tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38408045981096383762024-03-19T08:03:05.438+00:00Dolores Delargo Towers - Museum of CampCAMP: "A cornucopia of frivolity, incongruity, theatricality, and humour." "A deadly, winking, sniggering, snuggling, chromium-plated, scent-impregnated, luminous, quivering, giggling, fruit-flavored, mincing, ice-covered heap of mother love." "The lie that tells the truth." "Ostentatious, exaggerated, affected, theatrical; effeminate or homosexual; pertaining to or characteristic of homosexuals."Jonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15501010362663971583noreply@blogger.comBlogger1638125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3840804598109638376.post-20707527154698738632024-03-13T13:16:00.004+00:002024-03-14T09:24:15.408+00:00He pushed the boundaries of excess<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyEmu7LkIbspRZXS9mG-mbT7D7GTHxxRdq_QpSDSiiK2fjoH0Vlq4WtVwOp33hjqqHkWuT9-o7RaLHVG1XKg3uPqEC06n0eV03xdybTZBGIbYyFLEKL9yhLgittJCEpmtrRCIH9dzaytUAA-sO3AiYVXzG05v91tUsJ-hpWMoD4iO8odc_3eXZOaMwEy0/s1600/Stephen%20Linard%20by%20Kate%20Garner.jpg" target="_blank"><img alt="" border="0" data-original-height="1160" data-original-width="900" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyEmu7LkIbspRZXS9mG-mbT7D7GTHxxRdq_QpSDSiiK2fjoH0Vlq4WtVwOp33hjqqHkWuT9-o7RaLHVG1XKg3uPqEC06n0eV03xdybTZBGIbYyFLEKL9yhLgittJCEpmtrRCIH9dzaytUAA-sO3AiYVXzG05v91tUsJ-hpWMoD4iO8odc_3eXZOaMwEy0/s1600/Stephen%20Linard%20by%20Kate%20Garner.jpg"width="650"></a>
<p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvim3WHATPGEdPevS5eDPkeh_nPdGq45ZnHfI_bjZRNIq8cNukirbVeIXBsBB9nI5yAEImhhC-AzEEwH0PwgFchmb96tMWvG-cjnIHwS8wyWSJAST4j1r3LpG8HbZkN_frilDN3L-lVD4h6bMlpzn9_C-SvjEb5mk5Kz5KmdmkdZVDoiG3_uOuELeEvK0/s1600/Stephen%20Linard%20and%20Stephen%20Jones.jpg" target="_blank"><img alt="" border="0" data-original-height="2375" data-original-width="1600" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvim3WHATPGEdPevS5eDPkeh_nPdGq45ZnHfI_bjZRNIq8cNukirbVeIXBsBB9nI5yAEImhhC-AzEEwH0PwgFchmb96tMWvG-cjnIHwS8wyWSJAST4j1r3LpG8HbZkN_frilDN3L-lVD4h6bMlpzn9_C-SvjEb5mk5Kz5KmdmkdZVDoiG3_uOuELeEvK0/s1600/Stephen%20Linard%20and%20Stephen%20Jones.jpg"height="470"></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCeaDPe2saBgvHFJ0Z4xIEu_HKhex1LEGcPYfgjbTYpx5-MMOrWmY1pzKNkFogoleBCBsmZlcu13eN0Y5F_m9aXKn9iQaZ_o35KnIlp6r1kr6tsWZ-tF5YazXPsTB-zBIxm2_GdwIqiFIKcwiMKsAc_hThv58DnAXRwOuBPnGtZACZ4j5c2yfbUUb7o7A/s1600/Stephen%20Linard%20endangered%20species.jpg" target="_blank"><img alt="" border="0" data-original-height="1290" data-original-width="860" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCeaDPe2saBgvHFJ0Z4xIEu_HKhex1LEGcPYfgjbTYpx5-MMOrWmY1pzKNkFogoleBCBsmZlcu13eN0Y5F_m9aXKn9iQaZ_o35KnIlp6r1kr6tsWZ-tF5YazXPsTB-zBIxm2_GdwIqiFIKcwiMKsAc_hThv58DnAXRwOuBPnGtZACZ4j5c2yfbUUb7o7A/s1600/Stephen%20Linard%20endangered%20species.jpg"height="470"></a>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPMnuBOKJAVPj4rsaTAhvSMXO84sRN1-ywizRjDyvgRoxa9n7x3En7-11UyrN-ozys3bs9CzSRjviNHkJL0tU_rUevps2_ztsadRct5mwfTq4kpZLkOXG5TcW_OMWLFC8UVDTQpBwCKF_2u-D4S_yv4ERZsv7GG_DQEn-8_IqhjpPGNEF6gRGZ-p5dLQk/s1600/Stephen%20Linard%20and%20Claire.jpg" target="_blank"><img alt="" border="0" data-original-height="480" data-original-width="712" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPMnuBOKJAVPj4rsaTAhvSMXO84sRN1-ywizRjDyvgRoxa9n7x3En7-11UyrN-ozys3bs9CzSRjviNHkJL0tU_rUevps2_ztsadRct5mwfTq4kpZLkOXG5TcW_OMWLFC8UVDTQpBwCKF_2u-D4S_yv4ERZsv7GG_DQEn-8_IqhjpPGNEF6gRGZ-p5dLQk/s1600/Stephen%20Linard%20and%20Claire.jpg"width="650"></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtU5TUzO2ugRQf-RA5NDm12P2D6OJEha4bF3WjdO3K8jgvPDu8dCrUZZSfF2-ecE6oaf0-CehagywdmpIohoKkejGgtTzEn6l1N62nPDTSaAvHliSYsJSaRDxcsFYnvurtIH0uXDLNEGM27_sW0W6cTCcNd6YpjEp47JPy4in7qbZihEIQExvrCmCz3T8/s1600/Stephen%20Linard%20and%20Boy%20George%201.jpg" target="_blank"><img alt="" border="0" data-original-height="564" data-original-width="564" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtU5TUzO2ugRQf-RA5NDm12P2D6OJEha4bF3WjdO3K8jgvPDu8dCrUZZSfF2-ecE6oaf0-CehagywdmpIohoKkejGgtTzEn6l1N62nPDTSaAvHliSYsJSaRDxcsFYnvurtIH0uXDLNEGM27_sW0W6cTCcNd6YpjEp47JPy4in7qbZihEIQExvrCmCz3T8/s1600/Stephen%20Linard%20and%20Boy%20George%201.jpg"height="315"></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg28kTw19o81xswmzzw69ITLK2MDsOOpf4LY1SveOZXTbOJLrBx3NqZREOC3BGwU2amunBVz4tOtgTztA107sjjG7ONbFWj8n6T3qiF_SB9krg8RECfSYGVSfQmHF9wtxFtG8bDzueaca0can0ioazzGYqyVmbBaIfe-A3MZnhdi0dK9G5yCd3lVLtgncY/s1600/Stephen%20Linard%20and%20Princess%20Julia.jpg" target="_blank"><img alt="" border="0" data-original-height="397" data-original-width="397" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg28kTw19o81xswmzzw69ITLK2MDsOOpf4LY1SveOZXTbOJLrBx3NqZREOC3BGwU2amunBVz4tOtgTztA107sjjG7ONbFWj8n6T3qiF_SB9krg8RECfSYGVSfQmHF9wtxFtG8bDzueaca0can0ioazzGYqyVmbBaIfe-A3MZnhdi0dK9G5yCd3lVLtgncY/s1600/Stephen%20Linard%20and%20Princess%20Julia.jpg"height="315"></a><p>From the <a href="https://www.standard.co.uk/lifestyle/fashion/stephen-linard-blitz-kid-fashion-designer-boy-george-david-bowie-b1144794.html" target="_blank">fantastic tribute in the <i>Evening Standard</i></a> by David Johnson (editor of one of my fave websites <a href="https://shapersofthe80s.com/" target="_blank"><i>Shapers of the 80s</i></a>):<p><blockquote>The press called them the “New Romantics” and the “Blitz Kids”, declaring the Eighties the “Age of the Pose”. Art-school tutor Rosetta Brooks compared their self-consciously styled poses to <i>“street theatre ultimately extended into continuous performance as a post-punk embodiment of Gilbert and George in one person (the individualist).”</i> Each poser, she believed, is a ready-made. Step forward fashion student Stephen Linard, who ticked all the above boxes – a flamboyant Canvey Island boy, ...who yearned to make a statement in every street or room he graced.<p>
Arriving at St Martin’s School of Art in London (1978-81), Linard pushed the boundaries of excess…His outrageous fashion details flagged direction for the two dozen sharpest Blitz Kids who shaped the New Romantics silhouette from the Blitz onwards...<p>
<i>“The competition pushed you on... you might change what you were going to wear eight times on a Tuesday to try to outdo everyone else at the Blitz.”</i><p>
...<i>“The Blitz was an art students’ club. The place was choc-a-bloc with artists: Brian Clarke, Zandra Rhodes, Molly Parkin, Antony Price, Duggie Fields, Kevin Whitney and us because it was halfway between Central School and St Martin’s. People who said ‘Oh you Blitz Kids don’t DO anything’ were talking rubbish, because WE all did. We were the ones with our work in the glossy magazines long before the rest.”</i></blockquote><p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtq0lBTPhXrTyjRXNSJajobW0y1FGnhPdRYBrkN5cb8YIGfms1FbLNJS5PomDGzUXayYy_CIKfAJ4IS0UnKMrZ55clK3MDapJQoVp0WLqw_P7NTkSB6lPc6joVYtTmJocQT7KeOXAVLUbW/s1600/Blitz+Kids+group+photo.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtq0lBTPhXrTyjRXNSJajobW0y1FGnhPdRYBrkN5cb8YIGfms1FbLNJS5PomDGzUXayYy_CIKfAJ4IS0UnKMrZ55clK3MDapJQoVp0WLqw_P7NTkSB6lPc6joVYtTmJocQT7KeOXAVLUbW/s1600/Blitz+Kids+group+photo.jpg" width="640" /></a><br><small><em>Always centre stage...</em></small><p>With friends/fellow squatters that included Boy George, milliner Stephen Jones, "scene queen" Princess Julia, the faboo Eve Ferrett, assorted fashionistas such as <em>The Clothes Show</em>'s Caryn Franklin and art-model Sue Tilley, and the Pet Shop Boys, and clients that included Frankie Goes to Hollywood, Spandau Ballet, Fun Boy 3 and even David Bowie, he became legendary in couture circles. He was unique!<p>RIP.<p><small><em>[click any pic to enlarge]</em></small>Jonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15501010362663971583noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3840804598109638376.post-46932693727016161152024-03-12T17:36:00.004+00:002024-03-12T23:43:23.180+00:00Liza!<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTJb3ffh2Ywciyw2LMZAn77NWtZoyn5348BM5jYrsshAuznUAEJGeolp5T5liLBxzrIuWNi_12cTkPqlXhjYHxOF0cnDzCiF_UoietfrEbGMRlAZP21Ws8x8l4iut17PlJT1JRyprnfZKDv2NMOntj-TtGTGq3-XhZQwAw8CLHPzJWMrFge01gV6sC04s/s1600/Liza%20-%20it%27s%20her%20world,%20we%20merely%20inhabit%20it.gif" target="_blank"><img alt="" border="0" data-original-height="383" data-original-width="495" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTJb3ffh2Ywciyw2LMZAn77NWtZoyn5348BM5jYrsshAuznUAEJGeolp5T5liLBxzrIuWNi_12cTkPqlXhjYHxOF0cnDzCiF_UoietfrEbGMRlAZP21Ws8x8l4iut17PlJT1JRyprnfZKDv2NMOntj-TtGTGq3-XhZQwAw8CLHPzJWMrFge01gV6sC04s/s1600/Liza%20-%20it%27s%20her%20world,%20we%20merely%20inhabit%20it.gif"width="550"></a><p>...it's her world, we merely inhabit it.<p>Many happy returns, Miss <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liza_Minnelli" target="_blank">Liza May Minnelli</a> (born 12th March 1946)!Jonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15501010362663971583noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3840804598109638376.post-1892341375903866162024-03-06T18:32:00.002+00:002024-03-07T00:19:52.424+00:00The Kiwi Songbird<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQOsOrlxEwwrE2LK41JCJlM6D6dpF84pjFNXNPuM8ZMO96m1Ef0N1Srz4Zn8rR21eGRnsTaxk2rD3g8aSQ7KkaxBosu0RK96Jbt2xxB80gQFpiB9tRpoASHIB4aq5AXTSj_keczSxsl0PxM-O_2rzanhgQZO6TPfwhzHIX-gVkHJjRAACK1kUO4j15aZc/s1600/Dame%20Kiri%202.jpg" target="_blank"><img alt="" border="0" data-original-height="1120" data-original-width="1680" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQOsOrlxEwwrE2LK41JCJlM6D6dpF84pjFNXNPuM8ZMO96m1Ef0N1Srz4Zn8rR21eGRnsTaxk2rD3g8aSQ7KkaxBosu0RK96Jbt2xxB80gQFpiB9tRpoASHIB4aq5AXTSj_keczSxsl0PxM-O_2rzanhgQZO6TPfwhzHIX-gVkHJjRAACK1kUO4j15aZc/s1600/Dame%20Kiri%202.jpg" width="640" /></a><p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsh23NJNorZwIku_Ecngwx7E-eiqvDBg5Uithtz_fVKbijcAnlLW2hq8WxFOEakvuJnka7lDRQMWUgvd3M1mFHJc8ep91DmzyubgOnkpfbSp0N7COuF4JgN4VjOBKraN6pN5xKTVpBqp4pkWvM4ecixPUQ02xss8gT8b-bAY6ahV2iqwyROGsrKNOfOoA/s1600/Dame%20Kiri%201.jpg" target="_blank"><img alt="" border="0" data-original-height="1067" data-original-width="1600" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsh23NJNorZwIku_Ecngwx7E-eiqvDBg5Uithtz_fVKbijcAnlLW2hq8WxFOEakvuJnka7lDRQMWUgvd3M1mFHJc8ep91DmzyubgOnkpfbSp0N7COuF4JgN4VjOBKraN6pN5xKTVpBqp4pkWvM4ecixPUQ02xss8gT8b-bAY6ahV2iqwyROGsrKNOfOoA/s1600/Dame%20Kiri%201.jpg" width="600" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiA_3WEzQgnlF0cM7aBLD5FDADbx3jfyLM0JoFwm6g1j_hyBfG8u-1fxF9em4EPZ8Ma0H40dvTMM8Dkwwv8ScfV4oUkr2cdf9fcWY4wOyGuUZVeUh7jCZGn3srkTweYsOVziK65im6TEO1h4vSfiEWK2fmsSKBLX2rkdtQGCfH3MsfzTf5XMjtMOsS5Hk0/s1600/Dame%20Kiri%203.jpg" target="_blank"><img alt="" border="0" data-original-height="1067" data-original-width="1600" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiA_3WEzQgnlF0cM7aBLD5FDADbx3jfyLM0JoFwm6g1j_hyBfG8u-1fxF9em4EPZ8Ma0H40dvTMM8Dkwwv8ScfV4oUkr2cdf9fcWY4wOyGuUZVeUh7jCZGn3srkTweYsOVziK65im6TEO1h4vSfiEWK2fmsSKBLX2rkdtQGCfH3MsfzTf5XMjtMOsS5Hk0/s1600/Dame%20Kiri%203.jpg" width="600" /></a></p><p>Heavens to Betsy!</p><p>Dame Kiri te Kanawa is <b>80 years old</b>...</p><p>A "national treasure" here in the UK <small>[despite being a born and bred New Zealander]</small> since Charles and Diana's marriage way back in 1982, Dame Kiri's dulcets have indeed been an integral part of the classical repertoire for many decades. She's appeared on the best world stages, including the Royal Opera House, La Scala Milan, Paris Opera, Santa Fe Opera, Vienna State Opera, Sydney Opera House and the New York Met; she was chosen by Leonard Bernstein for his award-winning classical adaptation of <em>West Side Story</em>, sang the "signature tune" for the 1991 Rugby World Cup, starred as "Dame Nellie Melba" in <em>Downton Abbey</em> and was an enduring favourite choice of the late HM The Queen for many a Royal celebration...</p><p>...like this one:</p><p></p><div style="text-align: left;"><a class="youtube-lazy-link" href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4C8WNBHaTec" style="height: 360px; width: 640px;" title="Click to play!">Dame Kiri Te Kanawa - <i>Je dis que rien ne m'épouvante ("Micaela's Aria") [Bizet: <em>Carmen</em>; Golden Jubilee Prom at the Palace 2002]</i></a></div><p>Many happy returns, Dame <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kiri_Te_Kanawa" target="_blank">Kiri Jeanette Claire Te Kanawa</a>, ONZ, CH, DBE, AC (born Claire Mary Teresa Rawstron, 6th March 1944)</p><p><small>[Read <a href="https://doloresdelargotowers.blogspot.co.uk/2014/03/she-made-maggie-smith-cry.html" target="_blank">my previous tribute to the <em>grande dame</em></a> @adecadeago on the occasion of her 70th birthday.]</small>Jonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15501010362663971583noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3840804598109638376.post-32687479229003584392024-02-28T11:35:00.024+00:002024-03-06T17:17:25.964+00:00Princess Tiger Eyes<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjK3p8nknOElHCCv-ZPaTS-qnsIwati23rL4WJeh89o7yxTFAgJnyhQb9pYalz15tUBSplwbCNcLlmYWaEHGTQUYn6yKQt3UKPlAUkcXxSUUYVkf96Hy24iQ8-uOOxX29a0f0D1gr9K5yPfYKBErL9bL5QM6pgT4gMF67izQsLhyoGs9rfnbE-OcoFfYtg/s1600/Princess%20Ira%20von%20F%C3%BCrstenberg%201.jpg"target="_blank"><img alt="" border="0" data-original-height="2016" data-original-width="1920" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjK3p8nknOElHCCv-ZPaTS-qnsIwati23rL4WJeh89o7yxTFAgJnyhQb9pYalz15tUBSplwbCNcLlmYWaEHGTQUYn6yKQt3UKPlAUkcXxSUUYVkf96Hy24iQ8-uOOxX29a0f0D1gr9K5yPfYKBErL9bL5QM6pgT4gMF67izQsLhyoGs9rfnbE-OcoFfYtg/s1600/Princess%20Ira%20von%20F%C3%BCrstenberg%201.jpg"width="650"></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlkTMeyodbF-vhwLQvmoht6ToKSALxOEXVxfvhqk69ohZetNMKqdNG-OxJVi2XDsRyY5ed6oI47I1sNrc4l3eWk5Uj4BhqW4SqYvKGqg5ayrFTJ76tOQVI_6NVdW6WVHsfo5_2MqLBRSwnssZwLjTgWqGCYSWLOA-dvoYBjuBHgr5CvWHaL4BWjS2cukQ/s1600/Princess%20Ira%20von%20F%C3%BCrstenberg%203.jpg"target="_blank"><img alt="" border="0" data-original-height="1636" data-original-width="1227" 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src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZU2_DG96INkhrWoTgnX_Ct_166pCMjwQJe0tD8ZW_JpKczzBSu8w1-LncbxG9XeJq-lC3aBW8gS1YWMpigpqUqq38a1sPsfizCnpO8gOR0DZmEOrx54TTXIoD8t-J2NuEy8-U2jmCG87EpAgw0MR9SF4K1_dGZICAarpq-e8EAHaxOtYBeN1guHNFXZw/s1600/Princess%20Ira%20von%20F%C3%BCrstenberg%202.jpg"height="420"></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIzrCoashdo7w0jkFX1C7kP3cYXbE6RZO94-Lccsa5uaLbQy1ZcmVkfOrIA8eSz-M4Tyt2XOz2JrcZLokyGveJNdbdV4ZBTCmQq_8MzhQuVrkB69HQQ7CkHaGXJ9HWAxoss5EJK9Uy5zDstHNifZ5S3Vpc8BN5UEjj-vdDksrGr8ENO_u5BTp58kN3hgE/s1600/Princess%20Ira%20von%20F%C3%BCrstenberg%204.jpg"target="_blank"><img alt="" border="0" data-original-height="893" data-original-width="670" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIzrCoashdo7w0jkFX1C7kP3cYXbE6RZO94-Lccsa5uaLbQy1ZcmVkfOrIA8eSz-M4Tyt2XOz2JrcZLokyGveJNdbdV4ZBTCmQq_8MzhQuVrkB69HQQ7CkHaGXJ9HWAxoss5EJK9Uy5zDstHNifZ5S3Vpc8BN5UEjj-vdDksrGr8ENO_u5BTp58kN3hgE/s1600/Princess%20Ira%20von%20F%C3%BCrstenberg%204.jpg"height="420"></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiaunFTqxgJyM-l3bCGe6mhnjMh5Og833jMyZiVKv6OXODy2GqVVkPXhO4Gg1JScHjMngFUEodMyZqV1zjGf4WjCl0BRreXo61TIMDEGTKT3aA2TkZ9sg59SaTRL2KA5gOaKLhIq1SWqEnKT4FkSfjEfwYkQqdwpyNryub34OenLMuPzaHlYqYUaOJRibM/s1600/Princess%20Ira%20von%20F%C3%BCrstenberg%205.jpg"target="_blank"><img alt="" border="0" data-original-height="853" data-original-width="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiaunFTqxgJyM-l3bCGe6mhnjMh5Og833jMyZiVKv6OXODy2GqVVkPXhO4Gg1JScHjMngFUEodMyZqV1zjGf4WjCl0BRreXo61TIMDEGTKT3aA2TkZ9sg59SaTRL2KA5gOaKLhIq1SWqEnKT4FkSfjEfwYkQqdwpyNryub34OenLMuPzaHlYqYUaOJRibM/s1600/Princess%20Ira%20von%20F%C3%BCrstenberg%205.jpg"height="420"></a><br><small><em>The higher the hair, the closer to god...</em></small><p>From <a href="https://www.telegraph.co.uk/obituaries/2024/02/22/princess-ira-von-furstenberg-italian-socialite-agnelli-film/" target="_blank">the <em>Telegraph</em></a>:<p><blockquote>Princess Ira von Fürstenberg, who has died aged 83, was an Italian socialite, B-movie actress and fashion model, whose <i>“profile of Renaissance beauty and fascination, like the portraits of young noblewomen in the Uffizi”</i> was celebrated in 1960s <i>Vogue</i>.<p>
A niece of Gianni Agnelli and the epitome of the jet set, Ira von Fürstenberg had, by the time she was 20, already been married to two of the 20th century’s most notorious playboys, Prince Alfonso von Hohenlohe, the so-called “King of Clubs” who invented the resort of Marbella (and jealously refused Salvador Dalí’s request to paint Ira naked), and the Brazilian industrialist Francesco “Baby” Pignatari.<p>
She was only 15 at the time of her first marriage, and needed special dispensation from the Pope to wed von Hohenlohe, 31, who had proposed to her by telegram after seeing her in a vision as he crawled clear of the wreckage of a plane crash. Ira the child-bride made the cover of <i>Life</i> magazine in 1955, leading a flotilla of 130 gondolas to the church in Venice. Her mother’s family company, Fiat, gave them a red Cinquecento, wrapped up and tied with a bow.<p>
Five years later, by now neglected and disenchanted, she eloped with the 44-year-old Pignatari. Von Hohenlohe sent armed policemen to catch the couple in flagrante in a hotel in Mexico City, and there was a fight. Then von Hohenlohe kidnapped their two sons, and went on the run for two and a half years, occasionally dressing the boys in wigs and dirndls to pass them off as girls, to evade the princess’s million-dollar reward offered to anyone who could find them.<p>
Her 1961 marriage to Pignatari in Reno ended in divorce in Las Vegas in 1964, after he sent a friend to tell her: “Baby wants to leave you.” As her son Hubertus later put it: <i>“She had got caught up in a man’s world as half a child.”</i> She steered clear of matrimony thereafter, although in the 1980s she seemed close to becoming the second wife of her cousin, Prince Rainier of Monaco, after the death of Grace Kelly.<p>
The Agnelli money permitted her to lead a life of peripatetic glamour, with houses in Mayfair, Madrid, on the shores of Lake Geneva, on the Via Veneto in Rome, where she had avant-garde perspex furniture, and in the Place Vendôme in Paris, where she had solid gold bath taps. (<i>“Everybody has to see something beautiful in the morning in order to have a good day,”</i> she said.) She told her biographer, Nick Foulkes, however, that <i>“my only real home is on aeroplanes. I spend so much time going from country to country that my children suspect that I’m really a flight attendant.”</i><p>
It was on a plane in 1966 that she met the producer Dino De Laurentiis, who saw star potential in her famous tawny eyes (<i>“princess tiger eyes”</i>, her first husband called her). Her film debut was the James Bond spoof <i>Matchless</i> (1968), co-starring Patrick O’Neal and Donald Pleasence, and she went on to grace the screen in a string of “sex kitten” roles, playing opposite Anthony Quinn, Peter Lawford, Klaus Kinski and Walter Chiari; she was even screen-tested by Roger Vadim for the lead in <i>Barbarella</i>.<p>
She declined to star in one of Tinto Brass’s erotic movies, but as a rule, over her 29 film and television roles, she was content to wear very little, reassuring her anxious father that <i>“for the moment my acting does not have the same power to make people flock to the cinema as my body”</i>...</blockquote>When the parts dried up, Princess Ira merely moved on - running the fashion house Valentino’s perfume division, and using her influence in the world of <em>haute couture</em> to bolster the career of her protégé Karl Lagerfeld. In later life she became a renowned artist and sculptor, whose works sold for thousands to the latter-day "jet-set".<p>What a woman! What a life!<p>RIP, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ira_von_F%C3%BCrstenberg" target="_blank">Princess Ira von Fürstenberg</a> (17th April 1940 - 18th February 2024)
Jonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15501010362663971583noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3840804598109638376.post-49717473850028602022024-02-15T14:59:00.002+00:002024-02-16T00:22:46.584+00:00There is nothing like one...<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4s5xvIqEXhGzukIW2_wdzG1d1Aoj26SFx6IRsHu3QsZ4S-3qO4naGDQ59PQjajLBz1ANco5E5kcVDb0hmkJiaVqRY0Dq5EQG9Iz4BBhnQzixT_3DkjCIL1ubgLTRx7exqgNBLTEMdL-xiipbcpt91GyWphJnzyoEzMI-WIo4imJ8s6cMMrd7Swpg7CUQ/s1600/Queen%20and%20Dames.jpg" target="_blank"><img alt="" border="0" data-original-height="624" data-original-width="920" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4s5xvIqEXhGzukIW2_wdzG1d1Aoj26SFx6IRsHu3QsZ4S-3qO4naGDQ59PQjajLBz1ANco5E5kcVDb0hmkJiaVqRY0Dq5EQG9Iz4BBhnQzixT_3DkjCIL1ubgLTRx7exqgNBLTEMdL-xiipbcpt91GyWphJnzyoEzMI-WIo4imJ8s6cMMrd7Swpg7CUQ/s1600/Queen%20and%20Dames.jpg"width="640"></a><p>...or, indeed a <b>dozen</b>!<p>
The acting dames above, back row, left-right: Dame Joanna Lumley, Dame Floella Benjamin, Dame Twiggy Lawson, Dame Harriet Walter, Dame Penelope Wilton, Dame Maureen Lipman.<p>
Front row, left-right: Dame Virginia McKenna, Dame Sian Phillips, Dame Judi Dench, Dame Vanessa Redgrave, Dame Penelope Keith, Dame Patricia Routledge.<p>Queen Camilla was with the illustrious Dames to celebrate 400 years since the first Shakespeare folio was published.<p>The Celebration Of Shakespeare event yesterday, hosted by Gyles Brandreth with the National Theatre and Royal Shakespeare Company, also featured a host of Shakespearean actors including Sir Simon Russell Beale, Sir David Suchet, Jeremy Irons, Julian Glover, Brian Cox, Freddie Fox, Gary Oldman and Robert Lindsay.<p>I woud have killed to be a fly on the wall...
Jonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15501010362663971583noreply@blogger.com14tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3840804598109638376.post-31287610781074533732024-02-14T19:15:00.001+00:002024-02-14T23:35:56.486+00:00Our Renee<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsHlVAhCkPz99UOxJQJ4_s7C2Wtu9Tq-IqmKCSApxQYVTH3IkIOQzUaTUrkxK44eqWaW1dzRF5B21aqUybo8O1rkArottxD9U4W42TZCq3XvT5KfXbk0EaMp6Cm00XPDI_It7QEspNutt6H9juT3MJptUNUQgTx9oifg5irkPdkAtun922dAv5mvq_0KQ/s1600/Renee-Fleming%201.jpg" target="_blank"><img alt="" border="0" data-original-height="739" data-original-width="1035" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsHlVAhCkPz99UOxJQJ4_s7C2Wtu9Tq-IqmKCSApxQYVTH3IkIOQzUaTUrkxK44eqWaW1dzRF5B21aqUybo8O1rkArottxD9U4W42TZCq3XvT5KfXbk0EaMp6Cm00XPDI_It7QEspNutt6H9juT3MJptUNUQgTx9oifg5irkPdkAtun922dAv5mvq_0KQ/s1600/Renee-Fleming%201.jpg"width="620"></a><p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2JtcXzrB9zIT-8Hb-MkSLSEdtKbDkn9-dK2Vsx55MpnHzb3a-2U8HovS39VnfJpM0MzONJby5ZWGk1JFx3LpkO3W0FZZXkazFLqKisLn33HILS915UTPwOOcoxXT8giF_5f6JhvF0QMrfgoNuTUSKpyaj4b38bV5xCRPcaV_RhwnDTb-BLrm5COl55LI/s1600/Renee-Fleming%202%20crop.jpg" target="_blank"><img alt="" border="0" data-original-height="1080" data-original-width="1512" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2JtcXzrB9zIT-8Hb-MkSLSEdtKbDkn9-dK2Vsx55MpnHzb3a-2U8HovS39VnfJpM0MzONJby5ZWGk1JFx3LpkO3W0FZZXkazFLqKisLn33HILS915UTPwOOcoxXT8giF_5f6JhvF0QMrfgoNuTUSKpyaj4b38bV5xCRPcaV_RhwnDTb-BLrm5COl55LI/s1600/Renee-Fleming%202%20crop.jpg"width="620"></a><p>Many happy returns to one of our favourite modern sopranos, Miss Renée Fleming, who is <b>65 years old</b> today!<p>Here are some of her finest moments...<p><div style="text-align:left;"><a class="youtube-lazy-link" href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VLdz-SFFzM0" style="width: 640px;height:360px;" title="Click to play!">Renée Fleming - <i>Song To The Moon</i> [Dvořák: <em>Rusalka</em>]</a></div><p><div style="text-align:left;"><a class="youtube-lazy-link" href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sf-tjXevlyQ" style="width: 640px;height:360px;" title="Click to play!">Renée Fleming - <i>O mio babbino caro</i> [Puccini: <em>Gianni Schicchi</em>]</a></div><p><div style="text-align:left;"><a class="youtube-lazy-link" href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rg4L5tcxFcA" style="width: 640px;height:360px;" title="Click to play!">Renée Fleming - <i>Casta Diva</i> [Bellini: <em>Norma</em>]</a></div><p><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ren%C3%A9e_Fleming" target="_blank">Renée Lynn Fleming</a> (born 14th February 1959)Jonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15501010362663971583noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3840804598109638376.post-46278478104070537822024-02-11T12:52:00.024+00:002024-02-29T00:13:49.527+00:00A lovely way to spend an evening<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7uazNSt-wSXbqpev6OE1SUUI2HW6tZdKrg7XExm-MQMuHGHa3Qg8sRUM_IStV1SA77K6ZTziYGbhDoGxQ_7tnN5FDtIQ6CKFND1nSmZkO_Un5TWg9hjrTun0knOAYvNV78ysr6HVrDz2zbZQb-G_aNQfXUtB7CwjpuduZWpgvzvvGCcjDP35x0dN_3N4/s1600/Gertrude%20Lawrence%20-%20A%20lovely%20way%20to%20spend%20an%20evening%201.jpg" target="_blank"><img alt="" border="0" data-original-height="2833" data-original-width="2442" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7uazNSt-wSXbqpev6OE1SUUI2HW6tZdKrg7XExm-MQMuHGHa3Qg8sRUM_IStV1SA77K6ZTziYGbhDoGxQ_7tnN5FDtIQ6CKFND1nSmZkO_Un5TWg9hjrTun0knOAYvNV78ysr6HVrDz2zbZQb-G_aNQfXUtB7CwjpuduZWpgvzvvGCcjDP35x0dN_3N4/s1600/Gertrude%20Lawrence%20-%20A%20lovely%20way%20to%20spend%20an%20evening%201.jpg" width="600" /></a><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0 0 0 40px; padding: 0px;"><p style="text-align: left;"><em>"If my own experience had taught me anything, it was that, if a thing had to be done, it could be done."</em></p></blockquote><p>Gertrude Lawrence was destined to be a star from an early age. Despite having an incorrigible stepfather whose gambling led them to do many a "moonlight flit" from lodgings to lodgings when she was little, her memory of her mother dressing up each time (with best hat, best coat and evening gloves) as they loaded their possessions into a cart - such a camp theatrical flourish! - left an indelible impression on her. And indeed, she let nothing get in the way of her pursuit of the glamorous life and audience acclaim for the rest of her life...</p><p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg50I2DynVCLntDi4K3vHRBRcA8u6SGRr2GU0tdqfDjDqc7c44VE4C0XygWE-hAbkaYzCrDwKDjPrWtCjq8sRP2UXBGbVylGociOdIjqAm4wo2Nwm85umBhrj7Y0Agp_tZKWUCZwr7vvvs2CVoxLBnpUGXaykq4yQZ5WGdSDpH8vuflri0HeZJs8ugwAak/s1600/Gertrude%20Lawrence1%20crop.jpg" target="_blank"><img alt="" border="0" data-original-height="1056" data-original-width="705" height="450" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg50I2DynVCLntDi4K3vHRBRcA8u6SGRr2GU0tdqfDjDqc7c44VE4C0XygWE-hAbkaYzCrDwKDjPrWtCjq8sRP2UXBGbVylGociOdIjqAm4wo2Nwm85umBhrj7Y0Agp_tZKWUCZwr7vvvs2CVoxLBnpUGXaykq4yQZ5WGdSDpH8vuflri0HeZJs8ugwAak/s1600/Gertrude%20Lawrence1%20crop.jpg" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgt-CXc7R_S98VW93WDSLaUYJAPRqgVK_QE81SLpEFWYRzFBo9W-EWoanIpmZwxSVIIN8fyIXJb8ZWrRDi3G1lDa8cKau2d6GPpq4xyw23SkyCPFRrvjFaQmHTj3OrK46YDQo8p8LeqZPXNqbHX1HpjwOaZGkoIUQIsxS6fauOEDx-n_icDrTdY1w2hDDw/s1600/Gertrude%20Lawrence%202%20-%20by%20Beaton%20crop.jpg" target="_blank"><img alt="" border="0" data-original-height="992" data-original-width="661" height="450" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgt-CXc7R_S98VW93WDSLaUYJAPRqgVK_QE81SLpEFWYRzFBo9W-EWoanIpmZwxSVIIN8fyIXJb8ZWrRDi3G1lDa8cKau2d6GPpq4xyw23SkyCPFRrvjFaQmHTj3OrK46YDQo8p8LeqZPXNqbHX1HpjwOaZGkoIUQIsxS6fauOEDx-n_icDrTdY1w2hDDw/s1600/Gertrude%20Lawrence%202%20-%20by%20Beaton%20crop.jpg" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglMJGPqnUs9NjdHfLwfTAS3-QofIB_7yWF0270g5232I4Jm46T7IJGERKdF2zgKTZwZzb_BALx7lqiDskZJa1YvwR__x3H_fmthY8hgJ2CX8p8c1ilZcalRCnZRVFDH9lc5Oyo8_KHH38Cg_j0cmjX_EgeEF2cMhXv8EDEP-ulXVforQAnOwDBZdoAhT4/s1600/Gertrude%20Lawrence%203%20-%20by%20Paul%20Tanqueray.jpg" target="_blank"><img alt="" border="0" data-original-height="1065" data-original-width="710" height="450" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglMJGPqnUs9NjdHfLwfTAS3-QofIB_7yWF0270g5232I4Jm46T7IJGERKdF2zgKTZwZzb_BALx7lqiDskZJa1YvwR__x3H_fmthY8hgJ2CX8p8c1ilZcalRCnZRVFDH9lc5Oyo8_KHH38Cg_j0cmjX_EgeEF2cMhXv8EDEP-ulXVforQAnOwDBZdoAhT4/s1600/Gertrude%20Lawrence%203%20-%20by%20Paul%20Tanqueray.jpg" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIiFBqRSp_hPR1ElV2TeDHW7WXDg5n-7-JpmAvuR9v8vICz6gO2ZSB5EkOI-17xsaQdZADUJWdvF4JD-qfDUT_gVMWjCAvcAi3jbKnNOUKRoSn3xS6CCg71b0_RzKnP9VuorIVBEM-CQIDmW59HOBTqk_WTPhDEQ6_5gcE4fVxQeY-2r95TrCerTO_wRs/s1600/Gertrude%20Lawrence.jpg" target="_blank"><img alt="" border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="846" height="450" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIiFBqRSp_hPR1ElV2TeDHW7WXDg5n-7-JpmAvuR9v8vICz6gO2ZSB5EkOI-17xsaQdZADUJWdvF4JD-qfDUT_gVMWjCAvcAi3jbKnNOUKRoSn3xS6CCg71b0_RzKnP9VuorIVBEM-CQIDmW59HOBTqk_WTPhDEQ6_5gcE4fVxQeY-2r95TrCerTO_wRs/s1600/Gertrude%20Lawrence.jpg" /></a></p><p>This fascinating insight, among many, many illuminating (and often quite salacious) details about the life of one of Britain's most glittering stars of early 20th century theatre, was revealed courtesy of the brilliant show <a href="https://www.wiltons.org.uk/whatson/852-gertrude-lawrence-a-lovely-way-to-spend-an-evening" target="_blank"><em>Gertrude Lawrence - A lovely way to spend an evening</em></a>, a one-woman show that Madam Arcati and I went to see at the fantabulosa Wilton's Music Hall on Friday night.</p><p>A tour-de-force by actress and opera singer Lucy Stevens <small>[pictured at the top of this post]</small>, accompanied only by the talents of pianist Elizabeth Marcus, with a knowing wink and an assured tone she took us through the ups and downs of Gertrude's life, her triumphs and adventures, men, marriages, bankruptcies and her lifelong "partnership" with Noël Coward, peppered with many of the great songs that made her so famous and so beloved.</p><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px;"><p style="text-align: left;"><i>"Everything that has value has its price. Nothing worth having is ever handed to you gratis."</i></p></blockquote><p>Among the numbers that Miss Lawrence premiered [and most of which Miss Stevens sang for us in this show] were the Gershwins' <em>Do, Do, Do</em> and <em>Someone to Watch Over Me</em> [which became an enduring standard] from her Broadway smash <em>Oh, Kay!</em>, <em>Body and Soul</em> (written especially for her by Johnny Green), <em>The Saga of Jenny</em> and <em>My Ship</em> from Kurt Weill's <em>Lady in the Dark</em> (another hit show for Gertie) - and of course, she popularised many of The Master's finest numbers, including <em>Parisian Pierrot</em>, <em>Poor Little Rich Girl</em>, <em>Mad About the Boy</em> and <em>London Pride</em>.</p><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px;"><p style="text-align: left;"><i>"In London I have been by turns poor and rich, hopeful and despondent, successful and down and out, utterly miserable and ecstatically, dizzily happy. I belong to London as each of us can belong to only one place on this earth. And, in the same way, London belongs to me."</i></p></blockquote><p>The latter was particularly emotionally performed by Miss Stevens, as she recounted the oft-forgotten fact that in the midst of WWII Gertie abandoned what might have otherwise been a comfortable life in America for her beloved homeland, and embarked a gruelling tour with ENSA, entertaining the troops on the frontlines of Normandy and the Far East.</p><p>Another fact that was new to me was the fact that not only did she premiere as "Anna" in <em>The King and I</em>, she had in fact <em>commissioned Rodgers and Hammerstein to write it!</em> Of course, starring alongside the youthful and hunky Yul Brynner came with its own additional delights - as <a href="https://doloresdelargotowers.blogspot.com/2011/06/dirty-gertie-from-number-30.html" target="_blank">I recounted way back in 2011</a>. </p><p>Truth be told, Gertie's proclivities - despite her enduring marriage to Richard Aldrich, who outlived her - were legendary, and her affairs included Douglas Fairbanks Jr., the future Edward VIII/Duke of Windsor, assorted nobles and military officers, Bea Lillie and Daphne Du Maurier!</p><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px;"><p style="text-align: left;"><em>"Very few among us are noble, or even mature, in all parts of our nature at the same time."</em></p></blockquote><p>This was a stupendous show, immaculately performed and presented (and directed by Fascinating Aida's Sarah-Louise Young)! I am so very glad we got to see it...</p><p>It continues to tour, so catch it if you can - see <a href="https://gertrudelawrence.com/" target="_blank">https://gertrudelawrence.com/</a> for further details.</p><p><small>[Also worth reading <a href="https://www.dametown.com/gertrude-lawrence/" target="_blank">is this witty tribute to the great lady on the "Dame Town" site</a>.]</small></p>Jonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15501010362663971583noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3840804598109638376.post-10764424842758017042024-02-09T09:09:00.000+00:002024-02-09T09:09:31.881+00:00Weekend reading<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZk8Jm4zKlccy82deC5s8_hp_YLEoG_MVAHH-F5mdCkqdElLcRHqZIF4RYPGGkaUK7yLwYrNhItXQKsbQyxE9gIBzp3qVodzr-NYnxtC1xJdB6u2QFA65WUFaqv-bGJj_v1QLCoRPUpIFIsCaG_ArJNbaA5_DU-faFDTRH8BN6oNhyphenhyphenFCDaEgHedtELc6s/s1600/Saucy%20Stories.jpg" target="_blank"><img alt="" border="0" data-original-height="860" data-original-width="600" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZk8Jm4zKlccy82deC5s8_hp_YLEoG_MVAHH-F5mdCkqdElLcRHqZIF4RYPGGkaUK7yLwYrNhItXQKsbQyxE9gIBzp3qVodzr-NYnxtC1xJdB6u2QFA65WUFaqv-bGJj_v1QLCoRPUpIFIsCaG_ArJNbaA5_DU-faFDTRH8BN6oNhyphenhyphenFCDaEgHedtELc6s/s1600/Saucy%20Stories.jpg"width="500"></a><p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhs1hzGiDEWHeYxzz86O1YGGZt7t-qSB94nZ9vAZZYfhOeWINbKe9tjOPfAVrow1P12hhAWrEHHrA0auTAginEEWz8cNtnGMGakS8PtQKUWjx-rVVscKMPFcG-F-3qFxZ_-3qy2Wpy4f6U6XVVtz_m4YNi4QcaV_uy1TVpjiaIbECOmlwbr-DyEpPMxRk/s1600/Advanced%20Guide%20to%20Cruising.jpg" target="_blank"><img alt="" border="0" data-original-height="735" data-original-width="491" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhs1hzGiDEWHeYxzz86O1YGGZt7t-qSB94nZ9vAZZYfhOeWINbKe9tjOPfAVrow1P12hhAWrEHHrA0auTAginEEWz8cNtnGMGakS8PtQKUWjx-rVVscKMPFcG-F-3qFxZ_-3qy2Wpy4f6U6XVVtz_m4YNi4QcaV_uy1TVpjiaIbECOmlwbr-DyEpPMxRk/s1600/Advanced%20Guide%20to%20Cruising.jpg"width="450"></a><p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqp0EDSc-Bf14IZuatDKqbEZpC8IhUGn8-tnN1C01omw9JlM9RrypYmZvIRGQAbtVdD3jm0ORn7KfUAz5RiWbm3W28jGFuC3szxhD21PBFhWZ7yhXlRKj09czrJheb1QwFBIlfh8og0k5RdISFo8uz7k-9cb1VNEQJVQFkDL9t7w6JR33WtbmhtXZiDSA/s1600/He,%20Prostitute.jpg" target="_blank"><img alt="" border="0" data-original-height="824" data-original-width="482" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqp0EDSc-Bf14IZuatDKqbEZpC8IhUGn8-tnN1C01omw9JlM9RrypYmZvIRGQAbtVdD3jm0ORn7KfUAz5RiWbm3W28jGFuC3szxhD21PBFhWZ7yhXlRKj09czrJheb1QwFBIlfh8og0k5RdISFo8uz7k-9cb1VNEQJVQFkDL9t7w6JR33WtbmhtXZiDSA/s1600/He,%20Prostitute.jpg"width="450"></a><p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfaz0awuKosAJ4d9az7_7UaScDt5adVGZretoJtWTQHvxPTB-32LfXBJpkIxXYdoAXu89j093r1asJYSRhDTiN-Oob4UKh8crCVuia_pMIOK7dOkV6Fq0ZYB4lKr8O_P1bTh0iJgd3mK4P5SJ9mDn-WuvFv5XXicir80wzbHi6oL0h8co9A9gRz4ewzhY/s1600/Sword%20swallowing.jpg" target="_blank"><img alt="" border="0" data-original-height="1186" data-original-width="744" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfaz0awuKosAJ4d9az7_7UaScDt5adVGZretoJtWTQHvxPTB-32LfXBJpkIxXYdoAXu89j093r1asJYSRhDTiN-Oob4UKh8crCVuia_pMIOK7dOkV6Fq0ZYB4lKr8O_P1bTh0iJgd3mK4P5SJ9mDn-WuvFv5XXicir80wzbHi6oL0h8co9A9gRz4ewzhY/s1600/Sword%20swallowing.jpg"width="450"></a><p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgG41HzQcG3XIgAh3sr-s3Dm_u8P2XpzzLf51ygmNzXNk5faXGJjqmJ_bdU3MB9t8Hiw38ZL4Lq26QQTgyhfyKZZW6PjFjHgoQxnXwCr4FUCFjwGIRzW_S6AKamsFQos12lUHAET9qLXIVJhNpy-meGqw8ghITGDs902Y73p9E3PLf0y4mH-8F_EGvlCQs/s1600/Go%20Guys.jpg" target="_blank"><img alt="" border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1230" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgG41HzQcG3XIgAh3sr-s3Dm_u8P2XpzzLf51ygmNzXNk5faXGJjqmJ_bdU3MB9t8Hiw38ZL4Lq26QQTgyhfyKZZW6PjFjHgoQxnXwCr4FUCFjwGIRzW_S6AKamsFQos12lUHAET9qLXIVJhNpy-meGqw8ghITGDs902Y73p9E3PLf0y4mH-8F_EGvlCQs/s1600/Go%20Guys.jpg"width="500"></a><p>Jonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15501010362663971583noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3840804598109638376.post-27347605378895334102024-01-31T18:10:00.008+00:002024-02-01T20:25:37.191+00:00The "official photographer of the 1980s"<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUoxWhVIfB0N3GCrqS_0PTOYNUrgTqGLliBI2EZOpPPwFQpP3qdoO8Z9Al3bLfYTjQr0Vgk0VNW8KaDI8JuQx6NCUQd0vlJf0GcCVdEPR0Qh5HiqgOEkZGyXZHCCh45CmHL-1-KcfimCT-aPJeznLw-DcL1g0ovBGdhjiY2O5A-mlf4sV5PDEAPKHTIbo/s1600/Depeche%20Mode%204a%20-%20A%20Broken%20Frame%20LP.jpg" target="_blank"><img alt="" border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="800" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUoxWhVIfB0N3GCrqS_0PTOYNUrgTqGLliBI2EZOpPPwFQpP3qdoO8Z9Al3bLfYTjQr0Vgk0VNW8KaDI8JuQx6NCUQd0vlJf0GcCVdEPR0Qh5HiqgOEkZGyXZHCCh45CmHL-1-KcfimCT-aPJeznLw-DcL1g0ovBGdhjiY2O5A-mlf4sV5PDEAPKHTIbo/s1600/Depeche%20Mode%204a%20-%20A%20Broken%20Frame%20LP.jpg"width="600"></a><p>Any long-serving reader of my "regular blog" <em>Give 'em the old Razzle Dazzle</em> will know that one of "our gang"'s occasional divertissements is to attempt to photographically recreate those magnificently-stylised 80s album covers we know and love - see <a href="https://jon-doloresdelargo.blogspot.com/2010/08/something-old-something-new-something.html" target="_blank">here</a>, <a href="https://jon-doloresdelargo.blogspot.com/2012/07/back-to-future.html" target="_blank">here</a> and <a href="https://jon-doloresdelargo.blogspot.com/2013/05/if-i-had-photograph-of-you.html" target="_blank">here</a> for examples.<p>Today comes sad news that the man who was behind most of those images we were emulating, photographer Brian Griffin has departed to take up residence in the Posing Room at Fabulon.<p>Here are just a few of the many, many works that encapsulated, if not influenced, the aesthetic that particular [favourite] era <em>five decades ago</em>...<p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0b2SjTQfIXitIXkFFySveSlWyEF7_Im-apXcb07rol9Vu2UoTWxWRx3JPy3kmeav0rJS1mFntRPM5qfV6rQjGwQ8F_2IRbq1FlLL8BgZetLocGu-iT06Q80zNDHSRGTunuC9ooni-_h6F14qoLiVYoLlss3I8CIjH9G7FRCrJ93ajtrmLKDAHcXR9T_0/s1600/Depeche%20Mode%203.jpg" target="_blank"><img alt="" border="0" data-original-height="680" data-original-width="675" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0b2SjTQfIXitIXkFFySveSlWyEF7_Im-apXcb07rol9Vu2UoTWxWRx3JPy3kmeav0rJS1mFntRPM5qfV6rQjGwQ8F_2IRbq1FlLL8BgZetLocGu-iT06Q80zNDHSRGTunuC9ooni-_h6F14qoLiVYoLlss3I8CIjH9G7FRCrJ93ajtrmLKDAHcXR9T_0/s1600/Depeche%20Mode%203.jpg"height="315"></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgi5vUIGngqGfdbpDdWgiY2tRogM43gnnasX5FfvQWgjSDx11zA8DFXeN44ZF3PsbOYNm7LH2Ji_GR_gzIu-WUFwHRQ8BFbqmewUVhU637-v1_tCStxKDNT-fjY334il6GEqibIRixHfGxDF2c_C88-pg_gIVZrfnhqyi_lZoKR69gkcDnHXZJRWyM6mz4/s1600/OMD.jpg" target="_blank"><img alt="" border="0" data-original-height="680" data-original-width="678" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgi5vUIGngqGfdbpDdWgiY2tRogM43gnnasX5FfvQWgjSDx11zA8DFXeN44ZF3PsbOYNm7LH2Ji_GR_gzIu-WUFwHRQ8BFbqmewUVhU637-v1_tCStxKDNT-fjY334il6GEqibIRixHfGxDF2c_C88-pg_gIVZrfnhqyi_lZoKR69gkcDnHXZJRWyM6mz4/s1600/OMD.jpg"height="315"></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZvIg7XeXiahX9M1kfL7GAWM01QMdKLGxvLNqxCIAWyx3bPF0jSUxlIgXEUGWtqXiQ6oB5ngQIrWy_svzFtVq7hAMLHdQmxmf9xCgrULS2QfT1h1mfuO8K8qxjdAKHQRd-OKnj_TRWchK1DQHM-cUSSWENMJRwUI7JcWLbSGXzfi3st1NzchbgLclivKM/s1600/Spandau%20Ballet.jpg" target="_blank"><img alt="" border="0" data-original-height="680" data-original-width="673" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZvIg7XeXiahX9M1kfL7GAWM01QMdKLGxvLNqxCIAWyx3bPF0jSUxlIgXEUGWtqXiQ6oB5ngQIrWy_svzFtVq7hAMLHdQmxmf9xCgrULS2QfT1h1mfuO8K8qxjdAKHQRd-OKnj_TRWchK1DQHM-cUSSWENMJRwUI7JcWLbSGXzfi3st1NzchbgLclivKM/s1600/Spandau%20Ballet.jpg"height="315"></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUYr0yuImcWb-v9uUQNLPl0MMEDgx6Ml0lxVd-1lO8Eg2fU-MnNkXiICqQCU9eiW7cZbaLh_xttbWRH9b5GBDwBNw0LCImescWCcV1gIp6SKrfki3XaD2Uxs9Odl7lUIletfZJxpGcrM6GAC1fg8-XO-dQ27cphfjsQDaxVormRgLm_bsbi9nPpqWUwJc/s1600/Ultravox%20-%20Vienna.jpg" target="_blank"><img alt="" border="0" data-original-height="680" data-original-width="679" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUYr0yuImcWb-v9uUQNLPl0MMEDgx6Ml0lxVd-1lO8Eg2fU-MnNkXiICqQCU9eiW7cZbaLh_xttbWRH9b5GBDwBNw0LCImescWCcV1gIp6SKrfki3XaD2Uxs9Odl7lUIletfZJxpGcrM6GAC1fg8-XO-dQ27cphfjsQDaxVormRgLm_bsbi9nPpqWUwJc/s1600/Ultravox%20-%20Vienna.jpg"height="315"></a><p>Mr Griffin's work was lauded throughout his career - his photograph for the Depeche Mode LP <em>A Broken Frame</em> [at the top of this post] was chosen for the cover of <i>Life</i> magazine's "The World's Best Photographs: 1980 - 1990", and he was voted <i>The Guardian</i>’s photographer of the decade in 1989. Permanent collections of his photography are held in galleries across the globe, including the National Portrait Gallery, Birmingham Museum & Art Gallery and the V&A.<p>His impact on popular consciousness, however, is forever cemented in his classic album covers, for the likes of Iggy Pop, Joe Jackson, Psychedelic Furs, Elvis Costello & The Attractions, Siouxsie and the Banshees and Devo, among many, many others. The following is merely a soupçon:<p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigi9Svn_Gc_uJeIdYldE-OZQqdyZOeBmvpc8tEszzSGI7MZwD4b8euv6ZBvXTLG1M0jJlIVn-n0fNKBZdF2uddiSzHuIoO3ww1qbIl3gWSiENsKXTbPYtwymmMMOfw9yHHxoNGbOgVE6HMu6DUhfIyFD_l-tE5TpvNXwojLoAgY3EdOxbWF2BRgctIR8k/s1600/Depeche%20Mode%201%20-%20Speak%20&%20Spell.jpg" target="_blank"><img alt="" border="0" data-original-height="680" data-original-width="673" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigi9Svn_Gc_uJeIdYldE-OZQqdyZOeBmvpc8tEszzSGI7MZwD4b8euv6ZBvXTLG1M0jJlIVn-n0fNKBZdF2uddiSzHuIoO3ww1qbIl3gWSiENsKXTbPYtwymmMMOfw9yHHxoNGbOgVE6HMu6DUhfIyFD_l-tE5TpvNXwojLoAgY3EdOxbWF2BRgctIR8k/s1600/Depeche%20Mode%201%20-%20Speak%20&%20Spell.jpg"height="315"></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnJO1odFDR5IcM7d47EIM4mlWuqiL_U9N6vus9HYQ8_QVgqdNrtuFJN0B4b5uqBN-UNkD3mm553s6QOjDBOgGGqSyye1NVXpJZD-zYPmoYs4MOPpv4zyDCql_1Y7p-cHYw9Xj0cW44COsXj97pi-V7wtRp6IUGXo1Nuyf-ulF1FvR5kUCT0ShAzZU2zvs/s1600/Mari%20Wilson%20-%20Showpeople.jpg" target="_blank"><img alt="" border="0" data-original-height="680" data-original-width="680" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnJO1odFDR5IcM7d47EIM4mlWuqiL_U9N6vus9HYQ8_QVgqdNrtuFJN0B4b5uqBN-UNkD3mm553s6QOjDBOgGGqSyye1NVXpJZD-zYPmoYs4MOPpv4zyDCql_1Y7p-cHYw9Xj0cW44COsXj97pi-V7wtRp6IUGXo1Nuyf-ulF1FvR5kUCT0ShAzZU2zvs/s1600/Mari%20Wilson%20-%20Showpeople.jpg"height="315"></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIo-xerB_BIYWJiSKpH7HVI1c2deKB3ZnGuId3YSPcgkTrJeM11OIgz4T5Ro-NcUPAsb42QWQhfm-caoJtTRUnSASl8BXM3FlBp2gI-l3jsYAZbm3LKQtZ5hZ7k3CCye4N9R99x2JKVUa_VbFYVxf-y7OnJWAeUDEwsurRqrLnRL_vg5TGCL0WQdO76sE/s1600/Billy%20Idol%20-%20Rebel%20Yell.jpg" target="_blank"><img alt="" border="0" data-original-height="670" data-original-width="680" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIo-xerB_BIYWJiSKpH7HVI1c2deKB3ZnGuId3YSPcgkTrJeM11OIgz4T5Ro-NcUPAsb42QWQhfm-caoJtTRUnSASl8BXM3FlBp2gI-l3jsYAZbm3LKQtZ5hZ7k3CCye4N9R99x2JKVUa_VbFYVxf-y7OnJWAeUDEwsurRqrLnRL_vg5TGCL0WQdO76sE/s1600/Billy%20Idol%20-%20Rebel%20Yell.jpg"height="315"></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRy3KmF-C2gsuyiycOVHbtoOAvjI8UG7nSLR5gYtMsCikOJBFJtd47mMwonpUbY1UV1BWQKAi6ug5q5YwhG5b5tcjyY4rWAJlusTsBm3gVvDELpX0APktDlI-cnlO0QlsBtqh18HUBdKGGDXefzA-ZOFhD4ZKu1FjsMq9dM-tpc3Yp80YUkhXMM1XRp8o/s1600/Echo%20and%20the%20Bunnymen%20-%20Heaven%20Up%20Here.jpg" target="_blank"><img alt="" border="0" data-original-height="680" data-original-width="679" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRy3KmF-C2gsuyiycOVHbtoOAvjI8UG7nSLR5gYtMsCikOJBFJtd47mMwonpUbY1UV1BWQKAi6ug5q5YwhG5b5tcjyY4rWAJlusTsBm3gVvDELpX0APktDlI-cnlO0QlsBtqh18HUBdKGGDXefzA-ZOFhD4ZKu1FjsMq9dM-tpc3Yp80YUkhXMM1XRp8o/s1600/Echo%20and%20the%20Bunnymen%20-%20Heaven%20Up%20Here.jpg"height="315"></a><br><small>[All works copyright <a href="https://www.briangriffin.co.uk/" target="_blank">Brian Griffin Estate</a> - click any pic to enlarge]</small><p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEih2J4n7Kw38lfgl9HCKtT2WDysJIrg4J7y04SG9xPKe0XdmmdPI5ETmuA62g8LT6tzZxeOYf6TONYr4WMXezfvs5DrmPQYAKvI8eqtDHScX3xslLGFcINlVsHi4WXFz-ogVmhJyfmbXO08BM6mhtQqEqa88XM2pa2a-DhSwSsrBM0b2sSBbLYhkC8e15I/s1600/Brian%20Griffin%20himself.jpg" target="_blank"><img alt="" border="0" data-original-height="628" data-original-width="1024" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEih2J4n7Kw38lfgl9HCKtT2WDysJIrg4J7y04SG9xPKe0XdmmdPI5ETmuA62g8LT6tzZxeOYf6TONYr4WMXezfvs5DrmPQYAKvI8eqtDHScX3xslLGFcINlVsHi4WXFz-ogVmhJyfmbXO08BM6mhtQqEqa88XM2pa2a-DhSwSsrBM0b2sSBbLYhkC8e15I/s1600/Brian%20Griffin%20himself.jpg"width="550"></a><p>RIP, <a href="https://www.theartnewspaper.com/2024/01/31/brian-griffin-photographer-of-rock-stars-has-died-aged-75"target="_blank">Brian Griffin</a> (13th April 1948 – 29th January 2024)Jonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15501010362663971583noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3840804598109638376.post-65272032572753463192024-01-30T19:46:00.011+00:002024-01-31T00:38:31.968+00:00Let me do a good show!<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-CSlfjevS-dk/YBAriXarTCI/AAAAAAAAzKU/PFbZwXfRPbUL9lDgIFZ2rQHn97eZqNjfACNcBGAsYHQ/s1600/Chita%2BRivera%2Bjewellery.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-CSlfjevS-dk/YBAriXarTCI/AAAAAAAAzKU/PFbZwXfRPbUL9lDgIFZ2rQHn97eZqNjfACNcBGAsYHQ/s1600/Chita%2BRivera%2Bjewellery.jpg"width="500"></a><p>We are distraught here at Dolores Delargo Towers! Our Patron-Saint-with-Attitude Señorita Chita Rivera has departed in a storm of glitter, jewels and twirling chiffon, to take centre stage (of course - who would dare argue) in Fabulon.<p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNbbYYGe9aUTG8ThygKXuPxyPUbiR7KZUcE7CagUHeE5r3CHQY_uknZjDJG2N3_GQw_uvxbNN5D2FWO83PeCUuP0oA3r9zCG0dptz0c7ZSI7RDWIdBtE1kXmoPqtnFik5Ts9jg_lDlfXpzih14KkJGk5w3e9hyoaa_Ux3cRfy77IdMr8vM4RZj8-XwNQI/s1600/Chita%20Rivera%20kicks.jpg" target="_blank"><img alt="" border="0" data-original-height="2220" data-original-width="1665" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNbbYYGe9aUTG8ThygKXuPxyPUbiR7KZUcE7CagUHeE5r3CHQY_uknZjDJG2N3_GQw_uvxbNN5D2FWO83PeCUuP0oA3r9zCG0dptz0c7ZSI7RDWIdBtE1kXmoPqtnFik5Ts9jg_lDlfXpzih14KkJGk5w3e9hyoaa_Ux3cRfy77IdMr8vM4RZj8-XwNQI/s1600/Chita%20Rivera%20kicks.jpg"width="500"></a><p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnlORqwTSVsdJooPSa18ITHKNhN-rJPf3hFTVExmK_p8yVSQKJcphhIbrOnRCKJrxt1pvITIhxPm9la0V4KrUko8cnM8_QUbFA0rJqzu_rrb0IR1DaV2VQVUiQd1LFVmmIrbHnwAXczfNUCmUFSZudWpQhQBnnNaW8SjInSGuddDSqMrZVrX_dtIfH/s1600/Chita%20resplendent.jpg"target="_blank"><img alt="" border="0" data-original-height="989" data-original-width="1000" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnlORqwTSVsdJooPSa18ITHKNhN-rJPf3hFTVExmK_p8yVSQKJcphhIbrOnRCKJrxt1pvITIhxPm9la0V4KrUko8cnM8_QUbFA0rJqzu_rrb0IR1DaV2VQVUiQd1LFVmmIrbHnwAXczfNUCmUFSZudWpQhQBnnNaW8SjInSGuddDSqMrZVrX_dtIfH/s1600/Chita%20resplendent.jpg"width="600"></a><p><a href="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-BCHPp0l3pLM/UQAzDnLCQnI/AAAAAAAAJNE/iKifRWrzzWA/s1600/2006-2-15-chita-rivera1.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-BCHPp0l3pLM/UQAzDnLCQnI/AAAAAAAAJNE/iKifRWrzzWA/s1600/2006-2-15-chita-rivera1.jpg"width="640"></a><p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgE8SJEWIyySyaBZQ6IrxqiKtcHem3LEikCJLJtGQpBmjMflszekUNW2bAsJmBSmPiiN_CyT337WSRFbxtfkIstrKkGRWtM5pWTu2mTJJ4BMiKVe0YI3Ej4OihKby4BvcrLp0TcMXEiZpUbDlLSMuSkXHPUl-a9Le8DK3nkY9HXVmqa6tQFI4yZSf0GjMA/s1600/Chita%201.jpg" target="_blank"><img alt="" border="0" data-original-height="823" data-original-width="1232" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgE8SJEWIyySyaBZQ6IrxqiKtcHem3LEikCJLJtGQpBmjMflszekUNW2bAsJmBSmPiiN_CyT337WSRFbxtfkIstrKkGRWtM5pWTu2mTJJ4BMiKVe0YI3Ej4OihKby4BvcrLp0TcMXEiZpUbDlLSMuSkXHPUl-a9Le8DK3nkY9HXVmqa6tQFI4yZSf0GjMA/s1600/Chita%201.jpg"width="640"></a><p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigTyLp7B1bp8giSGSgY0REmUmU7HWDadZJ8Tnzwe0haJgDu3n6HmIqCtexMKk6CEwBLg96HS4SHXcawC7ZgVT0INTWNNgD3ym20FOse6C5Fj4yIiu3OpEzTIeugH6p4GALxMXluMi0N5XwWo0axoIvYRYRxDOQ0UDg-q1onlo3dSLBFIZmNxX23VQ3yxk/s1600/Chita%202.jpg"target="_blank"><img alt="" border="0" data-original-height="853" data-original-width="1280" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigTyLp7B1bp8giSGSgY0REmUmU7HWDadZJ8Tnzwe0haJgDu3n6HmIqCtexMKk6CEwBLg96HS4SHXcawC7ZgVT0INTWNNgD3ym20FOse6C5Fj4yIiu3OpEzTIeugH6p4GALxMXluMi0N5XwWo0axoIvYRYRxDOQ0UDg-q1onlo3dSLBFIZmNxX23VQ3yxk/s1600/Chita%202.jpg"width="640"></a><p>From <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/stage/2024/jan/30/chita-rivera-broadway-star-dies-aged-91" target="_blank"><em>The Guardian</em></a>:<p><blockquote>A consummate “triple-threat” entertainer, she was celebrated for her singing, acting and dancing in classic musicals including <i>West Side Story</i> and <i>Chicago</i>. She won Tony awards for best actress in a musical for <i>Kiss of the Spider Woman</i> and <i>The Rink</i> and was given a lifetime Tony award in 2018....<p>Rivera emerged as a New York theatre sensation in the 1950s and was still centre-stage six decades later, in the 2015 Broadway production <i>The Visit</i>, which reunited her with composer John Kander and lyricist Fred Ebb. She performed their songs over decades, not just in musicals but also in her own cabaret revues....<p>She looked back at her career in a 2005 revue, <i>Chita Rivera: The Dancer’s Life</i>, and in the 2023 book <i>Chita: A Memoir</i>, written with Patrick Pacheco, which notably featured her hell-raising alter ego Dolores (also Rivera’s birth name). She continued to perform small shows, sometimes with her daughter and with her own piano, bass and drums trio.<p>[Of her backstage routines on Broadway, she said]: <em>“The only time my door would close would be just before I went on and I said my prayers. I would say the Our Father, the Hail Mary and the Act of Contrition. Then I’d go off to be crazy!... My prayer was always, ‘Let me say the right words, let me please the audience, let me do a good show.’”</em></blockquote><p>She never did a bad one!<p><div style="text-align:left;"><a class="youtube-lazy-link" href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TgSQHC9dEaA" style="width: 640px;height:360px;" title="Click to play!">Chita Rivera, Rita Moreno and Bette Midler - <em>America</em></a></div><p>
<div style="text-align:left;"><a class="youtube-lazy-link" href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1wGgfYJoZts" style="width: 640px;height:360px;" title="Click to play!">Chita Rivera, Paula Kelly & Shirley MacLaine - <em>There's Gotta Be Something Better Than This</em></a></div><p>
<div style="text-align:left;"><a class="youtube-lazy-link" href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fqu_HWZMW_I" style="width: 640px;height:360px;" title="Click to play!">Chita Rivera - <em>All I Care About is Love</em></a></div><p>
<div style="text-align:left;"><a class="youtube-lazy-link" href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=60WEpHWaFKU" style="width: 640px;height:360px;" title="Click to play!">Chita Rivera - <em>Kiss of the Spiderwoman</em></a></div><p>
<iframe src="https://archive.org/embed/ChitaRiveraAndCompany_PrettyForMe_1968" width="640" height="360" frameborder="0" webkitallowfullscreen="true" mozallowfullscreen="true" allowfullscreen></iframe><p>RIP, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chita_Rivera" target="_blank">Chita Rivera</a> (born Dolores Conchita Figueroa del Rivero Anderson, 23rd January 1933 – 30th January 2024)Jonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15501010362663971583noreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3840804598109638376.post-52714823686661296362024-01-26T19:24:00.001+00:002024-01-26T21:27:53.601+00:00It's a look<div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZOLKsjQztNwft0gGS3l1Jc-MQNm2JYvae4-gkssLNag4-HZV0sOmMnqOGDuSTDyOQS3xUZn87Iofd1RDDXUnwIVac8LZnU-mzOhzGRL7IuPvi6JZrVOe9q8P43uXWMTJMAn6G5BoC-o4QCu4HlOX1tc4IlxP0wSJaTjRSjzWipXn5SgHc9WxDxO-vGSg/s1600/Embroidered%20Cowboy.jpg" target="_blank"><img alt="" border="0" data-original-height="1454" data-original-width="1160" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZOLKsjQztNwft0gGS3l1Jc-MQNm2JYvae4-gkssLNag4-HZV0sOmMnqOGDuSTDyOQS3xUZn87Iofd1RDDXUnwIVac8LZnU-mzOhzGRL7IuPvi6JZrVOe9q8P43uXWMTJMAn6G5BoC-o4QCu4HlOX1tc4IlxP0wSJaTjRSjzWipXn5SgHc9WxDxO-vGSg/s1600/Embroidered%20Cowboy.jpg"width="600"></a></div>Jonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15501010362663971583noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3840804598109638376.post-31996948396347710372024-01-16T19:37:00.001+00:002024-01-17T00:00:50.248+00:00"Openly left-handed?"<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnis5ppW8mTTnyhbuTnAWja9t6EBf57KqSc8GEtDFW_m6STfVcsoLsA4fZj8BNpPcn39vwhw0flDsgVtQ-zFbITZrn0LmHkOGth_uRJRZ4Mt60sn6O0Tmqgl2BiFAsevMjsdO8oJAuEvl6qOymmK1BC5B9MJiTASyWQVAFwtXgPW75e6Yi-mMi2g2qbic/s1600/andrew-scott-moriarty.jpg" target="_blank"><img alt="" border="0" data-original-height="965" data-original-width="1920" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnis5ppW8mTTnyhbuTnAWja9t6EBf57KqSc8GEtDFW_m6STfVcsoLsA4fZj8BNpPcn39vwhw0flDsgVtQ-zFbITZrn0LmHkOGth_uRJRZ4Mt60sn6O0Tmqgl2BiFAsevMjsdO8oJAuEvl6qOymmK1BC5B9MJiTASyWQVAFwtXgPW75e6Yi-mMi2g2qbic/s1600/andrew-scott-moriarty.jpg" width="640" /></a><p>A joyful read, courtesy of <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/film/2024/jan/16/andrew-scott-is-right-its-time-to-retire-the-phrase-openly-gay" target="_blank">Ryan Gilbey, writing in <em>The Guardian</em></a>:</p><p></p><blockquote><p>Andrew Scott is capable of many things but giving a dull interview seems not to be among them... in one of those cosy Hollywood Reporter roundtable discussions which proliferate during awards season, he has challenged a piece of outdated rhetoric from an era when queerness was synonymous with shame.</p><p>The moment arose when the moderator Scott Feinberg singled out Scott, who stars in Andrew Haigh’s <i>All of Us Strangers</i> as a screenwriter magically reunited with the parents who died when he was 12, and Colman Domingo, who plays Martin Luther King’s advisor Bayard Rustin in the Netflix biopic <i>Rustin</i>, as <i>“openly gay actors playing openly gay characters who are at the centre of important films”</i>. The remark was intended as a way in to a discussion about representation, though at no point did he refer to the other performers present (Robert Downey Jr, Paul Giamatti, Mark Ruffalo and Jeffrey Wright) as <i>“openly heterosexual”</i>.</p><p><i>“I’m going to make a pitch for getting rid of the phrase ‘openly gay,’”</i> said Scott, steering the conversation in a more illuminating direction. <i>“It’s an expression that you only ever hear in the media. You’re never at a party and you say, ‘This is my openly gay friend...’”</i> Why, he wondered, is “openly” always attached to that adjective? <i>“We don’t say you’re ‘openly Irish.’ We don’t say you’re ‘openly left-handed’...There’s something in it that’s a little near ‘shamelessly.’ ‘You’re open about it?’ You know what I’m saying?”</i> He proposed that <i>“it’s time to just sort of park it.”</i></p></blockquote><p>It's about bloody time someone said it!</p><p>Now, Mr Gilbey, can we "sort of park" the epithets "queer" and "queerness" as well, please..?Jonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15501010362663971583noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3840804598109638376.post-49398358162395450232024-01-13T12:53:00.000+00:002024-01-14T00:57:19.257+00:00All Hale<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSZRIpN97lZwIh-tSkUFjXiQJS4xv6Fh_Ym-4BN5hGFdVs4-K70VaZSZ779YZwud34x27r78JaibifZ8Q5TgHbCp-UixjtMdWxYooqCZmC_9_3UY3s_FsjHNDZQX_kijPmGIQ7OS2S-InCPx9Psypp_9eJPKEFRJYxIbNG8VjhPkV8D-bO1qwjLBYI-Bk/s1600/Georgina%20Hale%202.jpg" target="_blank"><img alt="" border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1583" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSZRIpN97lZwIh-tSkUFjXiQJS4xv6Fh_Ym-4BN5hGFdVs4-K70VaZSZ779YZwud34x27r78JaibifZ8Q5TgHbCp-UixjtMdWxYooqCZmC_9_3UY3s_FsjHNDZQX_kijPmGIQ7OS2S-InCPx9Psypp_9eJPKEFRJYxIbNG8VjhPkV8D-bO1qwjLBYI-Bk/s1600/Georgina%20Hale%202.jpg"width="600"></a><p>Oh heavens. Another personal icon has gone!.<p>I really couldn't say it any better than <a href="https://twitter.com/hellothisisivan" target="_blank">this from a super-fan</a>:<p><blockquote><em>"Can’t even begin to express how much I loved Georgina Hale. She was a cross between Mae West, Fenella Fielding and a careworn Sindy Doll."</em></blockquote><p>She was all that, and more - a RADA-trained alumnus of the Royal Shakespeare Company, she played Adam Faith's "wife" in <em>Budgie</em>, the second witch in <em>T-Bag</em>, and character roles in (among many, many others) <em>Emmerdale</em>, <em>Minder</em>, <em>The Sweeney</em>, <em>One Foot in the Grave</em>, <em>Hollyoaks</em> and <i>The Bill</i>; she was a favourite "muse" of the legendary Ken Russell - who cast her in <i>Mahler</i>, <i>The Devils</i>, <i>Lisztomania</i> and <i>The Boy Friend</i> - and was also a lauded theatre actor in such roles as "Josie" in <em>Steaming</em>, "Crystal Allen" in an adaptation of <em>The Women</em>, and leading roles in plays by Beckett, Chekhov and Ayckbourn. Whew.<p>Miss Hale had such allure that it made me smile every time I saw her name in the credits - the purse-lipped, purring way she delivered her lines was unique, and always endearing. We'll miss her.<p>RIP, <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/film/2024/jan/10/georgina-hale-obituary" target="_blank">Georgina Hale</a> (4th August 1943 – 4th January 2024)Jonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15501010362663971583noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3840804598109638376.post-50464293462719481132024-01-12T07:21:00.002+00:002024-01-12T07:21:00.189+00:00On the Jukebox this Weekend at Dolores Delargo Towers<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhf8DU0I26Bj2UurPkfJxmIxgZUdCC59SlfPMlZP5sC5kHPaW0YoZ1688Yp1koXOUHiso6qUeXj4KaEFCYBg-32-RwpztfCuyuU_3MZ3b7TPZHH_v_xWhpqCzYss6vGFlNVWcCZ5mU-mQOrqhQ4zw9do9pKXSh4bVd2X29PxOBWW7ZS8davNs6qz1ZXHQc/s1600/Have%20Organ%20Will%20Travel.jpg" target="_blank"><img alt="" border="0" data-original-height="1253" data-original-width="1253" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhf8DU0I26Bj2UurPkfJxmIxgZUdCC59SlfPMlZP5sC5kHPaW0YoZ1688Yp1koXOUHiso6qUeXj4KaEFCYBg-32-RwpztfCuyuU_3MZ3b7TPZHH_v_xWhpqCzYss6vGFlNVWcCZ5mU-mQOrqhQ4zw9do9pKXSh4bVd2X29PxOBWW7ZS8davNs6qz1ZXHQc/s1600/Have%20Organ%20Will%20Travel.jpg"width="500"></a><p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxZXVOjbzsyu15-Do0UeuuMJRRj55Bkfw8qba4V09tdRshyphenhyphenOCGjOZUFFaunmTSwP0sPM8Y5MHnFfB8fB4H5K2yJJlR66XQ56SI1HtlhabfRTlsu4CBQHqMmsafnDaLng1aQC7qRQndRwNIlBhLSDjM43iHqtnDlvudE_-IwgzzSpxz30s0WfAgLFIDxnA/s1600/Candle%20of%20Love%20and%20We%20Blew%20It.jpg" target="_blank"><img alt="" border="0" data-original-height="1102" data-original-width="1102" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxZXVOjbzsyu15-Do0UeuuMJRRj55Bkfw8qba4V09tdRshyphenhyphenOCGjOZUFFaunmTSwP0sPM8Y5MHnFfB8fB4H5K2yJJlR66XQ56SI1HtlhabfRTlsu4CBQHqMmsafnDaLng1aQC7qRQndRwNIlBhLSDjM43iHqtnDlvudE_-IwgzzSpxz30s0WfAgLFIDxnA/s1600/Candle%20of%20Love%20and%20We%20Blew%20It.jpg"width="500"></a><p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjH2C9cnlkPkCidfYuut3dttn9opYByP4Rx6M2G_4SfeCG_TEIoTxrOR5TkjuP9AXXt_oWpv4bKvUxSkbVTiQOcHtI9qiwanRR8CDRLq002JgIVf0aS2L4AVXpxlxsB2020xoC5iAZyrmiJZvH49VG0gCWG1FWWqtcCt1pmTNW-ziXscM946XuSUvQ0kE/s1600/swedish-vintage-album-covers-18.jpg" target="_blank"><img alt="" border="0" data-original-height="643" data-original-width="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjH2C9cnlkPkCidfYuut3dttn9opYByP4Rx6M2G_4SfeCG_TEIoTxrOR5TkjuP9AXXt_oWpv4bKvUxSkbVTiQOcHtI9qiwanRR8CDRLq002JgIVf0aS2L4AVXpxlxsB2020xoC5iAZyrmiJZvH49VG0gCWG1FWWqtcCt1pmTNW-ziXscM946XuSUvQ0kE/s1600/swedish-vintage-album-covers-18.jpg"width="500"></a><p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3yEGbXJagkt-tLjyZxfk7SuEEysVrP4TxMTsU0jnBzoAVHRMJ7YPlWKWwPJmjweOP8pS_9TfJdtnWlZM4L7iKtfB6ypKvH-PnK7Ke0L26CGhl6pvl6llGvgI7JVCY1qGgf5HqJKAXF5O-2MEvf_LRP6MeYdPNQYUGqt0CA4zt_hO7cO9oHIvHasRySUw/s1600/tumblr_ps85lhX74F1s7n9hno6_640.jpg" target="_blank"><img alt="" border="0" data-original-height="634" data-original-width="631" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3yEGbXJagkt-tLjyZxfk7SuEEysVrP4TxMTsU0jnBzoAVHRMJ7YPlWKWwPJmjweOP8pS_9TfJdtnWlZM4L7iKtfB6ypKvH-PnK7Ke0L26CGhl6pvl6llGvgI7JVCY1qGgf5HqJKAXF5O-2MEvf_LRP6MeYdPNQYUGqt0CA4zt_hO7cO9oHIvHasRySUw/s1600/tumblr_ps85lhX74F1s7n9hno6_640.jpg"width="500"></a><p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNcgrGTOxr26CsUcsj_QJ0J9k4pBSYc-h1zpwQZwuqnxESYLtmyqzkXyhEvKAjfb3Pe6YskFKjuFsSPxRW066lS-1zQFIHuBs3Rwvdv8d2poxe5p63HXX4j1rWeGSHJOmhYVT7mHXENPVjdJesePBsDt8e-BFL0QMMYBY1yFWzD1UY4VragNHar-84Pjc/s1600/Children%27s%20Disco.jpg" target="_blank"><img alt="" border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="1272" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNcgrGTOxr26CsUcsj_QJ0J9k4pBSYc-h1zpwQZwuqnxESYLtmyqzkXyhEvKAjfb3Pe6YskFKjuFsSPxRW066lS-1zQFIHuBs3Rwvdv8d2poxe5p63HXX4j1rWeGSHJOmhYVT7mHXENPVjdJesePBsDt8e-BFL0QMMYBY1yFWzD1UY4VragNHar-84Pjc/s1600/Children%27s%20Disco.jpg"width="500"></a><p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRB5JF90uyfeonrQ_WZBe9H7hk7IaeQUim_6NdwdIKQGRPnA0mYEXTuoGqz0-NiaSQgTWy7UylRCTXiXIcrZZZxMdM25gfRjX2cEMWB9fVkj6m0VA2jHqGymMCWfv7CGuh6sOJ4xZpELnG4yO4t8W-2PLzFKQX2rDfGePDohUY4EK_lMC8VdlgnossoKQ/s1600/Scary%20albino%20singers.jpg" target="_blank"><img alt="" border="0" data-original-height="779" data-original-width="779" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRB5JF90uyfeonrQ_WZBe9H7hk7IaeQUim_6NdwdIKQGRPnA0mYEXTuoGqz0-NiaSQgTWy7UylRCTXiXIcrZZZxMdM25gfRjX2cEMWB9fVkj6m0VA2jHqGymMCWfv7CGuh6sOJ4xZpELnG4yO4t8W-2PLzFKQX2rDfGePDohUY4EK_lMC8VdlgnossoKQ/s1600/Scary%20albino%20singers.jpg"width="500"></a><p>Jonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15501010362663971583noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3840804598109638376.post-51364140638089647102024-01-04T20:17:00.002+00:002024-01-05T00:42:22.100+00:00To be real<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhD0-ZMsAXu0UJ30dMeVzHnZFWhFTK30AbjeXw2ndU4_rgquyg1S2O5Unahe0HbUc1Mchck7A0bdbwEqGQ-53adGRfn3NrcPYvfjwzPhJxlPJmzLzbuoIy_2Bi7J72ru_UspRILz9dppjXz0DOREAan0itizivcD86Edok-XdCDmau_j2Ekp6wI3uv0TD4/s1600/Glynis%20Johns%20a.jpg" target="_blank"><img alt="" border="0" data-original-height="888" data-original-width="634" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhD0-ZMsAXu0UJ30dMeVzHnZFWhFTK30AbjeXw2ndU4_rgquyg1S2O5Unahe0HbUc1Mchck7A0bdbwEqGQ-53adGRfn3NrcPYvfjwzPhJxlPJmzLzbuoIy_2Bi7J72ru_UspRILz9dppjXz0DOREAan0itizivcD86Edok-XdCDmau_j2Ekp6wI3uv0TD4/s1600/Glynis%20Johns%20a.jpg"width="600"></a><p>One of the very last surviving major stars from the Golden Age of Hollywood and classical years of British cinema has departed up the glitering staircase to Fabulon...<p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBfxcwH03OUT7PbQ3CiTNpaRINDJZGJm-0escQ-rf92c6rBexUT3vdLxHZVRzED74XkfX59C3N_rMxKHk5Vji0bO4UiDSOyz9iX2kt4sCv7SZan22cVz_twKDedD1jPKpO36cCFifpDYyYIIRbjScXXYPJcBhJ5HzU3gftzE0owNVsS4O0d_R5aX2EKyk/s1600/Glynis%20Johns%20b.jpg" target="_blank"><img alt="" border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="900" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBfxcwH03OUT7PbQ3CiTNpaRINDJZGJm-0escQ-rf92c6rBexUT3vdLxHZVRzED74XkfX59C3N_rMxKHk5Vji0bO4UiDSOyz9iX2kt4sCv7SZan22cVz_twKDedD1jPKpO36cCFifpDYyYIIRbjScXXYPJcBhJ5HzU3gftzE0owNVsS4O0d_R5aX2EKyk/s1600/Glynis%20Johns%20b.jpg"width="640"></a><p>
[as Mrs. Banks in <i>Mary Poppins</i>] <i>"We're clearly soldiers in petticoats, and dauntless crusaders for women to vote! Though we adore men individually, we agree that as a group they're rather stupid."</i><p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGVLoVM4Wnk_vLlz0IjJns_Xpcj5PxoSO_wX5H3g9U_6Yx3qoYKVgQ4iMmyhfi6daYINtMdd3OfeSq7l_MZtQW7x-lD94FkjhPNpps-tqLTJyaTsZ10TDn6XxovdYl3RbddO18bHE_xk1F/s1600/Hermione+Gingold+as+Madame+Amfeldt+and+Glynis+Johns+as+Desiree.jpg"target="_blank"><img alt="" border="0" data-original-height="518" data-original-width="747" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGVLoVM4Wnk_vLlz0IjJns_Xpcj5PxoSO_wX5H3g9U_6Yx3qoYKVgQ4iMmyhfi6daYINtMdd3OfeSq7l_MZtQW7x-lD94FkjhPNpps-tqLTJyaTsZ10TDn6XxovdYl3RbddO18bHE_xk1F/s1600/Hermione+Gingold+as+Madame+Amfeldt+and+Glynis+Johns+as+Desiree.jpg"width="640"></a><p>[as Desiree Armfeldt in <em>A Little Night Music</em>] <i>"Send in the clowns."</i><p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhk7HNLnmv-q7nIRUk3SOaFrNLUAvN0_NBrdFa2MGzdM1vtIbit-4l5Cwq2QaGXJH6mbnG1i6yYPsYTgbTEvramkpzdjy4YUZTrahNwlUAOPy_doRb22oNQ44TxCnZVlLBFQzfUaNXf02KMJoUhPUNij1SNkYAZLBPLHpxFl3cG8_ypQNXBfArby7aYzRk/s1600/Glynis%20Johns%20c.jpg" target="_blank"><img alt="" border="0" data-original-height="2515" data-original-width="3772" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhk7HNLnmv-q7nIRUk3SOaFrNLUAvN0_NBrdFa2MGzdM1vtIbit-4l5Cwq2QaGXJH6mbnG1i6yYPsYTgbTEvramkpzdjy4YUZTrahNwlUAOPy_doRb22oNQ44TxCnZVlLBFQzfUaNXf02KMJoUhPUNij1SNkYAZLBPLHpxFl3cG8_ypQNXBfArby7aYzRk/s1600/Glynis%20Johns%20c.jpg"width="640"></a><p>
<i>“As far as I’m concerned, I’m not interested in playing the role on only one level. The whole point of first-class acting is to make a reality of it. To be real. And I have to make sense of it in my own mind in order to be real."</i><p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgkLwkxcsDLlUO6JQlrXi6JeBqkQrUhSsWKBVp0tpw5cvIGVeF9NARDR4KOBo-a72eFiM9rISa7wOPkoUB_56ZFZB3hYWQ0ThwwbHFDTIdsRTzVTCtKY2osYZFMJL51HcI9gpqLKhmHaMuu-KdwOS7ONi2EXb_OtUiXJQVVbUT_KAAOGNhwOrNuJEpK70/s1600/Glynis%20Johns%20d.jpg" target="_blank"><img alt="" border="0" data-original-height="1152" data-original-width="768" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgkLwkxcsDLlUO6JQlrXi6JeBqkQrUhSsWKBVp0tpw5cvIGVeF9NARDR4KOBo-a72eFiM9rISa7wOPkoUB_56ZFZB3hYWQ0ThwwbHFDTIdsRTzVTCtKY2osYZFMJL51HcI9gpqLKhmHaMuu-KdwOS7ONi2EXb_OtUiXJQVVbUT_KAAOGNhwOrNuJEpK70/s1600/Glynis%20Johns%20d.jpg"height="475"></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkhUjiWtAAE0bk15bYTlg3bk4d3fNKuA1afLGPYIi1qDfxbwiVaCf3XlBge1zBEZjsj-w4gUB7RoNKycybjzDplIiYpp3ztVc6DoR4bvsQn4zRACaWQB1XDz4L1QBz80EXWG_IugV8GDHTJpzEh8w9ROv0TRzdwyyBMN9aPfYqv2ivNC7KrAdgYGvd4Q5c/s1600/Glyinis%20Johns%202.jpg" target="_blank"><img alt="" border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="853" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkhUjiWtAAE0bk15bYTlg3bk4d3fNKuA1afLGPYIi1qDfxbwiVaCf3XlBge1zBEZjsj-w4gUB7RoNKycybjzDplIiYpp3ztVc6DoR4bvsQn4zRACaWQB1XDz4L1QBz80EXWG_IugV8GDHTJpzEh8w9ROv0TRzdwyyBMN9aPfYqv2ivNC7KrAdgYGvd4Q5c/s1600/Glyinis%20Johns%202.jpg"height="475"></a><p>
<i>"I think we've got to remember to grab onto our perks, whatever is the good thing about each age. Each stage of life should be a progression."</i><p>RIP, Miss <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2024/01/04/theater/glynis-johns-dead.html" target="_blank">Glynis Johns</a> (5th October 1923 – 4th January 2024)<p><small><a href="https://jon-doloresdelargo.blogspot.com/2023/10/making-my-entrance-again-with-my-usual.html" target="_blank">Read my tribute to the great lady</a> on her centenary last year.</small>Jonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15501010362663971583noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3840804598109638376.post-53216779573264132502024-01-01T16:28:00.000+00:002024-01-01T21:29:21.260+00:00Starting the New Year with a bang<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj36RqDRf2AeSIf3p7rF9z2XsU91wPMGIUs2Et19DV4RLnBvYAdMth4qwgDmTz8Va0mOtY4b3dlifAmbLjVUI06M0GMGmRR1vZ6gB6TYrcA3ApNiKjDMV0gnfjC9Fg6vkl8PofTnd_yWpiLjl5BRBjhBCw89DNAh5CZalO7jXUky8XhmF3HwXuDBqjXOBc/s1600/NYE%20fireworks%202024.jpg" target="_blank"><img alt="" border="0" data-original-height="940" data-original-width="1368" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj36RqDRf2AeSIf3p7rF9z2XsU91wPMGIUs2Et19DV4RLnBvYAdMth4qwgDmTz8Va0mOtY4b3dlifAmbLjVUI06M0GMGmRR1vZ6gB6TYrcA3ApNiKjDMV0gnfjC9Fg6vkl8PofTnd_yWpiLjl5BRBjhBCw89DNAh5CZalO7jXUky8XhmF3HwXuDBqjXOBc/s1600/NYE%20fireworks%202024.jpg"width="600"></a><p>Happy 2024 from London!!<p><div style="text-align:left;"><a class="youtube-lazy-link" href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r2wBcCIlMGw" style="width: 640px;height:360px;" title="Click to play!">London Fireworks 2024</a></div><p>No tracklist this year, but the soundtrack marked the Coronation of our new monarch, 75 years of the NHS, 75 years since the arrival of Empire Windrush and 10 years since same-sex marriage became legalised. It features a recorded message from His Majesty King Charles III, as well as readings by Sadiq Khan, Dame Helen Mirren, Bella Ramsey, Stephen Fry, Joanna Lumley, George the Poet and Baroness Floella Benjamin - and an eclectic selection of music including bhangra, k-pop and reggaeton, alongside global and British pop classics including the Spice Girls, Calvin Harris featuring Tom Grennan, Rema & Selena Gomez, Lulu, Beyoncé, Louis Armstrong, Fifty Fifty, Jasmine Sandlas, Dua Lipa, The Kinks and Gala.Jonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15501010362663971583noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3840804598109638376.post-8211887931903195242023-12-31T16:00:00.018+00:002023-12-31T16:00:00.151+00:00Everything's set out for the Dolores Delargo Towers New Year's Eve party......just waiting for our guests to arrive!<p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhiPhhUhxhLm5ReNxYl2saYYT33bq_On-em3hDkzd9tJrS1AQX77cGuToOMTKREhcKC7IPGW-sT2X0igDDLax6wdeVSC6Ws_VO10SDcTP_KQKirZLSadQlo3oq1KuLQGSNPvnEryCUXFbItiEiCH48TWWiALPQI4rXNctxkCHiALhA7LXrATPjjF35RJdE/s1600/Elizabethan%20festivities%201.gif" target="_blank"><img alt="" border="0" data-original-height="350" data-original-width="540" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhiPhhUhxhLm5ReNxYl2saYYT33bq_On-em3hDkzd9tJrS1AQX77cGuToOMTKREhcKC7IPGW-sT2X0igDDLax6wdeVSC6Ws_VO10SDcTP_KQKirZLSadQlo3oq1KuLQGSNPvnEryCUXFbItiEiCH48TWWiALPQI4rXNctxkCHiALhA7LXrATPjjF35RJdE/s1600/Elizabethan%20festivities%201.gif"/></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhh6Z_7YQSQaNuWdzg7niGNItfTIJ_Al91hPKTG_axm34uDKIU1wIDh4EN8GB6oc46dYbOI_g1WJKsEXS6HELHPXKqvzMuNzQbtKKesW0b6FrLlb4tDLdnCdYL5ERx286RU_Kc-3nUPH3BxM15rD6NtrrJ316BjKeIiCYqHkJ65GQ0EctQC9jUKvsUY9w8/s1600/Elizabethan%20festivities%202.gif" target="_blank"><img alt="" border="0" data-original-height="350" data-original-width="540" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhh6Z_7YQSQaNuWdzg7niGNItfTIJ_Al91hPKTG_axm34uDKIU1wIDh4EN8GB6oc46dYbOI_g1WJKsEXS6HELHPXKqvzMuNzQbtKKesW0b6FrLlb4tDLdnCdYL5ERx286RU_Kc-3nUPH3BxM15rD6NtrrJ316BjKeIiCYqHkJ65GQ0EctQC9jUKvsUY9w8/s1600/Elizabethan%20festivities%202.gif"/></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPlEAxB7ubymlEW1nSY_rg4CqDORRZSSj6WS3KgrZrssZGYUWiX_HHLU6YxGcqnkRaYomjCaHrADEOYOsOmdRvkvDzVVxZimt5oImXJHmZjAlRKTbCngpXfSeABwa_dNI1Ok8X_zNdqg-2A-NAoj-076l_2-wD-sFFEBV800O1h2aauYuwhk1KjXLwZHY/s1600/Elizabethan%20festivities%203.gif" target="_blank"><img alt="" border="0" data-original-height="350" data-original-width="540" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPlEAxB7ubymlEW1nSY_rg4CqDORRZSSj6WS3KgrZrssZGYUWiX_HHLU6YxGcqnkRaYomjCaHrADEOYOsOmdRvkvDzVVxZimt5oImXJHmZjAlRKTbCngpXfSeABwa_dNI1Ok8X_zNdqg-2A-NAoj-076l_2-wD-sFFEBV800O1h2aauYuwhk1KjXLwZHY/s1600/Elizabethan%20festivities%203.gif"/></a><p>Happy New Year, dear reader!Jonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15501010362663971583noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3840804598109638376.post-61445305576762785282023-12-30T22:40:00.009+00:002023-12-31T01:47:51.487+00:00Could I wave the years away? With a quick goodbye?<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3mmSId6w3he7NDeZT3xsdJOH_vDqEjv1rgz66SUMPSqhZrszSFODPcR3kPeFLztuYhUVYsa641fKznK9vuukxp4FJg1CcIHeUI1mpKRxlzBbzYXV0Scb6-PZSU95w5iTcAsHCcu9zWmTW-62u364a2iPjVz6n3l0jMQ64D4weAQ9PBRiiSRAJ9kay4OE/s1600/David%20Kernan.jpg" target="_blank"><img alt="" border="0" data-original-height="633" data-original-width="633" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3mmSId6w3he7NDeZT3xsdJOH_vDqEjv1rgz66SUMPSqhZrszSFODPcR3kPeFLztuYhUVYsa641fKznK9vuukxp4FJg1CcIHeUI1mpKRxlzBbzYXV0Scb6-PZSU95w5iTcAsHCcu9zWmTW-62u364a2iPjVz6n3l0jMQ64D4weAQ9PBRiiSRAJ9kay4OE/s1600/David%20Kernan.jpg" width="500" /></a><p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEge0-Eeyyww8D3UMfQ0U74hr4z-9Bo6ytXzgot9U_KFwd1skVsK-Lnn4iu_US4dxckZu-__cGhFW6yqioQ_x3rI7DRVhmLswhHiCbAuqJp11J6Vr43bmC9WTraH91iqQvgTa3YdYslLhhm1nld5MkHLpQO6G8mlEJlWXsnM40fw6Tjf29aLGLuGhCFFg-Y/s1600/Julia-McKenzie-Ned-Sherrin-Stephen-Sondheim-Millcent-Martin-David-Kernan.jpg" target="_blank"><img alt="" border="0" data-original-height="1218" data-original-width="1842" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEge0-Eeyyww8D3UMfQ0U74hr4z-9Bo6ytXzgot9U_KFwd1skVsK-Lnn4iu_US4dxckZu-__cGhFW6yqioQ_x3rI7DRVhmLswhHiCbAuqJp11J6Vr43bmC9WTraH91iqQvgTa3YdYslLhhm1nld5MkHLpQO6G8mlEJlWXsnM40fw6Tjf29aLGLuGhCFFg-Y/s1600/Julia-McKenzie-Ned-Sherrin-Stephen-Sondheim-Millcent-Martin-David-Kernan.jpg" width="640" /></a></p><p>Very sad news, just as 2023 draws inevitably to its close - one of the greatest of all interpreters of Stephen Sondheim's songs Mr David Kernan has departed for the glittering halls of Fabulon.</p><p>Originally an actor (he indeed appeared in <i>Zulu</i>, as well as some tackier stuff later on like <i>Carry On Abroad</i>), Mr Kernan's fame was sealed when he became a fixture on the cult 60s satirical programme <a href="https://jon-doloresdelargo.blogspot.com/2022/11/its-over-so-let-it-go.html" target="_blank"><i>That Was the Week That Was</i></a>.</p><p>However, that show's producer and impresario Ned Sherrin had other plans for his talents when TW3 was over, and so it was that he became best-known for his singing, not least in the world premiere of the Sondheim revue <a href="https://jon-doloresdelargo.blogspot.com/2021/12/sondheim-of-day-finale-side-by-side-by.html" target="_blank"><i>Side By Side By Sondheim</i></a>.</p><p>By way of a tribute, from that show, these...</p><p><small><i>[You'll need to adjust the volume on this first clip; it's very old...]</i></small><br /></p><div style="text-align: left;"><a class="youtube-lazy-link" href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fhfstQ9kdJE" style="height: 360px; width: 640px;" title="Click to play!">Millicent Martin, David Kernan, Julia McKenzie - <i>Side By Side By Side</i></a></div><p></p><div style="text-align: left;"><a class="youtube-lazy-link" href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QPC2lVtVco0" style="height: 360px; width: 640px;" title="Click to play!">David Kernan & Julia McKenzie - <i>The Little Things You Do Together</i></a></div><p></p><div style="text-align: left;"><a class="youtube-lazy-link" href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nG1lAQ8v6Og" style="height: 360px; width: 640px;" title="Click to play!">Millicent Martin, Julia McKenzie and David Kernan - <i>You Could Drive A Person Crazy</i></a></div><p>And my favourite <small><i>[no video, more's the pity]</i></small>:</p><p></p><div style="text-align: left;"><a class="youtube-lazy-link" href=" https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=60_IzNWAYcI" style="height: 100px; width: 640px;" title="Click to play!">David Kernan - <i> Could I Leave You?</i></a></div><p><i>Leave you? Leave you?<br />
How could I leave you? How could I go it alone?<br />
Could I wave the years away? With a quick goodbye?<br />
How do you wipe tears away when your eyes are dry?<br />
<br />
Sweetheart, lover, could I recover?<br />
Give up the joys I have known?<br />
Not to fetch your pills again every day at five<br />
Not to give those dinners for ten elderly men from the UN<br />
<br />
How could I survive? Could I leave you<br />
And your shelves of the world's best books<br />
And the evenings of martyred looks, cryptic sighs<br />
Sullen glares from those injured eyes?<br />
<br />
Leave the quips with a sting, jokes with a sneer<br />
Passionless lovemaking once a year?<br />
Leave the lies ill-concealed and the wounds never healed<br />
And the game's not worth winning and wait, I'm just beginning<br />
<br />
What, leave you, leave you? How could I leave you?<br />
What would I do on my own? Putting thoughts of you aside<br />
<br />
In the south of France, would I think of suicide?<br />
Darling, shall we dance? Could I live through the pain<br />
On a terrace in Spain? Would it pass? It would pass<br />
Could I bury my rage with a boy half your age<br />
In the grass? Bet your ass!<br />
<br />
But I've done that already or didn't you know, love?<br />
Tell me, how could I leave when I left long ago, love?<br />
Could I leave you? No, the point is, could you leave me?<br />
Well, I guess you could leave me the house, leave me the flat<br />
<br />
Leave me the Braques and Chagalls and all that<br />
You could leave me the stocks for sentiment's sake<br />
And ninety percent of the money you make<br />
And the rugs and the cooks, darling, you keep the drugs<br />
<br />
Angel, you keep the books, honey, I'll take the grand<br />
Sugar you keep the spinet and all of our friends and<br />
Just wait a goddamn minute!<br />
<br />
Oh, leave you? Leave you? How could I leave you?<br />
Sweetheart, I have to confess, could I leave you?Yes<br />
Will I leave you? Will I leave you? <br />
<br />
Guess!</i>
</p><p>Sheer perfection. We'll miss him.</p><p>RIP, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Kernan" target="_blank">David Stanley Kernan</a> (23rd June 1938 – 26th December 2023)Jonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15501010362663971583noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3840804598109638376.post-268574180024213852023-12-24T17:30:00.002+00:002023-12-24T17:30:42.324+00:00Let it all hang out<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_zwc4xq8VVbwAe4t2CiKHuz4thko0ExhokLFbkOFKe9DCxclhY-mr0vWrPiIDXJUIMZlu07SLqUd1j2dIRZkc9K59JA3AJC2m75tEeCJ1q1sDuPicQ_cQhsLNeh3pzE8y6E-nUUY7iqpenGg_cK_Csln0hx0bB2ucVvsTpYwGSWFZXbWkEa3iK8VO5IY/s1600/Barry%20Keoghan%20in%20Saltburn%201.gif" target="_blank"><img alt="" border="0" data-original-height="405" data-original-width="540" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_zwc4xq8VVbwAe4t2CiKHuz4thko0ExhokLFbkOFKe9DCxclhY-mr0vWrPiIDXJUIMZlu07SLqUd1j2dIRZkc9K59JA3AJC2m75tEeCJ1q1sDuPicQ_cQhsLNeh3pzE8y6E-nUUY7iqpenGg_cK_Csln0hx0bB2ucVvsTpYwGSWFZXbWkEa3iK8VO5IY/s1600/Barry%20Keoghan%20in%20Saltburn%201.gif"/></a><br><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7iEwY9IdbCPxKg2hX-v1iWdktFzPjILfpQnvONyhfk5SCMaciVEzy1pj-adcEiE7qWlkFJQe6-fKF0zctoN4pip9Xj0lBMLOAuWIKBFjyX9KHSbdGRktIcE8NKzL2y-739hkP5S9HT-Z8yPGjCmy2wvSoHjYE383nHkctjaEtA0A7u0F93kfYUdL1h0Q/s1600/Barry%20Keoghan%20in%20Saltburn%202.gif" target="_blank"><img alt="" border="0" data-original-height="405" data-original-width="540" 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src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEif9vqDi2_htqSvJCyLrwLfAqsiJZ6EotMYj7-mbaHlJKB_eyjR8czXAnhUZ82tYT6k-S4Y-XnCs7k373no39wqThqiyu5Jimzb2TkKh4Imd3yCqmXYjBWkMZenfqpw-YrPmKtltNMe_wuzjM5y9PgLRzI0dLKvcaHeciLUYfuQBSpo2RY_-wWSDwTV2_k/s1600/Barry%20Keoghan%20in%20Saltburn%206.gif"/></a><br><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0_bBUqs0h77n5tb_3xSHyyl4kOE2f6o73rhS9i8BCuskT84JjnWsmTRKeVqgDtG2I_4xfVxqDYr3zamb4tlLdzdhtzSOyQoPgEWe3hWIqW2AmsysIIuceU2KkSyJPOW0MsD3A2KBurADFgfph4tjpLtBY97q6-qOsm6DHZlTb7wlFixT5H35eyiyVsL4/s1600/Barry%20Keoghan%20in%20Saltburn%207.gif" target="_blank"><img alt="" border="0" data-original-height="405" data-original-width="540" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0_bBUqs0h77n5tb_3xSHyyl4kOE2f6o73rhS9i8BCuskT84JjnWsmTRKeVqgDtG2I_4xfVxqDYr3zamb4tlLdzdhtzSOyQoPgEWe3hWIqW2AmsysIIuceU2KkSyJPOW0MsD3A2KBurADFgfph4tjpLtBY97q6-qOsm6DHZlTb7wlFixT5H35eyiyVsL4/s1600/Barry%20Keoghan%20in%20Saltburn%207.gif"/></a><br><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsmSObQp_vsW3pcvgRaV9Tazbs2dsb_BkdEM0f3WaaBAdlRGl4tbctzj-iHbRSsZ5LQsR43msKUTn0ZyyZnPnC9tJcd01W6TKOoECf1H5-bs_Cbuw1uorTeOS7O07nUjAd3FaavI-0P2W5XvJnIqDaKBdUNFHVrLX72hLvIPlKW1EFzx0JTNur8OTL2vQ/s1600/Barry%20Keoghan%20in%20Saltburn%208.gif" target="_blank"><img alt="" border="0" data-original-height="405" data-original-width="540" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsmSObQp_vsW3pcvgRaV9Tazbs2dsb_BkdEM0f3WaaBAdlRGl4tbctzj-iHbRSsZ5LQsR43msKUTn0ZyyZnPnC9tJcd01W6TKOoECf1H5-bs_Cbuw1uorTeOS7O07nUjAd3FaavI-0P2W5XvJnIqDaKBdUNFHVrLX72hLvIPlKW1EFzx0JTNur8OTL2vQ/s1600/Barry%20Keoghan%20in%20Saltburn%208.gif"/></a><br><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiE7x2m-5OiNfhoAjC3717gZn2UmqSmsTYTxUASuQmx5vRwpTwb0Jnngiw6-daqwxYVlG627ByDLjgZ-F7Jg4AUITVYe6V4VF25Q8zNFtwQ9dZPCu3NnMAhWZr6uD33BO0u6wD5TviNlZ6gpEte87r5WHA-r4BRqZYn7PVBWzIdN9-a3HHDnDpnNVdItEA/s1600/Barry%20Keoghan%20in%20Saltburn%209.gif" target="_blank"><img alt="" border="0" data-original-height="405" data-original-width="540" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiE7x2m-5OiNfhoAjC3717gZn2UmqSmsTYTxUASuQmx5vRwpTwb0Jnngiw6-daqwxYVlG627ByDLjgZ-F7Jg4AUITVYe6V4VF25Q8zNFtwQ9dZPCu3NnMAhWZr6uD33BO0u6wD5TviNlZ6gpEte87r5WHA-r4BRqZYn7PVBWzIdN9-a3HHDnDpnNVdItEA/s1600/Barry%20Keoghan%20in%20Saltburn%209.gif"/></a><br><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiu335FmjMGhB2ArEDyYoUUGcd-7eaA_8GHV9LDOYqEN-Wv2J9luGwN00oqacqqixi927Pd4zBXTpff_O_vK4bj7RGlbvOP2-ZpNJXTFng3OH6WED0x3o11l_WVnATJ3QfRfASD7jk5-c5MV2TNif04B9jyMfJhnqdI3gSvbznBHmBj0p99qkzHTUTRq2E/s1600/Barry%20Keoghan%20in%20Saltburn%2010.gif" target="_blank"><img alt="" border="0" data-original-height="405" data-original-width="540" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiu335FmjMGhB2ArEDyYoUUGcd-7eaA_8GHV9LDOYqEN-Wv2J9luGwN00oqacqqixi927Pd4zBXTpff_O_vK4bj7RGlbvOP2-ZpNJXTFng3OH6WED0x3o11l_WVnATJ3QfRfASD7jk5-c5MV2TNif04B9jyMfJhnqdI3gSvbznBHmBj0p99qkzHTUTRq2E/s1600/Barry%20Keoghan%20in%20Saltburn%2010.gif"/></a><br><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsF90VOOGxgAlgnPoN3OKbzMaoZQGXG9V5c4A0hiogLZ2R-rWGR3aIyuG85NUMCOLGIZ0mX7W07YzhA8zIUHE5htQUQZCCwWU3o_zQJJmcesWaIHkq2F2HtBmi2NIY0zauoSpvDpwOSishZkyUvRMTfqw9v-e5Cc91aW28jhLl4IlagR7jZB7TxngJXuM/s1600/Barry%20Keoghan%20in%20Saltburn%2011.gif" target="_blank"><img alt="" border="0" data-original-height="405" data-original-width="540" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsF90VOOGxgAlgnPoN3OKbzMaoZQGXG9V5c4A0hiogLZ2R-rWGR3aIyuG85NUMCOLGIZ0mX7W07YzhA8zIUHE5htQUQZCCwWU3o_zQJJmcesWaIHkq2F2HtBmi2NIY0zauoSpvDpwOSishZkyUvRMTfqw9v-e5Cc91aW28jhLl4IlagR7jZB7TxngJXuM/s1600/Barry%20Keoghan%20in%20Saltburn%2011.gif"/></a><br><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzn_os0AZJXAa27fQbQgnn2LDzA4qqMSDgAQj1LrMjWRLhb9cTVy2CuhRKXCrRr7LeQPkk8HNSQGlZn_ZVSB70wvfb66nEUXbW7Pf5jVk0SR7iRFbrVqUEL2cH10tprRPSIzvNtG_MtHUFBUcgWBEix8PesGc4o4XrHaT5rmwDlhRFxTspVcIqPDBhtyI/s1600/Barry%20Keoghan%20in%20Saltburn%2012.gif" target="_blank"><img alt="" border="0" data-original-height="405" data-original-width="540" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzn_os0AZJXAa27fQbQgnn2LDzA4qqMSDgAQj1LrMjWRLhb9cTVy2CuhRKXCrRr7LeQPkk8HNSQGlZn_ZVSB70wvfb66nEUXbW7Pf5jVk0SR7iRFbrVqUEL2cH10tprRPSIzvNtG_MtHUFBUcgWBEix8PesGc4o4XrHaT5rmwDlhRFxTspVcIqPDBhtyI/s1600/Barry%20Keoghan%20in%20Saltburn%2012.gif"/></a><p>Barry Keoghan in <a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt17351924/" target="_blank"><i>Saltburn</i></a>.<p>You're welcome.Jonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15501010362663971583noreply@blogger.com15tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3840804598109638376.post-35017107488267751972023-12-22T07:28:00.000+00:002023-12-22T07:28:00.136+00:00The weakening eye of day<p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGoRTlGb6onwHh8U5zUsi1drlu4xlExteTKN4l8Ct66OXdJJGnWfTJc_Y_sfbu8dGfCWwBr8ZwIZqYQkp-ONdJFx52TfQJ5C04lZeQUSpzVtJO5FkHBXnTXvhijiGyqFY9tdFOThzo9_CcoRf-qeGgGdE3qjVY-evELKbv5q-klpembJn9lKwdGrVy2O0/s1600/The%20Great%20Bear%20%281933%29%20by%20Marjorie%20Miller.jpg" target="_blank"><img alt="" border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="720" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGoRTlGb6onwHh8U5zUsi1drlu4xlExteTKN4l8Ct66OXdJJGnWfTJc_Y_sfbu8dGfCWwBr8ZwIZqYQkp-ONdJFx52TfQJ5C04lZeQUSpzVtJO5FkHBXnTXvhijiGyqFY9tdFOThzo9_CcoRf-qeGgGdE3qjVY-evELKbv5q-klpembJn9lKwdGrVy2O0/s1600/The%20Great%20Bear%20%281933%29%20by%20Marjorie%20Miller.jpg" width="500" /></a><br /></p><p><i>I leant upon a coppice gate,<br />When Frost was spectre-grey,<br />And Winter’s dregs made desolate<br />The weakening eye of day.<br />The tangled bine-stems scored the sky<br />Like strings of broken lyres,<br />And all mankind that haunted nigh<br />Had sought their household fires.<br /><br />The land’s sharp features seemed to me<br />The Century’s corpse outleant,<br />Its crypt the cloudy canopy,<br />The wind its death-lament.<br />The ancient pulse of germ and birth<br />Was shrunken hard and dry,<br />And every spirit upon earth<br />Seemed fervourless as I.<br /><br />At once a voice arose among<br />The bleak twigs overhead,<br />In a full-hearted evensong<br />Of joy illimited.<br />An aged thrush, frail, gaunt and small,<br />With blast-beruffled plume,<br />Had chosen thus to fling his soul<br />Upon the growing gloom.<br /><br />So little cause for carolings<br />Of such ecstatic sound<br />Was written on terrestrial things<br />Afar or nigh around,<br />That I could think there trembled through<br />His happy good-night air<br />Some blessed Hope, whereof he knew,<br />And I was unaware</i>.<p> - Thomas Hardy</p><p>Midwinter, the Shortest Day, the Longest Night, Dongzhi, Makara Sankranti, Yaldā, Yule - it's <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Winter_solstice" target="_blank">the Winter Solstice</a>! Look on the bright side - it's all uphill from now on, and Spring will be here before we know it...</p><p></p>Jonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15501010362663971583noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3840804598109638376.post-620836638204526492023-12-17T19:27:00.004+00:002023-12-17T19:27:37.582+00:00Olly Dolly<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDRCgOb6J-_vo1_jsDqNxcEQzDjXD2LiMS0Xvl4TAzIesNhiLXEQVmp7U4sW1uMt4QTdd_1XBazaa1KWUzUt57uFByuqDQj4g1s6PWTuPPLaFZpGL9NhQyATDD63zSyVa375iiCHhzT37rsRZDZLWEfwrsJbmFHrwbjkuZ7Tupjwbd-MXC8CKuLMf5MIM/s1600/Olly%20Alexander%201.jpg" target="_blank"><img alt="" border="0" data-original-height="1198" data-original-width="1198" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDRCgOb6J-_vo1_jsDqNxcEQzDjXD2LiMS0Xvl4TAzIesNhiLXEQVmp7U4sW1uMt4QTdd_1XBazaa1KWUzUt57uFByuqDQj4g1s6PWTuPPLaFZpGL9NhQyATDD63zSyVa375iiCHhzT37rsRZDZLWEfwrsJbmFHrwbjkuZ7Tupjwbd-MXC8CKuLMf5MIM/s1600/Olly%20Alexander%201.jpg"width="640"></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8QtM7NstQavlCQYYoLwgm4Es60rCkYejvgJ5bqXL3__VBqomdkY8JCiSFx6ZlUv3Ruoy6EXq44UQ2i5RFtAR0LJ3GmX-KN4er0eYNg9LDexM1YiwVqaJ_jgu4KZ6V9r6ZJLfQFGk3SVnDaJiLO8f20DuVcKl9tTCATn7g0eCa8dXJMQFw58Dy2iASEus/s1600/Olly%20Alexander%202.jpg" target="_blank"><img alt="" border="0" data-original-height="920" data-original-width="658" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8QtM7NstQavlCQYYoLwgm4Es60rCkYejvgJ5bqXL3__VBqomdkY8JCiSFx6ZlUv3Ruoy6EXq44UQ2i5RFtAR0LJ3GmX-KN4er0eYNg9LDexM1YiwVqaJ_jgu4KZ6V9r6ZJLfQFGk3SVnDaJiLO8f20DuVcKl9tTCATn7g0eCa8dXJMQFw58Dy2iASEus/s1600/Olly%20Alexander%202.jpg"height="440"></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiaNWnWVixGSuVHhQRUyRyJk3ZkqnB3F7WE2NG2j_Fg94HNCLBwpzC73gn2US5M6lmA1FCBOMA2IWwWYNWX5r0RuwkmmL3r9QRnKR4vO1Obc0lYuqlA84cnv3XTI5b_wf7zUxWuC8likUfkWElG_zIT0SBxiUJIzDTyw3VwCuPJnWJ-AGd0ZhhEAr5OG9Y/s1600/Olly%20Alexander%203.jpg" target="_blank"><img alt="" border="0" data-original-height="913" data-original-width="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiaNWnWVixGSuVHhQRUyRyJk3ZkqnB3F7WE2NG2j_Fg94HNCLBwpzC73gn2US5M6lmA1FCBOMA2IWwWYNWX5r0RuwkmmL3r9QRnKR4vO1Obc0lYuqlA84cnv3XTI5b_wf7zUxWuC8likUfkWElG_zIT0SBxiUJIzDTyw3VwCuPJnWJ-AGd0ZhhEAr5OG9Y/s1600/Olly%20Alexander%203.jpg"height="440"></a><p>Congratulations!<p>Gay icon and all-round sweetie Olly Alexander <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-67740425" target="_blank">has been selected to represent the UK</a> at the Eurovision Song Contest next year...Jonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15501010362663971583noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3840804598109638376.post-25671339878086479292023-12-02T07:24:00.006+00:002023-12-04T14:24:26.881+00:00There is only one way, one voice. Yours.<a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-HUiyrKLzdIw/UpuudTUu2yI/AAAAAAAAQkU/DyB3ny15NiY/s1600/maria%2520callas%2520with%2520hands%2520on%2520side%2520of%2520face%2520by%2520cecil%2520beaton%25201957.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-HUiyrKLzdIw/UpuudTUu2yI/AAAAAAAAQkU/DyB3ny15NiY/s1600/maria%2520callas%2520with%2520hands%2520on%2520side%2520of%2520face%2520by%2520cecil%2520beaton%25201957.jpg"width="600"></a><p>
<a href="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-KZV5ZB2-4MA/Upuub5ObKNI/AAAAAAAAQj0/u_6eBBDZTbo/s1600/Callas%2520pearl%2520headdress.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-KZV5ZB2-4MA/Upuub5ObKNI/AAAAAAAAQj0/u_6eBBDZTbo/s1600/Callas%2520pearl%2520headdress.jpg"width="600"></a><p/>
<a href="AAAQj8/9MU61KqLSy0/s1600/Callas%2520net%2520hat.jpg"><img src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-j9_YgpN8pVI/Upuuby0odaI/AAAAAAAAQj8/9MU61KqLSy0/s1600/Callas%2520net%2520hat.jpg"width="475"></a><p>
<a href="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-UKiUvTx0MaY/UpuubyrOBOI/AAAAAAAAQj4/fN0dGUJY6Dg/s1600/Callas%2520hair%2520down.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-UKiUvTx0MaY/UpuubyrOBOI/AAAAAAAAQj4/fN0dGUJY6Dg/s1600/Callas%2520hair%2520down.jpg"width="600"></a><p>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBBV2CQ0qtu09hRmtOxib6npKZ-Tccgbhf_G_nYYm6oX4vxLjM5tl0nl1fef8sC0_z0FAqqPS5SPCJc1TSUxVP6GdUblPyMvSRijIUwkNAsVC5P7ZmLFUVgjw_43L_Nz_jJF-VbuL2axrB3xrxTarmTBdZY3kdIFSxn-p5LvTjY7uWvjPw2RF5YBiFHvA/s1600/Maria%20Callas%20applying%20lipstick.jpg" target="_blank"><img alt="" border="0" data-original-height="633" data-original-width="498" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBBV2CQ0qtu09hRmtOxib6npKZ-Tccgbhf_G_nYYm6oX4vxLjM5tl0nl1fef8sC0_z0FAqqPS5SPCJc1TSUxVP6GdUblPyMvSRijIUwkNAsVC5P7ZmLFUVgjw_43L_Nz_jJF-VbuL2axrB3xrxTarmTBdZY3kdIFSxn-p5LvTjY7uWvjPw2RF5YBiFHvA/s1600/Maria%20Callas%20applying%20lipstick.jpg"width="475"></a><p>
<a href="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-pcHr975UmGU/UpuudTY1UJI/AAAAAAAAQkM/Q8nty-QrT70/s1600/Maria-Callas%2520%25282%2529.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-pcHr975UmGU/UpuudTY1UJI/AAAAAAAAQkM/Q8nty-QrT70/s1600/Maria-Callas%2520%25282%2529.jpg"width="640"></a><p>
<em>"An opera begins long before the curtain goes up and ends long after it has come down. It starts in my imagination, it becomes my life, and it stays part of my life long after I've left the opera house."<p><p>"Art is domination. It's making people think that for that precise moment in time there is only one way, one voice. Yours."<p>
"I don't know what happens to me on stage. Something else seems to take over."<p>
"I don't need the money, dear. I work for art."<p>
"I am not an angel and do not pretend to be. That is not one of my roles. But I am not the devil either. I am a woman and a serious artist, and I would like so to be judged."<p>"You are born an artist or you are not. And you stay an artist, dear, even if your voice is less of a fireworks. The artist is always there."<p>
"When my enemies stop hissing, I shall know I'm slipping."</em><p>One hundred years ago, the Diva to beat all Divas was born.<p>All hail!<p>
<a href="https://www.maria-callas.com/en/"target="_blank">Maria Callas</a> (2nd December 1923 – 16th September 1977)Jonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15501010362663971583noreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3840804598109638376.post-35433920094073561022023-11-26T20:02:00.002+00:002023-11-26T23:02:38.419+00:00No better than I should be<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4i-xUpWwuaZl_qiFwlr_R8wBFQiM-8nBp7vH964yz-M_09hmP94PtLqYVaNQKVKhOfVVVd4yvrkMxxx7Dl2EltRgvBy2QxKV0kscAYQDD3ChHq8f_jdj3wGKnzalS1T0VOgJPw6FwaIc8wB3PBcQcatv9dOTMEoh9XIgfnDeWCF2vrQ-oCnfKOpCc9Pk/s1600/Pat%20smokes.jpg" target="_blank"><img alt="" border="0" data-original-height="1205" data-original-width="904" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4i-xUpWwuaZl_qiFwlr_R8wBFQiM-8nBp7vH964yz-M_09hmP94PtLqYVaNQKVKhOfVVVd4yvrkMxxx7Dl2EltRgvBy2QxKV0kscAYQDD3ChHq8f_jdj3wGKnzalS1T0VOgJPw6FwaIc8wB3PBcQcatv9dOTMEoh9XIgfnDeWCF2vrQ-oCnfKOpCc9Pk/s1600/Pat%20smokes.jpg"width="600"></a><p>It's a centenary today, dear reader - that of our eternally-revered matriarch/battleaxe/mainstay of the UK's favourite soap <i>Coronation Street</i> Elsie Tanner, aka Pat Phoenix!<p>
Elsie Tanner quotes:<p>
<ul><li>(about Ena Sharples): <i>"That woman's tongue. If it was a bit longer she could shave with it."</i></li>
<li><i>"I've left home so many times me suitcases pack themselves every time I whistle."</i></li>
<li><i>"You know, they used to call us good time girls... well, we did have a good time, and a damn good time at that"</i></li>
<li><i>"Burglars in Coronation Street? It's like robbin' the blind."</i></li>
</ul><p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9UawyxT_3ZnTlV6Er2FfDAFds3bavNXkX3sOE437kJY-wmkJ7_noc5f44FnX56MA1MJRaZi8s-6tKyUTLBWfXVELL9tqHyCPSLQDoqF1NbWYzCsA7hO5klegsmv3Up6CE8p7iYoYlFAVmmY8PXgA9ZSspp-qHqum7dW7imClqiVJiEunjasVJoBnBZC0/s1600/Elsie%20Tanner%20dartboard.jpg" target="_blank"><img alt="" border="0" data-original-height="1090" data-original-width="1600" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9UawyxT_3ZnTlV6Er2FfDAFds3bavNXkX3sOE437kJY-wmkJ7_noc5f44FnX56MA1MJRaZi8s-6tKyUTLBWfXVELL9tqHyCPSLQDoqF1NbWYzCsA7hO5klegsmv3Up6CE8p7iYoYlFAVmmY8PXgA9ZSspp-qHqum7dW7imClqiVJiEunjasVJoBnBZC0/s1600/Elsie%20Tanner%20dartboard.jpg"width="640"></a><p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMcPArHIuATsLVnca1lRVOzBURREN-5sPw78mrWZW1UndvEtfUJCJ-w8zsUbI5d8uGlye-VGl5jCI6nREdgw6pAYVOPHWorJ_U0futNt-hl7gC8LElqx9XDCB95c4IG6kOKWXum2ocdMy1mbxaAEkFuMId2kCPx7SnxvfExA7oe0EZwLnPA2EQVQsuIWM/s1600/Pat%20Phoenix%20carnival%20queen.jpg" target="_blank"><img alt="" border="0" data-original-height="1227" data-original-width="1599" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMcPArHIuATsLVnca1lRVOzBURREN-5sPw78mrWZW1UndvEtfUJCJ-w8zsUbI5d8uGlye-VGl5jCI6nREdgw6pAYVOPHWorJ_U0futNt-hl7gC8LElqx9XDCB95c4IG6kOKWXum2ocdMy1mbxaAEkFuMId2kCPx7SnxvfExA7oe0EZwLnPA2EQVQsuIWM/s1600/Pat%20Phoenix%20carnival%20queen.jpg"width="600"></a>
<p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJ71u2WOnEeu6dJPCeXICsDQ8HdRblg5titW7bm0IFj5EalFuqKhSfTQwQxLYYDVYGwAAO2S4KoW-Y7HfLnu_opDKNIJH190wjNflG1ME1NkK1KTF0EWHTzP8jlLfsZykyI6L5JyOqfrKYKNmslBEgoBda6GpKZA3Kj2656QPjKs8TlbR-cwD_-9ogmOw/s1600/Pat%20Phoenix.jpg" target="_blank"><img alt="" border="0" data-original-height="660" data-original-width="990" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJ71u2WOnEeu6dJPCeXICsDQ8HdRblg5titW7bm0IFj5EalFuqKhSfTQwQxLYYDVYGwAAO2S4KoW-Y7HfLnu_opDKNIJH190wjNflG1ME1NkK1KTF0EWHTzP8jlLfsZykyI6L5JyOqfrKYKNmslBEgoBda6GpKZA3Kj2656QPjKs8TlbR-cwD_-9ogmOw/s1600/Pat%20Phoenix.jpg"width="640"></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNKZupbBwcgoVX8ITa8YSm3KOj5YDSEE_Hk6b6uUlx0_fXKSXnxTqAczn0EAeHykjtJckDzA7UPWu0XsVQdQZ8z2AM_YdU5fPq1LFP_LnmVVUCJ-8_0akGNBWRRHT26NkbAuJ6HEqv1FjQuKVf3MleIPFRPa0rT9yS7-Gx7W6jq_w1hiAfgbMbQKeCkKs/s1600/television-itv-coronation-street-granada-studios-manchester.jpg" target="_blank"><img alt="" border="0" data-original-height="658" data-original-width="450" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNKZupbBwcgoVX8ITa8YSm3KOj5YDSEE_Hk6b6uUlx0_fXKSXnxTqAczn0EAeHykjtJckDzA7UPWu0XsVQdQZ8z2AM_YdU5fPq1LFP_LnmVVUCJ-8_0akGNBWRRHT26NkbAuJ6HEqv1FjQuKVf3MleIPFRPa0rT9yS7-Gx7W6jq_w1hiAfgbMbQKeCkKs/s1600/television-itv-coronation-street-granada-studios-manchester.jpg"height="450"></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikayiyZX9hGr0PbG3mhu1kHaBnEGF53PUZEUi7bEaYuI_GZaMLHNfdhHQxYjOOYqhIDs_mKAkrHul6msQPtDgpss7SBLZaa07LLv5YJADTX-THt7yMbW8BbG6rwpjFHrpXI2dMQo9b8cXQ3-ReK0hxa7GZoO8zsbAqq4A937RgD0VU5f87j_skWneDB8o/s1600/Pat%20and%20Morrissey.jpg" target="_blank"><img alt="" border="0" data-original-height="494" data-original-width="351" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikayiyZX9hGr0PbG3mhu1kHaBnEGF53PUZEUi7bEaYuI_GZaMLHNfdhHQxYjOOYqhIDs_mKAkrHul6msQPtDgpss7SBLZaa07LLv5YJADTX-THt7yMbW8BbG6rwpjFHrpXI2dMQo9b8cXQ3-ReK0hxa7GZoO8zsbAqq4A937RgD0VU5f87j_skWneDB8o/s1600/Pat%20and%20Morrissey.jpg"height="450"></a><p>
<em>"I was one of the first anti-heroines - not particularly good looking and no better than I should be."</em><p><div style="text-align:left;"><a class="youtube-lazy-link" href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=26WPErlsLvM" style="width: 640px;height:360px;" title="Click to play!">The Unforgettable Pat Phoenix</a></div><p>
<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pat_Phoenix"target="_blank">Pat Phoenix</a> (born Patricia Frederica Pilkington, 26th November 1923 – 17th September 1986)Jonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15501010362663971583noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3840804598109638376.post-50386684649046660592023-11-20T20:46:00.003+00:002023-11-20T20:46:53.843+00:00Art appreciation<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisEu2m8vANLMfdaJ0gz6ZgW2QRl99lesRuTZYGM8i6MjjFin63wBn0mTTs5C-QV3sU-OvBio5LiI78Hw_I-TVAE1BYHIquRJYy3VJXFTEqLCGktLTxSmmhwuPjVn4yzx2DJgUIP8Xud2jSpYUONu74XJxwsiYfJcWs_rhwyiZ1Ppne4KTQGjpWOrUoI_g/s1600/David%20poses.gif" target="_blank"><img alt="" border="0" data-original-height="422" data-original-width="336" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisEu2m8vANLMfdaJ0gz6ZgW2QRl99lesRuTZYGM8i6MjjFin63wBn0mTTs5C-QV3sU-OvBio5LiI78Hw_I-TVAE1BYHIquRJYy3VJXFTEqLCGktLTxSmmhwuPjVn4yzx2DJgUIP8Xud2jSpYUONu74XJxwsiYfJcWs_rhwyiZ1Ppne4KTQGjpWOrUoI_g/s1600/David%20poses.gif"width="550"></a><p><i>As the judge remarked the day that he acquitted my Aunt Hortense,<br>
To be smut<br>
It must be ut-<br>
-terly without redeeming social importance</i><br> - Tom Lehrer: <em>Smut</em><p>Ahhhh... David!Jonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15501010362663971583noreply@blogger.com12tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3840804598109638376.post-14391339220636791482023-11-15T07:21:00.001+00:002023-11-15T07:21:00.144+00:00There's nothing new under the sun<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigYmCXMVBtwCOfvsMd783GUKWikOmhyPDislc7BSbAND67jYPHv7zlqEgFaGhXIKlZahL0WrozYpRJuURjsF9kmMiIQwQnL6KVFzCWVlTO2vKmjYxMF4mjkYbJIv5pFXvDqHzkixKAdhyphenhyphen4c-AwJhIu2HA56wlenWBova0KJrqrQSBlk8XpyHDONywYPBI/s1600/Charles%20Fran%C3%A7ois%20Jalabert%20-%20Young%20Man%20in%20Pink,%20c.%201860.jpg" target="_blank"><img alt="" border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1297" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigYmCXMVBtwCOfvsMd783GUKWikOmhyPDislc7BSbAND67jYPHv7zlqEgFaGhXIKlZahL0WrozYpRJuURjsF9kmMiIQwQnL6KVFzCWVlTO2vKmjYxMF4mjkYbJIv5pFXvDqHzkixKAdhyphenhyphen4c-AwJhIu2HA56wlenWBova0KJrqrQSBlk8XpyHDONywYPBI/s1600/Charles%20Fran%C3%A7ois%20Jalabert%20-%20Young%20Man%20in%20Pink,%20c.%201860.jpg"width="600"></a><p><a href="https://www.alfineart.com/artworks/categories/2/24-charles-francois-jalabert-varius-and-antinoo-1846/" target="_blank">Charles François Jalabert</a> - Young Man in Pink, c. 1860Jonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15501010362663971583noreply@blogger.com10