Dancing on Ice - The Ultimate Final

After nine series of Dancing on Ice the show came to an end to day with the crowning of the ultimate winer of the final show, Ray Quinn the former winner of Series 4 back in winter of 2009. Given how good he was and how committed he was he had to be the favorite from the start and the opposition did keep him on his toes. 

For those that need reminding of how good he was back in the winter of 2009 I have found a video of all the routines he danced that year. You can watch it below or on YouTube. Remember when you watch the first routine it was the first time he had been on the ice, and make a note of watching the flying performance which is about 54 and half minutes into the video.

Of course it would only be fair to include a full video of all his routines of the final series of Dancing on Ice, so here it is, again you can watch it on YouTube, where you can select the quality you watch it at. 

I'm going to miss the show. It was one of the winter highlights of a Sunday night that it became a family favorite. The good thing is there are a lot of clips out there to watch on sites like YouTube, and you could always go and see the final live shows. Goodbye "Dancing on Ice", it has been so much fun since I started watching the show. Thank you Torvill and Dean and all the people that have made it a goos show over the years.

Daivd Boiwe the Brits

David Bowie last won a Brit award back in 1984, when the awards were called the BPI awards, some 30 years ago. That was until he one a a Brit at this years awards at the age of 67 fighting off he commentaries for the best male artist. He is now the oldest ever winner of a Brit a award and for good reason.

What David Bowie has always brought to the industry, even in his advancing years is, is artistic daring, intellectual brilliance, sexual allure, emotional punch, crowd-pleasing appeal and simple musical genius.None of this has left him as the years have gone on. He is everything a popular music artist should be and he have combined that with longevity.

I have always loved his music and saw him live many years ago in an incredible concert that blew me away at the time and left me with memories that have never faded. On of my all time favorite songs goes back to his first album and is a song called "Wild Eyed Boy From Freecloud". The lyrics are below rather than a video because YouTube always decide to stop sharing the videos after awhile.

"Wild Eyed Boy From Freecloud"

Solemn faced

The village settles down

Undetected by the stars

And the hangman plays the mandolin before he goes to sleep

And the last thing on his mind

Is the Wild Eyed Boy imprisoned

'Neath the covered wooden shaft

Folds the rope

Into its bag

Blows his pipe of smolders

Blankets smoke into the room

And the day will end for some

As the night begins for one

Staring through the message in his eyes

Lies a solitary son

From the mountain called Freecloud

Where the eagle dare not fly

And the patience in his sigh

Gives no indication

For the townsmen to decide

So the village Dreadful yawns

Pronouncing gross diversion

As the label for the dog

Oh "It's the madness in his eyes"

As he breaks the night to cry:

"It's really Me

Really You

And really Me

It's so hard for us to really be

Really You

And really Me

You'll lose me though I'm always

really free"

And the mountain moved its eyes

To the world of realize

Where the snow had saved a place

For the Wild Eyed Boy

from Freecloud

And the village Dreadful cried

As the rope began to rise

For the smile stayed on the face

Of the Wild Eyed Boy

from Freecloud

And the women once proud

Clutched the heart of the crowd

As the boulders smashed down from the mountain's hand

And the Magic in the stare

Of the Wild Eyed Boy said

"Stop, Freecloud

They won't think to cut me down"

But the cottages fell

Like a playing card hell

And the tears on the face

Of the Wise Boy

Came tumbling down

To the rumbling ground

And the missionary mystic of peace/love

Stumbled to cry among the clouds

Kicking back the pebbles

From the Freecloud mountain

It was great to see him win something again and it is only right. Popular muisic is just that music that is popular with a majority of the public and not exclusive to the younger generations. Awards are about good music and should be given on artistic merit. David Boiwe ticks all the boxes and it is nice to see someone in the music business for so long winning an award again.

Horse and Jockey - Manton

Not often do I get to go out for a meal, finances don’t allow for such luxury accept for  once in a while, which is a shame when I actually love going out for a meal or going somewhere special to have some fun. This weekend I managed to go to the Horse and Jokey in Manton in Rutland, near Rutland Water.

The pub itself is full of character and the staff were pleasant. It was a good thing we booked because the pub was very busy and we were about to find out why. The food was very good and going by the number of awards I'm sure the beer was too, but driving I wasn't tempted other than having a non-alcoholic shandy which isn't quiet the same. 

I went for the Roast Beef and I wasn't disappointed. The meat was cooked to perfection and it came with all the usual trimmings, what was excellent was the horseradish which was just a perfect balance of hotness to go with the meat. Looking around me I could only see happy faces and people with contented tummies. I can well recommend the pub and the food if your in the area and you want a Sunday off from cooking the Sunday Lunch.

The Voice 2014 - Get Lucky

The Voice is one of those programmes that has so much promise but never really delivers, but one its highs are the blind audition stages right at the beginning and it is after that that the show seems to go downhill and fails to deliver. It not the fault of the performers or the mentors but the format of the later part of the show which just doesn't grab you in the same as the X-Factor.

Why I like it is that every so often it throws up something just that little bit different that it makes you take notice and this year isn't much different from previous years in that respect. When Anna McLuckie turned up on the stage on Saturday with a Harp you knew something would happen and it did. She preformed an absolutely captivating version of "Get Lucky" by Daft Punk. It was truly spellbinding and beautiful executed as you can see from the video above.

Unforntantly for her I do fear she picked the wrong person as a mentor in Wil.I.Am rather than Ricky Wilson who turned first. The Ricky was completely taken by her style and her voice while looking at Wil.I.Amhe turned not because he could do something with her but because he knew how much of a threat she would pose with Ricky's guidance. I guess only time tell if I'm right if I can get passed the auditions.

Dancing on Ice 2014

For the very last time it is that time of year for dancing on ice and the final show ever. As the is fitting for the final show it will a spectacular with past winners and semi finalist and a few people that have entertained us over the years. 

It should be an amazing show and I'm really looking forward to it, although I'm not looking forward to the show ending. It has given countless millions something to look forward to over the winter. I will be watching it every night until it ends and it is just going to be great.