SHOES & THE FINANCIAL TIMES

SHOES

"I can't buy high shoes if I can't walk in them - it's a dilemma.." so says my wife as she asks what I think of her new shoes... "Well they look ... comfortable" is my response!

Oh my and you know you are digging a hole right there. The truth or... "They look lovely darling..." Truth is - high heels work for me.. and she has fantastic pins - but she doesn't like wearing high heels as they are uncomfortable. Something about running around barefoot in Fiji when she was growing up!!!

What's a man to do? I think we need to go shoe shopping together - sounds like I'm getting in touch with my feminine side - Oh my... Maybe I need to give her Emma's number so she can get some 7" heels :)

FINANCIAL TIMES - THE FT

There was a one page interview with me in the Financial Times last weekend. I asked if I could have the pdf for my website. Felt quite posh to be in the FT. Have to pay is the policy of the FT. Anyway possibility of FOC for the words but will cost hundreds to re format without the picture. So seeing if I can get the picture cleared. The world of rights and copyright I live in... fun huh?

Love

N

DANCING ON ICE FINAL

Drama, as ever, at Dancing on ice FINAL....

Three contestants - Hayley and Dan, Gary and Maria, Kieron and Brianne. Three routines...

FLYING - Gary managed to look lighter and graceful and had more content than Kieron - who did what he was given with arms that were stronger. Flying favours the girls and Hayley's presentation with Dan as the base worked brilliantly. I had a Hayley, Gary, Kieron placing.

FAVOURITE ROUTINES - Hayley with Bollywood superb, Kieron with Punk great energy but a trip, Gary managed to communicate and express his routine relating to Maria and skated well with lots of ice coverage. I had a Hayley 6.0, Gary, Kieron placing.

BOLERO - Hayley and Dan skated first. Presentation super as expected but hardly any skating from Hayley and slow over the ice, a door had been left open. Robin didn't mention this in his comments - the rest of us were given no time to comment! Gary skated out and covered 'miles' more ground with very good presentation and a flowing routine. Gary's was undoubtedly the best Bolero for me on the night.

RESULT - I sat watching and thought.... Hayley should have won because of her contribution to the entire series, Gary should have won because his Bolero was better - and that would have been what we, as judges, would have been expected to judge irrespective of what had gone before. So I sat in the space of each of our two final contestants could rightly lay claim to the title.

PUBLIC VOTE - Hayley won.... and, on Bollywood alone, she and Dan deserved it. Congratulations to them and to Gary as well - he and Maria did a great job.

CHRIS AND JAYNE - Awesome! Learning and performing a flying routine with ribbons that had danger, finesse and power for the final. I have heard it said as a show business mantra - start brilliantly, finish brilliantly and/or leave the best to last... This was their best performance of the series and a reminder that - an Olympic mentality says - Be The Best, keep pushing and improving. Golly they were great and the backing band wasn't ad either.

TUXEDO - It was the final, we should all have had Dinner Jackets on - the ladies had long gorgeous dresses - what happened to the guys? Well I wore mine because it was the final... Normally that's the form. Perhaps some of the other chaps got the tuxedo out of their system on movie week?

MY AWARD - I got an award from The Friday show for nearly causing the show to crash it's ending because I wouldn't shut up... Just one more thing. I'm quite proud of it in an anarchic type of way... I wasn't trying to crash the break - I just had more to add.....

PICTURES - pictures to come... wrap party was fun but a mix of 1 Guinness, 1 red wine and a tequila shot with Pavel along with bed at 3.30am have left me with a thick head so I'll take a break and do pictures later.

Love

Nicky

SENSE SHOP OPENING

Great fun to help SENSE open a new shop in Whitton in Ipswich yesterday - here are some pictures courtesy of Ipswich Evening Star. All Rights Reserved.

Radio interview link http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/console/p006ys6 at 2hrs 50 mins on Radio Suffolk. I was also on Heart with kelly - Emma Bunton's station which was fun.

The shop was brilliant, great bargains and superbly preented. How do they offer such great choices at great prices in a professional environement - it's about you bringing qulaity itens you don't need or use any longer and they enabling others to buy them - recycling plus reusing and the charity benefits - a win all round....

12 Meridith Road Ipswich is the store....

Here's a photo of me skating with Lucy Adeye from Barnet last year. I helped her have some fun on ice at Sense's City ice Skate. She had never skated before - let alone with a strange man! After thirty minutes she wanted to stay on and do more. I think we had around 45 minutes on the ice. Brilliant when she was very scared when she first went on. A wonderful example to me of how we all can give to hep someone less fortunate than ourselves and that they give back back a smile that melts your heart.

Love N

www.sense.org.uk to see more and support

DANCING ON ICE SEMI FINAL...

Well a dramatic evening and difficult to judge. It's Chalk and Cheese - two types of abilities - one where the presentation is excellent the other where the skating ability is higher. The challenge for me, as a judge, is that the two elements of skating ability and high presentation skill are not in any one couple.

Skating was the lead factor. I had Gary and Maria first in the main show - Hayley and Dan second - superb presentation but slow skating over the ice when Hayley is solo (it is much easier to do moves when one goes slower rather than at speed) - Kieron third, who skates fast but run out of steam half way through and was a bit messy, Daniella fourth. Daniella has superb acting skills and very good presentation but the weakest skating ability.

The skate off saw Gary and Daniella facing each other. I expected Gary to be the winner. He skated, missed his spin, wobbled and generally had a much poorer performance than in the main show. Finally he fell at the end of the programme. Daniella skated and presented well - the same level as the main show performance. Daniella was ahead for me.

Robin - as head judge - called the fall of Gary and Maria as being after the routine had finished. Honouring that call meant that - for me - Gary just squeezed ahead of Daniella. Had the fall been included then Daniella would have gone through on my marks.

I am sad that we will not be seeing Daniella fly. She would have given a strong performance as less actually skating ability is required and I hope that gary can have a breakthrough with his acting and presentation ability for the final.

Love

N

FACEBOOK / TWITTER - OH MY GOODNESS...

Website updated and starting to look into Facebook.

I could be on it for days and never stop talking.... and have no life... and miss Dancing On Ice Semi Final today - because I'm on Facebook....

Great to be starting to see peoples picture, and their sites, and try to work out how it all works and then there's Twitter.

On Friday a friend was showing me Twitter - and how to see what's going on online.

It was 10.30 in my local coffee shop - a post had been put up at 10.20 "At a business meeting in coffee shop, Nicky Slater, Dancing On ice Judge sat on next table!".... and he had gone... spooky....

I picked an Evening Standard up off the tube last week and on the back page it said 'Fabio Capello appoints - Nicky Slater of Dancing On ice - new talent to defence - Nicky Slater being in black pen - it took me a moment to see someone had written on the paper and shown this to a friend - and I had picked up their left paper.

The world is becoming rather strange!

Off to the semi final.

It will be exciting and challenging to judge no doubt.

Love

N

Photo © Copyright Ken McKay REX FEATURES - All Rights reserved used with permission

A WEEK!

Car crash, keys lost, locked indoors, red carpet, Grosvenor Great Room celeb fest, Pause for Thought - yes really - 3 minutes to time, hotel from hell with three room changes ending up in a suite you could play cricket in and still the taps didn't deliver hot water at more than a trickle. Two year old turning into a terrorist with incredible negotiation skills "I'm frustrated daddy" at two! iSkate column, papers following storied - no comment... Walking across a street thinking it was one way - it wasn't - and surviving, This Morning fun, a new song saying 'I Love You' on Logic and a home personal workout coach - not what you you may think... lunch with an old schoolfriend who has Archbishops call him on a regular basis - they should pay for his advice. Still not meeting for lunch with my brother as he jets off as I get to his city base. Locks renewed, car being sorted, a glass of red wine and it's Friday... a busy week then... Roll on a quiet relaxing weekend of Dancing On Ice.

Love n

TOO BUSY TO BLOG!

My great friend David reminded me that I had not blogged for almost three weeks this evening. So this is for him, although he does know some of the things I'm about these days.

Ideally I would be blogging and twittering like Phillip (Schoefield) and co and building up a community so that when I bring music out there will be millions of you ready and waiting to wiz to iTunes and buy and enjoy it... However. With 4 followers... I am just not getting my act in gear for this, or maybe there is nothing of interest to say!

Concentrating on creating something worthwhile first is the plan, otherwise all is just hot air...

But my I seem busy right now...Writing has been increasing, last week articles for The FT, my iSkate column, Portunis Magazine and I wrote a Country Song inspired by the Crazy Heart movie (I love Jeff Bridges) this weekend.

Oh yes and I created and built a website last Wednesday for my friend Bruce between 4pm and 2am see www.vikingice.co.uk - needs some tidying in proof stage but I was quite chuffed. iWeb is cool. I was reminded of how I love the possibility of the internet. Bruce sponsors my ice floor so it's the least I could do....

Friday Show was a hoot - I was so tired that I was trying to be alert! Watched it back and I think I looked like a poodle on speed... Emma looked at me as though I was on something - I wasn't ... might have been better if I'd had an expresso.... Anyway some people thought all was OK...

This week - This Morning on Wednesday - will be great to be on that show and Pause for Thought recording for Sarah Kennedy after that... Yes I am pausing for thought on what to say for that? A poem methinks....

And I'm in my studio and finding updates to software - Logic 9.1 - sabotages plug ins and hardware doesn't work as it should and no one quite knows what to do about it just yet.... Ahh the joys of technology at the cutting edge. Stress and time eaten getting you no where. There will be a time when, as the study books I work from promise, "The Technology enables creativity" that will be heaven. I did have some breakthroughs midi programming and drum programme design being one of these that opened up - great fun...

I also put together a small jazz set last week and Christiane said "That's amazing" the Oasys provides wonderful quality in its sounds and is starting to integrate to Logic... a taste of what's possible.. along with Ableton Live starting to fly working from my APC controller which is awesome.

So - on track and on plan - just takes effort and time. Tomorrow evening a relaxing dinner in a London hotel - that will be nice... Pity the Savoy is still shut.

Well that's it David I have blogged... :)

Love

N