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Thursday, October 1, 2009

Having kids = red faces

I was reminded yesterday of the power of children to cause embarrassment to their parents. Walking home from school with a good friend and her children, my children and Mr T we were chatting to the kids;
'Does Mummy shout a lot?' my friend asked Heather after I had given them the umpteetnh warning about running off and threatened to really shout...
'No!' she replied
Does Daddy?'
'Yes, and sometimes he even argues with Mummy,' she volunteered, oh dear...
'Who wins?'
'Mummy' (good girl!)
'Who' in charge?'
'Mummy.'
Enough to cause most of us to blush bright red.

It is funny how children see the world and view their own capabilities and we often hear if children ruled the world...
It may interest you to know that a new TV show is giving children the chance to do just that, well sort of, hidden cameras filmed children doing grown up jobs and starts this week, the host Chris Tarrant allowed himself to be interviewed by some of the children featured in the show.

Children asked Chris the questions. This is what happened...

What happens in the programme? (Aiden, 11 3/4 )
Tarrant Lets The Kids Loose is a hidden camera show where children as young as four are left in charge of very grown-up jobs, like running a beauty parlour, being in charge of a library for the day, running a garden centre, running a hairdressers including cutting peoples’ hair, and being a DJ for the day! The kids have no idea they’re being filmed, and even though they don’t realise it, they’re surrounded by up to 14 hidden cameras and microphones, and there are security men hidden in disguise everywhere. Mum and dad are watching through a secret control room.

The way the kids handle these difficult situations is absolutely brilliant. They then come into the studio thinking they’re just going for a day watching a TV show and only when they see the film with them in it they realise that they are the stars of the show.

Is it true you were on telly once and threw custard pies on peoples’ faces? (Ingmar, 11)
Yes, that was absolutely true! I did a show called Tiswas in the 1970s with people like Lenny Henry, Sally James and a spitting dog called Spit. We used to drench each other, the audience and all the children with custard. I absolutely loved it. We had no idea what we were doing. Lots of people used to write that we were changing the face of television, but really we were a bunch of people from Birmingham having a laugh.

Why do you like working with children so much? (Martha, 4)
The kids on Tiswas were a wild bunch that’s for sure! But it was a great morning we had once a week. The new show, Tarrant Lets The Kids Loose, is a real pleasure to work on, but obviously, with kids involved, it’s very difficult to guarantee what’s going to happen! They say the first thing that comes into their heads.

Who do you like best, children or adults? (Ingmar, 11)
Children, but I couldn’t eat a whole one!

When you were my age, what did you want to do? (Casper, 8)
I always wanted to be a water bailiff, so I could be paid to go fishing all day. My granddad took me fishing when I was four, and my dad took me too. I live about five miles away from the River Kennet, so I can go fishing now whenever I like. I would have also loved to have been captain of the England cricket team.

What's your favourite bit about being on TV? (Caitlin, 6 1/2)
Michael Aspel used to say it was always the car ride home! The trouble is that now people just want to be on telly to be famous. I’ve been doing it for so long that it’s not really a big deal anymore. I thoroughly enjoy it though, and I’ve done a lot of shows I’m very proud of and I’ve made a lot of really good mates. I can’t actually do anything else!

What school did you go to, and did you like it? (Aiden, 11 3/4)
I went to a very nice little school in Reading called The IX (nine) School, which was named because it was number nine in the road. Then I went to boarding school, at the King’s School in Worcester, where I wasn’t at all happy.

When you do Millionaire, is it your money that you give away? (Casper, 8)
Absolutely not! If it was my money I’d make the questions impossible to answer!

What TV programme do you most want to host? (Aiden, 11 3/4 )
To be honest, I think I’ve hosted every show that I really had any ambition to do. I still love doing Millionaire after 11 years and still get a great buzz out of it. And I’m really enjoying letting the kids loose too.

What car have you got? (Aiden, 11 3/4)
I’ve got a Land Cruiser, which I fill up with kids, fishing tackle and dogs, and a Mercedes Sports.

What's your favourite colour? (Caitlin, 6 1/2 )
Khaki, because my dad, who was my best friend, was a soldier and fought in World War II.

Do you watch Ben 10 and if you do who is you favourite character? (Harry, 5)
No I haven’t seen it, and my kids are much too old to watch it. But a lot of friends of mine with young children say they absolutely love it.

Tarrant Lets The Kids Loose is brand new to Watch, showing every week from Sunday 4th October 2009 at 6pm.

It sounds like fun and there are some You Tube clips as well;
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dCcepVVPd-A
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=021OYAI_9m4
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yon6QDWdSOY
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-l-M1TgYaXQ

Out of the mouths of babes...

Monday, September 28, 2009

Beautiful evening in Cambridge

I don't say this often enough but on Saturday I was really proud of all my children. It was Uncle Simon's birthday and we had arranged to meet up with Mr T's family for a celebration of this event. Following the usual football and dancing shenanigans and errand running, myself and the children awaited the return of Mr T who had gone to pick up his brand new car.

This caused great excitement when he returned and the children took turns hopping in and out of the luxurious leather seats, Heather was thrilled when Mr T put the roof up and is convinced that it is magic! After packing my own car up we were off down the M11, first to visit Grandma and Grandpa. We spent a charming afternoon there wandering down to some springs. The children in wellies took great delight in splashing around the water and even dared themselves to cross the slipper stepping stones with Daddy and Grandpa escorting them. Lucy also loved going in there. Then we went to the park where they climbed, slid and swung their way around the place, we even managed to spot a horse and went to say hello.

Then it was back to Grandma and Grandpa's house, a quick change into more presentable clothes and a trowel to make Mummy look more human and off we went on the drive to Cambridge. As soon as you drive into the town and start to see the cycle paths beside you and the park and ride buses you feel the buzz in the atmosphere. Most city centres are awash with activity on Saturday evenings, as the shops empty restaurants, theatres and pubs begin to fill up. As I struggled to park the car on a busy side street, succeeding eventually we piled out. Near us were several historic buildings, the wide gutters and cobbles reminding us of Cambridge's collegiate history and its beginnings as a market towns. The students weren't around, university doesn't begin until next week and then there will be all sorts of fresher high jinx!

We ended up at Pizza Express which the children (and the adults,) loved. The meal was convivial and as we walked back through the cool evening air to the car, past the hotel where our wedding reception was and back to the car the children listened to what they were told and walked nicely. Throughout the meal they had sat nicely, chatting to the relatives, and here is my tip, buy them a magazine to last in between ordering the meal and its arrival, all three were so busy stickering or pointing to pictures of the characters that time passed us by without a hitch. They ate nicely and didn't make pests of themselves in the restaurant and as I sat watching them I couldn't help but feel a sense of pride, they were my children and were setting a great example!