Bonjour Mes Amis!

Bonjour everyone -- yes I'm back from sunny France after a highly enjoyable seven days. As you might have noticed I wasn't entirely able to keep away from the blog, mainly thanks to a cosy little internet cafe where the proprietor was kind enough to supply me with an English keyboard and free coffee!

And of course I wasn't entirely able to leave IDA behind either. My daughter became friends with a little girl from the Isle of Man, and we went out with her family for a meal yesterday. Obviously I couldn't resist asking, and yes they do know Samantha -- the Isle of Man is a very small place.

The little girl said she'd met Sam at her friend's house, whereupon my daughter triumphantly informed her that she'd 'worked' with Rachel for months. That's my girl.

For anyone who's interested, I'll be writing a piece on my French experiences in the next few days on my own personal blog.
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I'm sure you'll agree that I speak for all Rachel's friends, family and fans when I say how incredibly proud we all are of her. She has come such a long way and worked so hard to be where she is now and she deserves every bit of success that comes her way. When Andy and I started this blog back on 1st June, we had complete unwavering faith in Rachel, but even we didn't dare hope that she would become a West End star in such a short time..

The WWRY rehearsals are nearly underway and it will be just five short weeks before we see our shining star on the West End stage.

We simply can't wait.
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Speaking of Andy, I just want to say what a fantastic job he has done this week.

Not one but two poll results, fantastic work on the gallery and video blogs, Rachel's Good Luck message and even time to kick up a little controversy on the 'No Smoke Without Fire' post!

I know my geographical position has given me a real edge in terms of Rachel exclusives, but it's Andy who is the true heartbeat of this blog. His tireless work has transformed our little site into something truly special.

Andy is directly responsible for setting up Team Tucker, the gallery and video Blogs, the polls, the audio section, the slideshow, even the little timer at the top of the page. In fact I'm not entirely sure what I do around here lol.

Suffice to say that the guy is an absolute gem.

The pictures accompanying this post are two of Andy's screencaps, one from the 'Cabaret' performance, the other from the 'I Will Always Love You' pre-performance footage. If you haven't done so already, check out the gallery -- there is some superb material over there.



Also for those of you lucky enough to be going to the big birthday bash in Hyde Park on September 14th, Rachel definitely WILL be there. Also definitely confirmed are Jessie and Jodie. We don't yet know what Rachel will be performing, but we'll keep you posted.

The event will be broadcast on BBC Radio 2, but not until October 10th for some unknown reason.

Any Rachel-related photos or audio / video footage that anyone can manage on the night will definitely be featured on the blog if offered. Andy will be there but we need your help as well! I know this event is set to be huge and getting anywhere near the stage will be a tough ask, so good luck everyone.