Define yourself

"If you deny yourself commitment, what can you do with your life?"

"Never be bullied into silence. Never allow yourself to be made a victim. Accept no one's definition of your life; define yourself."

"It's through sheer will that I can sing."

Harvey Fierstein (born 6th June 1952)

[Read my previous tribute to Mr Fierstein from 2009 over at Give 'em the old Razzle Dazzle]

Rainbow Queen

[click photo to enlarge]

In honour of her Diamond Jubilee - our Rainbow Queen!

Jubilee Pageant

Jubilee Concert

Life is a banquet

"Taste. You cannot buy such a rare and wonderful thing. You can`t send away for it in a catalogue. And I`m afraid it`s becoming obsolete."

"Acting is standing up naked and turning around very slowly."

"At MGM there was a first wave of top stars, and a second wave to replace them in case they got difficult. I was second in line of defence, behind Myrna Loy."

"Life is a banquet, and most poor suckers are starving to death."

Rosalind Russell (4th June 1907 – 28th November 1976)

Another Queen arrives

Madonna launched her MDNA world tour this week...

I hate fascinators

"I love working on haute couture, and then coming back and making a hat shaped like a Twix. Or for a horse. One thing informs the other..."

"Hats go in and out of fashion but proper hats are back... People will move away from all these fluffy feather things, which are more of an afterthought. I hate fascinators. Hats will be more demure, sophisticated, less brash."

"You don’t have to spend lots of money to make something beautiful. You can make a beautiful thing out of something that is pretty humble."

Stephen Jones (born 31st May 1957), milliner, genius.

Read about our visit to his landmark exhibition Hats - an Anthology at the V&A in 2009

Eggs are good for you

Like my own ancestors, a French Huguenot; a refugee from the Revocation of the Edict of Nantes under Louis XIV in 1685.

Unlike my own ancestors, the brilliant craftsman of some of the most fabulous, most desired, most expensive jewellery and bejewelled objets d'art in history.

These are just some of the delights created by Peter Carl Fabergé (30th May 1846 – 24th September 1920).

[The anniversary of his birth is today celebrated by none other than Google]

Thought for the Day