Happy Canada Day to our chums across the water! And congratulations, too - the news has broken that at last, Deadpool has got his wish. Canada (joining fellow former colony Australia) will be entering the Eurovision Song Contest next year!
To celebrate this important occasion, I couldn't resist posting this again:
Mistress MJ will be breaking that rule as we speak...
Another snippets post today, dear reader:
[Photo:
the fabulous IanVisits blog; click any pic to embiggen]
Pull that string! [click to embiggen]
And the weather? Beautiful and sunny, but still a chilly wind.
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!
It's another snippets post, dear reader:
And the weather? Blustery, showery - but warming up. Typical Spring.
PS - more Glen Baxter:
[click any pic to embiggen]
Loved his work!
Possessed of one of the most seductive speaking voices in acting history, the lovely Timothy Dalton is - gulp - 80 years old today!
In his long and enviable career, Mr Dalton has played alongside most of the greats of theatre and movies - Peter O'Toole, Katharine Hepburn and Anthony Hopkins in The Lion in Winter, Richard Harris, Alec Guinness, Robert Morley, Charles Gray, Dorothy Tutin, Hugh Griffiths, Harry Andrews, Vanessa Redgrave and Glenda Jackson amongst them.
Another in a long line of Welsh acting maestros, with his piercing green eyes and 6ft 2" frame Timothy Dalton has always been a commanding (and extremely sexy) figure on screen. I had a major crush on him for years...
Just check out his debut screen performance:
Of course, the most lucrative role in his four-decade career, and the one for which he is likely to be most remembered worldwide, is his stint as James Bond in the 80s. Licence to Kill was one of the best of the series, as a result:
Inevitably, there are always some less salubrious points in any actor's career. Here are a couple of them...
Many happy returns, Timothy Leonard Dalton Leggett (born 21st March 1946)!
Frustratingly, it was a delightful Spring day today while I was stuck in the benighted office...
How about a little selection of the "newer" music that has caught my ear of late, to cheer things up a bit?
To open proceedings, here's a queen who's definitely overdosed on old Todrick Hall videos:
Next - quite a surprise, as the artist formerly known as "Sporty Spice" makes a very welcome return, more than twenty years since her last solo Top Ten hit. Why no video? It's a mystery. Great song, though!
Side-stepping a little bit from the mainstream, it's always good to know that the icon that is Iggy Pop can still be dragged out into the light to make new music. When it's the eccentric Anna Calvi doing the asking, I guess it's hard to resist...
Our absolute favourite Spanish goths-turned-dance-act Fangoria never fail to please - and I adore their new one! "A little bit of everything", apparently:
Miss Jessie Ware is rapidly becoming a firm favourite here at Dolores Delargo Towers, and for the video for her latest faboo (Ennio Morricone western-inspired) choon, she's only gone and roped-in [geddit?] the lovely James Norton as "The Cowboy". Lucky bitch!
And finally - saving the best to last, I am eternally grateful to our Blogger chum Mr DeVice for alerting me to this one! A meeting of true minds, where Neath's finest son and the legend that is Ana Matronic are concerned, methinks:
My kind of evening!
As ever, dear reader, I love to hear your thoughts...
STOP PRESS:
The UK's entry for Eurovision in May has been announced. I love it!
It'a another snippets post, dear reader:
And the weather? Not bad, for a change...
Fancy a nibble on some buns? Maybe a slab of bratwurst?
Good news - birthday girl Jaye P. Morgan (94 today) is Cooking with Beefcake!
I can't imagine the saintly Delia Smith doing that.
It's another snippets post, dear reader:
The show will be the largest display to date of the former monarch’s clothing, some of them never before seen. The checklist of nearly 200 pieces features items from all 10 decades of her life alongside outfits by contemporary British designers Erdem Moralioglu, Richard Quinn, and Christopher Kane, who took inspiration from her royal wardrobe. These pieces confirm the queen’s enduring influence on British fashion, even in the wake of her 2022 passing.
All good things must come to an end, even in radioland where maintaining an illusion of permanence is paramount to the gentle rhythms of our day. So, just as we are processing the news that In Our Time will be presented by someone other than Melvyn Bragg, we learnt last week that Matthew Sweet is departing Radio 3’s Sound of Cinema, 12 years after he launched the programme. Much as In Our Time is Melvyn Bragg, Sound of Cinema is Matthew Sweet. His successor, Edith Bowman, has a tough job on her hands. Will she be more Roger Moore or George Lazenby?In Saturday’s final episode, Sweet referenced that radio-specific aversion to anything that looks like change. “When we began the show in 2013,” he said, that Hull accent jumping in every now and then like an eager child, “some people thought Radio 3 wasn’t the right place for a film-music programme. Twelve years later, I don’t hear that argument so much”. I would wager that’s because 12 years ago, the Radio 3 listeners didn’t know Sweet so well. “Film music demands serious attention,” said Sweet. And that’s exactly what he brought.
A film-music programme on Radio 3? We all had the same sinking feeling. John Williams, The Lord of the Rings, Hans Zimmer, more John Williams, Chariots of Fire, The Godfather, yet more John Williams. We’ve got Classic FM for that soft-soap stuff, thank you very much. Yet Sweet defied us all, combining a cineaste’s enthusiasm with academic depth, delving far below the surface to add serious value to your listening.
The lovely Jonathan Bailey - whose career has rocketed from the West End [he did the most brilliant Not Getting Married Today when we saw him in the gender-reversed production of Sondheim's Company in 2018] via Bridgerton to big-screen stardom in Wicked - has been named as People Magazine's "Sexiest Man Alive" 2025.
And the weather? Still exceptionally mild for early November.
Yes, it's another "snippets post today", dear reader...
That song is twenty-seven years old [and was in the charts when Madam Arcati and I got together]!
And the weather? Still blustery, but warming up nicely for the weekend...
Yes, we are back from another marvellous, fun-packed week in the (slightly breezy) sunshine of the lovely resort of Benalmadena on the Costa del Sol - tanned and gorgeous as ever!
We made the trip especially to join the celebrations to mark the 20th anniversary of our favourite and most regular beach bar, Palm 5, a tribute to its owner Arnold, and to the loveliest crew of staff you'll find anywhere - Rita, Kim, Danny, Sophie and the rest. There was a party on the Saturday evening we arrived and, despite being somewhat shell-shocked (as we were after two consecutive nights out at the theatre and a long day travelling), we had a whale of a time, especially as some familiar faces had also made the effort to be there, including former team members Manon (who now has her own bar Miluca along the paseo, which we also always visit), the lovely Andy (who was there with Arnold right at the outset when we first visited nineteen years ago), and the fantabulosa Cinzia [with us in the top photo] (who, by the end of her stay, had agreed to return to Palm 5 as manager!).
With all that, and great food, booze, visits to our night-time haunts in La Nogilera in Torremolinos Chessa Bar and Vida, booze, more great food, wallowing in the sun-terrace of another favourite bar The Dizzy Donkey, a Flamenco evening, and booze on top, we had a great holiday!
But what did we miss while we were away?
Speaking of which: we missed celebrating the 50th birthday of sex god David Beckham...
...and that of Enrique Iglesias, as well as the 70ths of Donatella Versace and Anne-Sofie von Otter, the 60ths of Rob Brydon and Linda Evangelista and Lily Allen's 40th - and the 99th birthday of the "national treasure" Sir David Attenborough! We also missed the chance to bid a fond farewell to the faboo Ruth Buzzi, of Rowan and Martin's Laugh-In fame...
Whew.
To finish, here's a piece of music that was played at the Palm 5 party - we love it!
Is it good to be back?
NO!!!
FOOTNOTE:
I haven't forgotten that it's a Tacky Music Monday - nor the fact that it's the Eurovision Song Contest (and our accompanying party, of course) this weekend.
Blending the two perfectly - this!
Subwoolfer - Give That Wolf A BananaOh, I cannot wait to see if anyone this year can top that!
Patron Saint of Cappadocia, Ethiopia, Georgia, Malta, Portugal, Aragon, Catalonia, Sicily and Sardinia, and, of course, of England...
...happy St George's Day to my English chums!
Another snippets post today, dear reader:
...it is the 85th birthday today of darling Dame Penelope Keith, star of The Good Life, To the Manor Born, and so much more besides - including her guest appearances on the Morecambe and Wise Show! All hail...
And the weather? The glorious Spring sunshine continues (even if the wind's a little chilly at times)!
We may have lost an hour in bed today - but British Summer Time is here! Yay!
I have made the most of the beautiful, warm sunshine today, and tackled another couple of huge pots - a phlox and a geranium [yes, we do have a lot of each], split up and repotted, all the while accompanied by the chilled-out sounds of Radio 2 - and trying to drown out the demon children next door who, to add insult to injury, now have a small, yappy dog to keep them hyped-up and screaming. I am going to thank their parents profusely next time I see them...
Speaking of "chilled-out", how about another faboo choon from our "house band" Postmodern Jukebox? That'll do nicely for "Sunday Music"!
Wonderful, as ever.
Another snippets post today, dear reader...
As I said the first time I ever posted it: "They just don't make songs like this anymore!"
And the weather? Gorgeous Spring sunshine (and cherry blossoms and daffs everywhere)!
Yessss! Another weekend's in sight, and it's a blessed relief, indeed.
Let's get the party started - with a bit of Turkish Delight [and birthday boy - he's 45 years old today!] worth breaking your Lenten/Ramadan fast for, dear reader!
As I said the first time I featured him: "Mr Boz is evidently Turkey's answer to Ricky Martin. Like 'Our Favourite Latino' I imagine he probably takes it up the pooper, too."
I'm still imagining that. A lot.
Thank Disco Turkey It's Friday!
Have a great weekend, dear reader!
[*"Aşkı Bulamam Ben" = "I Can't Find Love" in Turkish]
The Spring sun, low in the sky, is indeed startling on the eyes. However, the joy it brings is somewhat marred by the prospect that another week of drudgery in the office has begun.
Hey ho. On this Tacky Music Monday, for no other reason whatosever than it/he's a joy to watch, how about a bit of Hugh Jackman to warm the cockles?
Imagine...
Oh, how I wish we'd ever had the chance to see this show!
Have a good week, dear reader.
We have another centenary to celebrate today, dear reader - the man with the most piercingly blue eyes in Hollywood history, the utterly gorgeous Mr Paul Newman!
Facts:
What a man!
Paul Leonard Newman (26th January 1925 – 26th September 2008)
