Monkey's Business column: Lovely to see acting legend Dame Barbara Windsor

I am so proud of him ​as he worked so hard and now deserves every moment in the spotlight. I can’t wait to see him and have a good old gossip.

I have finished work now, yippee, and I am officially on holiday til 2018. I am shattered. I was back in London the last couple of weeks for all the Christmas parties. The first one was a Variety drinks do at The Institute Of Directors in Pall Mall. The lovely Tom O’Connor was there with his Yorkshire wife Pat. They are so warm and funny and he has done so much for the charity over the years. I also had dinner with the legendary composer Tony Hatch at the very posh Wolseley Restaurant in Piccadilly. He wrote the music for Neighbours, Crossroads and Petula Clarke’s huge hit, Down Town to mention a few. Next I was off to Westminster for an event with another great Variety Ambassador Jon Culshaw, he’s Northern and proud. He does a wicked Donald Trump and Boris Johnson impression. I’ve known him for years and he is one of the nicest men in the business.

The last lunch I attended was on Tuesday. I was at The The Television and Radio ​Industries Club Christmas Dinner (TRIC for short) at The Grosvenor. They were raising money for Variety, so I hosted a table with a some of our celebrities including the wonderful Gaby Roslin. I booked Brit-Award winning vocal group BLAKE and Cassidy Janson from Beautiful the musical to perform on behalf of the charity and they blew the roof off.

At the event Dame Barbara Windsor presented Dame June Whitfield with a lifetime achievement award. It was so lovely to see these legends talk about when they met and still being so lively in their 80s and 90s.

So no more name dropping, it’s now time to relax and hit the local pubs and restaurant in Wakey. I will be spending most nights in my favourite pub The Pledwick Well Inn, near Newmillerdam. The food is amazing but it’s mostly the atmosphere I like. It’s proper friendly and how pubs should be. I will be spending Christmas with my family and new year in Edinburgh with my Barnsley boyfriend.

Happy Christmas!

About Caroline:

I was born in Essex but I grew up in Sandal, Wakefield. I spent five years working with Mike Oldfield in Ibiza and then ended up in London working as a music PR and a magazine columnist. I am now the celebrity manager at Variety, the children’s charity. I decided to move back to Yorkshire two years ago as I missed it so much. I bought a lovely house over looking Wakey canal, my family live down the road, I have a little dog called Blondie and I couldn’t be happier. I hope you enjoy reading about my life in Wakefield and around the country...