CHARLIE CONDOU - No.630

WHAT IS THE PLURAL OF CONDOU?

danwooller: @Charliecondou Hey Charlie, nice to see you tonight. Who did I photograph you with at the Chorus Line party?


Charliecondou: @danwooller hey Dan, you too. It was my dad Pierre @pierrecondou

danwooller: @Charliecondou Thanks, he looks younger than you!

Charliecondou: @danwooller hahaha its been a long week!

Tameka_Empson: The creator of La Kim Fox, Mr Dominic T. Collins! @dominictc So good to see you last night & as always Thank you xxx


Charliecondou: @Tameka_Empson @dominictc You make a lovely couple. Nice seeing you last night DTC, Tameka, its been too long babe x

dominictc: @Charliecondou @tameka_empson We finally met, Charlie! And Mr Condou Snr is a legend. Xx

REMEMBERING LOU

fionalaird: Seven years ago today I lost my best friend. Can I just say, if you have a best friend SMOTHER THEM WITH LOVE. I cocking miss mine. #Lou. The beautiful, talented, clever, funny, adorable and much-missed Lou Gish. May 27th 1967- Feb 20th 2006. SEVEN years. Jesus. How is that possible??

Charliecondou: @fionalaird I can't believe it's been 7 years!

fionalaird: @Charliecondou I know. I thought it was six until I counted. It's ridiculous. I still feel as though I saw her yesterday.

Charliecondou: @fionalaird the last time I saw her was at century, drinking wine and laughing hard. That will always be my favourite memory of her

fionalaird: @Charliecondou That is an excellent memory. I bet she was drinking espresso martinis :-)

Charliecondou: @fionalaird actually that's quite possible. The drink is blurry but the laughter is clear as a whistle

DO YOU HAVE WHAT IT TAKES?

Charliecondou: RT @OutInTheCityMag: Do you have what it takes to become a professional foster carer? Find out now at http://t.co/NJ1CJsnb

WHEN FANS ATTACK - PART 1

Perfectpete68: @charliecondou Many thanks for taking the time to stop for a snap yesterday. My kids were well chuffed. :-)

ChrisGoodbody: @Charliecondou met you last night at Highbury/Islington station  :)

BrianThompson59: @Charliecondou went to A Chorus Line on Saturday. My fav show. Loved every minute. Hope you agree. Should be on for ever!!

Dec_anty: @Charliecondou enjoying your coffee?

Charliecondou: @Dec_anty haha yes I was

lee_starkey: Just seen @Charliecondou on my journey home ;)

Charliecondou: @lee_starkey should've said hello

lee_starkey: @Charliecondou I'm a shy boy. Haha

WHEN FANS ATTACK - PART 2

Charliecondou: @officialolivier nice to meet you last night fella x

officialolivier: @Charliecondou nice to finally meet you Charlie. A longer drink next time!? xx

Charliecondou: @officialolivier definitely, maybe with @ryanjamesthomas

MARCIA! MARCIA! MARCIA!

ReallyMarcia: "You walked in to the party, like you were walking on to a yacht..." Name that tune- no cheating!! Xo m

Charliecondou: @ReallyMarcia you're so vain! What do I win???

THE REAL MR.VEGAS

JohnnyVegasReal: G'night gang. Thanks for the memories

Charliecondou: @JohnnyVegasReal is this you or a fake you? It's always so hard to tell

rachel_bamford: @Charliecondou @johnnyvegasreal I'm pretty sure he's real. Especially if you look through some of his pictures.

Confidential_CC: @Charliecondou Mr Vegas is Elvis - this guy >> @JohnnyVegasReal is an imposter (no not really it's him) . . .

JohnnyVegasReal: @Charliecondou Cath and Pierre attended my wedding in Seville. Ask either to text for verification. Unless you're not real?

Sparkle__Monkey: @JohnnyVegasReal @Charliecondou You are both real.

Charliecondou: @JohnnyVegasReal They did indeed! How are you fella?

JohnnyVegasReal: @Charliecondou I'm grand mate thanks. Holed up writing at the moment so have promised to ignore Twitter for the best part of the day...

AuralGloria: @JohnnyVegasReal @Charliecondou Doing well so far, then...

Charliecondou: @JohnnyVegasReal Quite right. Its my day off so I'll be here til bedtime

JohnnyVegasReal: @Charliecondou just getting my fix quick before work begins in earnest. How's you and yours? Haven't seen much of anyone in ages ps. OUR wedding. My fab misses was the brains, beauty and organiser of the big day. I just struck lucky!

JohnnyVegasReal: @AuralGloria @Charliecondou I'm allowed on 'til my first cup of tea's finished. Just so happen to be drinking from a bucket today

Charliecondou: @JohnnyVegasReal I heard it was an amazing do. We're all good, working hard etc. Was with mum & dad last night, they're on good form

JohnnyVegasReal: @Charliecondou Give 'em my love. Hope to catch them at 'C' some point soon. And you take care Mucker

Charliecondou: @JohnnyVegasReal You too love x

WHAT HAPPENS IN MELBOURNE 

STAYS . . . WITH VEGAS!

Confidential_CC: @JohnnyVegasReal Howdy, thanks for the follow many years ago I saw you live at the Melbourne comedy festival *back when I had hair* - Tom x

JohnnyVegasReal: @Confidential_CC Hey Tom, Melbourne was an amazing festival to be part of. Rarely have I been made to feel so welcome by an entire city.

JohnnyVegasReal: @Confidential_CC The gigs were great, the parties buck wild and the picnics and dinner invitations never ended. If I ever go back to stand.

JohnnyVegasReal: @Confidential_CC up properly again...that's a definite destination on my wish list of places to play

Confidential_CC: @JohnnyVegasReal mate I live in Newcastle NSW but go to Melb all the time. Glad u liked it, so do wife and I, very cosmopolitan. I hope you get the call back to Melb I'd be there like a shot x

BOXED IN

Charliecondou: @mrdavidhaye mate are you in London? Need to get some gloves signed and @MrBobbyRich is ignoring my texts

mrdavidhaye: @Charliecondou I'm around next week, in Miami at moment. see you then. DM me your number

SAME-SEX COUPLES CLEARLY COULDN'T PROVIDE A WARM AND SAFE ENVIRONMENT

Posted 18 February 2013 by Jordan Mann

Tory cabinet minster David Jones came under scrutiny last week over claiming that same-sex couples ‘clearly’ couldn’t provide ‘a warm and safe environment’ for raising children. On ITV Wales’ Face to Face programme, the Welsh Secretary, who voted against same-sex marriage earlier this month, said: ‘I regard marriage as an institution that has developed over many centuries, essentially for the provision of a warm and safe environment for the upbringing of children, which is clearly something that two same-sex partners can’t do.’ His views caused upset among gay parents, activists and politicians. Charlie Condou, who is most famous for playing Marcus in Coronation Street, was outraged that Jones claimed families like his couldn't provide a ‘safe and warm’ environment for children. He said: ‘It’s outrageous that there’s someone at a senior level of government who can say such things. To my mind it’s hate speech. If David Cameron wants to prove that the right wing has abandoned its nasty side, he needs to react strongly to this. I can’t see how David Jones can remain in a senior position and I don’t think he should. Whether the prime minister has the resolve to do anything about it remains to be seen.’ Labour MP Owen Smith also criticised Jones’ remarks. He said: ‘That such views exist in the heart of the Tory cabinet provides yet more evidence of how out of touch the Tories are with modern Britain, and how David Cameron’s claim to have changed his party is, like so many of his promises, nothing more than empty words.’ Andrew White, Director of Stonewall said the remarks were ‘offensive’ and ‘inaccurate’. ‘There are many different types of family in Wales today, including many same-sex couples raising children,’ he said. ‘It’s deeply undermining to families and children when they hear this sort of ill-informed comment.’ He added: ‘Fortunately, recent YouGov polling for Stonewall shows that the Secretary of State’s views are out of touch with the majority of people both in Wales and throughout Great Britain.’ In a statement after the interview, Jones tried to backtrack on his comments. ‘I made the point of stressing that I was fully supportive of committed same-sex relationships. I also strongly approve of civil partnerships. ‘I did not say in the interview that same-sex partners should not adopt children and that is not my view. ‘I simply sought to point out that, since same-sex partners could not biologically procreate children, the institution of marriage was one that, in my opinion, should be reserved to opposite-sex partners.’ David Cameron was also quick to disassociate himself from the comments. In a direct reply to the comments, a spokesperson said: ‘The Prime Minister believes gay families can provide warm and safe environment for raising children.’ Despite his plans to show his support of the LGBT community, over half of Conservative MPs voted against same-sex marriage, with many making homophobic comments during debate.

Above: Charlie and Cameron out strolling with their kids.

GAY DADS ARE EVERYWHERE

Gay celebrity penguins:

Male penguins are very responsible parents and take most of the role in protecting and raising their chicks. In the wild, male penguins huddle together and bond in familial networks to support each other through tough weather conditions to raise their young. Interestingly, a pair of male African penguins "Buddy" and "Pedro" that were living in separate American zoos, were sent to Toronto Canada during 2011 and within a year had formed a gay relationship. They became celebrity gay penguins (more on their outcome is below). 

More gay celebrity penguins:

A male penguin couple that raised a hatchling at the San Francisco Zoo has been split apart by the attentions of the amorous widow Linda, UPI reports. There's still hope the boys could get back together. Late-summer moulting sometimes reshuffles couples. 

Even more gay celebrity penguins:

Based on a true story (the author’s note begins with the upfront statement: “All of the events in this story are true”), it explains how a zookeeper at the NY Central Park Zoo noticed two male penguins, Roy and Silo, were spending all their time together, including “bowing to each other,” “singing to each other,” “winding their necks around each other,” and “building a nest of stones for themselves…where they slept there together.” Concluding that, “They must be in love,” the zookeeper gave them an extra penguin egg and Roy and Silo ended up successfully raising a baby penguin (named Tango) together, following all the same parenting strategies the heterosexual penguin couples used. Near the end of the book, the authors make the statement that “Tango was the very first penguin in the zoo to have two daddies.” The book’s illustrations show not only the penguins and the zookeeper, but also a range of human families visiting the zoo, diverse in ages, genders, and races. Social conservatives have repeatedly challenged the book. In fact, it was the most challenged book in America in 2006, 2007, 2008, and 2010 (briefly falling to second place in 2009), according to the American Library Association.

Gay penguin couple given egg of their own

Every spring for six years Gentoo penguins Inca and Rayas have lovingly built a nest together, only to find that no eggs arrive to fill it. It doesn't seem to have dawned on the couple that both of them are male.

But after the repeated heartbreak of watching other penguins become parents and raise their young, the "gay" couple finally have something to celebrate after their keepers gave them an egg of their own to care for. Rather than questioning how the improbable scenario arose, the inseparable pair has seized their one chance at fatherhood with the zeal of a couple who know they may not get another. Yolanda Martin, who cares for the pair, said: "We wanted them to have something to stay together for – so we got an egg. Otherwise they might have become depressed." The couple drew attention after forming an inseparable bond from the day they met at Faunia Park in Madrid, but the new development has made them a media sensation, topping news bulletins and bringing a welcome ray of sunshine to Spain after weeks of miserable headlines about the country's economic turmoil. Ms Martin said it was "lovely" to be able to cheer people up but emphasised that the penguins are not actually gay – they are just the best of friends. The penguins' bundle of joy arrived a year after staff at a zoo in China gave a penguin couple named Adam and Steve a chick to look after last year. 

But other "gay" relationships have not ended so happily: Buddy and Pedro (Toronto Zoo penguins mentioned in the opening paragraph), were put in separate enclosures with female penguins by keepers who felt they were not making a sufficient contribution to the gene pool. 

Non-penguin related news item:

Above: A well known same-sex couple have successfully raised a duck.

RICHARD BRIERS

He had a Good Life: 

Tributes paid to a great actor and a wonderful man, as Richard Briers dies aged 79.

The actor had a long battle with lung disease and died 'peacefully' Monday 18-2-2013.

Richard (second from left below), played Tom Good amongst many other roles in his illustrious career.

In an interview only a few weeks ago, he told how he blamed his years of smoking for the condition:

"I developed emphysema, you see, so I was buggered...It's totally my fault...It got to the point where I could no longer walk and talk or say my lines without losing my breath."

Richard Briers

RICHARD BRIERS TRIVIA

Confidential_CC: #TRIVIA - as you all know I like to impart as much showbiz trivia as I can - did you know the lovely RICHARD BRIERS played Mrs Binster (yes, MRS) in an Agatha Christie Miss Marple movie staring Dame Margaret Rutherford?

WindmillWAG11: @Confidential_CC Love that fact. Which film was it? I adored Margaret Rutherford as Miss Marple.

Confidential_CC: @WindmillWAG11 it was "The 4.50 From Paddington"

Confidential_CC: @WindmillWAG11 it was "Murder She Said" 

WindmillWAG11: @Confidential_CC Make your mind up lol. I’ll look out for him/her next time it’s on the telly.

Confidential_CC: @WindmillWAG11 it is based on the book "The 4.50 From Paddington" but was renamed when made into a movie

WindmillWAG11: @Confidential_CC Ah right. I’ll let you off then ;-)

RICHARD'S LINES START APPROXIMATELY 14 MINUTES INTO THE MOVIE:

Margaret Rutherford (Miss Marple) 00:14:05 May I have a quiet word with Mrs Binster?

Richard Briers (Mrs Binster) 00:14:11 I am Mrs Binster,

Margaret Rutherford (Miss Marple) 00:14:13 Oh, I see!

RARE MOVIE TRAILER AND SOME NAME DROPPING . . .

FROM MY OWN PRIVATE COLLECTION AN ULTRA RARE TRAILER FROM THE MOVIE "MURDER SHE SAID"
Please note this private video may appear blank on Apple products.

Note: Legendary Ozzie actor Charles "Bud" Tingwell starred alongside Margaret Rutherford in all 4 of her Miss Marple movies. He played Inspector Craddock. [More information HERE]. 

I met Bud on one occasion whilst visiting Melbourne and attending the première of the stage show "Singing in the Rain" which starred my old college mate Glenn Butcher who was last seen in the Kath & Kim movie.

Glenn has a clip on YouTube which shows him performing the title song "Singing in the Rain" which was filmed for the ABC TV show Playschool.