BB FANS

Being "utterly furious" about BB and speaking about how the can change the rules at any time and how he could handle this but was very angry a day after he nominated and BB called him back in and said the reasons were not good enough. Marcus getting called in to the diary room and being given a warning about using "threatening language" against Sree without Marcus or the majority of viewers understanding why. BB treading very carefully since the alleged racism in the CBB with Shilpa Shetty and thinking they have really turned up their sensitivity to avoid any accusations. Feeling that if anyone got a talking to for being a pain, it should've been Sree.

If heading away in your car these holidays check your tyres as head is the biggest cause of tyre failure. Not hearing it officially but at 28 degrees, Friday was apparently the hottest day on Orkney since records began.

Liking music from the 1980s and wondering if The Smiths will take the rumoured £30m offered to reform.

The service for Michael Jackson being held today with the screens being put up outside for the huge crowds expected to be drawn.

Ordering a book of new words and finding the like of Banoffee pie listed as well as the word "staycationers" for people who take holidays in their own country.

Refers back to Orwell's 1984 being the basis for Big Brother and some of the concepts from the novel being similar to what is found in the house, all the cameras for example taken from the "telescreens" as described in the book. Speaks about how interactions and relationships are some of the most interesting things to watch and discusses the importance of tasks in this. The tasks which involve housemates doing an activity day and night (fire burning etc) may be simple but they certainly show the personalities of the housemates. Being interested to see Kris saying that he really liked the tasks when he said at one point that he would rather fail than share the prize with "Halfwit".

A friend and he decided a couple of years ago to take motorbike lessons but when she fell pregnant she decided it wasn't the best thing to be doing. He wishes he had carried on with the motorbiking though and says how this week has been National Motorcycle Week. They are trying to encourage people to use motorbikes rather than cars as they can but pollution, duration of journeys and congestion.

A group of am dram people in Aberdeen that are going to be putting on a musical in August without knowing in advance what it is... catch is they will find out what it is on a Friday evening then be performing it at the same time the following Saturday with everything having to be directed and learnt in this time!

Cheryl Cole being considered as a judge for an American X Factor type programme but apparently she may have to take elocution lessons as the bosses couldn't understand her accent.

Saying you should keep an eye out for a new show called Walk on the Wild Side which has excellent wildlife photographs combined with a group of comedy writers and voiceovers including Stephen Fry and Tom Jones.

You're all in luck - no dodgy summary this week

So Kackling Karly’s out and there’s a new bunch in. But anyway…
More important than whatever shenanigans happened on Friday night is the utter non-event and anti-climax that was Big Brother’s big birthday celebrations during the past week.
I can hardly begin to express my disappointment about the missed opportunity for a really celebratory shindig last week. Past winners and ex-housemates were going to be brought back to take part in the celebrations, and the potential for fun was enormous!
But it all started to go wrong when Nick Bateman from the first series pulled out, allegedly partly due to his discovery that other ex-housemates had been offered appearance fees and he hadn’t.
I warned Big Brother that travelling expenses from up here in Scotland could be costly. The day before I was due to go to London, Big Brother contacted me to say that the fare was too much! Un-be-flipping-lieveable. Gearing up for the big birthday celebrations you’d think they would have been switched on enough to factor that in, and realise that not every winner lives within a taxi ride of the studios.
But even back in 2003 there was serious penny-pinching going on. They tried to get my mother and brother to travel to London by train, as if it was some kind of exciting adventure. When they refused the eight-hour rail journey, a national newspaper offered to pay their airfares and Big Brother was left with egg on his face.
But frankly, I don’t like that happening. I have always been a staunch supporter of the concept, the producers and the whole team – even over the last couple of years when it’s been more difficult to draw out the positive aspects of the show.
A Big Brother insider told me that scrimping on production is “big bro all round this year”. It’s thoroughly disappointing, especially when they could have made such a fantastic event of the big birthday.
I have no axe to grind; I’ve always watched it with a sympathetic eye and a defensive stance but it’s shocking that they thought they couldn’t fork out a few extra quid from the multi-million pound budget on making a real event of the 10th birthday.
I’ve been asked if I’ll go and take part later in the series, and I would love to. I have extremely fond memories of the place. The problem is I don’t want them tainted by a shoddy experience this time around.



It’s not just Big Brother that has celebrated a significant milestone in the past week. German automotive giant AUDI managed a magnificent centenary on Thursday 16th and they did indeed have a lot to celebrate. From a relatively modest level of sales in 2000, when just over 43,000 cars found owners in the UK, the Vorsprung durch Technik advertising slogan has helped the company to attract 100,000 buyers to the brand each year since 2007. They have quite a way to go before they hit the dizzy heights of the Mini, however. Celebrating its own 50th anniversary this year, the mini-marvel sold 5.3 million over its lifetime.



I’ve never seen any of the Harry Potter films. Because I’m such a car fanatic, I nearly bought the book with the blue Ford on the cover once in an airport, but my flight was called and I didn’t. The latest film in the franchise has launched to terrific acclaim, taking over $100million within 24 hours of its release. Maybe it’s time I watched them.



We’re a canny bunch, up here, and no doubt about it. Hopefully none moreso than Ellon-based inventor Ernie Middleton who turned down a Dragon’s Den offer of over quarter of a million pounds for a half share in his environmentally-friendly patio heater company. Being called “arrogant, rude and insulting” by Theo Paphitis is no mean feat, and I hope it pays off.



If you’re into brains as well as beauty, you should be happy about the new cast member joining hit series CSI: NY. Sassy Sarah Carter, who has already starred in Smallville, is allegedly teaming up with the crime scene forensics squad. Playing a graduate trainee, Carter aims to become a Crime Scene Investigator. She can investigate me any time she likes!

A lot of people have that marmite reaction to Big Brother; they either love it or hate it. The past couple of years I’ve been more along the lines of that lime marmalade that the lady along the street makes. You don’t really mind getting it once in a while, but it’s not what you’d usually choose.
This year on the other hand I’ve left indifference behind and am loving it and loathing it all at the same time. The housemates are intriguing me, which is great. They are getting plenty of tasks to do (possibly too many) and I’ve always said the ultimate key to unlocking the housemates’ personalities is their participation in the tasks.
What’s bugging the life out of me though, is this continued notion on the part of Big Brother that they need to bring new housemates in. The biggest downside of recent years has been the traffic in and out of the house. I know they have extra weeks to fill and the easy way to pad it out is to bring in a dreef of newbies. But they surely have to realise that bringing people in to the house late on has a very low success rate, when it comes to viewer opinion at least. And bringing housemates back in to the same series they were evicted from is an even worse plan. Think back to the times that has flopped – Nikki, Grace, our own Jon Tickle.
The folly of bringing in old or new housemates is one thing. The futility of housemates trying to get one over on Big Brother is something else entirely. From our point of view it can be hilarious to watch, and you have to wonder if Big Brother is sitting there having a giggle about it himself. Trying to strongarm Big Brother is NEVER going to work, but it’s amusing how often housemates think they have a chance. Marcus tried to threaten Big Brother with a bottle of cherryade for crying out loud! Get a grip.
Davina had a grip on things on Friday night, and got her teeth into Karly and Kenny’s interviews in a way she hasn’t done for a long time. Lots of detractors have called for Davina to be removed from the show, but I think that’s ludicrous too. Having no Davina would be like the front row of a Daniel O’Donnell concert without the blue rinse perms.


I was busy being chuffed about this month’s notification from ERNIE that he’d chosen one of my numbers in the premium bonds when I happened on an American news article about lucky lottery winners over on the other side of the pond. One guy in a syndicate of 14 winners shared $3.4 million in 1988 and two years later won $7.2 million with his brother. Another winner received $3 million in the Ohio lottery and decided to retire to Florida. He played the Florida Christmas Day Lotto and won $20 million. I’m starting to wonder whether I should cash in my bonds and transfer them over to the States!


Whilst not attaining the legendary YouTube status of Susan Boyle, Aberdeen schoolboy band Twisted Felony’s web hit count is rising steadily. Kieran Shields, Scott McEwen, Greg Lawson and Michael Innes are all Oldmachar Academy pupils and their song Speak the Voices is a finalist in the Make It Break It awards next month. Let’s hope they take it all the way.



I had to laugh when I heard that Kerry Katona suggested Peter Andre should try getting together with Britney Spears in the wake of his much publicised split from Katie Price, aka Jordan. I think all those muppets who drag their relationships through the media should be tied together, sent to a remote island and be left to sort it out in private.



I wrote recently about a gadget my Mother bought to reduce the amount of water her shower uses. Sadly for her, but good news for the rest of us, a similar device is available FREE OF CHARGE. There are five million being given away on the website www.shower-smart.co.uk It could save you 12,000 litres of water and 1 tonne of CO2 a year.