The X Factor: The aftermath.

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The X Factor proved as tense as ever on Sunday, The two acts who received the fewest votes and had to sing for survival were Katie Waissel and Treyc Cohen.

All ten acts opened the show with a performance of So What by Pink.

Shayne Ward (winner of The X Factor 2005) took to the stage to perform his new single, Gotta Be Somebody and Kylie Minogue performed Better Than Today.

The two acts with the lowest public vote and singing for survival this week were Treyc Cohen and Katie Waissel. When asked how she felt, Katie said: “I’m nervous and it’s Treyc…we’re all in this together I’m going to sing from my heart.” Treyc added: “I’ve been here before but I’m here to sing and I’m just going to do the best that I can.”

Katie sang Please Don’t Give Up On Me whilst Treyc sang Unbreak My Heart (Toni Braxton).

Simon: ‘Here’s the dilemma – Treyc you are the better singer, Katie you are the more interesting performer. I’m going to base this on as a viewer who I’d like to see next week. The person Im going to send home is Treyc.’

Cheryl: ‘I just want to say to both of you, you’re both very talented women. Thank you for being so gracious and strong up there. But Im refusing point blank to send anyone home.’

Dannii: ‘Firstly if I could just say these girls are brilliant singers and I know Ive given a lot of comments but I hope they’ve been constructive and there’s no cause to boo anyone on this stage. You both sing better under pressure, The person Im sending home tonight is Katie.’

Louis: ‘I’ve got to know both girls really well and I love both of them..its so, so difficult. I don’t know whether to go with my head or my heart. My head says save Treyc my heart says, save Katie. It’s really, really difficult, Simon. I’m going to go with my heart, I’m sending home Treyc.’

Treyc said: ‘I’ve had the best time I’ve met some great people. I’ve made some good lifelong friends. I’m so, so grateful. I want to thank everyone from the researchers to the people in the canteen. Thank you.’

This meant Treyc Cohen became the seventh act to leave The X Factor.

On The Xtra Factor, ITV2, Katie commented: “Treyc should be here. I just really want to be here, in this competition. I really thought I was going home. Its not my time. I want to continue I want to show everyone that I am me.”

Dannii Minogue was wearing Dolce & Gabanna dress, Cheryl Cole wore a BodyAmr.

Performing next week on The X Factor – Westlife, JLS and Take That.

And Then They Came For Me {Theatre}

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The week before Armistice Day seems a fitting time to be reminded of the suffering caused during times of conflict.

‘And Then They Came For Me’ is one of the most widely produced new plays, yet the performance on the 7th November 2010 at the Garrick Theatre had something special about it. It’s not often such an extraordinary true life story is told when its inspiration is sitting in the audience. The play is a unique multimedia experience which combined video taped interviews of Holocaust Survivors Ed Silverberg and Eva Schloss with live actors recreating scenes from their lives and experiences during World War II. Ed (Michael Gamarano) and Eva’s (Alexandra Vevers) story are tied together by the infamous Anne Frank. Ed was Anne Frank’s first boyfriend and Eva, who was the same age as Anne when she went into hiding and like Anne, she and her family were betrayed. In this story however, the young diary writer Anne plays a cameo role.

The harrowing tales of the promise of youth cut short by the horrors of the Holocaust see the story take us from the beginnings of the Hitler Youth, through oppression and escalating to the horrific recounting of their experiences in concentration camps. One thing is clear. Even though the war is over, the trauma of what happened is still with the survivors. Numbers are easy to deal with as they are separate to our emotions, but when you hear the harrowing story of just one person, trying to relate that experience to every single one of the millions who suffered becomes a difficult concept.

The charity chosen for the performance’s wasn’t a war related one, but the Pakistan Floods Appeal. Sadly, it’s easy to forget why, every year, we wear a poppy on our lapels and even sadder that it’s often referred to as ‘Poppy Day’ as though the nation has forgotten to remember Remembrance Day.

This particular performance included a special performance by Frost’s other Editor Catherine Balavage as Ed Silverberg’s Mother. If you get the chance to catch ‘And Then They Came For Me’, you should.

Climbing the walls {Fitness}

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In my eternal search for a sport that I’ll enjoy and can keep me interested, this week I tried my hand at climbing. I don’t know at which point I thought it would be a good idea, but I definitely know the exact point I realised it was a bad idea. That point was half way up a wall in London’s Westway Centre attached only by a rope and gripping hand holds with my slowly slipping hands and weakening muscles.

 The instructor tied all the knots so that there was absolutely no chance of us falling to our deaths.

I have only good things to say about the centre itself, the facilities were spotless, comprehensive and vast. The instructor was very understanding and managed to stifle his laughing…mostly. We had one instructor between two of us and climbed and belayed (held the rope) in turn. The instructor tied all the knots so that there was absolutely no chance of us falling to our deaths. If you’re planning to have a go yourself…you’re very safe.

 If you’re thinking thoughts like “ooh, this must be how mountain goats feel” it means you’re not thinking about where your hands should be.

This didn’t stop three of our party from chickening out. I don’t judge them…climbing’s not for everyone. There are a few groups of people who probably wouldn’t become great climbers…the first is those who suffer from vertigo (I fall into this category). There’s one mantra that every vertigo suffer repeats when they’re at a significant height…“Don’t look down”. When you’re climbing, this isn’t an option as putting your feet in the right place is half the challenge. The second is the easily distracted (I fall into this category also). When you’re five meters off the ground, concentration is key. If you’re thinking thoughts like “ooh, this must be how mountain goats feel” it means you’re not thinking about where your hands should be.

Although I personally won’t be giving climbing another go, I heartily recommend it, especially if you don’t suffer from vertigo and a short concentration span. Where better to go that London’s Westway Climbing Centre.

Londoners Life Part 3 by Phil Ryan {Opinions}

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Christmas is coming. It’s November but to London’s shop keepers the herds of shoppers are easily spooked. Like hunters, they are carefully baiting their traps, staying downwind of the easily confused consumers but they are readying their weapons all the same. The window displays are slowly turning into confusing artworks. A stick-thin model girl nailed to a reindeer with glitter pouring out of her knees. It’s where the window display merchandisers in large department stores get to show what they can really do, although it seems much of their festive season output resembles a badly planned acid trip.

For the less fanciful shops, Santas and snow scenes seem to be appearing on every aisle. The sponsored lights are going up in Bond Street,  now, in November. I’m not sure what this year’s theme is – probably celebrating the miraculous birth of our Lord Jesus Christ with a tasteful The Three Wise men at *insert-generic-store-name-here theme. Each bringing those well known biblical gifts, an Xbox, an ipod and the ‘scream and then watch me vomit’ little chav doll from Mattel. That’s not the Mattell Toy company by the by that’s from Dave Mattell from Dagenham ‘Toys r Cheap and Cut price Booze’ store.

Like the anxious shopkeepers you can smell the money in the air, or at least the expectation of money. Recession? What recession? ‘Tis the season to be exploited. Sad really. It’s really not quite as Dickensian as it could be. But the snow is forecast. And London will do its best. So look out for rosy cheeked pickpockets operated by eastern European gangmasters, feisty chestnut sellers pushing crack and Scrooge as played by the local Councils closing down old people’s homes and care centres. Tis the season to be jolly spend thrifts. Courtesy of MasterCard or Barclaycard presumably.
Barclaycard. These are the same people who are sponsoring the newest fad in town. The Boris bike. The easily accessible bicycle you can ride around town on. No more smelly and hot tube trains. Just leap onto a Boris bike and away you go! Zoom through the parks. The little back streets. They’ve settled in rather quickly I must say. Everywhere you go centrally in London at least. I note that places like say Kidbrooke or Stonebridge Park appear to have been missed out in the locations of bike docking stations. Mainly because the bikes would be in a skip fire or more likely on a container ship to Liberia within hours of deployment. In a way you could say it’s a kind of new classism by bike. But still, you’ll see them weaving and wobbling in out of traffic around Trafalgar Square, the City and Kensington High Street with those type of people you just somehow expect to see on them. I’ve not tried one myself. Death has never appealed to me. Clearly there is a hidden agenda though. It just occurred to me I must be missing something. It’s not a class thing at all. Perhaps it’s a new job creation thing. You can just see the meeting, City Hall, midnight, written on a whiteboard in red.

How can we create job places in a crowded job market? Answer; Put lots of professional people on unwieldy heavy bicycles, take some money from them and then hurl them like baby ducks into friendly London traffic. A nightmarish concoction of rumbling huge lorries, confused mini cab drivers, belligerent black-taxi drivers, Kamikaze Pizza bike delivery boys. Fiendish eh? But I shouldn’t carp. Here in London we are innovators, we pride ourselves on it. Take our restaurant scene for example, where else are you able to choose from dishes whose descriptions are so pretentious you can see the waiter smirking from thirty feet away? In my area it’s rife. Who writes this stuff? “Jus of spring mint and beagle shattered with lemon butter and fresh wild Ecuadorian bong berries lovingly smothered on apricot battered tender codlet tarragon peppered steaks fried au on nuit”. Uh? Then like an infant it either has to be explained to you by some show-off out of work actor. (Nothing wrong with being an actor – Editor) Meanwhile you sit like some Alzheimers patient nodding and smiling still clueless. Or you take a chance and hope it doesn’t taste like fried baby vomit in a glove. Don’t get me wrong, I like creativity and I like food. Just tell me what it is. I’ll order quickly, honest I will.

Having said that, the descriptions dazzle most people long enough for them to not notice the price tag. Which is the whole idea. Normal food at eye watering prices with undecipherable descriptions. But it’s not about the food, so I’m told, it’s the place, the ambience, the vibe and most importantly what it says about you. Vacuous? Empty? No. It’s a London thing.

Get addicted to Pretty Little Liars {TV}

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There’s a new TV show to get addicted to and it’s just started on VIVA! The nail-biting guilty pleasure of a drama that is Pretty Little Liars is about four teenagers with a BIG secret. When Queen Bee Alison disappears, her four friends believe their secrets are safe forever. It’s never that simple in the world of a teenage TV drama as they soon find out. A year later their lives are turned upside down when they start to receive threatening text messages and it seems somebody out there knows the truth…
Set one year after the disappearance of Alison, the manipulative and vindictive queen bee, the drama revolves around four 16-year-old girlfriends — Aria, Spencer, Hanna and Emily – who have lost touch since Alison went missing. Linked by their former bond and the terror the enigmatic text messages cause, the friends are suddenly reunited. Each of them has their own secrets, secrets they don’t want anyone to know…

Filled with mystery, scandal, intrigue and suspense, Pretty Little Liars stars Trojan Bellisario (Quantum Leap, JAG), Ashley Benson (Eastwick, Bring It On: In It to Win It), Lucy Hale (Privileged, The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants 2), Shay Mitchell (Rookie Blue) and Sasha Pieterse (Without a Trace).

Like Desperate Housewives meets Gossip Girl, Pretty Little Liars is set to be the next big thing, tune into VIVA! Thursdays at 8pm


The Look from the left: GORDON! Back in a flash to save every lefty one of us!

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A Look from the Left at the muddle in the middle by Richard Wright

Week 2: GORDON! Back in a flash to save every lefty one of us!

This week the commons saw the return of Gordon Brown to public life. Oh how we have missed thee. And just in time for the upcoming release of the final Shrek film on DVD and Blu-Ray. Former PM Brown used his speech to support the two aircraft carriers and if there is anyone who knows about taking over a sinking ship its Gordon. I’ve missed Gordon I really have. Sure he looks like a living toby jug and has, roughly speaking, the same personality as one. But you knew where you stood with Gordon. He wasn’t a horrible political clone. He was unique. There will never be another Prime Minister like him. Half of me is saddened by that but sadly that half is being drowned about by the party that’s going on in my other half. As it always has been Gordon stands defeated by show over substance. And no, that’s not a fat joke.

But Mr Ed if you are reading this, and you’re not, Gordon may have a broken leg politically speaking but that’s no reason to put him down. Did you the like the horse metaphor? And the Mr Ed thing? That was intentional. That’s right I’m a classy writer. For this writers money Gordon can still be very useful. The coalition government is lacking a little experience and that could well play into Labours hands in the long run. Well lacking experience if you don’t count Teresa May who is old as Medusa and similar looking into the bargain. And there goes the class out of the window. Also the truthfulness of the piece because as an A-level political student she was the closest thing I could find to attractive at Westminster. But at the time I thought Nicola Sturgeon wasn’t bad looking so I question my sanity there a little. This was all in 1999 and that was quite some time ago. I might be sliding off topic slightly. Back on point: Gordon Brown – party statesman. The Ken Clarke of the Labour Party if you will. Only far less annoying and pointless.

The problem was Gordon Brown is fundamentally unlikeable. However as a Labour Party elder statesman, a background player, a consultant he could be very useful indeed. The man was in the two most important positions in British Political life and that has to count for something. Much like Ole Gunnar Solskjaer was a super sub for Man Utd so Gordon could play a blinder from the back bench. He could create a role for himself that augments and strengthens Labours agenda. After last week’s spending review the Labour Party has taken a lead over the Government in two separate polls. Now I am a massive sceptic when it comes to polling data as the only real poll that matters is a general election. And Labour is, to be fair, a good way off winning one of those. However polls do help shape public perception at least a little and this in encouraging for Mr Ed. The joy for Mr Ed is that because Gordon was such a failure as Prime Minister he really doesn’t have to do that much to look impressive. Basically look like he has a pulse and the battle is half won. But that should also lessen the intimidation factor. Yes Mr Ed I get it, you want to create a new Labour to replace New Labour but Gordon was never New Labour so why not make him a part of your new Labour. It’s getting complicated again.

I think Gordon Brown would be excellent as some kind of Party Chairman, something akin to the way they work in America only with less power. A Howard Dean for the Labour Party. Gordon if you’re reading this, and you’re not, then your party needs you still. I know it’s like watching your girlfriend making out with another bloke but forget it Gordon she left you. Leave it she’s not worth it Gordon she was never the right one for you. And that’s not actually a bad analogy. Gordon Brown and being leader of the Labour Party was like a relationship that was destined to never work. It’s the girl you long for, the girl you wish was yours and when it finally happens it’s not the way it should have been. It’s like Ross and Rachel on Friends.

The public waited a long time for them to get it together and the public waited a long time for Gordon Brown to be PM. But imagine if you had waited all that time on Ross Gellar and Rachel Greene kissing and then after the kiss Ross developed erectile dysfunction and Rachel decided she was really a nun. This happened to Gordon. Sort of. I hope you get what I am trying to say with this cause I’m not even sure I do. Gordon the relationship is over. You’ve moved on, she’s moved on and we’ve moved on. But Gordon there is a light at the end of the tunnel and it’s called political experience. You might lack any gravitas, emotional or charismatic authority and you may look an awful lot like Shrek but you can still play a role. Mr Ed is going to need all the help he can get and I’m sorry but Harriet Harman, Ed Balls and the grumpy old umpire of the front bench aren’t gonna be enough. Gordon – your party needs you. Sort of. You can indeed save everyone one of us. Sort of.

Joe McElderry records title track for, The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader.

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Joe McElderry records title track for new feature film, The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader.

The most anticipated 3D film of the year is opening in cinemas across the UK and Ireland on December 9th 2010.

X Factor winner Joe McElderry was approached by Twentieth Century Fox to record the specially written track, ‘There’s a place for us’, written by American songstress Carrie Underwood, which will feature in the film released later in the year.

Joe will also attend The Royal Film Performance™ and World Premiere of the film in Leicester Square on November 30th and also switch on the regents street lights on November 9th

Directed by Michael Apted, The Chronicles of Narnia: Voyage of the Dawn Treader, is the latest installment of the Narnia saga. Filmed in digital 3D, the exciting new chapter is set to be the biggest blockbuster of 2010.

Joe recently returned to the charts with his debut single ‘Ambitions’ since winning the UK hit show, The X Factor ,in 2009. His album, ‘Wide awake’, is out now.

The Londoner Life Part 2 October {Opinions}

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The Londoners Life – October – By Phil Ryan

If there’s one thing that vexes the average Londoner it’s the state of public transport. Mainly because it doesn’t actually work often. It sort of nearly functions. I marvel at the regular announcements on the Underground. Today we have a good service. Two things always strike me about these announcements. One is they are setting me up to get ready for the bad service days by alerting me to the fact that to every equal there is an opposite. And the second is the thought why announce that the system is doing what it’s supposed to be doing. That’s like walking into a restaurant and the waiter coming over and announcing they have plenty of food. That’s the point isn’t it? But once you’ve managed to actually struggle around in the day on our crumbling and ever fragile transport infrastructure the next even more pressing problem is the late night options. And these can be summed up in three words – The Night Bus.

These are effectively large slow moving vehicles designed to contain as many drunks and werewolves as possible. Sprinkle in the few members of the occasional psychotic street gang, the unconscious guy who smells of vomit, and the elderly man wearing a tin foil helmet singing in a curiously low mumbling voice and voila – you have an average Night Bus passenger manifest. Where it says destination they might as well put Narnia. As the doors open the smell of alcohol and chips hits you, you nod at the driver cowering behind his bulletproof glass, he shrugs and off you go. It’s like buying a lottery ticket. And interestingly offers the same complete element of chance. I once got onto a Night Bus in Camden Town. It was packed. So I made my way upstairs onto the top deck. It was full of silent people all dressed in Gorilla suits. I went back downstairs. London. With its unique social fabrics. Difficult to fathom.

Just like asking people for directions. No matter what area you are in, if you pull the car over and tentatively call to a passerby they will do one of three things. Run in terror. Blatantly ignore you. Or smile and say they are not from round there. It’s guaranteed. I now believe that every morning everyone in London goes to a completely different area. Everyone. En masse. They walk around. Fill the cafes. Sit in the offices. Thus guaranteeing nobody is from anywhere local ever. A month back I was in Balham. Somewhere. In a friend’s car. Late and lost. First I tried the obvious approach of asking people walking by. They displayed the three standard characteristics I mentioned earlier. Then I went into a shop. Three guys behind the counter. Sorry mate they chorused. We’re not from round here. It was a 24 hour shop. When did they have time to be anywhere else? A conundrum. But paling into insignificance compared to the new phenomenon that I now struggle with. Re-cycling confusion.

I now have four bins. I used to have just one. But now I have two yellow bags. A brown bin. A blue bin. A green box. Four collection days. And a handy explanation guide from the Council. Written by a dyslexic gibbon. It’s the new thing. Re-cycling. In reality it means stuffing your home with small piles of waste. Rotting food. Great stacks of paper and cardboard. It’s like living in a well furnished refuse facility. The only thing missing is a flock of seagulls and a bunch of those weirdos who turn up in orange boiler suits on weekends. The ones that find a broken chair and reclaim it. They carefully fix it up until it looks just like a broken chair covered in gaffer tape. Coincidentally one lives next door. My next door neighbour is a pinched face woman. She wears one of those knitted Peruvian hats. Her dog is called Krishna. A keen re-cycler she once told me. I’d commented on her orange boiler suit with ‘This is my Planet’ stencilled on the back. And I made the mistake of asking her to explain the new system to me. Sadly she explained it. For an hour. I went back inside. I’d been doing it wrong. I’d been mixing paper with plastics. Food with waste. And batteries with old nuclear warheads. It was ridiculous. I felt bad. I was destroying the planet singlehandedly. But then that’s the whole idea. To put you off balance. As they guilt trip you they can now charge little bits of extra cash. For special waste bags. To pay for new trees in the area. To keep the park nice. To mow the verges. To stop the icebergs from melting. To save the Patagonian purple booby hawk. A Green levy they call it. To pay for things your Council tax used to pay for anyway. I once met my local Council leader. He smilingly told me they ship all my rubbish to China. Very green. Ten billion gallons of diesel and a filthy old cargo ship chugging from Camden to Shanghai. Oil slick trailing behind it. I hate my Council. I have to. But all Londoners do. It’s a London thing.