JUDY Murray claims she was once detained by Israeli security after they thought she was carrying a bomb into the country. Tennis coach Judy who is mum to tennis champions Andy and Jamie revealed the chaos she caused during an early trip to Israel when she and other tennis players were passing through Tel Aviv airport. Judy, who travelled to Eilat for the Fed cup with the British team in 2012, revealed: “On the first away trip to Israel we were passing through Tel Aviv airport and were detained by security in Israel at the airport and I thought what could it be? And it was our Pass The Bomb the board game.” Judy who has always encouraged her teams to play board games as a way of building camaraderie was horrified when she realised the gravity of the situation. She added: “The timer is like a little hand grenade bomb and of course it was picked up on the screens and it just cost us so much time. It was a funny memory from the first trip.” Leon Smith who is now the Davis Cup captain added: “It was me who suggested we brought the game.”
Excerpts of this article have since appeared in the Scottish Daily Record
DINERS at the newly opened Bertie’s fish and chippy in Edinburgh had to look twice when they saw George Michaelimpersonator Rob Lamberti singing his greatest hits on stage. Rob, who comes to Glasgow’s Royal Concert Hall in May along with members of George’s actual band and The Royal Philharmonic orchestra, performed everything from Faith to Last Christmas in a set that wowed not only the VIP diners but loads on social media. Young Fathers Ally Massaquoi was boogieing away with me and Caitlyn Vanbeck as we joined Hearts and Hibs players to eat deep fried mars bars at the bash. Rob, who was employed by Sony to be George’s double on a number of occasions, and also counted the real singer as a big fan, told me he actually always wanted to be a Marti Pellow soundalike, but was told by others he was more suited to George. He didn’t realise Wet Wet Wet were recently looking for a new singer until it was too late. Obviously he was wishing he was lucky... Xxx JUDY Murray ended up getting a hard time on line after her bag melted in the Australian heat. The temperatures over in Oz are so hot at the moment that one man managed to cook a steak in his car in an online video that has now gone viral. Judy too, suffered from the boiling conditions, as she showed off a picture of her bag disintegrating in the sun. One fan commented: “Cheap gear Judy, buy nice or buy twice,” while another added: “You didn’t buy it at the Barras in Glasgow did you?? Judy laughed: “This would never happen in Dunblane.” Xxx Comedian and presenter Des Clarke believes in synchronicity after he helped to feed homeless people through a random act of kindness. The Capital Scotland and BBC Breaking the News presenter had visited a pal at Morton’s rolls this week and had been given a crate of them to give out to his work colleagues back at the office. Des said: “The guy kindly offered me some crispy rolls to take away. I expected half a dozen. He gave me 100 and told me to give them out at work, but 100 was too many to shift. So I called Glasgow City Mission. Before I could explain, I heard some chat in the background. What’s that? “It’s the chef. He’s doing the big lunch for the homeless. He’s supposed to be making bacon rolls. But he’s run out of rolls.” Really? How many does he need? “About 100.” As Des says himself, Life really is amazing.
ANDY and Jamie Murray’s famous mum Judy was at the centre of a blaze drama this week. The famous mummy who is also a Strictly Star was giving her talk to an audience at the Theatre Royal when the alarm went off at the venue. I was in the crowd and there was sudden panic on everyone’s faces as it dawned on everyone they had to get out of their seats. As Judy and her interviewer rushed off the stage, we scrambled to get to an exit and the safety curtain came down on the stage. It was all very rushed and as we exited the theatre we were told to stand in the other side of the road. Judy herself remained composed as she stood beside the fire engine that arrived on the scene. Thankfully it was a false alarm and after thirty minutes of waiting outside we were ushered back in. Judy and her interviewer joked that someone might write a headline about her being carried to safety by six burly fire fighters. They also joked that more people had entered the building than had left.
She told theshowbizlion.com later: “We've had a great evening even though the fire alarm went off midway through the second half which was a bit of a challenge but they came really quickly and we sorted it out and everyone got back in.”
Our chief Lionness Bev Lyons has started a new Showbiz and lifestyle column in conjunction with the Glasgow Evening Times. Here’s her first column!
THE LIONS SHARE Hello and welcome to the first of my jaunts into the jungle we call life. I’m currently in the midst of a housemove and as I don my old clothes and fill up the black bags it all seems so far away from the weekend when I got all dolled up to attend some swanky events in Glasgow. Mind you, I temporarily swapped heels for big black boots as I traipsed across a snow topped town to head to the brilliant Action For Children Women of Influence Lunch at the Grand Central Hotel on Sunday. Andy Murray’s famous mum Judy gave me a warm welcome and was on great form as she watched Elaine C Smith tell jokes and sing at the high powered bash which raised over £60,000 on the day. Judy who won the award last year, told me exclusively that Andy was ‘gagging’ to be back on court and had started hitting balls as he recovered from his injury. She said all a mother can want for her sons is for them to be fit and healthy. She also talked about her recent ski holiday which gave her a bit of downtime in between all the chaos but admitted she’d unfortunately been ill for most of it with the dreaded lurgy. Judy is always game for a laugh and she was chuffed to bits when comedian Elaine gave her a signed copy of the Glasgow Gruffalo in Weegie dialect for Andy’s eldest daughter Sophia. It’s a pure belter of a book co written with Julia Donaldson. The former Strictly star, whose own tome Knowing The Score, is about to be released on paperback, revealed that Elaine is an avid tennis player who plays regularly in Mount Vernon Club. Judy donated generously to the event and also said she fancied bidding for TRNSMT and Scotfest music tickets in the auction but admitted they were on at the same time as the tennis season so couldn’t go.
WHAT EVERYONE IS GOING WILD FOR.. Jo Malone - the actual person not the product came to Glasgow’s Princes Square on Friday to meet with customers of her new fragrance line. The perfume and candle legend has launched a new range called Jo Loves with Space NK and talked about how hard it was to take time out of the business when her company was bought over. She also revealed she invented her new red dot logo herself after designers failed to come up with an appropriate graphic. She’s back with a new line of fragrance that comes with its own paintbrush attached - so you can literally paint yourself with a smell. I loved her White Rose and Lemon Leaves Gel with brush attached. She put it on me. It’s not everyday the woman behind the scent is your personal make up artist.
JUNGLE DRUMS US comedy and Deuce Bigalow star Rob Schneider played Oran Mor last week and was staying at the Hilton Grosvenor. Rather than walk right across the road to the venue he ended up being chauffeur driven from one door to another - less than fifty metres away!
ROAR TWO Doors Down’s and Rab C’s Elaine C Smith revealed she might be responsible for Nicola Sturgeon’s recent outfit changes. Appearing at the Action For Children Women of Influence lunch she let slip that she mocked Nicola’s penchant for trouser suits in front of the First Minister herself. She said: “I was saying how a wee wifie said she liked her but wasn’t sure about her trouser suits. Nicola hasn’t worn her trouser suit since I did that gag when she was there.”
FEAST FOR THE BEAST I popped along to the Sirens netball team game at the Emirates arena this week and enjoyed popcorn in the box. It was my first time watching netball and I managed to make an appearance on Sky Sports after singer Sharon Martin who performs women in sport anthem Girl handed me a saltire to wave at the camera. The popcorn was a sensible choice compared to the slightly odd dish brought by sporty MP For Livingston Hannah Bardell who hotfooted it to the game from the House of Commons bringing with her guacamole and cold sliced potato in a plastic tub. Apparently it’s a great energiser. Yummy?
THIS WEEK’S PRIDE I met a whole load of little heroes this week alongside boxing champ Tyson Fury, Dreammaker charity man Les Hoey MBE and generous FSG promotions boss Francis Gilluley. Amongst the group of inspirational wee ones were Ben Beikie, 8, from Lenzie who was diagnosed with leukaemia before he turned four and finished treatment a year ago and five year old Sonny Law, from Greenock who was diagnosed with leukaemia in November 2016 and is still undergoing treatment. They loved meeting Tyson and couldn’t wait to get him to sign some gloves too. It was great to see the gypsy king boxer getting in shape at the Radisson hotel - as last time he was here he was looking rough - after partying all night long. This time Tyson, who was interviewed by snooker champ Willie Thorne, only had a pint of Guinness for St Paddy’s day. He insisted he’s gearing up for fighting again at the end of May, and is on a new health kick.
IN THE LYONS DEN STRICTLY Winner Joe McFadden was up in Glasgow to take part in Sports Relief with Des Clarke. Joe told me he had fun as the two raced around in cars together despite Des being petrified. I caught him at the brilliant Beatson charity ladies lunch where he showed off some er, unusual dance moves with Kaye Adams and John Amabile. Joe revealed he’s keen to stay in shape although admitted he actually dropped dance partner Katya in rehearsals for the live shows. Fearful of a repeat performance, he made a vow there and then not to party too hard during the run.
ON THE PROWL WHO better to run an auction at Woman Of Influence than Antique Road Trip’s Natasha Raskin? The animated paintings expert, who also has a show on BBC Radio Scotland every Thursday from 11pm until 1am, was rushing off to London to record a secret job for BBC’s The One Show. She told me can’t help herself buying tat and recently had a ball when she visited an old amusement arcade to price it up for sale. They were even selling vintage tissues!
JUDY Murray has revealed her Wimbeldon winning son Andy used to go by the name of Mini Moo.
The tennis mum who coached both Andy and his older brother Jamie son to award winning level said the whole family were known on the circuit as The Moos with older brother Jamie being called Maxi Moo.
Judy, who until recently was known on Twitter under the name of Jud Moo explained: "When we went to tournaments overseas we were always called The Moorays. It became The Moos for short. There was Mini Moo - Andy, Maxi Moo - Jamie and Jud Moo - myself. A lot of kids and coaches used to call us by those names. That is how my Twitter name came about but I have changed it now to Judy Murray so more people know who I am."
Judy who recently won the top gong at Action For Children's Scotland's Woman Of Influence Awards admitted she was shocked to be given the trophy.
She said: "I'm thrilled to bits because as I was reading out all the nominations I thought 'I don't remember the last time I won something. I'm absolutely not used to winning anything. I'm quite used to going and picking up something for my kids when they're not in the bloody country after winning things.'
I think it was 1999 I last won something from the LTA - coach of the year.
When you're not ready to make a speech it reminds me of Strictly when I developed a look which Anton Du Beke got very used to and meant I have no idea what's coming next.'
It was a really strong pool of candidates and of course you're standing up in a whole room full of women and it meant a lot to me that I was voted by them. Action For Children is also a great charity and I really like what they do."
Judy is determined to provide more tennis facilities and coaching throughout the UK and beyond for young people before Andy and his brother retire.
She said they may only have a few years left to play. She explained: "I get tired sometimes but I'm really on a bit of a mission because I understand Jamie and Andy won't play forever. They may only play for another couple of years and then we won't have that leverage and excitement so you have to do something now. They've been playing on tour since 2005. It's their twelfth year already and it's a long time. Nothing goes on forever. You've got to prepare for some kind of legacy. The worst thing for me is that they retire and look back and nothing has changed."
- Posted with love from Scotland by theShowbizLion.com
JUDY Murray was in her element as she put her best foot forward in a new spoof music video.
The world famous tennis coach and mum to champs Andy and Jamie took part in the cover of Justin Timberlake’s Can’t Stop the Feeling for The Prince & Princess of Wales Hospice.
Just got involved in the video thanks to Speirs Gumley’s ongoing support of her Tennis on the Road programme, designed to make tennis accessible to children of all backgrounds and encourage take-up of the sport.
She said: “What a fun and novel way to raise money for a such a deserving cause. Speirs Gumley has also supported my Tennis on the Road programme, which builds workforces in local communities across Scotland so that kids, teens and adults from all backgrounds can get involved in tennis. It’s great to see their innovative and light-hearted style applied to fund raising for the ”
The film features staff from the Glasgow Speirs Gumley office as well as the hospice get into the groove at well-known city landmarks, from the Hydro and Kelvingrove Art Gallery & Museum to Hampden, the Science Centre and Kelvingrove Bandstand.
It's hoped it will raise £10,000 for the hospice’s Brick by Brick Appeal to build a new home at Bellahouston Park.
The film was made to be shared on social media and drive donations to the hospice’s JustGiving page – www.justgiving.com/cantstopthefeeling. Donations of £5 can also be made simply by texting DANCE to 70660.
The hospice’s Brick by Brick Appeal is raising the £21m needed to build a new, purpose-built facility in the city’s Bellahouston Park.
The foundations go down this summer and patients are expected to move there in 2018. The aim is to bring 21st-century hospice care to the people of Glasgow, a major step forward in the provision of palliative care services, providing the flexibility to develop and improve services and lower the age limit of patients to 15 years and over.
The video was the brainchild of Lorraine MacDonald, owner of Speirs Gumley, who was soon inundated with volunteers who loved the idea and wanted to be involved.
Speirs Gumley is part of the hospice’s 50-10 Club: 50 companies who have agreed to raise at least £10,000 each for the new hospice. Speirs Gumley has already raised £4000 and decided to take an innovative and fun approach to raising the remaining £6000.
Lorraine said: “We have been long-term supporters of The Prince & Princess of Wales Hospice and our team wanted to do something a little bit different to raise much-needed funds for the appeal. Thanks to a comedy night, we are nearly half-way to our target but wanted to do something a bit different to raise the remainder, and hopefully more.
“The team and I have had so much fun making this video. I hope it makes people smile, laugh and, most importantly, put their hands in their pockets for this fantastic charity that has touched the lives of so many people in Glasgow.”
