<?xml version='1.0' encoding='UTF-8'?><?xml-stylesheet href="http://www.blogger.com/styles/atom.css" type="text/css"?><feed xmlns='http://www.w3.org/2005/Atom' xmlns:openSearch='http://a9.com/-/spec/opensearchrss/1.0/' xmlns:georss='http://www.georss.org/georss' xmlns:gd='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005' xmlns:thr='http://purl.org/syndication/thread/1.0'><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5109368631884985071</id><updated>2012-02-17T00:44:42.993Z</updated><title type='text'>Only Fools and Black Horses - Next gig on June 11th 2009 - details to follow</title><subtitle type='html'>A monthly comedy club at The Black Horse, Aylestone, Leicester.
We aim to provide at least 4 comedians, once a month, with the audience limited to around 55.  Don't be surprised to see people you wouldn't normally expect at a gig this small.  So far we've had Charlie Chuck, Christian Reilly, Henning Wehn, Tom Wrigglesworth, Brendan Burns, Junior Simpson, Hal Cruttenden, Matt Price, Brian Gittins, Pat Monahan to name but a few...</subtitle><link rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#feed' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://onlyfoolsandblackhorses.blogspot.com/feeds/posts/default'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/5109368631884985071/posts/default?max-results=100'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://onlyfoolsandblackhorses.blogspot.com/'/><link rel='hub' href='http://pubsubhubbub.appspot.com/'/><author><name>Phil</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/00851948997833059975</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='16' height='16' src='http://img2.blogblog.com/img/b16-rounded.gif'/></author><generator version='7.00' uri='http://www.blogger.com'>Blogger</generator><openSearch:totalResults>17</openSearch:totalResults><openSearch:startIndex>1</openSearch:startIndex><openSearch:itemsPerPage>100</openSearch:itemsPerPage><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5109368631884985071.post-8291423245875394924</id><published>2009-06-03T21:10:00.004+01:00</published><updated>2009-06-03T21:15:08.419+01:00</updated><title type='text'>Thursday 11th June 2009 (from 8pm)</title><content type='html'>The line-up for June 11th is as follows:&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;ul&gt;&lt;li&gt;&lt;span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"&gt;&lt;span style="font-weight: bold;"&gt;ROGER MONKHOUSE &lt;/span&gt;- Only Fools &amp;amp; Black Horses is delighted to welcome one of the most original and distinctive acts on the comedy scene as the headliner for our June gig.  Roger Monkhouse is a consummate stand-up who employs a deadly combination of charm and menace to exert a masterful control over any audience.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;&lt;span style="font-style: italic;font-family:trebuchet ms;" &gt;"his laconic delivery shields an engaging persona and an enquiring mind" - The Guardian&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;&lt;span style="font-style: italic;font-family:trebuchet ms;" &gt;“unfailingly entertaining and skilfully able to pull punchlines, seemingly, out of thin air" - Chortle&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/li&gt;&lt;/ul&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;ul&gt;&lt;li&gt;&lt;span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"&gt;&lt;span style="font-weight: bold;"&gt;Jim Smallman &lt;/span&gt;- One of the Midland’s best young comedians, regular compere of the Giggling Badger clubs, Jim was deservedly a finalist at this year’s Leicester Comedy Festival awards.  He was the very first act at Only Fools and Black Horses when he compered the November debut gig last year, and we’re delighted to welcome him back.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;&lt;span style="font-style: italic;font-family:trebuchet ms;" &gt;“Anarchic and matey in equal measures, Smallman boasts a masterful rapport with the audience and clearly takes much delight in pushing the comedy boundaries... his manic energy was easily picked up by the punters” – Coventry Evening Telegraph&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/li&gt;&lt;/ul&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;ul&gt;&lt;li&gt;&lt;span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"&gt;&lt;span style="font-weight: bold;"&gt;Liam Mullone &lt;/span&gt;- Leicester born Liam Mullone is a former grave digger who's now the obituarist at The Times. He has won several stand-up awards and also writes for shows like BBC1's Milk Run, as well as appearing on ITV’s Take the Mike, and BBC Three’s New Talent Awards.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;&lt;span style="font-style: italic;font-family:trebuchet ms;" &gt;“A clear sign that the cult of laddism may be fading. Mullone deserves credit for shoehorning Victor Hugo and Matisse into his surreal act… will hit the bigtime.” – London Evening Standard&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/li&gt;&lt;/ul&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;ul&gt;&lt;li&gt;&lt;span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"&gt;&lt;span style="font-weight: bold;"&gt;Matt Hollins (MC)&lt;/span&gt; - Matt headlined our April gig, and we’re delighted to have him back to compere this month’s event.  Matt’s dry, deadpan delivery is offset by sharp, quirky observations and ideas. He’s a comedian who has found his unique voice and persona.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;&lt;span style="font-style: italic;font-family:trebuchet ms;" &gt;“Matt treads his own path, subtly turning the mundane events of his life into something absurd.” – Leicester Mercury&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/li&gt;&lt;/ul&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;div style="text-align: center;"&gt;&lt;span style="font-weight: bold;font-family:trebuchet ms;" &gt;TICKETS £8.00&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"&gt;available from&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"&gt; The Black Horse, Narrow Lane,&lt;br /&gt;Aylestone, Leicester,&lt;br /&gt;LE2 8NA&lt;br /&gt;(0116) 2832811&lt;br /&gt;phil@philspub.co.uk&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/5109368631884985071-8291423245875394924?l=onlyfoolsandblackhorses.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://onlyfoolsandblackhorses.blogspot.com/feeds/8291423245875394924/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://onlyfoolsandblackhorses.blogspot.com/2009/06/thursday-11th-june-2009.html#comment-form' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/5109368631884985071/posts/default/8291423245875394924'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/5109368631884985071/posts/default/8291423245875394924'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://onlyfoolsandblackhorses.blogspot.com/2009/06/thursday-11th-june-2009.html' title='Thursday 11th June 2009 (from 8pm)'/><author><name>Phil</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/00851948997833059975</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='16' height='16' src='http://img2.blogblog.com/img/b16-rounded.gif'/></author><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5109368631884985071.post-2833241470386506039</id><published>2009-04-30T11:32:00.003+01:00</published><updated>2009-04-30T11:44:02.212+01:00</updated><title type='text'>May 21st 2009</title><content type='html'>&lt;span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;"&gt;Our next comedy night will feature the fantastic Patrick Monahan’s brand new one hour stand up show 'My Kind of People’ featuring stand up stories about his journey to find people like him a non-drinking, non-smoking, Irish-Iranian Teessider.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;"&gt;Recently Patrick was competing in the short list to win the major Paramount Comedy MySpace comedy award. He was for a long time the warm up act for BBC's Friday Night with Jonathan Ross and is currently doing the same thing for The Paul O'Grady Show. &lt;/span&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;"&gt;For this year's tour, Patrick is supported by Leicestershire's very own comedy impresario and all-round smashing bloke, Alan Seaman.  Known to us as a compere, this month Alan will deliver his own satirical observations and hand-crafted one-liners to Only Fools and Black Horses in a full set.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Tickets are on sale now for just £6&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/5109368631884985071-2833241470386506039?l=onlyfoolsandblackhorses.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://onlyfoolsandblackhorses.blogspot.com/feeds/2833241470386506039/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://onlyfoolsandblackhorses.blogspot.com/2009/04/may-21st-2009.html#comment-form' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/5109368631884985071/posts/default/2833241470386506039'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/5109368631884985071/posts/default/2833241470386506039'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://onlyfoolsandblackhorses.blogspot.com/2009/04/may-21st-2009.html' title='May 21st 2009'/><author><name>Phil</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/00851948997833059975</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='16' height='16' src='http://img2.blogblog.com/img/b16-rounded.gif'/></author><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5109368631884985071.post-1333668536977990990</id><published>2009-04-08T09:45:00.004+01:00</published><updated>2009-04-09T11:45:44.529+01:00</updated><title type='text'>Final Line-Up for Tonight</title><content type='html'>&lt;span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"&gt;Here's the line-up for tonight (April 9th).  Probably in approximate running order, but there is some flexibility:&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;ul style="font-family: trebuchet ms;"&gt;&lt;li&gt;Okse will be the MC&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;Matt Price&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;Johnny Sorrow&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;Matt Wade (a local lad, only on his 3rd gig but showing promise)&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;Ben Davids&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;Rob Gee&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;Matt Hollins&lt;/li&gt;&lt;/ul&gt;&lt;span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"&gt;Look forward to seeing you there - remember it's only £8 for a whole night of entertainment from 8pm!&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"&gt;Discount negotiable for large groups.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/5109368631884985071-1333668536977990990?l=onlyfoolsandblackhorses.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://onlyfoolsandblackhorses.blogspot.com/feeds/1333668536977990990/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://onlyfoolsandblackhorses.blogspot.com/2009/04/final-line-up-for-tomorrow-night-touch.html#comment-form' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/5109368631884985071/posts/default/1333668536977990990'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/5109368631884985071/posts/default/1333668536977990990'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://onlyfoolsandblackhorses.blogspot.com/2009/04/final-line-up-for-tomorrow-night-touch.html' title='Final Line-Up for Tonight'/><author><name>Phil</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/00851948997833059975</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='16' height='16' src='http://img2.blogblog.com/img/b16-rounded.gif'/></author><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5109368631884985071.post-8656225855686536236</id><published>2009-03-25T11:38:00.005Z</published><updated>2009-03-26T17:29:52.801Z</updated><title type='text'>Mr Burns meets Mr Simpson ... and Mr Gittins</title><content type='html'>&lt;span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;"&gt;March 19th was a night of fluctuating moods.  Firstly there was the disappointment that Jon Richardson was unwell.  Then came the news that his replacement would be the international comedy powerhouse that is Brendon Burns.  Then came the low turnout.  But the evening's performances left me with an inane grin that took some time to wipe off.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;"&gt;Lessons learnt from the night are mostly to do with promotion of the comedy club, and there is an intense effort going on to ensure we have as near a full house as possible from here on in!&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;"&gt;So, a review of the night is in order I suppose:&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;"&gt;First out of the stalls was our MC for the night, making his first appearance since last November, &lt;span style="font-weight: bold;"&gt;Alan Seaman&lt;/span&gt;.  Cool and suave as ever, the winner of the Leicester Comedy Festival's lifetime achievement award 2008 proved that life goes on after a lifetime of achievement!  He also proved that it's no good trying to hide on the second row of seats.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;"&gt;&lt;span style="font-weight: bold;"&gt;Brendan Burns&lt;/span&gt; then took to the "stage".  After a little chat with him before the show (during which he referred to a famous US comedienne, it seemed that this was a man with a talent for the (potentially) offensive.  However, the only offensive things in his act were the things that he railed against - vigorously!  Common sense and the courage to speak your mind very rarely come together these days in one person.  If everyone was as open and honest as Brendan, the tabloids, the Daily Mail and the Daily Express would sell very few papers.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;"&gt;All that makes him sound like he's not funny though.  Nothing could be further from the truth.  It's little wonder that he's very much in demand, or that he won the Edinburgh Fringe best act in 2007.  He's possibly not to everyone's taste, but he certainly got the audience well and truly going for the rest of the night.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;"&gt;After a brief interlude, during which I managed to rustle up some extra audience members, Alan whisked us into the 2nd section, and introduced &lt;span style="font-weight: bold;"&gt;Dan Spinks&lt;/span&gt;.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;"&gt;21 year-old Dan wasn't on the posters, but was the spicy little side dish the curry house throws in for good customers.  Part of the LCF Awards Nominated "Unidentified Flying Improv" team, Dan is a former DMU student (just like all the best people, ahem!) with a tremendously deadpan presentation of some well-written, and original, material.  He certainly wasn't out of place in amongst the professionals and held his own very well.  Definitely has the potential, and personality, to get on.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;"&gt;Next was &lt;span style="font-weight: bold;"&gt;Junior Simpson&lt;/span&gt;.  Junior has been doing this for some time now, and has his act off to a T.  Possibly a little too mainstream for hardcore fans of offbeat comedy, but his act is polished, professional and very funny...which is what it's all about really.  Some of his material might not be as topical as some other comedian's, but he is such a great performer that that doesn't matter.  Certainly, the feedback from the audience was that he was top-class.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;"&gt;Then we took another break, and increased the audience size again, ready for Alan to do his third shmooze of the evening, leading into a rapturous welcome for headliner, &lt;span style="font-weight: bold;"&gt;Brian Gittins&lt;/span&gt;.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;"&gt;When he eventually reached the front of the stage, Brian showed us what the owner of a roadside café in Pyecombe can achieve in the world of stand-up comedy.  One gentleman in front of me (you know who you are) was wheezing with laughter before Brian had even spoken...  And when he did speak - well, I wouldn't like to spoil anything for you if you haven't seen him before.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;"&gt;I would implore anyone to go and watch Brian at the soonest possible opportunity, before he gets too big.  This really is a character worth watching, and I would imagine there is considerable scope for a huge repertoire.  You can almost hear the cogs clunking as Brian tries to work out how to be funny and/or entertaining.  I've never seen anything like it, and I doubt if many people have, to be honest.  I'll never hear the hokey cokey again without a smile.  Or Spandau Ballet for that matter.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;"&gt;That rounded off an excellent night that over-ran till 11.15...again!&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;"&gt;Next month (see below) promises to be an absolute belter, and I can confirm that the rumoured extra act is definitely coming.  So that makes an MC, a headliner, and 4 supporting comedians - all for £8.  You don't get value like that every day.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/5109368631884985071-8656225855686536236?l=onlyfoolsandblackhorses.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://onlyfoolsandblackhorses.blogspot.com/feeds/8656225855686536236/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://onlyfoolsandblackhorses.blogspot.com/2009/03/mr-burns-meets-mr-simpson-and-mr.html#comment-form' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/5109368631884985071/posts/default/8656225855686536236'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/5109368631884985071/posts/default/8656225855686536236'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://onlyfoolsandblackhorses.blogspot.com/2009/03/mr-burns-meets-mr-simpson-and-mr.html' title='Mr Burns meets Mr Simpson ... and Mr Gittins'/><author><name>Phil</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/00851948997833059975</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='16' height='16' src='http://img2.blogblog.com/img/b16-rounded.gif'/></author><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5109368631884985071.post-8501601170847010207</id><published>2009-03-04T11:19:00.000Z</published><updated>2009-03-25T09:39:21.345Z</updated><title type='text'>April 9th Line-up</title><content type='html'>&lt;span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"&gt;This line-up has remained static for about 4 weeks now, so it should go ahead as planned, I reckon!&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;ul&gt;&lt;li&gt;&lt;a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_2D8WUoJ4bPA/Scn5qwYBYKI/AAAAAAAAACM/-4N8EpM70pY/s1600-h/mattHollins.jpg"&gt;&lt;img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 66px; height: 56px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_2D8WUoJ4bPA/Scn5qwYBYKI/AAAAAAAAACM/-4N8EpM70pY/s200/mattHollins.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5317055348023058594" border="0" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"&gt;&lt;span style="font-weight: bold;"&gt;Matt Hollins&lt;/span&gt; - The night's headliner, as former winner of the Leicester Mercury Comedian of the Year (2004), a title that has also been awarded to the likes of Johnny Ve&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"&gt;gas, Mitch Benn, J&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"&gt;ason Manford and Rhod Gilbert.  Matt's style has been described as mixing a range of original subject, off the wall stories and puns.  I met him a couple of weeks ago, and he's a very nice chap too.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;&lt;a style="font-weight: bold;" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_2D8WUoJ4bPA/Scn5zmuVblI/AAAAAAAAACU/OTEIqxxAHlE/s1600-h/okse.jpg"&gt;&lt;img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 51px; height: 62px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_2D8WUoJ4bPA/Scn5zmuVblI/AAAAAAAAACU/OTEIqxxAHlE/s200/okse.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5317055500051115602" border="0" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"&gt;&lt;span style="font-weight: bold;"&gt;Okse &lt;/span&gt;- Our MC for the evening runs, and hosts, a comedy club in Leamington. Loads of experience with over 5 years of stand-up work, with a reputation fro being a likeable and popular guy.  A fantastic storyteller with a world of imagination and humour and, of course, a&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"&gt; great MC!&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;&lt;a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_2D8WUoJ4bPA/Scn555skclI/AAAAAAAAACc/MXkH4xuznK0/s1600-h/rob_gee.jpg"&gt;&lt;img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 57px; height: 69px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_2D8WUoJ4bPA/Scn555skclI/AAAAAAAAACc/MXkH4xuznK0/s200/rob_gee.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5317055608223199826" border="0" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"&gt;&lt;span style="font-weight: bold;"&gt;Rob Gee&lt;/span&gt; - Som&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"&gt;e of you will recognise Rob as the tall half of Rob &amp;amp; SKatz, who headlined here back in January.  His solo work is &lt;/span&gt;&lt;span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"&gt;driven by his phenomenal ability as a performance poet ("&lt;span style="font-style: italic;"&gt;but don't worry, he's not sh*t&lt;/span&gt;", said Jimmy Carr).  Definitely one to look forward to for something rather special, and a little different I would imagine.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;&lt;a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_2D8WUoJ4bPA/Scn62whwUNI/AAAAAAAAACk/E_Je2aEagTM/s1600-h/ben+davids.jpg"&gt;&lt;img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 87px; height: 72px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_2D8WUoJ4bPA/Scn62whwUNI/AAAAAAAAACk/E_Je2aEagTM/s200/ben+davids.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5317056653733941458" border="0" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"&gt;&lt;span style="font-weight: bold;"&gt;Ben Davids&lt;/span&gt; - Ben has been on the comedy scene for several years, and has an &lt;/span&gt;&lt;span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"&gt;incredibly well-written blog at &lt;a href="http://therealbendavids.blogspot.com/"&gt;http://therealbendavids.blogspot.com/&lt;/a&gt;. His stand-up work is of an equally high standard, delivered in a laid-back style.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;&lt;a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_2D8WUoJ4bPA/Scn7RWmYFqI/AAAAAAAAACs/KfQe_azR_mk/s1600-h/Johnny+Sorrow.jpg"&gt;&lt;img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 86px; height: 58px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_2D8WUoJ4bPA/Scn7RWmYFqI/AAAAAAAAACs/KfQe_azR_mk/s200/Johnny+Sorrow.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5317057110630471330" border="0" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"&gt;&lt;span style="font-weight: bold;"&gt;Johnny Sorrow&lt;/span&gt; - What can be said of Johnny "Showaddywaddy" Sorrow.  According to his facebook page, "&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span style="font-style: italic;"&gt;Depending on who you ask Johnny "Showaddywaddy" Sorrow is possibly the Greatest or Worst comic turn you`ve never seen!&lt;/span&gt; "    A Black Country legend in the making, whose career has been blighted by misfortune.  As Johnny himself says, "&lt;span style="font-style: italic;"&gt;It's not all about laughter&lt;/span&gt;".&lt;/li&gt;&lt;/ul&gt;&lt;span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"&gt;Rumour has it that there may be an extra act on the night, of top-drawer quality, but that's not quite 100% confirmed as yet, so just come along and see for yourselves.  Only £8 for 5 (possibly 6) comedians...2.5 hours of laughter...one night of delicious comedy...only a fool (or a black horse) would miss it!&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span style="font-size:85%;"&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/5109368631884985071-8501601170847010207?l=onlyfoolsandblackhorses.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://onlyfoolsandblackhorses.blogspot.com/feeds/8501601170847010207/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://onlyfoolsandblackhorses.blogspot.com/2009/03/very-quick-mention-of-april.html#comment-form' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/5109368631884985071/posts/default/8501601170847010207'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/5109368631884985071/posts/default/8501601170847010207'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://onlyfoolsandblackhorses.blogspot.com/2009/03/very-quick-mention-of-april.html' title='April 9th Line-up'/><author><name>Phil</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/00851948997833059975</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='16' height='16' src='http://img2.blogblog.com/img/b16-rounded.gif'/></author><media:thumbnail xmlns:media='http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/' url='http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_2D8WUoJ4bPA/Scn5qwYBYKI/AAAAAAAAACM/-4N8EpM70pY/s72-c/mattHollins.jpg' height='72' width='72'/><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5109368631884985071.post-3499995175707094790</id><published>2009-03-03T13:19:00.000Z</published><updated>2009-03-03T16:10:12.785Z</updated><title type='text'>March 19th - Update</title><content type='html'>&lt;span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"&gt;Following intense n&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"&gt;egotiations, this is the line-up for March 19th 2009&lt;/span&gt;  &lt;ul&gt;&lt;li&gt;&lt;a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_2D8WUoJ4bPA/Sa1TtrEf0JI/AAAAAAAAABc/ZPrphos-IVk/s1600-h/jonrichardson1.jpg"&gt;&lt;img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 71px; height: 68px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_2D8WUoJ4bPA/Sa1TtrEf0JI/AAAAAAAAABc/ZPrphos-IVk/s200/jonrichardson1.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5308991579860488338" border="0" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"&gt;&lt;span style="font-weight: bold;"&gt;Jon &lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"&gt;&lt;span style="font-weight: bold;"&gt;R&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"&gt;&lt;span style="font-weight: bold;"&gt;ic&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"&gt;&lt;span style="font-weight: bold;"&gt;har&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"&gt;&lt;span style="font-weight: bold;"&gt;dson&lt;/span&gt; - Winner of the 2008 Chortle Breakthrough Act Award and one of the most in-demand y&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"&gt;oung artists on the comedy cir&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"&gt;cuit, Jon has supported &lt;/span&gt;&lt;span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"&gt;Alan Carr on his national tour.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"&gt; You may also recognise him from his BBC 6 Music show every Sunday morning.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;&lt;a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_2D8WUoJ4bPA/Sa1UT84ryII/AAAAAAAAABk/QFH6-WsvmIE/s1600-h/junior-simpson.jpg"&gt;&lt;img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 58px; height: 80px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_2D8WUoJ4bPA/Sa1UT84ryII/AAAAAAAAABk/QFH6-WsvmIE/s200/junior-simpson.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5308992237477808258" border="0" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"&gt;&lt;span style="font-weight: bold;"&gt;Junior Simpson&lt;/span&gt; - Since appearing on the comedy scene, Luton’s lapsed choir&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"&gt;boy Junior Simpson qui&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"&gt;ckly established himself as a true “tour de force” as a live performer as well as a highly so&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"&gt;ught after and regular face on tele&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"&gt;vi&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"&gt;sion having per&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"&gt;formed all over the world, includi&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"&gt;ng Australia, the Far East, Canada and Europe.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;&lt;a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_2D8WUoJ4bPA/Sa1TSPbm-6I/AAAAAAAAABM/AsOzTwVqql8/s1600-h/Brian-Gittins.jpg"&gt;&lt;img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 57px; height: 78px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_2D8WUoJ4bPA/Sa1TSPbm-6I/AAAAAAAAABM/AsOzTwVqql8/s200/Brian-Gittins.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5308991108584766370" border="0" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"&gt;&lt;span style="font-weight: bold;"&gt;Brian&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"&gt;&lt;span style="font-weight: bold;"&gt; Gittins &lt;/span&gt;- Brian, 42, is a roadside café owner from Pyecombe.  A couple of the café's&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"&gt; regulars have said he's 'quite funny', so he's&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"&gt; been attempting to make it in the world&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"&gt; &lt;/span&gt;&lt;span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"&gt;of comedy for a while now.  His quirky, awkward, but &lt;/span&gt;&lt;span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"&gt;painfully entertaining style has &lt;/span&gt;&lt;span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"&gt;recently &lt;/span&gt;&lt;span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"&gt;seen him&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"&gt; support Ricky Gervais in London.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/li&gt;&lt;/ul&gt; &lt;span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Here's what others have said about&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"&gt; them:&lt;/span&gt;  &lt;ul&gt;&lt;li&gt;&lt;span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"&gt;Brian Gittins: "a tr&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"&gt;ue original, and breathtakingly funny with it" - The Guardian&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;&lt;span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"&gt;Brian&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"&gt; Gittins: "Brilliantly funny" - Ricky Gervais&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;&lt;span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"&gt;Junior Simpson: "is funny" - Lenny Henry&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;&lt;span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"&gt;Junior Simp&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"&gt;s&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"&gt;on: "energetic and hilarious" - Listed Magazine&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;&lt;span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"&gt;Jon&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"&gt; Richa&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"&gt;rds&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"&gt;on: "terrific" - The Scotsman&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;&lt;span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"&gt;Jon Richardon:&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"&gt; "I'll smack his arse if he gets any funnier. More than talented" - Jim Bowen&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/li&gt;&lt;/ul&gt;&lt;span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;In addition to the refulgent main line-up, the MC for the night will be Leicestershire's own Alan Seaman, &lt;/span&gt;&lt;span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"&gt;known to many as the &lt;/span&gt;&lt;span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"&gt;host of &lt;/span&gt;&lt;span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"&gt;Leicester's "Ship of&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"&gt; Fo&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"&gt;ols" comedy club.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_2D8WUoJ4bPA/Sa1TtrEf0JI/AAAAAAAAABc/ZPrphos-IVk/s1600-h/jonrichardson1.jpg"&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;div style="text-align: left;"&gt;&lt;img src="file:///C:/DOCUME%7E1/PHILIP%7E1/LOCALS%7E1/Temp/moz-screenshot.jpg" alt="" /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/5109368631884985071-3499995175707094790?l=onlyfoolsandblackhorses.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://onlyfoolsandblackhorses.blogspot.com/feeds/3499995175707094790/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://onlyfoolsandblackhorses.blogspot.com/2009/03/march-19th-update.html#comment-form' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/5109368631884985071/posts/default/3499995175707094790'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/5109368631884985071/posts/default/3499995175707094790'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://onlyfoolsandblackhorses.blogspot.com/2009/03/march-19th-update.html' title='March 19th - Update'/><author><name>Phil</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/00851948997833059975</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='16' height='16' src='http://img2.blogblog.com/img/b16-rounded.gif'/></author><media:thumbnail xmlns:media='http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/' url='http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_2D8WUoJ4bPA/Sa1TtrEf0JI/AAAAAAAAABc/ZPrphos-IVk/s72-c/jonrichardson1.jpg' height='72' width='72'/><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5109368631884985071.post-4384492424045580209</id><published>2009-02-21T18:22:00.000Z</published><updated>2009-02-21T18:23:45.122Z</updated><title type='text'>The best-laid plans...</title><content type='html'>&lt;span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;"&gt;Milton Jones has had to pull out of March 19th for valid reasons.  Watch this space for news of a replacement.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/5109368631884985071-4384492424045580209?l=onlyfoolsandblackhorses.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://onlyfoolsandblackhorses.blogspot.com/feeds/4384492424045580209/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://onlyfoolsandblackhorses.blogspot.com/2009/02/best-laid-plans.html#comment-form' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/5109368631884985071/posts/default/4384492424045580209'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/5109368631884985071/posts/default/4384492424045580209'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://onlyfoolsandblackhorses.blogspot.com/2009/02/best-laid-plans.html' title='The best-laid plans...'/><author><name>Phil</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/00851948997833059975</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='16' height='16' src='http://img2.blogblog.com/img/b16-rounded.gif'/></author><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5109368631884985071.post-4672780626688454083</id><published>2009-02-19T21:54:00.001Z</published><updated>2009-02-19T21:54:52.118Z</updated><title type='text'>What's on next?</title><content type='html'>&lt;span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;"&gt;March 19th: Junior Simpson, Milton Jones and Jon Richardson - £14 per ticket&lt;/span&gt;&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/5109368631884985071-4672780626688454083?l=onlyfoolsandblackhorses.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://onlyfoolsandblackhorses.blogspot.com/feeds/4672780626688454083/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://onlyfoolsandblackhorses.blogspot.com/2009/02/whats-on-next.html#comment-form' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/5109368631884985071/posts/default/4672780626688454083'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/5109368631884985071/posts/default/4672780626688454083'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://onlyfoolsandblackhorses.blogspot.com/2009/02/whats-on-next.html' title='What&apos;s on next?'/><author><name>Phil</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/00851948997833059975</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='16' height='16' src='http://img2.blogblog.com/img/b16-rounded.gif'/></author><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5109368631884985071.post-5533425296348395380</id><published>2009-02-14T11:06:00.000Z</published><updated>2009-02-19T21:52:33.995Z</updated><title type='text'>A quick aside</title><content type='html'>I went into town last night (Friday 13th) to meet up with Ben and catch Jim Smallman (MC from December) at Bambu, and then on to Late 'n' Live at the City Rooms.  Jim was good, although I thought some of the audience were a little up their own rear-ends.  Maybe that's just me being a stolid, down-to-earth Northern type.  If you can't have a good belly-laugh when there's a comedian stood in front of you being funny. when can you?  He over-ran his hour, possibly due to his natural enthusiasm. I came away wanting to go to the same McDonalds as him though.&lt;br /&gt;On to the City Rooms.  We got there just as Fred Macaulay was finishing his allotted time.  John Bishop was compering - not someone I'd heard of before, but he was tremendously comfortable and chummy. Ideal really.  The other two on the line-up were Hal and Tom, our two main guys from Thursday night.  Now I know why the acts we're had so far have been so complimentary about the atmosphere at The Black Horse.  The heckling last night wasn't just loud and annoying, it simply didn't even make sense.  Luckily, Hal and Tom dealt quickly and efficiently with it.&lt;br /&gt;I don't think I'm cut out for this late night malarkey, but it was worth it...and the struggle to stay awake beyond 9pm on Saturday night was a sign that I shouldn't do it too often.&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/5109368631884985071-5533425296348395380?l=onlyfoolsandblackhorses.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://onlyfoolsandblackhorses.blogspot.com/feeds/5533425296348395380/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://onlyfoolsandblackhorses.blogspot.com/2009/02/quick-aside.html#comment-form' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/5109368631884985071/posts/default/5533425296348395380'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/5109368631884985071/posts/default/5533425296348395380'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://onlyfoolsandblackhorses.blogspot.com/2009/02/quick-aside.html' title='A quick aside'/><author><name>Phil</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/00851948997833059975</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='16' height='16' src='http://img2.blogblog.com/img/b16-rounded.gif'/></author><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5109368631884985071.post-494004343663072052</id><published>2009-02-13T14:21:00.000Z</published><updated>2009-02-13T14:57:33.487Z</updated><title type='text'>Thursday 12th Feb, 2008 - a night to remember</title><content type='html'>&lt;a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_2D8WUoJ4bPA/SZWKPmM46BI/AAAAAAAAABE/L_SRZbRERII/s1600-h/Hal++framed.jpg"&gt;&lt;img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 131px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_2D8WUoJ4bPA/SZWKPmM46BI/AAAAAAAAABE/L_SRZbRERII/s320/Hal++framed.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5302296136855906322" border="0" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"&gt;Oh what a night!  Unfortunately, there was a massive dump of snow over the midlands at about 6pm, so about 10 people didn't make it.  That left a crowd of about 35 or so lucky, lucky people.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;ul style="font-family: trebuchet ms;font-family:trebuchet ms;" &gt;&lt;li&gt;&lt;span style="font-weight: bold;"&gt;Stu Wilde&lt;/span&gt;, who I've now ascertained is 6'9", was compering the night, and served us admirably all night with a mixture of anecdote and rapport.  Later on, he also dealt very well with slightly delayed arrivals of the acts - but these things happen.&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;&lt;span style="font-weight: bold;"&gt;Hal Cruttenden&lt;/span&gt; was first up.  Having had about an hour to prepare (at least someone was early for once), he proved why he is touted as one of the best comedians working in the UK today.  The audience were a little cool at first, unsure of how to act with too many empty seats in the room, but Hal soon got them going.  Brilliant stuff - among my favourite moments was describing the person he appears to have swapped voices with.  During the break after his act people were asking me, "haven't I seen him on the telly?" etc.  I think they'll remember his name this time.&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;A quick break, then Stu gave us a little more until &lt;span style="font-weight: bold;"&gt;Ryan Gough&lt;/span&gt; arrived, "fresh" from a student gig in Oadby.  I would like to think we were a little closer to his target audience than the students.  It certainly came over that way.  For those that have seen Ryan before, you'll know that his humour comes more from the diverse life he seems to have led, and the curious jobs he's had, together with some bizarre work he has done in the advertising industry!  His STD (dialling codes, not VD) knowledge was barely put to the test, and Newport (Isle of Wight) didn't even raise a sweat.&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;Another little break for the audience to gain sustenance, followed by Stu introducing his mate from Lincoln, &lt;span style="font-weight: bold;"&gt;Louie Werth&lt;/span&gt;.  Louie claims not to have been doing stand-up for terribly long (less than a year, if memory serves), but I think he's got some serious potential.  He certainly didn't look out of place amongst "the big boys" (literally &lt;span style="font-style: italic;"&gt;and&lt;/span&gt; metaphorically), and delivered some seriously big laughs.  Nice one!&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;Another 10 minutes of impromptu filling from Stu kept the audience well entertained until the arrival of &lt;span style="font-weight: bold;"&gt;Tom Wrigglesworth&lt;/span&gt;.  Tom delivered nearly 45 minutes of pure comedy genius.  My eyes and brain were literally hurting from laughing too much.  A massive range of subjects, and huge range of comedy techniques, all delivered impeccably by this ranging, quiet young man.  I have no idea how we are going to top this night of comedy.&lt;/li&gt;&lt;/ul&gt;&lt;span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;font-family:trebuchet ms;" &gt;I tell a lie - I have one idea.  Next month, on March 19th, we are scheduled to see the &lt;/span&gt;&lt;a style="font-family: trebuchet ms;" href="http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/coruscant"&gt;coruscant&lt;/a&gt;&lt;span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;"&gt; line-up of &lt;/span&gt;&lt;span style="font-weight: bold; font-family: trebuchet ms;"&gt;Junior Simpson&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;"&gt;, &lt;/span&gt;&lt;span style="font-weight: bold; font-family: trebuchet ms;"&gt;Jon Richardson&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;"&gt; and &lt;/span&gt;&lt;span style="font-weight: bold; font-family: trebuchet ms;"&gt;Milton Jones&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;"&gt;.  Don't ask how, just come along and be a witness to the finest line-up of comedy ever assembled in one shed.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/5109368631884985071-494004343663072052?l=onlyfoolsandblackhorses.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://onlyfoolsandblackhorses.blogspot.com/feeds/494004343663072052/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://onlyfoolsandblackhorses.blogspot.com/2009/02/thursday-12th-feb-2008-night-to.html#comment-form' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/5109368631884985071/posts/default/494004343663072052'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/5109368631884985071/posts/default/494004343663072052'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://onlyfoolsandblackhorses.blogspot.com/2009/02/thursday-12th-feb-2008-night-to.html' title='Thursday 12th Feb, 2008 - a night to remember'/><author><name>Phil</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/00851948997833059975</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='16' height='16' src='http://img2.blogblog.com/img/b16-rounded.gif'/></author><media:thumbnail xmlns:media='http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/' url='http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_2D8WUoJ4bPA/SZWKPmM46BI/AAAAAAAAABE/L_SRZbRERII/s72-c/Hal++framed.jpg' height='72' width='72'/><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5109368631884985071.post-3679008835201358071</id><published>2009-02-11T16:30:00.000Z</published><updated>2009-02-11T16:56:16.692Z</updated><title type='text'>The Rumour Mill Starts to Grind</title><content type='html'>&lt;span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;font-family:trebuchet ms;font-size:100%;"  &gt;Advance news of what's probably coming up in the next few months.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;ul style="font-family: trebuchet ms;"&gt;&lt;li&gt;&lt;span style="font-size:100%;"&gt;On March 19th, comedy fans are in for another treat.  &lt;/span&gt;&lt;span style="font-weight: bold;font-size:100%;" &gt;Junior Simpson&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span style="font-size:100%;"&gt; is already confirmed.  Two other acts (I wish I could name them right here, right now, but that might jinx things before it's all signed in blood)  seem probable, and would be of a phenomenal status for such a small gig.  However, to get these guys, we may have to charge a little extra for such a special line-up.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/li&gt;&lt;/ul&gt;&lt;ul style="font-family: trebuchet ms;"&gt;&lt;li&gt;&lt;span style="font-size:100%;"&gt;I&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span style="font-size:100%;"&gt;n May, &lt;/span&gt;&lt;span style="font-weight: bold;font-size:100%;" &gt;Patrick Monahan&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span style="font-size:100%;"&gt; (&lt;span style="font-style: italic;"&gt;"&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span style=";font-size:100%;" &gt;&lt;span style="font-style: italic;"&gt;High  energy &amp;amp; conviction, his material is great; he's going (to go) far" - Sunday Times&lt;/span&gt;) and &lt;span style="font-weight: bold;"&gt;Alan Seaman&lt;/span&gt; are previewing their joint tour show.  It'll be a bit different as you'll get maybe 50 minutes of each of them, and maybe a sliver of compere too.  More details will obviously follow as I get them.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;&lt;span style=";font-size:100%;" &gt;On July 3rd, in conjunction with the Black Horse's beer festival weekend, the plan so far is to have a 120 seater marquee, and book a smattering of top-class acts.  This would have to be an earlier start (say 7pm), in order to avoid too much late night noise.  This is a residential area after all.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;&lt;span style=";font-size:100%;" &gt;As mentioned earlier, much of this is subject to confirmation, but I thought I'd let you know how plans are progressing.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/li&gt;&lt;/ul&gt;&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/5109368631884985071-3679008835201358071?l=onlyfoolsandblackhorses.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://onlyfoolsandblackhorses.blogspot.com/feeds/3679008835201358071/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://onlyfoolsandblackhorses.blogspot.com/2009/02/rumour-mill-starts-to-grind.html#comment-form' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/5109368631884985071/posts/default/3679008835201358071'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/5109368631884985071/posts/default/3679008835201358071'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://onlyfoolsandblackhorses.blogspot.com/2009/02/rumour-mill-starts-to-grind.html' title='The Rumour Mill Starts to Grind'/><author><name>Phil</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/00851948997833059975</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='16' height='16' src='http://img2.blogblog.com/img/b16-rounded.gif'/></author><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5109368631884985071.post-4002227050435931972</id><published>2009-02-11T01:15:00.000Z</published><updated>2009-02-19T21:53:03.533Z</updated><title type='text'>Leicester Comedy Festival Part 2</title><content type='html'>&lt;span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"&gt;Thursday 12th February 2008 will see a very strong line-up at The Black Horse.  This could also be the tallest line-up ever assembled for a night of comedy:&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;ul&gt;&lt;li&gt;&lt;span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"&gt;&lt;span style="font-weight: bold;"&gt;Stu Wilde&lt;/span&gt; (about 6'6", I would guess) as MC.  He was with us in January, and proved his mettle.  Judging from his previous performance, I'm really looking forward to his work as a compere.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;&lt;span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"&gt;&lt;span style="font-weight: bold;"&gt;Ryan Gough&lt;/span&gt; (6'5") - A physically dominating figure, with a gentle way from what I've read. Sounds like an able and affable guy.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;&lt;span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"&gt;&lt;span style="font-weight: bold;"&gt;Hal Cruttenden&lt;/span&gt; (about the 6' mark, probably) - Described by the LCF blurb as "&lt;/span&gt;one of the top comedians working in the UK today, as well as being a highly accomplished writer and actor"  Say no more!&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;&lt;span style="font-weight: bold;"&gt;Tom Wrigglesworth&lt;/span&gt; (over 6'6") - Again, to refer to the LCF blurb, "He’s taken the UK comedy circuit by storm and has already performed on ‘The World Stands Up’ and ‘The Comedy Store’ on Paramount and ‘Out to Lunch’ on BBC Radio 2."&lt;/li&gt;&lt;/ul&gt;A fantastic line-up for just £10, which might feature another act as yet to be confirmed. Certainly Hal and Tom are playing elsewhere for £10 each this week, so don't miss out on a night to remember.&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/5109368631884985071-4002227050435931972?l=onlyfoolsandblackhorses.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://onlyfoolsandblackhorses.blogspot.com/feeds/4002227050435931972/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://onlyfoolsandblackhorses.blogspot.com/2009/02/leicester-comedy-festival-part-2.html#comment-form' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/5109368631884985071/posts/default/4002227050435931972'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/5109368631884985071/posts/default/4002227050435931972'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://onlyfoolsandblackhorses.blogspot.com/2009/02/leicester-comedy-festival-part-2.html' title='Leicester Comedy Festival Part 2'/><author><name>Phil</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/00851948997833059975</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='16' height='16' src='http://img2.blogblog.com/img/b16-rounded.gif'/></author><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5109368631884985071.post-4373856802009317187</id><published>2009-02-10T22:05:00.000Z</published><updated>2009-02-10T22:39:51.231Z</updated><title type='text'>Leicester Comedy Festival Part 1</title><content type='html'>&lt;span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"&gt;In true Ben style, the line-up was pulled together into a finely-crafted jigsaw of comedy.  As with all jigsaws, the odd piece goes missing, but turns up in the end.  Eventually, this was the line-up for Saturday Feb 7th 2008:&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;ul&gt;&lt;li&gt;&lt;span style="font-weight: bold;"&gt;Gary O'Donnell&lt;/span&gt; was magnificent as MC for the night.  Coming to us 3 months later than originally planned, it was a pleasure to have him working the shed at last.  He truly enjoyed himself, and we truly enjoyed engaging with him in a way that only a local audience can.  Gary is our own Peter Kay.  His comedy is so Leicester-specific that he feels like family.  It felt like he was just having a natter with us, his mates, down the pub.  He carried on reminiscing with members of the audience after the show was over, in the yard.&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;&lt;span style="font-weight: bold;"&gt;James Acaster&lt;/span&gt; was possibly in front of the wrong audience at the wrong time.  His story-telling, his compulsive grudge-bearing, his quirkiness were all quality and I don't doubt that on other nights he has them rolling in the aisles.  Probably his target audience would be younger than the assembled mass on Saturday, which was unfortunate for him.  I hope he perseveres with stand-up, because he's really quite inventive.  I was half expecting the set I've watched on youtube, and got something completely different, so his writing ability is in no doubt.&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;&lt;span style="font-weight: bold;"&gt;Matt Price&lt;/span&gt; usually does an act in which the audience hangs on his every word as he weaves his story-telling magic (or so other reviews say).  For this audience, he wisely abandoned that plan, and just talked with them for 20 minutes.  Yes, 20 minutes of pure banter with no jokes as such, really.  Abso-blummin-lutely brilliant!  I'll never forget Maureen.&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;&lt;span style="font-weight: bold;"&gt;Ashley Frieze&lt;/span&gt; was next up to try and deal with the gaggle of audience members who seemd to think they were in their own sitting room watching the telly.  To have people comment loudly on every line of a song is hard, but Ashley bit his tongue, persevered and delivered some great musical comedy material.&lt;/li&gt;&lt;/ul&gt;I missed about half of Ashley's set, unfortunately, as I was helping Ben (who was looking possibly a little stressed at this point) to organise the timings of the remaining acts so that nobody missed other appointments.  The original headliner, Nick Page, had had to pull out of the LCF due to travel difficulties caused by the weather.  His replacement also pulled out with about 6 hours to spare.  I still don't know why, so I won't mention the name as there may have been contractual obligations elsewhere. When Ben told me who &lt;span style="font-style: italic;"&gt;had&lt;/span&gt; stepped in at the last minute, I was stunned. So, next up was...&lt;br /&gt;&lt;ul&gt;&lt;li&gt;&lt;span style="font-weight: bold;"&gt;Henning Wehn&lt;/span&gt;, The German Comedy Ambassador to the United Kingdom.  I'd been aware of Henning since I'd heard him on Radio 2 early last year.  What a star.  He takes being German to a level that makes it priceless comedy.  However, by being German, and applying the clinical strategies of logic and efficiency, his comedy stabs a bayonet into the side of British culture and society. Some of the material, if you saw it written down, you might think offensive; but delivered by Henning, it was comedy heaven.  Four world cups and one world pope!&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;&lt;span style="font-weight: bold;"&gt;Isma Almas&lt;/span&gt; was bumped up to headline position, a position she has every right to fill I should add.  Firstly, before I mention her act, I must just say what a lovely person she is.  It was an absolute pleasure to meet her.  In comedy terms, she is simply top drawer, and more than worthy of the praise and awards she has received elsewhere.  I'd had a couple of small sherries by that stage of the night, so I can't go into too much detail, but I think Samaritans should take a leaf out of her (and her mother's) book!&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/li&gt;&lt;/ul&gt;I should say something about the "odd audience" I've mentioned, but I think everyone that was there knows what I mean, so I'll leave it.  Onwards and upwards for Only Fools and Black Horses.  Another fine night of comedy approaches on Thursday.  As Henning Wehn said when he saw the poster - "That's a great line-up.  Amazing to see Hal Cruttenden not headlining"  I think that speaks volumes for what's in stall on Thursday&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/5109368631884985071-4373856802009317187?l=onlyfoolsandblackhorses.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://onlyfoolsandblackhorses.blogspot.com/feeds/4373856802009317187/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://onlyfoolsandblackhorses.blogspot.com/2009/02/leicester-comedy-festival-part-1.html#comment-form' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/5109368631884985071/posts/default/4373856802009317187'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/5109368631884985071/posts/default/4373856802009317187'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://onlyfoolsandblackhorses.blogspot.com/2009/02/leicester-comedy-festival-part-1.html' title='Leicester Comedy Festival Part 1'/><author><name>Phil</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/00851948997833059975</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='16' height='16' src='http://img2.blogblog.com/img/b16-rounded.gif'/></author><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5109368631884985071.post-5014901310299336262</id><published>2009-02-10T14:57:00.000Z</published><updated>2009-02-14T11:06:17.478Z</updated><title type='text'>...and a Happy New Year</title><content type='html'>&lt;span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"&gt;January has come around, 2009 looms large ahead of us, so what better than some comedy to set the ball rolling on the 15th, before the credit card bills come flying in:&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;ul&gt;&lt;li&gt;&lt;span style="font-weight: bold;"&gt;Rick Giddings&lt;/span&gt; took charge of the proceedings for the night as MC.  My voice was heard for the first time on the mic.  All I did was introduce Rick and I got booed.  Familiarity breeds contempt, I suppose.  Anyway, Rick led from the front and took the audience along with him.  Very capable MCing, assisted by some great amateurs in the front row!&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;&lt;span style="font-weight: bold;"&gt;Anthony King&lt;/span&gt; is excellent. He really is.  His awkward, squirming style, and slightly dour aspect conceal a mind as keen as a scalpel.  Another of the acts that still makes me giggle slightly when I think back to things like the headless routine.&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;&lt;span style="font-weight: bold;"&gt;Phil Irving&lt;/span&gt; - A little similar in style to Anthony, but as they weren't consecutive on the bill, that wasn't a problem.   Very good set, well-received.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;&lt;span style="font-weight: bold;"&gt;Ben Ennis&lt;/span&gt; delivered his work gently and warmly.  Not all of his tricks paid off on the night which was a shame, as the material was worth more than the audience rewarded him with. I loved the donkey story; perhaps Ben might have slowed it down a little for greater effect, though.&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;&lt;span style="font-weight: bold;"&gt;Stu Wilde&lt;/span&gt; opened very strongly and immediately drew in his audience with his local newspaper headline.  Being rather tall (I'm 6'3" and he dwarfed me) gives quite a bit of scope for material, but I'm happy to say that Stu didn't rely on it; in fact, it was hardly mentioned in his set, which entertained hugely &lt;span style="font-style: italic;"&gt;&lt;span style="font-style: italic;"&gt;(&lt;/span&gt;sorry!&lt;/span&gt;).  One thing's for sure...there's a certain pub in South Wigston that none of the audience will be in a hurry to visit after Stu's experience!&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;&lt;span style="font-weight: bold;"&gt;Rob &amp;amp; Skatz&lt;/span&gt; were the headliners for the night.  A double act of musical insanity.  How neither of them got injured leaping around in such a confined space is beyond me, but thankfully they both survived intact through their set.  This was their first gigtogether for a month, but it didn't show as they were polished, hilarious and well worthy of their headline status.&lt;/li&gt;&lt;/ul&gt;Yet again, Ben booked a fantastic night of quality entertainment for us, and we all felt we'd really been treated to a proper show.&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/5109368631884985071-5014901310299336262?l=onlyfoolsandblackhorses.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://onlyfoolsandblackhorses.blogspot.com/feeds/5014901310299336262/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://onlyfoolsandblackhorses.blogspot.com/2009/02/and-happy-new-year.html#comment-form' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/5109368631884985071/posts/default/5014901310299336262'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/5109368631884985071/posts/default/5014901310299336262'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://onlyfoolsandblackhorses.blogspot.com/2009/02/and-happy-new-year.html' title='...and a Happy New Year'/><author><name>Phil</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/00851948997833059975</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='16' height='16' src='http://img2.blogblog.com/img/b16-rounded.gif'/></author><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5109368631884985071.post-7253723747885706652</id><published>2009-02-10T14:06:00.000Z</published><updated>2009-02-10T22:04:24.499Z</updated><title type='text'>A Very Merry Christmas</title><content type='html'>&lt;a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_2D8WUoJ4bPA/SZGKJHWNx1I/AAAAAAAAAAk/bsclOCcgCeE/s1600-h/Foolsandblackhorsesonwhite.jpg"&gt;&lt;img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 170px; height: 97px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_2D8WUoJ4bPA/SZGKJHWNx1I/AAAAAAAAAAk/bsclOCcgCeE/s320/Foolsandblackhorsesonwhite.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5301170125587466066" border="0" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"&gt;OK, so it wasn't quite Christmas, but it was my dad's birthday.  Incidentally, November's comedy night was my mum's birthday - and I didn't invite either of them.  How mean.&lt;br /&gt;Almost everything went to plan for December 11th 2008, but as with all things live and laughterful, something was bound to crop up, but it was only one amendment to the line-up, which was:&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;ul&gt;&lt;li&gt;&lt;span style="font-weight: bold;"&gt;Jim Smallman&lt;/span&gt; was the MC for the night.  I think he was a little surprised by the venue ("a ****ing shed" was his description, I believe - not far off the truth really), but he quickly got the audience on-side and by the end of the night, both he and the audience had bonded as if they'd known each other all their lives.  I'm sure Jim will remember "Dave" for a while for one of the most off-the-wall sections of banter I've ever seen.&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;&lt;span style="font-weight: bold;"&gt;Big D&lt;/span&gt; started the night off well.  Big by name, big in stature and the big laughs he deserved were hindered a little, probably, by my own mistake.  I didn't have the PA turned up enough, so I think some people were struggling to hear him.&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;&lt;span style="font-weight: bold;"&gt;Annette Fagon&lt;/span&gt; hushed the room instantly by launching into a routine on smear tests.  I think many men in the room went away knowing more about smear tests than ever before, and probably more than they ever wanted to!  That's not to say Annette wasn't funny.  She was. Very.  I will never forget the fashion advice proffered by her niece.  It's one of those persisting mental images that pops up every now and then, and makes me smile every time.&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;&lt;span style="font-weight: bold;"&gt;Ray Kane&lt;/span&gt; came on after the first interval, with some great material, well-presented.  Every reviewer mentions the "hoodie" song, and rightly so - top class.  I think Ray was a little taken aback to discover afterwards that Wayne Rooney's uncle was in the audience, although I expect his credibility would have made him keep the gags in the act anyway, if he'd known beforehand.&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;&lt;span style="font-weight: bold;"&gt;Lou Chawner&lt;/span&gt; was the second act of the middle "half" of the gig.  You could be mistaken for thinking that Lou is perhaps a little too laidback, and his humour a little drawn out.  In my opinion, he pulls the audience so nicely into his world that the punchlines hit harder than if they were delivered in a more flippant manner.  Unfortunately, I missed about half of his set as I had to attend to beer (it's a dirty job etc...).&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;This month's surprise, for me at least, was &lt;span style="font-weight: bold;"&gt;Pete Teckman&lt;/span&gt; from Northampton, who replaced Ben Briggs at short notice.  Very comfortable in his performance.  Managed to exceptional feat of appearing just to be chatting to us, rather than performing.  A 10 minute set of great quality, delivered extremely confidently.  The surprise came later when Pete told me he'd only been doing stand-up for 9 months or so.  He seems to be a natural and I'd recommend his act to anyone.&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;Finally came &lt;span style="font-weight: bold;"&gt;Christian Reilly&lt;/span&gt;, fresh from a popular comedy venue in town.  He schmoozed into his act with some lovely banter with the front rows.  Finding a Polish guy on the front row, working in a bakery was too good an opportunity for him to miss, so his actual set didn't start until about closing time!  His blend of charm, wit, cruel humour and musical mastery left people physically in pain from laughing so hard.  Absolutely brilliant headliner, who hung about afterwards chatting till the we small hours.  I knew I'd just enjoyed a real treat.&lt;/li&gt;&lt;/ul&gt;So, two gigs down and a January gig to prepare for.  Early notices from Ben were that he'd lined up some good acts for January, but nothing finalised at that point.&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/5109368631884985071-7253723747885706652?l=onlyfoolsandblackhorses.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://onlyfoolsandblackhorses.blogspot.com/feeds/7253723747885706652/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://onlyfoolsandblackhorses.blogspot.com/2009/02/very-merry-christmas.html#comment-form' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/5109368631884985071/posts/default/7253723747885706652'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/5109368631884985071/posts/default/7253723747885706652'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://onlyfoolsandblackhorses.blogspot.com/2009/02/very-merry-christmas.html' title='A Very Merry Christmas'/><author><name>Phil</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/00851948997833059975</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='16' height='16' src='http://img2.blogblog.com/img/b16-rounded.gif'/></author><media:thumbnail xmlns:media='http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/' url='http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_2D8WUoJ4bPA/SZGKJHWNx1I/AAAAAAAAAAk/bsclOCcgCeE/s72-c/Foolsandblackhorsesonwhite.jpg' height='72' width='72'/><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5109368631884985071.post-7167146575065818194</id><published>2009-02-09T10:18:00.000Z</published><updated>2009-02-10T22:04:58.575Z</updated><title type='text'>Only 3 months late...</title><content type='html'>&lt;a style="font-family: trebuchet ms;" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_2D8WUoJ4bPA/SZAT7kpp8SI/AAAAAAAAAAU/PqYprRML-xA/s1600-h/Foolsandblackhorsesonwhite.jpg"&gt;&lt;img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 170px; height: 96px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_2D8WUoJ4bPA/SZAT7kpp8SI/AAAAAAAAAAU/PqYprRML-xA/s320/Foolsandblackhorsesonwhite.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5300758675586674978" border="0" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"&gt;Well, I think the time has come to provide some commentary on the progress of the comedy club here at the Black Horse.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"&gt;We started with our first gig on 20th November 2008.  The line-up was:&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;ul style="font-family: trebuchet ms;"&gt;&lt;li&gt;MC: &lt;span style="font-weight: bold;"&gt;Alan Seaman &lt;/span&gt;- Being fairly local helped Alan build a good rapport with an audience that was very much not experienced in the world of the comedy club, so were possibly a little unprepared for how to respond.  Alan worked well throughout the night, especially as he was a very last minute replacement for Gary O'Donnell, who had to attend to his dog who had sadly become very ill.  In fact, Alan stepped in at only about 3 hours' notice!&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;&lt;span style="font-weight: bold;"&gt;Paul Savage&lt;/span&gt; warmed the audience up quite nicely.  With it being 3 months ago, I'm struggling to remember too many details, but he was certainly well-received by the slightly reserved audience.&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;&lt;span style="font-weight: bold;"&gt;Johnny "Showaddywaddy" Sorrow&lt;/span&gt; was the most unexpected hit of the night.  Slightly off-kilter, hugely endearing, and with a fantastically well-rehearsed act, he took the place by storm.  His 10-minute slot lasted at least 20 minutes, due to restarting from the very beginning when someone returned from the loo...twice!!  Fantastic.&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;&lt;span style="font-weight: bold;"&gt;Pete Smith&lt;/span&gt; &amp;amp; &lt;span style="font-weight: bold;"&gt;Steve Dunne&lt;/span&gt; from the Derby area ushered us nicely through the second session.  Nothing too outrageous, and some very nicely crafted material from both of them.  I have fond memories of the sheep, but that's another story.  Steve Dunne has already written about this night on &lt;a href="http://stevendunne.wordpress.com/2008/11/23/the-black-horse-leicester-20-november-2008/"&gt;his own site&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;&lt;span style="font-weight: bold;"&gt;Charlie Chuck&lt;/span&gt; was our headliner.  What can be said about him that hasn't been said before?  Not a lot, really.  He's not everyone's cup of tea, but he's certainly mine.  It was nice that he came out of character for a few minutes and shared some anecdotes about his career.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/li&gt;&lt;/ul&gt;&lt;span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"&gt;All-in-all, I was stunned at the quality of the acts that we had, an MC and 5 comedians, all for a tenner, and everyone was eagerly looking forward to December's gig.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/5109368631884985071-7167146575065818194?l=onlyfoolsandblackhorses.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://onlyfoolsandblackhorses.blogspot.com/feeds/7167146575065818194/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://onlyfoolsandblackhorses.blogspot.com/2009/02/only-3-months-late.html#comment-form' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/5109368631884985071/posts/default/7167146575065818194'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/5109368631884985071/posts/default/7167146575065818194'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://onlyfoolsandblackhorses.blogspot.com/2009/02/only-3-months-late.html' title='Only 3 months late...'/><author><name>Phil</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/00851948997833059975</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='16' height='16' src='http://img2.blogblog.com/img/b16-rounded.gif'/></author><media:thumbnail xmlns:media='http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/' url='http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_2D8WUoJ4bPA/SZAT7kpp8SI/AAAAAAAAAAU/PqYprRML-xA/s72-c/Foolsandblackhorsesonwhite.jpg' height='72' width='72'/><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5109368631884985071.post-4193081955529149336</id><published>2009-02-09T10:12:00.000Z</published><updated>2009-02-09T11:32:42.703Z</updated><title type='text'>The Oblogatory Introduction</title><content type='html'>&lt;a style="font-family: trebuchet ms;" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_2D8WUoJ4bPA/SZACI6oN51I/AAAAAAAAAAM/3kGwDgxqthk/s1600-h/Foolsandblackhorsesonwhite.jpg"&gt;&lt;img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 170px; height: 96px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_2D8WUoJ4bPA/SZACI6oN51I/AAAAAAAAAAM/3kGwDgxqthk/s320/Foolsandblackhorsesonwhite.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5300739113615222610" border="0" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"&gt;Welcome to the "blog" for &lt;/span&gt;&lt;span style="font-weight: bold;font-family:trebuchet ms;" &gt;Only Fools and Black Horses&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"&gt;, the (mostly) monthly comedy club hosted at &lt;/span&gt;&lt;span style="font-weight: bold;font-family:trebuchet ms;" &gt;The Black Horse, Aylestone, Leicester&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"&gt;You can find more info on the pub at &lt;/span&gt;&lt;a style="font-family: trebuchet ms;" href="http://philspub.co.uk/"&gt;philspub.co.uk&lt;/a&gt;&lt;span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"&gt; and more on the comedy club at &lt;/span&gt;&lt;a style="font-family: trebuchet ms;" href="http://philspub.co.uk/comedy"&gt;philspub.co.uk/comedy&lt;/a&gt;&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/5109368631884985071-4193081955529149336?l=onlyfoolsandblackhorses.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://onlyfoolsandblackhorses.blogspot.com/feeds/4193081955529149336/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://onlyfoolsandblackhorses.blogspot.com/2009/02/oblogatory-introduction.html#comment-form' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/5109368631884985071/posts/default/4193081955529149336'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/5109368631884985071/posts/default/4193081955529149336'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://onlyfoolsandblackhorses.blogspot.com/2009/02/oblogatory-introduction.html' title='The Oblogatory Introduction'/><author><name>Phil</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/00851948997833059975</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='16' height='16' src='http://img2.blogblog.com/img/b16-rounded.gif'/></author><media:thumbnail xmlns:media='http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/' url='http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_2D8WUoJ4bPA/SZACI6oN51I/AAAAAAAAAAM/3kGwDgxqthk/s72-c/Foolsandblackhorsesonwhite.jpg' height='72' width='72'/><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry></feed>
