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WHAT A DIFFERENCE A ‘DAY’ MAKES! Darren replaces Marc within 24 hours Accomplished West End leading man and popular television personality Darren Day has been cast as hunky heart-throb Gordon in the world premiere tour of Guilty Pleasures, Theatre Productions UK are pleased to announce. Darren took over the role last Thursday, following the dramatic departure of ex-EastEnder Marc Bannerman, who quit the role the day before. Darren has already begun rehearsing and has slotted in well with the rest of the cast. The 43-year-old actor has starred in numerous West End and touring musicals, including Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat; Copacabana; Summer Holiday; Grease; The Rocky Horror Show and Hello, Dolly! He has also demonstrated great versatility in performing a variety of roles in stage plays, including Great Expectations; Alfie and Misery, and in television programmes such as The Bill and Hollyoaks. “I’m really excited about joining this tour,” says Darren. “Everyone’s lovely and they have all made me feel so welcome – even though I felt a little like a child joining a new school half
Regular Feature: Living the Family High Life — Introducing Jo’s Jollies Feeding the ducks and so much more at Vicar Water Country Park Well, our Easter holidays started well, we had an inset day on the Friday 30 March so managed to catch a day of the warm March weather before usual service resumed! After a bit of a lazy pj morning we headed off to Vicar Water Country Park in Clipstone; it’s an easy walk or bike ride from our house but if you need to drive to get there the parking facilities are excellent and it is free. The route we take to get there is on a cycle path all the way so accessible for pushchairs and push along trikes too plus the dogs can run off their leads almost all the way. As we pass the fields we notice the sheep with their new born lambs which prompts a rendition of baa baa black sheep. If Mr Billings is around, he is normally quite happy to have a quick chat about the most recent additions to his flock. We arrive at the first pond and can see some miniature boats being sailed, gentleman come from as far as the peak district to sail their boats on the pond. They love the environment but what really attracts them on a Friday is Fish and Chips, on offer at Rumbles, the cafe which is open Tuesday – Sunday (and Bank Holiday Mondays) serving home cooked foods, cakes and refreshments. With such beautiful weather you can easily spend the best part of a day there, if you wish, you can take a longer walk around the bigger pond where you will usually see some fisherman, and if you are really up for the challenge why not climb over ‘the tops’ (as we call it), following one of the paths, this was the old pit tip in years gone by.
way through the term, at first.” He also revealed that he is looking forward to trying his hand at a genre of theatre that is completely new to him. “Although I have done quite a lot of comedy, I have never performed in a farce before. It’s going to be great fun.” Producer and director Stephen Leatherland says: “Darren has proven to be a fantastic addition to the team. His maturity and intensity lend a natural gravitas to the piece.” Darren Day joins a stellar cast which also includes fellow former Joseph, Craig Chalmers, and both performers will be casting off the coat of many colours to reveal much more than the clean-cut biblical brother ever dared! Other cast members include David Van Day, a fellow jungle campmate from I’m A Celebrity . . . Get Me Out of Here!, Terri Dwyer (Hollyoaks; Loose Women) and Pauline Fleming (Coronation Street; Brookside).
Eleanor loves to feed the ducks and at this time of year if you look in the streams you will see frogspawn too, she also loves the play area which is well equipped with slides, climbing frames, swings and roundabouts and when William and Lewis want a rest from their bikes there is plenty of space for a game of football or cricket. This is Mr and Mrs Tickle as Eleanor likes to call them, Mallard Ducks the Park Ranger informed me; you will often find them here amongst the other ducks, and some seagulls in the winter, so we always have to look out for them and make sure they get their share of the bread! Eleanor also likes the rocking horse on the park, here she is on a previous sunny day though not quite as warm as our most recent visit. Come back sunshine!
Jo Godson is an Independent Human Resources Specialist and busy mum of three who lives and works in the Mansfield/Ashfield Area. Follow Jo’s Jolly Trips around the area each month