Bricking It (C4): JAMIE'S Kitchen tried to teach unemployed youngsters to cook. Bricking It puts them in the building trade to turn an empty warehouse into a luxury flat.

After seeing what happens in the first episode, I won't be putting in an offer to buy the £350,000 apartment, part of a prestigious 4,000-flat housing development in South London.

At least the food cooked by most of Jamie Oliver's team was edible. I remain to be convinced that the Bricking It flat will be inhabitable or even safe, after Dan managed to put five holes in a piece of cable while installing panelling.

"What a doughnut," said his boss. I'd call him something stronger and unrepeatable, in which I'd only be following the lead of some of his fellow workers, who were less than impressed with his skills.

Working as a team, which was necessary to meet deadlines and safeguard their bonuses, seemed impossible. To be fair, most got on with their work quietly and industriously. But two or three were constantly in trouble for lateness, a bad attitude or coming close to blows.

The ten youngsters were given on-the-job training and £200 a week to convert the luxury two floor, two bedroom apartment. The irony is that none of the team could afford to buy the place.

By the end of the first episode, two had left the project and their group's £50,000 bonus had been docked a total of £17,000 for various misdemeanours and bad workmanship. Falling behind and falling out was what they were good at.

Perhaps Dan was never going to make the grade. His mother had died shortly before he embarked on the project and he was living away from home for the first time. He just couldn't get his head around the work, whether it was screwing in metal struts or trimming wood.

He constantly clashed with Lauren, who has ambitions of setting up an all-girls plumbing business but was driven round the U-bend by Dan's attitude.

Hot-headed Ricky was another problem. They feared what he'd do if he lost his temper while holding a hammer, screwdriver or another potentially lethal tool of his trade. Eventually he lost his rag, overturning a sofa and having to be restrained from doing further damage.

His actions lost the team money. This game show element couldn't help but cause friction. Those who were working normally resented losing bonus money because of their fellow team members' wrongdoing and bad workmanship.

As in Jamie's Kitchen, there was one who couldn't get out of bed and into work in the mornings. Gregory, who'd been in and out of care, was hoping the project would turn his life around.

Arriving late didn't give us much hope that would happen. All it did was lose the team more of their bonus. I wouldn't be surprised if, by the end of the job, they didn't owe the construction company money.

Elton John, MetroRadio Arena, Newcastle

ANNOUNCING that your first nine numbers are all from the latest album Peachtree Road introduces a similar fear factor to that of the trip to Anfield in the league cup facing Elton John's beloved Watford next month.

But Elton's army has been forged from 34 years of hits, and a capacity crowd warmly embraced their hero who, true to form, donned a long, dark frock coat with a diamante-style floral design on the right arm, a long, white shirt, white shoes and turquoise-tinted specs.

This year's tour brought the ostentation of nine backing singers flown in from Atlanta because Elton loved the gospel choir effect on his new album. To be honest, it all got a little self-indulgent at times but the superstar showman finally kicked in with last year's hit All That I'm Allowed (I'm Thankful). The next set of songs were seventh heaven as numbers included Sorry, Daniel, Tiny Dancer, Are You Ready For Love and the singer's first-ever hit, Rocketman, which turned into a 15-minute Rocket-jam as Elton's famous chubby fingers flew across the keyboard.

He showed he's still the master of the mischievous by again introducing his long-time drummer Nigel Olsson "from Sunderland" in the heart of black-and-white Newcastle. But even the boos seemed good-natured.

Quite by chance, the album Back To Bedlam by Elton's warm-up artist James Blunt is on my Christmas list. Peachtree Road isn't and his intended UK single release in March of a country and western track called Turn The Lights Out may be some unintentional advice. Then again, who says Watford can't beat Liverpool.

Viv Hardwick

Vin Garbutt, Middlesbrough Town Hall

VIN Garbutt's December concerts on Teesside are now something of a tradition for me, with this being my third year and, as ever, it was a fun night. Before he took the stage, support band Isambarde played a short set. They are a three-piece band and their blend of one male and two female vocals at times combined to produce some lovely harmonies. They provided a really pleasant beginning to the evening.

Something I have come to realise about Garbutt's concerts is that they are about more than the music. He is hilarious, and at times almost surreal, as he tells stories between songs - something to be enjoyed almost as much as the music. They provided a nice contrast to the songs, which were both serious and, at times, sad.

Garbutt is a fantastic performer, easily holding the stage with just acoustic guitar and vocals, and his songs always manage to weave stories across to the audience. High points of the concert were the political and tragic Elsalvador and the beautifully touching Wings, but the whole event was hugely enjoyable. Hopefully, I will be back next year for my fourth December concert.

Andrew Cummins

Published: ??/??/2004