Many of you will know I am a complete retro computer geek. Specifically Commodore 64 and 16, but I collect other systems like ZX Sinclair Spectrum, Atari, Coleco, etc. Back in the day I used to program games and adventures and do all sorts of fun things with them. Easy tiger.
Anyway, back in the mid 80’s a company called Melbourne House released a text adventure called “Hampstead”. For the uninitiated a text adventure is a game where you type in a series of commands and you try and solve puzzles and pick up objects and find treasure, etc. It’s very much like reading a book. You create the locations in your imagination 
The aim of Hampstead was not just to reach Hampstead, but to attain it. Questions and answers posed on the advert below included:
Questions people ask about Hampstead:
Q: Is there life after Hampstead?
A: No, Only before and during…
Q: Why do dustbins have no lids in Hampstead?
A: In order that passers-by may see the week’s completed Guardian
crosswords stacked neatly within…
As I now live not far away from Hampstead I am determined to complete this classic game and therefore attain my own version of Hampstead and hopefully my own bicycle with a basket 
Check out Hampstead on World of Spectrum and get yourself an emulator to attain Hampstead with me
We went to Portsmouth and saw the hovercraft which was a geeky ambition 
And here is @thesignedphoto with the Spinnaker Tower 
Regular readers will know I am a complete variety and theatre history nut. I was fortunate enough to meet Steve Clark while at the London Palladium a few weeks ago. Steve is one of The Clark Brothers and dance history on legs – or feet to be precise. Have a look at the clip below – it is absolutely incredible!
He is a true entertainment legend who regaled us with tales of working with Frank Sinatra, Sammy Davis Jr and many other names I never thought I’d be one degree of separation from. He also said he worked at the Kilburn Empire!
Also below is a lovely bit of video with Sandra (a wonderfully jolly lady with a beautiful beaming smile) when they broke into impromptu sing songs. This clip makes me so happy – it’s a real joy to watch!
(apologies for the hazy video quality – the lighting was very gloomy and had to brighten a bit…)
(I’ve managed to visit a few of the West End Theatres recently so will write more soon about my backstage exploits )
Happy New Year everyone! Hope everyone is well and that the snow is jolly rather than a problem for you. I spent a few days up in Edinburgh just now and it was beautiful, although it was a lot of fun getting back as the trains were askew. Braved Arthur’s Seat for well, you know… 
As you can see @thesignedphoto has had a bit of an accident. I slipped on the icy path and fell on him. New glass is a’coming. It won’t be the same though…
This unique and listed building just of Kilburn High Road is threatened by demolition. Come and have a look at local history before it’s all gone and sign the petition to save and maintain it. More info to come…
Ages ago I made this odd Doctor Who locations in London odd thing with Joan Metabelis. There is a proper prize which still hasn’t been won – I think it may be too hard (I have the answers written down somewhere…) Watch till the end and email me if you know the answers. The prize is a homemade tardis and a special film made just for you!
Music courtesy C64Audio.com
I do bump into the most interesting people on my travels. On a ship recently I was looking out to sea thinking about the meaning of life and whether to have a cup of tea, and/or coffee in the restuarant, when I got chatting to a fascinating chap over the rails. John is an artist and had been travelling for inspiration and climate
Please spend some time with his beautiful work on his website www.jnakashian.co.uk
Today is my birthday. Not a particulary special one, or it seems memorable so far. I don’t feel older, or younger. as I am still a kid inside. It is that age-old adage (sic) that as you get older birthdays mean less and less. Or is that just society becoming scared of it’s own mortality and trying to remove the attachment of importance to the day you were born, to the increasing approach of the day that you die. Anyway, I had some nice cake…
Greetings everyone,
Welcome to my rather spiffing new website design. Regular readers will know it’s been a long time coming!
We are still very much in beta-max mode but I’m now able to self-host many of my films and hope to be preview new work here too. Eventually I also hope to integrate the signed photograph blog here too which would mean I can cut down a lot on the duplicate-updata of various places. Phew!
My mind is generally chaotic so thankfully you can (hopefully) navigate the content easily by clicking the keywords on the right. For example if you want to watch some of my films click “films” and it will bring up all the posts with “films” as a keyword” and so on. I hope (a lot of hope in this blog today isn’t there…) to get all the content nice and organised which will help my poor brain a lot too.
Body and brain wise = I’m still recovering from chronic fatigue (or M.E. if you like) As some will know being sick was the inspiration (some would say insanity) behind the signed photograph quest. A pointless pointlessness for a very good reason. Please visit the signed photograph website for more information and drop me a line on the contact page if you wish to take part
Naytheway, thanks for listening and trust that life is jolly and smily today.
Best wishes
Anna x
On Friday evening we went to see Stephen Fry read excerpts from his new book “Stephen Fry presents Oscar Wilde’s story’s for all ages” at the Bloomsbury Theatre. Afterwards Stephen kindly took time to chat and also become #APOTSPOAB number 814.
