The Tameside Radio Breakfast presenter tells us how he's been spending his week off and has some cultural recommendations for you to enjoy some escapism.

As I take a break this week from my live shows on Tameside Radio, I ventured inside a theatre building for the first time since February 2020 on Monday night. 

Around an hour’s drive from Ashton, Theatr Clwyd is a delightful venue in Mold, North Wales. Every single member of staff was professional and smiley underneath their face coverings, and the socially distanced seating worked a treat, although I couldn’t help thinking that every space was lost revenue for the theatre.

The play we saw, For The Grace Of You Go I, was a darkly comic tale of a pizza factory worker who starts spelling out messages in neatly arranged pepperoni slices, and decides to take out a contract on his own life after watching a subtitled film about a hired killer. 

It has a cast of three, including our friend Darren Jeffries along with Rhodri Meilir and Remy Beasley. The set was really clever in its use of video technology and camera angles, and the writing was acerbic and sharp. 

It’s running until Friday, June 25, and I heartily recommend it! Several lines caused me to chuckle and then wonder if I should have been laughing; it’s a type of humour I’ve always loved, and I’m in awe of both the scriptwriting and the amount of lines all three actors had to learn to perform the 75 minute production.

With the latest Government announcement on a full unlocking being at least a month down the road, these are lean times for many arts venues, and my heart goes out to them. 

Culture is so vital to our mental health and well-being, as we are not put on this planet just to exist, but to learn, thrive and be entertained. Theatres are more than buildings. They are the bedrock of many communities, and tell stories that broaden minds, as well as enlighten and entertain.

Also this week, I watched The Conjuring and The Hitman’s Wife’s Body- guard at Cineworld, and both were pretty decent. As this newspaper hits the shops, the two I’m really looking forward to are The Father (watching that today), and Dream Horse, starring the superb Toni Collette. 

There have been some fab movies on the big screen already, with the promise of the new 007, Top Gun and Fast and Furious amongst the highlights to come later this year. 

I’m relieved cinemas can stay open, and whilst I won’t get into the politics of the ‘freedom day’ delay, it’s welcome news that those venues which have been able to reopen can remain so.

If you’re looking for some escapism in the form of a good book, I can recommend The Other Passenger by Louise Candlish, which I sailed through extremely quickly. The story focuses on a group of friends who catch the riverboat to work in London, and when one of them goes missing following a Christmas night out, police launch an investigation. It’s the very definition of a page turner, and was on the long list for the Old Peculiar Crime Novel of the Year at the Harrogate Crimewriting Festival.

With dancing still banned at weddings, I would also like to give a nod to Lucy Foley’s cracking book The Guest List, where a remote island sees a murder at a big marquee wedding, and everyone seems to be a potential suspect.

I’ve just joined my local library, and am also making good progress through my bookshelf, after years of buying far more books than I had time to read. 

I know the last 15 months have been tough on our mental health, but I am rather enjoying the slower pace of life, and the chance to catch up on some reading. It’s the perfect escapism from endless doom scrolling on social media.

Finally, a mention for the Quest Media Network competition celebrating our wonderful NHS. Take a look at the details here, and make sure you get your kids drawing and creating their vision of the NHS. 

They could win the chance to dress up in scrubs, white coats and stethoscopes, plus book tokens and a behind the scenes tour! That’s something I’d have loved as a kid, when I thought I might want to be a doctor, before realising being a radio presenter would be a far easier job. Don’t miss out!

You can listen to Alex every weekday from 7am to 11am and on the 'Super Scoreboard' show on Saturdays from 3pm to 7pm, on Tameside Radio 103.6FM. 

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