RCI Independence of the Seas May 2012

I have never been so ill, no that can’t be true, ok I have had a cold, a chest in-fection, a sore throat, headaches and an upset tummy and some call that Man-flu…come on feel sorry for me, its been awful. I started to feel unwell on the 3rd April on Black Watch and I haven’t felt great since? Oh well onwards and upwards and I’m now on RCI’s beautiful Independence of the Seas, a ship I am so very fond of, I have said before loads of times how lovely she is with her huge 1700 seat theatre, Ice Rink, Climbing Wall, American Diner called Johnny Rockets, Flow Rider, Royal Promenade which is a street running down the centre of the ship, 4 pools including an amazing children’s pool area called H02 Zone, this is the real deal. It’s everyone’s cup of tea as some find it just too big and enjoy the smaller ships more, for me I love it, I love the hustle and bustle of the place with so much going on, you’ll never get bored on Independence! We are in Southampton today and it’s a turnaround day with 4000 people getting off and another 4000 people getting on. I’m on tomorrow night, yep, me and my cold…how lovely for everybody! It’s like a reunion cruise this is for old P&O acts, my old mate John Evans is here, he’s a great comic and also a man I haven’t seen in years Paul Emanuel a brilliant singer and I’m looking forward to seeing him later in the pub after John’s show in the theatre.

John did a great spot and went down well, we have clashed on a couple of jokes but nothing to worry about. I have known John since 1996 when we used to be regulars on P&O Oriana, crikey that’s 16yrs now we’ve both been cruising together on ships all over the world, it really is a great job you know as we play some of the most beautiful theatre’s in the world and tonight’s theatre is no exception, the beautiful 1700 seat Alhambra Theatre is an amazing stage to work and I have my rehearsal in 30mins and my show tonight at 9pm and 10.45pm so I do hope my voice will be ok as I’m getting over that awful lurgy and it’s still hanging around, John Evans has the same too! Ok see you later! I had a great rehearsal with a first class professional team of musicians, technicians and one of the best production managers in the business Tony Smart, thank you boys and girls! The band are a 9 piece under the direction of Jim Barnett and really rock, and with a huge PA system and lighting rig it makes this a great gig. I have 1hr 25mins to curtain up and now with hope in my heart as my voice was there at rehearsals I am up for doing a good show tonight!

I’m just through the door from my 9pm show, I had a great time, it was a 100% full house and they very kindly gave me a standing Ovation, my voice hung on in there but cracked on the last note of Nessun Dorma but I got away with it, the comedy went really well and I felt really comfortable up there, it is an amazing theatre work. I have started to notice I have put on a few pounds again and it looks like I’ll be back on the “Lighter Life” diet as soon as I get back home, I was doing so well on it, I lost 2 stone and now its all going back on again, come on Mike! My next show is in 30mins time, I hope it goes as well as the 9pm show! The late show went great too, there were loads in from Wales and God Bless them they cheered like mad when I walked on, that gave me a boost! After the show I went along to the pub for quick pint and I met a very nice man from L.A. called Albert and it turns out he’s a record producer, what an interesting guy, we had a few beers and then realized the clocks were going on so 1am became a rude awakening 2am, that was my exit stage left so to speak, thank you Albert I hope we stay in-touch! Today we are at sea infact we have just left the infamous Bay of Biscay and it was like a mill pond, the weather is lovely today 24c and blue skies. I met with John Evans and Paul Emanuel and his lovely wife Holley and we all sat and chatted for a good 3hrs about the good old days on P&O as we all used to be on together all those years ago on Canberra, Oriana, Victoria and all the rest too! We had a great time. Tonight John Evans is back on in the theatre this time doing his late show at 11.30pm so we are going along to see him. Tomorrow its Gibraltar and John and I are going home!

Cunard Queen Victoria 27th April - 6th May 2012

I’m now back working at sea this time with Cunard and the beautiful Queen Victoria. I’m back some what jaded from my holiday with my family and seem to have picked up a sore throat and cold again, we had the most lovely time in Tenerife and now I’m back to work and arrived in Pisa this afternoon for my transfer to the ship docked in Livorno. I am so very tired so no going anywhere tonight, I’m staying in and going to sleep once I have finished writing. I am on tomorrow night and don’t feel up to it at the moment so maybe a good nights sleep will help? The cruise director is a nice man and wants me to let him know how I feel in the morning, I so don’t want to let him down but on the other hand I don’t want to give a weak show either! Good night all lets see how things work out tomorrow! I slept my head off, what a sleep, I had a good 9hrs but woke to feel much the same unfortunately. I went down to see the cruise director Paul O’ Loughlin and he really needs me to go on tonight so I must get myself in the zone. Today we are in the ever so posh and trendy Monte Carlo and they are once again preparing for the Grand Prix so the crowd stands are all erected and the track is looks amazing. I went ashore for a good walk around with brilliant concert pianist Philip Lange and also took my new camera, we walked right around the bay and had a good old chat and a coffee, Philip is a good up beat guy and so he’s good to be around, he’s a half full type of guy! Back onboard and lunch was really nice, I’m now in the stateroom and have 1hr 30mins to rehearsal, so we’ll see! Oh Thank You God! I have a voice, not the best I have ever sang but there is a voice there so now I have some confidence for tonight, the soundman Steffan is a good guy and has looked after me well, please Steffan keep it the same tonight! All I have to do now is believe, relax into it and enjoy myself! See you later! I had a fab 8.30pm show and it was a full house. I want the 10.30pm show to go just as good, I want the 10.30pm show to go just as well…positive mental attitude (PMA). I have 20mins to curtain up and I’m here listening to my Shirley Bassey album “Performance” it’s fab, have you heard it? If not go get it, it’s a great album with songs written by todays songwriters like Gary Barlow for instance, I love it! Another great show, my voice held up good and now off to the Officers Ward Room for a nightcap with cruise director Paul O’ Loughlin! Good Morning from a lovely sunny Barcelona; we are in with quite a few ships today, a Costa ship, the Seven Seas Mariner, Navigator of the Seas and the Island Escape. I’m not going ashore today I’m just going to rest up, sit in the sun and may go to the cinema to see “The Iron Lady”. I did go to see The Iron Lady and I must say its one of the best films I have ever seen in my life, Meryl Streep was just awesome, there was a line in the film which I have read so many times in the book “The Secret” it was “what you think becomes who you are”. I cried all the way through and I know that must sound silly but it really moved me, if you haven’t been to see it please go it is fantastic! At sea today and it’s a lovely sunny day but a tad chilly. I saw singer Sinead Blanchfield last night in the Royal Court Theatre and she blew me away, what a voice and what a personality, she sang Opera, Jazz and a beautiful haunting Celtic song, and she was fabulous!

I also watched the Man City v Man United match last night in the Officers Wardroom and what a match, I’m not a big football fan but that was a great game, shame United didn’t win though! This afternoon I’m going to listen to Phillip Lange who is giving a classical concert in the beautiful Queens Room so I’m looking forward to that, Phillip is a world class pianist and has a great personality to, he makes light of his show but then plays like a dream, I have been so fortunate lately to be in the presence of two world class musicians Dominic John and now Phillip Lange. A great old mate of mine joined the ship yesterday Kenny Martyn who is an amazing clarinet player and tours his Tribute to Benny Goodman show back in the UK, Kenny and I last cruised together on the Silver Spirit over a year ago, he’s great company and I’m looking forward to having a good chat and a glass of wine with him later. Last night there was a jazz night in the pub the Golden Lion onboard the QV and the theatre band all got together with Kenny Martyn and what a set they did, the whole place was jumping. Today we are in Lisbon and the weather is cold, windy and raining, oh well I certainly can’t complain I have been in wall to wall sunshine for months, but I do feel for the guests who were looking forward to Lisbon. I have 3 sleeps left on here in-which I will be doing one more show in the Royal Court Theatre on Friday night then home on the Saturday and I can’t wait! The rain stopped and Kenny and I went over to the local bars that they have opposite the docks, some really nice restaurants and bars, we went into the Irish Bar that had free Wi-Fi so that was good and a lovely pint of Guinness! Kenny is on tonight with two shows 8.30pm and 10.30pm and he is going to play a tune for me, its called “Aria” a tune made famous by Aka Bilk in the 70’s.

Yes Kenny stormed it last night, I went to the early show and it was fantastic! After the show it was bed and a few episodes of Prison Break. Today we are at sea and starting our transit of the Bay of Biscay and the sea is nice and calm so far so good. Last night Kenny and I went for a pre dinner drink and we never made dinner! Today is the final day of this cruise and we are now in the English Channel heading for Southampton. I’m back on tonight in the beautiful Royal Court Theatre only this time with the Theatre Company so I have just 25mins. My rehearsal is in 2hrs time and I guess I should start my packing as I’m going home tomorrow. I’ll be on that 9.10am train to Bridgend. My phone just pinged and it was Andy Griffiths asking me to come to the studio to record a change to one of the TCW ads but I’m here on the sea…! I’m just back from rehearsal and sound-check and all is well, it really is a beautiful theatre, take a look at the photos! Tonight’s shows are 7pm and 8.30pm so best get crackin’ I suppose! I’m just back from the 7pm show; it went great but as I walked on and started to sing my mic was not on and didn’t really work until the end of the song, something must have happened? I have an hour now till my next show and I hope everything will be fine when I next go on.

Black Watch and stranded in Antigua! April 2012

I got back from the Balmoral safely and have never been so happy to come home, Sam woke up and jumped in bed with Marie and I, then Marie went and slept in Sam’s bed, then Sam went back to his bed, then Marie came back to our bed, then Sam wanted Marie in his bed, then the cat jumped up on our bed, then it was morning and time to get up, talk about musical beds! We only had 2 days to enjoy, so we went into Cardiff and had a very nice Italian meal then walked around window-shopping, it’s cheaper. Sunday came and that night I performed at St. David’s Hall in Cardiff and what a night, it was in aid of Breast Cancer Care, on the bill was Wynne Evans of “Go Compare” fame, the wonderful Sian Cothi, Wynne’s brother Mark Llewellyn Evans, Jamie Fox, The Rock Tenors which my mate Gareth Richards is one of and they were amazing, Sarah Lark was also amazing, I remember seeing her in panto at Swansea Grand and thought how fab she was then. I opened the second half and walked on stage to a big applause so that settled any unwanted nerves and off I went into a comedy routine and finished off with “What Colour is The Wind” it all went really well! I had to leave before the end as it was over running like mad and I had a flight to catch the next day, a flight to Lima Peru! My alarm went off at 3am and John from www.executivecarswales.com was at the door at 3.30am and we made our way to sunny Gatwick with a little detour on the way to put my son Tom’s birthday cards through the door, we did really well until we hit the notorious M25 where the traffic was really slow and then we hit the M23 where Gatwick was only 7 miles away and there we sat, for nearly 2hrs, the traffic was at a stand still, I was very lucky to make my flight, I got to the check-in desk with 10 mins grace, what stress, well I wasn’t the only one as many were in the same situation, well done John for getting me there, I always use Executive Cars, if ever you need a car to take you anywhere they are the best in the business. I’m now on the flight to Lima and once again I’ve managed to get myself a good seat, well I couldn’t do any better it’s a 747 and I am right up front in first class with enough leg room to seat another 8 people, so I am very grateful for the upgrade! See you later! What a great flight, I slept off and on for a few hours, the food was very good and the legroom was fantastic, I was right up front in the pointy end with 5 windows to my self! We landed in Lima around 5pm local time having flown over the rain forests of Brazil, I could even see the Amazon River which I sailed up the other day, amazing! We got on buses and our luggage went on to the ship before us, fair play to Fred Olsen Cruise Lines it was a very slick operation. Once onboard I was given my cabin key, which turned out to be a beautiful junior suite, so I will be very comfortable here! I had a quick look around the ship, I have worked here before about 7yrs ago and it was strange rediscovering the rooms, the lounge were I will do my show is tiny but very nice. I was welcomed onboard by Ashley the cruise director and his staff and I must say they all seem very nice and couldn’t do enough for you! Today we are still in Callao the port for Lima and it’s a cloudy old day with a high of 27c, I went to bed at 8.45pm last night and woke at 5am this morning, oh no, not another case of jet-lag! My dear old pal Andy James who I worked with a couple of months ago on QM2 has just left this ship and left me a big bag of goodies, 8 beers, 4 J20’s and a pair of comedy glasses, thank you Andy, I did laugh at the random comedy glasses and was very grateful for the drinks! Ok, lets see what today will bring, I say thank you for the day and with in Chico’s words “PMA” positive mental attitude, lets enjoy life! The suns out at last and I have chosen to not get off the ship and venture into Lima as I’m a little tired and so I’m going to rest up and chill onboard the Black Watch!

Can you believe it, I have got a cold and a very painful sore throat, I know some of you will be saying its manful but I really do have a corker of a cold. I got up early this morning and waited outside the little shop onboard and got some strepsils, lockets, lemsip and some nurofen tablets, my show is tomorrow night, do I go find the cruise director and ask him if I could move my show a few days so to give me a chance to get a little better, I don’t know? I had a bumpy night last night, I just couldn’t swallow as it hurt too much, I hate being ill, I just don’t do ill! Oh dear, moan moan! Sorry! Yes I’m still not feeling well, I have had a bad day with my throat on fire, I couldn’t eat much and all I have wanted to do is sleep. At 6pm I couldn’t stand it any longer and headed down to deck three to the Medical Centre and saw a very nice Doctor, turns out I have a nasty virus but she has given me some antibiotics just in-case. I am now in bed and have been here since 7pm, I’m just aching all over; it looks like I have some kind of flu after all. Ok, I know you must be fed up of me going on about it so I’ll say goodnight and see you in the morning! Good Morning! I had a good sleep last night and I do feel I’m on the mend, I had a nice surprise this morning, I had the doctors bill put through my door a nice £40 invoice, oh well cheap really as I have been given some drugs to get me well again, oh I had to pay for them too, listen I’m not complaining, I’m just typing! It’s a lovely sunny day and I do hope I get to get out there and take in some rays as yesterday was just a down day, but that was yesterday so come Doyle its time for some PMA! I sat in the sun for a couple hours and had a lovely chat with Geoff Taylor who is a fab singer and the girls from Elektra who are a violin act and they are world class! Tonight the very lovely and very funny lady Mandy Muden is onstage for an evening of magic and comedy, God bless here as she is going on in place of me so I can get my voice back on track! It’s such a lovely sunny day and sea is flat calm, its beautiful to see! Good Morning! Today we are in Manta in Ecuador, an interesting place with the smell of tuna everywhere, this is a huge tuna fishing port and they have one of the worlds biggest tuna canning factories here, I haven’t ventured out of the port yet so will take a few pics and see you later! (oh I’m feeling much better but I still have a dry throat, I am on tomorrow night). I went off the ship for a walk; I have been here before years ago on the Cunard Caronia, which is now the Saga Ruby. I went to the beach area and it was packed with locals enjoying their Easter break. It wasn’t the most prettiest place I have ever been to but a warm welcome given to all of us visiting! On a sad note my dear Aunty Beryl from Lampeter passed away and was buried this week, I of course couldn’t be there but my brother Phill did, my thoughts and prayers go out to all the family at this very sad time. Also a dear friend of mine who followed me all over the country to watch my shows, who was a very loyal and sincere lady, Pam Jones from Swansea passed away on the 15th March this year and I have only just been made aware. I am so sad to hear this, as with my dear Aunty Beryl my thoughts and prayers go out to Pam’s family too! Tonight I’m staying in and chilling out and getting ready for my show tomorrow night. Good Morning once again from the Black Watch, we are still sailing northwards to the Panama Canal and at 11.15am this morning we will be crossing the equator. Today is Easter Sunday and I’m off to church in a bit. Church was great and it was packed out too, the keys for the hymns were all in bad keys for singing so we all struggled, but I enjoyed it all the same. I went to my bandcall, rehearsal and sound check at 12.30pm and fair play the band are great and the sound is fab where I was standing but in the house its so quite, they get a lot of complaints if the sound is too loud, well what some say is loud, but this sound is almost not on at all, oh well, I’m on tonight at 8.45pm and 10.30pm and I’m looking forward to it. My voice went on stop for a few nights and the ever so nice cruise director Ashley put me back three nights and that has really helped, so thank you Ashley. I had a lovely lunch with a couple from Wiltshire and we have arranged to meet up in Cartagena for a beer or two. I then spent the afternoon watching the series “Prison Break” which I have seen before but once you start to watch it, you can’t stop, and so what an afternoon of telly I’ve had. I have just less than 2 hours to my show now and I’m getting that nervous feeling in the pit of my tummy, but that’s good nerves and it means I am gearing myself up for a good show, my voice was fine at rehearsal and with a good top end going on, so I feel a Nessun Dorma coming on tonight! I spoke to Marie on the text today and they all went out to the Duke of Wellington in Cowbridge for Easter Sunday lunch and then enjoyed the park with our Sam. I spoke to my son Tom on text too and he was at his Nan’s in Birmingham having lunch and getting ready to go to the Theatre Royal in Bath where his next leg of his tour with Birds of a Feather takes him, he’ll love Bath! Just back from the 8.45pm show, what can I say, put it like this, I worked for my money tonight, they were hard and but do you what, it does you good and stops you getting too comfortable with your act, I even sang Nessun Dorma, but in the end I got them up with Daydream Believer. I have another show in 30mins and that’s the 10.30pm show, I have been told not many attend so I’ll have to work even harder for them, oh well, it stops you getting big headed! Oh yes, a much better 2nd show I played it a bit harder and got stuck into them from the off, yes a great time had by all and they all stood up for me after Nessun Dorma so I was much happier. I have another show on here coming up in a few nights time so round 2 here we come! Today we are again at sea en-route to the Panama Canal which we hit tomorrow morning, I do hope it’ll be nice and sunny like it was in February this year when I was on Queen Elizabeth, it will be nice to take more photos. Tonight its Geoff Taylor’s turn to entertain the guests, Geoff is a lovely man who has sang for years with the BBC Radio 2 Orchestra so I’m looking forward to seeing him tonight! This afternoon I went along to the piano recital with world-class pianist Dominic John, let me tell you, it was the finest classical concert I have ever seen, this man is pure genius! Geoff Taylor was pure class last night, what a pro, I really enjoyed his show! Today we are transiting the Panama Canal; no matter how many times you go through the canal it never ceases to amaze you. It’s a hot day with lovely blue skies and cold drinks on hand all over the ship to cool you down. Today we are in Cartagena in Colombia I was only here a couple of months ago, I found the little garden near the port gates that I went to last time and really enjoyed peace and quite and a nice cold local beer that was only $2. Just like the last time I was here there were animals roaming around the garden and so many parrots, I took loads of photos. Good Morning. Today we are at sea en-route to Curacao and that will be my 3rd time going there this year, I do love it there and this time as Black Watch is a smaller vessel we should be docking right in the town next to the huge blue bridge that dominates Curacao. Last night the hilarious Mandy Muden and the brilliant singer Geoff Taylor were on and they both gave us a brilliant show. I was in bed by 10pm as it was a school night for me as I am on tonight. My rehearsal and bandcall is in 2hrs time; my act has been sorted out and I’m ready to go! A good rehearsal, a lovely lunch and a nice sunbathing afternoon on deck 10! I have my show in 2hrs time and I’ve just put some more photos on my mac, just outside my window there were some gulls diving into the sea for fish so out I went with my trusty canon G12 and took some great pics! I had 2 great shows last night, I worked better than the first show I did a few nights ago, I had the room up and jumping so I am a happy boy. Today we are in beautiful Curacao, I love this place, it’s so colourful with the buildings in every colour under the sun, have a look at some of these photos! Tonight I have been asked to join in a game show called “Call My Bluff” so that should be fun, but I haven’t been given the words yet, so looks like I will have to wing it! Yes, it was just that, winging it, oh well it was good fun! Today is the 14th April and on this day in 1912 the RMS Titanic collided with an iceberg in the North Atlantic at 11.40pm ships time and began sinking, the ship went under two hours and forty minutes later with the loss of 1,514 lives. The Fred Olsen MV Balmoral is now at the Titanic Wreck site for a memorial service. I’m reading the book “A Night To Remember” by Walter Lord and it has been a very interesting read, those poor people who perished on that cold night will never be forgotten! Tonight I am to host the Farewell Concert here onboard MV Black Watch, we have the very funny Mandy Muden, great singer Geoff Taylor and the show stopping violin duo Elektra and yours truly so it should be a great night! Rehearsals in 2hrs time so see you later! Good rehearsal and we are all looking forward to giving our farewell show tonight! I’m just off to listen to classical pianist Dominic John in a few minutes; I think he’s world class! I’m just back from Dominic’s concert, wow x 1000!!! Hello from St. Maarten in the Caribbean, the farewell show went off great last night and we all had a couple of drinks after the show! Today I was invited to a wedding onboard the Black Watch, well when I say wedding it was more of a renewal of wedding vows and it was so nice, two very nice people I’ve met here and they kindly invited me, so my suit was on at 2.30pm and the service was at 3pm, what a lovely couple Graham and Jeanie, thanks guys it was lovely afternoon. Tomorrow I fly home from Antigua to Gatwick arriving the next day and then home! I had the worse sleep ever last night; it was quite rough seas sailing from St. Maarten over to Antigua. I had a wonderful meal last night with Professor Bert and Dominic John, two fine chaps and I thoroughly enjoyed their company, we all fly back tonight and the ship will have a new lot of entertainers to entertain the guests back across the Atlantic, in fact my good friend Adrian Walsh takes over from me as he did on Balmoral so they will be in good hands. Welcome to Antigua! The day didn’t go as well as it should have, I didn’t sleep at all well last night as the sea was so rough, I was up and about at 5am taking photos. I had a text from my agent asking what time the ship sails, there was a big problem at Gatwick and Adrian Walsh had been sat on the tarmac for nearly 5hrs, the reason was a Virgin flight had to make an emergency landing as there was fire coming from the cockpit, it was all over the news. The knock on effect of this was huge and it would have effected allot of people as it has me. After much toing and froing on the phones we were told that we would have to go to the airport and present ourselves to the BA desk, then we were put up in a beach resort for two nights, now all this may sound quite nice but my family and I have a holiday booked on Thursday 19th April and today is Wednesday 18th and I will make this holiday by the skin of my teeth. I’m now at long last on the flight back to Gatwick and will arrive at 8.45pm then I have the 3hr drive back home, then pack my case, sleep for 4hrs then drive us all to Birmingham Airport for our flight to Tenerife. It’s my wife’s birthday and our wedding anniversary while we’re away and I have no cards or gifts. This is a nightmare, but when we get to Tenerife I have promised myself that I will switch off for the week. Who said travel was fun?

Sad News ~ Pam Jones

It is with deep sadness and a heavy heart when I say that a family friend and life long fan of mine, Pam Jones passed away on March 15th 2012.

Pam had followed my career from the early days when I toured with Danny La Rue and Cannon and Ball in Blackpool, she saw all of my pantomimes all over the country and was at all of my television recordings, Pam was a true fan. I think in total she saw me perform in over 600 performances! She has always been a part of all of our lives and I know that she was so happy to be included as a guest at mine and Maries wedding in 2005, she had a great time.

Pam was from Swansea and would always book a seat in the front row at all performances, there will be an empty seat in this years pantomime at the Grand but I know she will be smiling down at me…….. God Bless Pam.

Balmoral Fred Olsen 9-30th March 2012

What a busy time it’s been since I came home from Australia, I did have some quality time at home and we managed to do loads, Sam is such a joy, such a lovely boy and I have so enjoyed my time with him and of course my wife Marie. During my time at home I decided to go on a diet, well more of a weight loss programme really, focusing on life style rather than quick fix diets, it’s called Lighter Life, my mate Owen Money has lost 5 stone on it, I have so far lost a stone and a half so doing well, I have stopped drinking alcohol, stopped sugar, bread, pasta and all those lovely things I used to crave, take away’s another downfall, but do you what, I don’t feel like I’m on a diet at all, I have a shake for breakfast, soup for lunch or a mix style shepherds pie or chili con carne or a curry, a bar for afternoon tea and a meal at night that you cook yourself and let me tell you I am eating well, anyway, no big deal but I looked at myself on the QM2 and didn’t like what I saw so I am doing something about it.



I had quite a few shows to do during my time at home, Theatr’ Brychieniog Brecon was a good one with the added bonus of having my son Tom lighting the show, as was Porthcawl Pavilion Theatre a great night and a 100% sell out, the Swansea Grand Theatre was a wonderful night, a special night as it was St. David’s Day so I shared the stage with a lot of very talented young people, my dear friend Llinos Daniel was terrific as were the four young ladies I am trying to mentor at the moment “Lase” who are four sisters who sing beautifully, I predict big things for them, also my dear pal and fab actor Phyl Harries who compared the evening brilliantly, there were lots of schools performing some wonderful stuff, I did a piece with the students of Gower Collage Swansea and my musical director Michael Morwood also worked on that and it was a big hit with the audience, I had a 25min slot and it went by so very fast but on the whole the night went great. We also took our show to Neath Workingmen’s Club for a charity night for “Help The Hero’s” and I had a very pleasant surprise that night as another old mate of mine Diane Cousins came to see me and she has been so terribly ill, so thank you Di it was lovely to see you.



I was also part of another great event called “Taffyfest” at the Muni Arts Centre in Pontypridd, another great night indeed, with my band and again some hugely talented youngster’s, I invited Llinos Daniel to perform and she did a tip top job for sure also my girls “Lase” who wowed the crowd with there superb singing, also harpist and singer Bethan Nia did an amazing job.



Life at home was lovely, we had mother –in-law Julia staying with us so a kind of a house full, which I like.



I had another day at the Real Radio Studio recording more Trade Centre Wales Ads so listen out for them also some massive savings on all the cars if you are looking to buy something.



Another a bit a news, I have not been back to the Swansea Grand Theatre for Pantomime in 5 years, I had 4 happy years with the Owen Money Theatre Company and last year I took the Panto off and it was a lovely experience to have a proper Christmas with my family, however, this year I am back at the Grand Theatre Swansea playing (wait for it) Ugly Sister alongside my old pal who I have done many panto’s in the past, Kevin Johns and Chico is top of the bill! It will be a very different part to play and although I’m very nervous about doing this, I am looking forward to it and taking the learning proses to a whole new level. Am I now to look forward to becoming a Pantomime Dame? Time will tell. I want to thank Nick Thomas, Jon Conway and Jonathan Kyley of Qdos and Many Ward of Mandy Ward Artiste Management for getting me back into Panto World…see you all there…oh yes I will!



Soon it was time to pack and get ready for another journey to the airport, this time Gatwick and my flight to Rio Brazil, the flight was great, yes I couldn’t believe it, I slept for 7hrs so arrived in Rio refreshed and raring to go until the baggage reclaim, it took 1hr 20mins to get the cases, an hour and 20mins just stood starring at luggage going past on a conveyor belt, I almost expected a cuddly toy to go past. A long coach ride in heavy traffic to the ship and once onboard I began to relax. I bumped into an old pal and brilliant comic John Evans onboard, so we spent a good 4hrs chatting and laughing just like the old days when we were both sailing together on P&O Oriana way back in 1996, I like John he’s a good bloke. I have a beautiful suite, which overlooks the aft swimming pool so I will be happy in here. When I unpacked my case, one of the Lighter Life food packs had burst and now most of my clothes smell of Chicken Soup as the powder had burst out, oh well no problem! I have met the cruise director “Boz” they call him and what a really nice welcome, also onboard is yet another old pal Don Reid who is doing some comedy lectures so I’m looking forward to hearing them, Sarah Chandler a brilliant sax player who once upon a time worked in the main band on P&O Arcadia, she is a lovely girl and a great player, I always knew she would end up doing her own show one day, good on you Sarah, we have an opera singer Anthony Stuart Lloyd on, what a fantastic bass baritone voice he has and he’s welsh…tidy!



We are over night here in Rio tonight, what to do, should I go for a walk and see a bit of Rio, there’s the famous Christ statue, Copacabana Beach, Ipanina Beach, or should I stay onboard and chill, I have been here before on Oriana about 10yrs ago, we’ll see!

I stayed onboard, I had a beautiful meal and then a stroll around the prom deck then bed, watched Kill Bill Vol 1, funny and blood thirsty but I suppose I enjoyed it, we sail tomorrow (10th March) and I have 3 weeks on here, I must stick to my routine now and keep up the weight loss and NO BEER!!!!!



Good Morning once again from Rio! It’s a very hot day around 88c, I didn’t get up this morning until 10am, what a great sleep, you always get a good nights sleep when the ship alongside as there is no movement and even more important no noise. Had my shake for breakfast and then went out and sat around the pool in the baking sunshine. I had my lunch that consisted of a Pea & Smoked Ham Soup from my Lighter Life packs, lovely; no I mean it, really yummy. I have a meeting with the Cruise Director at 3.30pm, an emergency drill at 4.30pm and we sail at 5.50pm and we sail north along the Brazil coast to another exotic port.



I enjoyed our sail away from Rio, it took ages but it was lovely, I have taken some photos but as you can see it went dark quickly so not much to see, but all the same beautiful.

Prince Harry has been here all the while I was here, his car and entourage passed the Balmoral just as we were doing our emergency drill; I hope he gave us a wave!



Good Morning and we are at sea, it’s Sunday today so I’m off to church at 10am and then look at the gym or more sunbathing or work on my show which is coming up in about 5 days time, ah lazy days at sea. On P&O Sunday at sea was a great day, Church followed by coffee with the Captain, then I used to go to the crew bar and have a Sunday afternoon drink with the boys and girls of the crew, I’m the new boy on here so I have to get to know people, lucky for me I have my fellow entertainers for company so not so lonely, it can be a lonely place if you don’t know anyone! See you later!



This afternoon I had the pleasure of watching comedian Don Reid do a lecture on some of the old comics from the 60’s and the 70’s what a lovely way to spend an hour in the company of a great man who is also a very funny comic, he is doing 10 presentations this cruise so he has his work cut out, but do you know what, they love him and it will be a big hit this cruise, well done Don! Tonight’s entertainment is the wonderful Bass Baritone Anthony Stuart Lloyd, he a big chap with a big voice so I’m looking forward to see him later on this evening.



What a fab show last night with Anthony Stuart Lloyd, what a rich chocolate voice, he’s known as the man with the Rolls Royce Voice, I so enjoyed his show as did everyone else, well done Anthony.



I can’t wait to get on that stage myself now, all this waiting is killing me, I have my first show in 4 days time, I need to work now and make my mark so to speak.



Its another sunny day here on Balmoral in the South Atlantic Ocean, I’ve had my strawberry shake and I’m ready for the day ahead, I’m also reading a book I have been looking for, “The Secret” and it’s a very interesting read! Now, to the fresh air and some sun!



Ah lovely, a nice 4hrs in the sun and a nice pork salad for lunch followed by a nice pint of sparkling water and ice, oh yes I know how to live the good life alright! I spent half an hour in the gym, I power walked for a mile and did some sit ups and press-ups, I’m not great in the gym but at least I went today.



I have a blackberry phone so everyday I get to talk to Marie via what they call BBM its like a free text service between blackberry’s so at least we catch up on things.



I’m dying to get on that stage; I still have another 4 nights to wait. Tonight, we have an old friend of mine sax player Sarah Chandler who yesterday had a piece written on her in the Sunday Express all about her cruising on this ship next month remembering the Titanic. I’m looking forward to seeing Sarah tonight as she used to play for me on P&O Arcadia and now has her very own act, can’t wait!



Wow…Sarah Chandler…what a great show she did last night, she really does have that likability factor, which really is the key to going well onstage, she connected with her audience and they loved her, so proud of you Sarah, well done!



Today we are in Salvador in Brazil and the temperature is a cool 35c, it was 30c at 8am. I have had my banana shake this morning and in about 20mins I’m going ashore with the tours manager to take a look around the city, I have heard it can be dangerous out there with pick pockets and muggings but I’m going anyway with my trusty canon G12 and going to take some pictures of this old and interesting city.

I was blown away with the city of Salvador, it is so busy and colorful I have taken loads of pics, take a look!

I enjoyed the company of William the tours manager and also his knowledge of photography so really enjoyed the long walk around a very old city steeped in history.



Good Morning and a day at sea, we are no sailing for Recife once again in Brazil. I woke around 9am only to put the TV on and learn of the awful tragic accident in Switzerland. Those poor kids, what a terrible accident in that tunnel, my thoughts and prayers go out to those poor families who have had this awful news of their children. When you have kids of your own it really hits you hard, I don’t know how I would cope if something ever happened to my boys, I am so sorry to hear of this.



And now some good news…I switched my phone on and had a message from my son Tom, “I got a job” it said, he has only landed a job on the National Tour of Birds of a Feather starting next Thursday at the Wolverhapton Grand Theatre then touring all over the UK until July. I am so very proud of him, well done son.



I can’t be bothered to go out tonight, so it looks like a night in in front of the telly…right then, what’s on!



Today we are in Recife in Brazil and another hot day. I went to the spa for a haircut and the guy there scalped me, shortest haircut ever, I know I haven’t much hair but all the same it’s short, I quite like now though! I am really enjoying my book “The Secret” everyone should go buy it as it’s not a secret, its out there for all to read.



I work tomorrow night and I am looking forward to it!



I spoke to Marie today and she tells me our little Sammy is not so well, he has a temperature of 101 and is feeling pretty down poor chap, he picks things up in school, what can you do? Never mind, he’s in good hands with Nurse Mummy and will soon be on his feet again!



We sailed out of Recife and I took a few pics, nothing great but here they are anyway!

Good Morning and a day at sea for us on Balmoral, I was up at 9am and got straight into sorting my show out for tonight, oh after the first cup of tea of the day of course and the daily Lighter Life Shake that is! I have been on the Blackberry Ping with Ian Parsons and we have some interest from some more Theatres in Wales for the autumn, so it was good to look at that. My son Sam feels a bit better today says Marie so I’m glad to hear that too!

Tonight’s the night then, yes I am finally working, it’s been a week since I boarded this ship and I clearly need to get on that stage and do what I do best, I am looking forward to it and I am up for it too! My rehearsal and sound check is in 50mins time so no doubt I will let you know how all of that went! See you later!



Yes a good band and the sound onstage is good too, all I want now is the audience to like me and we’re away. I have taken a date back at the Swansea Grand for 21st January 2013, I know it’s a Monday night but I do hope as many of you as possible will come out and support me, the panto would have finished by just a week so it’ll be good to get back into a suit and out of the frocks, my goodness I can’t believe I just said that “out of the frocks” what does the future hold?



Tomorrow we are in Fortaleza Brazil and after that we are going up the mighty Amazon River, I am very excited about that.



Ok, see you after the show!



The 8.45pm show couldn’t have gone any better, a full house and a full standing ovation, thank you. Now I have to do the same for the 10.45pm show…see you later!



Oh Thank you Thank you…the late show went great too and always nice to have some welsh people in the audience!



Today we are in Fortaleza in Brazil and its already 32c, I loved doing my show last night and now feel as if I’m part of this cruise. My lips have been so sore due to a cold sore and then burning them in the sun, but today they feel better, sorry I know this is of no interest to you but I write as I feel, if that makes sense!



Well what a day, Wales won the Grand Slam, Swansea won 3-0 against Fulham, and it was St. Patrick’s Day. Anthony Stuart Lloyd sang for us all as we sailed away from port and Pat Shannon gave us a wonderful Irish Show, also we had wonderful singer Suzzie Woods and comic Don Reid who did a marvelous job, what a night on Balmoral!

What a day at sea today, the Captain and his officers were thrown in the pool by King Neptune, ok let me explain, for years now when ships cross the equator a ceremony is put on to mark this happening, so one of the crew dresses up as King Neptune and a few dressed as Pitate’s and if you have never crossed the equator before you are initiated and then thrown into the pool to be cleansed, the poor old Captain was thrown in as an example to all, it is a lot of fun, I was initiated back in 1982, so I was ok and didn’t get wet, here’s some photos of the event taken from my balcony.



This afternoon was quite interesting, as we are about to enter the Amazon for some reason or another the ship had to power down its engines and shut off the electricity and then reset everything including computers, engines, water supply, air conditioning, it was horrible, we all sat sweating like pigs all afternoon, but it had to be done, I have no idea why but that was that, anyway we are on our way again now, I’m sat on my balcony as its like an oven in the cabin, air con not working yet. It was a strange feeling when the ship went dark and with no engines, you got an idea how those poor people on that second Costa ship might have felt, the ship was just floating around with waves slapping up against her, really weird! I feel sorry for the show company tonight as they have a big production show to do in this heat, air con will take hours and hours to come back to the required temperature. Worse things happen at sea, is that the old saying?



Today we are sailing up the mighty Amazon River, it’s hot, sticky, rain about to come down, huge insects, the biggest cockroach I have ever seen in my life and the river is a chocolate brown colour. I went to see Don Reid’s comedy talk at 11am and just before that had my sizes taken for the costume department of Qdos, which is for my costumes for panto this year. Anyway, have a look at some of these photos taken in the Amazon, huge bugs!!! (Shiver)!

Good Morning and welcome to Santarem deep in the Amazon, it’s a very hot day and more bugs have come out to play, take a look at this bat I found hanging upside down outside my cabin, also some more huge butterflies or are they enormous moths?

I’m on tonight so my rehearsal was set for 11am and it went without a hitch, we have a good band a good soundman so I’m looking forward to going on tonight. I haven’t done a long cruise like this for a very long time, the last time was on P&O Arcadia which was Acapulco to Southampton and that was a week longer 4 weeks, this is just over 3 weeks and I’m feeling a tad homesick, oh well only 10 nights left to go then I have 3 days at home of which I am working one of them at St. David’s Hall Cardiff with two old pals from Carmarthen Wynne Evans of Go Compare fame and his brother Mark Evans, so that ‘ll be nice to see them, I knew their Mam and Dad very well Dai and Liz who, if we are to be honest, helped an awful lot of young performers from our hometown of Carmarthen. I then fly back to South America and Lima in Peru to join another Fred Olsen ship Black Watch and sail from Lima through the Panama Canal and onto Barbados, and then it’s a family holiday in Tenerife!



I have just over an hour now before I go onstage so it’s a nice hot shower and get ready, see you after the show!



My shows both 8.45pm and 10.45pm went really well, all I have left to do now is an interview onstage in the Theatre tomorrow morning at 11am and then I am to host the Farewell Show the night before I fly home from Madeira.



We left the Amazon this afternoon and we are now heading across the Atlantic to the Cape Verde Islands. I am so looking forward to going home now, I have missed my family very much, I can’t wait to have our little holiday!



My interview/talk went really well, I had a full house and I talked about a lot of personal stuff and the laughs were loud and strong so a happy Doyle today. I had a few pints with Don Reid in the pub afterwards and we really laughed out loud, which is a good thing! Tonight there is an outside show around the pool and as my suite over looks the aft pool my balcony will provide the perfect viewing for the show, so I have invited the entertainers onboard to enjoy the night from my balcony!



Another day at sea, another hot day so I sunbathed and listened to my iPod for a few hours, after lunch I went along to listen to Don Reid’s Comedy lecture and it was brilliant, he’s a really nice man is Don, he gave me a copy of his book and signed it too!



Tonight we have the wonderful Suzzie Wood singing for us so looking forward to that!



Yes…Sussie did a great show, great ending too with “No Regrets” well done good job!



We had Sarah Chandler soon after and bless her she did her show sitting down as she has had a very bad back and had to seek medical treatment whilst here, but what a show, just fantastic!



Today we are at last in Cape Verde, and Gavin Murrey who is a member of the show company called me and we went ashore for lunch, a great day too, we bumped into Geoff and his wife in a bar on the way back to the ship, they are guests from the ship and really lovely people. I rang home and Marie gave me all the news, my Mam and Dad came to stay and Sammy loved seeing his Nanny and Granddad so that must have been nice, other news is my niece Tasha has got an audition with the X Factor so we are all behind her and wish her well. I also had some bad news, my dear Aunty Beryl from Lampeter is not all well, so we are thinking of her and the family at this time too!



I went to see Anthony Stuart Lloyd tonight, absolutely fantastic, what a voice and what an act.



I got myself off to bed only to find it’s another hour forward on the clocks so not such an early night afterwards. I have 3 sleeps left now including tonight s I’ll soon be home, its going to be tough this time at home as I only have two days before I go again and I’m working one of them at St David’s Hall Cardiff, oh boy this is going to hard for us all!



Good Night all!



It’s another beautiful day on the Balmoral as we sail once again over the Atlantic towards Madeira. I had a good walk around deck 7 this morning, I must have done almost a mile, this afternoon we having some fun in the sun with the ships company including the higher officers like the Captain joining in, have a look at these photos of them being thrown in the pool!



I can’t even begin to tell you how excited I am about going home, I am sure my little boy Sammy will have so much to tell me, as will my eldest Tom with his news of being on tour with “Birds of a Feather” oh my goodness I can’t keep up!



Right then, it’s haircut time!



Last day on Balmoral, this had been a long stint at just over 3 weeks and I am so looking forward to going home. I am on again tonight only this time I am hosting the night, as it’s a Variety Show with all the entertainers that have been on this leg of the world cruise.



Great 2 shows last night, everyone did a fab job and the crowd loved it too!



Today we are in Madeira and I fly home tonight at 6pm and arrive Gatwick 9.20pm, so I should be home around midnight, Billy from www.executivecarswales.com is picking me up!



I am so looking forward to going home!

A Day Out In Cardiff Bay

I enjoyed a lovely day out with Marie and Sam in Cardiff Bay. Wales has some beautiful sights as well!!

Taffyfest Muni Pontypridd March 3rd 2012

Had a great night at Taffyfest last night at The Muni in Pontypridd
have a listen to my special guests Lase - look out for them!!!