The Hotel

Mark Jenkins (former) owner of The Grosvenor in Torquay is a brilliant character. You cannot fault him for tenacity or effort, however some of his judgement calls are questionable (well actually all of his judgement calls are questionable). I watched the first episode of the new series of The Hotel last night and couldn't help but think a lot of the situations shown were staged... how on Earth could so many cock ups occur naturally? Nonetheless it was very amusing. The buffoon with the jet ski... what was all that about?? And what exactly does that sarcastic tub of lard, Alison do? Christian the ever so camp events manager left at the end of the first series but was mysteriously back for the second probably because the pseudo documentary needed him.

Afterwards I googled the hotel's website only to find they had gone bust and had been bought out by some other hotel group. Shame.

Watch it though as it is very funny!

Rating: 8/10

Gerry Anderson: RIP

I can remember as a child eating a Sunday roast whilst watching classic episodes of Thunderbirds. The story featuring the Crablogger was one of my all time favourites... A huge out of control construction vehicle which ripped up and devoured trees by the copse load to clear away rainforest ready for building work to begin. Of course International Rescue swung into action and saved the day.

I loved it...

And now sadly it's creator: Gerry Anderson has passed away.

His ideas were well ahead of his time. The Fireflash. Moving the Empire State Building. The Sidewinder... all were brilliant creations. Thunderbirds 1 to 5 and Tracey Island. Scott, Virgil, Alan, Gordon, John and the patriarch Jeff Tracey. Brains, Lady Penelope and her dodgy butler: Parker "Yes, me Lady". Fantastic.

Of course there wasn't just Thunderbirds... Captain Scarlet was another fave along with Joe 90.

Gerry... You will be sadly missed!

Wendy Hurrell fans strike back...

About a year ago I posted a rant about Wendy Hurrell who presents the weather forecast on BBC London News (although I've never read anything about her being qualified to present the weather - I thought it was recommended you had a degree and passed some course at the Met Office... but anyway). I basically said she looked pretty determined to get her face on the TV etc. Then several months went by and I suddenly received a tidal wave of comments praising her up and extolling her virtues and that I was a prat for criticising her.

Anyway I thought I would publish the comments as a post... so here we go:

If you wish to rant about something try the economy, poverty, housing, politics, racism, religion, homophobia, ect, ect, ect. Instead of attacking a hard working individual you obviously don't know anything about. on The rise and rise of Wendy Hurrell... whoever she is?


Lee Browne on 26/10/12

Wendy is a legend. Not ONE negative comment about her! she is one of life's wonderful people and if everyone was as lovely as her the world would be a better place. Leave her alone! She's amazing! on The rise and rise of Wendy Hurrell... whoever she is?

Hannah Davies on 09/10/12

Wendy is a great presenter. She manages to combine her knowledge and enthusiasm with a friendly and approachable demeanour. Long may she continue to be on my TV and radio. on The rise and rise of Wendy Hurrell... whoever she is?

Anonymous on 20/09/12

You clearly are a complete idiot. The facts speak against everything you said. Wendy is a lovely girl who has achieved everything she has today through hard work. She has done very well in a very competitive industry and will most likely go on to bigger and better things. I hasten a guess but that is probably more than you can say about yourself. on The rise and rise of Wendy Hurrell... whoever she is?

Anonymous on 20/09/12

I live in the republic of Ireland and set my sky box to news 24 every morning in the vein hope of being woken by Wendys weather and travel report and I'm sure I'm not the only one. Bland is not an appropriate word for someone who puts the human face to news. Checkout her report on parcour available on vimeo, at least she's brave enough to have a go! on The rise and rise of Wendy Hurrell... whoever she is?

Anonymous on 18/09/12

Wendy is awesome! Keep up the good work Wendy :) on The rise and rise of Wendy Hurrell... whoever she is?

Anonymous on 18/09/12

Pathetic Hammond. Wendy is a fantastic presenter and brightens up every programme she appears in. She has obviously worked very hard to earn a place at BBC London and I hope we continue to see much more of her. She is also drop dead gorgeous!!! on The rise and rise of Wendy Hurrell... whoever she is?

Anonymous on 18/09/12

I've never seen a list of comments where people have been so supportive and positive. Check out any YouTube video's comments...I think you may have it wrong this time Hammond... on The rise and rise of Wendy Hurrell... whoever she is?

Anonymous on 18/09/12

leave wendy alone she is doing a good job on The rise and rise of Wendy Hurrell... whoever she is?

Anonymous on 18/09/12

I also know Wendy from school/college and confirm what Kieran says. Wendy was always bright and committed, annoyingly so at times! It seems to me that she has achieved what she has through hard work. She may well be ambitious, but who isn't? She has done well but her career path thus far doesn't suggest that she has been ambitious to the detriment of others. Keep up the good work Wendy. on The rise and rise of Wendy Hurrell... whoever she is?

Anonymous on 18/09/12

I saw Wendy at Top Gear. Lovely legs, nice smile :) What's wrong with intelligent eye candy? on The rise and rise of Wendy Hurrell... whoever she is?

Anonymous on 18/09/12

Those that can, do; those that can’t, teach; those that can’t teach, critique. on The rise and rise of Wendy Hurrell... whoever she is?

Anonymous on 18/09/12

Leave our wendy alone! Or i'll hunt you down n put paul o'grady dvd's through your letterbox! on The rise and rise of Wendy Hurrell... whoever she is?

Anonymous on 18/09/12

I went to school with Wendy and she had always worked here arse off at every thing she did. She represented our school for loads of different things and always went above and beyond. She was as good looking then as she is now so was in the popular group but always had time for others. She deserves to be where she is she gas worked to get where she is and has never forgot where she came from. Good on ya Wendy this bloke is obviously bored with nothing better to do Cheers Kieren on The rise and rise of Wendy Hurrell... whoever she is?

Anonymous on 18/09/12

Wendy has worked in regional television for nearly a decade previously with ITV Anglia in Norwich. If you really thing she's climbing up the greasy pole of television, then she's doing a bad job of it staying on BBC London since 2008 doing the same job, bar some additional arts reporting and BBC London's other regional show Inside Out. If you want someone to complain about, there are other presenters you could so easily tag instead of Wendy. on The rise and rise of Wendy Hurrell... whoever she is?

Anonymous on 18/09/12

Ok Hammond, who the hell are you? Some talentless oaf methinks. on The rise and rise of Wendy Hurrell... whoever she is?

Anonymous on 18/09/12

Ok Hammond, who the hell are you? Some talentless oaf methinks. on The rise and rise of Wendy Hurrell... whoever she is?

Anonymous on 18/09/12

Ok Hammond, who the hell are you? Some talentless oaf methinks. on The rise and rise of Wendy Hurrell... whoever she is?

Anonymous on 18/09/12

i miss her on anglia weather on The rise and rise of Wendy Hurrell... whoever she is?

Anonymous on 18/09/12

You do know she has been doing media stuff long before BBC London right? Working her way up to get to the position she is now. Long may Ms Hurrell continue! on The rise and rise of Wendy Hurrell... whoever she is?

Anonymous on 18/09/12
Thanks for commenting on my blog. I'm guessing you maybe Wendy Hurrell (as you must have specifically searched "Wendy Hurrell" under Google blog search and I can't see many people doing that and being so indignant as to send a reply). Answering your questions: Personally speaking I don't see any talent. Reading wendyhurrell.com I can see someone who is determined to publicise herself and become known across the media. I don't think I am shouting anything as hardly anyone reads this blog and "yes" I probably would say it to her face. on The rise and rise of Wendy Hurrell... whoever she is?

The Hammond on 11/07/12

Talented presenter in TV success shocker. Amazing that you should judge someone so vitriolically without even knowing them. How exactly would you know where she wanted to go or whether she has bare naked ambition? She's just good at her job. It's so easy to shout these things on an anonymous web page. Would you say it to her face? on The rise and rise of Wendy Hurrell... whoever she is?

WOW!... I was amazed at the response I got. Especially as I have ranted about so many people over the last six years and no one has ever bothered to come out with so much support for the target of my rant. Looks like I hit a raw nerve with Wendy. Oh yes... the person who called me a talentless oaf did repeat their comment four times!

Cillit Bang!... and who the hell is Barry Scott?

What is the angle of these ridiculous adverts?

"Hi, I'm Barry Scott and I want to tell you about new Cillit Bang!" ... Eh?

Why have some retard shout "I'm Barry Scott" as if we are all going to say "Ah... so you're the famous Barry Scott". Who the f*ck is Barry Scott when he's at home? And why is this product called Cillit Bang? It sounds like bloody gibberish. Total sh*te.

Rant over.

Sachets

Why is it... whenever I tear open a sachet of something powdery like a Lemsip sachet for instance, I never ever tear across low enough - which invariably means that I can't get the contents out. Of course when I make that second tear it is too far down and it all spews out on the floor. Typical.

Rant over.

Off The Cuff Rant No.20

And another thing that drives me up the wall is when you have a kitchen cupboard that whenever you open it the bloody contents always fall out. Doesn't matter how the items are stacked... everytime that door swings open an avalanche of sh*te drops out.

Rant over.