long and obtuse forms they have to fill.

I could feel my anger rising but what do we do.  There are the Benefit cheats who are quite prepared to live off the rest of us who've worked and paid our taxes and then there are those who could genuinely claim and don't.  It beggars belief that we are - or should I say were - one of the most affluent countries in the world and yet we now have an education system, a health system and heaven knows what other system which ranks very low in the European tables - a decade of Labour Government- chucking the money around to those who didn't deserve it, chucking money into Public services but paying the top brass far more than they were worth, and living on Tick.  Brown sold off our Gold Reserves cheap and now goes with a begging bowl to the Arabs - it beggars belief.

I'd better stop before I get clapped in the Tower.

Mind you I wrote an impassioned letter to David Cameron.  Last year a friend in Tory Central Office made sure that it got to Mr. Cameron and I got a reply (albeit written by the Secretariat) but with five lines in his own hand.  This year, my friend had retired so I got a pleasant reply from a woman in the Secretariat.  Do Politicians really understand what is going on and how most of us - who aren't rich - live?  Rhetorical question.

LAST VOYAGE OF THE QE2

I may not have financial riches but I am very blessed on occasions - and not only with smashing friends, a lovely family and a fantastic son - but I sometimes get a lovely experience offered to me - like this four days on the QE2.  I felt honoured and excited originally but now I'm thrilled to bits to be a part of this historic occasion - the last voyage of the Queen Elizabeth 11.  Watch this space and I'll let you know all about it.

 A bientot, Jan

What do you think? Send your feedback to contact@jan-leeming.com.

THE ROYAL VARIETY SHOW - 1982

8th November 2008

THE ROYAL VARIETY SHOW - 1982

Last year I purchased a machine so that I could transfer old Videotapes of my work onto DVD.  As a technophobe, I couldn't work the wretched thing.  Last week my computer totally froze and I had to ask my friend Paul for help.  As we were re-booting stuff and had time on our hands, he said he'd look at the offending machine.  It was actually quite an easy exercise to operate it but the instruction manual (written by a boffin no doubt) was completely confusing.  (I think Instruction manuals should be written by Amateurs and preferably those whose first language is English)

Anyway, last night I was about to transfer my 'section' of the Show, when something made me decide to sit and watch the whole programme.  I am so glad I did - it really was a wonderful trip down Memory Lane and, sadly, so many of the stars who took part are no longer with us.

The 1982 Royal Variety Show was the 53^rd such extravaganza and the third to be staged at the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane.  However it was a  FIRST in that it was decided to have a theme rather than random acts.  The theme was the 'Magic of the Musicals' - right up my street as that's what I loved as a young girl, teenager, and woman and still do.

The Show was attended by H.M. The Queen Mother and also Princess Alexandra.  There were excerpts from musicals such as West Side Story, Cabaret, and Oklahoma as well as a little known one from the turn of the last Century called 'Flora Dora'.  The latter was such great fun - very dated but performed by a chorus line of well known men dressed up as women and the women dressed as men.  The Male chorus line included well known souls such as John Inman, Bernie Winters and Leslie Crowther.

Those who take part in the Royal Variety Show give their services free and the money raised goes to the Artists' Benevolent Fund.  Every year there are not only stars of British Theatre and Television but Internationally Famous Folk.  In 1982 we had Howard Keel (star of the late 50's/60's musicals such as Oklahoma, Seven Brides for Seven Brothers etc),  Ethel Merman, Jack Jones and Topol.

As a youngster I was a devotee of the Musicals which transported me into a world of Fantasy and Romance and of course I loved Stars like Howard Keel.  So I actually had the pleasure of meeting him again.  I say again because in the late 70's I visited friends in Queensland, Australia and Howard Keel was performing at a Legion Club and I went backstage to meet him.  I will never forget this Gentle Giant of a man who towered above me and the way his deep voice seemed to reverberate through me.  He was charming and delightful- every bit a star even though he was touring Legion clubs in Australia.  Then, of course, he had a renaissance with his role in Dallas. 

I went onto the Internet to read up about his career and goosebumps went down my back.  Here I am writing this on the 8^th November 2008 and discovered that Howard Keel died on 8^th November 2004!!!!!!   So why should I have chosen to watch that video last night when I have never before watched it in it's entirety?

It is an honour  to be asked to take part in The Royal Variety and we had great fun with the act in which I was involved.  Gloria Hunniford, Esther Rantzen and I performed the song 'Anything You Can Do, I Can Do Better' from the Musical 'Annie Get Your Gun' (which starred Howard Keel). 

We were, naturally, dressed up as cowgirls in high heeled white boots and  delicious red-embroidered white leather fringed-skirts and waistcoats.  We sashayed all over the place but the highlight for me was when I actually managed to hit Top C there in the hallowed portals of the Theatre Royal Drury Lane.  It would have been too easy to give it to Gloria who is a singer so it was left to little old me.  I can't tell you how nervous I was.  However we carried it off and it was hugely enjoyed by the audience.  In fact we appeared to share the most applause of the night with Angela Rippon who did a high-kicking number from Chorus Line. I suppose the applause was mainly because the audience were seeing us doing things totally out of context.

Just for interest I'll give you a list of just some of those who took part - in no particular order.

Howard Keel, Ethel Merman, Topol, Christopher Timothy, Roy Hudd, Richard Stilgoe, George Cole, Dennis Waterman, John Hanson, Vince Hill, Leslie Crowther, Lorna Dallas, Peter Skellern, Roy Castle, Sheena Easton, Frankie Howerd, Moira Anderson, Bucks Fizz, Jack Jones, Millicent Martin, Angela Rippon and then the three of us - Gloria Hunniford, Esther Rantzen and yours truly.

Just remembered another incident from that night.  Because of the time factor and theatre availability- the whole show is put together rapidly (in one day I think) but the individual acts are rehearsed elsewhere so you don't actually get to see other performers  until The Night.  We all take something glamorous to wear for the final curtain.  I had a gorgeous Gina Fratini gown but during the run through, I noticed that Lorna Dallas was wearing exactly the same dress for her number and discovered she also intended to wear it for the Curtain Call.  I had to make a frantic call home and arrange for another evening dress to be brought in.  I know they say 'Imitation is the highest form of flattery' but I don't think Lorna would have been too pleased if we'd both been wearing the same dress at the curtain call - lovely though it was.

I took part in another Royal Variety in 1985 - that time with Michael Aspel and  Russell Harty.  We performed the Triplet Song from an old show 'The Bandwagon'.  I know I had the tape but can't put my hands on it at the moment.  I do hope I didn't lend it to someone who hadn't returned it.  I've never seen that show in its entirety either.  

HELP THE AGED

I've been asked to be the Ambassador for Help the Aged as they launch their campaign to help old people keep warm this winter. 

Interviews will probably be undertaken on TV on BBC Breakfast and the Politics Show as well as  Radio Interviews.

Personally,  I think it's scandalous that old folk, who have paid their taxes all their lives and lived through the war and contributed to our society, should not be kept warm in their old age.  Apparently many are too proud to seek help (they were the generation who regarded handouts as shameful) and many simply do not know how to claim benefit.  And I understand that the Government has £5 billion in unclaimed benefit. Doesn't surprise me really when you see the multitudinously paged forms which are handed out for filling in.  

So, in a small way, I hope I can help many more pensioners to 'Keep Warm this Winter'.

Take Care.  Till next time - Jan

What do you think? Send your feedback to contact@jan-leeming.com.

OXFORD PLAYHOUSE - 70th ANNIVERSARY

1st November 2008

OXFORD PLAYHOUSE 70^th ANNIVERSARY

Great fun.  I simply couldn't believe it was 40 years since I'd trod the boards at the Oxford Playhouse.

The evening was very enjoyable - some acts far better than others -  but the star of the show was Giles Brandreth.  I met him years ago and interviewed him a few times, usually over his knowledge of Pantomime and his wife used to be a researcher on a Children's programme called 'Tom Tom' on which I worked until a car accident put me out of the frame and Michelle took over as the Presenter.  All a long time ago.

Giles is a very talented performer - his sense of timing is superb.  No wonder he did a spell as a Politician.  I really do think many Clergymen and Politicians are Actors Manque. 

Monday saw me at the Hall for Cornwall watching 'And Then There Were None' by Agatha Christie.  The performances and staging were extremely good but I found the play very dated (having been fortunate enough to compare it with the evergreen writing of Oscar Wilde only the week before).  I did find it amusing that in place of the rhyme with which we grew up (and as children saw no offence) Ten Little Nigger Boys had become Ten Little Soldier Boys - until the  politically correct bridgade decide to hit that one too.  

It was lovely to see Ray Lonnen - whom Doreen and I met on our cruise back from Capetown to Southampton - and have a drink after the show  with him and other members of the cast. 

I wonder if the people of Cornwall realise how fortunate they are to have The Hall.  Down here in Kent we just don't get 'out of town' productions.  It really is almost a cultural desert and I simply don't know why.  The only element in our favour is our proximity to France!!!!!

I should by now be in Sunny Capetown but I have a Television Commitment - about which I cannot talk - so am here in the most Foul Weather.  It's been grey all day with heavy rain and wind and was dark at 4.00pm - sort of fits the financial mood doesn't it?

There's not much on the horizon for a while - and I can't talk about the TV - so I think I might continue my 'letters' by telling you more about my beloved Cheetahs.

Incidentally there was a story in the papers this week about a Cheetah which had escaped from a Zoo and the papers played it up to the hilt - the terrified child in fear for his life.  Cheetahs have never been know to attack a human being.  They are the 'scaredy cats' of the Cat family - timid in fact.  Yes, a swipe from a paw could inflict a nasty wound but they'd not  kill. 

On the cruise back from Capetown to Southampton earlier this year, I learned a little know fact that the Cheetah is descended from the Wolf.  Think that one through - Wolf - Dog - Tameable - Very different from the members of the Cat family - Leopard, Lion etc.  And Cheetahs were kept as pets - think of the friezes in Egyptian tombs and, coming more to the present, the pet cheetahs owned by Juanita Carberry of The White Mischief - Happy Valley set.

My computer totally froze last weekend and whilst it was being re-booted, my friendly Computer man suggested we took a look at the expensive piece of kit I purchased a year ago which was to transfer Video Tapes onto Disc (space saving and saving in the deterioration which occurs with Tapes).  I hadn't used it because I didn't understand the instructions which were totally, completely and unnecessarily complex.  I really do think Instructions should be written by amateurs and not by the cognoscenti.

It was such fun - I looked at Tapes of my Jonathan when he was about six weeks old and at Tapes of interviews which I conducted on that excellent programme 'Pebble Mill' - way back in the 70's.  There's the lovely Robert Morley being totally adorable (and took me to lunch) - David Shepherd, Andy Williams and my much treasured interview with Omar Sharif to mention but a few.

Wherever you are - and I'm amazed at the people who are kind enough to 'Hit' my site because they are all over the world - I send you affectionate greetings.

Jan

What do you think? Send your feedback to contact@jan-leeming.com.