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Monday 16 4 2007 Variety Club Spring Ball Hello there folks, Had to start this blog off with a mention about the Variety Club Ball that Mark had been invited to attend. It took place at Dunstall Race course in Wolverhampton on 14th April. The dress code was Black tie and posh frocks so we really did have to dress up. Mark wore a tux and looked very dapper indeed. However, the photographs for the site only show Mark with his jacket off because he was so very hot after dancing the night away. Mark came home on Thursday night so that he had enough time before the Saturday to pick up a suit for the event and to catch up with a few friends on the Wolverhampton Friday get together in town (sorry, I mean CITY) I just can not get used to calling Wolverhampton a City. He came around to my house on Saturday morning nursing a tiny hangover from his night on the tiles. We did a bit of sunbathing and caught up on all the gossip. Despite feeling a bit worse for wear, he was ready to go at 6.30pm Although he did have a few problems straighting his hair, which takes him ages to do. We turned up at the Spring ball in aid of the Variety Club of Great Britain and had a jolly good time. BBC Newsreader Ashley Blake and Newsreader and presenter Lewella Baily also attended the event. We just happened to be the noisiest table there not least of all because we spent most of the time laughing at Mark, well he is a childrens entertainer and we were all a bit childish on the night as we were so excited to be there. It is always good to spend time in Marks company and especially when it is a special occasion. A good night out never does anyone any harm and we all enjoyed ourselves. I believe that the event which was organised by Kay Hinton-Barker who does all kinds of fundraising for charity, raised around two thousand pounds from this particular event. Hats off to her, as she is always busy doing something or another. Kay is my neighbour and as such she called in on Sunday for a coffee. She is already looking to organise the next fundraising event which could possibly be a Caribbean Latino outdoor BBQ. (Mark is invited to that to but he just does not know it yet). Kay has another claim to fame appart from her fundraising activity and that is that she is Lenny Henrys sister. What would we do without people like these who make looking after others one of their main objectives in life? Well I for one am thankfull and hope they continue the good work. I am sure Mark will get involved in any way he can. Anyway I hope most of you caught the new TV programme on at Easter called Do Something Different. Mark is excited about the challenge of getting a million kids to do something different over the summer and cant wait to start going up and down the country recruiting. It wil be hard work being on the road for 8 weeks but he has had a few days off recently to prepare for it. I think that is all for now. I will send the pictures of the Variety Club Ball to the site owner today and hope you get to see them on the site soon. Take care, lots of love, Sue xx Sunday 11 3 2007 CBBC WEBSITE Hi guys, I have just seen the promotion of Sam and Marks new show on the cbbc website.It is called Level Up do something different. It looks great and it gives kids the oportunity to get involved with the show. I hope all of Marks Younger supporters will download an application form from the site and try to get on the show. I cannot wait until it airs later on in the year and it would be even better if some kids get involved who have visited this particular website. Anyway I do confess that this is a bit of a plug for the show and who can blame me really. Sue xxxx Saturday 3 3 2007 UPDATE Hi guys, I said that I would update you as soon as I get some info from Mark. Well it seems that he is very busy filming for the new show and he is loving every minute of it. He says that he and Sam are doing something a bit DIFFERENT and he hopes that we will all enjoy the show when it hits our screens at Easter. He says that he and Sam are eating, sleeping and breathing the show at the moment and are having the best time. We are just glad that they are having fun and we look forward to seeing the show soon Take care guys, lots of love, Sue xx Thursday 1 3 2007 A one week stay in Wolves Hi everyone, Well Mark has returned home to London after a week at his other home in Lovely Wolverhampton. We did enjoy having his company although he did have to spread himself quite thinly around because after such a long time away there was a lot of catching up to be done with friends and family and we do have a BIG family. I have sent a few photographs of his time here to the site owner Martin, I am sure he will update the site soon. They include one rare photograph of Mark with his other sister Teresa when we went out with him to a Stafford wine bar,(she hates to have her photograph taken). On the same night there were a few people who recognised him from off the telly and came over. I have included a picture of a lovely young lady called Emily who had just returned from The Gambia and the two of them where comparing tans. Another small event during Marks time at home was a family 21st Birthday party which was held at the Molinuex Terrace Bar. Our cousin Nick or Big Nick as he is usually known was 21 years young and a good time was had by all,(there is a picture of Nick and Mark together on the website, they are inseperable. I have included a picture of Mark on the dance floor mixing it up to YMCA just to illustrate the mood of the night, it was great. Whilst Mark was home he took the oportunity to catch up with the last episode of TMI, the best of. I have included a picture of Mark watching himself on TV whilst perched on the edge of Toms bed. From the sounds of laughter coming from the room I suspect that he was quite pleased with his performance. He had missed the show because of flying to the Maldives as soon as filming was over and I knew that I would have to tape it for him. Anyway after a very full week Mark went back on Sunday after lunch at our local pub. It was straight back to work on Mondayfor him and he was looking forward to getting together with Sam. By the sound of it they are going to be very busy over the next few months so we will have to wait a while to catch up with Mark again unless we go down to London. I hope you enjoy the pictures guys when they go onto the site, I have also requested a couple of his holiday pictures which he is sending over to me in the next few days. Thats all for now. However, I do intend to update as soon as he gets back to me with his work schedule. I want to see him back on the telly. Take care, best wishes to you all, Sue xx Monday 12 2 2007 Back from a well earned break Hi guys Just thought that I would compile a bit of a blog for the site just to say thank you to all the new people posting, there have been quite a few recently. Also a big thank you to all those who have been with us from the start. You know who you are. Anyway lets get down to business and start with the news. Mark is due back from sunny climes on Thursday and he intends to pay a visit to Wolves at the weekend. We are so looking forward to seeing him as the last time I spoke to him was just before he boarded a plane to the Indian Ocean around two weeks ago so I expect him to return to England looking tanned healthy and fully rested. I am looking forward to catching up on the gossip about the plans for the rest of the year and fully intend to let you in to all the gossip. So watch this space. Look forward to updating the blog soon with some real news about the our lad. Cheers guys, take care, Love from Sue xx Wednesday 27 12 2006 Christmas 2006 Hello folks, I hope you all had a good Christmas and you managed to catch all of the shows, over the festive season. I must admit that I missed Mark and Sam on Christmas Day because I had a couple of things to do! We had a visit from Mark on 23rd December when he played Santa at my house before flying off to Scotland for the festivities. The family members got together fo a drink at our local pub and it was so nice to see our Marky even though it was just for a short time. Despite all the panic over air travel and railway strikes over the holidays because of the fog, our Mark managed to get to us from London after the show and fly up to Scotland on Christmas Eve so I truly beleive he lives a charmed life. I hope you like the photos that Martin the site owner will put on shortly, a couple of them are of him with Mark as they met whilst Mark was doing his flying visit. Not much more to say really but we were all really happy to see him and he says that he intends to spend a week here at home when he has time in February 2007. Lets hope he does, it will give us all a chance to catch up with him properly. Anyway, enough from me now. Enjoy the photos. Lots of love, Sue x Sunday 5 11 2006 A Flying visit Hi guys, Well it was a great weekend. Mark paid us a visit after the show on Saturday and it was lovely to see him. We had tea and cakes at my house on Saturday afternoon and we caught up with all the gossip. He and Sam are still blown away by the childrens BAFTA nomination and can not quite belive it. As I understand it the nomination is for Level up but I think that TMI is an even better show and they seem to have even more fun doing it. Who knows maybe another nomination for this show next year. Mark did go into town on Saturday night with some friends so the family met up with him again on Sunday and had lunch. He got recognised at the pub we were at and signed a few autographs which he enjoyed doing. It is lovely to see the young kids come over and tentativly ask if he is the man off the telly. After a long lunch at the pub he rounded his weekend off by paying a visit to two young fans who live nearby. Their nan had asked if Mark could pay them a visit as they have been fans since POP IDOL. Mark and the boys had a game of Charades and a game of dominos which gave the boys the oportunity to see Mark embarass himself even more than he does on the show. We all had yet another cup of tea, which suited Mark as it is his favourite tipple nowadays and after about an hour he left to catch his 8.30pm train. He had a great time with the lads and I think they enjoyed his company also. So I think that the next time we will see Mark is at Christmas when he intends to play Santa Claus at my house for his nieces and nephew. We will have to settle for seeing him on TMI until then, but hey, we understand and are happy for his success. Anyway thats it for now. Take care, Love Sue xx Wednesday 25 10 2006 Mark as a linesman Hi guys, Well this weekend we were able to meet up with Mark in Stanmore near London. The weather was filthy, but he caught a train, a bus and a taxi to be there and it was lovely to see him. We had a wheelchair football match scheduled with our son Tom and Mark wanted to come along to see the match and to support his nephew. However, he did not remain a spectator for the duration of the match as he was dragged out of the crowd of supporters to be a linesman. He really enjoyed himself and he was a big hit with the kids. As you all know, Mark loves football and despite being a Wolves fan through and through, he loves the idea that Tom can play football even though he uses a wheelchair. He is happy to give credit to the Villa for making this possible and applauds any effort to get people into sport no matter what factors stand in the way. Safe to say we all had a great time and it was really good to see him. This weekend we have the added pleasure of seeing him after the show on Saturday as he is coming home for the night. We all get to have Sunday lunch together which is rare these days as he is so busy and dare I say quite successful. We are all so proud of his achievements to date and we know that he has the capability to go right to the top of his profession. Both he and Sam are working so hard and enjoying every minute of it. Anyway guys, Mark has asked me to publically apologise to his fellow Wolves supporters for donning a WBA top on Saturday and states that he had to do it because he is not one to back off from a challenge, especially if that challenge is set by fellow presenter Sam Nixon. Nevertheless, his apologies go out to Wolves and Wolves fans, he just has to think of something even more hiddious for Sam to do WHEN he loses the next China town challenge. OK, so thats all for know. I hope you like the pictures when they appear on the site. Take care, lots of love, Sue xx Tuesday 10 10 2006 Campaign for votes Hi guys, I just thought that I would post an appeal for votes. Despite winning the majority of the China Town challenges on TMI, Mark still only recieves a third of the vote. I do not know what mental or physical challenge awaits Mark and Sam this week but I do Know that Mark will be out to win. He hates losing, and always has done, even Monopoly or Scrabble. So come on all you Mark fans, get on the TMI website and vote that you belive he will win this week. As soon as I have updated the site, I will be on the CBBC website and clicking on TMI myself. I hope you are all still enjoying the show, I know I am. Mark says that he is coming over in a couple of weeks because he is missing us all. I may see him before that in Tottenham though because my son Tom has a wheelchair football match which Mark is going to try to attend. Anyway, please show Mark that he still has the support of his fan base and vote for him to win on this weeks show. Cheers guys, I know he will be well chuffed if he gets more than his usual 30% of the vote this week. All the best to you all, Sue xxx Sunday 24 9 2006 Show update Hi guys, Well what do you all think of the new show? I am biased as you can imagine but I think it is fab and will appeal to old and young alike. I have friends my own age and older saying how much it is making them laugh, and that it sets them up for the day. Mark called me after the show on Saturday to call me a git. He took it well about the photograph of him as a beefeater and we had a bit of a laugh about it. I have asked Martin the site owner to put a few pictures onto the site. I am sure he will as soon as he can. They are from the weekend that Mark spent out on the tiles before he went on holiday. Out on the tiles and at home nursing a hangover although you would never tell. Anyway I will update you as soon as I can about the boys holiday when I get the low down from Mark. Take care guys Love from Sue Sunday 10 9 2006 Memorial for Marks Mom Hi everyone, I bet you are all wondering why there are three pictures of Marks Mom on the site. Well as I am sure most of you are aware it has been two years since we lost our mom. I am sure you will agree, she would be very Proud of Marks achievements since her passing. Not least of how he has maintained a happy disposition on screen as well as off. This time of year is difficult for all the family but especially Mark, who not only has the celebration of another Birthday, but who also has then the sadness of remembering his Mothers untimely death two days later. He has always maintained that she held on to life just long enough to wish him a Happy Birthday. I am sure he is right. Mom had the best time of her life during the months surrounding Pop Idol and we thought it most fitting to remember her mixing it up with a few celebrities around that time. We want everyone to remember her as we do, not as a very poorly lady suffering the horrendous effects of terminal cancer, but as a vivacious shining light in our lives. She was not a Star in the conventional sense but she shone like one. God Bless you Mom, we all miss you very much. Lots of love from all of us. Enjoy the pictures guys. Wednesday 30 8 2006 Beefeater? Well, I did it, the picture of Mark in a Beefeater costume is now on the site. I hope you like it. He says that he looks like a proper plonker! I think he looks like a cheeky monkey. He certainly did not want to wear it but he did so for me and mum. We had a great weekend with him, this weekend just gone and he managed to spread a little Mark happiness around the town, especially in REFLEX in Wolverhampton on Saturday night. This I know from the feedback I have got from Amy and her mates ( you know who you are!). Cheers for the photos guys, I will try to get them on the site but I need a bit more training from the site owner Martin. Me and Mark are going to meet up with him soon to discuss the site and how we can keep it going forward. Martin has been brilliant in his efforts to keep the site going and keep the Mark information up to date, we really apreciate all his good work. A big thank you goes out to Martin. CHEERS MATE. X Anyway I hope to sort out the gallery soon from here so keep on sending me the fan photos. One day they will get onto the site. Thats all for now, I will update next week with all the gossip from the weekend! Cheers guys, Sue xx Friday 18 8 2006 a funny thing happened........ Hi guys, I must just share this funny coincidence with you all which I think illustrates just how close Mark and Sam are. A few weeks ago Mark and Sam were given their holiday dates from the BBC for the show and both decided that they would try to get away for a few days in the sun. So off they went separately to their respective travel agents to book their individual holidays. On reuniting later that day to run through their lines for the show the following day they compared notes...... It turned out that despite deciding that they would go on separate holidays with their other old mates from home, it turned out that they were in fact not only going to the same country having booked the same flight, but also the same resort for the same number of nights! Well you just can't separate a good team can you? Anyway apart from that, which I thought was pretty cool! Mark has informed me that after the 'separate' holiday that they are taking together!, they both start straight back to work on the 16th September! No coincidence there though, they are starting their BRAND NEW SHOW! It will be shown on a Saturday mornings on BBC2. From what Mark has been telling me about the show it will be MEGA! But I can't say anymore than that, we just have to wait and see. He is coming home next weekend, he has a short break for the Bank Holiday so he is paying his hometown a visit. We are looking forward to seeing him so much especially as he has been so busy with work that it has been ages since we last saw him. Anyway, thats all for now, we will catch up after next weekend when hopefully I can put more pictures onto the site (Especially as some of you regard him as fit!) Cheers guys, Lots of Love to you all from Sue, xx Thursday 10 8 2006 Catch Up Hello again folks, It does seem ages since we all saw our Marky ( except for on the show that is) and we all miss him. I have just returned from Tenerife after two weeks away and so I missed him and Sam singing on Level Up! I hear that they were both good though and it just made everyone feel sad that they don't sing anymore as well as reminding us that they are good singers as well as great presenters. Mark is off to Tenerife for his summer hols in September and from what I can remember he told me that he will be there for his birthday so I'm sure he will have a couple to drink! Although I must say, he doesn't make a habbit of boozing nowadays as he is a bit of a health freak especially about food. He spends almost every spare moment either playing football or tennis, jogging or training down the gym. I must say that London living has done wonderful things to him and when we do see him he looks amazingly healthy and happy. I hope you all liked the last photo of Mark put on the website last month. He had dragged me down to Beeties to buy himself some trousers because he has only got jeans in his wardrobe! He was on his way out to a mates stag party in Birmingham and he said that he had a very 'civilized' night out with the lads, no one got very drunk but they all had a good time catching up. I intend to call Mark tonight for a long overdue gossip so I will update the blog next week. So thats all for now untill I catch up with our Marky. See ya! lots of love, Sue x Thursday 6 7 2006 A Bostin weekend! Hi there people, I'm so made up! We had the best time in London thanks to our little bro Marky! We started the weekend by visiting the BBC Bar and getting quite merry so to speak....We all had to suffer red wine and lots of it, and something that tasted like cough medicine. They party hard down in the 'Smoke' but we kept the Midlands end up and kept pace with all those Southerners!!!! We never did make B&Q for the patio furniture we were all so hung over but it was great fun to be hung over together because we all understood that 'quiet' was the order of the day and nobody mentioned having bacon and eggs! Martin the site owner has a few pictures from the weekend as well as some fans photos which I am sure he will put on soon for you all to take a look at. I can also highly recommend the show 'Billy Elliot' we went to the Victoria theatre on Saturday night with Mark and he says that it is the best show he has ever seen! It ticks all the boxes, sometimes you laugh and sometimes you cry through it. It makes you think, it makes you happy and it makes you sad. It was really a very good show so if ever you get the chance you should go a see it. Lets hope it comes to the Midlands soon. I must also say that me and Teresa ( Marks other sister) were very impressed with his hospitality. Our mom would have been so proud of him, he looks after his new flat impeccably not a bit like a guy who lives on his own at all! He even had chocolate hobnobs in the cupboard, now that's a 'girly' thing isn't it? Anyway enough of me going on, I hope you like the photos when they get put on the site. I'll be back soon with another update as he is coming home again next weekend. Lots of love, Sue Thursday 22 6 2006 London Visit Hey guys, just thought I would let you know that me and Marks other sister Teresa are going to visit him in London for the weekend, this weekend so its off to the BBC bar for us on friday night, take in a show on saturday and go to Homebase or B&Q to shop for some patio furniture for Mark on sunday before watching the England match! It's going to be great and I will make sure I take some good pictures for the site, especially since Mark doesn't like the picture on the homepage of the site. He says that I look good but he looks 'strange'. I will certainly take one of me and Mark to replace it! Both me and Teresa can't wait to see him as it has been a few weeks now since he came back to Wolves so we will have a lot of gossiping to do. I'll fill you in when I get back. Cheers,all the best. Sue. x Monday 12 6 2006 new hair cut??? Well guys, its coming off for the summer! I don't know if he will go through with it but Mark told me today that he was thinking of shaving all his locks off and growing his stubble! My son Tom's response to this piece of news was "Oh no.... it won't be Mark if he doesn't spend at least 2 hours in front of the mirror doing his hair! Well if he does go through with it we will all see him on Level up frightening the kids with his new look some time this week. When I asked if he was going for the 'Shane Ward' look he replied no I'm trying for the David Beckham look a few haircuts ago! Lets hope that he is successful. Anyway just thought that I would share that bit of info with you all, bye for now, Sue X Monday 5 6 2006 Message from Sue Hi there again Well I have only received a few pictures of fans and none with Mark so what are you all doing? I did have a message from one fan saying that she saw him at the London Palladium watching a show! Well if you spot Mark out and about tell me about it I can spy on him through you guys and tell his dad if he is not behaving himself! May 23rd 2006 - message from Sue Hello everyone It was great for us to see Mark at the weekend and I understand from the feedback I have received from a few 'party people' of Wolverhampton, that Mark enjoyed meeting everyone at 'Cheekys' when he was out with some old school friends too. He also enjoyed the hospitality of 'Blast off' as well as a few other winebars in the town during the course of the weekend and bumped into other old friends as well as made some new ones! He was a very busy boy, as he also took time out to have a coffee in Beatties with his big sis and whilst we were there he was aproached by a few young 'Level Up' fans for his autograph! Its getting quite showbizzy nowadays. He is going to try to get over to see us all at least every 2 or 3 weeks from now on so it would be great if any of you guys who meet up with him in the clubs could get a photo and send it in to me on the site, sue@markrhodes.me.uk. Anyway, another little thing Mark got up to this weekend was to surprise one of his niece's friends on her birthday. Mark called in on her at the Imperial chinese resturaunt whilst she was celebrating her 14th Birthday. Emily (whos birthday it was) could not believe her eyes when he sauntered in, card in hand! A couple of pictures on the gallery show all of the girs in 'celebration' mode. As you may have noticed a few of the photos have gone off the site. It will give us some more space to put on any 'Fan' pictures if any of you are kind enough to send them in. Anyway hope to hear from you soon, thanks for the support. Best wishes, Sue xx May 14th 2006 - message from Sue Hello again from the Mark Rhodes family! We are a lucky bunch aren't we? Especially when we get invited on set to meet all the guests at Reloaded. Check out the photos on the Gallery page! We all met Kenzie, from Friday Hill. He is a friend of Sam & Marks as well as being a regular guest on the show. They get on very well and we are hoping that Mark will let him marry his niece Ellis when she is old enough! Mind you, he is very protective of Ellis as he is with all of his nieces, and any potential boyfriend is scrutinised by him and he puts his serious 'Dad' face on when the subject of boyfriends is mentioned! We also met Shayne, oh the dreamy Shayne Ward, who looks even more gorgeous close up I must say, despite having just landed from L.A. after the video shoot for his new single No Promises. We had a scream with Chico, who was just so friendly and was the first to come over and chat to the kids. He deserves all the success he gets because Mark says he has never met such a 'really genuine bloke'. And so clever! He speaks a few different languages. Impressive eh? Anyway apart from the great time we had at Reloaded, we did get a chance recently to see Mark at his new place in Chelsea. Battersea Park is so close to him that we decided to go for a walk because it was such a sunny day. Life at the moment is very sweet for him and we are still very proud of his achievements. I know his mom would be too, he misses her so much, his flat has several pictures of her dotted around, she is ever present in his life and I believe she is still looking out for him from where ever she is. Anyway, Mark is coming home for the weekend soon and I hope to get some more gossip for you all then. Cheers guys, and thanks on behalf of our Marky for your continued support! Sue. xx April 21st 2006 - message from Sue Hello there again! Thanks for popping by, it's nice to know that people are still interested in what Mark gets up to now that he has such a different life to the one he used to have back in the days before the madness that was 'PopIdol'! Well the new show seems to be taking off well and he is having so much fun with Sam. He now lives in London, so to be nearer work, especially that he has to be out of bed before the birds start singing in the morning! He is unable to get home now during the week so we intend to pop over to see him soon. The only trouble is that he only has weekends to catch up with friends and relations. I have told him of all the postings on the site and he is happy to know that he still has a hard core adult fan base still despite being on TV in the morning and on a children's show at that! He is enjoying his life at the moment and says that its like winning a competition everyday of the week! Anyway when we see him in London I will get some more gossip and photos and post them all on the site so come back soon. Love and best wishes to you all, Sue. x January 2006 - message from Sue Hi there I've posted more pics on the Gallery, as promised in my last posting. Two images show Mark with little Andy Speke. The hollybush was able to raise £3,500 and Mark came over to present the cheque and meet up with the young lady whos dad bid £75 for the photo of Mark, Sam and Fearne. It was a great night as you can see from the photos. We also managed to have a family get-together at our local pub. The other photo is of Mark and a couple of family members outside the theatre in Darlington - We all went over to give Zoe some moral support when she took center stage in the panto Beauty and the Beast, she played Belle. Sue. xx Saturday 31st December 2005 - message from Sue Hi there Check out the Gallery for three more photos of Mark,including one with his BBC workmates Sam and Fearne. The set of 3 signed photographs was auctioned off at the Hollybush pub in Ebstree nr. Wolverhampton, on Sunday 27th November 2005. The auction was an event organised by customers of the pub to raise money for a young man called Andrew Speake aged 4 years, who needs an electric wheelchair because he has the same condition as Mark's nephew Tom. They need to raise £15,000 for the chair and we know as well as anyone how hard it is to do that! Having said that, we were overwhelmed by the generosity of people all over Wolverhampton and especially of those who used the Hollybush pub. So the 'Speake' family are in good hands! Mark brought along the photos with him on his latest visit to Wolves. The Hollybush pub has raised over £3,500.00, and Mark is meeting up with the highest bidder of the photo ( who paid £75) and handing over the cheque for the amount. We'll try to post some photos of this occasion on the site. Happy New Year to you all! Sue. xx Tuesday 26th September 2005 - message from Sue Hello there guys, It was great to hear from Martin, the website owner, that this site is still getting plenty of hits from Mark fans! Well I thought that you would maybe like to hear that he is quite well and has been over this weekend for a get together with his family and friends. While he was here he caught up with some fans in Wolves when he went into town on saturday night. He says that people are really great when they just come over and say 'Hello Mark, how you doin?" Everyone is so friendly and its always great to come home because he misses Wolverhampton. To change the subject slightly, for his birthday we caught up with him in his new home in Dunstable and we all went for a Chinese meal. One of his birthday gifts from his family was the Wolves away top and sweatshirt, When he opened them up he was delighted, however he brought them both back home with him this weekend to change them,...... they don't fit! We all over estimated his size, we remember him with a bit more weight on him and he is a bit of a 'slim Jim' nowadays! He's gone through so many changes over the last few months it is lovely to see how much he has grown and dare I say 'Improved' his image! His long blonde locks are possibly one of his better 'hair' decisions I must say and at the moment his health, hair and happiness are doin fine! While he was over he also met up with some friends of ours over to visit from Bristol. We've put a couple of new photos on the Gallery page, showing Mark with Ryan Abrahams, a young man who has the condition known as SMA ,the same as Marks nephew Tom. And one with Ryans mom Mary, who is mad about minis so Mark took her for a drive in his! It's always good to see him even when it is breifly and we always worry about his journey to and from London using the motorway so often, but he always wants to get home when he can. So if any of you see him in town on his saturday nights out, go over and say hello, he loves it, it makes him feel at home! Anyway, that it for now. catch you later , best wishes to you all, Sue. xx Monday 7th March 2005 - message from Sue Sorry for lack of updates recently folks, know it has been a while but I can only now think about getting back into it. I have sent some pictures for the site (see Gallery): 1) Being a judge at 'Shop Idol' just before Christmas in Wolverhampton (with Ashley Blake BBC News) 2) Not so flattering! a picture of Mark torturing his nephew with the 'Whisker treatment' 3) Mark with a family freind's new arrival (he gets soooo soppy over babies) News about Mark will follow shortly, he is due back from London this week after a hectic few weeks of filming and such. Best Wishes Sue Friday 17th September 2004 - message from Sue In my last message I told you all that mum was doing well. However, on Monday morning, mum passed away quietly having said her goodbyes. She was brave right up to the end and did without strong painkillers so that she could communicate her wishes to us, her children. Her dearest wish is that Mark continues with his career. I feel that we are able to help to fullfil that wish. Our mom was brave and kind and ever loving. She was there for her family and freinds. We are so very proud of her and will miss her so very much. Please let everyone know that mum was instrumental in keeping the fans informed and would do what ever it took to encourage their support for her baby boy. Best Wishes Sue Tuesday 31st August 2004 - message from Sue Just to let the fans know that Mark's mum is doing fine and they can see how well she looks on the wedding photo in the gallery. The picture is from last saturday when my brother John got married to Toni. Mark was best man and we all had a great family get-together. Although mum wasn't able to manage the whole of the day and night, her grit and determination carried her through from an early morning start to 9pm. Also Mark and Zoe would like to send their thanks for all the good wishes on the site and say that the reaction has been the same from everyone in the business as well. Everyone is wishing them well. Best Wishes Sue Saturday 16th July 2004 - message from Sue Hi everyone! Mom is out of hospital and looking good. She needs to build her self up now though as she has had a great deal of weight loss. I thought that it might be a good idea to replace some of the older photos of Mark with some new ones so that the gallery is refreshed from time to time. Latest ones are:
Best Wishes Sue Friday 2nd July 2004 - message from Sue Hi guys, I would just like to thank you all for your messages of appreciation. I do enjoy keeping you all informed because my brother is very important to me and so are his fans. Don't worry about flowers Rachel, I print off the messages for mom and show her what her 'fans' are talking about from time to time and so she knows all of you are thinking about her and she really does appreciate it, as does Mark. Just thought I would let you all know where you could catch sight of Mark. He will be doing a guest appearance at Brannigans, Broad street, Birmingham on monday evening. It is in aid of The Breast Cancer Campaign and tickets can be obtained on the door for £8.50. It is a Ball, so unfortunatly there is an age and dress restriction so this message goes out to all Mark's 'mature' fans...... Tuesday 25th May 2004 Regular visitors will know that Mark's mom has not been at all well recently, which has restricted the contribution that sister Sue has been able to make to the site. Your get well soon messages have been really appreciated. Today we have received the following email from Sue, who has asked us to let you all know the situation: Mom would like everyone to know that she has lung cancer and although it has been somewhat of a shock to her and all the family we are all determined that she will put up a fight and try her darndest to beat it. Although Mark's mom has not been too surprised by the adoration of her baby boy, she has been overwhelmed by the concern of the fans for her own well being. She is asking for the continued support of her boy and his best mate Sam. She would like to say thank you to all the well wishers and ask them to support her son as he is putting on a brave face through this very difficult time and working hard for the success of the duo's next number one single! Being away from home is unavoidable at the moment for Mark but he is managing to get back at least once a week to check on his mom's progress. Life goes on and we never know what is around the corner Cheers Sue Saturday 24th April 2004 (Sue's Diary) Well guys, this week our family really had a taste of the 'celeb' lifestyle when we were invited by '19' to attend the birthday celebration of the company at the Royal Albert Hall. All the 'celebs' families had a box each. We were next door to Sam's family and on the other side of us were.... wait for it..... Rachael Steven's family, then Gareth Gates family and so on!!!!! We all felt soooo posh ! We had champagne on ice in the box and we all enjoyed a couple of glasses. When Mark and Sam had done their performance they were told that they could go and join their respective families in the boxes. The same was true of all the other celebrities once they had done their performance. So at the interval everyone spilled out onto the balcony and were surrounded by autograph hunters. We all had great fun, especially Mark, who when he has his family around him gets even more cheeky and confident! At the after show party we were all rubbing shoulders with the likes of Darius and Will Young! As my sister and I arrived a little later than everyone else, Posh n' Becks were just leaving. We passed them at the entrance to the house so at one point we were about three feet away from them! As a result I am only just coming down from the experience it was mega! So appologies for going on a bit. On a more serious note, I can only assume that many of you have seen the articles in the press about 'Mark dumping Helen by phone' well as we all know the press do love a sensational story and those of us who are in the know have a different version of events to tell. As I have said before the relationship between Mark and Helen is now a platonic one and they remain very good friend. How long that will continue I don't know if there are any more so called 'mutual friend' sticking their noses in and causing trouble between them and blackening Marks name. Anyway enough about that, have you all been checking out the 'SamandMark' web site because it tells of all the magazines the boys will be in shortly. Lots of exciting things will kick off at the beginning of May so not long to wait now. Mark and Sam, as you know have been on the school tour this week and Mark wants me to say a big thankyou to the girls he saw at the airport whilst travelling to Glasgow. He and Sam were spotted by fans but some in particular were holding up banners saying 'Get well soon Chris'. He was flabbergasted and very emotional because as you know Mark's mum has been very ill and is only just getting back to her usual self. She managed to get to the show on monday but hadn't enough strength to attend the party afterwards. I have put a few picies on the site so that you can check out our very special evening so don't forget to look on the gallery. Bye for know guys, I'll catch up soon. X Sunday 11th April 2004 (Sue's Diary) Hi folks, lets get started with the gossip straight away! The family had the pleasure of Mark's company both this weekend as well as last. He took time off from his busy schedule to fetch his mum home from hospital for a few days. Mark's mum also managed an evening out with him at the pub, although she stayed on the orange squash while he managed to down a couple of the 'Rock n'roll' drink Jack Danials and coke! During his visits, Mark also caught up with the rest of his family and there is a particular picture in the gallery which shows Mark, quite litterally letting his hair down, or is that out? He looks like 'Wolverine' as he demonstates to his neices and nephew how much his hair has grown. The other most recent pictures are of Mark 'doing the sexy pose' and another picki is Mark with a couple of young fans at my house. They had a special invitation from Mark as they are relatives of Nikki Yeomans, who Mark worked with at the charity Purple Dreams. As you may have all seen in a recent publication of TV Hits magazine, Mark has revealed that he and girlfreind Helen have decided to end their relationship. Their respective career paths has meant that they have been taken in different directions. However, they do remain very good freinds. Well what I would say at this point is WARNING ALL MUMS!!! LOCK UP YOUR DAUGHTERS! Just another point before I go, I would like to send you all a message from Mark's mum after she and Mark saw your good wishes for her speedy recovery on this web site. Mark's mum says " I'm so very touched by the good wishes I am amazed that people are so concerned. I hope to be out of hospital soon and thankyou for thinking of me". Mark says " how lovely, I can't believe it, ah bless, fancy them thinking about my mom, thats brilliant" Mark goes on to say " It shouldn't surprise me really though because the other night in the pub, a lady came over to mom when I was standing right by her and said, are you Mark Rhodes mom? and mom said yes he's here, Oh the lady said, I didn't recognise him, it was you I spotted. Bloody typical!!" Anyway, catch up later guys, best wishes, Sue x Wednesday 31st March 2004 (Sue's Diary) Hi folks, well what a weekend it was! I had to deliver a new TV to Mark and Sam's flat on thursday evening. Having never driven to London on my own before I was quite worried about the prospect of central London traffic, and so I should have been, it was a nightmare!!! Anyway, we eventually got to the flat, which incidentally was really lovely, and typically a 'boys pad'. Both Sam and Mark were like kids on christmas morning, unwrapping the TV. We stayed for a little while, we being myself, my daughter Ellis and Mark's brother John. Sam made us all a cup of tea (my claim to fame, Sam has made me a cup of tea!!). At around 8.30pm we set off for home with Mark, leaving Sam to tune in the new TV, (ah bless!) We got home around 11.15 and stayed up talking until 1.30am, well so much to catch up on! There's a pic on the Gallery page of Mark and John relaxing that night. Mark had a big day planned for the friday, and wanted to see his mum in hospital so we all thought that 1.30am was a good time to go to bed. The next day was busy, busy, busy and Mark had all sorts to do, including buying my birthday present!! I was Mark's chauffeur for the day and although he put on a baseball cap to disguise himself he still got mobbed at the hospital and in town. It was great to finally spend some quality time with him though and we had great fun and a long 'sister-brother' chat. He is so happy with everything that's going on at the moment and will be back in Wolves very soon so look out for the updates in all the magazines. Whilst he was here I showed him this web site and he was very impressed by how much interest it has got over the weeks, keep it up guys, I'll get him to put a personal message on the next time he is over. Anyway, I think I have gone on enough about Mark's visit. I'll catch up again soon, best regards, Sue X Thursday 18th March 2004 (Sue's Diary) Mark's recent home visit was on the sunday before the tour started. We were all bursting to see him so that he could update us on all the exciting events of the past few weeks. Mark gave us a personal rendition in my lounge of how the show was to be formatted and had us all in tears of joy. When he told us that he intended to dedicate the song by Aerosmith to his mom because she hasn't been well, we were all sworn to secrecy so that she would have a nice surprise. He was so excited, and couldn't wait to get back to London to start work, especially because he was going to meet up with all his pop idol mates again. All Mark's nieces and his nephew got together to see him and we all went to our local pub. Mark was approached for autographs by some of the locals and Mark's mom had a convenient supply of 'Mark' photographs for him to sign for them. After the show in Birmingham and Manchester which the family attended, we all went backstage to see him. he was so very happy, not only with how the show had gone but how well the fans had received them all. Mark told us that although people can talk in 'numbers' of record sales and fans, actually seeing the fans at the concerts in such great numbers really show him just how much support he has out there. "It's wicked!!!" he said. Wed 4th February 2004 Very sorry for the lack of site updates, but Mark isn't getting home often so there's not much for Sue to relay to us. We have had quite a few other Mark websites reported to us though, so we're listing them here in the hope that one or more of them will satisfy your thirst for Mark news and gossip: www.sam-and-mark.com www.samandmark.com www.mark-rhodes.co.uk sexymarkrhodes.cjb.net markmypopidol.friendpages.com/ aa.1asphost.com/markrhodes/index.html groups.msn.com/MarkPopIdol www.mark-rhodes-forums.co.uk groups.msn.com/xmarkrhodesx groups.yahoo.com/group/markrhodesfans/ Thursday 18th December 2003 (report by 'Yampy') Check out this story (click here) from the official ITV Pop Idol web site. It's nice to see that the judges are remaining completely neutral in the vital lead up to the Grand Final! BTW, don't worry about the GMTV poll showing Michelle in the lead - they've used a radio button with her as the default, so that anyone who accidentally presses 'go' votes for Michelle. And why does she happen to be first on the list again? It's not even as if it's in alphabetic order! It's the kind of subtle bias Mark has had to overcome all the way along - but overcome it he will! Monday 15th December 2003 (report by 'Yampy') We told them so, didn't we? Mark has confounded the 'expert' judges once again by storming through to next weekend's Grand Final. This morning on GMTV, their correspondent said "I always had a sneaking suspicion that Mark would go through". Yeah, right, you kept that one to yourself at the time! Fortunately, the great British public has consistently ignored the press and bookies' preference for Sam, Roxanne, Andy, Suzanne, and others. We have also shunned apparently cynical attempts by the Pop Idol big noises to influence our decision. In the end, we all simply voted each week based on performance and personality, and as a result Mark finds himself in next week's final. Last Saturday, all three contestants were extremely nervous, and were each handed very awkward song choices by the judges. Mark coped best of the trio, particularly in his first song, when he hit the high notes of Back for Good without resorting to a Gary Barlow falsetto. In his second offering, If You Don't Know Me By Now, Mark played it safe with a competent, if pedestrian, version of the Simply Red hit. Michelle was burdened with a stinker of a second song choice. The multi-octave Without You has high notes a police dog couldn't pick up, which Michelle could hit only by starting the song off so low that it made Lee Marvin sound like Minnie Ripperton. I thought she got away with it OK though, and was surprised by the judges' rather harsh criticism of her attempt. Sam had a rare off night, especially with his second song, Always by Bon Jovi, which featured two or three pretty duff notes. This didn't stop Nicki Chapman from describing it as 'awesome'. Nevertheless, Sam is a great talent, and it is difficult to explain why he is not in the final, and Michelle is. The simple reason may be that Sam and Mark are similar in many ways, so potential votes were split between them, whereas Michelle is in a different category completely. If this is an accurate assessment, Mark's achievement in overcoming Sam is even greater - as are his chances next weekend. Mark and Sam are great friends, and the Sam block vote will surely pass to our Black Country favourite. Let's give our phone bill one last hammering, and push Mark to victory next Saturday evening! Friday 12th December 2003 This morning on RI:SE (Channel 4) it was said that Mark's odds of winning are 10-1. With only 3 left in the competition, there has to be something wrong somewhere. Mark is continually ignored by the media, even to the extent of being substituted by Suzanne in a sketch on Harry Hill's TV Burp a couple of days ago. Is the plan to ensure that the final is between Michelle and Sam, so that the Pop Idol bosses' favourite Sam is a safe winner? (click here for 'conspiracy theory' article). According to a Channel 4 news report this morning, Mark is being given extra security, after a middle aged female stalker threw herself in front of his car. He is having a very difficult week all in all, and badly needs our support on Saturday night - so get texting and phoning like never before! Wednesday 10th December 2003 Bad news for Mark today when sister Sue sent him a text saying that his favourite nephew Tom had broken his leg. Mark was on the phone immediately, and was the only person who could bring a smile to poor Tom's face. Look out for Mark in Sneak magazine soon! Mark is determined to be in the final and believes that he has done this week's choice of song a real justice in rehearsals. He is happy with the result and hopes his fans will be too - and might add a couple more votes to their normal weekly text bill! Mark wants to win more than ever, and is convinced now that he deserves to be there. He promises that he won't let his fans down and will be more confident on stage than he has been in the past. He would like the fans to forgive him for his lack of confidence but confesses that the continual negativity of the bookies and the lack of coverage from the Nationals has taken it's toll. |