Black is the Color of My Voice @ Kings Head Theatre "It is fecking fab! Tears rolling down my cheeks. So powerful." @KingsHeadThtr

Last Sunday afternoon Stuart treated me to an afternoon at the Kings Head Theatre in glitzy Islington to see Black is the Color of My Voice.

A one-woman show telling the story of Nina Simone, it stars Florence Odumosu who deserves all the international 5-star reviews it's been getting.

It is fecking fab! Tears rolling down my cheeks. So powerful.

Elvis "joyously sexy and crackling with electricity" 8/10...

One sentence review: Baz Luhrmann’s Elvis film is imaginative, colourful, and thrilling ; Austin Butler’s performance as Presley is joyously sexy and crackling with electricity. 8/10

Pride 22 - The Parade - @gaygooners @arsenal @PrideInLondon #AllOurPride Read about the GG Pride 2022 and more photos here ->

Last Saturday was Pride in London. And it was epic. The build-up, the arrival, the bus, the Parade, and the after-party.

 

All meticulously planned by Carl, Joe, aided by the GG committee, all the GG volunteers, and the whole Arsenal team. It was a joy. These things don't just happen by themselves. The GG gang have been hard at work making sure everything ran like clockwork on the big day, and it did.

 

We laughed, we sang (thank you Angus!), we drank (only a bit!), we danced (my poor feet!), we cheered and we cheered some more.

 

The flags were waved, the smiles were broadened, and the joy was there to see on everyone's faces.

 

For many it was their first Pride - for me it was my 38th - but I can confidently say it was the best.

 

Thank one and all. Thank you for organising. Thank you for coming. Thank you for being you.

 

Here's to the next one!

 

[Feel free to re-use any photos but please can you credit me if you repost them. Thanks.]

Pride 22 - Three Amigos - @gaygooners @arsenal Read about the GG Pride 2022 bus launch and more photos here ->

Last Friday morning I and a bunch of other GayGooners, were lucky enough to be able to go to the Arsenal Training ground in London Colney to the launch event for the GG Pride 2022 bus. 

 

Arsenal were filming our, and player, reaction to the GG branded vehicle for a video they were putting together. They gave us Pride 22 branded shirts to wear for the video shoot too. Nice.

 

The bus looked fab. It brought a tear to my eye.

 

During a pause in filming George Lewis (Academy) jumped on to have a photo taken with us which was really cool.

Then right on cue Mikael Arteta brought six first team men’s players round to see us and we all shook hands and took some photos. The boys had just finished a training session and were suitably hot and sweaty.  There was Cedric, Runar Alex Runarsson, Reiss Nelson, Ainsley Maitland-Niles, Eddie Nketiah and Hector Bellerin.  They all seemed really pleased to see us and had elected to do so. 

 

Blimey Arteta looks like a piece of Lego close up!  And I got a cuddle with Hector. My hero.

 

The boys then headed off and we hung around waiting to see what happened next…

 

And sure enough…  Rob Holding came around the corner.  He stopped for a much longer meet and greet. He chatted about his holiday with his girlfriend and with Calum Chambers in California and how they found themselves at Pride events in LA and then the following week in San Francisco! Draw from that what you will!

 

I gave Rob my GG scarf to keep. He seemed genuinely chuffed. “Can I keep it?” “Yes” “Seriously?” “Absolutely”

After that, and his kind words on the Arsenal web site, we have a good LGBT+ ally I feel.

 

Feel free to re-use any photos but please can you credit me if you repost them (apart from second one and the last one which are credit Arsenal by their request). 

 

Table for two for the birthday boy...

Calling International Rescue! Table for two for the birthday boy! Happy Birthday Stu!

Battersea Power Station Control Room A…

From the 1930s to 1980s, Battersea Power Station was a working Power Station. At its peak, it was producing a fifth of London’s power. 

The Control Room A has just been renovated. 

Sadly no flying pig yet.

https://batterseapowerstation.co.uk/news/article/battersea-power-station-unveils-newly-restored-control-room-a

Sloe Gin - Decant - Sweeten - Sample - Oopsy…

I’ve been decanting and sweetening our homemade sloe gin this morning. Am now a bit tipsy having had to sample each after sweetening them. 😉🤪 It’s only 9am 😅

Sun & Sea "We loved it. It was Phillip Glass meets Benidorm. Beautifully hypnotic." #SunAndSea #Opera @theAlbanySE8 @WeAreLewisham @LIFTfestival @SerpentineUK

Last Saturday afternoon Stuart and I went to The Albany in glitzy Deptford to watch the climate opera Sun & Sea.

 

Beautifully sung on an indoor beach that you watch from above, Sun & Sea was Lithuania’s national entry for the 2019 Venice Biennale - winning the top Golden Lion award.

 

A day by the shore unfolds into a musical exploration of our relationship with our planet. The crowded beach, the burning sun, bright bathing suits and sweaty brows and legs.

 

Tired limbs sprawling lazily across a sea of towels. The rumble of a volcano, or of an airplane, or a speedboat. The squeal of children, laughter, the sound of an ice cream van in the distance. Sunbathers sing languid songs of worry, of boredom, of almost nothing. Songs of early morning flights and half-eaten sandwiches in the sand, the crinkling of plastic bags whirling in the air then floating silently, jellyfish-like below the waterline. Stories that glide between the mundane, the sinister and the surreal.

 

We loved it. It was Phillip Glass meets Benidorm. Beautifully hypnotic.

 

Wimbledon - Opening Day - Centre Court - with the mother-in-law…

Yesterday Brenda and I headed down to Wimbledon, for the opening day, to take our place in the crowd at Centre Court.

Brenda usually goes with her niece Natalie but she was indisposed so I stepped up.  Mother-in-law and son-in-law to be. 

We got a taxi down to SW19 which took quite some time with a taxi driver who could talk for England. Luckily the rain shower finished just as we pulled up to the gate. Very quickly we were inside and milling about with the 1000s of beaming tennis fans. We had some lunch in a cafe, chatted to a few people, and then took our seats high up in gangway 513 of Centre court. 

First on court was Djokovic who struggled a little bit against his opponent, but did win, and was very entertaining to watch. 

Then Brenda and I went for some strawberries and cream and a glass of champagne. The strawberries and cream are relatively cheap at £2.50, the champagne not so much at £23!

The second match we watched was Emma Raducanu. It was very exciting to see a British woman on Centre Court. She won her match too which was fantastic.

Finally we got to watch Andy Murray. Although he also won his match we didn’t get to see the end because we knew we had a long trip back home so left early at 8pm. We’ve been let down by Uber and Ola taxis earlier on in the day and true to form they let us down again as we left. Bastards!

We ended up getting a transfer bus to Wimbledon station, a train to Vauxhall, and then the tube back up to Highbury. We were both rather exhausted by the time we got home. 

Stuart’s older brother Richard had driven up from Grays to pick Brenda up so the four of us all had a catch up on our day before they set off back to Essex.

A great day - I think Brenda enjoyed herself, I certainly did. 

Diana Ross @ O2 Arena…

Last night Stuart, Darren and I went to see Diana Ross perform as part of her Thank You tour at the O2 Arena on London's glitzy Greenwich Peninsular.

Looking resplendent, Ms Ross was a diva-esque half an hour late (a similar tardiness to when we last saw her in 2007) but soon made up for it with a 90 minute set of non-stop hits*. Four costumes changes (or was it five?) meant we had big frocks, big sound, and big hair. She was fantastic.

If her voice was a tad reedy at times we didn't really notice. Anyone can give an old girl a break - she is 78 - when she has this much stage presence. Besides, her grandchildren were all in the front row.

Great show.


*Setlist

Set 1

I'm Coming Out
More Today Than Yesterday (Spiral Starecase cover)
My World Is Empty Without You (The Supremes song)
Baby Love (The Supremes song)
Stop! In the Name of Love (The Supremes song)
You Can't Hurry Love (The Supremes song)
Love Child (Diana Ross & The Supremes cover)

Set 2
The Boss
Chain Reaction
I'm Still Waiting
Upside Down
Love Hangover / Take Me Higher / Ease on Down the Road

Set 3
Why Do Fools Fall in Love (Frankie Lymon & The Teenagers cover)
If We Hold on Together
If the World Just Danced
Theme From Mahogany (Do You Know Where You're Going To)
Ain't No Mountain High Enough (Marvin Gaye & Tammi Terrell cover)
I Will Survive (Gloria Gaynor cover)

Encore:
Thank You
I Will Survive (Reprise) (Gloria Gaynor cover)