... in between Christmas and New Year used to be my travelling back to London time, but these days I stay in town for the big day, so now it's sale time.

In previous years the sales meant a new handbag from Harvey Nicks cos it was the only thing that fit me. These days the field is wide open for me! I still bought a bag, a bright pink snakeskin Jill Sander number that was more than half price with my account holder's discount. I also got three gorgeous silver bracelets from Pascal that I love. With the assorted discounts I actually got one for free! I'm still getting a huge buzz from being able to buy a 'bangle' and get it over my hand. It's a wonderful feeling being normal sized!

I managed to resist the clothes in Harvey Nicks, actually there was nothing that I wanted badly enough to be honest. However, All Saints was a different story. A relatively new discovery for me, I am so addicted to their clothes. I'd bought a couple of pieces at full price over the last month or so, but there was so much I wanted but couldn't justify the cost - £90 for a jumper that was full of artfully placed holes for example - but, when they halved the price of everything, suddenly it was all justifiable!

Forty minutes later I left with about a grand's worth of clothes and (yet another) bag that cost me less than half price! I'm in hog heaven here!

I even got some thigh high black patent mock crock boots from Russell & Bromley's sale. I never thought I'd be able to wear boots like this, but after trying on the £450 pair in Brum last week I was determined to find a more affordable pair. And I did! They have a stiletto heel and are very sexy! I can even walk in them.

In other news, I had a brilliant week at The Glee Club and I'm back there on New Year's Eve - I so can't wait! Thanks to people like Alistair and Griffy and Tim, playing there is really like being with family, I love it. The guys I was working with were fantastic too, it makes such a difference.

So if you like the blogs on here you should see the ones on my site!!! They've got photos and everything, just click here

On my second day in Kuala Lumpur I got in some heavy duty sightseeing. I started the day with the most wonderful breakfast! They had everything from sushi, to curries, to continental to full English, to every kind of cake and pastry to a chocolate fountain!!!!!! I was wishing I'd not had my gastric bypass, I could sat there all day working my way through the various cuisines!
Anyway it was a bit of fruit and yogurt followed by a small cheese and mushroom omelette for me, and I was off. I took a cab to the Buddhist Temple at Brickfields which was just beautiful. The golden Buddhas glistening in the sunlight, I sat in the temple for ages, energising my spirit, before wandering off to find a cab. From there I explored the various shopping malls in the Bukit Bintang area before riding the full length of the monorail in both directions! I felt like I was in the future!!!! It kept raining, so I would get off during a dry spell then jump back on during a downpour.
I explored Chow Kit market, which isn't touristy at all, this is proper Malaysia, so much so that I had to breath through my mouth when I got caught up in the 'fresh' meat and fish part of it! Yeeeuuuch!
I came back to the hotel and had a swim before being whisked off for one of the most amazing massages I've ever had! Almost two hours of sheer bliss! Then it was back to the hotel to pack everything up in preparation for the operation in the morning. Wish me luck!

Shoreditch was my destination gig-wise last weekend, and what a cracking weekend it was!

Following my all too brief sojourn in the theatre, it's back to the circuit with a vengeance! MC'ing the Comedy Cafe, with one of the strongest bills I've ever introduced there - Steve Williams (who I saw perform for the first time and who I totally loved watching!), the gorgeous Nick Revell and the fabulous Ricky Grover. Thursday we had the addition of a new - to me - act called Steve Whiner who was just amazing too, bonus!

The Cafe used to be a bit of a comedy battleground back in the day. The crowds were lairy and it was always an "us and them" situation. Not any more, and certainly not this weekend! It was just incredibly laid back, and the kinda gig where you could try out a half formed idea and turn it into a routine over the course of three gigs. Which is exactly what happened to me and I was only the MC! I've come away with a blinding new gag and a whole new routine! How fantastic.

I was talking on Saturday night to Nick about the vibe in the room, and he said a lot of it was down to the tone I set as MC - which was very kind of him. I said it reminded me of a gig that used to run in Islington called the Meccano Club. You could go there with an idea and try it out and the audience would give you the space to do that. It makes for a special evening for both act and audience alike.

So that was all marvellous. The daytimes were pretty good too, bit of shopping, some beauty treatments, and a meeting on Saturday in Wimbledon with a representative of the company who are organising my 'surgery holiday' to Malaysia in October.

As the NHS cannot even sit down to discuss whether or not to pay for most of the surgery I need to rid myself of the rest of the loose skin, I've turned to a company called Gorgeous Getaways. The prices are incredible, a fraction of UK charges, but that's not the reason I am using them particularly. In addition to a far longer stay in hospital than you get here, you also get recovery in a 5 star hotel, with a nurse coming to see you every day to help you wash and change your dressings and anything else you might need. As a single woman, this is the kind of aftercare I need.

The package I've chosen is wonderful, two weeks recovery in Kuala Lumpur - which I am so excited about visiting - and then seven nights in am spa resort in Malaysia where they have an orangutang sanctuary!!!!! Plus, the nurse etc! How cool is that???? Massages and monkeys!!!!!!!!!

Sunday evening saw me getting all dressed up and heading off to the Colony Room in Soho. My pal Stephen K Amos was filming a tv show called 'Suggs in the City' there. Incidentally a huge congratulations to Steve who won a Royal Television Society award last night for his documentary Batty Boy! Well done babe!

Anyway, I'd heard of this club, but never been inside which is odd considering my Soho drinking career had led me to some very, very salubrious joints over the last 30 years. I knew that my art idol Francis Bacon drank there back in the day, Jeffrey Bernard was a regular, along with just about every other London character ever. I was dying to see what it looked like!

It was so small that they have to have the green room upstairs in a Japanese restaurant across the road and that was where I met Steve. The other guests were Jools Holland, Lisa Stansfield and The Dirty Pretty Things. We met Suggs who I feel like I know, but don't. I guess its cos I've watched him grow up really. I remember getting into see one of Madness's early gigs at the Nashville in West Kensington when John Lydon couldn't!

Jools I haven't seen to talk to since Malcolm Hardee's 50th birthday which has gotta be about eight or nine years ago now. I knew there was no chance he'd remember or even recognise me - I don't look much like I did back then! So I introduced myself and reminded him. It was great to catch up and reminisce about a great mate.

The show was filmed with an audience and gawd knows how we all managed to get into this teeeeeny tiny room!!!!! It might be a member's club, but the Colony sure aint no Soho House!!! I loved it tho. All bright green gloss paint on the walls and paintings, cuttings, sketches etc from the illustrious members over the years. It was sooo grungy and seedy. One other thing it was, was HOT!!!! It was hot before they put they lights on and almost unbearable when they did! Thank god I am half the woman I was. I had a slight glow and no more, not like some of the people around me who were sweating buckets!

The recording went fairly smoothly, Steve was hilarious, as was Jools. Suggs is an excellent host who made it all look very easy. Dirty Pretty Things were fantastic, I really wanna go see them do a full gig now. Lisa - I suspect - had been making good use of the rider...it'll be interesting to see how much makes it on screen when the show goes out! She and Jools did a version of My Baby Just Cares For Me which was fabulous tho.

The night was rounded off with drinks in the All Bar One with Johnny Vegas who was down to do show two, and a bit of sushi...how showbiz am I???????

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So that's it, the tour is over and I'm back to the comedy circuit this weekend with gigs at The Comedy Cafe in Rivington Street, incidentally its a cracking bill with the likes of Ricky Grover and Nick Revell on, so I am really looking forward to it.

Anyway the rest of the tour went off without any hitches and climaxed at the weekend with two sold out shows at the Hackney Empire. This is something of a regular event for Gina, who's sold the place out many times before, but for me it was a real big deal.

I've been on that stage twice before. The first was 15 years ago when I took part in the Hackney New Act of the Year final - along with Ricky funnily enough - I was 'unplaced'. The second time was a couple of years later, it was still the biggest theatre I'd ever played and nerves got the better of me again.

I was determined that wasn't gonna be the case this time! Saturday night was a bit scary, and actually I got maybe half a gag out due to people coming in late, late, late! Also my time had been cut to 15 mins cos Gina had lined up another act to open part 2. They were vocal group Ebony Brown who were bloody amazing! Check em out on MySpace.

So its fair to say that on Saturday night I kinda MC'd and did the job. Sunday was a different matter altogether. It was the final night and I was determined to go for it. I got dolled up to the nines in my Primark version of the Chanel star print jumpsuit that Kate Moss wore to her birthday party earlier this year. Mine was worn with cowboyboots, a huge patent belt clinching in my waist and a fab little black jacket, plus my usual 'fell into a jewellery box' collection of bangles and baubles.

Gina very generously gave me extra time, so I went out and did the routine that I'd perfected over the previous seven shows...and it killed!!!!!! I was on such a high! Before I knew it tho, my time was up...best to leave em wanting more eh?

So, once again, thanks to Gina for the chance to perform before such fabulous audiences, and for her generosity of spirit. You're a star girlfriend!

The week since has been spent catching up on the real world really, and visiting various hospitals around London - Chelsea and Westminster is still my favourite one - Monday saw me at the Royal Free. I was supposed to be getting an answer about whether or not I was gonna get my tummy tuck etc on the NHS. When I got there, they'd lost my file - it didn't bode well! After four hours of fuckery, the answer came back that I can have the stomach done for nowt, but they won't do my butt lift or the inner thighs... soooo this October I shall be boarding a plane for Kuala Lumpur to get it all done there.

Tuesday saw me at Chelsea where I was informed that my RSI of 20 years' standing is going to be cured with a simple op to release the carpal tunnel...hurrah! Jeez if it wasn't for hospital appointments I'd have no bleeding social life! I've started getting dressed up for them now!

I did treat myself with a visit to Knightsbridge afterwards and the sunshine inspired me to get those gorgeous Prada 'butterfly' sunglasses, some marvellous floral frocks from Zara and finally a Juicy Couture tracksuit! I am such a f**king cliche!!!!!! Its red with a huge glittery peace symbol on the back of the jacket and on the left hip of the bottoms and I love it to bits!!!!!!!

So, I am about halfway into my part of the Skinny B*tch tour with Gina Yashere, and I'm loving every single minute of it!

After the false start on Friday night, Saturday's show at The Bloomsbury Theatre was my first date. I met Gina at the hotel she was staying in which was just around the corner from the gig. Sadly neither of us knew just how 'around the corner it was' and so got a cab. Even more tragically, the black cab driver didn't know either and dropped us at the other end of Bloomsbury! £8 in cabs later we we at the theatre which was in fact less than 2 minutes' walk from the hotel! We were also pretty late, as in I had 15 minutes to get me lippy on and my head right for the show!

That was probably not a bad thing as I was pretty nervous. The last time I set foot in this theatre was to see Bill Bailey film what was I think, his first DVD (tho it was probably video back in those days!). I remember looking around me, thinking how massive the place was and how on earth do you play a room that big! Now here I was, the unannounced guest at Gina's first London gig on the tour!

She did the offstage intro which was very funny, and bang! I was out there! Almost 25 minutes later, it was all over and I was bringing Gina on for the first half of her show. It kinda passed in a blur really. I went out into the auditorium to watch Gina. It was the first time I'd seen her do more than a 20 minute spot in a circuit comedy club, she was awesome! It was a real inspiration, seeing how relaxed she is onstage, taking her time, holding the audience in the palm of her hand, amazing!

Sunday saw us off to Manchester, we chilled on the train with the papers and took the tram to the hotel at Salford Quays. The gig was at the Lowry Theatre which is a fantastic place, even if they seem to have a problem displaying flyers and posters! We had some time to kill and found ourselves shopping in the big Lowry Outlet mall. Gina got a great top to wear onstage and I got a denim trenchcoat from Karen Millen.

The gig was fantastic and I was a lot more relaxed myself this time. The new ideas that I'd been unable to work in in the clubs were flowing and forming into proper "bits".

Monday night at the City Varieties in Leeds saw my 'sweatshop' bit really begin to take shape, and by last night at the Wyvern Theatre in Swindon it had become a routine! This is how you get good! I thanked Gina for the opportunity to work night after night and hone the new stuff that's been floating round my head for a while.

Since I lost the weight I've lost a ton of material too, and getting the chance to try new stuff in a supportive environment like this is just what I needed! I should be paying Gina!

Tonight we are off to the Beck Theatre in Hayes, then tomorrow its the Theatre Royal Northampton, before two sold out nights on Saturday and Sunday at The Hackney Empire....I can't wait!!!!!!!!!

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If you’re curious as to how I look after my face-lift check out my weblog on my website for a before and after shot!

Heyyyyy read all about my plastic surgery marathon here

I got on the scales this morning, and I am now 10 stones lighter than I was this time last year!!!!!!!!!!!!

Life is good!