And so, farewell then, Wee Jimmy Krankie Nicola Sturgeon, bane of our lives with her constant wittering on about Scottish independence (despite the fact the people of Scotland voted that a resounding "No"), while her own benighted country has a worse record on the economy and jobs than the rest of the UK.
She won't be missed around these parts.
Speaking of tartan, here's an appropriate song:
It may be St Valentine's St Hallmark's Day today [I steadfastly ignore that cynically commercialised rubbish], but it is also LGBT+ History Month here in the UK, and, as ever, Camden and Islington LGBT Forum (nowadays calling itself "Forum+") has put together a wide-ranging itinerary of events...
We've already missed some interesting (and bizarre) things while we were in Spain - wouldya believe someone actually produced a show called Alan Turing The Musical?! - such as several gay history walking trails, a talk at the British Library intriguingly called The Further Queer Adventures of Alexander the Great: Boyfriend, Activist and Porn Star, and some special themed nights at gay venues Central Station at King's Cross and Zodiac in Camden.
Coming up are a talk about the closeted gay American poet Walt Whitman [never liked his work, so won't be going to that], a weird-sounding "narrative cabaret" work called Wild Onion [that doesn't appeal, either, tbh], more walking trails, a tour of the new Queer Britain Museum behind St Pancras station [which we've not visited since it opened last year, but will one day], a creative writing workshop, an event at the British Library focusing on the BBC documentary The Story of Aids: the Unheard Tapes [which sounds a bit depressing], a discussion of a "forgotten queer classic" historical novel about the fascinating "Ladies of Llangollen" [online-only, more's the pity, and as I spend my life at work on Teams meetings I shan't be rushing to sit at home and watch that] and the annual LGBTQ+ Film Day at The British Museum which features Derek Jarman's The Tempest [unfortunately it clashes with our gang's get-together for a late celebration of The Madam's birthday].
Here in Haringey, things a little more "low-key". There are, however, some events [that we will surely miss] such as poetry readings, a screening of Call Me By Your Name at a library in Crouch End, and what might have been the most interesting, a discussion on curating LGBT+ oral and film histories at the Bruce Castle Museum, a place I have never visited, despite the fact it's only a short bus ride from Wood Green [but that, too, is on the same day as the "gathering of the clans"].
Here at Dolores Delargo Towers, of course, I/we have always been fascinated by LGBT history, so much so that I "curate" my very own "Museum of Camp", which has, over the years featured many and varied stories of the people and events that shaped our narrative - not least today's "exhibit" Richard "Dickie" Colley!
Here's something appropriate for today - that true pioneer of gay cabaret, the peerless Douglas Byng, in 1932
Sublime.
I woke up to gorgeous sunshine this morning, and almost thought we were still in Spain! No such luck.
However, it did provide me with the impetus to get out into the garden to sort some of the dead stuff out, and generally tidy up ready for Spring. Four hours (and three black bin bags) later, I finally sat down. I would have had a more relaxing day if I had actually gone to work...
I haven't forgotten, of course - annual leave or no - that it is a Tacky Music Monday so, to that end, here's our Patron Saint of Spanish Sparkles the divine Sara Montiel and her trusty homosexuales de seguridad!
Macho? She's the butchest thing in the whole video!
Have a good week, dear reader.
Sparklers on a pizza at Palm 5 for The Madam's birthday!Sigh.
We're back, in full recovery mode after a fabulous week in Benalmadena Costa for M. Arcati's birthday. Definitely a week of contrasts - we went from three days of this...
...to this, overnight!
Of course, despite the apocalyptic weather that could have otherwise put a damper on proceedings, we were undeterred. Our fave beach bar Palm 5 (and just about everything else along the paseo) may have been closed for two days, but we sniffed out the plucky couple of places that did decide to open and ate (very well), drank and made merry, as is our wont.
Special mention must go to a new discovery [to us, anyhow; it was always there, and always looked a bit forbidding, but has had a makeover and evolved into a very decent restaurant, indeed], Beny's:
Yes, that's us (around 10 seconds in), centre stage as ever!
Not content with that, of course (after the obligatory siesta) we ventured out to sample the nightlife in the gay bars in La Nogalera in Torremolinos every night as well:
Causing mayhem wherever we go!
All in all, it was a faboo and much deserved break, indeed!
...But what did we miss while we were away?
The biggest (and most horrific) news was of course the 30,000 deaths and devastation left behind by the earthquake on the Turkey-Syria border; other items occupying the headlines included (one year on) the continuing Ukrainian war, the scandal over that suspicious loan to Boris Johnson and the role played by the current BBC chairman, continued paranoia about China, more nasty violence in Israel, and - shock! horror! - Amsterdam is clamping down on marijuana usage in public places.
We missed celebrating the centenary of the utterly faboo Dora Bryan:
...(and Franco Zeffirelli's today) and the 75th birthday of Alice Cooper (as well as the birthdays of Hylda Baker, Zsa Zsa Gabor, Lana Turner, Mamie Van Doren, Carmen Miranda, Ida Lupino, Leontyne Price, Dame Mary Quant, Holly Johnson and heartthrob Cristiano Ronaldo).
We also missed marking the very sad departure of the peerless Mr Burt Bacharach for Fabulon [see my previous tributes here, here and (by association) here], and so, by way of a tribute, here is one of my personal faves written by the maestro:
But did we bring anything back with us for your delectation? I hear you ask, dear reader.
Of course we did! The remarkable and [ahem!] sylph-like Soraya and her anthem to that "Little-Holland-by-the-Mediterranean", Carihuela!
Are we glad to be back?
NO!!
One more day to go, and the excitement is mounting...
One more day to clear the crap, handover the rest, and mid-afternoon close that bloody laptop until 20th February!
¡Gracias discoteca es viernes!
Malaga, Malaga, Malaga...
Very sad (and shocking) news - the simply marvellous Mr Kit Hesketh-Harvey has departed for Fabulon much, much too soon, aged just 65!
Not just the man whose erudite wit made his cabaret act Kit and The Widow (later Kit and McConnel) such a must-see ["our gang" has been along to see them on several occasions, and always come away with sore ribs from laughing] but...
Such a loss.
Let's pay tribute with a selection of old faves, shall we..?
Kit and The Widow - Norwegians:
Ever since the moment when
Plucky Leif Erikson
Paddled up the Skagerrak,
Reykjavik bound...
Kit and The Widow - People Who Like Sondheim (part 1):
People who like Sondheim
Sit and seethe in impotent rage
Saying he’s ahead of his age
That’s why no one goes!
People who like Sondheim
Love him with a frenzy
No one’s good as he is
But who they want to be is
Julia McKenzie.
Kit and The Widow - People Who Like Sondheim (part 2): Julia McKenzie - The Boy From...:
Kit and The Widow - West End Score:
You too can write a great West End score
Steal it from somebody else
The public will clamour, the public will roar
They won't know the best tunes were written before.
Kit and McConnel - Nandos:
I could feel my lower colon rend
Oh, please, my friend,
Not Nando's!
Utter genius!
RIP, Christopher John "Kit" Hesketh-Harvey (30th April 1957 – 1st February 2023)
We are proud parents to FORTY baby Cymbidium orchid flowers this year!
With all that elegance on show, what better way to celebrate than with a bit of Soft Tempo Lounge?
Ah, that's better (despite all that ghastly brutalist London architecture)...
[Music: Edwin Astley & His Orchestra - Halo].
