Another sunny day, another day in the extensive gardens here at Dolores Delargo Towers, trying to drown out the demon children next door and their sodding karaoke machine with blasts of Sounds of the Seventies while pottering and making things lovely...
Meanwhile, Queen Madge continues her latest comeback - she appeared on stage with Sabrina Carpenter at Coachella Festival last night, and the full-length version of I Feel So Free has been released!
I love it!
Thoughts?
It has been another beautiful Spring day and, needless to say, I spent most of it in the extensive gardens here at Dolores Delargo Towers: I built another set of display shelves [as you can see in the background of the photo above], potted-on another load of small plants into bigger pots, created the first of what will be a number of window box/wall-pot displays, and did load of general pottering besides. Very satisfying.
Meanwhile, I have just been reminded by Sean Keaveney on Radio 2 that it will be ten years next week since the force of nature that was Prince ascended the glittering (purple, of course) stairway to Fabulon. I think a little tribute is in order...
The archetypal flamboyant icon of mid-80s to mid-90s pop [alongside Queen Madge, of course], he evolved from the shadow of his idol Rick James into the mega-successful, adored superstar whose death was so widely mourned across the globe. He was not merely a performer, singer and musician, however; he was a brilliant songwriter, too.
And, by way of a tribute to his genius, here are several examples of how his compositions became massive hits for other people:
First up, the one that always makes me cry...
...lightening the mood somewhat, a clutch of much more uplifting choons...
...the classic - here featuring an artist who shares a birthday with The Purple One, Sir Tom Jones (Tom Jones)...
...and finally, the man himself:
Prince Rogers Nelson (7th June 1958 – 21st April 2016)
It seems very odd today to be doing a post all about celebrating the end of a week, when in fact I have been on annual leave for most of it, and am only in work for one day today - so this feels more like a Monday!
However, traditions are traditions after all...
...so how about some Earth, Wind and Fire to put some sparkle in our step? That'll do nicely.
Thank Disco It's Friday!
Have a good weekend, all!
It's another snippets post, dear reader:
Nymphomaniac news: Letty Lynton, a scandalous Joan Crawford film about sex and murder that - thanks to a long-standing lawsuit - was pulled from cinemas and has remained unseen for ninety years, is finally getting shown, thanks to the great lady's grandson. The Art Deco settings and outfits by Adrian [as per "that dress" above] alone would make it worth a watch!
[click any pic to embiggen]
And the weather? It's been threatening to rain all day, but that never happened. I'm back in work for the day tomorrow, and it looks better (sigh) - but then, so does the weekend!
New research has found making a train journey in Britain can be survived and even enjoyed if the passenger has drunk enough.
A study of the UK’s trains, from rural routes to commuter trains, shows that once eight or more units of alcohol have been consumed it becomes a magical ride of stimulating new destinations, mysterious announcements and meetings with strangers.
Professor Henry Brubaker, of the Institute for Studies, said: “There’s nothing wrong with our overpriced, antiquated rail network that can’t be fixed by the warm fuzziness of aluminium-wrapped alcohol.
“Once lightly pissed, being in a long box fired randomly across the countryside becomes a mellow experience. Your slumped face can vibrate against the windows in a happy haze, just as the Victorians intended when they built them whacked-out on laudanum.
“Stations drift past cheerfully. The couple you’re unwillingly sharing a table with become fascinating. Even the toilets are fine when you’re urinating as freely and erratically as all their previous users.
“Whether the night train to Aberdeen, the 4.35pm to Didcot Parkway or a 6.30am commuter train into Liverpool Street, it’s just like mother said: booze is best.”
Market analyst Helen Archer said: “I drank a bottle of prosecco on the way to work in Leeds and woke up in Llanelli. So same as normal, but with prosecco.”
Of course.
Another busy day spent in the extensive gardens here at Dolores Delargo Towers! I finally tackled one of those jobs that is easily "put off" - the accumulation of clag at the end of my back passage [oo-er, Missus!]: a load of gravel on the floor where over-wintering pots had been blown over, the old compost bin that has needed emptying for ages [since next door's drain collapsed a while ago and all their "grey water" flooded the area, killing any chance of us using any of the bin's contents as they were contaminated], lumps of moss from the roof, and the carpet of leaves from the weeping fig houseplants we left out all winter - and I pruned them; they're still alive!
That was knackering, but at least now we have a new clear space to put up some more greenhouse staging shelves as a home for more plants (and more storage space, to boot)! I also embarked on the process of planning the window-boxes that will accommodate most of the recently-acquired annuals, and moved on some more things that were out-growing their pots, before the skies started to turn ominously dark and I finally packed it in for the day.
Meanwhile...
Sharing the day with such luminaries as Sir John Gielgud, Julie Christie, Rod Steiger, Peter Capaldi, Ritchie Blackmore, Gerry Anderson, Robert Carlyle, John Sergeant, Gina McKee, Erich von Däniken, Loretta Lynn, Adrien Brody, Robert Doisneau, Chris Langham, Sarah Michelle Gellar, Bobbi Brown, and - erm - "Papa Doc" Duvalier...
...it's the 75th birthday today of Sir Andrew's "talented younger sibling", Mr Julian Lloyd-Webber!
It's about time we brought some class into proceedings here at Dolores Delargo Towers:
Yes, British readers will recognise it - it was the theme to the classic arts television series The South Bank Show.
So, I'm back from my jolly jaunt to Essex, doing a Grand Tour of the myriad wonderful garden centres in that county, thanks to Baby Steve and Houseboy Alex. The extensive gardens here at Dolores Delargo Towers are going to be even fuller as a result - YAY! [And I have spent most of today out there, dodging the downpours, sorting stuff out and potting things up in preparation.]
But what did I miss while I was away?
So let us pay the great lady due tribute:
Here she is, dubbing for the magnificently camp "Helen" (Helen Jairag Richardson) - a megastar in Indian musical cinema in the 1960s:
...and here, dubbing for Reena Roy:
And finally - recognising the fact that even though I am on leave (almost) all this week, it is Tacky Music Monday - here's the lady herself, aged 79, with a tongue-in-cheek take on an old Usha Uthup number [from the only Bollywood film in which Rex Harrison and Vera Miles ever appeared, Shalimar]...
Sublime.
RIP, Asha Bhosle (born Ashalata Dinanath Mangeshkar, 8th September 1933 – 12th April 2026)
Have a good week, dear reader.
FOOTNOTE:
Of course, I could not let any such tribute pass without playing this famous paean to her!
