Return to work (the aftermath)

Bit of a tiring day really, going back to work after just over two weeks off - with 8 days being sick leave. I had a clogged inbox to deal with, and a 'to do' list of mammoth proportions.

It's kind of funny that so many "urgent" emails sent to me two weeks ago don't seem so urgent now. Tomorrow I think I'll be phoning a few people asking 'do you still need this thing you were asking me for...?' With any luck the answer(s) will be 'No'.

I also got lots more praise for the panto and because we were having a 'goodbye' thing for our outgoing CEO this afternoon I got to see a few of my fellow panto stars on a social level, which was a bonus on an otherwise hard day. So far I think the only negative feedback any of us have had is that some of the characters were hard to see at the church shows because the stage isn't high enough. I guess in a way that's a positive - when people say they couldn't really see enough of what was going on.

And I got asked if I'd like to go on an Elvis-themed day trip on New Year's Day, which sounds intriguing. I guess the white jumpsuit outfit may see action again...

Know a lion, looks like Elvis

In case people thought I'd abandoned my blogging - or died - the last two weeks I've been laid up with a very bad cold/cough. I actually had 10 days off work as a result. I was signed off right until my planned leave for the Glenwood panto, this week.

Even now I've still got a bit of a cough. I seemed to spend most of my time onstage in the panto trying not to cough. For those who don't know, I was Elvis the Cowardly Lion in our own Cardiff-ised version of the Wizard of Oz. That meant I spent most of my time broiling in an all over fur suit, before changing into my Elvis garb, complete with massive quiff, for the final scene.

Here are a couple of pictures, if you didn't get along to see me...

Roar!



"Oh no I scared myself"




Elvis being menaced by Peggy Witchell (it's a long story) played by Emma D.

Scaredy Citrus

As is slowly becoming common knowledge, I'm taking part on an am-dram panto in December. It's the Wizard of Oz and in our version (written partly by me) the lion (played by me) is called Elvis and has a secret ambition to become a singer.

Cathy's sister rang last night and asked what we were doing. "I'm making Jon's lion costume," was Cathy's reply. There was an outburst of confusion on the other end of the phone.

"Not lime... LION." said Cathy.

Now that would be a fun version of the Wizard of Oz as Dorothy is befriended by the Cowardly Lime. Talk about giving the story a juicy twist...

Name checking

Further to yesterday's post about their genius song lyric, Scouting for Girls' latest single is called Elvis Ain't Dead, which got me thinking about songs that namecheck other bands or artists.

Ironically Scouting for Girls are in direct competition with Living Colour, who released a track called Elvis is Dead back in the 90s. REM claimed "Andy's goofing on Elvis, hey baby" on Man on the Moon, and Counting Crows sang "she wants to meet a boy who looks like Elvis" on Round Here.

In fact the Crows are notable namecheckers. Two other examples spring to mind: "I wanna be Bob Dylan" (Mr Jones) and "Got Ben Folds on the radio" (Monkey). Then there's Snow Patrol urging a girl to "put Sufjan Stevens on" (Hands Open), and Bowling for Soup namechecking Nirvana, Blondie, U2, Madonna and probably loads more in 1985.

When it comes to names in titles, 'Roll Over Beethoven' springs to mind (originally By Chuck Berry but made famous by The Beatles), while currently I'm loving The Wombats tune 'Let's Dance to Joy Division'. And of course there's the classic Ballad of Tom Jones by Space & Cerys Matthews.

There's probably loads more if I really thought about it - any ideas?

Down with the youth

Out with the older youth today for the first time. It seems kids are actually as ignorant as they seem. A discussion about musical idols led to the question 'who was in the Beatles?' Ok, fair play, they got two, and suggested Elvis Presley to boot. But then...

"And the other one was Ringo Starr..."

"Really? What a stupid name - Rainbow Star."

"RINGO Starr."

Marketing the King

Elvis is back in fashion and part-work maestros deAgostini are pushing a new series on the King, helped by ads in every break on Channel 4 and More4 last night in the two and a half hours of telly I watched. (Big Brother, Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip, My Name is Earl, for anyone who’s interested)

The ad for the magazine series makes me laugh because halfway through they explain how each issue comes with “authentic replica artifacts”. It’s the juxtaposition of ‘authentic’ and ‘replica’ which tickles me. What exactly is an ‘authentic replica’?

I think what they mean is the copy of Elvis’ school report they give you hasn’t just been made up out of thin air – it is a reproduction of Elvis’ actual report. But surely many of the people who will be buying this stuff – hardcore Elvis collectors – would know what was in his school report anyway. And if you don’t know already, they could print anything…

Home Economics
Elvis likes making burgers and is very proficient with using the deep fat fryer.

English
Despite using the wrong tenses, Elvis has made considerable progress. But he must learn that he is “all shaken up”, for example.

Social studies
Elvis’ concern for the inhabitants of our penal system is evident in his heart-warming essay on why every inmate in a cell block would benefit from listening to music.

RE
Elvis’ knowledge of gospel songs is very helpful, although he must stop trying to entertain the class.

Music
If Elvis could learn the bassoon, I’m sure he would be a valuable asset to our school orchestra. Unfortunately he insists on playing guitar in a highly excitable way. I’m afraid his musical future is limited if he refuses to play a proper instrument.

Attendance
On more than one occasion Elvis has refused to attend particular classes. Frankly, we are growing tired of hearing Elvis has left the building.