An Emeli Sande Song I Can Get Behind: The Great Gatsby.

Emeli Sande, I am sorry. I just haven't been feeling it thus far. Yes, your music is good and beautifully written but I haven't had that 'I must listen to this on repeat for a week' feeling with any of your songs so far, UNTIL THIS MOMENT. Yesterday my friends and I were discussing the upcoming Great Gatsby soundtrack, one of them mentioned that they had heard a brilliant 20s jazz version of 'Crazy In Love' by Beyonce. Now if you have read this blog before you will know that I am a big Beyonce fan but I went into listening to this song with an open mind, which wasn't helped I must admit when Sande's name flashed up with the song title on Youtube. Here we go I thought, it's going to be like the Olympic Closing Ceremony all over again. How wrong I was. From the opening muted trumpet notes I was hooked. I thought no one could ever top Beyonce's 2003 booty-busting anthem but this has. Who wouldn't want to Charleston to Crazy in Love? That's my question. Admittedly I think it may have been better with someone else singing, this song has made Sande grow on me but I'm not at full adoration stage yet. It's the roaring twenties band behind it that makes it and if this offering along with Florence's and Del Rey's is anything to go by this soundtrack may be one of the best ever. 

Why the London Olympics were the Best Ever.

I have just found a video that shows why the London Olympics were so good. It isn't the Opening Ceremony, or the closing one. It isn't a great sporting moment or a javelin snapping or something like that. It is Bananarama performing at the beach volleyball. Bananarama singing Venus, on Horse Guard's Parade. You wouldn't have got that a Beijing.

Marathon Day.

If I had to choose one day a year that was my favourite in London it would have to be Marathon Day. If you've ever been in London on that day or if you were in town for the Olympics you will know why I would choose that one. Every year tens of thousands of participants run (some more elegantly than others) the nearly 26 miles, 365 yards long (I can imagine that after 26 miles those few yards feel like a lot more) course which takes in some of London's greatest landmarks.

There is an air of solidarity that engulfs London on Marathon Day. The thousands of runners are united in one goal: making it to the end and the spectators are also united in a massive game of 'shout a random name and see who turns round'. (Or maybe that's just me a my little brother.) London changes on that day. It's the world's longest street party. For almost 27 miles the route is lined with bands, cheering fans, families and charities all out to make their voices shout the loudest, to get their banner on TV and aim towards the ultimate goal of being interviewed by Sue Barker. (She still eludes me). It provides some iconic images of London. The runners rounding the Cutty Sark in Greenwich, waiting to start along the avenue in Greenwich park, running past Big Ben and finishing against the Backdrop of Buckingham Palace on the Mall.
The marathon has always been close to our family's heart. The family home is in Lewisham, not far from Blackheath where the Marathon starts so nearly every year we would go up to see the thousands of runners start their trek round the city.
This year it will be even more special. On Saturday the 21st of April my Auntie Susan will

be running this very marathon, after saying she wanted to when she was taken my my Grandparents to watch the start of the very first one. Some say she is crazy but we as a family are all immensely proud of her. We will all be out to support her and join in the party with Macmillan Cancer Care, who she is running it for. I'd love it if you could sponsor her, even just a few pound. Surely running 27 miles around London is worth a bit of change? It's also for such a brilliant cause. We all know someone affected by cancer, and Macmillan work tirelessly to make the experience bearable. Even if you can't sponsor her I urge you, if you are in London, to go and watch the marathon, it passes a lot of places in London so there really isn't any excuse. It's a brilliant day and I guarantee you will come away feeling inspired.

Thank you.

SPONSOR SUSAN HERE


Addition 17/04/13

Since I first published this post the events at the Boston Marathon have unfolded and developed. The London Marathon this weekend will go ahead but in the memory of the 3 who died and with the hundreds injured in the hearts and minds of the runners and spectators. It is testament to the unifying bond that sport has across the world that runners are organising to wear black ribbons, hold their hands to their hearts as they cross the finishing line and there will be a silence at the start line. It is small but significant gestures like these that restore your faith in humanity.

Why Kim Wilde Should Rule The World

I think I will never tire of watching that video of Kim Wilde completely drunk, rolling around a train with a guitarist and singing her hits to a bemused and probably equally drunk Christmas party train home. It was upon watching this again that I realised. This is who should be singing our song this year at Eurovision. In fact she shouldn't just represent us there, she should be an ambassador for Britain across the world. What says 'Best Of British' more than Kim Wilde, slurring her way through her songs, in a pair of reindeer antlers and jumping around in a train carriage? That has Eurovision written all over it. It has G20 Summit written all over it, it has Olympic Opening Ceremony written all over
it (albeit a year late).
So here is my proposal: let's all club together, buy Kim Wilde and get her to sing at everything. It's a simple idea but I believe it would make the world a better place.
You know it's a good idea. Donate 50p to the Kim Wilde for British Ambassador Fund and you can make the world a better place. (We may need more money to get her drunk before every performance).

Thank you for your time.

Rorie's Big Fat Review Of The Year (In tweets)

Right, when I say year I actually mean 'The Olympics'. I started scrolling back through my tweets and realised that there were so many in the months of July and August that I might just stick to those two months. I think the following tweets show that I provided the service of 'Someone tweeting about sport who knows nothing about sport'. Here goes.

Opening Ceremony. 

My first tweet of the 30th Olympiad set up the standard for those to follow. 

"Just shouted "COOOOWS" at the TV. #OpeningCeremony#London2012"

I can't even remember cows in the Opening Ceremony but apparently at the time they were a big deal? did they parachute out of something, I really can't remember. The only other tweet I made during the Opening Ceremony worth mentioning was this: 

"Anyone else playing 'Olympic outfit borrowed from Easyjet' bingo?"

I think I was so busy playing Olympic outfit bingo that I forgot to tweet. Something that certainly didn't happen over the next two weeks. 

DAY 1

"If there was a gold medal for drinking wine during the opening ceremony, it would go to me. #London2012 #OwMyHead"

I quickly realised on the first day of competition that I was not going to be able to comment on the actual sport much and quickly coined the hashtag "Fashionlympics". 

"The USA's swimming team jackets make them look like penguins.#London2012 #BBC2012"

I must admit, I do think Alan Carr was choosing the music: 

"Now they are playing Madonna. Campest Olympics EVER#London2012"

DAY 3 (Day 2 was obviously boring)

To start day 3 was a tweet from 'Prince Charles' 

"Camilla's gone to Greenwich Park to watch #Equestrian. Have stuck 'Number 5' on her back for a laugh."

I also found the diving most enjoyable and, wanting to do my bit for the economy, got some free advertising in for the tireless work the eyebrow threaders do in Lakeside, keeping the South East free of uni-brows. 

"The Mexican divers need to get down Lakeside and get their eyebrows threaded. #Fashionlympics"

DAY 4

Day 4 began with another update on the incredible music being played. 

"She Bangs by Ricky Martin #nowplaying at #London2012 Archery.#Campolympics"

My feelings towards Ian Thorpe were also made clear on day 4:

"If Ian Thorpe says 'look' one more time though, I might bop him round the head with my goggles and armbands. #London2012 #Olympics"

Also on day 4, a limerick from Jessica Hynes: 

"There was an old man named Mitt, who said our Olympics were s***. He wanted attention for his upcoming election but ended up looking a twit."


DAY 5

This was the infamous day that will be etched in our minds forever, yes, the day that Boris Johnson, BoJo himself got stuck on a zip wire.

"Swing low, sweet Boris, whiff whaff is coming home!"

I think that is enough said about day 5.

DAY 6

By this stage full Olympic hysteria had taken me over.

"Giant pringle. BBC One. Now."

I think I was referring to the Velodrome. Not entirely sure though.

"Christina Aquierlararrara blasting out over the velodrome. Carrying on the #Campolympics. #TeamGB #London2012"

DAY 7

A stroke of genius from their headline writers.

"Headline of the morning goes to 'The I' "Anything you canoe I canoe better" #TeamGB #Gold #London2012"

"It gives me great pleasure when the #BBC camera hits the angle that gives Gary Lineker Olympic Stadium floodlight devil horns.#London2012"

"If #Phelps melted down all his medals he could bail out Greece.#London2012 #Euro"

"This Olympics is seriously lacking some Tessa Sanderson punditry."

"I've got Bert Le Closemania"

DAY 8 SUPER SATURDAY

"First sailing results in: Great Britain take gold, Australia take silver and Somalia take a middle aged couple from Weymouth.#London2012"

"If only we'd kept my old trampoline. I could have been on the red button now. #GardenTrampoliningChampion#SomersaultAndTripleHeadFlip"

"Just organised my 'entrance' for my birthday party. I can safely say it's going to knock that parachuting bitch's one out of the water."

"*Whispers* Could we really get 3 gold medals tonight? Really?#London2012 #TeamGB"

"He must have an onboard MOtor.#London2012 #PunLympics"

"I like to think that Greece is paying off all its debts in Vangelis royalties."

DAY 9

"Can't wait for the Rio Olympics now. Must get my carnival costume ready. *Ram-raids sequin shop*"

"I'm loving the leggings on arms look Sanya Richards-Ross is rocking. Totes bang on trend. #Fashionlympics #London2012"

"SOMEONE HAS A FACE-JAZZLE IN THE WOMEN'S 400M!!!!!!!#LONDON2012 #FASHIONLYMPICS #GYPSYCHIC"

"If there's a glass of white on a bar I can do the 100 metres in 9.64.#London2012 #Olympics"

"FACEJAZZLE WOMAN GETS A BRONZE JUST FOR HAVING A FACEJAZZLE!!!!! #London2012"

DAY 10

"IT'S GONE TO A JUMP OFF FOR GOLD IN GREENWICH. This is all a little bit X Factor deadlock. #London2012 #olympics"

"The thing that holds the chalk for the pole-vaulters looks like Dizzy from Bob The Builder. #London2012 #Olympics"

"I threw a wish in a well. *Waves ribbon* don't ask me I'll never tell *triple somersault* #London2012 #ClosingCeremony"

DAY 11

Still no actual sport content in my tweets:

"Look how glam Denise Lewis is now. LOOK AT THAT BEAD NECKLACE. #Fashionlympics"

"It's a 10 from Alesha, 8 from Bruno, seveeeeeeeeen from Len and a 4 from Craig (booo) #StrictlyComeDressage #Dressage#London2012"

"I really dislike this arrangement of the national anthem. They don't leave the bit where everyone drunkenly yells "Der ner NER NER"

"We'll give the Aussies that one. They only have 3 golds, bless them. Stick it in a jiffy bag and send it off #CashMyGold #London2012"

"I'm cheering on Muriel Ahoure in this because she's got a brilliant surname. #London2012 Muriel Aprostitute."

Doing my bit for international relations:

"Jesus, I thought Darth Vader was going to storm in at the start of Grenada's national anthem!! #London2012"

DAY 12

"Do you have to have a double barreled name to be a female sprinter and/or wear arm leggings? #London2012"

"horses dancing to music is my new favourite"

"#DressageSongs Hoofs upside your head."

"#DressageSongs "I set shire to the hay" by Adele."

"already excited about Sochi 2014."

"Today: The greatest show on earth is on BBC1. Mum's watching 'Flog It' on BBC2. #London2012"

DAY 13

"Do you think they'll get the Sugababes to perform at the closing ceremony? The old 3 and new 3 could do a Hackney urban sing off#London2012"

"If I don't get 3 hours of Spice Girls tomorrow I will be bitterly dissapointed. #ClosingCeremony."

"I really want to be a speedwalker. It's always been my dream.#London2012"

"This bit of the "Modern Pentathlon" is just laser quest. The IOC isn't kidding anyone. #London2012"

DAY 14

At the #Olympic marathon. Very disappointed that the runners haven't got in to the spirit of things. Not a lion costume or mankini in sight.

Closing Ceremony 

"Can you see my sequinned baps everyone? I'm on top of the umbrella mountain. @cassie_draycott #London2012"

"VICTORIA BECKHAM CAN STILL MOVE HER FACE!!!"

"Did Grandma put LSD in my tea? #London2012"

"Every time Emili Sande sings a song, Heather Small looks in a mirror to check that she still exists"

"Grandma just shouted "Ku Klux Clan" at the TV. I think she was referring to the Pet Shop Boy's outfits and not One Direction#London2012"

So there we go, London 2012 in a collection of my tweets. Unbelievably I did manage to live tweet the entire Olympics and not mention sport at all really so WELL DONE TO ME! I wish you all the best for 2013. I'm hoping for round 2, London 2012 version 20.13? 

We Found Love In Trafalgar Square

Hello all.

This week we saw the end of an incredible summer for Great Britain. Me and a few friends decided that we wanted to see the summer out in style so we went to Trafalgar Square to watch the Paralympic closing ceremony on a big screen. The atmosphere was absolutely incredible with Boris Johnson, our soon to be Prime Minister I am sure, getting the loudest cheer. Everyone was singing and dancing along as if they were in the stadium and we could even see the fireworks from the river. It really was an amazing evening.

I was very pleased to see Rihanna and Coldplay perform I song I absolutely love and have sung myself, We Found Love. My friend Nicolas and I perform a bit together and We Found Love is one of our set-pieces. Below is a video of Nicolas and I, with his brother Kit performing We Found Love at my last ever school concert. Watch out for my amazing cymbal bashing!

The September Issue-Design

Fresh from winning GQ's 'Cultural Icon' award at this year's Men Of The Year awards and being the man responsible for the stunning 2012 Olympic cauldron Thomas Heatherwick really is the designer of the moment. Boris Johnson has publicly shown his love for Heatherwick commissioning him to design the new Routemaster bus for London which by anyone's standards is a daunting task, taking an already loved and established piece of design and bringing it in to the 21st century. Heatherwick, however, has succeeded. Whether he is designing the new routemaster or the beautiful and yet truly simplistic curling bridge in Paddington his work and his draw is universal. Mayors love him, the public love his work as shown during the 2012 games and the adoration for his seed cauldron.

The new routemaster is evidence of Heatherwick putting people first. Many designers create beautiful and elegant works with no function or with limited use as the designer hasn't thought or doesn't care about it's use for humans. 

The routemaster has sweeping windows that wrap around the bus flooding the inside with light and improving the black spot of the old routemaster, those dingy stairs. Heatherwick has even used heritage fabrics which, although are covering and replacing the old bucket seats, hark back to the original and well loved London bus. 

Heatherwick's crowning glory, however, has to be the stunning Olympic cauldron, comprising of petals that merged when lit, it was a triumph of British design. Olympic fans have praised the design for breaking the unwritten IOC rule that bigger is better when Olympic cauldrons are concerned and instead going for beauty and subtlety when designing the cauldron that became the icon of the games. Some even attribute Heatherwick to the success of the games, stating that without his design the public wouldn't have taken to the 2012 brand at all after a string of design nightmares. But who can even remember the negative press when the 2012 logo was unveiled? After commissioning Heatherwick the London 2012 organising committee turned the games around and brought back important elements to the games that run through Heatherwick's work. Unity and humanity.  

The V&A are currently running an exhibition 'Heatherwick Studio: Designing The Extraordinary' where you can see his design processes and a scale model of the 2012 Olympic cauldron. The Exhibition runs until the 30th of September and tickets are available from the V&A website. 

The Real Olympic Legacy

Haven't the past few weeks been incredible? From the moment the the lights came up on London's opening ceremony to reveal a field of farmyard animals I knew our games were going to be great.
After 7 years of insisting to my friends and family, despite hundreds of news articles claiming the complete opposite, I can finally feel justified in saying: I WAS RIGHT. London's games WERE the greatest ever.
The worries were to be expected, however. Brits are hardwired to be pessimistic about events like these and we have good reason. Remember how late Wembley was and that magnificent white elephant the "Millenium Dome"? All the components for an incredible games came together just at the right time. Team GB exceded our wildest medal hopes, all security worries vanished and even the Great British weather was okay for 16 amazing days. We didn't manage to get tickets and being a proud Londoner family we were slightly miffed, but no. That didn't stop us. We went down to London to soak up some of the much publicised games atmosphere and I really can say it wasn't hype. Anyone who actually uses the Tube will know that it is usually a silent affair. Not this time. My vacant 'Tube face' wasn't needed in the Summer of 2012, people were actually talking to each other. As much as I love the 'Inspire A Generation' sentiment this for me is what I would like the capital to gain as a legacy from now onwards. I have always said that London is the greatest city on earth and that the only thing missing was a chat on the Tube. I think we may have found that.

School's Out....FOREVER

Today I came to a shuddering realisation. Two weeks today is my final day of school EVER. Yes that has been capitalised. In fact it feels like the majority of things I write these days end up being capitalised, I am very slowly turning into the Daily Mail Online, but that is a discussion for another day. After 14 long years of wishing to leave I am finally at the point of no return. I am going to London in 5 months to start University and that is seriously SCARY. (There we go, Mail online again). In two weeks I will probably be a little worse for wear after a day spent traipsing around the pubs of Sleaford and rather messy after causing all sorts of mayhem during the day. I have realised, however, that this could be the last time that I will ever see some of my friends who I have had since turning up on the first day at Carre's 7 years ago. I will stay in contact with some but others I will, unfortunately, lose touch with. I don't want to dwell on this however. This summer is one of new beginnings. Tonight I applied for my accommodation next year, student finance is very nearly finished and the summer is shaping up to be one to remember. I am going to T4 On The Beach, Disneyland, Paris, Ireland. In two weeks I will be in London for the Queen's Diamond Jubilee (not that I have gone on about it) and in a few months will be cheering on Team GB at the London Olympics. I really want to try and enjoy my last two weeks at school and look forward to moving to a place I love and making hundreds of new friends. Two people also moving on are my two good friends Lucy and Hannah. Lucy is moving to London, like me and Hannah is being a little more adventurous and moving to Toulouse! They have both set up blogs to share their journey into the wide world. Lucy's is http://lucysadventuresinlondonland.blogspot.co.uk/ and Hannah's blog is http://talesfromtoulouse.blogspot.co.uk/. Anyway it is time for me to go and Wednesday night is usually a night spent dancing around to Bananarama and drinking milk but before I do, here is a picture of me, a Beefeater and a raven taken earlier today. (Thanks Keirl).

A Royal Address, From Prince Rorie.

If you read this blog (and I live in hope that there is at least one person out there does, even if it is in pity) then I am very sorry. This post is essentially an advance apology. As of today it is only 39 days until the Queen's Diamond Jubilee. 39 days that are going to be full of everything you would ever want to know about the royals and bits that you probably didn't. Yesterday I kicked off my Jubilee countdown on my hospital radio show with my friend Lucy. It was 2 hours of Royal fun where I got to gush about Wills and Kate to an essentially, and I hesitate to write this 'captive audience'. And you, dear reader, are the latest victims of my gushing. I cannot get enough of the Royals. I found myself, yesterday heading to Tesco to buy my first ever copy of 'Hello' magazine as it was a 'William And Kate: One Year On' special edition. I think 'obsessed' would be playing down the feeling in my house. I also cannot lie to you, the £2 I spent on that magazine was the greatest £2 I have ever spent. I have probably spent more time pondering over how Kate manages to still look hot in a ski-suit and if William's bald patch got any bigger we could harness enough solar power to solve global warming than I should have. Especially when A-Levels are looming. But I don't care. The phrase 'Once in a lifetime' gets banded around a lot, especially with the Olympics coming to London this year but in this case it is true. Most of us will probably never see another Diamond Jubilee. So amongst this next 39 days of tacky mugs, magazines, union jacks, crowns, tiaras and Queens bear in mind (if you are getting sick of it) that Queen Elizabeth II is only the second ever British Monarch to reach an incredible 60 years on the throne and if that isn't enough to guide you through the maze of red, white and blue, it is only 41 days until it is all over....

Olympic Opening Ceremony Idea No.32

Right, scrap Danny Boyle. Scrap the urban soundtrack influenced by the East-End of London. Do you know what? Even scrap the Queen, and coming from me they are serious words. After watching Britain's Got Talent on Saturday night our worries about beating the Chinese opening ceremony of four years ago simply melted away. Who needs 8000 perfectly synchronised drummers when you can have Mr Zip, or as he is known in our house and I am willing to bet in thousands of other homes up and down the country, the 'Where Ma Keys?' man. So to cut to the actual idea. 'Where ma keys?' man runs into the stadium in the first minute of the ceremony and lights a giant mobile phone shaped Olympic cauldron. Brilliant, this has already been the Olympic opening ceremony to end all ceremonies. But that isn't all, oh no. To put the cherry on top of the Olympic sized cake or possibly even the key on top of the mobile phone, cue 1000 dancers dressed as...yes, you guessed it keys and phones. Then Rick Astley emerges from the floor of the Olympic Stadium, gyrating on a giant revolving record as a mash-up of 'Never gonna give you up/ (you guessed it) where ma keys'. This continues for the final 3 hours of the ceremony. So there we have it. A winning formula. We get to Rick-Roll 2 billion people whilst showing them that Britain, really does have talent. (Before they turn over to The Voice).