Michael has a cold, but he announced, tongue-in-cheek, he will ‘bravely carry on.’ You could hear it in his voice, scratchy at times. I’m not surprised he’s under the weather. He’s been running non-stop with promotions for his book and CD. And people think it’s easy being a talented celebrity!
Michael wished his dear friend Petula Clark a Happy 90th Birthday and played “I Couldn’t Live Without Your Love” for her. Makes me wistful again that Michael never did a long run in SUNSET BOULEVARD playing Joe Gillis. Sigh. One of these days I have to get over this!
On The Ball. Wow, he dissolved into a cough when singing the intro. He’s definitely sick. I always love this segment because Michael is at his best, his banter engaging and funny and at times cheeky. This segment was followed by Traffic with Orna. She made him laugh hard. She always makes him laugh hard! They’re like 2 naughty children when together.
The Young Fundraiser of the Year Award finalists: Bella is 7 and asked people to donate to Children In Need instead of giving her presents for her birthday. She also goes on walks and gives away cookies and cakes to encourage donations. The second finalist is Dante who’s 11. He hiked up Sugar Loaf mountain 5 times to raise money, each trek taking 3-4 hours. He was inspired by his friend’s mum who fosters children – making him want to help children, too. He was also inspired by the people who helped him when his own mum had a stroke. Finally there’s 9 year old Jack, who’s a survivor of heart surgery and has mobility problems. He did a 5 mile walk to raise money, not easy for him. And he got the local football team involved to promote his walk. He feels lucky to have such a strong support system and wants every child to feel that way. These kids are awesome! And Michael is so loving with them. Makes me want to do more for others.
Michael said someone at BBC2 Radio is doing 24 hours on a treadmill to raise money for Children In Need. He joked he couldn’t do 24 minutes, but 24 hours in bed he could manage. Ahem. Don’t go there, ladies!
The countdown for Wilbur, Michael’s Tibetan terrier, to be welcomed into the Ball home is on. Only 1 week now. Michael’s voice was full of emotion as he announced this. How he loves his dogs!