Don Maclean

Your Comments

& Mine

BIOGRAPHY

Forthcoming

Appearances

Don presented Good Morning Sunday

for over 15 years

Next Sunday is the 4th Sunday of the year.

Monday is National Rhubarb Day. Who thinks up these days and could they possibly provide a reason for a prayer? It’s said that you can pray about anything and let’s be honest, if it weren’t for rhubarb, extras in TV dramas would have nothing to say. “As plants turn to face the sun & their leaves & branches reach out for the light, turn my face towards You Lord, raise my hands in praise to You, the light of the world.”

Tuesday is the Feast of St Francis de Sales, the patron saint of journalists. He wrote “religious devotion does not destroy, it perfects”. May we heed those words of St Francis and strive for perfection through our devotion to Christ.

Wednesday is the feast of The Conversion of St Paul. Having dedicated himself to the persecution of Christ’s followers, Paul’s ‘Road to Damascus experience’ caused him to become the Church’s first great missionary. He was beheaded for his faith but his writings live on to the present day proving that the pen really is mightier than the sword.

Wednesday is also the date on which Scots throughout the world celebrate Burns Night, keeping alive the memory of Scotland’s foremost poet. His famous grace “…we hae meat and we can eat and sae the Lord be thankit” will be said to welcome the haggis reminding Scots to be ever grateful for their daily bread. May we always take the time to give thanks for the bounties God lays before us.

Thursday is the Feast of St Timothy, the companion & helper of St Paul. Two of Paul’s epistles are addressed to him. There’s a famous statue called ‘Timothy’ in which he’s seated & studying his own toes. I always think he should be the patron of people suffering from athletes’ foot.

Friday is Holocaust Memorial Day. Genocide was not confined to the Second World War, throughout the twentieth century; ethnic groups have suffered persecution, torture and death at the hands of their fellow human beings. Let us pray that this annual event will lead to tolerance and understanding between people of different backgrounds, that differences of race and creed will be celebrated not feared and that the barbaric acts of the twentieth century will not be repeated in the twenty-first. Keep our hearts clean of prejudice and hatred & have mercy on us all.

Saturday: St Thomas Aquinas is commemorated today. Because he was quiet & shy, he was known to his fellow students as ‘Thomas the Dumb Ox’ but he went on to become one of the Church’s greatest theologians. May this serve as a warning to us never to judge a person on first impressions but to dig deep and see the soul within.

Click here for photos of my trip to the Holy Land !!!

Well I’ve actually done it – met the Pope! Just in case you didn’t know ...

Click here for more details

WITH PHOTOGRAPHS !!!

Papal Mass at Cofton Park 19/9/10

Don Maclean

presents Hymns

and Songs for

Sunday Morning

CD - OFFER £10.00 (inc P&P)

(Email to Order your copy)

CLICK HERE FOR PHOTOS OF OUR TRIP TO AUSTRALIA !

Finding a comedy performer to entertain ladies could be a daunting task but Don Maclean is probably the answer: he is an authority on women. The women don’t know – the authorities – they know!!

There are many strands to DM

Option one:

For 15 years Don presented Good Morning Sunday on BBC Radio2. His after-dinner entertainment based on those years in which he refers to some of the 1,200 people he interviewed, the three pilgrimages he led to the Holy Land, his refusal to subscribe to Political Correctness & the many problems that caused + his philosophy on the approach of old age is guaranteed to exercise even the most immovable chuckle muscles.

Option two:

Having spent over 40 years on showbiz, appearing in many pantomimes, Summer Seasons as well as the London Palladium, he is perfectly capable of keeping an audience amused with a comedy routine which is particularly popular with adults who like their comedy clean.

Option three:

A tribute to fathers in comedy & song during which Don relates his experience of having a father & of being a father. Don claims; “The type of father you yourself become depends entirely on the example of fatherhood given to you by your own dad” & he sets out to prove his theory. With songs by Harvey Andrews this is guaranteed to bring a smile to the lips & a tear to the eye of anyone who’s ever had a dad, been a dad or even been in the same house as a dad.

Don is also an accomplished actor and most recently, has been on tour with the much acclaimed “There’s no Place like a Home” which cast him as a resident of a retirement home for old theatricals.

QUOTES:

“It made a great change to laugh riotously at such a serious event in our College calendar & was widely appreciated by parents & children alike.”

Speech Day at St Edmund’s College, Ware.

“As ever your natural style was received with great appreciation by all those in the audience. Thank you for entertaining us without a wrong joke in place; it can be done can’t it? You proved that. I know the message will be passed on to other Rotary Districts – watch this space.”

Rotary District 1070 Conference, Eastbourne .

"DM will probably never know how much he did for me that afternoon. If you are in touch with him please let him know how warmly his dynamic personality, energy & fun were received by at least one person.”

Christians Together, Nuneaton .

“Thankfully, despite his Radio2 ‘Good Morning Sunday’ & his success at playing pantomime ‘dame’ Don Maclean is still one of Britain ’s finest stand-up comedians. It had been 16yrs since I last saw his act & I had forgotten how brilliant he is. Maclean breezed on with an instant confidence & a pace & delivery that would have put most younger comedians into the shade. The guy is shrewd too; he knew how far he could go & kept within those boundaries. There was an abundance of topical gags, a great routine on his native Birmingham & some delightful observations on married life. There was nothing borrowed from other comedians or the endless round of gags they use. He is a one off & living proof that you do not need to stoop to blue material to keep an audience roaring with laughter for an hour. I have never seen a comedian create such an impact at this venue. There was no encore either; he left them wanting more & more. What a pro! - John Hannam, The Stage.

For MORE quotes and further biographical details

CLICK HERE

CLICK HERE FOR PHOTOS OF MY TRIP TO YPPRES
SOME PHOTOS OF OUR RECENT TRIPS
NORWAY 2011

I’ve just returned from a fabulous cruise, 25 days in the Caribbean. As you know I usually do pantomime every Christmas but the offer came to do a cruise instead & we thought it would be a great alternative as indeed it was. No doubt next year I’ll do panto again, I’ve appeared in 39 pantos so I’d like to reach the 40 milestone! It was very different working 7 times in total instead of doing 12 shows a week in panto. The ship was the ‘Black Watch’, it’s the first time I’ve worked for the Fred Olsen Line & I hope it won’t be the last, the audiences were great.

Mention of cruising brings to mind the Costa Concordia, what a shock that was & how frightening it must have been for all on board. I must stress though that cruising is an extremely safe way to spend a holiday.

These past few days I’ve been catching up on the pantos which are still on: “Snow White” starring Sam Kane & Linda Lusardi at the Grand, Wolverhampton was fantastic. Linda is a most accomplished Wicked Queen & Sam brings his humour & great singing voice to the role of Prince William. It was however my old mates ‘The Grumbleweeds’ who stole the show. Robin & Graham hit the audience between the eyes with good old fashioned laughs – comedy at its best. I then went to see “Cinderella” starring Brian Conley as Buttons at Birmingham Hippodrome. Conley just gets better & better, I’d go so far as to say he’s the best exponent of panto around at the moment – he owns the stage. There was also a fine supporting cast with Linda Bellingham as a delightful Fairy Godmother & my good mate & fellow Brummie, Kathryn Rooney, as Cinderella. A fantastic night out & what a treat after last year’s mediocre ‘Dick Whittington’ with Joan Collins.

On Wednesday I was treading the boards myself at the Wimbledon Theatre in Jan Hunt’s Old Tyme Music Hall. The packed audience really enjoyed what the large cast had to offer.

This week I have to catch up on my racketball league games & sadly have, not one but, two funerals to attend on Tuesday. Martin Purcell who was the secretary of St Philip’s OB’s Association for many years finally lost a long battle with Motor Neurone Disease, his requiem is at St Ambrose Church in Kidderminster & Fr Gregory Winterton who was at the Oratory when I was a pupil at St Philip’s GS has been called to his eternal reward. He was a wonderful priest & I’m sure he enjoyed a life fulfilled by his vocation. May perpetual light shine upon them both.

NOW FOR THE REALLY GREAT

NEWS OF THE WEEK!!

I recently had a phone call from the Most Rev Bernard Longley, RC Archbishop of Birmingham. He said “I’ve had a communication from the Vatican to tell me that you are to be made a Knight of St Sylvester.” Well you could have knocked me down with a feather. The award comes directly from the Pope himself. Together with a Knighthood of St Gregory it’s the highest order that can be bestowed upon a lay person by the RC Church. The citation states that it is given to people who have used their profession to further the Faith. There are presently only 50 Knights of St Sylvester in GB. The investiture will take place in the spring, I’ll keep you informed. I have to tell you it’s the most excited I’ve been for years & years.

Until next week, may the Lord walk with you & keep you safe.