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Showing posts from 2013

These are not resolutions...just thoughts!

It is never easy sitting down to write this, the last blog of the year.  I suppose, traditionally, it should contain a review of what has gone on in the past 12 months, and indeed as preparation, I've just spent half an hour flicking back  through the blog entries I've made during that time. Action packed, rewarding, and busy. Four holidays, three television series, two personal goals,  not to mention of course the partridge that has taken up residence in the newly planted pear tree in our back garden!  If you want to see just exactly what those things were, then you too will have to flip back through the entries of 2013. I would hope that it's a good read. It's not just intended to be a diary,  but a place where I can share my somewhat biased opinions, and thoughts. Something I intend to continue doing through 2014. Now that sounds like a New Year's resolution, and as a rule I just don't make them because I just break them. But perhaps there ar

Do you take this man?

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I think weddings have been a little bit of a theme this year. Prior to 2013, I  hadn't been to a wedding for absolutely ages.  Possibly the last one I went to was that of Richard's sister Annabel, a winter themed event in a Cambridgeshire hotel in mid-February some  eight to ten years ago. Obviously all my contemporaries got married many years ago, and now I seem to be turning up at the wedding of some of their children. Not brilliant for the self-image.  This year I've been to three, or four if you count the highly successful one that we filmed for "Him and Her" series 4 which has just finished its run on BBC 3.Great to watch, but hard work to make. In fact after the five weeks filming of those nuptials I've vowed that if I ever had to attend a wedding again it would be too soon. Of course when I said that I hadn't figured about the possibility of attending a wedding in Thailand, which was what we have just spent the last ten days doing. Not

Straight.....or Bent? The Real Me.

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Straight or Bent ? - The Real Me In the sort of coincidence that can sometimes render one slightly frustrated, most of the television work that I've done this year, is now being shown on television simultaneously. Hence if you’re particularly devoted to a little touch of Clayton in your night,  you have been able to catch me early evening on Thursday in the Channel 4 soap “Hollyoaks” or later on BBC 3 in the remarkably good “HIm and Her”, the channel's highest rating sitcom. Graham watches Paul sign the register at the wedding from Hell - Him and Her There may be some avid devotees, having watched both, who think this has proved an admirable opportunity for me to show my range. In  “Him and Her” I play Graham, a sensitive and softly spoken counsellor who's been having an affair with Paul, the aggressive and slightly simple boyfriend of Laura. Through Paul’s relationship with Graham we manage to see a new side of him. In Uniform - Hollyoaks In my

Where are you bleeding from?

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Where you bleeding from?  I think as one gets older one should always try and have new experiences. New sensations and new adventures to help invigorate one and keep one alive and the adrenaline pumping. Having said this, last Sunday morning I had a new experience I could happily have done without. At the age of 56 years of age I had my first nosebleed. It’s a long time since I’ve seen so much of my own blood, and fresh and glistening on the bathroom floor it looked very very red. A second nosebleed on the Monday, plus an overnight emission (Careful!), that did our 300 thread count Egyptian cotton frette pillows absolutely no good at all, meant that it was time to pop along to the GP. Easier said than done. I don't know whether it’s the 50th anniversary of Doctor Who that has taken me back in time, but I have happy memories of walking up to the doctor's surgery with my mother at surgery time and sitting in the waiting room, to be seen in order of arrival. An or

Dear Reader

Dear Reader, Dear Reader, We have just spent the weekend in Devon. Richard's parents are downsizing from the large family house they retired to fifteen years ago to his late grandma's rather bijou two bedroom flat down by the seaside. It's a good move, but it's cruel as it entails throwing away lots of possessions and boxes of stuff that they have accumulated over the years. Several boxes of Richard's stuff were moved with his parents and have spent fifteen years in the loft. His life has not been the poorer without them, and yet, it was important that he had the chance to look through them before they were consigned to a tip. I know how difficult this process is from emptying my mums house last year when we sold it, and so just as he was there to support me, here am I to say the words " Bin it" quietly, but firmly in his ear. What I wasn't expecting was to be touched by anything that he found myself. Yes, it was great to see p

Those who can, do, and those who can't........

In the corporate work that I do, I suppose there’s a lot teaching involved. Bringing people into contact with techniques and principles that hitherto they’ve not thought about, and enabling them to use them to make their own skills more effective. I don't ever think of myself as a teacher. My vision of teachers is somewhat impaired by a collection of rather uninspiring tweedy sports jackets, dubious beards, and in several cases an affliction to the state of bachelor that made us all wonder just what closet door they were trying to beat down. In many cases I’m sure that I do teach. Yesterday I spent the day at The Actors Centre showing the skills involved in doing corporate role-play with a group of enthusiastic members of all ages. Indeed I would hope that my book “teaches” in some respects, but I would hope that its wisdom is imparted through experience and anecdote, rather than some dull learning by rote system.  I know that’s how I learnt whatever minimal technique I ha

Never Go Back

Never go back. We've just had the joy of a little three night break out in Portugal. I'd been out there directing the McDonald's uk AGM and then Rich flew out on the Wednesday to spend the rest of the week with me. We moved to a hotel in Faro which had a rooftop pool and that was all we needed. Sun loungers, kindles, good books, and the sun. Faro is not the most exciting place being the town near the airport from where everyone scurries off to the resorts on the Algarve. Indeed from our hotel, a mere ten minutes drive from the airport, we could see the end of the runway. No problem. We chilled. One thing we do love on holiday is an nice evening meal. Preferably outdoors so I can smoke, and good food. We weren't given that many options in Faro. The first evening was my mistake. A little restaurant in a square in the dark. Richard's meat kebab ( he's not a pescatarian) arrived garnished with prawns. For a boy who can't be in the same room as a can of t

Cardigan Time

It's the time of year that I like; the cardigans are coming out. Last weekend saw the arrival of two of my cardigans, Richard's parents, and a trip to an English vineyard for lunch with 30 people. When I met Mr Richard Howle nearly 17 years ago and our eyes locked across the Telegraph crossword in the green room of the Arts Theatre Cambridge, I didn't see the large, varied, and fertile family sitting right behind him. As an only child, adopted by my parents after two failed attempts at having their own child,  I have always associated family life with a remarkable degree of isolation. I'd like to think that the long hours I amused myself as a child are a part of the reason for my fertile imagination. Richard has always been part of a larger group. It's probably why he is so genuinely at ease with people, and yet also I know how he values our time alone. This weekend we have managed to get two whole days together for the first time in ages. This evening, Sa

Handing it on

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I've never had any regrets about the fact that being a gay man means that I won't have children. For one thing I don't think I have the patience and for another it means that I choose to invest in the future in different ways. Watching my many friends bring up their children with love and care makes it clear to me just what a difficult job it is and I  don't think I'd be up to it. I have some fantastic godchildren, some great friends in the children of my friends,  and  I've acquired a complete set of nephews and nieces from my partner Richard. I do think it's very important however,  to try and help play a part in shaping things for the future, to pass on experience, and to give young people opportunities that perhaps weren't available for oneself. For the last two years I have been in charge of the Alan Bates bursary award at The Actors Centre where I am chair of the board. It's an award set up in memory of the actor Alan Bates to help on

Casting Aspersions

If you have a good agent whom you trust and who works well for you, one of the benefits of finishing a long piece of work, such as the 7 weeks I've just done on "Him and Her" series 4, will be that in the 1st week after finishing work you'll be plunged back into the  world of castings. As actors we do hundreds of what are essentially job interviews. My partner has probably done three job interviews  in the whole of his working life (He got all three jobs I have to point out), and for many people job interviews are a source of great stress and tension and worry. This can also be the case for actors. Having sat on both sides of the desk hours as actor and as director casting my own productions, I have seen people so desperate for the work that no vestige of a real personality transmits itself. It's difficult. You want the job, and yet you don't want to appear as though you're in the last chance saloon. The best time to go for interviews is when you

Who Dun It?

It's always good when you  have just done something new in your career, and yesterday saw the end of the filming of series 4 of "Him and Her". Despite the extensive amount of television that I've done, this is the first time I have been on a series for the whole length of the shoot. I can't pretend it hasn't been hard, and I can't pretend at times that it hasn't been repetitive and a little boring, but I can say that it's been the hugest amount of fun working with the nicest people, and a very very talented crew. It will be absolutely fantastic to see the finished show in the autumn. It being in the hands of an extremely capable director, one knows that it will end up looking brilliant, and having read what are just simply superb scripts, I think that people who tune in and watch it will have 5 weeks of brilliant observational television comedy.  For the rest of August, September, and most of October it looks like I'm back to the

That's a wrap

That's a wrap. Those are the words that lift your heart at the end of a long day's filming. And we've certainly had some long days during the filming of "Him and Her" series four "The Wedding.  This Saturday, 17 August will be saying those words for the final time as filming draws to a close. After a read through in London in a week of rehearsals in Bloomsbury, the whole unit decamped to a secret location just outside St Albans to recreate a day in the life of a group of people involved in a wedding. It's really difficult for me to say more without infringing what I'm allowed to tell you, but I am about to say that it's been great fun if hard work. Usually the months of July and August are by definition holiday months. People are away, and very few firms do any training in the  summer months, so work prospects during that time can be quite fallow, particularly in my area of strength, the corporate field.  In past years I've invol
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So it's been a busy week. I think I may have started a previous blog with the same words, but it's true. Monday saw some corporate work in London and then an evening theatre visit to see the lovely Joan Iyiola in "'A season in the Congo"-a very enjoyable and theatrically exciting retelling of a piece of history of the Congo. Some of the gang from :Him and Her" Series 4 filming Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, saw a trip up to Yorkshire to see Mum, and Friday and Saturday saw more filming in our top secret location……. near St Albans. Ooops! Although it's impractical to go up to Yorkshire in the car on every visit, it's great when I have the opportunity to do so. Mum is still very keen as she approaches 92 years of age, to keep as active as possible and most of her days involve a trip into Rotherham  if only to sit and have a coffee in the bus station cafe  and chat to one of the many people she knows who go there. To have me at her beck a

Too darn'd hot!

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So it's been a busy busy week. Book launch, start of filming, trip to Yorkshire, and all of course in the most oppressive heat imaginable. I find dressing for the heat is a real problem. In fashion terms, I'm at my best in winter. I love jackets, cardigans, scarves and cosy dressing. On the fashion front I long for the crisp cool days of Autumn that cry out for a touch of wool, and a firm cord and brogue! I suppose the truth is that my "fuller figure" is not suited to a lighter style of dressing. It requires a chunky knit, or a well tailored wool suit to look good. I have lots of linen for the summer months, but within minutes of putting it on, it looks crumpled and careworn. I lunched with a female colleague from the Actors Centre board the other week and she turned up looking fabulous in a fuchsia shift dress. A simple shift dress. What's the equivalent for us chaps then?  Hanging in my wardrobe, and frequently used in the flat on hot nights, both Rich

Here comes the bride....and the sun!

Here comes the sun So summer seems to have finally started. And I think I can safely tell you that it's going to be here for the next 5 to 6 weeks. How do I know? Have I been checking the dried seaweed that hangs bladder like in our kitchen window? Have I been feeling my pine cones daily? Have I been checking to see whether the spider is stayi ng in the middle of his web? No. I've simply received my filming schedule.  For a period of five and a half weeks from the 15th of July, I will be spending an awful lot of time in a conference centre near St Albans recreating a wedding. Five weeks to film one day. And a wedding, of course, means that we will be inside most of the time and wearing suits, shirts, and ties at the very least. And that means hot weather.  There's a law  applied to filming that states  "indoor filming in lots of garments will always be done in high temperatures. Outdoor filming in cool garments will always take place in snow." Those

Judging a book by its cover!

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And so it's getting ever closer. When I sat down to apply myself to writing my book last April, I didn't really have any perception as to how long the whole process from me typing the first word until publication would be. In actual fact it will be just under 15 months to publication day on July 18. I'm told that this is quite quick, but then I'm also told that I wrote the book very quickly. I started with a week at my good friend Janie and Mike's house in France, and had finished actually writing it by the middle of July, three months later. The rest of July and August were editing and reworking certain sections. It came back from Nick Hern, my fantastic publisher, just before Christmas and I spent the second half of the Christmas holiday in the first week of January working through his emendations  and suggestions. It came back in May to be finally proof read, and I finished a final proofreading of it ten days ago before it went to the printers. The

......Two for Joy!

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…….Two for joy. One of the hitherto unspoken joys of living here in Denham Court is the view, even on a rainy morning such as today, from our kitchen window. There, through the mist you can catch a glimpse of La Tour Eiffel, placing us firmly in the 47th arrondissement known as Upper Sydenham.  To those with a keen eye it may just be possible to work out that this architectural highlight of our kitchen vista  is actually one of the two Crystal Palace transmitter towers. It looks fabulous on a winter's day, brilliant at night when it is lit up and overall, a positive benefit for whoevers turn it is to stand at the kitchen sink and do the washing up - mainly Richard.  Cast your eyes down  from this wonder, and the likelihood is that you'll see magpies. The roof of the garages behind the flats seem to be a popular place for them to congregate, and it's rare that on looking out of the window in the morning I fail to see at least one bird, white breast glinting in the