This has been my first free week of interviews this year and it has proved the perfect opportunity to put some hard work into preparing my two CDs which will be on sale in early May. Inlays have been designed by Paul Shutler and JH, Tom Stroud has cleaned up some of the interviews which are over 30 years old and arrangments are being made as to just where they will be sold and for any marketing plans.
The local CD will be called Gone But Not Forgotten and will include highlights from ten past interviews with local characters who are, sadly, no longer with us. This will retail at £8.99 and the interviews include Lord Ronnie Morris, Pam Bateman, Tony Best and Mike Nobbs and Sylvia Jones.
The John Hannam Archives CD, which is likely to be sold nationally, features never-to-be forgotten stars. These include Adam Faith, Jack Warner, Tommy Cooper, Lena Zavaroni and Russ Conway.
I also managed a talk at the Riverside Centre for the Island Branch of the Motor Neurone Disease Society, at the invitation of the lovely Gloria Minghella. Thankfully, this was well received and they gave me a much appreciated donation for my own personal charity, The St Mary’s Applegate Breast Care Nurses Unit, in memory of my late wife, Heather, who died from the disease in 2006.
Several invitations have gone out for possible future guests on John Hannam Meets and one or two have already confirmed, including Britain’s best known television critic.
The week ended with my commission to review the current British tour of The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde for The Stage newspaper. Luckily, Newport’s Quay Arts Centre was an early venue on their long nationwide run that ends on May 22. This brilliant four-hander was one of the best professional shows I have seen on the Island for years. So much great acting, set innovations, imagination and an abundance of both spoken and visual humour. Quite bawdy at times and it really worked. Congrats to the European Arts Comapny.