The Groucho Letters By Groucho Marx Review!

Image result for the groucho letters book

 

 

The Groucho Letters (1967) by Groucho Marx is a wonderful read.

 

We get to see lots of his letters to his family and friends and their responses. He came across as someone with a great sense of humour and maybe someone who used humour to combat harder elements of life. It is so interesting to see how his life was changing throughout the different times of the letters and it really is excellent that these letters survived to give readers a glimpse into his life and his relationships with those he loved and cared about. You get to hear about lots of things from the mundane to the big moments and he seemed really, really interesting and cool to be associated with. It is wonderful to see the effort he put into crafting his letters. A great writer and so much funny moments in his writing that you would laugh a lot as you are reading this book. He had a great interest in many topics and it was very interesting to read his thoughts on the many topics he was interested in.

The book has a great introduction by Arthur Sheekman and is divided into different sections which makes it easier for readers to look for a particular type of letter. There is sections like Movie Business, Private Life, Broadway and Hollywood, Friends Abroad and The Faintly Political Scene amongst others. The collection was requested by the Library of Congress who the letters were donated to. 

Very interesting and enjoyable.

 

To purchase The Groucho Letters by Groucho Marx go to:

For more about Groucho Marx and his work go to:

https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/43244.Groucho_Marx

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Top Seven Highlights From Comic Relief 2015!

A brilliant night of comedy and most importantly charity fundraising. The annual Comic Relief extravaganza, which was started by comedian Lenny Henry and comedy writer Richard Curtis in 1985, had another wonderful night filled with music and sketches and lots of fun. Let’s take a look at seven highlights from this important, prestigious night:

Sam Smith & John Legend’s Performance and Music Video

The two of these artists have such incredible, powerful and emotive voices and they sound amazing on the official Comic Relief song for 2015 Lay Me Down, a duet of Sam’s song.

National Treasure Sketch

Staring Stephen Fry, Sheridan Smith and Miranda Hart as the judges of who should be added as a national treasure and starring stars such as David Walliams, David Gandy, Cheryl Cole, Russell Brand, Robbie Williams and Liam Gallagher who eventually was the new national treasure as well as Ronnie Corbert this sketch was so funny. Really well-written and very imaginative. Loved it.

James Bond Sketch

Starring stars such as Ben Whishaw, Alan Carr, Daniel Craig and Naomi Watts, the Bond Sketch was full of humour.

David Walliams’ Kissathon & His & Davina McCaul’s Smooching Session With Orlando Bloom

David Walliams broke the kissathon World Record. Also David & Davina McCaul kissed Orlando Bloom who made a surprise appearance as well.

Little Britain Sketch

Stephen Hawking and Catherine Tate joined David Walliams for this year’s Little Britain sketch. The graphics, one word: Amazing! This sketch was very original and fab.

Cassidy & Natalie Win The People’s Strictly

Cassidy Little is so amazing and he and Natalie Lowe danced this Paso to perfection. Well-deserved win.

Victoria Wood Wins Comic Relief’s Bake-Off

Beating off competition from the other finalists Gok Wan, Jennifer Saunders and Michael Sheen, Victoria Wood took the honours in the Comic Relief’s Bake-Off.

Currently £78,082,988 has been raised in funds.

To Help go to:

https://secure.donate.comicrelief.com/

November Bray Arts Night!

I had been saying for a while that I would go to the Bray Arts Night which is on every month here in Bray and this month myself and my sister went along to enjoy the night and enjoy the night we most certainly did! It was a fabulous night of photography, music and the spoken word. It was all amazing and I felt rather at home like it was a haven for nerdy, expressive types. I almost wanted to join them on stage!

Everyone was so talented. There was a brilliant photographer called Aoife Hester who displayed wonderful photographs of Bray Seafront and pics of Cavan which reminded me and Shar of our days living in the country, The Circle Sessions who had blues, indie rock, comedy music, thought-provoking poetry and some Shakespeare, amazing belly dancing from The Zoryanna and the night was ended with the wonderful opera and jazz instrumentals combined with the stunning vocals of Aran McMahon of Bella Notte Euro Jazz.

It was an amazing night of entertainment in the Martello and the bar was behind us all night. That was quite fab too! 🙂

To view some pics from the night go to:

https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.881805158511309.1073741858.180476998644132&type=1

And read more at:

Click to access November%202014.pdf

Spotlight On … Sian Doughty!

Recently I interviewed the very talented Sian Doughty. Here is the interview below:

What is it like doing the open mic circuit as a stand up comedian?

It’s a lot of fun. I love making people laugh, and the other comedians I meet are mostly really nice, and supportive. Even the bad gigs are a worthwhile experience.

Who is your biggest comedy influences?

I don’t have any comedy influences, in that I don’t consciously emulate anyone. In the past I have enjoyed Victoria Wood and French and Saunders. I also like Steve Coogan, Frank Skinner and Rob Brydon. I especially like the darker sort of comedy written and performed by Chris Morris and Julia Davis (Nighty Night) and the discomfort of both the British and American Office.

What made you realise that comedy was the profession that you wanted to pursue?

I have always enjoyed watching stand up and often thought about doing it myself. Last year I saw an advert for a comedy course and decided to do it. I was (and still am) going through a divorce. I was tired of internet dating and needed to get out of the house.

Do you write your own material? Where do you get your material from?

I write all my own material. I get it from my own experiences. My set is a mixture of fact and fiction and I like it that most people can’t tell which is which.

You took part in the Funny Women Awards this year. What was that experience like?

I loved the Funny Women first heat night. The audience were really appreciative and the organisers made it a great evening for us all. Although I didn’t get through, I was sent a video which I have been using to get gigs.

Tell us about your work as a model?

I have been modelling on and off for about five years but recently the stand up has taken priority. I was in a number of women’s magazines and a couple of advertisements. I’d like to do more modelling in the future, when I’m more settled, and join an agency.

You work as a film extra and have appeared as a background artiste in many films, TV programmes and advertisements. Is there any that stick out in your mind as been something you were particularly proud of been a part of?

I was an extra in Skyfall which in itself wasn’t that thrilling but of course it’s a film everyone has seen (except me) and apparently I can be spotted in the tube scene. I did get excited when I saw The Look of Love in the cinema and there was a close up of me on screen at the same time as Steve Coogan.

What’s next for you in your career?

I am going to Edinburgh at the end of next week to take part in a number of comedy compilation shows at the Fringe. It promises to be a great experience. I would like to think that over the next year I will have written enough material to do a show of my own, possibly with another middle aged lady I have met on the scene. Meanwhile I will continue doing the open mic circuit, hopefully getting better at comedy.

You can see Sian Doughty’s set from Funny Women below:

YouTube

Matt Richardson

For the next three weeks I am going to write blogs about The X Factor in the three week countdown to the first live show from The X Factor class of 2013. The X Factor is at the bootcamp stage of the competition and one man is going to be on hand to bring us all the backstage gossip. I am of course talking about Matt Richardson!

 

Matt Richardson is the handsome, talented, nice and witty host who has filled the very big shoes of singer Olly Murs presenting The Xtra Factor with Caroline Flack shown after The X Factor on TV3 over here in Ireland and on ITV in the UK.

 

He was born on the 28th of May 1991 in Didcot and was raised in Oxford. He is a stand-up comidien as well as a presenter. He started doing stand up in November 2009 at the age of 18. He was the winner last year of Best New Show at the Leicester Comedy Festival with Head Judge Richard Erwin Jones saying of his show that it was “One of the most exciting hours of comedy I’ve seen in 15 years”. He also won the Oxfringe New Act Competition 2010 and the Newbury Comedy Festival New Act of the Year 2010. He was also a Finalist in So You Think You’re Funny 2010, the Chortle Student Comedy Award 2010 and the New Act Competition Latitude 2011.

 

Apart from The Xtra Factor other TV credits include Big Brother’s Big On The Side, Sweat The Small Stuff, Greatest and Funniest Moments of 2012 and The Geordie Shore Awards while radio credits are Russell Kane’s Summer Seaside Tour for BBC Radio 2. His live credits are Hometown Hero, National Tour 2013.

 

Richardson is doing amazingly on The Xtra Factor. He has been funny in his near fake audition when he nearly sang Michael Buble’s Cry Me a River and Caroline came in to stop him and also when he takes on the varying jobs of the X Factor crew. He is so natural, down-to-earth and funny on the show and I love him on it.

 

He is signed to Lisa Thomas Management. Two good names, mine and my uncle’s!