June 2007

NEWSLETTER / DIARY JUNE 2007

(If you receive this it's because I think you’re a cool person, or you think I’m a cool person, you’re a friend, an acquaintance or we just share the same taste in the weird and wonderful. Whatever the case, if you have no wish to receive further issues - just hit reply and enter "unsubscribe" in the subject box. I won't take offence!)

With that out of the way, I’d just like to say that the main reason for this newsletter is so that I can keep in touch with as many people as possible – but that can only happen if I know what’s going on in YOUR life. So, please, take the time to drop me a line. I really appreciate it.

www.drewmcadam.co.uk

GET OFF YOUR BIKE
Well, for those who have been receiving the newsletter for a while, you’ll know about last month’s Charity Cycle Challenge in which I got back on my bike after a ten year absence and pedalled from London to Paris in four days. I’m glad to report that I can now walk normally again, and that – thanks to all you lovely, generous people – I not only reached my target sponsorship figure, but actually doubled it! Well done, you!

GILLIAN?
One quick question… Who is Gillian Mullhall? I wrote personally to each person who sponsored me, and this person did, but I don’t have a return e-mail address. If this is you… who are you? I don’t seem to have your email address to send a personal thank you, so it may be a new married name, or summit’. Let me know!

PC ON THE PC
Here’s a thought: If it ain’t PC, you can’t do it. These days the only people you can poke fun at are white, heterosexual, males…. That’s me. I’m part of a minority group; so watch your step!

GIGS THIS MONTH
Besides the gigs, I wrote a few articles for the special reports section of The Scotsman newspaper, including a bit about entertainment and a couple of pieces about what to do and see in Scotland. Thanks for the commission, Stuart – keep ‘em coming. I enjoy scribbling!

Gigs this month included a couple at The DALMAHOY HOTEL, Edinburgh. And there was another at THE ROYAL TERRACE HOTEL.

Best gig had to be when I opened for the Science Awards at the GLASGOW SCIENCE CENTRE. This was held in the IMAX cinema – it has an “auditorium” feel and the biggest screen in the UK, I understand – to a packed house. There was a real buzz about the place, and turned out to be one of the most enjoyable gigs I’ve had in a long time.

Good gig, too, at CRIEFF HYDRO. Mind you, at one point I took a step back and, where the step to the stage should have been, there was now empty space. Great. As I vanished off to the side, one li’l ol’ lady near the front was heard to say “He didn’t know THAT was going to happen!” Oh, how I laughed… no, really.

Had the very great pleasure of performing at KING’S COLLEGE, CAMBRIDGE. This must be the grandest venue in which I have ever played. Imagine (see pic below) packed with people, stage and spotlights... what a venue!

On the way to Cambridge, something really weird happened with my beloved GPS. Having driven down the M6, the GPS suggested that I leave the motorway and travel east on the A66 which would take me to Scotch Corner and the A1. However, two miles along the connecting road, the techno-box changed its mind, sent me up a wee country, single track road and back, west, towards the M6… When I arrived back at the roundabout that would take me back onto the motorway I had been travelling on, the damn thing changed its mind again, and sent me BACK along the connecting road and on to the A1. It just made me do a complete “loop” for no apparent reason. DO these things have a sense of humour? I suspect so.


Having driven to Cambridge, performed, then hung around answering questions, I had to get up VERY early after a late night and drive back. Following a one-hour rest, my son Andrew acted as driver and took me on to the next gig – a further 184 miles up the A9 and into the Highlands – to the RAF base at LOSSIEMOUTH for a performance that night. It was worth it, though.

THE RUSSIANS ARE COMING!
It was at this RAF gig that I had the very real pleasure of meeting a young Russian lady, Elena Kourenkova who is a splendid painter with a really weird sense of humour. Take the time to check out her paintings at www.elenakourenkova.com. I think they are wonderful, and I’m sure you will too.

THAT WAS QUIRKY – AND HERE’S SOME MORE…
As most of you know, I really enjoy the quirky, so here are some idiosyncratic reports from the British Media.
(1) Commenting on a complaint from a Mr. Arthur Purdey about a large gas bill, a spokesman for North West Gas said, "We agree it was rather high for the time of year. It's possible Mr. Purdey has been charged for the gas used up during the explosion that destroyed his house." (The Daily Telegraph)
Or how about:(2) Irish police are being handicapped in a search for a stolen van, because they cannot issue a description. It's a Special Branch vehicle and they don't want the public to know what it looks like. (The Guardian)3) At the height of the gale, the harbourmaster radioed a coastguard and asked him to estimate the wind speed. He replied he was sorry, but he didn't have a gauge. However, if it was any help, the wind had just blown his Land Rover off the cliff. (Aberdeen Evening Express)6) Mrs. Irene Graham of Thorpe Avenue, Boscombe, delighted the audience with her reminiscence of the German prisoner of war who was sent each week to do her garden. He was repatriated at the end of 1945, she recalled. "He'd always seemed a nice friendly chap, but when the crocuses came up inthe middle of our lawn in February 1946, they spelt out 'Heil Hitler.'" (Bournemouth Evening Echo)
CUTE FOOT
And here’s something else for you to try. Just take a few minutes and give this a go:
How smart is Your Right Foot ?

This will boggle your mind and keep you trying over and over again to see if you can outsmart your foot, but you can't. It's pre-programmed in your brain!
1. While sitting where you are at your desk in front of your computer, lift your RIGHT FOOT off the floor and make clockwise circles. 2. Now, while doing this, draw the number "6" in the air with your right hand.Your foot will change direction. See, told you! And there's nothing you can do about it!
Cheers!

Drew