You make me feel like I am home again

"Peel me a grape, my dear..."

If this is British Summer Time, it's not got off to a good start. It's grey and miserable out there, with a constant threat of rain.

Needless to say, not a day for the garden. It's more a day of light pottering about in the house (I've hung a few more pictures), listening to Radio 2 - and this! Our "house band" here at Dolores Delargo Towers, paying tribute to that "Goth national treasure" Robert Smith - brilliantly, of course:

Postmodern Jukebox feat. Emma Smith - Lovesong [The Cure 1940s Big Band style cover)

Ah, that's better.

We love Postmodern Jukebox!

I'm breaking *

Our Cymbidium orchid is spectacular again this year!

I had a flurry of activity this afternoon in the extensive gardens here at Dolores Delargo Towers! It was lovely and sunny, despite the really chilly wind, and I spent a few hours systematically pruning back all our fuchsias, as well as salvias and ferns that hadn't already been tackled. Knackering, it may have been - but it's all getting ready for the summer to come [and, indeed, our clocks go forward tonight and British Summer Time begins tomorrow]!

Meanwhile, on a day of birthdays that include Sir Dirk Bogarde, Sir Michael Parkinson, Dame Flora Robson, Mike Newell, Maxim Gorky, Lord Neil Kinnock, Vince Vaughn, Reba McEntire, Sir Richard Eyre and - ahem - Lady-fucking-GaGa...

...today marks 460 years since the foundation of the fabled walled city of Valletta, capital of "plucky little" Malta!

To mark the occasion, how about their surprisingly faboo Eurovision entry from back in 2021?

Destiny - Je me casse

She's obviously a Lizzo fan.

[Je me casse - "I'm breaking" in French]

Hungover?

Wheeee!

Whew! Nearly there...

Despite the fact the weather is not looking particularly promising for the weekend, it is still a weekend - and time to party!

We happened to miss the birthday yesterday of our "Patron Saint of Hogging-the Spotlight-in-Sparkly-Gowns", Miss Diana Ross, so who better to lead the celebrations - in the company of a troupe of very odd [some slightly phallic, I thought] creatures, indeed? Thank Disco It's Friday!

Diana Ross - Love Hangover [The Muppet Show]

Have a great one, folks!

Of a drag emporium, old age, drought, a wounded Dame, space sperm and Troggs on the Tube

"The Palladium of Drag" in 1895 and today. [click any pic to embiggen]

It's another snippets post, dear reader:

• Gays of London rejoice! news: The legendary Black Cap in Camden ["The Palladium of Drag"], subject of an impressive eleven-year battle over its closure and proposed conversion into flats by property developers, has finally re-opened. We plan to pay a visit soon, of course!
• Old age is no place for sissies news: A new exhibition at the Wellcome Foundation The Coming of Age explores experiences and perceptions of ageing, from adolescence to later life, and asks how societies can adapt for us all to age better. Apparently, one in ten children in the UK are expected to live beyond the age of 100! As the curator says, however: “people want to live for ever, but they don’t want to get old”. Could be interesting. Or scary.
• Hosepipe news: Apparently, England is no longer in drought. No shit, Sherlock! It was pissing down for months this winter...

• Icon news: Dame Shirley Bassey [pictured above, accepting her "Women of Monaco" award at a society do on 10th March] has announced - at the age of 89 - that she can no longer write replies to every one of her fan letters, as she has always done throughout her long career, because she has to have surgery on her hand. What a trouper! Imagine any other star of her magnitude answering their own post...
• It's not just the Robinsons news: Sperm get lost in space, scientists have discovered. In zero gravity, I'd make sure I was wearing eye-shields - you never know what might float your way!
• And finally: RIP, Chip Taylor. Who? I hear you ask. Apart from being Jon Voight's brother [his real name was James Voight] he was a prolific songwriter, and among his hits were PP Arnold's Angel of the Morning [a hit in the US for Merrilee Rush, and later Juice Newton], the Hollies I Can't Let Go and this one [memorably covered by Siouxsie Sioux and Budgie aka The Creatures]. This sort of thing never happens to me when I'm on London Underground!

The Troggs - Wild Thing

And the weather? Sunshine again - but really quite chilly!

War against motorists?

A Dad is furious at his local council about potholes in roads and is apoplectic at the roadworks needed to fix them.

Martin Bishop, aged 61, regularly shares his fury on local Facebook groups about the local authority letting streets run to rack and ruin, but his blood pressure really spikes when stopped by temporary traffic lights.

He continued: “Am I paying my council tax for these jokers to sit on their arses all day, while potholes ruin lives and suspensions?

“Then they turn around and close a main road for two months, adding five minutes to my journey time which adds up. Put it together and over a year I’d be twelve hours late for squash. Is that in any way acceptable?

“People say ‘you’re retired Martin’ and ‘chill out Martin’ and ‘you don’t need to immediately drive to Asda every time we run out of nutmeg Martin’ but that’s not the point. The point is this council has taken up arms in a war against motorists.

“It’s all right for councillors with their free eco-friendly helicopters, but pensioners like me need to use our BMWs to get places. Don’t even get me started on their lunatic policies like ‘bus lanes’ and ‘school zones’.”

Council spokesperson Eleanor Shaw said: “We recognise that potholes and roadworks are a common source of frustration for residents, and invite them to use their fucking brains for two fucking seconds to connect the two.

“Also, we welcome and value Martin’s feedback.”

The Daily Mash

Of course.

Tell the sun don't shine, stop Old Father Time, 'cause that's easier to do

Notorious for being the first actress to bare her boobs on American telly, the showgirl-turned-Playboy model-turned-actress Valerie Perrine, who has sadly departed for Fabulon, confounded all expectations when she was nominated for an Oscar in 1974 for her portrayal of the sassy wife in the biopic Lenny (Bruce).

In her estimable career, Miss Perrine worked with such greats as Dustin Hoffman, Jack Nicholson, Robert Redford, Gene Hackman, Mel Gibson, Alan Arkin and Rod Steiger.

Shame then, that the only film I (and many millions of others, no doubt) remember her being in is Can't Stop The Music with The Village People...

All together, now!

Can't Stop The Music trailer

RIP, Valerie Ritchie Perrine (3rd September 1943 - 23rd March 2026)

Send in the crowds...

Oh, no! After a blissful weekend celebrating the joys of Spring and pottering in the garden, it's time to put all thoughts of that aside and head back to the eternal tiresomeness of work. Dammit! We need something to cheer us up...

...and, since we missed celebrating the birthdays yesterday of these two theatrical legends, it would be curmudgeonly of me - on this Tacky Music Monday - not to dig out this [and I make no apologies for featuring it again, despite having done so on numerous occasions over the years...] - it's faboo, and I never tire of it!

Stephen Sondheim and Andrew Lloyd-Webber - Duelling Pianos [Hey, Mr Producer!, 1998]

Have a good week, dear reader.