Big Brother - Charley has gone

Thank goodness Charley has gone.

The girl is deluded believing that the public love her. She heard cries of support and love whilst the rest of us heard boos. 85% of the public vote evicted her rather than Tracey.

It is interesting to note that she is employing a Freudian defence mechanism in refusing to acknowledge the truth. She has such a high opinion of herself that she cannot admit any variation from that image or else risk the fragility of her self-esteem.

She attacked to the last. When she heard the boos from inside the house, she told Tracey that they were also booing her. When interviewed by Davina and shown the argument with Brian, she blamed him for attacking her and being pathetic when in fact he had considered her as his friend and was hurt by her unprompted attack. Charley was more concerned with how she looked in a clown costume.

Davina asked her what was next for Charley. She replied, "Maybe anger management". A very good idea but only the start of what she needs unless she wants to go through life being known as a "super bitch".

The press love a baddie so no doubt the publicity will start, the interviews will be never-ending and she may well make the first million pounds (as predicted in a poll this week) from this season's Big Brother, simply from the initial press. Someone predicted a regular column in Heat magazine. What a perverse society where money is paid to someone to keep reminding us what an unlikeable person they are. Personally, I would rather read stories of people who are making a positive contribution to the world, people we can emulate and use as role models.

Big Brother T-shirts, caps and other merchandise

Fun Big Brother items for sale on ebay.co.uk

Antonia Stuart-James is an English Hypnotherapist in Belgium helping people make positive change.

Today was a good day

Today was a good day.

First, my son had his friend to sleepover which was the first sleepover here.

Secondly, my son and I worked on his Doctor Who site. He plans to be an Internet Millionaire and this is his first venture.

Thirdly, we anticipate that Charley will be evicted from the Big Brother house.

Antonia Stuart-James

Thoughts for the Day

1. Money will buy a fine dog, but only kindness will make him wag his tail.
2. If you don't have a sense of humor, you probably don't have any sense at all.
3. Seat belts are not as confining as wheelchairs.
4. A good time to keep your mouth shut is when you're in deep water.
5. How come it takes so little time for a child who is afraid of the dark to become a teenager who wants to stay out all night?
6. Business conventions are important because they demonstrate how many people a company can operate without.
7. No one has more driving ambition than the boy who wants to buy a car.
8. There are worse things than getting a call for a wrong number at 4 AM. It could be a right number.
9. No one ever says "It's only a game" when his team is winning.
10. I've reached the age where the happy hour is a nap.
11. Be careful reading the fine print. There's no way you're going to like it.
12. Do you realize that in about 40 years, we'll have thousands of old ladies running around with tattoos and perky silicone filled breasts? (And RAP music will be the Golden Oldies!)
13. Money can't buy happiness -- but somehow it's more comfortable to cry in a Corvette than in a Yugo.
14. After a certain age, if you don't wake up aching in every joint, you are probably dead.

Big Brother - Charley must go

Charley might make interesting TV viewing but her volatile and rude nature is insulting to other housemates who also have to cope with homesickness, boredom, sharing limited space with strangers and constant filming.

Charley might think she is an "It Girl" but quite honestly, I cannot see why anyone would want to spend time in her company, unless of course she is quite a different person with her friends.

She seems unable to avoid confrontation and deliberately picks arguments about nothing. Instead of a few cross words, it becomes a slanging match where she refuses to listen to the other person and must have the last word. She picks on Chanelle decrying her appearance when in fact the girl is very attractive, both to look at and in her personality. Charley is making Chanelle doubt herself. She must be centre of attention showing how insecure she really is. She accused Gay Gerry of having sex with young boys which made him explode and I thought he was going to lay charges of slander.

Big Brother have repeatedly had to warn her to cool her behaviour and consider the effect of her words on her housemates. Little arguments and differences of opinion are inevitable amongst a group of strangers forced to live in the same enclosed space for weeks on end but while debate and discussion is healthy, with Charley it always becomes personal. She made Brian cry the other day because he considered her his friend until she attacked him. She has taken to calling everyone "pathetic". Actually, the shoe of pathos fits her.

A couple of times she has shown remorse after the argument but never apologises. We even saw tears the other day but I think this was just a tactic ahead of Monday's nominations and it did not work.

In this week's nominations for eviction, 6 out of 10 nominated her and also her friend, Tracey. Given that they did not nominate each other, that means that 6 out of 8 want both of them out.

She faced fake eviction two weeks ago. Now she must really go and I hope the media humiliate her, not make her into the star which she so craves. The crowd booed her when she enterd the house, there was no reaction when she was fake evicted (crowd held up signs saying "This is a fake audience") although she later lied to the housemates saying they had cheered her and there were several boards in her favour. She contributes nothing in the house, does not work and name drops continually. Who really cares?

Read the latest news from Big Brother on the Channel 4 website.

Antonia Stuart-James is an English Hypnotherapist in Belgium.

"Guarding the Queen" - The Grenadier Guards

Last night we were treated by ITV to the second of three parts of a programme "Guarding the Queen" showcasing the Grenadier Guards whose job it is to guard the Queen and her palaces whilst at the same time being fit and ready to enter into battle wherever they may be required. At the moment that means active tours in Afghanistan. The Grenadier Guards are the most senior infantry regiment in the British Army and they are also one of the oldest, celebrating their 350th anniversary last year, during which time there have been ten kings and three queens.

We saw the Guards parading in their bearskins and winter dress of thick blue coats which are exchanged for scarlet red jackets in the summer. The then Home Secretary David Blunkett chose a slight change of colour for the jackets requiring an expense of £300,000 to hand-tailor new jackets. Question: How does a blind man choose a new shade of red? The difference between the old and new was certainly not obvious on our TV.

The Guards prepared for the State Visit of the Prime Minister of Ghana and also for the Queen's Birthday Parade. The new musical director prepared the playing of both anthems to finish at precisely the same moment as the Queen's carriage came to a halt. Such precision and such attention to detail is admirable. There is no sloppiness in the British Army. It must be right and it must be perfect. The Queen is the first to notice anyone slightly out of step or with a poor fitting uniform.

Regimental Adjutant Conway Seymour, a Grenadier for 46 years, says: "Of all the great heroes, there's none that can compare with the British Grenadiers." He reluctantly retired after being the fourth generation Guard in his family. The men put on a special musical march for him including "Auld Lang Syne" which nearly brought a tear to his eye. Although band musicians, these soldiers must also be fit and took part in the same drills as the soldiers preparing for active duty.

The Changing of the Guard continues to be one of Britain's top tourist attractions. As the Guards prepared, their Commander told them their orders would be obstructed by cheers of tourists and their sight by camera flashes.

For those chosen for active service in Afghanistan, it was a period of intense training and preparation. We saw them in a mock battle against the Taliban. The aim of their mission will be to assist the Afghan National Army in defeating the Taliban. By stabilising the country they hope to win over hearts and minds and reconstruct a nation ravaged by war. Over 50 British soldiers have lost their lives there with hundreds seriously injured so the stakes are high.

The message was that they had a job to do although privately the troops must have mixed emotions, especially at the point of no return when they collect their battle uniform and supplies.

My friend's daughter is joining the Guards shortly with an anticipated tour in Afghanistan so the programme was of personal interest.

Antonia Stuart-James is an English Hypnotherapist in Belgium helping people make positive change in their lives.

LBC Radio - London's Brightest Conversation

Whilst in the London area last week, I listened to LBC Radio in the car on 97.3. It was interesting to listen to stimulating conversation on a wide range of topics including:

- Words or expressions you mistakenly believed to have a different meaning.
- Sharing names with famous people.
- Should parents work to demonstrate work ethic to their children, even if better off on benefits?
- Scams.
- If you can see the sun and the moon at the same time, does that mean that parts of the world cannot see either?
- If planets were formed by explosions, how come they are pretty round and smooth rather than odd-shaped and jagged?
- Books you have read even though you did not enjoy them and considered them a waste of time but having started, felt you had to finish.
- The DaVinci Code.
- The UK and Russia tit-for-tat over diplomats.
- Lee Mead's debut as Joseph in "Joseph and the Amazing Technicolour Dreamcoat".
- Boris Johnson standing for Mayor of London.

I am delighted to find that I can listen to LBC 97.3 on-line at http://www.lbc.co.uk, on Sky TV and on Digital Radio in various parts of the UK.

Cream Tea in Alfriston, Sussex

A cream tea is one of the quintessential delights of English village life and Alfriston, Sussex is a lovely village in which to enjoy such a tea.

Forget the diet. A cream tea consists of two homemade scones, jam (raspberry or strawberry are best), clotted cream on top of the jam, a slice of cake such as carrot cake, passion fruit cake or chocolate and a pot of tea per person. The tea should be leaves of Earl Grey, Darjeeling or Assam, not a supermarket teabag.

We enjoyed our cream tea in Alfriston after our visit to Drusillas Park, just a mile or so up the road. It was around 5pm but Moonrakers at the far end of the village were open until 6pm so we enjoyed our tea overlooking the village green and church. How English! All we needed was a cricket match to watch.

See my photos of Alfriston on Flickr.

See my blog on a visit to Drusillas Park and my photos of Drusillas on Flickr.



Antonia Stuart-James is an English Hypnotherapist in Belgium.