The Weird Bit...

... in between Christmas and New Year used to be my travelling back to London time, but these days I stay in town for the big day, so now it's sale time.

In previous years the sales meant a new handbag from Harvey Nicks cos it was the only thing that fit me. These days the field is wide open for me! I still bought a bag, a bright pink snakeskin Jill Sander number that was more than half price with my account holder's discount. I also got three gorgeous silver bracelets from Pascal that I love. With the assorted discounts I actually got one for free! I'm still getting a huge buzz from being able to buy a 'bangle' and get it over my hand. It's a wonderful feeling being normal sized!

I managed to resist the clothes in Harvey Nicks, actually there was nothing that I wanted badly enough to be honest. However, All Saints was a different story. A relatively new discovery for me, I am so addicted to their clothes. I'd bought a couple of pieces at full price over the last month or so, but there was so much I wanted but couldn't justify the cost - £90 for a jumper that was full of artfully placed holes for example - but, when they halved the price of everything, suddenly it was all justifiable!

Forty minutes later I left with about a grand's worth of clothes and (yet another) bag that cost me less than half price! I'm in hog heaven here!

I even got some thigh high black patent mock crock boots from Russell & Bromley's sale. I never thought I'd be able to wear boots like this, but after trying on the £450 pair in Brum last week I was determined to find a more affordable pair. And I did! They have a stiletto heel and are very sexy! I can even walk in them.

In other news, I had a brilliant week at The Glee Club and I'm back there on New Year's Eve - I so can't wait! Thanks to people like Alistair and Griffy and Tim, playing there is really like being with family, I love it. The guys I was working with were fantastic too, it makes such a difference.

Happy Christmas!!!!!!!!

To one and all. Here's to a prosperous 2009 for all of us!

Tis The Season To Be Jolly ... yada, yada, yada

So here I am in the Holiday Inn in Nottingham (no free in-room broadband here, thank god for me dongle!) on day 12 of my non-stop festive extravaganza. I've eaten enough turkey to last me a lifetime - to the point where I'm just doing sprouts, parsnips and carrots now - and seen more tinsel than Santa's Grotto. My little sequinned dresses which are on their second season of Xmas shows have lost their lustre for me - I've donated most of em to the staff at the club.

The only novelty that hasn't worn off is the sheer joy of wearing high heels! I'm loving being all girly, and while my walking technique hasn't improved, I am still upright and no major accidents so far. Having said that, it is a joyous moment when, at the end of each show, I come back to the dressing room and put my MBT's on for the walk up the hill back to the hotel!

Speaking of which, that hill - aka Maid Marian Way - is my fitness barometer. Gone are the days when the grossly overweight me would feel like my heart was gonna burst about a quarter of the way up and it would take me a good 15 minutes to get up it. Now I do it in 5 minutes and I am not remotely breathless when I reach the hotel! I cannot tell you how much of a kick that is for me!

The dresses are another barometer actually, this is the first time I can remember, that last winter's outfits have fitted me this winter! I think I may have said this already but it is a massive thrill. They're looser than they were last year but still wearable and that really is a big deal for me.

The shows have been pretty good on the whole, some more fun than others but no real horrors, thank goodness. Again this week I've been working with a great bunch of guys including my old mates Simon Bligh and Geoff Boyz, both of whom are a dream for any MC as you know they will do the business no matter what.

I've been trying to restrict myself with the shopping, cos my case was over-full when I left London nearly two weeks ago, but the lure of Zara and Muji and even New Look has been too great! I got a pair of fabulous black suede ankle boots in the latter yesterday that have a 5" heel!!!!!! I can walk and stand in em, which is a revelation to me. I plan to wear em next week at The Glee Club in Birmingham but I suspect I might need the lovely Alistair to walk me on and offstage, just to avoid any falling flat on my ass incidents!

Two more shows to go here in Nottingham then a whole almost 24 hours off (minus travelling times), December is going really well!

You Must Click On This

I saw the funniest thing in the world ever tonight. My comedy chum Dominic Frisby has made his own Downfall spoof and if you're a comedian or have ever known one you gotta watch it... I haven't laughed that hard in a long time!

Christmassssssssssssssssssssssss!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

So here I am back at the fabulous Radisson Hotel in Leeds having just done show one of about 20 Christmas gigs.

Personally I can't really think of a better way to begin the "pay my tax bill" errr festive season than with a week of shows at Leeds Jongleurs. The whole package - gig, hotel, city and bill - is just perfect to ease you into the whole season of good will and too much booze.

Since I got back from Malaysia my gigs have just been getting better and better. I am so loving being onstage and seem to have this new-found confidence. Obviously, feeling better about how I look physically and being fitter than ever helps enormously, but its more than that. I feel like I've finally found my voice. I love being onstage and talking to people and connecting with people. By vocalising some of my deepest and darkest thoughts I'm learning that, just like the Buddha taught, we are all the same essentially. We're all seeking the same thing - happiness - and we all have our own ways of getting there. So on nights when some random thought pops into my head and straight out of my mouth and then connects with a room full of strangers its like some kind of magic! I love it!

The other thing my trip to Kuala Lumpur has done for me is cure me of my shopping addiction. Four weeks of running around markets and shopping malls every day - apart from the various days I spent in hospital - has kinda filled me up shopping wise. Mind you, here in Leeds there's both a massive Primark and a fantastic Harvey Nichols, so I guess the next week will show me whether or not I'm really over it.

One reason for the lack of need to shop is that for the first time in my life, clothes I wore this time last year fit me again this year!!!!! I've never had that before they've either been miles too big or miles too small. As I dug out all my sparkly little Xmas frocks I was overwhelmed that they all still fit me! Granted they're looser than they were this time last year due to the amount of skin that's been removed and the additional weight loss, but it's not like I was a size 28 this time last year.

I'm even wearing heels onstage. I can't say I'm walking any better in them, but it feels good to be all glam and girly!