Daniel O'Donnell - Good Enough to Take Home to Mother

I noticed in last night's Chron that our local theatre, the Oldham Coliseum is searching for the most dedicated Daniel O'Donnell fan in the area. Their latest production, Women on the Verge, is about two O'Donnell fans and their arduous journey to see their idol perform.

If the O'Donnell phenomena has passed you by, you would do well to speak to my friend Sarah. She told me, a while ago, of the queue that develops outside the Manchester Apollo Theatre in the days before O'Donnell tickets go on sale. Whilst the forming of a queue for tickets is not unusual in itself, the fact that majority of these queuing fans are over fifty, female and sit on deckchairs, with flasks of hot tea knitting gives it a different complexion. Add to the mix that the theatre is situated in the heart of Ardwick, one of Manchester's toughest areas, and you can see that the phenomenon is a little more out of the ordinary. What is additionally interesting, says Sarah, is that although the local, hard pressed, constabulary do their best to keep an eye on these seemingly vulnerable souls, their attentions seem to be unnecessary. The local street robbers are apparently often in evidence, hooded-up on mountain bikes, but they leave the queue of ardent O'Donnellites unmolested - to attack these grandmas would seemingly breach some robbers' code.