BEEDLEDEEDEE, DEEDEE...

The past two days have been all about two favourite ladies.

On Wednesday we went to Hammersmiff to see Beverley Knight rock da house. She was as excellent as ever, her combination of powerhouse singing and great personality make her a very special performer indeed. The set was slightly altered from earlier in the year - the 'stock' songs being Flavour of The Old School, Made It Back, Greatest Day, Get Up, Shoulda Woulda Coulda, Same (As I Ever Was), Gold, Keep This Fire Burning, Supersonic and Piece of My Heart. She slowed it down mid-way to sing three ballads with just backing vocalists, guitar and bongos: Shape of You, Sista Sista and Need of You. Amazingly the audience shut up! Invariably when the ballads come round, people start talking but during Sista Sista you could hear a pin drop. She also sang two much-needed new songs After You and Sweet Black Sugar (very Ike & Tina). The classic cover this time was Aretha Franklin's Rock Steady and she topped off the evening with a stonking version of Come As You Are.

As much as I clapped, stomped and sang along... I couldn't lose myself in it unlike the Shepherds Bush earlier in the year. Maybe I'm all gigged out for the year? I left the show feeling she was as excellent as ever... but. The new album is out early next year so hopefully the next show should offer a new setlist.

Maybe I couldn't really concentrate as before the show, gawping about the foyer while Owen was at the bar who should I see three people away from me but HOWARD TAKE THAT! My Eeek-o-meter went from 0 to 100. Despite Owen's "Who, that scruff?" comment I gawped and gawped til he suddenly vanished like the magical creature wot he is *sigh*

Thursday saw us on the mean streets of Kilburn, scuttling to get to the cultural beacon that is the Tricycle to see an advance screening of STRANGER THAN FICTION which we had seen previously at the London Film Festival. Seeing it a second time was certainly no chore, it's life-affirming in the best possible way and the performances of Will Ferrell, Maggie Gyllenhaal and Dustin Hoffman deserve a re-visit. The main reason for going though was the post-screening Q&A with Ms. Emma Thompson. It turns out she was instrumental in getting the Tricycle Cinema started, helping to raise it's profile and get celebrity sponsers from Hollywood. She opened the cinema and as she is a Hampstead girl, it also serves as her local cinema too. She was in great form, talking with obvious love about the film and answering the sometimes lame questions with honesty, wit and insight. Owen kept nudging me each time the chap asked were there any questions and suddenly I found my hand in the air! There was heaps I wanted to ask her about but as all the questions had been pertaining to the film I quickly garbled out a question about the director Marc Forster. Somehow I phrased the question so it appealed to her as she said I had made an interesting point, news to me! After the time was up, a woman in the front row nabbed her to sign something so I was desperate to bomb down to the front of the stage, no mean feat when trapped in the middle of the fourth row with no one moving on either side of you!

Now the last time I saw Emma was way back in 1993 at the premiere of MUCH ADO ABOUT NOWT at the Empire. I had first met her when she was in ME AND MY GIRL in 1984 and was an out n out fan from the off. The actor's agent I knew was even more obsessed and had managed to get her flatmate chef into doing private parties for the cast so it was through one of these that I first met her. Up until her film career REALLY took off I used to see her around a lot and always got on great... now I was scared, would she still remember me? 13 years is a long time in this business we call show. I waited for a couple of girls to get her autograph and said "You won't remember me but I am the remnents of what used to be Chris Voisey"... How could I have been worried? Her face lit up and of course she remembered! And after all these years I finally got a photo with her... I had always been a bit shy in asking for one before but Owen was there with the camera. She said some really lovely things and I spent the whole journey home grinning from ear to ear.

And no I'm not uploading the picture. Some things are not for sharing... even with you, Constant Reader.