"It's a number written for me by Jo-Hann Strauss"

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:

Stanley Baxter - Miss Chop Suey

Stanley Baxter - Liberace

He was great, and is greatly missed!

Stanley Livingstone Baxter (24th May 1926 – 11th December 2025)

Of Anne's lingerie, trains, OTT outfits, castles, a drag queen and a screen goddess

Princess Anne visited a knicker factory in Caerphilly in South Wales last week - and gave them some advice on underwired bras!

It's another snippets post today, dear reader:

• "Toot, toot, said Thomas" news: It's the 200th anniversary of the world's first railway - the Stockton & Darlington line - this weekend, and the year of celebrations reaches its zenith with the anniversary journey of a working replica of George Stephenson's original Locomotion 1 engine!

[click any pic to embiggen]

• My era gets its own showcase news: A major new exhibition titled Blitz: the Club That Shaped the 80s has finally opened at the Design Museum (last Saturday). The legendary London club that spawned a whole style movement in the early 1980s - one that I wholeheartedly adored, named by the press "The New Romantics" - run with an iron fist (in a velvet glove) by Steve Strange and Rusty Egan, it launched the careers of acts such as Spandau Ballet, Sade and Boy George, milliner Stephen Jones [who taught Philip Treacy all he knows] and myriad other designers, couturiers and creatives. The club was only around for a brief time, but what an impact it had - I can't wait to see this!
• We can but dream news: You too could be king of your own 855-year-old Norman castle - and accompanying mansion - with 23 bedrooms, 19 bathrooms, gym, sauna, games room and Great Hall, and 25 acres of parkland, in Westmorland, Cumbria for the bargain price of £5.5million! I'll have the crown set with diamonds and sapphires, please.

• Confessions of a drag bitch news: "I learned early to mask, to put my guard up. Drag became my canvas. I worked in nightclubs, and suddenly I was getting attention from adoring crowds, but only by disguising myself. I was caught somewhere between a fierce desire to be seen and the reluctance to be truly known." Legendary London "scene queen" Jodie Harsh has published her autobiography - buy it here.
• And, finally: RIP, the ultra-glamorous Claudia Cardinale, star of (amongst others) Visconti’s The Leopard, Fellini's 8½ and Sergio Leone’s Once Upon a Time in the West. She's probably less well-known for this:

Fab safety gays!

And the weather? Sunny, but the wind's a bit chilly.

Hokey-Cokey, Music Hall and Missy Elliott

Finally! I (and Madam Arcati, Hils, Crog and Bence) can make a claim to fame - we appeared on stage at Wilton's Music Hall!

OK, it was only "doing the Hokey-Cokey", but it counts...

The occasion, of course, was (another) fantabulosa evening's entertainment courtesy of the wonderful, the one and only Ida Barr!

Ida - the creation of the genius that is Christopher/Kit Green [see here] - is, of course, one of our fave comedy acts [Hils and Crog even had her perform/hold court at their wedding reception!], and although we have been to see her on many occasions, she didn't disappoint...

Her mash-ups of Music Hall numbers (and even "Will.i.am" Blake's Jerusalem) with modern urban music (the style she calls "Artificial Hip-Hop") are the stuff of legend:

Ida Barr - Get Your Coat On

And as for that Hokey-Cokey/Conga line, no Ida Barr show would be complete without one!

Ida Barr Conga Line

A wonderful night, as ever - and we even bumped into Kit on her way home (she lives just around the corner from us in Wood Green) and paid due homage for providing us with such a fun show...

This odd diversity of misery and joy

Grrrr. Monday. It's grim.

There are some things that are certain to cheer one up at the start of a week, however!

One of them is our beloved Sir Noël Coward, The Master, whose 125th birthday it is today!

The other is the assembled talents of a bevy of drag queens. From Belgium.

Put 'em together on a Tacky Music Monday, and what do you get? This old fave!

Stephen Gallavin - Mad About The Boy

Have a good week, dear reader.

Here's to us. Who's like us? Damn few!

It's not every day that one is surrounded by divas of such magnitude

"There’s a fantastic chemistry between Rick and Steven, born of many years working together, but the show has a freshly minted flavour to it – they’re doing it just for us, you feel from the get go." - Brian Butler for GScene

That is precisely the sentiment we all felt, our little gang - Me, Madam Arcati, Hils, History Boy and John-John - as we sat in the surprisingly (and probably unnecessarily) sizeable environs of the Charing Cross (formerly Players') Theatre for a true meeting of Divas - Barbra & Liza Live! on Saturday evening.

The sublime creation of two long-serving veterans of the cabaret circuit Steven Brinberg as "Barbra" and our friend Rick Skye as "Liza", it's a tour-de-force of creativity - and an affectionate, if sometimes parodic, tribute to two of the greatest showbiz Grande Dames.

Mr Brinberg encapsulates everything that makes Miss Streisand the "MegaBabs" diva, idolised by generations - her poise, her gestures, her almost regal aloofness, but mainly that voice. The Way We Were, With One Look, Don’t Rain On My Parade, Send In The Clowns, Evergreen - all were magnificently delivered. Close your eyes, and you'd believe it was really her! Judge for yourself:

Simply Barbra - Send In The Clowns

His talent as an impressionist stretches further than just Babs, however, as he proved when he performed I'm Still Here as a succession of divas in turn - Eartha Kitt, Cleo Laine, Ethel Merman, Lena Horne, Cher, Bernadette Peters, Billie Holliday, Bette Davies, Gillian Anderson as Margaret Thatcher and more - and later, a "duet" between Miss Streisand and Anthony Newley on Who Can I Turn To! Flawless.

Mr Skye, on the other hand, portrays all the nuances of a feisty just-past-her-peak Liza, all twitchy moves, slightly breathless, wide-eyed and wistful in her anecdotes, at other times almost frantic in wanting to entertain and - quite amazingly without doing an actual impression of her vocal dexterity - allows the audience to suspend disbelief and whoop for joy at being in "her" presence! His speciality is to combine many of Miss Minnelli's actual numbers such as Maybe This Time, a frenetic Losing My Mind, I Wish You Love, Stepping Out and (of course) Cabaret (melded with Over the Rainbow) with his own clever, and very funny, twists on her repertoire.

Thus, there is the hilarious Ode to Betty Ford ["when you’re overwrought, it’s the best resort"], a medley of Liza's version of Beyonce's Single Ladies [from the Sex in the City film] with Ring Dem Bells, and - remarkably - Feed The Birds mingled with Pizzazz!...

...and this, a twist on a song written for her by ["her best friend" - a running joke; everybody's "her best friend" and she's "known them since I was eleven years old"] Charles Aznavour:

A Slice O' Minnelli - Too Quiet, Love

As the evening's "special guest" halfway through the show, Chuck Sweeney was a delightfully funny "Peggy Lee", and treated the audience to a frenzied rendition of her classic Fever.

The show closed, as it began, with a duet between the two leading ladies - on Sondheim's Old Friends - followed by a marvellous take on the famous "vocal duel" between Liza's mother Judy Garland and Babs herself - Get Happy and Happy Days Are Here Again.

A brilliant evening! We loved it.

Shame there was not a bigger turnout, really - I mentioned at the outset that this venue was probably too big for a show like this. All three of tonight's stars have previously appeared (to great acclaim) at true cabaret venues such as Crazy Coqs, and the intimacy of such spaces would most likely have worked better for all concerned. A minor detail, and I sincerely hope they do well for the rest of the run...

Barbra & Liza Live! is on at the Charing Cross Theatre until 17th November 2024.

A Regular Royal Queen

Today would have been the 80th birthday of the late, much-missed Mr George Logan, better known (of course) as "Doctor Evadne Hinge" [pictured left, above] - one half of one of the most enduring British drag acts of all time. By way of a celebration, here's an extract of my post way back in 2009:

Hinge and Bracket [for it is they] first became a double act with their regular bookings in the early 70s every Sunday lunchtime at a gay Kensington restaurant run by the iconic April Ashley. Their earliest breakthrough into the mainstream, however, was their smash hit appearance in 1974 at the Edinburgh Festival.

Patrick Fyffe (Dame Hilda Bracket) and George Logan (Dr Evadne Hinge) both had brilliant operatic singing voices, and their evocation of middle class gentility in the mythical "Stackton Tressel", suffused with smutty double-entendres, kept their flame alight until they were "discovered" by the BBC in 1977 - resulting in hit radio series such as The Enchanting World of Hinge and Bracket, followed by The Random Jottings of..., and At Home with....

As well as gracing us with their TV commercials for sherry, they appeared in two Royal Variety Performances, their own series of "Gala Evenings", starred on The Good Old Days, landed their own prime-time TV series Dear Ladies, and made a number of records. They also appeared in a televised Royal Opera House production of Die Fledermaus in 1983, conducted by Placido Domingo and starring Kiri Te Kanawa as Rosalinde.

Our own precious copy of the Best Of Hinge and Bracket is often on an evening's playlist, not least for the pair's superlative versions of We'll Gather Lilacs, Zigeuner and A Regular Royal Queen.

Sadly Patrick died in 2002; George moved to France to run a guest house - and departed to join him in Fabulon just last year. But we will never forget the sheer joy that Hinge and Bracket gave us...

Perfect "Sunday Music".

George Logan (7th July 1944 – 21st May 2023)

Hinge and Bracket official website

"What do you think? Gorgeous, huh?"

Very many happy returns to the fantabulosa and multi-talented Harvey Fierstein, who blows out 70 candles on his cake today!

A creative genius of a man - among his triumphs, he wrote and directed (and starred in) the original Torch Song Trilogy on stage and the film adaptation, wrote the book and lyrics for Jerry Herman's La Cage Aux Folles, and the book for Cindi Lauper's triumphal Kinky Boots. On stage, he was the original "Edna Turnblad" in Marc Shaiman and Scott Wittman's musical Hairspray, "Tevye" in Fiddler On The Roof, and replaced Douglas Hodge as "Albin/Zaza" in La Cage. On screen, he was in Mrs Doubtfire and Independence Day, episodes of Cheers and Murder She Wrote, and has done numerous voiceovers for the likes of The Simpsons and Mulan. Phew!

Needless to say, we adore him.

Here are a few highlights of the man's talents, starting with one of the best monologues of 'em all...

You Can't Stop The Beat - Hairspray

And finally, as Gay Pride is just around the corner, this:

Harvey Fierstein on Gay Pride

Harvey Forbes Fierstein (born 6th June 1954)

Daphne's arrived!

Work just gets in the way...

True to form, the weather's gorgeous again, yet I'm trapped in the office - and there's so little time now to get things sorted a) for the Grand Eurovision Party on Saturday, and b) before we troll off to Spain for ten days next Wednesday!

Hey ho, here's a little recent discovery (courtesy of the saintly Miss Elaine Paige) that cheered me up - hope it does you, too...

J. Harrison Ghee - You Coulda Knocked Me Over With A Feather [Some Like It Hot Original Broadway Cast]

They'll make a musical out of anything these days, it seems.

Another bit of sparkle has gone from our lives

Sad news, as we bid a fond farewell to a stalwart of the drag circuit in the UK for the last thirty years, Miss Jason - who has departed for the Cabaret Tent in Fabulon:

Miss Jason - Short Documentary

Cheers, dear!

RIP, Miss Jason aka Jason Sutton

There's men everywhere, no girls anywhere. What is this place?

April Fool!

I'm back in circulation, after a fab few days doing a whirlwind tour - thanks to Baby Steve and Houseboy Alex - of what seemed to be every garden centre in Essex, including Langthorns Plantery, Perrywood, Cherry Lane, and our favourites Halstead Garden Centre (aka "Maggie's"), and of course Bourne Brook Nursery (aka "Mr Baker's"), from whence I grubbed out from the cuttings bench another fourteen Fuchsias [some of them replacements for this winter's losses, some we haven't grown since before the last move (when I binned the whole collection), and five new varieties]!

I also came back with two hardy Geraniums, a new Phlox variety, a new Salvia, a Thunbergia vine and a Scaevola. That was fun on the coach, tube and bus getting home!

While I was away I missed celebrating the 90th birthdays of both Richard Chamberlain and Shirley Jones, and the 60th of Tracy Chapman - and all the "cox action" of The Boat Race. I was easily able to ignore all that bullshit that surrounds Easter [but no chocolate! no Tiger Lillies!]; however the arrival of British Summer Time came as a bit of a mindfuck as we lost an hour in bed. It was lovely weather while we were doing the plant-shopping excursion, but it definitely doesn't feel like summer here in London, with hailstorms and blustery weather again... [Oh, and I was too woozy today to catch up with the usual round of April Fools' Day jokes - so here's a few highlights.]

Apart from new additions to the extensive gardens here at Dolores Delargo Towers, did I bring any musical "delights" back with me? Bien sûr! It's fortuitous that it's a Tacky Music Bank Holiday Monday:

Katya feat. Trixie - Ding Dong!

Vladimir Cauchemar and Alyona Alyona - Dancer

And, finally... WTF?!

Cherylyn Barnes - Gay Guys

Enjoy what's left of the last day of freedom, dear reader...

It's behind you!

"Our gang" is off to the panto this evening - Cinderella, starring Strictly Come Dancing's Craig Revel Horwood as the Dame indeed!

It's a British tradition that I attempted to explain @adecaceago this week:

Here in the UK, it is traditional for children's theatrical entertainment at this time of year to include old men dressed as women, women dressed as boys and kissing other women, grown men dressed as cows or horses, slapstick humour, and lots of double-entendres that only adults can appreciate. Yes, it's the pantomime season again!

The Art of the Pantomime Dame - Jack Tripp

The Art of the Pantomime Dame - George Lacy

The Art of the Pantomime Dame - Billy Dainty

The rest of the world does not understand this arcane art...

You'll like it.

"Oh yes, you will!"

"Oh no, I won't!"

Oh yes, you will!"

Ad infinitum...

Well, we will, anyhow!

The story of Pantomime - V&A

Viva la Diva

As I'm trolling off with chums to South Kensington for the rave-reviewed Diva exhibition at the V&A this afternoon, I thought I would dig out an old fave - the utterly remarkable Signorina LaLa McCallan!

She's a queen who knows an appropriate song for an occasion:

LaLa McCallan - Casta Diva

Fantabulosa!

[More LaLa here]

Farewell, Our Lil

From Matt Cain's panegyric in The Guardian:

Lily Savage could be abrasive and her form of drag was anarchic and disruptive. As the punk rock of its day, it was the perfect fit for his rebellious political views. These weren’t just limited to queer culture – in 2010, he delivered a famous rant against Tory austerity. He had a passion for social justice, and from an early age was fired up by ignorance and prejudice.

First and foremost, though, he was a gay activist. And his work on this front began when increasing visibility was key.

Lily Savage was a pioneer for drag in the mainstream, way before RuPaul’s Drag Race. With a spot on The Big Breakfast and a hosting role on Blankety Blank, O’Grady may have cleaned up his language but he didn’t tone down his act.

This meant that when he retired Lily Savage and began presenting TV shows as himself, it had a huge impact. It showed the mainstream public that gay people could be just like them. And it showed gay people that it was possible to be embraced by society without having to sanitise certain of the less “respectable” elements of our culture. O’Grady may have been embraced as a national treasure, but the British public knew exactly who they were embracing.

From rebellious and sometimes law-breaking working-class boy (and father of a child while in his teens) to waiter at a brothel in Manila, social worker, dive bar drag act, BAFTA-winning chat show interviewer (in and out of drag), "inmate" in Prisoner Cell Block H: The Musical, prime-time-telly-show-host (Blankety Blank and Blind Date), pantomime dame, gay rights campaigner, "Miss Hannigan", close friend of Cilla Black, Barbara Windsor and even (reputedly) HM The Queen, renowned dog (and every other kind of animal) lover, genial and hilarious radio show presenter, national treasure - Paul O'Grady was loved by everyone, in whatever "role" he played.

For one man to receive tributes from the likes of Dame Elton John, Queen Consort Camilla, Russell T Davies, stalwart rights campaigners including Peter Tatchell, politicians, journalists, charitable bodies, numerous drag performers, and myriad names from the world of showbiz including Sandi Toksvig, Eddy Izzard, Ken Bruce, Carol Vorderman, Susan Boyle, Tom Hardy, Lorraine Kelly, John Barrowman, Vanessa Feltz, Joe Lycett, Zoe Ball, Jeremy Vine, Gaby Roslin, Amanda Holden, Rob Brydon, Les Dennis, Paddy McGuinness, and thousands more is quite an eye-opener.

There was seemingly no end to his talents as a true humanitarian. It was, however, to his acid-queen alter-ego (despite the fact he retired her in 2007) "Our Lil" Lily Savage to whom we turn to pay due homage...

Lily Savage as Marlene Dietrich - Lamppost Attached to My Mac

Lily Savage and Bob Downe - Ice Ballet

Lily Savage on Coronation Street in the 90s

Lily Savage, Cilla Black, Barbara Windsor - Gotta Get a Gimmick

Lily Savage - Argos Is A Girl's Best Friend

...and whoever knew she released a Hi-NRG song?!

Lily Savage - Tough At The Top

RIP, Paul James O'Grady MBE.

There will never be another.

More Paul/Lily here and here.

Mama's Day!

On this Mothering Sunday, I thought nothing less than a triple-bill of tributes would do!

Of course, here at Dolores Delargo Towers, we do like our tributes to come with a twist...

Miss Peppermint - When You're Good to Mama

Christian Borle and Jonathan Groff - If Mama Was Married

Alan Cumming - Don't Tell Mama (Broadway Backwards, 2011)

Have a great day, all you mothers out there!

Neighbours, everybody needs good neighbours...

...and these are some of ours!

From an article By Xenia Taliotis in (bizarrely) The Telegraph two years ago:

"I’m finding rhinestones in places where the sun definitely doesn’t shine. It’s one of the hazards of being Fantasy, but I think the one I found last night doesn’t belong to her.” Fantasy is Tony’s drag queen creation, a gorgeous confection of candyfloss-pink hair, six-inch sequinned skirts, seven-inch spangled heels, and perilously plunging tops. But this particular rhinestone has nothing to do with her.

It’s from a costume belonging to Tony’s brother, Kevin – or more accurately, to his alter ego, Veronica Green, recently seen on television sashaying away from RuPaul’s Drag Race following a positive Covid diagnosis.

Sibling relationships can be fraught at the best of times, but do Tony and Kevin’s dual brother/sister personalities bring twice the strife? “We certainly interact differently when we are in drag than when we’re not,” says Kevin.

“As brothers, we are really similar and while that can be bonding, it can also, at times, put us in situations where we try to outdo one another, even if it’s over something silly like gaming. Veronica and Fantasy are very different – plus they met as adults – so there’s none of the history of competing for parental attention or of being in the same school.”

Kevin says he can sometimes feel intimidated by Fantasy’s audaciousness, while Tony admits to being more deferential to Veronica than he is to Kevin. “She commands – or is that demands – respect. I can be quite snappy with my brother, but when Veronica walks into the room, there’s none of that. I wouldn’t dare.”

Yes! One of our neighbours is indeed Tony aka Fantasy Qween, and as Madam Arcati recently got talking to him/her (thanks to another old gossipy queen who lives in in our road), we received an invitation to go to his/her Quiz Night Cabaret on Saturday!

And so it was we hopped on the bus, ten minutes up the road, to the unlikeliest of environs for a drag show, the rather twee suburb of Southgate [famous for its marvellous Art Deco Tube station, for being built on what was the entrance to the vast Medieval royal hunting-ground of Enfield Chase, for the presence of one of the oldest (and once one of the largest) surviving oak trees in London, for being the birthplace of David Puttnam, Simon Mayo, Rachel Stevens and Amy Winehouse, and, er, that's it], to the venue - what would have been deemed anywhere else as a "workmen's club", but not here; far too middle-class for that - for what turned out to be a fun night!

We didn't win the camp-as-old-tits quiz [but then again, we weren't looking the answers up our phones], and loved the atmosphere that Fantasy managed to conjure up for the packed house; a mix of obvious regulars and "friends-of-the-family"...




...however, as might have been predicted, it was unquestionably Veronica Green who stole the show!

[click any pic to embiggen]

Here's a snippet of her perfomance, taken by the Madam:

Also on stage, not performing but doing the visuals, was the other neighbour, Tony/Fantasy's boyfriend Vangelis - who, it turns out, was a contestant on The Voice in 2016 and was hand-picked by Boy George to become his regular backing vocalist!

Here's Vangelis in full campery, in a video that features all our neighbours:

Vangelis Polydorou - Throw Me

Wow. What a neighbourhood this is turning out to be! I'm waiting for the invitation to the barbecue this summer when we might meet Boy George...

The Devil Made Me Do It

[click to embiggen]

The Madam and I had another fantabulosa evening at the magnificent Crazy Coqs cabaret bar at Cafe Zedel last night - courtesy of Miss Hope Springs!

Perfectly capturing the archetypal not-so-much-a-has-been-but-a-never-was doyenne of a million cheap hotel and casino cabarets, the "recovering showgirl" is the brainchild of the uber-talented Ty Jeffries (son of Lionel), who not only camps it up, growling breathlessly beneath the towering wig and layers of spangles and sequins, but is also the writer of every song in Miss Springs' repertoire.

As this was a celebration of her Dix Ans au Crazy Coqs, indeed all her old "favourites" were there; excerpts from "her many (mostly unreleased) albums" such as Je m’appelle Hope, Miss Hope Springs Swings with Strings, Das ist Miss Hope Springs and her "1972 Memphis album recorded in High Wycombe" - including her "Eurovision number" Sing One Song, numerous perfect pastiches of genres from Cole Porter to Noel Coward, Bacharach and David to Jacques Brel, including Assets, What's Your Sign?, January Jones, A Seedy Little Nightclub in Pigalle, Carnival, (the very sad) She’s His World, and (of course) her signature tune The Devil Made Me Do It, interspersed with hilarious anecdotes about her life

These included her pool party romps with "Goldie Hawn" at Jack Jones's place with Sonny & Cher, Mama Cass ("eating a sandwich") and Shari Lewis and Lambchop (who came to a tragic end); her TV roles including playing a hooker, a corpse, and the tape outline of a corpse on Columbo; her songwriting career ("Nat King Cole, Peggy Lee, Blossom Dearie, I wrote songs for all of them. They never sang any of them, but I still wrote them"); and her ill-fated relationships, including her life with current husband Irving (and his boyfriend Carlos!) in a mobile home in Dungeness ("When my husband told me he was getting a little camper I thought – that isn’t possible").

It was superb. Miss Hope Springs is an icon!

Miss Hope Springs showreel and vox-pops

Miss Hope Springs at #WeAreFabuloso

Miss Hope Springs official website

[More Miss Hope Springs]

'Scuse I...

...just getting myself ready for John-John's all-day party!

Chicas guapas, or something similar

For a change, the weather while I was off this weekend was lovely - and the rain held off till yesterday night, so I was able to enjoy the garden properly for a change. It's still the first day of another crappy week staring at that crappy laptop, however, and we need something to cheer us up.

On this Tacky Music Monday, I've found this clip from some odd Spanish (or possibly Mexican) variety show - and it really is beyond mere words...

Manolo Otero and Enrique Guzmán - Con faldas y a lo loco

I'm not even going to start to understand that.

Have a good week, dear reader...

Butterflies, Whitney vs Allah, fisting gloves and bus stop sanitiser

It was a long time coming. Our last outing - and in fact the very last time it was able to be held - was February's "Polari in Heaven". So it was indeed a joy for all concerned that John-John and I were able to attend the re-emergence of Polari at the venerable Royal Vauxhall Tavern last night!

Our hostess-with the mostest Mr Paul Burston was thrilled, too, resplendent in his Bowie facemask and a butterfly-patterned shirt ["like a butterfly emerging from a cocoon", he observed], as he opened proceedings in the socially-distanced, table-service-only venue...

...and he should well have been proud, as we were treated to a fantabulosa evening's entertainment!

Opening proceedings in a fittingly OTT fashion was the whirlwind of energy that is Amrou Al-Kadhi, aka Glamrou.

Not only is this glamorous creature nominated for the Polari First Book Prize this year for their autobiography Unicorn: The Memoir of a Muslim Drag Queen, but also a brilliant and funny performer - as their "love song to Allah" So Emotional [yes, it is based on Miss Houston's 80s wibbler], complete with genuflection and an attempted pole-dance more than proved. Mind-blowing - we loved it!

With the applause ringing in our ears, with what could anyone follow that?

 

How about a paean to lesbian sex, and the (ahem) ins-and-outs of fisting?

And that is exactly what our next reader the lovely Kate Davies provided, in an uproarious and xxx-rated extract from her new book In At The Deep End (shortlisted for the "other" award, for established writers, The Polari Prize 2020). The book's blurb alone is hilarious:

Until recently, Julia hadn’t had sex in three years.

But now:

• a one-night stand is accusing her of breaking his penis;
• a sexually confident lesbian is making eyes at her over confrontational modern art;
• and she’s wondering whether trimming her pubes makes her a bad feminist.

Julia’s about to learn that she’s been looking for love – and satisfaction – in all the wrong places…

Quite an eye-opener, indeed. And utterly brilliant.

After a short break for a pee and a fag, it was time for a little "round-table discussion", with Paul exploring a bit more of the lives of  Glamrou and Kate, and the inspirations behind their writing. 

Both were illuminating. Obviously the harrowing childhood of a closet gayer being brought up in a strict Islamic Iraqi household makes the bravery of Glamrou's chosen career as an outrageous drag performer all the more admirable. However Kate's complex and varied history, including "a short-lived career as a burlesque dancer that ended when she was booed off stage at a Conservative club, dressed as a bingo ball", and culminating in her memorable coming-out as a lesbian when she met her first lover after one such performance in the RVT itself, was equally fascinating.

But, just as we thought it was safe...

...Ms Barbara Brownskirt arrived to take over the stage!

One of our favourites - and longtime regular "antagonist" at Polari - the "Brownskirt woman" (the creation of the adorable Karen McLeod), the "Writer-in-Residence at the 197 bus stop on Croydon Road in Penge" continues to be overlooked by all the book prizes yet keeps up the pressure by reading them to the audience, like it or not! Last night included some dearly loved favourites, including Judi (Judi, Judi) (her love-song for Britain's favourite theatrical Dame) and Cruelty-Free Shoes, but we were also treated to some new ones, including The Blackberries Are Worrying Me and a new lockdown poem The Bus Stop Will Not Be Sanitised!

Here she is, in fine form, at a previous RVT evening:

Barbara Brownskirt - Same Sex Marriage

We love her!

And, after the customary "curtain call", we made the most of the very short time remaining till the current "curfew closing time" of 10pm to mingle with some of the few regulars in attendance among the throng (Sexy Lexi and the lovely Uli from Gay's The Word bookshop among them), before wending our way back home again. I was home by 10.45pm - unheard of for a Friday night in the old days!

I have booked now (thanks, Paul!) for the next outing on 23rd October, featuring readings from Booker Prize-nominated novelist Philip Hensher, and the magnificent Diana Souhami, esteemed biographer of society lesbians such as Gertrude Stein and Alice B. Toklas, Gluck, Violet Trefusis, Radcliffe Hall, Romaine Brooks and Natalie Barney.

Can't wait!

We love Polari.

Once I was a schleppa

Gosh! "National treasure", star of telly, radio and the stage (in his "alter-ego" of Lily Savage, primarily), Mr Paul O'Grady is 65 years old today.

We were only listening to his (currently in "best of" repeats format, since he is "shielding" in isolation during the coronavirus) Radio 2 show this evening. Coincidentally enough, the subject of this episode was Cilla Black, for the clip I have selected by way of a tribute today is an old, old favourite - in which "Our Lil" appears alongside said Cilla and fellow "treasure", Barbara Windsor...

Lily Savage, Barbara Windsor and Cilla Black - You Gotta Get A Gimmick

Happy birthday, chook!

Paul O'Grady MBE (born Paul James Grady, 14th June 1955)

More Mr O'Grady/Miss Savage here, here and particularly here