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weekend Review
Anyone who's a Leicester City fan, or lives within a five mile radius of the city's centre, is likely to have had a pretty unusual weekend of celebrations. So we're please that today's Weekend Review comes from a lifetime supporter - the multi-talented Jim Smallman...
What do you do for work?
I'm a stand up comedian, writer, voiceover artist, podcaster and wrestling promoter. Which is a bit of an odd mix.
How do you juggle your day?
I'm not entirely sure, if I'm honest! I'm away from home a lot, which means that I try and organise my time so I can spend as long at home as I can to be with my wife (who is six months pregnant). My biggest challege isn't organising my time, it's trying to keep my travel down to a minimum. I rend to drive around 1,000 miles a week.
What's been your proudest career moment so far?
I wrote and performed a piece for Radio 4 last year that was very different to what my stand-up usually is, and pretty far removed from what people tend to expect from a working class, heavily tattooed man with a shaven head. The reaction I got to that was wonderful, from all kinds of different people. I love being on stage and making people laugh, but that's something you get instant gratification from. This was something that I didn't know would work, and will remain on the internet for years to come. There's a link to it HERE if you fancy a listen.
And your biggest achievement outside of work?
Being a dad. As mentioned before, my wife is pregnant and I can't wait to be a father again; my daughter lives in Leicester and is nearly 13. Despite never living with her, we've got a brilliant relationship and seeing her blossom into a brilliant young adult is just awesome. We get on very well, although she is clearly the adult in the relationship. I'm looking forward to seeing her be a big sister from August onwards.
Where do you call home?
Leicester was my home until three and a half years ago, before I moved to North Wales. I'm unusual in my line of work as I've never moved to London (but I still spend a lot of time there). Leicester will always be where I'm from, but I love living in Wales.
When is your weekend?
I don't really have one. Some weeks I might have Monday and Tuesday off, but that's when I tend to get my writing done, one of my podcasts recorded and have voiceover work come my way. It's certainly a bit of a pain arranging a trip to Ikea, that's for sure.
How did you spend this weekend?
On Saturday I had a complicated day, because I had a wedding to go to, plus a gig to do - and more importantly, I had to find a way of watching Leicester City lift the Premier League trophy around all of that. The wedding was in a village of North Wales and one of my wife's best friends. I'm grateful that my wife let me leave early to get to work and see my football team to be crowned champions (although I sense that she is feeling relief that I might be quiet about it for a bit now). The wedding ceremony was wonderful, although I was a little bit distracted by the llamas in the field next to the church.
After the photo, I drove twenty miles to a coffee shop that I know has decent wifi and had the strange experience of crying whilst watching Andrea Bocelli sing at the King Power Stadium on my iPad. I must have looked a state as one of the staff in there gave me a free slice of chocolate cake. Then 20 minutes into the game - with the score at 1-0 - I headed to Manchester for my gig, arriving really early so I could watch the second half of the game and enjoy the trophy presentation. The staff at the Frog and Bucket (which is a wonderful club on Oldham Street) let me log into the wifi there and brought be a burger. Then I cried again as Wes Morgan and Claudio Ranieri lifted the trophy, before composing myself and entertaining 180 people. I even mentioned my football allegiance and got a big cheer.
Because I was only working in Manchester this week, I managed to wake up in my own bed on Sunday morning, before popping to the shops to do a big shop and get everything I needed to cook a roast for the evening (my wife was working during the day). As it was an actual, proper day off before a crazy week (I'm off to London, Lausanne, Zurich, Geneva, Peterborough, London again and Manchester this week from Tuesday to Sunday) I was incredibly lazy, watching re-runs of Leicester's title celebrations and playing on my Xbox.
How typical was it for you?
I'll be honest, it's not a weekend that I ever though I'd see from a football point of view! I'm usually away from home for the weekend; it's always nice to be working in Manchester or Liverpool so I can stay a home rather than in a hotel. Having Sunday off is always nice, but I've usually got one deadline or another that means I end up working.
What was your highlight of last week?
Sorry for the football answer, but on Monday Leicester won the league thanks to the Chelsea vs Tottenham result, so that was obviously a day that will live in my memory forever. Then on Tuesday I got a train from Crewe to London to talk on the radio about the football. Exactly seven years before, I was watching Leicester play Crewe in League One. I thought that was a very strange coincidence.
Your ideal Sunday menu...
Ideally, I'd spend Sunday with my wife and daughter, and invite mine and my wife's families over for lunch. Family is super important; I'm lucky that my dad and sister are brilliant, but also that I get on really well my excellent in-laws.
Breakfast: I can't ever eat much in the morning. If I was up super early, decent granola always makes me happy. Up a bit later (I am prone to a lie-in) then it's beans on toast done my way. Chunky granary bread, lots of butter, a thin layer of Marmite on the toast, then beans, then some cheese.
Lunch: I only like beef or chicken when I cook a roast (and I love cooking, so I'd insist) but I can only really cook chicken. So your usual roast dinner with chicken, Yorkshire puddings and the like. Plus lots of potatoes for me (my wife doesn't eat them, so we rarely have them in the house) and tons of vegetables. The older I get, the more I love vegetables. And some kind of cheesecake. Ideally one involving peanut butter.
Dinner: I struggle to eat three full meals a day since I started dieting a few years ago, so I'd probably have more vegetables and some tuna. It's not all healthy though, because I'd remind myself of Sunday nights when I was a kid (after my bath, watching Bullseye) and fill up on biscuits (they are usually banned in our house).
What's in your fridge?
I've just been shopping, so at the minute lots of bags of microwavable mixed vegetables, yoghurts, fruit juice, cooked chicken and cans of Dr Pepper Zero (which I'm a bit addicted to). And far too may condiments.
QUICK FIRE: What's your favourite...
Book: 'Girlfriend in a Coma' by Douglas Coupland
Film: 'Dawn of the Dead' (the original 1978 version)
Album: 'Come On Die Young' by Mogwai
Sport: Football (sadly wrestling isn't a real sport)
Museum: The Imperial War Museum in London. I go there at least twice a year. See also, The Tate Modern.
Board game: Scrabble
Tattoo: Either one of my tattoos that my wife has matching version of, or the Hello Kitty that my daughter designed for me when she was little.
How can people follow what you do and get in contact?
I'm @jimsmallman on Twitter and Instagram. My website is jimsmallman.com, Facebook is facebook.com/jimsmallmancomedian, my wrestling company is progresswrestling.com and my football blog is thefootballneutral.com.
The weekend is what you make of it - there's endless opportunities whether you're at work or play. Today's Weekend Review comes from the talented Sarah J Coleman - who lives in Leicestershire but whose illustrations have been published throughout the world.
What do you do for work?
I am an illustrator and lettering artist, who goes by the name of Inkymole.
What do you love most about your work?
It's very varied and I never know what's coming next. I love pens, pencils, paper, stationary and colours, so using them every day is extremely pleasing!
What's been you proudest career moment so far?
There have been several! The show my partner and I put on in 2006, called If a Girl Writes of the World - a collection of work rooted in the words of writer, rapper and artist Sage Francis. We'd been fans for a long time and his words are incredibly visual, very rich and writhing with imagery. We opened it at the Truman Brewery in Brick Lane, before Brick Lane became too expensive to exhibit in, then a few months later took it to Manhattan where again we secured a massive downtown site for a fraction of what you'd pay now! Then it went to Rhode Island, home of Sage Francis himself - and I'm proud to say he not only flew to the UK to open the original show, he opened the next two as well. The show led to some significant and long-lasting opportunities and friendships.
Another one was getting the cover of US Playboy, one would be my covers for Harper Lee's To Kill A Mockingbird and Go Set A Watchman and another would be my work for the Robert Burns Museum. There are a few - maybe I'm easily pleased!
What's your passion outside work?
I suppose there isn't really an "outside work". My partner and I are always working on something and whether that's music related, chocolate related, show related or something else, we've always found it difficult to work out where the humans stop and the "work" starts.
We do weight training - love the gym - work on our cars (it's getting into show season now), we have always had music coursing through our veins and we love eating. Oh yes, we love eating. And films, but we don't watch enough. We also love to read, but again don't really do enough of that!
When is your weekend?
It depends what projects are on! It might not be a weekend, sometimes it can be three days in the week - or none at all.
How did you spend the last Saturday and Sunday?
We went to the gym twice. We saw off a mate who was leaving his job. I did some work and caught up on a bit of paperwork.
We looked at potential carpets and we had a meeting about the sofa we're having built to fit our strange and wonderful top-floor living room (it's not as posh as it sounds, it's just that our house is upside down!)
I drove to Rickards' Farm, about 10 miles away and got a box of organic veg. Talked to my sister in Blackpool who's just had a baby, then Leigh went out and saw a mate - while I had a quiet night to myself with a sea mud face mask, some drawing work and Demolition Man on iTunes!
How typical was it for you?
Very typical in that it was different from all the others! The only consistent thing week to week is the gym. We always go Saturday and Sunday and have got into a habit of building everything else round it, and the protein shakes that follow, ha ha!
What would your dream long weekend away?
Not keen on the phrase "dream" as I always reckon that makes it seem like you could never achieve it. I love visiting my sister in Blackpool - it's so ornery up there, chilly, gusty, robustly cheerful and very northern. Leigh and I have found ourselves in London of a weekend killing time which is excellent; "no agenda".
I think going somewhere not so far away that the travelling ruins us, with plentiful vegan food to choose from, knowing no clients are after me and being with Leigh, just about describes it.
What is your ideal Sunday menu?
THE REAL SUNDAY MENU
We tend to only eat two meals at weekends, and it usually looks like this...
Breakfast: Organic deluxe muesli - a special mix from Leicester Wholefoods - mixed with cocoa nibs from Cocoa Amore, dried apricots, pumpkin seeds, soaked almonds, Brazil nuts, sunflower seeds and Udo's oil, with soya or oat milk. I have less muesli and chuck in a Weetabix and a handful of cornfalkes - a sort of 'can't make my mind up' cereal bowl. Leigh has mint tea and I have Brew Tea Company's loose decaf in a pot.
Dinner: Something we've cooked. On Sunday I made a dinner with homemade red onion gravy, roast red potatoes, carrots, white sprouting broccoli and roasted tofu.
THE IDEAL SUNDAY MENU
It's all happening in New York. We have left SO much money behind restaurant tills there...
Breakfast: Avocados on toast, tofu scrambles, hash browns, free coffee, pancakes with maple at Earth Matters in Manhattan. Sadly it closed down about a year ago, so it is only a wonderful memory now!
Lunch: Sacred Chow, near Washington Square. Anything from their menu, but it must include a stout ice cream floater.
Dinner: Either a full-on fake-meat hog-like session at Red Panda, where the vegan meats as so lifelike you have to check everything twice to make sure you haven't wandered into the wrong place (I don't even like meat, but I like whatever they make this stuff from). Or something more ladylike at Mogador, East Village - fresh hummus and bread with olives, really good Turkish coffee, and more bread with olive oil.
I'd like to be eating all of these meals with Leigh and my family, including the new babe who'd probably enjoy all the lights and sparkle!
What's in your fridge?
Gherkins, two jars of Indian lime pickle, oat milk, soya milk, unmayonnaise, sprouted mung beans, "cheese" (including fake parmesan which is really good - and I never liked real parmesan!), tofu, tofu wieners (kind of hot dog things), Udo's Oil, Vitalite, half a lemon, cocoa butter, organic face cream, a bottle a Cava (gift from a client), vinegar, ketchup, brown sauce, soya and oat cream for puds, Booja Booja ice cream in the freezer section with peas and pies, greens, kale and purple sprouting broccoli in the salad section.
What are you currently listening to, when you draw?
It's quite varied - early in the morning I do BBC Radio 1, switching to 6Music, then Rinse FM or some albums or mixes we've found online. Today from 1pm, I will be diving into a massive archive of rave and jungle mixes that have been unearthed recently and put online - who knows what they'll be like!
How can people see more of your work and get in contact?
At inkymole.com - I can be emailed at sarah@inkymole.com or you can always tweet me @inkymole - alternatively I like hanging around instagram, find me @inkstagram.ink
The weekend is what you make of it - there's endless opportunities whether you're at work or play - and we love hearing how you spend yours. Here's the second in our Weekend Review series, from Frank Benbini, aka Uncle Frank and the drummer in Fun Lovin' Criminals...
What do you do for work?
Musician, producer and entertainer.
What's your passion outside work?
Writing, basketball and love.
When is your weekend?
My days off vary with my touring commitments - but love it when I get Saturdays and Sundays off.
How did you spend last weekend? (Frank was looking back to 26th and 27th March)
Last weekend I was playing a festival in Holland, Paaspop to around 80,000 people alongside the Prodigy and others, with my band Fun Lovin' Criminals.
Then I sat on my tour bus watching classic movies, travelling back through Belgium and France, stopping and eating some great food - steamed veg, roast beef, prawns and fruit with chocolate fondue.
I got back on the bus and travelled back to the UK via the Channel Tunnel while reading the book I'm on at the moment, 'The Life of Bruce Lee' by Bruce Thomas.
I had my tour bus drop me at the new Leicester Riders' arena, and managed to get back in time to watch my beloved basketball team play.
I felt a little tired and there's always an air of anxiety that hovers around me - but that comes with a lack of rest, my job and being one of those nutty artist types.
What was your highlight of last week?
Seeing my basketball team go top of the league - and hitting my walking target.
How do you balance life on a tour bus with life at home in Leicester?
It's not that bad - although I'm at times all over the world, I still get more time at home than a lot of people that have the 9 to 5 type job. I can be away for big chunks yet be home for bigger chunks, so it balances out. It can be difficult when stuff clashes or I'm not here for certain family events - that can be hard to swallow sometimes.
It's swings and roundabouts, rough with the smooth. But that's what I do.
What do you like most about where you live?
There's parks and countryside, yet it close enough to my multicultural city - and my family and friends are here.
What's your ideal Sunday menu?
I'd spend it all with my family and close friends, and would have the following menu...
Breakfast: Baked vegetable omelette with toast and cream cheese
Lunch: Sunday roast chicken or beef with roast onion and potatoes and Yorkshires are a must - and mint sauce!
Dinner: Crackers with left over chicken and maybe fresh fruit and meringue, as a treat a couple of squares of dark chocolate
What's in your fridge?
Fresh fruit and veg, meats, milk, champagne, salad, Alpro yoghurt, elderflower drink, jellies and sparkling water.
What's your current soundtrack to the weekend?
My own classic funk and hip hop mixes from DJ sets that I do when on the road, all the classics love the Rival Sons at the minute too.
How can people see/hear what you're up to?
On Facebook andTwitter
How did you spend your weekend? Fan of Frank? Let us know in the comment box!
The weekend is what you make of it - there's endless opportunities whether you're at work or play - and we love hearing how you spend yours. So here's the first in our Weekend Review, from our good friend Matt Horan...
What do you do for work?
Photographer (mainly weddings)
What do you love most about your work?
I love the creative side of my work and trying out new ideas. I really enjoy the relationship I develop with my couples when I'm photographing them. I also love being my own boss and getting to meet new people all the time.
When is your weekend?
As I mainly shoot weddings on a Saturday, I try to have the day before and the day after a wedding off. But as I am often only booked for one wedding per week my time can be really flexible. Aside from the day I am booked, I can decide when I choose to work and when not too.
How did you spend the last weekend?
Saturday morning was spent shopping for a new desk and a new duvet in John Lewis - and of course a coffee with my wife, Rach at 200 Degrees in Nottingham. As it was a rare Saturday off I spent most of the day relaxing then went out with some of my oldest friends for a drink.
Sunday was a particularly hazy start (thanks to the 1.30am bedtime). The only way to start the day with a hangover in my opinion is with a McDonalds breakfast. This was followed by catching some rays in my garden - thank goodness spring has finally arrived! I'm a big believer in the power of vitamin D, so find winter a bit of a struggle.
Rach and I then went for a trip to Southwell to check out Reg Taylor's garden centre and bought some herbs for the garden (namely mint and parsley). I swear ever since I hit 30 my gardening interest has soared!
The rest of the day included a quick dog walk around the park with our miniature sausage dog, grilled chicken flatbreads in the garden, and watching some football on the TV.
Have I mentioned I was a bit hazy? I can't really remember much else...
How typical was it for you?
Sunday was fairly typical, Saturday not so much as I am normally watching someone get married.
What was the highlight of last week?
As it was my mother-in-laws 60th (shhhh, don't tell her I told you) we spent the evening celebrating at Perkin's restaurant - delicious food.
Your perfect Saturday evening?
Anything involving good food, good people and nice red wine.
Your idea Sunday menu...
Breakfast: Cheesy scrambled eggs, with tomato and mushroom on toast cooked by Rach. A massive full English or pancakes bacon and maple syrup. Or if I'm feeling healthy, granola, yoghurt and berry compote.
Lunch: Pork Sunday dinner with plenty of crackling.
Dinner: Have you seen how much I have already eaten? I wouldn't bother after all of that!
Ideal guests would probably include Derren Brown, James Rhodes (pianist) and a few photography inspirations - Joey L, Sean Flannigan, Jonas Peterson.
What's in your fridge?
Lard (don't be so nosey!), spinach, milk, tomatoes, cheddar, parmesan, butter, mushrooms, pak choi, baby sweetcorn, peppers, various sweet and savoury condiments, various herbs. No meat - my wife's a veggie so I tend not to buy it often.
What are you currently reading?
'A Kestrel For a Knave' by Barry Hines. My mum has been nagging me for year to read it. And since the author died a few days ago I thought I should probably get around to it.
How can people see more of your work and get in contact?
You can find me on my website - matthoranphotography.co.uk
How did you spend your last weekend? Let us know in the box below...
