mostly david ephgrave

Shock! horror! I didn't see tonight's installment of Strictly Come Dancing live, as I was at a friend's wedding reception, and I could hardly get iPlayer up on my phone when I was there, now, could I?  Instead, I watched the first hour with my wife when I got home, before having to bail out, due to tiredness; if I'd carried on to the end, I'd have struggled to stay awake. Despite not seeing it as it went out, I still tweeted along, though probably to less of an audience. See below for the first half's twitter ramblings; I'll do more tomorrow, no doubt.  1) The good thing about watching #Strictly on catch-up is being able to fast-forward Tess Daly's links and the awkward VTs . (Armchair critic). 2)  Tess said Ore should "pack his helmet" in the VT . Awkward. 3) Ore and Joanne, finally bringing back braces choreography to prime-time TV. 4) I've got cheese in my fridge older than AJ. 5) Nice to see Claudia and AJ facilitating use of ...

Another day, another Autumn, another series of Strictly Come Dancing reaches our screens  Every year, it starts and I tell myself, "I won't get sucked in". I also ponder as to whether I (1) know who anyone is apart from the odd big-hitter, and (2) whether I'll grow to like the people I instinctively dislike and vica versa. I know it has the facade of a trashy reality TV contest at first glance, but it's a definite step above the rest; so much so, I forgive myself for my interest in it.  See below for my barrage of tweets as I watched tonight's show. Other people go out on a Saturday night, but not me; I just furiously press the keys on my BlackBerry as I jibe snarkily at a load of people far braver - and more coordinated - than me.  6:59pm: "Everybody dancing now." 6:59pm: The opening number's like the video for Michael & Janet Jackson's Scream, camped up to the max. 7:05pm: Barely ten minutes in & nothing has happened onscreen t...