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cricket

The comedian and the birthday girl 150 150 mhamer

The comedian and the birthday girl
Jimmy Cricket with birthday girl Sandrea

Jimmy Cricket with birthday girl Sandrea

Jimmy Cricket had this photograph taken with a lady called Sandrea at The Royal Toby restaurant in Rochdale when he was last there with the Wooden Hut Club – his showbiz fraternity luncheon club.

Sandrea goes to a local Rochdale gym and it was her birthday, so to celebrate she and some friends decided to have lunch at the Royal Toby.

Famous comedian Jimmy – being his usual gregarious self! – not only went over to have a chat, but managed to get this snap of him and the birthday girl.

Jimmy opens theatre charity shop 150 150 mhamer

Jimmy opens theatre charity shop
Jimmy cuts the ribbons to open the new theatre charity shop

Jimmy cuts the ribbons to open the new theatre charity shop

Jimmy Cricket has had the honour of officially opening a theatre’s new charity shop.

The Irish funnyman is a patron of the West Cliff Theatre in Clacton-on-Sea, Essex, along with fellow comedian Roy Hudd.

Jimmy has a soft spot for the venue, having done a couple of summer seasons there in the last five years, and so put on a show there recently as a fundraiser.

The newspaper article about Jimmy Cricket

The newspaper article about Jimmy Cricket

The theatre has lately had its council grant withdrawn, but benefited by approximately £1,000 from Jimmy’s show.

Jimmy said: “This was not the end of the story though.

“West Cliff Theatre decided to open a second-hand charity shop as part of its fundraising drive, along the lines of the usual ones associated with British Heart Foundation, Scope et al – there are a fair few of these in Rochdale.

“So I marked my latest visit to the town with a double strike: not just the show, but I was invited to officially open the theatre’s new charity shop. I duly performed the honours during the lunch hour and then performed at the theatre in the evening!

“Hopefully, my contribution to the two events will have helped in some small way to keeping the theatre going.”

Jimmy added: “I would like to pay tribute to the outgoing theatre manager, Mike Bareham, for all his hard work over the years. His commitment and dedication to the theatre have been magnificent.

Jimmy with Jennifer who posted the newspaper article on Facebook

Jimmy with Jennifer who posted the newspaper article on Facebook

“The new theatre manager is Andy Jeffrey who I have known for quite some time.

Jimmy with fans Erika and Anna in Clacton-on-Sea

Jimmy with fans Erika and Anna in Clacton-on-Sea

“This is because Andy worked at the Weston-super-Mare Playhouse when I did their pantomime a few years ago. Andy is about to take over the reins very shortly and this is an exciting new chapter for the theatre.

“He is steeped in theatrical know-how and already has some fresh ideas and new thinking as the theatre enters a phase where it will have to be more self-reliant in the future.”

Meeting a magician 150 150 mhamer

Meeting a magician
Danny Lee Grew with Jimmy and, left, Norman Jacobs, chairman of the charity which runs West Cliff Theatre

Danny Lee Grew with Jimmy and, left, Norman Jacobs, chairman of the charity which runs West Cliff Theatre

Jimmy Cricket was treated to a magic trick by a fellow entertainer at an Essex theatre.

Danny Lee Grew, a London-based magician, performed a piece of magic involving a sponge to the delight of famous Irish comedian Jimmy and Norman Jacobs, chairman of the charity which runs the West Cliff Theatre in Clacton-on-Sea.

Danny was one of the first performers to entertain at the new Olympic Stadium in Stratford, East London. He entertained a 5,000-strong crowd with his close-up magic and also performed for many celebrities throughout the day.

He is the resident magician for Marvin’s Magic at Hamleys toy store and Harrods of Knightsbridge, and was a Bluecoat entertainer at Pontin’s Holiday Park in Prestatyn, North Wales.

Celebrities other than Jimmy who have seen Danny’s magic include musician Peter Andre, pop band Madness, Duncan Bannatyne of the BBC’s Dragons’ Den and players from West Ham United Football Club.

Visit Danny’s website here

Video of the trick can be seen on the homepage of this website.

Back to Belfast 150 150 mhamer

Back to Belfast
Jimmy Cricket and Gerry Kelly

Jimmy Cricket and Gerry Kelly

Jimmy Cricket returned to his roots recently.

The well-known Belfast-born comic went back to his native city to watch a musical and do a phone-in on a radio show.

He explained: “We received some photos from the foyer of the Grand Opera House in Belfast where I went to see my grand niece in the musical Annie.

“I’m pictured with famous Northern Ireland television and radio presenter Gerry Kelly. I was doing a live phone-in on Gerry’s very popular radio series. Before going into the media Gerry studied to be a teacher in Heywood.”

Jimmy is also pictured with members of the amateur dramatics society.

Why Jimmy is so fond of Midlands town 150 150 mhamer

Why Jimmy is so fond of Midlands town
Sutton Coldfield Observer preview of Jimmy's latest performance in the town

Sutton Coldfield Observer preview of Jimmy's latest performance in the town

Jimmy Cricket is to appear in a charity show in a town which has a special place in his heart.

The famous Irish comedian is performing at the Falcon Lodge Youth and Community Centre in Sutton Coldfield, Birmingham, West Midlands, on Friday 30 March.

It means Jimmy will also be able to see his youngest son, Frankie, who is training to be a Roman Catholic priest at nearby Oscott College.

He told the Sutton Coldfield Observer: “I love that neck of the woods. I was there in November for a Help the Heroes night and I’m really looking forward to returning, both to perform and to see my son.”

The profits from the show will go to the Carpenter’s Arms Community Centre which is operated by the Sutton Central Churches Trust.

For tickets to the show, ring the Falcon Lodge centre on 0121 378 1555.

Sinatra tribute singer thrills audience 150 150 mhamer

Sinatra tribute singer thrills audience
Frank Sinatra tribute act Frank Forde compered the Manchester City FC Social Club in the 70s

Frank Sinatra tribute act Frank Forde compered the Manchester City FC Social Club

A Frank Sinatra tribute artiste and performer delighted the audience with his singing at Jimmy Cricket’s latest Golden Wellington Club night.

Manchester-born Frank Forde received a rapturous reception for his performance on another night of top music and comedy at St Vincent’s Parish Centre in Norden, Rochdale.

Jimmy said: “Frank compered the Manchester City FC Social Club for many years in the 70s. It opened from Wednesday to Sunday and had three acts a night.

“His vocal impressions brought him a big following among the patrons and he was on first-name terms with most of the players at the time.

“One of his best friends is Mike Yarwood who had his own television series and specialised in impressions of Harold Wilson, the-then Prime Minister.”

Frank’s website says he “had the pleasure of introducing and performing with some of the top stars”.

These included Bill Haley & His Comets, The Drifters, Matt Monro, Frankie Vaughan, Mike Yarwood, Bob Monkhouse, Ken Dodd, The Supremes, Tony Christie, The Three Degrees, Lulu and most of the TV comics like Freddie Star, Bernard Manning, Frank Carson and – of course – Jimmy Cricket!

To hear Frank singing at the Golden Wellington Club, go to the homepage of this website and click on the arrow in the middle of the screen.

Radio DJ’s photo from the past 150 150 mhamer

Radio DJ’s photo from the past
Jimmy with 10-year-old David at the Lord's Taverners cricket match in the 80s

Jimmy with 10-year-old David at the Lord's Taverners cricket match in the 80s

Jimmy was taken on another nostalgic journey following a radio interview this week.

The Irish funnyman had been speaking to radio presenter David Gordon on the Belfast-based Citybeat about Saturday’s (3 March) funeral of Frank Carson.

After the interview David said that when he was 10 years old he had seen Jimmy in Torquay and had photographic evidence – see above.

David said he went to see Jimmy in a show at the Princess Theatre in Torquay where he was performing along with the late singer Lena Zavaroni.

In an email David said of the photograph: “I think the event was a Lord’s Taverners cricket match in Torquay in summer 1986.”