How Sez Sees It

Now, I am crap at remembering names so this could be interesting. Basically, from what I remember (and double checked online just now), Janet was played by Diana Vickers who was once on X Factor, Ben Freeman was Brad and he used to be on Emmerdale (but also does musical theatre like Wicked), Frank was played by a guy who was once on The Voice and he’s called Liam Tamne and the comedian Steve Punt (radio 4, works with Hugh Dennis) was the narrator. Oh yes, and Paul Cattermole from S Club 7 was Eddie/Dr Scott. The rest of the cast were theatre actors and put in amazing performances. I saw the show at the Mayflower Theatre in Southampton. The staging was certainly the best I’ve seen as I have seen this show live three times. It worked better for its simplicity. Parts of the set rotate within a frame to present the illusion of different rooms within the castle. Keeping the cast numbers low also helped. There were only four phantoms and this meant they added to the show and the sta...

From time-to-time I have expressed varying views on the idea of getting married. My biggest concern is that after I marry my fiance I will share the same name as a certain UK popstar who recently took part in the dangerous Channel 4 show, The Jump. That has caused hours of hilarity in the office at my expense. Then don't even get me started on the connotations of taking the man's surname. We have been through this before. There is still a part of me that thinks traditional marriage is all part of the medieval plans to strengthen alliances and gain power. An act from a time when women were the property of their father until marriage when they became the property of their husband. Modern marriage is a very different beast. For a start, neither myself nor my fiance are religious. This means no church wedding. We know his mum would probably prefer a church wedding but it is just not something we believe in and we would feel like hypocrites. We have gone for a civil ceremony and...

Sorry it has actually been a couple of weeks since I went to the show at The Joiners in Southampton to see Aiden for the final time. I guess it kind of took me that long to process what I experienced that night. I have been a fan of Aiden for as long as I can remember and it was too good an opportunity to miss to see them in one of my favourite venues for the final time. I remember being one of those kids who went out and bought Nightmare Anatomy 10 years ago and listened to it on the way to and from Uni in my car. I remember how I felt when I went to Download and saw them play the main stage in the middle of the day and how well they handled the whole thing. The metal heads of the crowd were not quite sure how to handle these gothy rockers singing about life and love and it was really interesting to see them win large sections of the crowd round during the set. So it was announced recently that Aiden would be put to bed. Not before an epic tour of the US and UK to say goodbye thou...

1. Our local McDonalds is closed for a refit and the thing that is most amusing about this is that people are really confused by it! Like they can't cope at all. So many drivers looking disappointed as they slow down near the entrance and so many lost looking teenagers at the end of the day who can't pop in on the way home from school for their burger and fries. I even had to help out a nice Irish man because it was first thing in the morning and he didn't know where else he could get a coffee from. 2. This is a little tragic one really but still weird enough to amuse me. There is a chain of nurseries in the city I live in that have been broken in to over the last week. Really nasty stuff like weeing on mattresses and stuff and only one that I know of had anything stolen. One of the nurseries (and the latest to be hit) is on my route to and from work. It is amusing because it is a right proper mystery. Also, the local press are on it now and are swarming round with TV cam...

Apart from the smattering of French that would help me to order in a restaurant which, let's face it, is really all I would want to be able to do on a holiday to France, I  can remember smatterings of my education that are really quite interesting. Something I learned from my psychology lessons at college is about prayer. This will not be in depth or tell you anything specifically with links sources, hence the title of this blog. However, you can look up the studies if you can really be bothered. This week it was reported that Professor Richard Dawkins, the scientist and most famous of the atheists, suffered a minor stroke which forced him to cancel his tour.  The Church of England sent a tweet about this saying they were going to send prayers for him. Now, either they are trying to be compassionate or this is one of the biggest pieces of internet trolling in years. It got me thinking about my past experiences in education and I realised that there had been a study once ...

I don't celebrate Valentine's Day because it is a sheer coincidence that my fiance and I got together on the 14 February. We were both single at the time and didn't give a flying fart so we just never thought about the actual date until a few days later. For many people Valentine's Day is a day of hell. They are either single and feel worse for seeing all the lovey dovey rubbish going on around them, have to work because they do something like waiting tables and have to see all the other couples when their loved one is at home, or they forget and their partner goes batshit crazy on them. Here are some facts about the day: Saint Valentine was a Roman saint and it has only been a day of love since the Middle Ages. There are actually around 11 other saints with the name Valentine who have saints days on different dates. There may even have been more than one Valentine who died on 14 February. It is actually impossible to say for sure who he was and what he did. Reall...

Life is full of lessons and here are some of the ones I have learned recently. Don't move a washing machine on your own! I did this when ours was playing up the other weekend and I totally regret it. The worst part was that it still had water in it and a load of cloths so it was extra heavy. I should have drained it and opened it and then got my fiance to help me with it. There's a weird bundle of nerves in your back and legs Hurting myself meant I discovered my sciatic nerve. It starts by your butt and runs down each leg. I damaged it on my right side when I tried to move the washing machine. The worst thing was realising I had done all the nerves in around my right lower abdomen too. Not pleasant feeling them all repair. Peppermint tea literally cures everything! I was recommended this for my recurring IBS like symptoms and it's great! Refreshing and tasty, it also stops the IBS like cramping, nausea, loss of appetite and it relieves stress and anxiety. I high...

I will have been with my fiance for 7 years come Valentine's Day. We are getting married later in the year as well. Not only have we been together for 7 years, but we have known each other for just over 12 years. We were friends for 5 years before getting together. In all of that time I have learned a few things about him and relationships. You can't change a bad habit: I won't embarrass the poor lad with his bad habits (though I have my fair share to be truthful), but in all the time I have known him I cannot get him to stop. I don't think I will ever change him and in reality I don't think I would want to. His bad habits are a part of him after all. Get a comfy mattress: We were so looking forward to sleeping next to each other when my mattress decided to die. It was so bad for my back that I ended up spending a month in another room away from him. Invest in a good mattress before you move out. It will save you so much in the relationship. Being friends ...

Today is World Cancer Day. We all know someone who has suffered with cancer or died from cancer. Statistics show that one out of every two people will now survive cancer and these show much improved odds. There is still a lot of work to do though and you can donate to some of the cancer charities at the end of this blog. What can I do? Apart from donating to a charity you can do something to raise money. In in the past I have taken part in Race for Life and I know others that have done things like shave their heads. At work we always do the Macmillan coffee mornings where we sell cakes. The possibilities are endless. Reducing risks: There are some really simple things you can do. The changes you make don't have to be drastic but can significantly cut your chances of getting cancer. Things like giving up smoking, reducing alcohol consumption and losing weight all help. Things to look for: Some have more obvious signs than others. Warning signs can include a cough lasting...

If you have been living under a rock for the last couple of weeks you may have missed a few things. Here is a bit of a round up for you. People are giving cancer the finger: January 2016 was the worst month in terms of high profile deaths from cancer. I can't think of another month in my life time quite like it. First of all, just before the year actually started we lost Motorhead front man (and ultimate rock star) Lemmy at the age of 70 to cancer. Then the year started and it got worse and worse. First of all David Bowie, the wonderful and creative musician and actor, passed away at the age of 69 from cancer immediately following the release of his album Blackstar. Then actor and total legend Alan Rickman passed away at the age of 69 from Cancer. Lastly, on the very final day of the month, we lost the veteran and beloved broadcaster Sir Terry Wogan at the age of 77 to cancer. What a crappy start to the year huh? These people meant so much to so many around the world. They al...

The first thing that Dave's brothers asked about when we announced our wedding date and that they were to take on the joint best man duties was: "where do you want your stag do?" The idea of a traditional stag of just drinking and strippers was not something that appealed to Dave. He was more about a meal and then off somewhere for a gaming night (literally video games). His various cousins and friends soon got involved and demanded trips to far off realms. The reality is that we haven't got long for this wedding and we need to think about money. That means that exotic stags are not really feasible. Dave knows all of this of course and that is why he suggested such a tame stag. I haven't even really given it much thought as to a hen do though. The traditional boozy hen do with male strippers is not something for me either. I don't see why it should be. I don't really like alcohol all that much and my maid of honour is tee-total. Why should we ever en...