Our Rosa "Veilchenblau" loves it!The weather here in London is breaking all the records! Being in the city, rather than near the sea, and with nary a breeze, it's a bit uncomfortable to sit in for long - although we always welcome the sunshine; it's far better than our usual Bank Holiday drizzle...
On this scorching Tacky Music Bank Holiday Monday, there is only one number that will suffice:
Have a good week, dear reader.
Alongside a raft of "names" including HM The Queen Victoria, Patti LaBelle, Jim Broadbent, Lilli Palmer, Kristin Scott Thomas, Gene Anthony Ray, Bob Dylan, Alfred Molina, Jean-Paul Marat, Prince Buster, Priscilla Presley, Eric Cantona, Sir Jacob Rees-Mogg, Mai Zetterling, Jan Smuts, Rosanne Cash, Steven Norris and - opportunely, given the heatwave in London - Daniel Gabriel Fahrenheit, inventor of the Fahrenheit scale...
...today marks the centenary of the birth of the fantabulosa Stanley Baxter [who only died last year]!
By way of a respite from the (officially-designated) heatwave [even I - "part-man, part-lizard", who loves basking in the sun - needed to get out of it mid-afternoon], here's another couple of classic sketches from the great man himself:
He was great, and is greatly missed!
Stanley Livingstone Baxter (24th May 1926 – 11th December 2025)
Phew! What a scorcher!
Yes indeed - exactly as the Met Office forecast - the thermometer in our extensive gardens here at Dolores Delargo Towers hit (at least) 32C/89.6F this afternoon. And to think, last week we had the heating on in the evenings... Britain, Britain, Britain.
To celebrate the arrival of summer, this:
Pretty little things, weren't they? {{cough}}
Of that song, however, it is this version I remember most fondly:
Unfortunately I can't find an actual video of Tik and Tok performing that song, but here they are in their glory, doing what they did best!
And finally, the band from whence Tik and Tok emerged - who I saw live way back in the early 1980s:
Ah, memories...
Oh, thank gawd for that - it's almost over bar the screaming!
Yet again, my first week back after a fortnight away has been torturous. Hey ho, just a few hours to go - and we have a sunny Bank Holiday weekend to look forward to [for a change].
Time indeed for a(nother) party - and, since it was Mama Cher's (gulp) 80th birthday this week, who better to kick off proceedings, as only she knows how?
Thank Disco - and Cher - It's Friday!
Enjoy the long weekend, dear reader, whatever you get up to!
Pay heed to the "Nanny Stern" of the fashion world!
There are loads more such gems over at Glamourdaze...
Drink pints and eat chips: Manchesterism in practice, explained by a Mancunian
Andy Burnham is all about Manchesterism. And, what with living in Ardwick, so am I. Let me tell you how it works here on the ground:Chips for tea
If Manchester stands for anything, it’s chips for tea. Not every night, unless you’ve the misfortune of being vegan. Every Friday, usually Mondays, Wednesdays occasionally, Sundays if you’ve not been able to shift your hangover. Also we have chips for dinner. What you’d call lunch.Pints
You can get cocktails and the like up here but you can’t really go wrong with a pint, can you? And another pint after that. Followed by whatever you like but chances are it’ll be another pint once you’re two down. If anything else seems like the thing you’re not fitting in.Rain
Not sure how Andy’s planning to shroud the whole country in the beautiful rain we get 24-7 and 365 up here, but he’ll need to if we’re going to get everyone in anoraks. You can’t beat a good downpour. Makes the cobbles glisten.Gays
We’re very big on our gays up here, but they’re proper gays. Not these online queers you get down south. To claim an alternative sexuality down Canal Street you’re still required to pass the physical examination. Also, you have to eat at McTucky’s and survive.Curry
It’s not all chips, as I detailed above. There’s also the Curry Mile, a phantasmagoria of spices and neon signs that serves everything the Indian subcontinent has to offer. Your arse’ll be smoking like there’s a flare up it.Very specific musical nostalgia
All the best bands come from Manchester if you insist on an arbitrary cut-off point of roughly 1996. Joy Division, New Order, The Smiths, the Roses and the Mondays, Oasis, music ends after that. There’s the lad who does the rapping I suppose but he’s not on Factory.Hatred for your immediate neighbours
You’re no real Manc if you don’t despise Liverpool, loathe Leeds, look down on Birmingham and consider London beneath contempt. Personally I think anyone from Salford’s a twat. Should fit right in with Britain’s post-Brexit foreign policy.Bees on shit
They only used to be on the bins, but this last 15 years we’ve adopted the bee as the symbol of our fair city and plastered them on everything. They represent Manchester because they work together for the good of all, they’re natty little bastards and if you mess with them, they’ll fuck you up. Alright?
Of course
It's another snippets post, dear reader:
Utter genius!
And the weather? Blustery, showers, still too cold for mid-May. Grim. However, the forecast looks much improved for the end of the week and the Bank Holiday Weekend!
