The only way out is through...

Just some idle mind meanderings of a Tuesday evening to share with you lovely lot...

"The only way out is through" has long been a motto of mine for stinkin' hangovers - you know, just keep on drinking the next day to see it off (gosh, I'm a terrible role model as Aunty Clancy to my friends' children aren't I?!) - but I also think it works well for other difficult situations too.

Things are rarely as bad as you think they are really and often facing them is significantly less scary than you think.

Like eating at Nandos tonight for example [wink] - me, Es, Son and Ju had a lovely meal - and there was me judging the restaurant closest to the gym all this time! The Portobello mushroom and Halloumi cheese pitta was lovely, as was the South African Pinotage I chose to wash it down with - just one small glass though, I was driving - it is a Tuesday after all.

Driving up to Hartlepool and back in gale force wind today was also not that bad - even in the Smarty Car - just having one's wits about one is all it requires, and being accompanied by Ken Bruce and Jeremy Vine helps too.

Another event is planned for the full opening of Park Tower in Hartlepool on March 26th but this time it won't be 'Biddies and Building Sites' as the fab building is pretty much restored (lifts and everything now) so we can at last open our doors to the great and good of the North East. It does look truly stunning now and I take a small bit of pride when I drive in on the A689 and see the Park Tower peak above the trees - Tony Collins Developments has done a wonderful job of restoring the exterior of the building to its former glory, and I'm not just saying that cos he's a client! Pics to follow soon - the Penthouse is fabulous!

Often nice things can be a lot nicer than you expect too, like my Jo Malone evening courtesy of Armstrong Watson accountants last Thursday. It was a delightful evening attended by some lovely girls, combined with delicious canapes, Kir Royales and a wonderful hand and arm massage. The icing on the cake was the goody bag though - a delightful Jo Malone candle (one of my favourite things in the world, next to really good cheese and red wine). When you're expecting a few samples and get the real deal instead it's wonderful!

Hope things come good for you soon too - just remember to keep heading through

Clancy xxxx

Belated birthday report

Now, you must understand it's not that my '32-ness' that means it takes me nearly a week to get over a big birthday drinking session, I have had a stinker of a cold that was brewing before I decided to go out for nine hours on Saturday night/Sunday morning. Ouch - that was my head and my throat.

It all started so well...

1. Lunch at one of my favourite lunch spots - Anthony's Patisserie in the Viccy Quarter - including a glass of Veuve Clicquot Rose
2. Dinner at one of my favourite dinner spots - Sam's Chop House - where I picked up a copy of my 'lovely' caricature picture from an event last year (and also discovered that my mug now hangs in a frame on their wall, apologies to anyone who finds themselves eating next to it one day!). I was also treated to the fabulous cheese platter you see here - I'll take this over a cake anyday, thanks guys!
3. Singing at OK Karaoke - I did 'Big Spender', Jen and I did 'Simply the Best'. It's a bit chavvy and cheesy but I love it, I should expect it won't be the last time I go!



Then, inspired by a large quantity of white wine we went to join another birthday celebration at a house party in Adel, which is where this delightful picture of my little sis was taken. She took it herself, in a bathroom at about 3am. It must have seemed like a good idea at the time eh Jen?!

Thank you to everyone who sent me cards and facebook messages, I had a lovely birthday even if I paid for it afterwards. Thanks also to Nick, Alex and Chris for being so welcoming of me and my friends at their party!

Anyway, I must rest some more because I need to get better for a number of reasons, not least to take advantage of an invitation to a Jo Malone corporate party from Armstrong Watson accountants (very kindly invited by Simon Palmer who I know through the networking 'scene' in Leeds!), in this state I won't be able to take in the delightful aromas on offer. Of course there's work to be doing too and a bit of planning for next week's Thirsty Thursday event (that's not work really!).

I've decided I like being 32, it's a nice round number!

Clancy xxxx

Sing-a-long...de de de de de de de de de de de de

OK, you can choose the tune to sing along - the above 'words' go with at least two tunes that relate to some of the things I've been up to recently:

1) 'Eye of the Tiger' - oh yes, have punchbag, will punch (it's a 'Rocky' branded one that was significantly reduced at JJB Sports and will shortly be hanging in my cellar). There's no need to be scared, after all if I'm punching bags I'm not going to have the energy to punch people am I?

2) The theme tune to 'Strictly Come Dancing' - my sis Jen bought me and Fran tickets for Christmas and we went last Saturday. It was marvellous but my favourite bit was the Dirty Dancing medley at the end. Ah, 1987. I remember it well. I was 11. We danced round friends' living rooms to it after school.

So, a frightening 21 years later, this is my last post as a 31 year old. Yes, tomorrow sees me turn 32, which of course isn't old in the slightest (note the lack of a question, even a rhetorical one - it's a solid, factual statement. 32 is young and wild and free) but it does sound quite grown up. I wonder if I will wake up feeling any different?

I suspect, that - just as I didn't wake up on the morning of my 30th feeling I finally knew exactly who I was and what I was doing - that tomorrow I will feel no different than any other Saturday morning (slightly woozy from wine, or just a bit lazy and managing to fill my day with shopping and eating, rather than running or going to the gym).

This week has also seen me down at Radio Leeds for another of my now regular 'Out and About' slots, for which I was asked to research and report on things to do with a romantic feel.

I managed to do this with some enthusiasm and pride in tact until I happened to mention (off air) to the lovely Georgey Spanswick that I was woken up not by breakfast in bed and little love notes around the house, but by the crazy cats two hours earlier than I wanted to be up (5am, not 7).

Now, you would think that after nearly 13 years in the PR game and given that I now - frighteningly - make part of my living training others in dealing with the media that one of the golden rules would be etched on my brain permanently. I shall take this opportunity to share and remind myself again...

NEVER SAY ANYTHING TO A JOURNALIST THAT YOU DON'T WANT TO BE REPEATED - THERE IS NO SUCH THING AS OFF AIR OR OFF THE RECORD!

My rather weak defence is that it was still quite early and it was also quite funny. Yes, let's all be smug and mock the single girl [wink].

More after I turn 32

Clancy xxxx

p.s. the pic is of me, Sonia (left) and Steph at the 1st birthday party for Croma last Thursday, I gave them a bit of a plug again this week and they are now hosting the next Thirsty Thursday event on Feb 28th - www.thirstythursday.co.uk for more info

p.p.s the sing-a-long in the title also relates to tomorrow evening's birthday activities including a trip to the recently opened OK Karaoke in Leeds!

From one extreme...

Whilst others seem to have done their indulging during December and then spending January without alcohol and rich food, mine seems to be at polar opposites.

I've often said that I never worry too much about putting on weight during the Christmas festivities as I'd find it hard to eat much more than I do normally anyway, but the last few weeks have seen me shovelling it down quite a bit more than usual it has to be said.

Whether at the launch of the yummy new pizza, pasta and salad dishes with black truffles at the lovely Croma in town (Hi to Mark Imeson and the rest of the directors - they are supporters of Thirsty Thursday), tucking in to a fabulous organic feast of locally reared beef with all the trimmings at the still wonderful The Mill Race in Kirkstall, enjoying the fruits of the labours of my friend Ismail at a curry night round at his (plus his Mum's homemade chipatis) or scoffing some of the best Cumberland sausage I've had in a good while at The Three Acres out at Emley.

Like I said, just don't make the New Year's Resolutions and then you can't feel guilty for not sticking to them!

Not to be one to advocate too much gluttony and sloth, I have been out in the fresh air too - including a jaunt round Roundhay Park. My Nana who was born in Leeds in 1911 used to tell me stories about the 'Roundhay Walk' on a Sunday afternoon when local folk would take the trams out there (something I don't think we'll see in Leeds again for a good while yet, if ever - that's another story though!) then the boys would walk up and down one side of the park and girls the other. The pretty girls would get invited to join the boys and walk in the middle and go 'a-courting'. Kinda like the 1920s version of speed dating I guess, only with a bit more decorum, and these days the girls are a bit more proactive!

She also told me about being swung round the Majestic dance and bingo hall by a small Italian man, but I'm not going back to Majestyk in the name of family history - or in the name of anything for that matter. My days there are well and truly over!

Back indoors I'm afraid I have a bit of shoulder strain by taking boxing on the Wii round at Ish's a bit too seriously (competitive, me?), but I felt very relieved of stress and tension afterwards which has made me more determined to buy a punchbag and gloves and get pounding away Rocky-style in the cellar - I even have the soundtrack as an accompaniment!

Another example of my life of extremes is that in addition to my regular 'out and about' slot on the Radio Leeds breakfast show (the next one is February 14th and will have a romance theme - what fun for a single girl eh?!)I am now also on the rota to be a regular TV reviewer and did my first slot on the lovely Graham Liver's show on Friday along with Mario Thomas from Chapter Eight. I had a great time and am thrilled to be asked to do it again on March 7th.

The shows we reviewed included the 'Scams, Fiddles and Honest Claims' about those unscrupulous sorts that try to pull a fast one on insurance companies - and the investigators hired to sniff them out - and the very bizarre and quite disturbing 'Virtual Adultery', which was all about the strange world of Second Life and people who leave their real life partners for an online 'avatar' lover and then spend time perusing their virtual wedding album in real life together.

Get a life, never mind Second Life, I say.

Anyway, it's Monday night and EastEnders is about to start, I'm off [wink].

Back soon

Clancy xxxx