The Little Mermaid

I wanna be where the people are,

I wanna see

Wanna see 'em dancin', w

alkin' around on those

(Whad'ya call 'em?) oh - feet

Flippin' your fins you don't get too far

Legs are required for jumpin', dancin'

Strollin' along down a

(what's that word again?) street

Up where they walk, u

p where they run

Up where they stay all day in the sun

Wanderin' free, w

ish I could be

Part of that world

Part of your World
The Little Mermaid, Disney

18 May 2009

OMG! OMG! Neil R from Fever Media phoned this morning – I was grunting my way through another tortuous stretch on power plate – when he started phoning and kept phoning until I answered…The powers that be at Fever M and BBC3 have changed their minds – still only six contestants (was originally due to be 7) but they want me in the final six! Cannot believe it – I had cried on phone with N when he called to say hadn’t made it through on Friday but soon got over it – esp as got trip to Los Angeles and Las Vegas to look forward to with P – but now…well I’m going to be learning to wheelie dance – with the fabulous Brian…

Loving the dancing bits already – not sure about having cameras around all the time though – and worried about partner to be – am petrified that if it is strictly professionals I will get Brendan bad boy of ballroom Cole, instead of the lovely Ian Waite who seems, well to be a nice person, and patient…and patience is def a prerequsitie – had underestimated how difficult it is to learn to dance – the counts (maths never my strong point!) and trying to understand exactly what Brian (and Pippa) want…

21 May 2009
Just when you thought life couldn’t get any better – it Does!

Surely, today one of the best days of my life. The weather was glorious – full bodied Spring day, air heavy with delightful perfumes of nature and I was training with Pippa in a tiny church hall – and she took me for a waltz to lovely music, and it was so lovely, brought tears to my eyes. And then was picked up by Fever Media to go to meet my new dance partner. OMG!

As we (Howard, the cameraman, and I) pulled into the grounds of the Harrow School, my heart began beating really, really fast, past the sporting fields, past the cricket score-board and my brain started to pull up all these images from previous Strictly Come Dancing, images not of the pro-dancers (which is all I had been concentrating on) but of the ‘celebrity partners’. Especially the cricket pavilion and scoreboard. . .

Mark Ramprakash. . .

Darren Gough…

. . .my personal history…my love for cricket! (Ed: cricket-er?) Began to feel so nervous started to perspire, felt a tad nauseous. Staggered from car, got wheelie out, all in a bit of a daze. Went to loo to try to compose myself, forgot I was miked up. Cursed a fair bit. Only when came out did I smell the chlorine and said to David the director – ‘swimming pool - is that a bit of hint then?’

It dawned on me only then how very clever the Fever Media team have been in keeping this such a surprise, but the pure fact of the situation only occurred to me at that instant – us competitors had been told what the ‘prize’ is for the winners – to compete in the Wheelie Dancing European Championships – an IPC regulated sport, which meant that it is for amateurs only, and our dancing partners couldn’t possibly be Professionals.

As I wheeled through to the pool area, I thought of the very gorgeous Mark Foster, celebrity contestant on SCD last year – he of the much discussed black mesh/see-through top.

And there he was! My Mr Neptune! In the swimming pool armed with nothing more than a pair of speedos and a winning smile! Gorgeous! And it was, LIKE AT FIRST SIGHT!

I remember wanting to hug him, but he was so wet from the pool, inside I was sooooo relieved. If it had been a cricketer, well, I very possibly would have fainted out of my wheelie at the co-incidence. First impressions? As beautiful inside as without. Warm, friendly, personable, just a natural, gentle-giant type of person. My cup runneth over, truly, I am blessed.

So we are literally two fishes out of water (he Mr Neptune, Me, the Mermaid) on the dance-floor, can we join together in dance and create a little bit of magic? The odds seem to be stacked against us but right now don’t really care. Think I have struck lucky with Mr Neptune, have a feeling that we are going to be friends and that is just wonderful.

PS Have discovered already that Mr Foster ‘gives good hugs’ – in fact he is one the best!