Memorial Speech for Emma

9th June. 2pm. We celebrated the life of Emma with a memorial service. This is what i said.



I wasn’t quite sure what I was going to say today,

I think everyone here knows how amazing Emma was. She was a talented, intelligent beautiful girl who everyone loved to be around. What some of you may not know is how much she valued everyone’s friendship.

To Emma her family and friends were the most important thing in her life. Emma was at her best when she making other people happy. Whether it be entertaining us with her quick wit and sharp humour, or simply taking them for a starbucks and having a chat as we often did.

As many of you know Emma was taken from us instantly, she did not suffer and never had time to be afraid or consider that we would be worried about her, and that should be of comfort to us as we know now that life Emma’s life was a purely happy one.

I am grateful to Emma for so many reasons. She has been such an influence on how I approach life. Perhaps her greatest influence she had on me was her introduction to “The Bucks” which is star bucks to me and you. I have never met anyone who cannot function in the mornings without a star bucks. Forget Nero or Costa. Emma simply could not do any work until she had made a purchase at star-bucks.

Emma blog was pure work of art. Her observations on the world, and studying british culture was always an enjoyable read. She always wrote for other people. To let them enjoy the things she had been doing and experiencing. She was always thinking about her readers. I used to laugh at the messages she sent me asking “why didnt I commented on her recent posting”

Emma loved Alberta and everything that came with it. She loved being on the farm, she loved big trucks, and Alberta beef. Most significantly, she was fiercely devoted to the Edmonton Oilers. Emm loved sports in general. More recently she was becoming a devoted fan of the British footballer Chris Martin and his team, Norwich City. She was an excellent golfer, played ringette, overall she was a skilled and graceful athlete.

Emm also was a wonderful dancer, be it highland dancing or hip hop. She loved music, and sharing it with her friends. Of course as we all know she was also a talented actress. Performing on stage with em always felt so easy, comfortable. She was a professional through and through, apart from the time in Edinburgh when she fell of the stage during a show and all we could hear was the sounds of emma hysterically laughing, trying to contain herself offstage.

When Britney Spears was in the newspapers a few months ago for shaving of her hair, emma called me up and asked me, why is she acting like that…it seems so out of character for her. I told her that the pressures of fame had been to much for her. Emma replied with wow I will never get like that.

Em wanted to be a star and it seems evident today that she achieved that. From spending time with her family and friends in Canada it is clear that she has touched so many peoples lives. Her family are extremely strong and it gave me comfort to see how well they are all coping. Jenna, Emma’s sister spoke of em as being a precious gift to us all. I know we all wish we all had more time with her but we have to appreciate what this gift gave us all.

Emma had the most wonderful life. Even on the day of her accident she went surfing for the first time and was so pleased that she had stood up on the board. She said that it was one of the BEST DAYS she ever had. This of course is what she said about everyday. But she truly meant it. She embraced everything put in front of her, and always strove to challenge herself.

We miss em dearly and I am so sad that we will not get to perform the work we wrote together and that she was so proud of. Emma was not only a great work partner, but she was also one ofmy best friend and I think now It is up to us to make Emma proud of how we all live our lives. She respected and admired all her friends, always encouraging and making them feel good. Jenna mentioned We have to live up to the image of how she saw us and celebrate every moment of our lives and I fully agree with this.

Emma we love you and miss you so much. Thank you.

Em

I am risking my blog turning into something deep and meaning-full but i think em would be pleased that ive just updated so regular.

It has been a few days now since em was taken away from us and it is only now the impact of this has hit me. I have worked with em so closely for over a year now on different projects. It was only the other day we all talked about how insular we had become. Many in-jokes, so many stories that only we would understand...the small things became the funniest. my best mate became my partner on stage. performing everynight with em for a month was going to be awesome. Tash, em and I were saying on friday how June would be the most intense, and enjoyable month. All our work paying off.

Em, i am just so sad, and i am so unsure how to deal with this, and what to do without you! I am coming to canada this week for your funeral and i am looking forward to seeing your home town, family and friends. Why are you no longer here.

Richard.

EMMA

Words carnt describe the sadness i am feeling on loosing one of the greatest friends i have. EMMA had the ability to not only make anyone who came incontact with her feel at ease and comfortable but she made everyone laugh.

Em, i am so sad you are no longer with me, to share the amazing journey we had planned. Em, Tash and I had just finished writing our show which was ready to be performed for 3weeks in London. Em was so commited to everything she did and i carnt believe that we are no longer going to be able to "live the dream" as she always used to say.

There will never be a reason why this has happened to such an amazing person, and i dont know how i will continue without em, she had such a massive impact on my life in so many ways.

My thoughts are will all her family who have always come to our shows, and been there to support her.

I dont know what else to say............

Richard.

The golden rule is

I was thinking the other day about rulers!
From the ages of 4 - 17 rulers pretty much dominate our education, not in terms of actually teaching anything but how we present the work we are tought!

In primary school everything must be underlined. NAME, TITLE, DATE. Perhaps with a simple red line under it, or if you went to private school two lines under it. (this is was when doing a line at school didnt mean going to the bathroom!!!!)

So from the ages of 4 - 17 rulers serve the purpose of drawing a straight line.

If one is to look closer at a ruler you will find that there are measurments on this ruler. Once again this, for the majority of us will only be usefull from the ages of 4 - 17 when we are in school and have to measure "stuff" (example, when doing science and you have to measure things!)

So from ages 4-17 rulers are used for drawing straight lines and measuring things.

I want you now to ask yourself, UNLESS YOU WORK IN A PROFFESION THAT NEEDS YOU TO USE A RULER (eg, scientist, builder) if you are either of these two i carnt imagine i am friends with you!!! WHEN DID YOU LAST USE A RULER!!!!?

You asked yourself ?

Last time I used a ruler - A-LEVELS - Underline my name and essay title!

My theory is a ruler is a top heavy piece of equipment when growing up, one is bought every year, if not every term. They are carried every where with you and at the beginning of class that same question is always uttered by someone "Can i borrow your ruler"
Then from being such a major part of ones life............NOTHING!!!!

RULERS!! WHO KNEW!!

Porta Paradise

Bank holiday weekend i went to Barcelona with some friends...despite being their for less than 40hr's the activites were immense, they ranged from drinking, eating, going to a football match, drinking, travelling on trains, planes and cars, drinking to my favourite of all a THEME PARK.

The theme park in question, PORTA'VENTURA. this park is owned by Universal so my expectations were high luckily i wasnt dissapointed, however this wasnt your average theme park trip.

Any enthusiast arrives at the park minimum 20mins before the park opens so my plan was to get their around 9.30am... however this was smashed when we all decided, and by all i mean everyone except me to leave the hotel at 10am...arriving at the park by 11ish. I soon dealt with this as we would still have 9hrs of park time!

The night before can only be described as BRITS ABROAD GO WILD, plenty of drinks, paellla and any other spanish sterotypical thing you can think of!..so waking up the next morning only to find a member of the group who i will label "smash" being sick!....the delay continued and we arrived at the train station by 10.30 only to find the train wasnt leaving till 12.30. DEEP BREATH!

We got off the train at 1.30 and looked for a taxi to get to the actual park gates, no taxi's could be found so we decided to walk, and by walk i mean ME dragging everyone atleast over one mile across spain into SALU where we reached PORTA'VENTURA by 3pm!!

After toilets, lockers, and obligatory sit down we got into the park, not before however i was "shushed" by some spanish woman!...i was told to lower my voice in a theme park, i think this demonstrates how excited i was!!

END RESULT - AWESOME. The park is world class, great rides, great themeing, we all had a great day! please see pix for evidence!








Great rides!
Dragon Kahn the red rollercoaster - 4X riden!!

Food & Drink

The cost of a "Juice" as i walked around sainsburys today was on average (for a healthy good one) around £3 a carton minimum, even then i wasnt fully assured that is was all natural so i thought i would D.I.Y. it and use the juicer at my flat.

ACTION TAKEN IMMEDIATLY - i purchased carrots, celery, and other such "juicable" veg.
The results are as follows..



for more recipes please see www.tasteslikeshit.com/butitshealthy/screwthisiwantamcflurry.

sweet then sour

After a weeks worth of celebrations i decided it was pretty much time to end my birthday for this year...what better way to end this event than a meal out. not just any meal, a chinese meal...not just any chinese meal but a chinese buffet!!

Despite my sisters reservations about "all you can eat" chinese food my brother in-law and I pesuaded her to come with us to "China Red" in the o2 centre, other bloggers who may be familiar with this jaunt are "the em" and any other greedy bastards who arnt satisfied with one dish per person.

Usual reservations about all you can eat buffets are,
A - how fresh is the food?
B - Has the chicken cooled down, then been reheated thus doubling the bacteria.
c - Exactly how many different people have breathed on each dish.
D- Is it clean!....

despite these thoughts we ventured down..only to discover...



The fact that no specific reason is given raises far to many issues!..a simple lie would have guaranteed our return on re-opening such as "a fire"..."a death in the family" any such excuse however unforseen circumstances means one thing INFESTATION!

(richard holds no truth to any of the above statements, they are mearly speculation and will not be held accountable for any liable case brought to him through this posting. this is not slander, this is commenting on events)

Job options

As i celebrated my birthday a new job option came my way, obviously acting isnt the most secure proffesion in the world so you can imagine how delighted i was when an email arrived saying "Acting Job" on opening i soon realised by taking this "Acting" job it would mean a definate change in life style.
Bloggers please look out for the buzz words...

Dear Richard

HI!!! I noticed you were an Actor and a very handsome one too. When looking through your CV I noticed you were recently in the South Bank Show. How excellent!!
As it happens, I am currently hoping to employ a male Actor with the playing age of 20-30. He must be quietly confident, sophisticated and friendly. Does that sound like you?

Sorry, I should introduce myself…..My names Shelly and I have fifteen years experience as a Casting Director. So I understand how difficult it is when you are between roles.

I am particularly keen to hear from you because you are an attractive, classy and confident male Actor. I would be thrilled if you would consider joining my team of “Companions” I can offer you a wage of £25 per hour, and each booking will be a minimum of two hours plus your expenses.

Being a "Companion" would give you the opportunity to have a more flexible lifestyle and enough money to live on in between roles…..The job is so flexible that you can still attend auditions, take up acting offers or even supplement your existing jobs. You might even meet influencial people. Sound good? It’s really easy! And its fun too! You are under no pressure to be anything other than yourself. You’re an Actor! You have one hundred percent permission to use your wit, charm and acting skills.

During my research, I have discovered a big hole in the market; it’s simply this… “Companions for Women.”

NB:I would like to stress here that you would NOT be expected to have physical relations with ANY client. This job isn’t really any different than another public service like a hairdresser or mechanic. When they need a (short notice) date for a night, who else can they call????? Business women are often too busy to go to the pub and meet someone new or they may at short notice need a reliable Companion to attend a function.

WORK IS GUARENTEED
We receive approximately twenty requests a day. Here is a couple of examples:

CUSTOMER REQUIREMENTS

“Rachael Forman, (real name changed) Marketing Director requires companion for important business luncheon. Must have a good standard of RP and must be able to blend in comfortably.”

“Laura Lenson (real name changed) needs a male companion to make up a four sum date at her local restaurant.”
All our employees are given professional names so they can maintain their privacy and I never give out an employee’s mobile number or personal data.

If you would be interested in this amazing opportunity, please contact me
URGENTLY as we already have assignments suitable for you.
Love Shelly xxxxxx

A new year.

Its been a while coming but here is the new and improved Blog.

What better way to celebrate the coming of age than with a new style!.

Happy Birthday Rick.

Hollywood does History via animation through song.

PASSOVER is now half way through....and the food is slowly becoming tiresome and dull. Today was known as "Good Friday" and BBC1 showed THE PRINCE OF EGYPT. This film tells the story of Moses and the slavery of the Hebrews in Egypt, and how they were freed. THIS BEING THE STORY of passover. I was surprised with how detailed the film was, quotes from the old testament, hebrew songs......anyone wanting a quick lesson in Passover go to your nearest blockbuster now.

For now i will leave you with a clip from the film that explains the 10 plagues. Moses has returned to Egypt to ask his brother to "let his people go" ...a prize for anyone who can list them!...

And they passed over their houses....

PASSOVER - The best Jewish festival of the year starts tomorrow. For 7 days and nights, no bread, nothing with yeast in..basically for the next week i will have to eat "kosher" food. At passover we are meant to remember how the jews got freed from slavery (again) and before they escaped from egypt they didnt have enough time to let the bread rise and they had to eat the unlevened bread..HENCE why on Passover we carnt eat any bread or anything similar.

As the festival continues over the next week i will post some more primary evidance of passover with pictures of my family and indeed me partaking in the rituals and celebrations!
BLOGGERS HAPPY PASSOVER!

BUG

Currently i am suffering with Influenza. Flu to most people. I am refusing to take western medicine and i have returned to my faith and have been drinking copious amounts of chicken soup! So far it hasnt really worked but im going to give it another day before I give into my mass consumeristic ways and buy a Lemsip! Any remodies for the common cold please feel free to share!

Girl in Box (again?..)

I thought i would share with the world some behind the scene's info on my trip to Edinburgh last summer. A little late i know but its taken me a while to get round to editing.
Another video x-clusive!

WORLD FIRST

A world first bloggers...
Please may i present...

Red Nose Day

Comic Relief 07. Friday 16th March. BBC1.

Hello America

The great thing about having no money is that when u make a purchase it has to be something really worth while, sentimental, essential...i think any purchase when u r living on a budget should be carefully thought through!

So when i went to Brent Cross today to get my i-pod repaired (for free) i thought i would make my purchase..it ticked all the boxes
-Essential
-Worthwhile/ something i could get enjoyment out of.
-Practical.
-Giving a sense of achievment.
What was this purchase?...

SAW 3 ON DVD!
Im sure your initial response is to roll your eyes or perhaps raise your eye brows but let me just say that
A - It was essential as i have saw1 and saw2, without the third it comes across that i carnt commit to anything i set my mind to.
B- It is practical..i dont have a job therefore need to have something to do during the day! (its got loads of extra features!!)
C- Sense of Achievment...i now have the trilogy!

BLOGGERS AND PEOPLE SAW 3!


Any thoughts?

The Facts

Never one to be to political but i did think this did deserve a viewing...PLEASE do watch!

Youve been to a "proper" drama school

I read this on sunday and thought i should share it with everyone..perhaps more relevant to all those "actors" out there but its still worth a read....

YOUVE BEEN TO A PROPER SCHOOL WHEN..

Doing performing arts or Drama at your Uni...doesn't count as studying art! We're pretentious like that!


- Feeling special because you go to a school with famous alumni (e.g. Judi Dench, Ewan McGreggor etc)

- And KNOWING that one day you will be just as famous!

- The majority of students wearing ridiculously long scarfs!

- Talking about going to the theatre instead of the cinema...

- And receiving mass emails with info about the theatre and prices!

- Knowing about all or at least one of the following in depth: RP, Stanislavski, Brecht, Meyerhold, Alexander Technigue, Isadora Duncan, Matthew Bourne, and Stanislavski again...he just keeps coming back for more..

- talking about your "career"

- Knowing a good headshot when you see one!

- Being able to instantly recognise whose on what course...e.g. Musical Theatre, Stage design, Acting etc...

- Jazz hands and spirit fingers become a recurring joke from those who just don't understand!

- Watching films like 'fame' or 'centre stage' and being able to say with a smug sense of satisfaction...."It wasn't like that when I went to school...it was MUCH harder!!"

- Having classes take place in the theatre.

- Knowing the importance of black clothing

Fairly amusing...no?

And then we sang

I was at a wedding over the weekend, it was in the Yorkshire Dales. It has been a while since i have been to such a remote part of the country, no starbucks, no fast food places, no wireless.

In such a remote part of the country my usual inhibitions seemed to dissapear and by 11pm i found myslef doing karaoke!...normally my views on this are quite strong however it must have been the country air! Please look at the photos carefully as seeing me partake in such an activity is rare!!



F.Y.I the song we are "singing" is?...well can anyone guess?

Proud and Published

On first glance you might be thinking what is Rick doing "reading" a "book" well if you look closer you will see the book im "reading" is in fact the first book by JENNA BAILEY. Her book Can Any Mother Help Me is finally out in all major book stores and on non other than AMAZON! Jenna happened to be in waterstones the other week when the book was released and "the em" told the staff who she was and soon enough she was signing everycopy in the shop.

Can Any Mother Help Me has recived some great reviews and being the shrewd business man i am, i am currently writing the sequeal... once the women have "helped" they then go on atkins....its going to be a good read!

Can Any Mother Help Me...OUT NOW!