"IT IS VOT IT IS........" (The words of Ivana Trump)

WEIGH-IN WEDNESDAY

Well no news this week - just stayed the same - no loss - no gain. So in the words of Ivana Trump "It is vot it is......" I will have to wait until next week to make you all smile again. Off to play Golf this morning with Mark - the Dry-Cleaning Magnate of Wadebridge - he's got a "Big Bertha" Driving Wood he wants me to try out & I can't wait!

ROYAL CORNWALL SHOW

Every time we come down to Port Isaac to make the DOC MARTIN Show we end up going to the Royal Cornwall Show. It's always the same time of year around the 5-7th of June and it is always held at the Wadebridge Showgrounds about 20 minutes from Port Isaac. In many ways it reminds me of the Kansas State Fair which is always held in Hutchinson. Cindy thinks the difference between the two shows is the beer, she prefers the variety of Larger over Cours Beer, she prefers the Hog Roast & pasties over the Crispy Creme Hamburgers (!!) and the animals are cleaner. However the "Rides" are better in Hutch. Robert Sloman, our farmer friend who rents his farm out for DOC MARTIN use is quite high up the ladder with the Show and ends up wearing a Bowler hat for the three days. Here is a gallery of related photos:

Some of the Farmers.

Some of the Prize-Winning Sheep.

The Prize Winning Cattle.

The Half-Time Show.

With a member of the CORNISH WURZELS who had just played one of their Chart Topping Hits, "Ive got a brand new Combine-Harvester......"

This is Cindy with her new best friend Pickles who was training to be a "Therapy Dog"

working with stroke victims, etc.

This balloon ended up by my feet which with closer inspection it seemed rather ironic with the Gourmet Burger Bar quite nicely in the background.......!!

I spent a little time entertaining the kids - walking on stilts is a piece of piss, believe me!!

Around 5.00pm we started to head for home. After we left the Show-ground we made are way to the carpark which was in a field near by. Cindy very kindly offered to get the car - leaving me to wait in a lay by - the next time I saw her it was 7.30pm!! It took her two and a half hours to exit the car park. The queues of traffic were horrendous. Every 10 minutes she called me to tell me she had only moved an inch! We both vowed NEVER to visit the ROYAL CORNWALL SHOW on a Saturday EVER AGAIN!!

LETTER FROM LOS ANGELES
(By Christopher Monger aka "The Evil One")

There are two great rituals for summer in Los Angeles, when even on the hottest days, the evenings are cool in the hills.  And this week I managed to do both:

Firstly, Thursday night I was invited to DODGER STADIUM to see the L.A. Dodgers play the St. Louis Cardinals.   The friends who invited me are serious Dodger fans, so I found myself in a great seat, very near the action.

However, since Baseball is as slow as cricket, one of the great things about the game is that you have time to wander around and I couldn’t help but go up to the seats I’ve shared with Ian and Cindy before - and one of my favourite views of the park:

I also strolled down to the bullpen - where the relief pitchers warm up:

And watched a couple of plays from a different viewpoint:

But I think the best view of the night was up on the top deck:

Unfortunately the Dodgers were thrashed…

If that wasn’t enough fun for one week, on Saturday we lucked into two tickets to see EDDIE IZZARD play the Hollywood Bowl. 

The Hollywood Bowl, for those who haven’t been, is a huge outdoor amphitheatre in the Hollywood Hills.  It holds 17,000 people - AND EDDIE SOLD IT OUT.

We’re big fans, and have seen him twice before, once doing DRESSED TO KILL, in a tiny theatre on his first unofficial tour of the U.S., and also in an even tinier club, where he turned up to try out material.

On Saturday he was doing FORCE MAJEUR, and while we loved seeing him, it wasn’t as side-splitting as Dressed To Kill.  

Unfortunately I couldn’t get a decent picture on an iPhone, but you get the idea.  What was amazing was seeing that he had so many committed fans in L.A.  I didn’t hear one British accent, and the crowd seemed to cover every demographic.

The high point of the night for me was Eddie explaining how to make an Indian accent turn into a Welsh accent and vice versa.  Magnificent.

That’s all the news from Los Angeles.    

TREYARNON BAY

My dresser on DOC MARTIN is called Helen, she has been working on the Show for a few years now and has become a keen surfer. Quite often after a long days filming she will take her surfboard to Polzeath Beech and ride a few waves as the sun sets. Recently she told me about a new beach she found near Padstow called Treyarnon Bay.

The Lovely Helen

 So today Cindy and I set off in search of the new beach.We were not disappointed. Helen had told me the beach had a lot of rock pools -  ideal for kids to go looking for crabs as well as ideal waves for surfers.

Bay-Watch comes to Cornwall.

"Was that "THE HOFF" coming out of the water....??"

A Man and his Dog.....who REALLY loved the sea!

Today was one of those lovely Cornish days when the sun shone pretty much throughout - unfortunately they come all too infrequently this year. We've certainly had our fair share of wet and grey days - so today was a treat! Above must be a wonderful cave for kids to go exploring.

THE RHINO UPDATE

A friend of mine called Martyn came over with his wife Amanda from his house near Constantine Bay to have dinner with us. Martyn does an enormous amount of Charity Work. One of which happens to be "Save the Rhino". When I showed him our Rhino Installation standing proudly over Port Isaac he immediately said it must be brought to Sloane Square to appear at a fund raising dinner. I passed on Martyn's details to Dave the Artist. This week I received this email from Dave.

Well done Dave - what a cool result is that - The Port Isaac Rhino is off to the Big Smoke - Hurrah!

MAISIE'S ILLUSTRATION.

Until recently, my two year old son was a dream to put to bed. He used to settle very quickly, in his own bed, and sleep through the night. We stayed with family, for a week, recently, and we ended up sharing a room and bed. Since then, he is fussing when I say bedtime and wants to go into my bed. I keep him in his own bed but now I have to sit in the dark until he falls asleep. He also wakes during the night and I end up bringing him into my bed. How can I get him back to his pre-holiday routine?

Please visit Maisie's "Shop" in her WebSite below - there are only 2 days left to order drawings, etc - so hurry up & BUY!!

http://www.maisiemcneice.com/new-products-1/

OAKLEY

A big Shout Out this week for Oakley who - after 4 Record Breaking Years "Dean's List Babe"- finally graduates from UCSB Santa Barbara - Congrats Oaks - you're a STAR!!......xxxxx