...but what did we miss while we were away? Another bus strike, some cold weather, the closure of yet another gay bar in Soho, Britain becoming ever classier with the news that Poundland is trying to take over its rival 99p Store chain, Putin and ISIS being bastards (no surprises there), and a slight setback for the Qatari royal family's plans to take over the whole of London...
We missed what would have been Elaine Stritch's 90th birthday, Natalie Cole and Morgan Fairchild's 65th birthdays, the 93rd birthdays of both Patrick McNee and Denis Norden, Zsa Zsa Gabor's 98th, and also that eternal survivor Carol Channing's 94th!
On a more sad note, we bade a fond farewell to the film noir stalwart Lizabeth Scott (read my blog about her on the occasion of her 90th birthday), and, in even more sad news, the fantabulosa Geraldine McEwan - the original television Emmeline "Lucia" Lucas in Mapp and Lucia - has died. "Au reservoir", indeed.
There was some good news for the West End - despite an excellent yet sad article by John Harris in The Guardian mourning the continued gentrification of the centre of our fine city - as it was announced (as had been rumoured for some time) that the Cyndi Lauper/Harvey Fierstein musical Kinky Boots is coming to London this summer. A rather fab addition to the "Season" calendar, methinks - a season of events that begins immediately, as February is LGBT History Month!
Oh! And Madonna's new single Living for Love is out. Here's a tribute from Charlie Hides TV. Of course.
It's strange being back. There's no beach...
