The Late Late Toy Show 2010

Despite my best intentions I just cannot make time to follow up on all that's happening here....maybe you can't live life AND record it..!!!! 

Anyway will try to recap on the tail end of last month and then try to bring myself back into the present...!!!

Two weeks ago beforethe snow came.. quite spectacularly and stayed... and is still here in parts of the country.... we followed the girls to dublin for their 15 seconds of fame!!!part in the opening of the toy show...

All the 8 or so families had booked into the Radisson Hotel near the RTE Studios and we joined the girls who had been up since the previous morning rehearsing...  they hadn't realised that they would be free all day Friday until 6.30pm so they thought that that necessitated a visit to the new Forever 21, just opened in the Jervis Street Shopping Centre...!!!  Think whatever money we had given them for food was spent on clothes!!

Despite what people thought we were not in the audience that night....Tickets are got purely on a lottery system..... and as we all know if you don't play the Lotto you don't win!!!:(    Still we determined to make a good night of it.... dined in the hotel... putting pressure on the very kind staff to make sure to have us finished before 9.30pm....

Am sure we made a funny spectacle... all these adults running with our desserts and coffees from the restaurant  and the bill under one arm..(...will be back to pay at the break!!)  The hotel had given us a room where we could all watch the opening of the Toy Show together....

And so we were all...sitting waiting.. for the start.....eagerly....all eyes glued to the screen.... having reminded all our 'nearest & dearest' to remember to watch our lucky youngsters  on the night of the 'biggest audience of the year'!!!

And it started.....and what seemed like seconds.. it was all over.... and we all just burst out laughing and said 'Is that it?'..... All this for just a few seconds on stage.....One of our dads likened it to go to a match and one side scoring 3 goals in the first minute and you say...'What now?' It's all over....

That sounds like we were disappointed.... We werent.....We knew that as they were part of the opening it would involve alot of children from different parts of the country so their time infront of the camera would be miniscule...... I guess for people watching it was disappointing as they were all geared up to really SEE them play... However they had warned us that they would be on only for a short time... this necessitated then that we would inform people by text 'not to blink in case you miss them'!!!!:)

The girls themselves were not one bit put out... Because for them it was so much more than their short time on stage... They had gone up to Dublin many times to rehearse, had met lots of interesting faces that they knew from TV... Daithi O'Sé fromthe All Ireland Talent Show & Pat Kenny (probably delighted that he is no longer having to present the Toy Show!) came to watch them in rehearsal.... Whileon the night they got to chat tothe winner of last year's X FACTOR..And Ryan Tubridy, host was really nice to them and spent a lot of time with them.. After wards they got a goodie bag.. but not as 'good as the onethe audience got:(and a tour of the Fair City set and had a party before we picked them up...they did not feel one bit hard done by and had a ball...

What an experience for them and how lucky they are to have the violin teacher they have...

Of course we have watched it many times since.. to see how many times we can spot them!!!!  It is better to watch it back on RTE Player as they get shown from a different angle and the You Tube video cuts the last bit which has a nice shot of them... Off course it will only be on RTE Player for another week or so....

Darrelle is the very last in the line as they went for smallest to tallest so she should be easy to spot in her pink coat.....


RTE Press Release..
The Late Late Toy Show attracts 1.4million viewers- highest audience in 16 years

Monday, 29 November 2010
This year's Late Late Toy Show attracted the highest audience in 16 years with an average of 1.4million viewers and a phenomenal 72% share* of the audience watching the full programme The nation's younger viewers were also glued to the show as it attracted 90% of 4-14years** watching television at the time.
Friday night's show featured the performing and toy demonstration talents of over 150 Irish children, as well as performances by pop sensations McFly and Joe McElderry. There was a strong focus on Irish manufactured toys and books as well as affordable toys, with many featuring priced between €10 and €50.
In a Toy Show first, host Ryan Tubridy sang the opening number "Pure Imagination" in the Willy Wonka themed show.
Ryan Tubridy said, "At the end of a very difficult week in Ireland, I think the country needed a smile, a laugh and a big hug and I think that's what we did on Friday. I'm keen to stress that it wasn't the toys and it wasn't me, it was the children who shone on the night and for that I'm very grateful and very happy".
The Late Late Toy Show also attracted 46,500 ***streams on RTÉ Player, up almost 120% on the figures achieved for the same period last year. And it wasn't just viewers in Ireland who enjoyed the show. 38% of viewed streams were from users outside of Ireland, with 16% from the UK and 6% from the US.
Steve Carson, Director of TV Programmes, RTÉ said, "The Late Late Toy Show is a great example of the power of public service television in bringing people together. It's a national institution, which continues to engage viewers in phenomenal numbers. The Late Late Show team work very hard to ensure that the Toy Show continues to be relevant and thoroughly entertaining, enchanting a new generation, while touching a deep nostalgic nerve. We're delighted that viewers at home and abroad agree and look forward to bringing them more quality Irish programming over the festive season".
RTÉ Television will announce its Christmas schedule tomorrow.
The Late Late Toy Show 2010 is the number one most watched programme of the year-to-date on any channel available in Ireland.