Simply Starlight Express

It’s finally the day I can say it’s done, Starlight Express is officially open!

The past few weeks seem like a dream, especially the endless hours spent traveling to what seemed to be the four corners of the earth to get to rehearsals… It has all skated past in a blur and all I can see now is the incredible and truly overwhelming standing ovation we received on Friday night – and every night since. The show has had such a wonderful reception from the audience of all ages, and even the creator the one and only Andrew Lloyd Webber has been blown away by what we’ve achieved in just a few short weeks. It’s been wonderful to have his input on all the new musical arrangements and songs, and the cast have really proved themselves the quadruple talents they are and shown us there really is a light at the end of the tunnel. I want to thank all involved, now lets get this show on the road! Don’t miss out and book your tickets here.

Early Friday morning before our first preview, BBC Breakfast were broadcasting live from the set for the first time ever with all the cast skating past doing their tricks and flips, and what an event it was!  Alongside interviews with the cast and some of the creatives, they also performed one of the numbers from the show which you can see here.

The actual Press night was a double whammy for me as it was also the 10th anniversary of We Will Rock You, so as soon as last minute Starlight rehearsals had finished in Wimbledon, I found myself running for the train in my heels and fabulous Swarovski studded Philip Lim jacket to walk the red carpet over at the Dominion Theatre, alongside Queen and Co.’Co’ being of course my dear friend and writer of the show Ben Elton, whom it was so lovely to catch up with after such a long time, we couldn’t stop talking – until we were both silenced as the all powerful Robert De Niro, one of our original producers of WWRY, drifted past honoured us with a smile and a hello.  Russell Kane was there looking super gorgeous and my old friend from Strictly Dance Fever days, Rufus Hound.  Once I was done and dusteddancing down the red carpet, it was back over to Wimbledon and back to Starlight where my friends and family were singing along and clapping away as loudly as can be.  

Earlier in the week I did actually do something totally un-Starlight related and that was appearing on a cookery show, with the special guests being myself and the adorable Levi Roots, of the Reggae-Reggae Sauce!  What a lovely man, and of course wonderful cook.  Fortunately I wasn’t there for my cooking skills – or lack thereof – but to judge a ‘cookoff’ and talk about my favourite foods. The chefs made truly delicious fish dishes, but you’ll have to tune in later in the year to see which one I chose… I’ll keep you posted when it’s going to be on.

As for me now, it’s all things Eurovision and there’s no rest for the wicked as I launch myself into another week of rehearsals and then it’s off to Baku! 

So until I return with the hot gossip, it’s love from me, and Engelbert…
Arlene x 

Below The Line to the Finishing Line

Hello all,

So as I’m sure you know last week I was tackling my Live Below The Line challenge, where I had just £5 to feed myself for five days. I wrote a food diary about how I got on, and here it is…

I’ve found this week more challenging than I thought I would, not really because of hunger, but more because of the repetition and lack of flavour in my food. My budget didn’t allow for my usual ‘luxuries’, such as balsamic vinegar or herbs, and certainly after only being able to make my porridge with water instead of milk, by Thursday I just couldn’t face it again. 
I think it was also the restrictions of not being able to have what I wanted, when I wanted it.  The snacks that I always carry with me to keep my energy up such as a bag of grapes or chicory weren’t available to me, I had a limited few ricecakes with a bit of honey or marmite, and if I was desperately craving sugar I had three 15p chocolate bunny lollies I had to carefully ration out for those quick fix moments.  The rice was a bit more varied as some days I would have it with a tin of tomato sauce, others with a tin of low cost beans.  My lunch every day bar Friday was the cabbage soup I made a huge pot of at the beginning of the week, and every day I’d add a little more of my stock cube ration to enhance the flavour, so by Thursday it was actually quite tasty!  I more than missed my daily morning espresso, but thanks to my cunning use of the fresh mint free from the garden, I got by on fresh mint tea, and I definitely think a week off the coffee did me good.  My only worry was how to get my ‘five a day’, and were I to do it over again I’d try and work out how to get more fresh fruit and veg into my meals, possibly making smoothies or having a jacket potato with cottage cheese as a one off treat. 
It’s by no means impossible to do, but its by no means fun, and really brought home just how much I take for granted with my food, the money we as a family spend on a weekly shop, not even including what we spend on eating out.  It’s definitely made me more aware when picking up items in the supermarket just how much things cost, and I certainly will be on the lookout for bargains when I next head to the shops.
I’d urge everyone to do a week ‘living below the line’ to get a real sense of the unimaginable poverty 1.4 billion people worldwide are living in, it gives a true understanding and you will want to help, however you can. If you are thinking of taking up the challenge or are already doing it, I’d love to hear from you about how you got on, and any ideas or recipes you came up with. 

You can still donate to my Malaria No More UK, Live Below The Line challenge here.

So that was my week on £1 a day, and I have to tell you on Friday night at exactly midnight I was down in the kitchen stuffing my face with grapes, tangerines, chicory and of course a bit of chocolate and all of it had never tasted sweeter! 

That Saturday morning I was still chomping through bags of fruit and veg as I made my way out to the Park Royal studios for the last time (yay!) to watch the final run through of Starlight before we hit the theatre.

The show is looking in fantastic shape, and I can’t wait to get to Wimbledon on Wed for the final push towards opening night on Friday! But more about that next week, I’ve still got a very exciting Saturday night to tell you about…

I was thrilled to be asked alongside several other celebrities from the worlds of sport and entertainment to be involved in the official opening of the Olympic stadium.  I was taking part in a tug of war, and then possibly if my team won, a tandem race!

I ran out on to the pitch alongside Jason Gardiner, Iwan Thomas, Sir Steve Redgrave, Mark Foster, Matt Johnson, Mel C, Sam and Mark, Rav Wilding and the Hairy Bikers just to name a few. Of course it was freezing and I felt ridiculous in my electric blue tabard, so much to everyone’s amusement came running out with my big fake fur jacket over the top! Sadly we lost the tug of war in about 5 seconds which meant no tandem riding for me. Can’t say I was too disappointed though…

The evening culminated in me running the 400 meters being spurred on by Matt Dawson which was quite exhilarating, if not exhausting, but nonetheless a real honour to say I ran it at the Olympic Stadium.
All in all it was a fantastic night, only marred slightly by the 45 minutes it took to get out of the Westfield carpark, grrrr.

Here are some pics from the day:

 

The Olympic Stadium

 

The ever gorgeous Mel C and I

 

I love the Hairy Bikers, I wish I could cook like they do.

 

Two hunks in the shape of Iwan Thomas and Rav Wilding.

 

Team Blue.

 

Kenny Logan, or should I say, ‘Kenny Bolt’.

 

With the amazing Mark, the winner of the Olympic Stadium event.

The rest of my bank holiday was spent on the sofa with food, family, and several episodes of Poirot. Heaven. 

I’ll be back next week to tell you all about the lead up to the opening of Starlight, (you can still get your tickets here!) and the fantastic musical morning I spent in the kitchen with Levi Roots!

Have a wonderful week,
Much love 
Ax 

Merrily We Roll…

Merrily We Roll Along 

 So another week of rehearsals rolls by, with me still dashing and dancing between here there and everywhere…  

 Another few of early morning meetings started off my days, and what with the rain being torrential it made driving across town to make it in time to start rehearsals pretty hair raising!  

 Wednesday was great, during the day I took a couple of hours away from shouting “5678″ to film with lovely people from the Ben Kinsella trust about a celebrity bake book I’m involved in.  I’ve donated my recipe from The Great British Bake Off – a gingerbread cake with Megamix icing to be used in a fantastic cookery book, with all proceeds going to the trust, which helps to prevent gang violence and keeping knives off the streets. http://www.benkinsella.org.uk/  Recipes have been donated by people from the world of sport, politics and entertainment, and you can get involved by sending in your favourite recipe to hopefully be included along side all the others. To enter go to http://celebritybakebook.com/category/news/ 

That evening I had dinner with my dear friend and the original director of Starlight Express Trevor Nunn, whom I haven’t caught up with for years.  We talked and talked for hours over a delicious meal at Julie’s in Holland Park, and it was close to midnight before I made my way home to climb into bed, ready to start another day in the studio.

 The rest of the week flew past, and it was soon Friday.  The afternoon was spent watching a run through of the show, and at the end I ran as fast as I could to the car as I had a long drive ahead of me to Herefordshire, where I was taking part in a charity event for Hereford Cathedral the following day. I was judging a dance competition alongside the gorgeous Larry Lamb, Sir Roy Strong and the Dean of Hereford Cathedral, and it was a fantastic evening with fabulous food, wine and a huge amount raised. 

 Sunday morning I drove home through what was practically a rainstorm to make it safe and sound and into the waiting arms of my family, who have barely seen me this past few weeks!  We had a lovely dinner together, it was just the perfect end to another week, and gave me all the strength I needed to start my challenge…  As I mentioned last week, I’m taking part in Living Below the Line, where I shall be feeding myself this week with just £5, so that’s £1 per day.  THere is still time to sponsor me here http://bit.ly/J3P6Ub  to raise money for my chosen charity helping the prevention of Malaria, and raise awareness about the unimaginable poverty people are living in.  A huge thank you to all that have donated so generously so far, it all really does help.

 So that brings me up to today, where once again I shall be all things Starlight  http://bit.ly/I7Mz6Y and sadly missing out on the Dance Uk’s Conference on nutrition for dancers, artistry, athleticism and the role of the multidisciplinary support team, from 9am – 5pm at the Royal Society of Medicine in London, and there may still be tickets available here so try and head down www.eventbrite.com/event/3053540221

 Oh and I’ll be skating off from the studio to join the Loose Women on Wednesday so keep an eye out for me!

 Until next week…

Much love, Arlene x 

Short, Sweet and Still on Skates

Hello all!

Yes once again it has been a week of Starlight, and it’s going to be much the same for the next month! Still, as always, I have plenty of exciting things to tell you about that are happening outside the world of rehearsals…

Tuesday morning I had a wonderful early breakfast with my newest and dearest friend Russell Grant, who is always a joy to start the day with. As well as the usual banter and gossip, he is in fact a really wonderful person to really talk to, and I found myself so deep in conversation I barely made it to rehearsals on time! Sadly I couldn’t make it that evening to the opening of Midnight Tango in Manchester, which I am thrilled to say got fantastic reviews and a standing ovation.

Wed was rehearsals rehearsals rehearsals and no lunch break as I had an interview with LBC radio all about, you guessed it – Starlight! I tell you what though, despite me talking about all things skates, people still manage to try and sneak those Strictly questions in… Let’s keep it current!

Thursday was a crazy busy day, starting with a very early meeting with my accountant (boring!) a slightly less so but still early hair and makeup with Alana for a quick interview in town I was filming for a documentary called God Save the Queens. I was talking all about my favourite and most fabulous gays! Kenny Everett, Julian Clary, Paul O’Grady, Danny La Rue, Graham Norton to name a few, and of course my darling Freddie Mercury, and the many amazing memories I have of my time working with him. A hectic afternoon in rehearsals followed, and then a dash home to scoff down some delicious dinner, a quick change and a touch up of the hair and makeup once again with Alana, and then off I went to the House of Commons for the Body Confidence Awards, where I was presenting the award for the celebrity who inspires, and it went to the lovely Davina McCall.

Friday was our first run through of the show that I think everyone knows the name of by now… and it went surprisingly well! I say surprisingly because to be this far along in such a short space of time is just amazing, It just goes to show what a superbly talented and hard working cast we have. After the run I had a long meeting that afternoon about all the exciting new musical arrangements Andrew himself is creating for the show, and the more I hear the more desperate I am to be able to share it with you, but it’s just going to have to wait till the show opens, and I can promise you will all be blown away…

Saturday was our last day out at Three Mills studios – thank goodness! We’re moving the Starlight stage to a giant new studio out in Park Royal, it really is from one extreme to the other for me, East to West, and then in a couple of weeks time I’ll be heading south to open the show in Wimbledon! Why can’t we just do it here in Belsize Park… You can still book tickets for the show here http://www.reallyuseful.com/uncategorized/starlight-express-uk-tour-dates/

Sunday I was rehearsing again although this time it was with my favourite dancers Tommy Franzen and Maria Swainson for a top secret project we’re working on. We were having so much fun creating and dancing I barely realised the day slipped by, and before I knew it it was time to pack my bags for another week of all things U.N.C.O.U.P.L.E.D. and enter phase two of rehearsals, getting on the set..

So I’ll be back next week to let you know how we’re getting on with our journey towards opening night, and keep checking my twitter for sneak preview behind the scenes pics live from the rehearsal room @arlenephillips

Love Arlene x

Hello again!

So as I mentioned last week, I got on a a bit of a chocolate high due to all those Easter eggs and forgot to post my blog! Anyway, here’s what else I got up to over Easter…

I managed to make it to the countryside where I had four amazing days of doing what I always do when I’m there – eating, drinking and being very merry!  The eating part as always is my favourite, and I was overwhelmed with the amazing meals we had with some of our friends. Fresh oysters, grilled lobster, roast chicken, the naughty roast potatoes, tons of fresh vegetables and delicious salads, and of course copious amounts of chocolate eggs.  The drinking isn’t alcohol for me, but these amazing juices and cordials I buy from the Ludlow food centre, my favourites are the elderflower and lime cordial, and the pink lemonade, just heavenly.  And we had several very merry meals and catch ups with all our lovely friends there, including Coco and her family who hosted a dinner party fit for a king – or me as the Queen of Dance!

I had a long week ahead once again of Starlight rehearsals, so I made to most of my weekend, and although was sad to drive home again, was excited to get back in the studio and on those skates!  Well, to be fair it isn’t me on the skates any more, although once upon a time back in 1984 I was whizzing around that set.  I’m so thrilled with how fantastically the show is starting to come together, and what an amazingly talented cast we have.  If you scroll up to the previous post you can read my assistant PA Tully’s blog on his experience at rehearsals, and I know Abi is writing something to post up later on too, we’ve all gone Starlight crazy!

The week came and went with me even managing to squeeze in the odd meeting here and there either super early before I set off, or late in the evening after I got home, so it has been a very tough few days.  Even Saturday, there I was demonstrating steps and shouting “5678″ at people, so much so I think I was even saying it in my sleep.

Sunday was, as I always love, family day.  We all went for a roast lunch down in South End Green at a lovely pub just next to Hampstead Heath, and although I ate all my chicken and vegetables, I managed to leave the roasties alone after last weekend’s gorge on them.  I had to admit, a few mouthfuls of everyone else’s puddings may have gone amiss…  But I couldn’t possibly say where…

After lunch I made my way back home to start getting ready for that evenings Olivier Awards I was attending.  Alana as always did my hair and makeup, and I wore a beautiful vintage Jean Muir coral dress, with my favourite lilac Aspinal bag, nude Louboutins and some fantastic handmade jewellery I bought on my last trip to LA.

The evening was exciting, glamorous and I felt every inch ready to walk the red carpet. It was a pity it was only available to watch on red button, as some of the outfits and the stars there were just incredible.

One of the highlights of the evening was catching up with my very dear and long time friend Trevor Nunn, who is the most brilliant director I had the pleasure of working with back on the original Starlight!  Much to both my daughters jealousy I caught up with the extremely beautiful Douglas Booth, who caused such a stir in Great Expectations last christmas, and he was every inch the gentleman Pip was.  I also got to chat to Celia Imry and the hilarious Zoe Wannamaker, and also see Vincent and Flavia, who were there to represent our nomination for Midnight Tango, and even though sadly we didn’t win, it was still an amazing event to be part of. Sophi Evans who is our current Dorothy in The Wizard of Oz sang Over the Rainbow, and Elaine Paige sang Don’t Cry For Me Argentina better then I have ever heard it in my life before, it was truly spectacular.

As always, another early morning and long week ahead was awaiting me, so I did my usual half an hour at the party then it was ‘home James and don’t spare the horses’!

Which brings me to say have a wonderful week ahead everybody, and I’ll be back next week with more exciting gossip…

Till then

Arlene x

Tully’s Travels to Starlight Express

Hello bloggers! 

For those of you who don’t know me, my name is Tully and I work as Arlene’s Assistant PA.

As I write this, I am watching the cast of the international phenomenon that is Starlight Express in rehearsals for their UK Tour. Arlene reminded me this morning that the very first time I saw Starlight Express was on a school trip when I was 7. Now at 20 I have very little memory of what the show was like. 

Every person I have spoken to about the show coming back has been over the moon, and until now, I couldn’t understand or share in the excitement. 

The cast of this show are all previous Starlight cast members from all over the world, and you can really tell. They all know the parts like the back of their hands. For the first 3 hours of rehearsing, I sat in awe as the entire ensemble were able to continuously sing, dance, act and even perform huge stunts, all while wearing roller-skates! I can’t even stand up on wheels, let alone attempt to try and move. 

This is what makes Starlight Express unique. The cast have to be the best of the best. And to be the best of the best 8 times per week.

The music is brilliant. The musical directors have adapted the original music slightly to bring it up to date with current artists. Think Black Eyed Peas, Bruno Mars, Pixie Lott and Adele. But for all the ‘first round’ Starlight fans, the original tracks are there in all their glory.

Arlene working with the 4 female carriages; Pearl, Dinah, Ashley and Buffy.

 

Rusty, Pearl, Dinah, Ashley and Buffy in action.

 

The Starlight Express rehearsal room during a well earned tea break.

 

The fact that I am able to sit here and write this when the rehearsals are still at such an early stage, really shows just how phenomenal this show is going to be. I can now officially say I am a Starlight Express fan.

Roll on May 10th.

Tickets and all the venue information can be found here: http://bit.ly/StarlightDates

Have a nice weekend everyone, and Arlene will be back with her weekly update on Monday!

Tully – Follow me on Twitter @tullybloom

Hello all!Due t…

Hello all!

Due to the fact I clearly overdid the chocolate eggs over the weekend I completely forgot to post my blog!  So here it is, and I hope you’ll all catch up with the next one in a few days to hear all about what I got up to over Easter! xx

After last week being beyond crazy, it’s been a welcome few days of normal workload, mainly rehearsals for Starlight, which have all been going fantastically well – despite the hour and more drive there and back to the rehearsal studios all the way across London.  Saying that, it was certainly worth the drive on our first day to hear the legendary Richard Stilgoe give the company a talk and tell them all about when we created the original show way back in 1984! Hearing his stories brought back such wonderful memories, and gave me another shiver of excitement about creating Starlight all over again for 2012.

 Other than being immersed in the world of skates, highlights this week have mainly revolved around food and missed shopping opportunities! I had a delicious breakfast meeting at the Charlotte St Hotel, two fabulous lunches at Chez Bob in Belsize Park, one with my dear friend Frances Rufelle, the other with another friend from many years ago Cjay Ranger, both filled with gossip and secrets.  Another divine brunch was with my new found fabulous friend and current Wizard of Oz Russell Grant at my new favourite The Delaunay, who tweeted afterwards “Start your day the Arlene way” – think it’ll catch on?

 As far as missed shopping opportunities go I was sadly stuck in rehearsals and missed the Zatchel party.  I did so want one, and hope I’ll be able to pick one up soon in my favourite hot pink. 

 I managed to cram in a trip to the hairdressers – finding the time is getting be to be near on impossible at the moment!  That and a catch up with the lovely Rob Carey who worked on Flashdance with me took up my lunchbreaks on Friday and Saturday, and Saturday night I was in bed by 8 as I knew Sunday was going to be a long one…

 I was involved in the filming of ‘Best Possible Taste’, the Kenny Everett tribute documentary, as I was involved with the series all those many years ago.  It was great fun getting some new dancers to recreate Hot Gossip, who became know for their ‘naughty bits’ on the show, that so famously outraged Mary Whitehouse.  It was a long day, out at the Oceana nightclub in Kingston, which although has a fabulous light up floor, it sure was sticky! 

By the way, did anyone get any April fools tricks played on them?  I managed to avoid falling for any this year, you’ve got to get up early to catch me out!

 One very glamorous invitation I had was from Samantha Cameron to attend a charity event at Number 10 Downing St, where myself and several others were there to honour the amazing work Save the Children are doing here in the UK as well as overseas.  I met the exquisite Erin O’Connor, who’s beauty is just breathtaking, as well as having a lovely catch up with original Strictly winner Natasha Kaplinsky. It was a wonderful evening, and I felt very proud to be involved.

 I was beyond thrilled to receive a surprise visit from my darling Louanne Madorma on Wednesday, who popped over from Vegas for literally a 24 hour visit due to a family commitment, and managed to fit me in just to grab a big hug.  Also, having the Lorraine crew come in to Starlight rehearsals to film in preparation for my appearance on the show early Thursday morning was a welcome visit and the cast were skating around like maniacs showing off their tricks.

 I’d like to say a massive thank you to Dove for their amazing goody basket I received – my skin now smells and feels like a million dollars after using copious amounts of the bodywash and shea butter lotion!

 On that note, I’d like to say Happy Easter!  I hope you all find and scoff lots of eggs, and take the time to see and appreciate your families, well that’s what I’ll be doing anyway…  And to all those that are avoiding the eggs for whatever reason, have a lovely Pesach and enjoy your Matzos!  

 Much love as always

Arlene x 

 

 

 

 

 

After last week being beyond crazy, it’s been a welcome few days of normal workload, mainly rehearsals for Starlight, which have all been going fantastically well – despite the hour and more drive there and back to the rehearsal studios all the way across London.  Saying that, it was certainly worth the drive on our first day to hear the legendary Richard Stilgoe give the company a talk and tell them all about when we created the original show way back in 1984! Hearing his stories brought back such wonderful memories, and gave me another shiver of excitement about creating Starlight all over again for 2012.

 

Other than being immersed in the world of skates, highlights this week have mainly revolved around food and missed shopping opportunities! I had a delicious breakfast meeting at the Charlotte St Hotel, two fabulous lunches at Chez Bob in Belsize Park, one with my dear friend Frances Rufelle, the other with another friend from many years ago Cjay Ranger, both filled with gossip and secrets.  Another divine brunch was with my new found fabulous friend and current Wizard of Oz Russell Grant at my new favourite The Delaunay, who tweeted afterwards “Start your day the Arlene way” – think it’ll catch on?

 

As far as missed shopping opportunities go I was sadly stuck in rehearsals and missed the Zatchel party.  I did so want one, and hope I’ll be able to pick one up soon in my favourite hot pink. 

 

I managed to cram in a trip to the hairdressers – finding the time is getting be to be near on impossible at the moment!  That and a catch up with the lovely Rob Carey who worked on Flashdance with me took up my lunchbreaks on Friday and Saturday, and Saturday night I was in bed by 8 as I knew Sunday was going to be a long one…

 

I was involved in the filming of ‘Best Possible Taste’, the Kenny Everett tribute documentary, as I was involved with the series all those many years ago.  It was great fun getting some new dancers to recreate Hot Gossip, who became know for their ‘naughty bits’ on the show, that so famously outraged Mary Whitehouse.  It was a long day, out at the Oceana nightclub in Kingston, which although has a fabulous light up floor, it sure was sticky! 

By the way, did anyone get any April fools tricks played on them?  I managed to avoid falling for any this year, you’ve got to get up early to catch me out!

 

One very glamorous invitation I had was from Samantha Cameron to attend a charity event at Number 10 Downing St, where myself and several others were there to honour the amazing work Save the Children are doing here in the UK as well as overseas.  I met the exquisite Erin O’Connor, who’s beauty is just breathtaking, as well as having a lovely catch up with original Strictly winner Natasha Kaplinsky. It was a wonderful evening, and I felt very proud to be involved.

 

I was beyond thrilled to receive a surprise visit from my darling Louanne Madorma on Wednesday, who popped over from Vegas for literally a 24 hour visit due to a family commitment, and managed to fit me in just to grab a big hug.  Also, having the Lorraine crew come in to Starlight rehearsals to film in preparation for my appearance on the show early Thursday morning was a welcome visit and the cast were skating around like maniacs showing off their tricks.

 

 

I’d like to say a massive thank you to Dove for their amazing goody basket I received – my skin now smells and feels like a million dollars after using copious amounts of the bodywash and shea butter lotion!

 

On that note, I’d like to say Happy Easter!  I hope you all find and scoff lots of eggs, and take the time to see and appreciate your families, well that’s what I’ll be doing anyway…  And to all those that are avoiding the eggs for whatever reason, have a lovely Pesach and enjoy your Matzos!  

 

Much love as always

Arlene x 

Busy, busier, busiest…

All I can say is that it’s a good job I got a couple of days off last week in the country, as it has literally been manic…

 

Thursday started with a meet and greet with all the Eurovision team, how exciting!  If you haven’t heard it yet, here’s the song http://bit.ly/GJ0Qp5 After that I headed into town for a long and fully productive meeting with all the Starlighters – as they shall from now on be called – and that pretty much summed up my day, along with fielding endless calls from the busy goings on in the office!

 Friday I was up early to head to the Nickelodeon studios to read a bedtime story! I was in a lovely little garden, and it was fun way to kick off the day.  I was very excited for my lunch with the wonderful Ben Latham Jones at my favourite Japanese restaurant, but unfortunately he came down with food poisoning the night before, so it was cancelled. Hope you’re feeling better Ben!  Instead I buried my in head in the mornings pile of unread emails that seem to be coming in thicker and faster than usual at the moment, and before I knew it I was winding my way to bed. Boy can a day go quickly when holding down down 5 million projects! I sadly didn’t make it to the Sport Relief party that evening, but I’m amazed by the amount raised, and so happy to say I’ve been part of it.  As well as joining in with Let’s Dance and running the Westminster Mile, I’ve also been taking part in Twit Relief and here’s what I raised… 

The WWRY tickets went for £473 on the auction, the Wizard of Oz company including myself sold 262 raffle tickets at £2.50 each, making it £655, so that’s £1128.50 in total, which is brilliant! The lucky winners are also getting super follows too! I’d like a superfollow off Stephen Fry!

 A fabulous Saturday lunch with the family at my new favourite restaurant was the most exciting thing I did all weekend, apart from laze about with the papers in the sunshine…!

 Monday was the big Alzheimer’s Society conference to launch their “Dementia 2012 : A National Challenge Report” http://bit.ly/GR5LFK. I was invited as a key supporter as this is a topic very close to my heart having cared for my dad who suffered the disease, and I very publicly challenged David Cameron over patient care in the NHS.  As I said, ‘How will you train nurses to care?’. Mr Cameron agreed that this is the biggest problem. The response has been incredible, and I’ve been inundated by the press every since. The work of the Alzheimer’s Society is so important that I’m really pleased that people are becoming more aware of what they do and people are getting a better understanding of Alzheimer’s – here’s some news about the day http://bit.ly/GTGnmE 

 After the conference, I attended a tribute to a friend and work colleague of mine Diana Bliss, whom I most recently worked on Flashdance with, who sadly is no longer with us.  It was a very moving service, and I had to gather my thoughts and compose myself to get on with the rest of the day, where the next stop was at the Urdang Academy of Dance, to find a fabulous dancer for an upcoming and very exciting project I’m working on. 

A quick meeting about my Marisota clothes : http://bit.ly/xED91u followed by a chat on Channel 5 live 6.30 news about the earlier Alzheimer’s debate, and to end the day – dinner with the mums from my daughter’s school K.A.S and what a FAB dinner it at Kentish Canteen, do try it out http://bit.ly/Hrcl6g they’re on twitter too @kentishcanteen.

 After Monday’s epically busy start to the week, I thought Tuesday would be a little easier, and with only three meetings to get around town to, it was!  I was planning all things Starlight with my assistant Mykal Rand, talking projects with the BBC, and plotting all things Eurovision with the legend that is Englebert. 

 Wednesday was back to crazy, starting with an early morning makeup from Alana for a photo session with the Daily Mail, for an article all about my Alzheimer’s campaign.  Then I headed off to Epsom to host a charity lunch for 450 women, where I gave a talk all about my life and did a book signing. There’s still time to get in shape for summer, so check out my Dance to the Musicals book here and how you can do it http://bit.ly/Hm5Imk. After a really inspiring afternoon out in the countryside it was a mad dash back to London to attend the launch party of Alana’s company Nutrition Rocks launching their workshops at the St Martins Lane hotel. For information on how to book go to www.nutrition-rocks.co.uk. Of course the whole family was in attendance, and here’s Abi to tell you all about it…

 It’s me Abi again, are you all thrilled? I’m here to talk about another event and my fabulous mother and sister Nutrition Rocks has been in the works for two years and it was finally their launch last night, it’s really happening and I couldn’t be more proud. My sister works so hard and it’s beautiful to see it all materialise

 The launch was at The St Martins Hotel, in a gorgeous room they’d covered in apples, simple but effective and portrayed their healthy message very well.  Aafter ten minutes or so of mingling I was very happy to see the canapés appear, as always I’m searching for the food while mother talks to everyone! She’d been running around all day as per usual, from meeting to rehearsal, home, to meeting and still managed to turn up looking beautiful and stylish as ever, she never fails Alana or I!

 I will speak for me and mummy when we both say we are so proud of Alana and what she’s achieved, I’ll speak for me when I say I’m proud to be part of such a talented family who do so much yet all seem to be here for one another, team morale I say!  So there you have it Phillips Fans, I hope you enjoy and see you in a few Abi xx

And I’ll see you all next week! 

Love as always

Arlene x

LET’S DANCE

So another busy week has passed – and it was in fact meant to be a cheeky week off… no rest for the wicked hey!

One thing I’m so excited about is that I’m going to be working on this year’s Eurovision entry with the one and only Englebert Humperdink!  I’m staging the UK entry and hopefully, we will wow our way to dix points!  That’s what all these secret meetings at the BBC that I’ve been hinting at were about… So here’s to our 2012 entry, and my upcoming trip to Azerbaijan, eek!

As I mentioned, I tried to take a mini break and head off to the country for the week, which did not get off to a very good start on Thursday morning due to immense fog and traffic.  When we finally arrived 6 hours later (should have only taken 3) – I received a call from the Beeb asking if I would come and be a judge on the Let’s Dance for Sport Relief final.  Of course I was thrilled to. So, no sooner had I arrived, I had to pack up and leave.  I spent most of Friday barking orders down the phone to those on Planet Arlene still in London to get everything ready for me for Saturday.  What dress, what shoes, which jewellery – right down to the necessary undies!  All I had to do was jump on a train early Saturday morning, take a cab to the hairdressers, get to the studio and get into makeup. What could possibly go wrong?  Seeing as I was sure all was timed like clockwork, I managed to have a glorious dinner with friends that night, and went to sleep dreaming of dance.

Saturday was St Patricks day, and also the 6 Nations Rugby in Cardiff, two things I had clearly forgotten to factor in to my overwhelmingly crowded train journey, and one thing I certainly hadn’t accounted for was the train breaking down in the middle of nowhere!  Not known for my calm demeanour in such situations, I immediately had visions of being rescued by helicopters and flown in to the studio screaming “It’s alright I’m here, now get me into makeup!” By the gods clearly taking pity on me and my impending nervous breakdown, the train started up again and I made it safely to part 2 of the journey.

It would seem the panic was not completely over as after the hairdressers, my taxi took me to the wrong studio! Arriving late at the wrong studio started to spin me out again, thankfully it was only a 5 minute drive to the right one, and so I made it in one piece to meet my hilarious co-judges Rhod Gilbert and Frank Skinner.  Hilarity was definitely the theme of the night, as the three of us sat in my dressing room discussing the upcoming show, let me tell you those boys have a wicked sense of humour.  Of course I couldn’t possibly tell you what was said, but I will tell you it was very naughty, and made me almost cry my makeup off with laughter, much to Alana’s scolding.  The show flew by, and I was thrilled the brilliant Rowland Rivron won with his dance to Weapon of Choice, he was absolutely fantastic.  A huge well done to all those who took part, and to the show for raising over 1 MILLION POUNDS for the charity!  That I was proud to be a part of. If you were out on the tiles that night you can still see the marvellous performances on bbc iplayer http://bbc.in/GHvAWB ( but remember you votes won’t count now!!). If you’re running the Sport Relief Mile, and are really quick you might just be in time to bid on the Let’s Dance for Sport Relief T-shirt signed by us three judges http://bit.ly/GIKtKD

Sunday was Mothers day, and I awoke to a delicious breakfast in bed made by Abi, and fabulous book of Vogue Icons from Alana, but no sooner had I finished eating I was back on a train to the country to try to finish the rest of my mini break! Did anyone happen to catch my show about secret song requests for Mums on Magic FM, if you missed it you can have a listen here, it was such fun doing the show  http://bit.ly/zbdBZL

Monday to Wednesday was a blur of eating, relaxing, socialising, a countryside walk or two, and of course a daily catch up with Coco, until yesterday when I arrived back in London to of course another barrage of emails and a busy week ahead.

A few things I want to mention before I leave you for another week are…  You can catch me on the Culture show I mentioned last week here  http://bbc.in/GGazkN all about ‘Reasons to Dance’, and an article in the Scottish Daily Record about it too  http://bit.ly/GDoqXy.

Finally, some more dates for the Starlight Express tour have been added here  http://bit.ly/GDvJ1 so get booking!

That’s all from me, so have a wonderful week… Spring is finally here!

Love Arlene x

Arlene and friends

Hello again!

So another week has gone by in a blur, and I hope you don’t get as exhausted reading this as I was living it!

Thursday started with an early morning catch up with Coco, until it was time for hair and makeup with Alana to get ready for quick day trip to Falkirk in Scotland!  The first drama ensued when my cab didn’t turn up to take me to the airport, so I had to dive in the car to Paddington Station where I managed to leap on the Heathrow Express and just make it with a few minute to spare, sadly didn’t even have time for duty free shopping…

From landing onwards the day went brilliantly.  I was visiting the amazing National Theatre of Scotland who are a theatre without walls to visit their ‘Reasons to Dance’ project. They have created a production  in which the whole town can get involved by giving their reasons to dance.  You cans see it tonight on BBC2 at 7pm.  It was such a truly wonderful and inspiring day.

I just managed to catch the last flight back to London, and finally arrived home sometime around 11:30, and with an early call time the next morning for my Marisota shoot I fell into bed and had barely closed my eyes when the alarm went off.

Friday and Saturday was the shoot for my amazing new collection, and with a crack team of hair and makeup around me, all signs of tiredness vanished!  I had hairdresser to the stars Jon Chapman who gave me an incredible mane of thick wavy hair, using some fabulous clip in hair pieces a mountain of Philip Kingsly hairspray!  I’m passing you briefly now over to Alana who’s going to tell you about how I got my look for the shoot…

Hi all! As the new collection is lots of bold, structured pieces, I wanted to give Mum a look the reflected that, with dark eyes and strong lips.  I used MAC Mineralize Charged Water first on the skin, a moisturiser infused with diamond dust to really hydrate the skin and give it a glow. Lancome’s new Teint Idole 24hr foundation is one of Arlene’s favourites, as it doesn’t move, and gives a flawless, dewy coverage that only needs the lightest dusting of translucent powder to blot the t-zone. I used the Urban Decay Naked palette to blend dark grey over the eyelids, then YSL Shocking liquid eyeliner and mascara to define the eyes. A smudge of black kohl pencil inside the eye and a set of fabulous lashes by We Are Faux finished the eyes. I defined the brows with a MAC eyebrow pencil, shaded cheeks with St Tropez bronzer, and then dusted a peachy Armani blusher over the apples of the cheeks for a subtle glow.  Lips were primed with a dab of 8 Hour Cream, and YSL Rouge Per glossy lip stain in 3 (plum) and 6 (peach) were blended to create a glossy pout in the perfect colour.  I hope you like the pictures, and if you have any questions about Arlene’s beauty regime please email me at info@alanaphillipsmakeup.com.  Love Alana x

I’m back, although not for long…  Sunday was another jam packed day, starting with the Move It exhibition, where I was interviewed on the Big Dance sofa, and had a book signing at the INC Dance stand.  It was amazing to be surrounded by so much dance, and of course I wanted to stay all day but it off to the next event by midday, and here’s Abi to tell you all about it…

It’s me Abigail again!  Mummy has asked me to be her roving reporter on the Tesco Mum Of The Year Awards, what an honour.  Let me begin by saying the day started off a little scary, red carpet and paparazzi, three words that don’t bode well with me.  Mum can flaunt it like a pro with her champion smile and winning poses, but then again she is a professional in everything she does from working the red carpet to interviews with the press and presenting awards.  Drinks, food and celebrities, a chance for all to mingle and chatter while I run off to find where the canapés are coming from, I’m joking, maybe. Of course I stay by Mum’s side and greet everyone she introduces me to with a smile.  Mum is such a social bunny, and knew practically everyone there from athletes to singers, presenters to reality stars, Denise Lewis, Pixie Lott, Gaby Logan and Amy Childs to name a few.

Of course he day wasn’t only about the celebrities who were there, it was about these courageous and brave woman who are overall outstanding mothers. On our table was Sharon Sambrook, who’s son had developed an adult brain tumour at the age of ten, rare in children, then Sharon found out that only 3% of Cancer Research goes towards brain tumours so from there went on to raise 90, 000 pounds towards Brain Tumour Cancer Research, just incredible.  Sharon won the award for Charitable Mum Of The Year presented by my Mummy, who looked absolutely stunning and spoke such kind words as she expressed her affection and awe at Sharon’s achievement.  The other mums who had done such extraordinary acts of kindness after being met with such challenging situations they were all presented awards and every time I looked behind me, yes, Mummy was in tears.

The Celebrity Mum Of The Year was Gaby Logan, who was there with her hubby Kenny, whom Mum knew from the Strictly days, and although Gaby being a better dancer, Kenny stayed in much longer despite my darling mothers hilarious put downs.  How Gaby finds time to fit in all her charity work with her busy life, makes us think she’s a bit of a Supermum and I’ll let you in on a secret, Mummy is too. No really, she has super powers – how she finds time to give to charity, choreograph musicals, present radio and television programmes, go to meeting after meeting, design her own clothes and undies and still manage to always be there for her two daughters whenever they need, makes her a supernatural being

From the opening of the awards by the big voice that is none other than Tesco Mary from The X Factor to the wonderful hosting by Fiona Phillips, the afternoon ended with an outstanding performance from the beautiful Dionne Bromfield who got everyone up and dancing.  This is when me and Mummy wished that John Partridge was on our table so that the Queen of Dance could have a boogie with her King.  After we were all danced out we said our goodbyes and left with bags full of goodies, so thank you Mummy, thank you Tesco, thank you readers and I’ll see you in a few, love always, Abi  xx

And I’m back again!  Monday and Tuesday sort of blended into one, with meetings, paperwork, a trip to the dentist, and a catch up with my longtime friend the wonderful Richard Stilgoe who wrote the words and lyrics for Starlight Express. I also went to a meeting at Magic FM to talk about my guest appearance.  Make sure you tune in 10am-2pm this Sunday on Mother’s day!

Wed was a hilarious morning, running the Westminster Sport Relief mile with about 30 MP’s, and Abi!  The two of us headed down to St James Park in our running gear, only to be almost trampled at the start!  I’m ashamed to say I couldn’t run the whole way due to my bad knee, but walk the rest I did and Abi who shot off at the start again went whizzing past me on the way back as I slowly limped past the finish line.  It was great to meet so many MP’s and participate in such a fantastic cause, I hope you’ll all be watching on the 25th to see me attempt it again!

So until next week,

Love Arlene x