Will James Ward be the Next Big British Male Tennis Star?

So today James Ward, the British number two, ranked at 216 in the world beat the defending champion, Sam Querrey at Queens and then followed it up with a 6-2 6-7 (14-16) 6-4 win over world number 54 Adrian Mannarino. 


Are we about to see a breakthrough for another British male tennis player? The 24 year old Ward has recently been training with a cage fighter Diego Visotzky to toughen him up and it seems to have worked as he had already knocked Stanislas Wawrinka in a previous round. 

It's about time we had a challenger to Murray, although he is a way off from catching the world number 4 yet. With 3 women, Heather Watson, Elena Baltacha and Ann Keothavong breaking into the world top 100 recently, another male player doing well has been long overdue.


I can't help getting excited. Although a few years ago Britain went crazy for Chris Eaton when he went into round 2 of Wimbledon after coming into the competition as a qualifier and we haven't heard much from him since (he is currently not even in the top 400). 


I will certainly be cheering for Ward in the semi-finals, where he meets Jo Wilfred Tsonga who today knocked Nadal out of the competition - which will be a tough match. Who know's it could be an all British final. Now that would be something to shout about.

Song of the Week: Emeli Sande - Heaven

Ever since I heard her amazing voice on Chipmunk's 'diamond rings' and later Wiley's 'Never be your Woman', I have been waiting to hear whether Emeli Sande would release some solo material. 


Well thanks to We Are Pop Slags I see that she is due to release her debut single 'Heaven' in the next few months. Apparently Zane Lowe championed it on Radio 1 and one Youtube commetator called it the 'song of the year'.


Update: video now added. 



Heaven is a brilliantly powerful and haunting song set of over a drum-n-base beat, which showcases her voal talents to great effect. On the one hand there are hints of Leona Lewis's pitch in places, but with a whole load more attitude. On the other Emeli sounds completely unique.


I think Emeli Sande is going to be one of the next big hot UK female singers when this is released later in the year. And I am loving her hair too.


Check out some of her other material below, including a brilliant accoustic performancea of 'Maybe' and 'Kill the Boy'.

Dancing to the Beat of Nicola Robert's Drum (Listen)

I have just heard the full version of Nicola Roberts debut solo single 'Beat of my Drum' and I have to say I am impressed.


Lil ol Ginge, often ridiculed (unfairly) for her pale skin and shock of red hair, as well as for being the ugly one (again unfairly) in Girls Aloud, the band where she made her name has come out with an attention grabbing, psychadelic, fabulous mash-up of a song, produced by Major Lazer (responsible for the beat sampled by Beyonce in Run the World) that sounds very Japanese pop (in a good way).



I wish Nicola all the best - she certainly can't do any worse than fellow Girls Aloud member Nadine Coyle, who's Tesco CD didn't exactly fly off the shelves. And unlike the most successful GA member so far, Cheryl Cole has done it without a popular TV show giving her extra coverage.


Nicola has written, or co-written all of the tracks on her upcoming album, which for me gets a thumbs up straight away - even it is doesn't end up being all to my taste.


Maybe if Nicola is successful it will be her that is the stumbling block to a Girls Aloud reunion - particularly now that Cheryl has more time on her hands and Nadine flopped.

Sticking With Something For More Than 5 Minutes...

After an initial burst of enthusiasm and excitement about my new blog and regularly posting through January to March, you may have noticed that I haven't posted for nearly two months. I tend to do that a lot. The first time I set-up a blog I posted for about 6 months and then didn't post anything for two years. Those posts are now merged into this blog and so serve as a reminder that there was a big gap between 2009 and 2011 where I 'lost interest'. 

Anyway, this time I am determined that I won't be so flighty - I will persevere. I am determined that the two months won't turn into two years again. 

It's not that I've even got bored of posting I have just not made the time. I started a new job in April, which has been hectic to say the least and the thought of coming home after a long day at work to sit at my laptop just didn't fill me with joy in the way it did when I first started this blog. 

I think I am a bit of an all-or-nothing person - either I am blogging everyday or not blogging at all. It's the same with the gym and a whole host of other hobbies and endeavours. I think I am going to try and find a balance this time around and be more realisitic. I'll try and post once a week instead of having many posts 'on the go' and not finishing them. 

So anyway I am back (did anyone even notice I'd gone?).......and if I didn't have a splitting head-ache and feel quite so hung-over, today would be a perfect day to start writing again (it being my day off from work today). Maybe after some Neurofen!

My First Ever Published Article!

Woo hoo, my first ever published article came out today in a magazine called Living South! It's called 'Hidden Treasures' and is about the rejuvenation of Brixton Village Market, in South London. 

After deciding in the new year that I wanted to write, I set up this blog and pitched the article idea to the magazine, which was accepted by the editor. 

Anyway, check it out and let me know what you think. You can find it on pages 17 and 18 by following this link and going to the April 2011 edition.