To be close to you

To be close to you

I know it seems hard

And I’m a thousand miles away

But you are always in my heart

Each and every day

I close my eyes at night

And you appear perfectly

But when I open my eyes again

You are no longer there to see

Chorus

I just want to hold you

Just want to tell you

How in love I am with you

How I would give everything I have

To once again be close to you

I looked at the stars at night

Knowing they are looking down on you

I sat next to a lonely rock on the beach

And began dreaming of us two

We walked along a perfect sandy beach

Just the two of us holding hands

Our love will never disappear

Only stronger across these lands

Bridge

No rives I won’t cross, no mountains I won’t climb

To be with you just one more time

The World Weeps

The seventh of the seventh was the fatal day

One more fight, we all wanted to say

Tears flowed and the world stood still

For a small boy whose hearts he did fill

At six years old he made the country unite

Even though he was fighting his own unique fight

His recognisable smile lit up every stadium in the land

At six years of age, did he really understand?

Every team’s fans were behind his great cause

A thousand stadiums and millions of applause

Those who met him told you of his joy

Loved my millions this angel of a boy

A message from the almighty God above

Sent from heaven to teach us how to love

We all need to continue his love and legacy

Goodnight sweet child, god bless you Bradley

November Nights

A cold November night

Rain pecking the window pane

Darkness arrived, fading light

Taking a trip down memory lane

I close my eyes and I see you

Sitting in your favourite chair

Laughing as you usually do

My love for you fills the air

Chorus

November nights I held you close to me

November nights it was always you and me

November nights I wanted them to last

November nights now sadly in the past

November nights sharing a kiss or two

November nights it was always me and you

We were young we made mistakes

Things were said I take them back

Forgotten times, new dawn awakes

Our relationship back on track

My eyes open and you’re gone

House is quiet and I’m all alone

I thought you were the one

Sat waiting, staring at my phone

Bridge

What happened to those November nights?

Why did we throw it all away?

One Love

It’s time to stand up; time to be there for one another

Put our differences aside; Call each other sister or bother

The whole world needs to start preaching the love

It clearly doesn’t matter from which God above

Put petty arguments aside and forgive thy neighbour

Be there for that lost, troubled family member

Welcome strangers in to your life and in to your heart

There is too much hate; we need one love to start

One love starts with yourself, then your family and friends

No more hate, no more excuses, let’s make amends

Cherish moment you have with the people you love most

Travel to see them across many lands from coast to coast

The world watches fearful for the next horrendous act

We need to stand together to keep our one love intact

Whether you travel near or far keep one love in your heart

They may try and split us up but they’ll never keep us apart

Let’s not stay silent; let’s make an almighty roar

We need to make sure we put one love right to the core

We all need to make sure that love will conquer the hate

Remember this day we shared one love; remember this date

One love needs to spread across every inch of this earth

No more enemies; it’s time for the world to rebirth

Don’t start one love tomorrow or put it off another day

One love start now because it’s time love had its say

This is me

I may not have the look of a movie star

Or a model in a magazine

I may not have a the voice of a music star

Or have a song on the music scene

I may not have a house with an extension

Or have a castle for my queen

Chorus

But what I’ve got money can not buy

I’ll tell you the truth; I will not lie

I’ll keep you warm when you are cold

I’ll keep you young when we’ve grown old

I’ll be loyal and stand by your side

I’ll make you the perfect bride

I may not be able to give you money

Or a life beyond your dreams

I may not be the dare devil you want

Or give you life’s extremes

I may not drive the latest sports car

Or be in your daydreams

Bridge

This is me, this is who I am

I’m not materialistic, I am who I am

A time to act

I woke up this morning and heard the awful news

I was in shock; I didn’t know what to say

Cried on my way to work listening to Radio City 2

A bomb explosion; another hate filled day

A tragedy in Manchester that didn’t have to happen

Innocent lives lost, many families effected

Many young children attending their first ever concert

The whole world left feeling dejected

We can’t let hatred win and we can’t live in fear

We have to stand together; be strong

Now is the time to love thy neighbour more than before

Show the world that hate is wrong

There may be more darkness on the horizon ahead

We must be the light in people’s lives

Love must conquer over evil, for our future generations

Or the world no longer survives.  

Lead us

In a world of war; we are looking for our saviour

Someone to guide us to a new promised land

Too much hatred towards people who are different

Too different for them to understand

In a world of war; we are looking for our saviour

Someone to challenge the established few

A new way of thinking; a new way talking

Someone who is truthful to what they will do

Chorus

Lead us away and save our souls

Lead us away from this hatred inside

Lead us to peace and a time to reflect

Lead us to our paradise

Lead us glory and a new dawn ahead

Lead us to share and believe in each other

Lead us to our community and spread the joy

Lead us to a new kind of love

In a world getting smaller; we’ve lost our community

A sense of belonging got lost along the way

Kindness and generosity no longer the norm

Greed and power has sadly become the way

In a world getting smaller; we’ve lost our community

Someone needs to restore our faith in humanity

Love thy neighbour is no longer the mantra

Please restore the world’s sanity

Bridge

Throughout these dark times there has t be a light

A leader to make the dark world once again beam bright

Beauty And The Beast

We’ve ran out of time

Nothing left to see

Started out as mates

Then went on some dates

True love completely

Changed after one night

Simply had a feast

I had curly fries (French Frank)

I went super size (Potty Pots)

Beauty and the Beast

Never be the same

I still need a bride (Gaston)

Opened a new door

This I never saw

Standing side by side

Story should be told

Love that conquers all

Change to make it right

Romance is in sight

Feeling ten foot tall

We’ve made some new friends

Friendship at the least

We’ll all say goodbye

Love you can’t untie

Beauty and the Beast

We’ll all say goodbye

Love you can’t untie

Beauty and the Beast

St Helens Theatre Royal – Beauty and the Beast

It’s Easter time again and that can only mean one thing…Panto!  St Helens has delivered another hit with their interpretation of Beauty and the Beast.  The tale as old as time has been reworked and given the St Helens touch.  Audience of all ages gathered to be entertained once again, by a now regular cast and a couple of new faces. 

One of the new faces to appear was the dazzling Amy Thompson.  Amy plays Belle with a charm and beauty Walt Disney himself would adore.  I didn’t know much about Amy before the panto as I’m not familiar with her show (Milkshake).  I would, however, gladly tune in to see her and that ‘Disney’ smile.  Another new face taking the stage was ‘Big Brothers’ Nikki Grahame.  Nikki plays the Fairy in this production and delivers her lines with enthusiasm.  She is first on stage, which is always difficult on your own, and needed to get the crowd warmed up better before the first song.

Now with any pantomime you need to have a comedy duo, enter Simon Foster and Liam Mellor.  Liam and Simon have worked together on many occasions and have natural comic timing and a look of mischievousness that tells the audience to watch as something might happen that shouldn’t!  The best part, for me, is when the two of them adlib a couple of lines and try and catch each other out.  They have a great connection with the audience and Liam, in particular, loves to pick on the adults in the audience – The frog scene a perfect example!

The ‘Baddies’ of this panto were Phillip McGuinness and his mum Hannah Potts.  Phillip played Gaston perfectly.  The difficulty in this role is to over act enough for the character but not to over act too much so the audience don’t respond.  Phillip had the balance just right.  His physicality is a massive plus for this role and he never comes out of character once.  He has good chemistry on stage with Hannah.  She has the traditional ‘baddy’ laugh down to a tee and performs a couple of songs with ease.

Now the Beast / Prince – Richard Hazlewood – plays both roles very well but he is at his best as the Beast.  His voice is perfect for the Beast and the use of some special effects makes it even better.  There are some great directional pieces when he changes from the Prince to the Best and back again. 

Special mention to two groups of people that are often neglected but without them the panto doesn’t happen.  First, the set design and costumes were first class.  The attention to detail in the set design with the candle lights slightly flickering shows the amount of work that is generated in this production.  The second group – The Dancers.  These young dancers were outstanding throughout the show and a credit to their choreographer.  They had the energy the show needed and some of the lifts were sublime. 

The pantomime wasn’t perfect and no pantomime should be.  No pantomime should be polished.  There should always be room for some ‘mistakes’ and ‘adlibs’ as this keeps the cast fresh and the audience feel like they are the first to see or hear that part.  The first half of the show was a little short for me (Around 45 minutes) but the second half lasted about an hour.  The dialogue is as corny as it should be with jokes you know are coming and you laugh anyway because of the delivery.   Slapstick is massive in any pantomime and again Beauty and the Beast delivers.  Songs were well chosen and the cast sang them well, particularly Amy.

I presume copyright reasons were the reason the famous ‘Tale as old as time’ song couldn’t be used but maybe comedy lyrics could have been written for the double act ‘French Frank and Potty Polly’

All in all a great day out with my niece saying that it was the best panto she had seen and wanted to go again, so if you want to escape in to a land of make believe to watch a classic tale, then St Helens Theatre Royal is the place to be!

Our Park

A beautiful day and not a cloud in the sky

People greeting each other by simply saying hi

A walk around the park and a breathe of fresh air

Something we all need to cherish, we all need to care

A family sitting together reading a children’s book

Dad failing to light the BBQ trying to tell them he can cook

The dog running around trying to catch a thrown stick

Mum watching everything she never misses a trick

A courting couple lie together underneath a tree

Whispering sweet nothings and him touching her knee

Their lips touch, a gentle kiss and their fondness sealed

It won’t be long now until their love for each other is revealed

A single queue forming at the local ice cream parlour

Lots of options to choose from but you have a favourite flavour

One scoop or two is always a difficult decision to make

You eat the two scoops as you walk around the boating lake

People exercising alone while others workout together

The park brings everyone out in this glorious weather

So whether you are young, old or somewhere in between

Get out in the park; you’ll know why once you’ve been

I fell in love

I can still remember the day we met

Our first date was a trip to the coast

I don’t remember much in life

But this day I remember the most

It started off early when I picked you up

Our nerves broke by the radio

Although I was driving I couldn’t take my eyes of you

The silence we would soon outgrow

We arrived mid morning and parked by the beach

I looked at you and slowly took your hand

You smiled that million dollar smile at me

And we walked as one towards the sand

We laughed together as the waves lapped our feet

Leaving footprints in the sand behind

We etched our initials with our fingers in the sand

As a stick we just couldn’t find

We set down our blanket and set up our picnic

Then we lay down side by side

I carefully placed a single red rose on your lap

My feelings I could no longer hide

In the afternoon we played a game of crazy golf

I laughed as you missed the hole

As you looked at me with those sparkling eyes

Your heart was my ultimate goal

We got to the last and you asked me for help

Wrapping my arms around your waist

I hugged you close and carefully kissed you cheek

Your perfume I could taste

As we drove home I didn’t want the night to end

A shooting star pierced the sky

The radio was playing and you gently fell asleep

I can’t believe I’m this lucky guy

We arrived at your house and you kissed me goodnight

Sending shivers down my spine

How long do I wait to tell you my feelings?

I hope one day that you will be mine

Friday Night Kiss

I remember the start of the working week

That Sunday night feeling

Five long days in work and life seemed so very bleak

It didn’t seem appealing

But knowing you were there at the end of the line

Gave me strength to continue

I wanted to tell the world that you were mine

I only needed you

Chorus

That Friday night kiss

I didn’t want to miss

Your lips tasted so good

That Friday night kiss

I didn’t want to miss

I’d bottle I if could

That Friday night kiss

I didn’t want to miss

Takes me to another place

That Friday night kiss

I didn’t want to miss

You, I‘d never replace

I remember walking home in the pouring rain

I didn’t feel drop

I would walk a thousand miles to see you again

I promise I wouldn’t stop

Longing for that moment our lips finally met

I’ll never forget the taste

My life now worth living, I owe you that debt

A moment I won’t waste

Bridge

I wish everyday could be a Friday night just the two of us alone

It’s true, I’m not going to lie, my mind you’ve definitely blown