What about numbers 34 and 35?
Obviously there's a lot of speculation about which celebrities will occupy slots number 34 and 35. I don't intend to send the late invites out for another week or so at least, but I think this may be a good time to take stock of one or two of your nominations. (For those cynics who think there's no point in inviting 34 and 35 when I haven't yet secured 1 to 33, I simply say this: a week is a long time in celebrity party organisation. If they come running with their tails between their legs a couple of days before the bash, I'll be fine about it. I understand the pressures of the busy sleb lifestyle.)

So who's in the frame? Well, Iain Duncan Smith has received more votes than he's likely to get at the next general election, but my view is that one Tory politician - in the shape of Anne Widdecombe - is more than enough for this particular party, thank you very much.

Quite a lot of people have suggested Jordan, who I believe is a rather attractive lady who makes appearances in nightclubs. I'd personally prefer Al Murray, aka The Pub Landlord (My gaff, my rules™), although there's obviously a danger that the real guv'nor would feel that the boozer weren't big enough for the both of them.

The idea that tickles me most so far is Patrick Duffy from Dallas. His career was already revived once, of course, when Pam woke up and discovered that Bobby's untimely demise had all been a dream. It would great to see Patrick sipping a pint of real ale in a London battle cruiser, but somehow I don't think it's very feasible. I have a feeling that my last-minute invites should perhaps be reserved for stars who are within easier striking distance of the bash. By the time I'd got hold of Bobby's agent in the States and he'd checked his diary, it might be difficult to organise a flight.

My friend Nobby has had an interesting idea. Why not reserve the 35th place for footballers who wear the number 35 shirt? The chances are they don't get much of a run-out and are likely to be pleased with the publicity. Newcastle United defender, Olivier Bernard, should keep his diary free. I'm not sure I should mess with football any more though, having spookily predicted the result of the Arsenal v Chelsea match in my previous blog. If anyone made any money out of my tip, please get in touch so I can claim my share.

More of your suggestions will be appearing in this blog over the next week, so watch this space. Even more avidly than before.


10.18.03 @ 01:22 PM PDT [link]

Roger's dream
I know I promised to talk about your nominations and Nobby's interesting suggestion for one of the final two celebrity slots, but something has intervened. My friend Roger e-mails to say that he's had a dream about the party! Not only that, but he was quite specific about two slebs who made an appearance: Cilla Black and Paul Daniels. Now, there's no doubt we could have a lorra lorra laughs with the Scouse songstress. It's difficult to understand how she missed my original list. Even Britain's favourite magician could certainly entertain us. Not a lot. But enough to make the whole 35forphil thing worthwhile.

Could it be that Roger has some kind of psychic intuition? If I nominated Cilla and Paul, would his dream be fulfilled in reality?

Somehow, I can't see it. Paul would surely insist on his wife, Debbie McGee, coming along too. That would throw the numbers out bigtime. I don't know whether this issue came up in the dream and will have to clarify with Roger. The other thing is that if Roger is in the habit of having prophetic dreams, he'd surely be a rich man by now. He'd have dreamed that the Arsenal beat Chelsea 2-1 at Highbury and put a monkey on the nose at Ladbrokes.

No. I think Cilla and Paul just have to go into the pot alongside all the other recommendations.

If you've had your own dream about my party, I'd certainly like to hear about it though. Just e-mail info@35forphil.com with 'My party dream' in the subject line. You won't win anything, but I might blog you up in these very pages.
10.17.03 @ 04:11 PM PDT [link]

A Sharp move by my mate, Russ
DJ Pat Sharp is undoubtedly a busy man, what with his show on Heart 106.2 and all the other gigs and stuff he does. But he wasn't too busy to talk to my mate, Russ, about 35forphil.com

Russ was getting a bit concerned that I didn't have any formal acceptances from celebrities, so he took it upon himself to nab Pat at a black-tie awards ceremony in London. He was thinking that there are still two spare places left and that Pat could fill one of them. (My view, for what it's worth, is that we shouldn't get ourselves in a panic just yet, as there are more than two weeks to go. Having said that, if Pat indicated a willingness to get involved, I might reluctantly have to set aside some of your own e-mail suggestions to secure a big name.)

To cut a long story short, there was some post-party e-mail correspondence between Russ and Pat this morning and it turns out that Pat's got a gig in Scandinavia on 1st November. His e-mail came out at lightning speed though, so 10/10 for effort. We also think he played a Kylie record for me, which was a request Russ had cheekily made.

Pat does a thing called the Time Tunnel on his show, in which he plays a load of records and you have to guess the year they came out. It was 1981 today. Full details at http://www.heart1062.co.uk/showdj.asp?DJID=10507

In my next blog, I'll talk about the options for the 34th and 35th places, including an interesting suggestion from Nobby – another friend with good ideas.



10.16.03 @ 12:59 PM PDT [link]

Temperatures soar as Carol Kirkwood gets in touch
If there's anyone guaranteed to lift a depression, it's bubbly BBC weather presenter Carol Kirkwood. Carol can't make the 1st November, but has sent me a hand-drawn birthday card and a signed photo. "Sorry I can't come to your party - thanks for the invitation!" she says. "Hope you have a lovely time."

Other celebrities please take note. Carol can't be there, but she's taken the trouble to get in touch and tell me. Not only that, but she's drawn an elephant with felt tips. That's one classy lady.

Sources close to the BBC suggest there's been some considerable consternation over my choice of Carol over, say, Dan Corbett or Michael Fish. Why should she be offered the opportunity to have a drink with Bob Holness and J K Rowling, while other perfectly respectable and professional weather presenters are left chatting to John Craven and the Country File team in the BBC canteen? There is no rhyme or reason, apart from the fact that Carol always looks as if she enjoys her weather. The sunniest spot in the UK is wherever she's standing on that particular day. As a thank you for getting in touch, I have written a short poem which I hope Carol enjoys:

Captain Kirkwood has boldly gone where no celebrity has gone before.
To some, that's illogical.
To me, it's just meteorological.

If I carry on like this, I'll have to sign up for the book deal mentioned in my previous blog.

10.15.03 @ 03:59 PM PDT [link]

The book deal I turned down
Some publisher has asked me to star in a book about men with unusual hobbies and interests. It's apparently a follow-up to a book about men and sheds. I have said no.
10.15.03 @ 06:03 AM PDT [link]

Will any celebrities say yes?
My theory about 35forphil is very simple. If we get enough interest on the web and in the media, the pressure will definitely mount on the slebs to find time in their busy schedules for the party. And once one or two sign up for the event, others won't want to be left out.

I think the next week to ten days is a critical period. Up until now, the lack of celebrity responses can probably be put down to busy staff sifting through mountains of correspondence. Once we head towards next Saturday, however - which is B-Day minus two weeks - I think I'd expect some more RSVPs. Even if a particular star is unable to attend, responding seems like the right thing to do. It allows me to plan in terms of numbers and so on, but it may also impact upon my choice of last-minute invitations. Two places are up for grabs and I'm accepting public nominations via this website. (Thanks very much, incidentally, for the suggestions coming in from all over the world. I'll be announcing my choices in the last week in October.)

In any broadcasts from now on, I'll be making a direct appeal to the celebrities to get in touch and let me know one way or another. If they can't make it because of genuine tour commitments, TV schedules and so on, I will understand. There's slightly more leeway with A-listers, because I understand that they must be pretty busy.

10.12.03 @ 03:26 PM PDT [link]