Pete ‘n’ Keely at Tristan Bates Theatre,
1A Tower St, Covent Garden. WC2H 9NP

“Don’t worry about the story too much and you’ll be smiling when you leave”

This showing has been running off-Broadway since the start of the century and, having just closed and now touring the US, it is finally having its European premiere here in London. It is 1968 in the US. Pete and Keely used to be stars, even marrying and then having the showbiz divorce. A sponsor has brought them back together for a one-off television special, in which they retell their lives through songs of the period. We see them meet, fall in love and cope with fame. Then we watch as it frays and falls apart. They suffer and argue in front of us, performing for the camera with fake smiles.

[Katie Kerr as Keely]

The stars are obviously the cast – David Bardsley (Pete) and Katie Kerr (Keely). This two-hander has them singing throughout the evening in a variety of styles, sometimes solo. For me, Kerr’s rendition of Black Coffee stealing the show. Both are vocally stunning and perform with just the right amount of subtlety. The whole thing is cheesy, just like the music, the style, the props.

[David Bardsley as Pete]

Perhaps a little rough round the edges at times and a little short of peril at the end, but it is comforting to be in the presence of two very confident performers, backed up with the solid musical direction of James Cleeve (keyboards), Doug Grannell (bass) and Richard Burden (percussion). Matthew Gould’s direction is inventive and fun and, with the cast and crew, manages to squeeze every drop of humour from the scenario. A shame, that fundamentally, the play itself does not stand up to the task, flawed at the end as it is.

[Katie with David]

Emily Bestow’s stage design is hilarious, though. Camp, colourful and just right for the shenanigans that unfold: large discs of flower-power colour that hang from the ceiling. This show, running under two hours (with interval), is a joy to behold. Like watching a couple of master entertainers look back on their careers, taking us along for the ride. Don’t worry about the story too much and you’ll be smiling when you leave.

[Katie and David – in Cairo!]

Book: James Hindman

Original Music: Patrick Brady

Original Lyrics: Mark Waldrop and Patrick S Brady

Producer: Wallflower

Theatrical Director: Matthew Gould

Musical Director: James Cleeve

Show details and booking: www.tristanbatestheatre.co.uk

Performances: Running until 20th May. Tuesday to Saturday at 7.30pm. Wednesday and Saturday Matinees at 2.30pm.

Performances Length: 2 hours (this includes an interval)

Photographs: The Other Richard Facebook: /PetenKeely Twitter: @PetenKeely, @Wallflower_UK

 WORLD MONUMENTS FUND PRESENTS: THE PAST, TODAY Preservation during conflict: Seizing the moment – to protect the Middle East’s cultural heritage

With Zaki Aslan, Director of ICCROM-ATHAR (Sharjah United Arab Emirates) with introduction by Tracey Crouch MP

Royal Geographical Society, 1 Kensington Gore, London SW7 2AR

Tuesday 16th May 2017, 7pm (doors open at 6.30pm)

If I wasn’t going to be abroad I’d love to go to this talk:

Conflict continues to dominate the Middle East and we regularly hear about cultural catastrophes as heritage is deliberately targeted by direct damage, looting, abandonment and neglect. Historic buildings, artistic treasures, monuments and neighbourhoods are repeatedly dismantled or destroyed. Alongside the physical destruction comes the loss of people to champion heritage and the expertise to conserve it.

As part of an important series of talks about heritage in conflict zones, World Monuments Fund Britain presents Zaki Aslan, Director of ICCROM-ATHAR – an international body that works to conserve cultural heritage in the Middle East. Zaki Aslan will provide significant insight into the state of heritage in the region and discuss how the world’s nations could help more with conservation. The evening will be introduced by Tracey Crouch, Minister for Sport, Tourism and Heritage at DCMS.

This event follows the 2015 inaugural talk World Monument Fund talk in which Professor Maamoun Abdulkarim, the Director-General of Syrian Antiquities, visited the UK for the first time. With the recent news that Palmyra in Syria has just been freed from ISIS for a second time, Maamoun Abdulkarim will join the lecture by video to give us the very latest position on his country’s besieged cultural heritage.

Zaki Aslan comments, World nations should unite for heritage protection as this is part of our human story. We are facing cultural cleansing in countries such as Iraq and Syria; images we’ve received are appalling. Destruction of heritage should be treated as a war crime by the international community at large. We need to plan well for the recovery phase guiding all parties involved in the reconstruction process.

World Monuments Fund is the leading independent charity devoted to saving the world’s most treasured places. Their programme of issue-based events brings speakers to London who are closest to the international heritage stories making the very latest news.

Photograph: © iStock RPMGas

Twitter @WorldMonuments, @JohnD_WMFB, #PreservationConflict Box Office Tickets are available for £20 (£15 for WMF members) from

www.wmf.org.uk/activities or 020 7251 8142

Sometimes the Frost Review Team receive a real treat. This time, bagsy me.

Agatha Raisin, Pushing up Daisies arrived on the mat…

M.C. Beaton has done it again. She is my hero, my saviour, the writer who lifts my heart, the one I truly believe has looked in the window and created a detective who is as rude as I am. No, I am not always, but sometimes. Lovely, lovely Agatha does not have the filter that others do. She thinks something, and out it comes. Is it an age thing?

And no, it’s not nice, or kind, and my mum would have added, nor is it funny to be rude. It’s true that it’s not nice, not kind – but good grief, M.C. Beaton is certainly so very funny. There’s no faffing about calling a spade a nice little trowel. Not, it’s a shovel.

Lord Bellington, Carsley’s biggest landholder, has enraged locals with his plans to sell off their allotments to make way for a new housing development. So when he turns up dead, nobody mourns his passing.

Indeed, I should think not, having worked my very precious allotment alongside many others doing the same – if that had been in jeopardy from a dastardly developer, the list of suspects would have been huge.

The problem is, the body count keeps mounting in Pushing Up Daisies, and our hero, Agatha, has to weave her way through a world of petty feuds, while she herself is cast down by moments of self-doubt.

This is what is so glorious about Agatha. Not only does she blast her way through the sensibilities of some she meets, she is, also, beneath it all, rather a delicate flower. No, I need to alter that. Not delicate, but vulnerable, in her search for love, something which underpins all the wonderful books in the Agatha Raison series.

I had rather forgotten about these wonderful books as work pressures have mounted, but have been out and bought several to take on a week’s break before beginning another novel of my own for Arrow. People will wonder why on earth I am laughing aloud, and with fondness at this black comedy, unless of course, there are more Agatha Raison fans around at the time. Then they will understand and we’ll exchange knowing looks.

Buy it, enhance your life. And buy the next, and the… Well, you get the picture.

While you’re at it, don’t forget the Hamish Macbeth series too, also written by M.C. Beaton.

Pushing Up Daisies (Agatha Raisin) M.C. Beaton pb £7.99

Stagolee’s – the chicken and liquor restaurant in Fulham

The Southern USA is famous for certain things: swamps, alligators, country music and – of course – the best friend chicken in the world.

Stagolee’s – a new restaurant in the trendy part of Fulham – describes itself as a ‘chicken and liquor joint’. It’s relatively cheap, the food is great and if you’re hoping to go out with friends for a meal and some drinks, you could do an awful lot worse.

Fulham is one of those areas of London that most people don’t normally visit. It is in a bend of the river, so you’re not likely to happen upon it while travelling somewhere else. But it has some great nightlife, some lovely pubs and a real sense of community.

The restaurant itself is boisterous and lively, and it is decorated with a sort of industrial chic – the walls are covered with photos of the American south and the food is served on aluminium trays. It’s very friendly and the staff are American, so when you ask about the ‘Moonshine liquor’ or the ‘buttermilk biscuits’, they actually know what they are talking about.

The menu is small – but it’s all very fresh and beautifully cooked. There are some great starters – such as devilled eggs and spinach dips – but the most interesting stuff is the chicken. The Hot Chicken is brined – soaked in salt water – and then dipped in buttermilk and fried. It is succulent and really tasty with a crisp outer coating. If you’re feeling adventurous, you could go for the ‘Tom Devil’ very hot chicken, but we chickened out (sorry about the pun).

At some point in the meal, even the most refined eater will be tempted to pick up the joints of chicken and eat them off the bone. This is not a place for finicky eaters!

Normally you’d expect some kind of coleslaw with chicken. Stagolee’s have got a really fresh carrot salad, with raisins and plenty of sweetness – just to cool things down. The crinkle cut chips are good and crisp and – if you want a real taste of the south – there is also cornbread to wipe up the juices. This has a slight sweetness and slightly crunchy outer layer.  For pudding, we had a key lime pie, which is like a cheesecake – but nicer!

Succulent chicken with really crispy chips

The drinks are wonderful. I had a selection of four single barrel bourbons, which were all light and beautifully balanced, with buttery flavours of oak and caramel. My wife had a Mountain Rita Cocktail, with moonshine liquor, lime and sugar – which was delicious but very potent. So don’t expect to drive home after a cocktail here! Our bill, incidentally, came to about £85, but most of this was on the drinks. If you’re teetotal, you can eat cheaply here.

Oh, and the place is named after the song about Stagolee – a gangster who killed one of his friends during a game of dice. I’ve put a link, so you can listen to the song while you’re deciding which friends to invite for a meal at this lively restaurant.

My heart always sinks when I have to provide a dessert or a cheesecake for an group meeting, a WI meeting, or a family ‘do’ but having been sent the Delicake Non Bake Master for review I thought I’d give it a go.

They’re an all-in-one solution, or so the blurb says, and saves you time and effort.

So, does it?

Actually, yes. The Delicake Non Bake Master has a clever three-piece assembly so your cheesecake can be prepared, set and served using a single kitchen item. It is comfortingly robust, and best to use the spatula and knife that you can buy when preparing, and indeed serving, your dessert, or cheesecake.

There is a base, a sleeve and a lid. Mine is rectangular so the biscuit base serves many. The sleeve locks into the base, and contains the dessert without it sticking to the sides. Basically it is a mould, in which you prepare your masterpiece, and then this goes into the fridge.

When needed and when set, just take it out of the fridge, remove the sleeve and there it is, in all its glory, ready to serve.

If you’re travelling with it, the lid not only locks in freshness but also makes transporting easy. I was going to take a photo of my masterpiece at a village do, but it all went. First time ever. The group are bakers supreme, (let’s ignore the fact that I am not for the moment) and with summer and picnics beckoning I reckon we’re in for some treats.

I do recommend this. I was going to take a photo of my masterpiece but it got eaten, which for me is a rare and heart warming success.

Delicake Rectangle Master: £30.99

Delicake Circular Master:     £24.99

Spatula: £2.99     Knife:   £5.99

www.delicake.com.au/shop/

On Saturday June 24th the Ferndown Pram Race is back. Bigger and better than ever. So if you don’t want to miss out on this fun packed event get a team of 5 together, 4 pushers and a baby and obviously you’ll need a pram too. Dressing up essential!

A very exciting new addition to this year’s Ferndown Fete on the Field is the 1st running of the John Thornton Pram Race.  A route around the full King George V Playing Fields with a number of physical and mental challenges on the way.

If you feel like you are up for the challenge and maybe have the stamina, brains and passion to win, then contact the organisers for an entry form and enter your team today.

This event will be raising funds solely for the John Thornton Young Achievers Foundation.

Please contact pramrace@ferndownfotf.org to register your interest or call Pete on 07792 121 645 for more details.  Visit the Ferndown Fete on the Field website to find out all about this great event and all the other activities which make it a Fern-tastic day out for the whole family.

www.jtyaf.org