Cake or Death's Groovy News

[from walesonline.co.uk]

He may be a world renowned stand-up comedian and Hollywood actor, but to 99-year-old Gwen Watkins, Eddie Izzard will always be the “mischievous little boy next door”.

The flamboyant funny man, currently running a gruelling 1,100 miles across the UK for Sport Relief, paid a visit to his old home in Skewen while on the Welsh leg of his trek and found the time to chat to his former neighbour.

“It was very exciting to see him again, the last time must have been when he was about six,” said Mrs Watkins of the 47-year-old, who lived in the area for a couple of years in the late 60s.

“Even though he’s a big star now he made such a fuss of me and said it was good to be back.”

Having started out from London last Monday on his epic attempt to run the equivalent of 34 marathons in seven weeks, Izzard announced he would be adding extra miles to his journey just so he could revisit the house where he lost his mother Dorothy to cancer.

“I never really got to meet her because she was so ill at the time, but I can remember Eddie and his brother walking to catch the school bus and thinking it was so sad for them both,” Mrs Watkins added.

Asked what the comic was like as a boy, she replied: “He was like most little boys I suppose, full of mischief, but a sweet lad really.”

IT’S not often you happen across an internationally-renowned comedian in a pub in Margam, getting his feet rubbed by an attractive young woman kneeling on the floor.

But earlier today Eddie Izzard was in the Twelve Knights getting just that kind of attention.

He was just passing through on his way to Swansea for the latest leg of his mammoth marathon for Sport Relief.

And it was somewhat of a homecoming, the comedian come movie star spent time living in Skewen during his younger days.

“It’s great to come back,” Mr Izzard told the Post today.

“It’s spurring me on at the moment — anywhere you have links with helps.

“People are honking their support more than ever — especially lorries as they go past.”

Mr Izzard is on day eight of an eight-week run which will see him run a marathon distance of between 25 and 30 miles a day, six days out of seven.

His mammoth challenge is called Eddie Iz Running, and it’s all in aid of Sport Relief, part of Comic Relief, to benefit young people in the UK and around the world.

It hasn’t been given the same high profile as Radio One DJ Chris Moyles’s Kilimanjaro climb had, nor Little Britain’s David Walliams’s Channel swim.

And Mr Izzard doesn’t even know what his running total of donations is.

“The amount of energy I need to do this means it is all I can concentrate on. As we go further, I hope it will build up exponentially.”

Mr Izzard isn’t known for his running, and, as one of Britain’s greatest comics, is not one of the regulars on the televised Comic Relief nights every two years.

But that’s to do with the type of funnyman he is.

He added: “I could never quite fit in with Comic Relief. I don’t do much TV, I do live shows, and TV comics can go on Comic Relief and do sketch shows but I can’t.

“But I’d already thought of doing something for it, either involving running or football actually, something big.”

Tonight Mr Izzard will be recovering from his 26.3 mile run to the middle of Swansea by indulging in a 10-degree ice bath for 15 minutes to ensure his legs are ready for action, as well as some sports massage on a large tendon in his leg which has been giving him problems — not to mention the blisters that are covering his feet.

Tomorrow he is due to leave Swansea and head to Pembrokeshire via Cefn Park, the road where he used to live in Skewen.

But despite posting pictures of where he is running on the micro-blogging site Twitter, Mr Izzard won’t be posting a picture of his old family home.

“It’s hugely emotional because that’s where Mum died. I’ve got a very complicated emotional relationship with it.”

His marathon effort is due to finish in around six weeks’ time, taking in Northern Ireland and Scotland before finishing in London’s Trafalgar Square.

[from thisiswiltshire.co.uk]

A cafe owner in Bradford on Avon donned a pair of black shiny stilettos to welcome cross-dressing comedian Eddie Izzard as he tackled the Wiltshire stretch of a 1,000 mile charity run across Britain.

Mo Bennie, 50, who runs Granny Mo’s, on the banks of the Kennet and Avon Canal, organised a welcoming party for 47-year-old Izzard, who arrived in the town on Thursday night.

Izzard, who is raising money for Comic Relief campaign Sport Relief, is completing the equivalent of 34 marathons accompanied by a documentary team from Tiger Aspect Productions and an ice cream van, which is giving away the treats in return for donations.

Miss Bennie and a crowd of about 20 people welcomed him to Bradford about 8.30pm, after he negotiated the canal towpath from Devizes, and the comedian quickly tucked into cake and a glass of milk.

Miss Bennie said: “I organised a welcoming party for him with some of the boaters so when he came down the towpath he was extremely amazed to see how many people were here cheering him on. He was extremely tired.

“I worse some stilettos in honour of him.

“He is a really, really lovely man. He’s extremely good looking.

“There was a lot of alcohol flowing during the night and general excitement. It was a pleasure to see him.”

To cap the experience, Miss Bennie was amazed to see the comedian lying on a bed by the lock outside her cafe on Friday morning, having his feet tended to before attempting the next stretch of the run towards Bathampton and onto Bristol.

“I spoke to him and he gave me a great big hug,” Miss Bennie said.

“I admire what he is doing.

Izzard is carrying a St George flag throughout the entire challenge, which he started in Trafalgar Square, London, on Monday, July 27. He is updating his fans through his Twitter page.

The stand-up comic, whose sets include Dress to Kill and Definite Article, has also appeared in a host of films including Velvet Goldmine, Ocean’s Twelve and Thirteen, The Chronicles of Narnia and Valkyrie.

Courtesy of JustJean 🙂 Click pic below for more screencaps!

[from thisiswiltshire.co.uk]

Comedian Eddie Izzard swept into Devizes this afternoon as part of his 1,000 mile running challenge for charity.

Mr Izzard, 47, is running about 30 miles a day in seven weeks to raise money for Sport Relief.

He set off from London on Monday and today ran from Stonehenge up the A360 into Devizes, on to Bradford-on-Avon and finishing the day at Bathampton.

Mr Izzard ran into Devizes Market Place carrying an England flag.

He stopped and chatted with office workers and shoppers for about 20 minutes and posed for photos.

Accompanying him on his journey is an ice cream van manned by his friend Paul Strachan who serves ice creams free of charge but encourages donations to Sport Relief.

Mr Izzard has only done four weeks training for the mammoth feat.

When he arrived in Devizes he said: “My feet are killing me. My legs are not too bad but it’s tough.”

He sipped a pint of Wadworth 6X brought out to him by Su Stafford, visitor manager at Wadworth Brewery’s visitor centre.

Angela Tadman who works at accountants David Owen & Co in the Market Place was among those who met Mr Izzard.

She said: “I was following him on Twitter and saw that he had arrived in Wiltshire yesterday. I was so pleased when we learned he was coming to Devizes.

“He’s brilliant and he’s doing a really good job.”

Linda Norcross and her children William, ten, Felicity, six, and Clara, three, chatted with Mr Izzard.

Mrs Norcross, a teacher who lives in Chitterne, said: “My children went to the same school as Eddy in Sussex so we were talking to him about that.

“He was great. It was nice that he stopped and had the time to talk to people.”

Mr Izzard, who gives regular updates on his progress on Twitter, is accompanied by a film crew who are making three one hour documentaries to be broadcast on BBC1 and BBC3 in March 2010.

Mr Izzard will be running to Cardiff, Belfast, Edinburgh and back to London. He will be carrying a national flag for each country he is in.

To sponsor him go to www.eddieizzard.com

Andover Sound's Gary Haberfield tracked down Eddie just outside Charlton.

Andover Sound received reports that legendary comedian and actor Eddie Izzard had been spotted running through North West Hampshire.

So we hot footed it through the town to try to track him down…and we did!

Eddie is running the length and breadth of the UK in aid of Sport Relief and came through Whitchurch and Andover as part of the challenge.

• Click here to listen to Adrian Clarkson chatting to Eddie.

[From Yahoo UK]

Eddie Izzard is making a bid to run more than 1,000 miles in seven weeks to raise cash for Sport Relief.

The comedian, 47, who has only been training for around a month, set off on his adventure from London on Monday and ran with a bandaged leg on Tuesday as he reached the Basingstoke area of Hampshire.

Izzard’s publicist, Karon Maskill, who described him as “not a runner”, said the comedian – who will run about 30 miles a day – went into training just four weeks ago. Izzard will carry flags representing the countries he runs through as he continues his epic Eddie Iz Running challenge, taking in Cardiff, Belfast and Edinburgh.

He has already sustained a few minor injuries, including one to his hamstring during training, as well as shin problems.

“He got a blister which started today,” Ms Maskill said on Tuesday.

She said of Izzard’s feat: “It’s an idea that’s been bubbling for 10 years.”

Ms Maskill said the response from the public had been good, adding: “They’re honking him with their horn.”

An ice cream van accompanying Izzard is giving out ice creams in the hope that people will make donations in return. Two tents, a camper van and a sports therapist are also among Izzard’s entourage.

The public can show their support by sponsoring Izzard via his website www.eddieizzard.com and follow his incredible journey on his Twitter feed www.twitter.com/eddieizzard.

Since 2002, the Sport Relief charity has raised millions of pounds and next year’s event will take place between March 19 to 21.

• MORE INFO ON RAGE