Solitary Man

Hello everyone,

I have got into Mint Tea recently. I find it rather delicious and it makes my stomach feel all warm inside. I like the smell very much too. I have always regarded herbal teas and the like for women (I’m not being sexist sisters, it’s just that you don’t often see men drink them). Being a macho man myself I liked to stick with caffeine based hot drinks. It has always been strictly coffee or ‘normal’ tea for me.

On Christmas Day though I got a sore tummy and I was in a bit of pain. The Emster suggested a Mint Tea and who was I to refuse (such was my discomfort)? Not only did the Mint Tea soothe me right away but it tasted delicious. I was a changed man! I now have a mint tea every day after lunch and it’s something I look forward too very much. I can only recommend it to my fellow comrades out there in blog land.

It’s funny to think of the lifestyle changes that I’ve made over the last year or so. They are a combination of being in LA and age I think, but I wonder if the Marc in his early twenties would have looked at me now with disgust? Rather than a rock n’ roll rebel from the planet Cool he would have seen a man who likes Mint Tea, who doesn’t drink very much and whose idea of fun is to decide what podcast to listen to in the gym. I don’t even eat meat anymore. How the mighty have fallen eh?

Anyway I have been trying to get my head around this Twitter thing. I heard that David Bowie had an account so I wanted one. It transpired that he didn’t have an account at all and it was some dude pretending to be him. I am now a member anyway. I still don’t really get it because as far as I can gather it’s just like sending out a lot of facebook updates. I think the idea of it is that you ‘micro blog’. Obviously I love to blither on so micro blogging isn’t quite my piano forte. I shall Percy Veer with it nonetheless as if I am to remain one of the great marketing gurus of our time I have to keep up with the kids.

The Emster and I had an ace weekend. I was working on the Saturday, but it was fun work. Our brilliant show Solitary (www.solitary3.com) has been getting absolutely great ratings. I don’t normally mention work here but not only do I love the show but it’s fantastic that I have been involved in a big success! It’s been superb to work on it for lots of reasons. Anyway a Mall Tour had been organized where the public could have a go at being in our show. The launch was at The Glendale Galleria. We had never been here before as it was in the Valley (a bit too far away from Santa Monica), but it was another Mall to tick off the list. The plan was that Emma would go off and shop while I would check out the Solitary shebang.

On the way we picked up our Australian intern James Brown. He is not THE James Brown obviously. I have managed to avoid making the obvious jokes thus far (I am getting old). Anyway James is a top lad and we had a chat about Glasvegas (who I like) and the hot new music website ‘spotify’ among other things. I shall not bore you with stories of our Mall Tour for much longer, other than to say it was a big success.

Emma did let me go to Panda Express which I was most grateful for. I simply adore Panda Express. It’s basically fast Chinese food, and it’s delicious. Emma doesn’t like big foodcourts and I can see why (as they are often full of idiots). I think the Essex Boy in me likes to come out every now and then though, and he needs to forget the mint tea. Instead he wants to sit in a food court with all the other sad dudes. I will say though that the foodcourts over here are a lot better than what you get back at home in Lakeside or something. Anyways Emma went shopping mental and spent about a million dollars on some new outfits. She looked great in them all of course so it was money well spent. And Emma did buy me a new watch so I can’t complain.

It’s been a great week for TV here in America Land. Lost returned with a double bill, and apart from Doctor Who it’s my most favorite show of all time. Some cats think that it has dragged on and doesn’t give you any answers. I am one that disagrees and I love it. I am just sad that next season is the last one as I never want it to end. I miss Charlie though as he was my fave. Emma noticed that Sawyer has now got a little bit of a tummy. This will upset the ladies! We once saw him having a cigarette outside a bar in Venice. So not only is he putting on weight but he is probably going to die of cancer soon too. Things must be troubled in his world.

We have now also watched the first two episodes of this seasons ‘Flight Of The Conchords’. It is just as funny as the first series and Murray is the best comic creation since Alan Partridge.

I should go now as in today’s Twitter times you have to keep it real, and to keep it short. I think Emma will write the next entry. She hasn’t done one for a while and her fans have been very demanding. While she is doing that I may work on another videoblog for you all. It’s all give, give, give with us.

Keep it real,
Marc x

King For A Day

Just as we got used to being back at work after the festive period (and were in the mindset of being worker type dudes) another holiday was upon us. As mentioned in the last entry we had Monday off work as it was Martin Luther King day. This meant a three day weekend which is always a good thing eh readers? And of course it’s jolly good that Mr. King helped everyone all be equal and that type of jazz. I was thus very happy that he has his own day as I think he probably deserved it. It was actually Ronald Reagan who signed the bill in 1982 which bought this day into existence fact fans.

On the Saturday Emma and I went to our first ever baby shower. These events aren’t that big back in blighty but they are all the rage here in America Land. Basically what happens is that everyone buys the forthcoming baby a present and then you all have some food and drink to celebrate. This wasn’t a Stepford Wives type event though (which you see in the films). Instead it was more like an afternoon party with some fizz and cakes. It was a lovely day with weather in the late twenties and it was brilliant to enjoy the sun whilst mingling with various people in the garden.

We purchased some organic baby kit thing that Emma picked. I’m not sure what it was exactly but the packaging looked nice. I should point out that it was our friends Cerise and Mark’s shower as I haven’t mentioned that yet! I can’t say too much about the various crazy showbiz types that were there as they may get cross with me. What I will say though is that I was very shocked to see an A-list bonafide star with the most dreadful fake tan on. They had obviously done it themselves which proves even stars are human sometimes. Anyway fake tan aside it was a brilliant event and we are looking forward to the birth of the baby very much.

Sunday was a quite brilliant day. The weather was lovely again so Emma and I went shopping. As we were walking down to the shops we saw a man with a big sandwich board saying that Macy’s was having a big gone bust sale or something. As a result a lot of things were half price or less. I got a brilliant pair of skinny jeans for about 12 pounds in UK money as well as lots of pants and not forgetting some ace new ties. You have to love the credit crunch really eh? As long as you can keep your job then there are bargains to be had in lots of shops. When our local Borders closed down just after Christmas Emma and I went book mental as everything was so cheap. Obviously Emma will be out of a job when we come back home but lets not worry about that now. Instead we will carry on partying like it's 1999 when every store has to have closing down sales. At least we will look good when we are living on the streets of London in six months time when nobody has a job.

Emma then got herself some lovely new clothes in Third Street before we retired to ‘Pinkberry’ for a delicious low fat, low calorie, frozen yoghurt. This was followed by a delightful evening stroll back home.

On Monday I had an ichat with my mum. I hadn’t spoken to her for a couple of weeks so it was great to catch up. We spoke for 46 minutes which is a long time for me to talk via any kind of phone method. Emma and I then went to the gym. Luckily it was pretty quiet today. I am really fed up with all the people that have joined the gym as a new years resolution. My gym is now full of amateurs who will no doubt stop going in a couple of weeks. I really don’t know why they bother as they just take up valuable machine space in their pathetic attempt to get fit (that will fail by the next month). They then won’t be seen again until the following January when they are another half a stone heavier.

I just read that last paragraph back. It’s very mean spirited isn’t it? I’m sorry about that readers. I just get cross having to wait for a machine at the gym. I wanted to go on the sit up machine the other day but two fat dudes (about the size of Hurley from Lost) were using them as chairs while they had a chat. Surely they could do this at a diner with a burger? Anyway, there is nothing wrong with people wanting to get fit. I just wish it wasn’t in my gym in January.

In the evening we went to a brilliant movie theatre called ‘The Landmark’. Not only did it have really fresh and delicious popcorn but the chairs were so comfy, and they even reclined. They gave you loads of space too. It was the bee’s knees of cinemas (as I believe they are called back in the UK). We went to watch ‘Who Wants To Be A Millionaire: India’. It wasn’t called that but for the life of me I can’t remember the title. I know I could go and Google it now but I’m on a roll writing this so I shall not stop. Anyway, you know what film I mean and it will come to me in a bit.

I was expecting great things because not only had every critic said it was the best film ever made but everyone I spoke to had said the same thing too. I was therefore very disappointed when it finished. I thought to myself (and this shouldn’t spoil the end for those who haven’t seen it) “There is no way those questions would have come up, that is taking coincidence too far.” Emma though said she loved it, whereas I thought it was unbelievable tosh. Then a very weird thing happened! As we were traveling home I realized that if I hadn’t of gone in expecting to see the best film ever made I would have enjoyed it for what it was. And that is a really well made, life affirming film, with a really witty and touching script. By the morning I had done a total about turn and I decided that it was in fact brilliant after all.

I emailed Jim (Bob) the next day and told him that he had to go and see it as it was the greatest film ever made. I had become as bad as the critics. I should have said “Slumdog (Yes! It’s come to me) Millionaire is pretty good. See what you think.”

Anyways, that was how we celebrated the life of Martin Luther King. If you reading this Mr. King then I will raise one of my low calories sports drinks to you as we had a lovely weekend.

Since the weekend we are back at work and Obama is finally the President. I told all the dudes at work that there is none of this waiting around for months back in the UK. You basically win the election and then you are leader. This is how it should be. I know his inauguration was all very historic but I had been excited two months ago when he won. I found Tuesday’s events quite dull as it was the same thing all over again. In football terms it was like the games you get after you have won the league with a few matches to spare. You just want to get them out of the way and get onto playing in the Champions League. I thought that rather than having all this palaver and hullabaloo he should just get on with the job of running America and being hopefully the best President ever.

That’s it for now.

Marc x

p.s. I am pleased to announce that a VERY special guest has been added to The Gallifrey 20 Convention (the biggest Doctor Who convention in the world). On the panel discussing The Sarah Jane Adventures 'season two' a certain Marc Ollington has been added to the bill. This will be THE best session of the convention I'm sure with Ollington entertaining all with his cheeky charm and Matt Smith good looks. www.gallifreyone.com/gallifrey-schedule.php

Smith and Bones

Hello readers,

It’s been a while eh? Hopefully the video blog of our Vegas antics kept you entertained. 250 of you watched both parts. I think that makes Emma and I bonafide youtube sensations.

Not much has happened since Vegas if the truth be told. We have gone back to work and the last couple of weeks have whizzed by like a very whizzy thing. We do have a long weekend coming up though (which is jolly nice). It’s Martin Luther King Day on Monday so we all get a day off. I pretended to my American colleagues that I had no idea who this dude was. This was obviously hilarious and lots of fun and japes ensued. Imagine their faces when I said “Only joking. I know who is really.” It was priceless.

Emma and I went to see that film ‘The Reader’ last Saturday. It was pretty good actually though Kate Winslet got naked again. That lady can’t keep her clothes on. It’s a disgrace I think. There were a lot of old people in the cinema and I wondered if all the sex was a bit too much for them. It was too much for me if the truth be told. I think I am getting more prudish as I get older.

We also cleaned the car last Saturday and we did a food shop. Interesting eh? We hadn’t done a shop for a while so it came to $240 dollars. This did include moisturizer for us both though which upped the cost. Yes, it’s true, I have started using moisturizer. I did this in my mid-twenties but I wasn’t as bad as my flatmate Toby who actually cleansed, toned and moisturized. I got bored of putting it on my face every day though (it’s bad enough shaving) and I decided it was too gay. So for the last few years I have been moisturizer free. Emma noticed that my skin was a bit dry in this LA climate and said I should go back on the moisturizer. I am not getting any younger readers and I do have lines around my eyes now. I don’t mind this actually as it looks quite cool in a man I think. I don’t want peeling skin though so I have been applying this stuff twice a day. I just touched my face as I write this and it’s almost as soft as a babies bottom. I think the Esmter was right therefore. I’m not doing any of that toning stuff though.

I really am afraid these topics today are as good as it gets. What do you expect? It’s January and even in LA you can’t be out living the showbiz life the whole time. Even people like me need to be normal every now and then. You’ll be pleased to know though that the Emster and I are well. And the sun is shining. It’s in the high twenties at the moment so whilst you UK dudes are freezing we will be on the beach. Sorry for the gloating readers but I am glad that winter over here lasted for about a week.

With January comes resolutions. Mine is to be even healthier. I got my blood test results back (I still have the bruise from it, and it was all the way back on Christmas Eve they did that) and the results were rubbish. I have very high cholesterol. I reckon this is dead unfair as I am really healthy these days. I haven’t eaten red meat for about nine months and my diet is very good. I get lots of exercise too. I bet there are loads of fat people who smoke and drink loads who are fine. This world has no justice. Luckily I am as fit as a fiddle in every other area. I don’t think I have ever had such a thorough health check as what I had over here. At my Doctors back in London you get about two minutes maximum time before you walk out with a prescription (of which you have no idea of what it is you have been given, or indeed what’s wrong with you). I’ve never had a proper health check before.

The Doctor thinks its genetic so he wanted to prescribe this medicine called Lipatol. I did some research on the interweb and it can cause a lot of bad side effects in some people. This scared me a bit so I told my doctor about my worries. And I hate taking tablets if I don’t need too. He got all narky about me doing interweb research (as Doctors do. I think it’s their pet hate when patients look things up on the interweb) and said that all drugs have side effects in some people. He is right of course but I don’t think you should jump into these things.

Perhaps stupidly I have decided to try and get better naturally. It may not be genetic (you never know) and if I get even healthier I will be ok. We have now bought whole grain pasta and that kind of jazz. In fact our food shop on Saturday was the most dull we have ever done. The only nice thing we got was ice-cream and even that was low fat. I have changed my breakfast cereal from Golden Grahams to Cheerios. They taste like cardboard but what can you do? They are as far removed from giving me cheer as physically possible. They claim to remove cholesterol by 5% though. I also have this butter that tastes so bad I am tempted to have manky old dry bread. I now sit at the table every morning and look enviously at Emma and her cornflakes. And I don’t even like cornflakes that much.

When I get back to England in April I will get tested again and if I’m still bad I guess I’ll go on the drugs. I have been to the gym loads this year already too as exercise helps. I shall beat this if I can dear reader. I don’t want to get diabetes or any of that type of jazz, so it’s a life of moderation and boredom for me foodwise. It could be worse though eh? I could have been diabetic now and that would have been awful. I almost cried before my blood test (and I haven’t cried since 2001 I reckon) so at least I don’t have to inject myself.

I shall now move away from my diet and my face and I will go onto the last topic for today. That topic dear readers is the new Doctor Who. How could I not mention the appointment of Matt Smith? Most Doctor Who fans are up in arms saying that he is too young, and that new head honcho Stephen Moffat doesn’t know what he was doing. Or even that Matt Smith was forced on him by BBC execs wanting the Hollyoaks audience. Well, I have it on very good authority that they were quite happy to go older. Both David Morrissey and Paterson Joseph (the top two choices) could not agree terms so third choice Matt Smith got the role.

Mr. Smith may be twenty six now but he won’t be the Doctor on our screens until 2010. He’ll be twenty eight almost by then, only a year younger than when Peter Davison started. Peter Davison was the last great Doctor before Eccles Cakes (Baker 2, McCoy and McGann were ok, they weren’t up to the first five and subsequently Doctor’s nine or ten). If Peter can do it so can Matt Smith. So I will enjoy David Tennant doing four fabulous specials in 2009 and in Spring of 2010 (a very long time away) I will start having a think about how Matt may get on in the role.

Some people have said that Matt Smith looks like me. I wished I had his hairline that’s for sure! I can’t really see it myself other than the fact our faces aren’t conventionally good looking yet we are both hugely attractive to women.

Anyway, that’s it for now.

Marc x

Viva Las Vegas

Happy New Year dear blog readers.

Here is something a little different this time around. My boss, Lorey, got me this ace mini video recorder for Christmas. It's the size of a credit card practically! I therefore decided to make a video of Emma and I's trip to Las vegas to see the new year in. We spent three nights there and it was ruddy toptastic.

I'll be back with a written blog next time. Having said that making these videos is very addictive... I feel like the new Stephen Spielberg. Having said that I have only just learned how to 'edit'. Spot all the 'on-purpose' title mistakes at the very start of part two. I was being artistic honest!

Enjoy!
Marc x


If you don't want to watch the little clips just below the title of this blog, and want to see the videos in their full youtube glory they are here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Be-IiP0oWMo (Part One)

and here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YLh3j5CQsRE (Part Two)