My favourite Burlesque Queen - Anna Fur Laxis is coming down south this weekend to run some of her fabulous workshops.

If you've ever wanted to be a pin up bettie, then come and learn how to do perfect victory rolls, retro make up and how to pose for the camera, not to mention merkin 101, then you need to be at this class: http://shop.annafurlaxis.com/product/afternoon-of-workshops-southampton-23-october-2011
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Apologies everyone, I stopped blogging as my site was meant to be under reconstruction surgery - but instead it went into a constant holding pattern. So I figured I'd nose dive straight back i
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This weekend was spent vainly wishing for the golden age of rail travel to reappear. I do feel that I wouldn’t mind the constant delays quite so much if I good spend it in a old fashioned dining car with a glass of wine and the harmless flirting with suited strangers. Instead now we have the aroma of Burger Kings and the catcalls of football fans…But I did make up the travel misery by having a wonderful time in Reading – up for Vintagenie’s Show Off Sunday I was sharing the bill with a lovely mix of variety acts and the venue with some amazing Vintage stalls. – It’s going to be a regular thing, so keep an eye out on https://twitter.com/Vintagenie

I’m currently in love with a pair of gloves with a buttoned wrist that I’m probably going to wear more this winter then they’ve been worn all decade. If you’re looking for some more vintage clothing sources then I really recommend www.outoftimevintage.weebly.com

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Every so often I learn a little trick that has me amazed at its simplicity – and this week my Hairdresser & Manicurist showed me a fabulous one. I often say I have the taste of a drag queen magpie when it comes to glitter so you can imagine how much I loved this:

Glitter Gel nails! Take Gel varnish, add glitter, then add more gel varnish and voila – enough sparkle to blind anyone who casually glances down, small children and pets.

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Well I’m back from a weekend oop North (well kinda..it was further north than Northampton…). First stop on the Burlesque express was

The Embraced Showcase where I got to meet a bevy of burlesque beauties at a small theatre in Wolverhampton. A great venue (complete with with cheap drinks) I got to debut my new routine! ( I do love theatres with lighting genius’ where you get to play with effects and spotlights) and I had so much fun meeting the fabulous other performers.

I was performing with Havana Hurricane, Mimi Rose (who had a wonderful debut), Lolita Laytex, & Marie the painted lady. Not to mention the musical talents of Mark Ward & Luke Brown & The band 4oz of groove who completely rocked the place. I absolutely loved them all, as did the audience.

 And we were looked after wonderfully by Scarlette Wood who looked absolutely amazing and had the most glamorous onstage assistant in the form of the lovely Emma. And Then it was back to travelling ‘oop North’ with Lolita Laytex as my guide to Leeds where I was performing at Dreams Presents.

I was always told to wrap up warm when heading north – and they weren’t wrong. As soon as I got there I noticed the snowdrifts. Well we were in the snowdome in Castleford near Leeds. I had a fabulous night - the show was enough to have me wanting to hold on to the door and refuse to leave. Not only am I now completely in love with the stunning Georgia Honey and in lt with the amazing Eva Fox – but I also got to spend time with the wonderful Starla Bright, Flixx Demontrant, Doc Leroc, Danni La Blue, Scarlett D’Lyte.

 They all got me so hot Georgia and I had to go and cool down…(well that’s my excuse and I’m sticking to it)

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April started with a visit to the House of Burlesque in Portsmouth to watch some absolutely amazing performers at the gorgeous Kings theatre in Southsea. It was a fabulous show and I am so disappointed that I can’t make the next one. Afterwards, with my partner in crime the delectable Khandie Kisses (http://www.KhandieKhisses.com/) we headed to the after party (accompanied by the best drag queen lollipop lady, Sally Monella) before getting some much needed sleep before seeing the fabulous Vie O Lette for lunch.

            The following weekends had me at private parties and working on a new surprise before heading back to Portsmouth for a very exclusive show with the Kissy Kat burlesque show where I got to perform with the beautiful Starla Bright, the kingtastic Alamaba Love, the twist in the tale that is Vie O’lette and the lovely Willow Blue, not to mention Lilly – the bouncy bubble of a stage manager.

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March has been spent performing, rehearsing  and meeting fabulous new people. Bambi Dear, Susie Von Sequin, Scott Chalmers, Millie Dollar, Ben Giddions and the mind twist that is the fabulous Frank Sanazi as well as getting ready to launch my brand spanking new act next month.

The month started with a fabulous Hen party in Portsmouth where the ladies learned to walk with a wiggle, then the next even was a show for Yacht club in London wanting to raise money to help the heroes. Where I met for the first time (and hopefully not the last) the fabulous Bambi Dear & Susie Von Sequin. Unfortunately I had the following nights gig cancelled, but that meant I was able to fit in another dress fitting.

Then it was a case of all hands to the pins as my new costume began to take shape. A gorgeous confection of sequins and ruffles, it put’s Marilyn Monroe’s dress from ‘some like it hot’ firmly in the shade and contributed to the acts name: ‘Some Like it Red Hot’ – also in honour of my change of hair colour. I’m now a gorgeous shade of a spicy ginger and am completely in love with the shade.

Once I had the amazing dress I had to get some photos done, so here is the first sneak peek of a photoshoot with the fabulous Scott Chalmers.

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How fabulous are these bags? By the fabulous Olympia Le Tan.
http://www.olympialetan.com/index.cfm


Put simply...I want!



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Apocalyptic gig! 11/04/2010
 
There's something strangely beautiful and compelling about seeing a crowd respond to the energy coming from the stage and moving hundreds of people to the same pulse. Standing on the Balcony at the HMV Forum I could see the beat of crowd as they responded to the bands output and finally even gave up on recording* the band and gave into the pure enjoyment.

Apocalyptica the Finnish Cello Metal band (trust me, it works) are one of my favourite groups. A group of classical musicians who got together over a love of metal and combined the two forms of music to fabulous effect. They are also one of the hardest working bands on the circuit. Looking at their gig list for the last year leaves you feeling exhausted so they must be counting down the time till a day that doesn't involve travelling, interviews or performing. This last week alone has seen them performing in Tilburg then to Paris to Brussels to London then Scotland and Wolverhampton.

Tuesday I made my way to London to see the latest tour supporting the newest album, running late due to the great British transport system I met up with friends and made my way to the Forum looking forward to the evening ahead.

'Pain of Salvation' were supporting, an area that I've always found lacking in previous Apocalyptica gigs - which made the pleasure of a good (if unintentionally amusing) band all the more marked. I regret that I only caught the last three tracks of theirs, they've now shot straight on to my 'must buy' list, even if only to work out if the earnest messages in their last song of the night were meant to be taken with a wry wink or not.


To start with, it looked as though the travelling had have sapped some of the energy from Apocalyptica, but they've always had energy to spare. Even tired they manage to outdo so many other bands on the rock/metal circuit for pure mania and after they played a powerful arrangement of 'Seek and Destroy' the entire venue seemed to perk up and the evening just flowed perfectly.


In my fantasy rockband, Mikko Siren would be the drummer. He's no only a fabulous drummer but he connects me straight back to watching the Muppets. A controlled explosion of energy topped by shaggy hair and a wide grin he (for me) is the human incarnation of Animal. And as well as his covetable clear drum set they've set him up with banging lights - that's right Lights that work from the vibration (I think) of the drum. Giving an epileptic danger warning of a performance.


The celloists, Eicca Toppinen, Perttu Kivilaakso & Paavo Lötjönen are fabulous at both music and showmanship. Everytime I've seen them they manage to find a way to make the audience feel included in the obvious joy they get from their instruments. The reverent silence during 'Beautiful'** was a wonderfully marked contrast to the mania shown during 'I'm not Jesus' and the Metallica covers.

Even as the night drew to a close and they hadn't played my favourite 'Hall of the Mountain King' I was still very happy. And after the encore I was happier still. In fact the only thing that would have made the night better would have been the transport strike being called off. Due to the need to catch a certain train I couldn't meet the band after the gig. But there's always next time…...

*Calm down ye pirate hunters. I merely refer to the practice of using phones and cameras attached to the very top of your upright arm getting in the way of the person in behind you and resulting in a series of blurred and unfocused images. Doing it a couple of times is fine, but when the audience is almost at a standstill as they're busy concentrating on the machinery, something seems to go missing from the entire gig experience.

** Beautiful - Please pop over to Acts for news of a routine that makes use of this wonderful track.

*UPDATE* 
I feel the need to clarify that I feel slightly bad mentioning how tired they seemed now I know that one of the members was not very well. Get better soon Perttu 

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As requested, some pictures of me all weddinged up
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