Blogger Notes

I must admit I do love some of the reality tv shows. I am an avid follower of X Factor, American Idol and most recently Britain's Got Talent. In previous years I have cringed at some of the pathetic, waste of space, unpolished, unrehearsed 'acts', that have graced our screens. But this year has been something special, something different, a spark of hope was lit within me as week after week I have felt goosebumps rising on my skin and the little hairs on my arms stand on end.

I was really quite indifferent to this series until one day I was walking down the stairs and heard the now infamous Susan Boyle singing 'I dreamed a dream' from Les Miserables, my all time favourite show! OMG! She was totally amazing - well more than amazing, her singing was unbelievably divine! The following onslaught of world wide publicity for her was really well and truly deserved. The next singer to really catch my attention was Welshman, Jamie Pugh, also singing from Les Mis, 'Bring him home'. Having recently seen the show for the umpteenth time, he could easily have been up on the stage in the West End along with the best of them. But my absolute favourites, the act that actually brought tears welling into my eyes (not an easy feat!), were 2 Grand, Grandfather John, 76 and Granddaughter Sally, 12.


I don't believe anyone with a heart beating inside them could watch this and firstly not feel the warmth spreading through them from the total wholesomeness (you can make words up sometimes!) of this pair and secondly just love watching this special family relationship.

Some people have commented that 'A whole new world', was a strange song for them to sing to each other, but if you listen to the words and forget Aladdin and Jasmine for a minute, I think they are quite appropriate. Each generation can show the next 'A whole new world', teach them 'a new fantastic point of view' and with a grandparent and a grandchild there is 'No one to tell us no'!

Watching them also sends you on a trip down memory lane, to the carefree days of childhood when your grandparents would appear with bags of sweets or comics on a Sunday afternoon for tea and you would all sit round the table talking and maybe playing a game of cards - Kaluki was my grandparents favourite! And at the time you would never realise how lucky you were to be in the heart of your family, building memories from stories told and voices heard and specific smells and tastes that were all labelled in your mind as 'my grandparents'.

As wonderful as the other contestants have been, I truly believe that this pair is what the Royal Variety Performance should be about - special relationships. The love and respect between a grandchild and grandparent, the unique friendship they share and enjoy, the priceless life experiences spent together and the bond that even in memory will last forever.