Dublin…

A fun Tier Point Run to Dublin for the day.

What I learned from the Guinness tour…

- Guinness is red

- Gulp it, don’t sip it. 😂

Fulham 1 - 1 Arsenal...

Sometimes a draw at a football match feels like a loss. And dropping two points yesterday at Craven Cottage was a bitter pill to swallow after the dominance Arsenal had shown on the pitch.

 

Obviously it was lovely to meet up with the @gaygooners before the game, but the driving rain and the misery of having what we thought was a last gasp winner ruled offside rather tarnished the afternoon.

 

Onwards and up with my friends.

 

@Arsenal

@gaygooners

#FULMAN

The Little Foxes @ Young Vic...

Stella cast. Top-notch production team. Lazy production. Yawn. We left at half-time.

 

Don’t Blink!…

Weeping Angel atop our Xmas Tree 🎄

Don’t blink!

@bbcdoctorwho

@disneydoctorwho

@russelltdavies63

#doctorwho

#weepingangel

#blink

#xmastree

#christmastree

Suspended…

Wait, it’s that how it should be? 😂

The Importance of Being Earnest @ Lyttleton Theatre...

Last night Stuart and I went to see a fantastically camp, meta, joyful modern take on Oscar Wilde's farce The Importance of Being Earnest at the Lyttleton Theatre on London's glitzy Southbank.

 

Starring Ncuti Gatwa, Sharon D Clarke, and Hugh Skinner the text sticks fairly closely to Wilde's wickedly subversive original but injects some modern themes.

 

A few modern tunes get played in the style of Bridgerton and a few modern shout outs too - hello Bruno Mars

, hello Dalston Superstore!

 

All the characters are playing it for laughs and being Wilde there were of course many laughs to be had. Earnest contains some of his funniest lines:

 

"All women become like their mothers. That is their tragedy. No man does. That is his."

 

"I never travel without my diary. One should always have something sensational to read in the train."

 

"If I am occasionally a little over-dressed, I make up for it by being always immensely over-educated."

 

"Never speak disrespectfully of Society, Algernon. Only people who can’t get into it do that."

 

The plot is beautifully silly and the players do it justice.

 

Standouts were Gatwa as Algernon, the Skinner as Jack, and Ronkẹ Adékoluẹjo as Fairfax.

 

Go see.

 

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Corners…

Yes, yes, my dear Premier League. You will bring this rule in.  You will. 🧙‍♂️

“These are not the ‘droids you’re looking for“

@arsenal 

#kingsofcorners 

Arsenal Supports GayGooners….

Arsenal have posted something super supportive on Facebook. 🏳️‍⚧️🏳️‍🌈

Replies are usual thing. Sadly. 

Well I’m taking no prisoners today. 

My standard reply to most homophobic comments is, “I think I know what you’re really asking. But I’m sorry I’m taken”  😂 

@arsenal

@gaygooners 

Arsenal 2 - 0 Manchester Utd...

It was a great catch-up with the @gaygooners at the pre-game meet-up and ticket hand-out last night.

 

And the fun continued on the pitch, in the second half at any rate, as once again Arsenal were crowned the Kings of Corners.

 

In the first half Manchester Utd failed to capitalise on their superior possession and what with Arsenal's rather lacklustre tackling - our boys had a serious talking to coming their way from Mikel Arteta at half time - we were probably rather lucky to be 0 - 0 as they broke out the half-time orange segments. 

 

But whatever Arteta did say in the dressing room - and whatever props he used - finger puppets, light bulbs, or ping-pong balls - it worked! The Gunners were like a different team after the break.

 

We dominated the play and regal corners from first Declan Rice and then Bukayo Saka saw defenders Jurrien Timber and William Saliba secure the much deserved 2 - 0 victory.

 

The crowd erupted after each goal. 

 

With Liverpool dropping up a couple of points, the title race is definitely on.

 

Onwards and up with my friends.

 

@Arsenal

@gaygooners

#ARSMAN

“You couldn’t make it up!” Eh, yes you could. 😂

Belfast…

A fun tier point run to Belfast with Darce. They plied us with booze on the flight. Had lunch in The Ivy. Darce made a new friend. We laughed a lot 😂

 

Christmas Kick-Off Party @ Eversley House…

A lovely day hosting our nearest and dearest; Toby, Ko, Andrew, Kev, Andrew, Michael, Tim, Andy, Darren, and Vince. 

Stuart did lots of home cooking - chicken soup, pulled pork, coleslaw, mince pies, sausage rolls…

Lots of Christmas music and laughter. And a homemade goodie bag to take home.

🎅🎄🎉🥳🍾🍻🎁☃️

The Puppini Sisters @ Cadogan Hall…

On Saturday night Darren, Stuart, and I went to see the wonderful Puppini Sisters at the Cadogan Hall in London’s glitzy Sloane Square.

I love the Sisters - they even performed at my 50th birthday party - and here they were celebrating 20 years together at what was a wonderful show. 

They performed many close harmony classics including Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy and Mr. Sandman, along with their classic takes on Walk Like an Egyptian, Crazy in Love, Wuthering Heights, and a simply sublime reimagining of Total Eclipse of the Heart. 

When introducing Wuthering Heights Marcella Puppini told a really funny anecdote about the time many years ago they approached Duckie about performing there. Marcella’s husband had made the call and asked if there’s any particular song they should be performing on the south London stage. 

The reply came back. “Kate Bush’s Wuthering Heights is the theme song of Duckie.” 

“Oh, we can do that” said Marcella’s husband. 

The only problem was. They couldn’t.  

So Marcella had just two weeks’ notice to scramble around and do a vocal arrangement.

At Duckie as they started to perform the song, they thought oh dear, we’ve made a mistake. 

A sea of burly gay men with crossed arms watched in silence. Not sure what they were listening to. 

But by the end of the performance they were cheering and waving their arms in the air. They brought the house down. 

I was there that night. The night I fell in love with The Puppini Sisters.