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Led by the charismatic and flamboyant Pete Long, his band provided a glorious backbone to a body of songs that epitomise the career of Frank Sinatra. Sung with integrity (but with a few nice jazz florets) by the smooth Kevin Fitzsimmons, the evening swung like a laid back pendulum. The ‘sequins’ element was provided by sassy Kitty La Roar who writhed and slinked her way through hits by Ella Fitzgerald, Marilyn Munroe and Eartha Kitt with great ease. The evening as a whole was a glorious and honest rendition of Sinatra’s ‘Capitol’ years, a brilliant sound by singer and band alike.

Assembly Hall, Worthing, 29 December 2011
Rating:
Lee Stevens

It’s not hard to see why people keep coming back to this show time after time. Tonight’s packed audience were treated to the same pick ‘n’ mix of popular music greats and comedy sketches, this time sprinkled with magical Christmas dust! We even had a Christmas panto, albeit with Alf Garnett as Scrooge, with Bob Marley and Elvis as two of the visiting ghosts. A rousing finale of Christmas hits got the audience on their collective feet and topped off a hugely enjoyable evening of entertainment. It’s not subtle, it’s not highbrow, but it is very good fun.

Assembly Hall, Worthing, 28 December 2011
Rating:
Lee Stevens

This write-up almost disappeared down a critical wormhole at The Brunswick, when Live ‘n’ Laughing’s admittedly excellent compere Sean McLoughlin began critiquing his own five-star Latest 7 reviews. Tonight’s entertainment was too diverse a selection box to gain full marks, despite the welcome inclusion of mince pies and warped carol singers, but the always wonderful Julie Jepson and Andy Field’s youthful scattiness pushed it in the right direction. Achieving greatness was Canadian headliner Tony Law, whose looping performance effectively managed to contain its own DVD commentary as Law viewed his surreal comic personae from multiple perspectives.

The Brunswick, 21 December
Rating:
Stuart Huggett

From January 14-11 February I will be participating in a month-long bootcamp in an attempt to boost my energy levels and shift some of those unwanted Christmas pounds!

For those of you who haven’t heard of this sort of training, kettlebells are iron weights shaped like cannonballs with handles. They are used for ballistic exercises that focus on endurance, strength, balance and cardio. As a young woman about to attempt what sounds like weight-lifting, I am naturally concerned about looking like Madonna. Yet the aim is not to build huge muscle but to improve fitness and core strength. Toning up and losing fat!

As this is a bootcamp, it’s not just the exercise but the dietary intake that is included too. I am slightly nervous about giving up caffeine, alcohol and wheat as part of the month long detox.

A small class of us will be working out alongside trainer Christian Vila, who has given me his word that there will be noticeable fat loss by the end. I hope I am not the only one who is new to kettlebells! I will be regularly blogging my progress on the Latest7 website, so that you can get a realistic idea as to what it’s like and eventually, what my overall results are.

There’s still a few places in the class, so if you think you’ve got what it takes then book now. Check out Latest 7, out on 3rd January for more!

Laura Burgess

www.kettlebellsbootcamp.co.uk