RIP Farrah and Michael

Okay, so I said I wouldn't be back until early July due to work stuff but I just had to post a quick comment about the deaths of both Farrah Fawcett and Michael Jackson. Some of you probably know that Farrah was suffering from terminal cancer so her passing doesn't come as a huge surprise, but...Michael Jackson?? At age 50 that's way too young to go and it's food for thought. Of course as we're all aware, he exhibited some very "off the rails" behaviour in recent years and his musical output also dwindled as well as (in my view) decreasing in quality...however in his heyday he was the tops ("Thriller" and "Off The Wall" are two of my favourite all time albums). I'm sure people won't disagree when I say that in his "early days" he was a genuine cutie (see pic above) until he started to "go white". Still, very sad and inexplicable news. Going back to Farrah, I am a big Charlie's Angels fan and loved her as Jill Munroe in the first season on the show. The "Farrah" hairdo (see above) became a world-wide phenomena and those teeth were ... dazzling! Post-"Charlie's", Farrah's career arguably wasn't all that great and she was often celebrated more for her looks than acting abilities (although I heard "The Burning Bed" and "Extremities" gave her a chance to prove otherwise - not seem them myself).

Anyway, two sad losses. RIP Farrah and Michael. I'll have to write some proper tributes later. Comments??

I'll be back...

Hello lovelies. You may have noticed my recent absence from the bloggersphere. The fact is I am once again rather busy - which mainly involves being up to my eyeballs in marking to be precise. Mmm mmm. So far better for me to take a break and come back when I'm good and ready, really...and don't worry it's only a temporary break, not one like last time...All being well I should be back early July....I PROMISE!!!

Toodle pip till then...

OC xx

The Legs and Co spot: Macarthur Park

And while we're on the subject of Macarthur Park ... here's Legs and Co's "interesting" interpretation... What a spooky tree! And what's Shirley Temple doing on TOTP??!



Oh and the results of the last Cheeser Survey are forthcoming...

I'll never have that recipe again

Hell, I don't seem to have much time on my hands at the mo. I'm about to start marking exam scripts for an exam board which I do once a year to make extra dosh and I kind of wish I wasn't...it's usually very intense and I have to go into hibernation for several weeks in order to get it all done (as if I've never done that before as a teacher...) But this time I'm only marking about 2oo scripts (Only!! I hear you cry) as opposed to double the number which I did before ... Well, I've got to have SOME kind of life. Anyway it will be worth it when it's over and I can spend the cash on my much-needed Summer holiday...

Meanwhile, last weekend it was hubbie's birthday and we had a good 'un. As part of the general celebrations, we went to see a matinee performance of "Priscilla, Queen of the Desert" at the Palace Theatre on Shaftesbury Avenue. And it was absolutely brilliant! Much better than I'd hoped and more so than the film itself in fact. Even the most narrow-minded, homophobic, transvestite-hating of "citizens" out there will have heard of "Priscilla" but if you haven't, well, it's about about three drag queens (two gay men, Tick (aka Mitzi) and Adam (aka Felicia) and a transexual woman called Bernadette) driving across the Australian outback from Sydney to Alice Springs, where they're scheduled to perform a show at a Casino. To make things slightly more interesting, the Casino is run by Tick's wife and he also has a young son... And the gender benders' method of transport just happens to be a large bus called Priscilla.

So why did I like it so...Firstly the show expands on the film by featuring many more songs than the movie - some you'd heard before like "I've Never Been To Me" and "Finally" but some new ones which slotted in very well into the narrative - "Hot Stuff" as Adam gets dragged up for a "night on the town"; "Boogie Wonderland" as staff at the Alice Springs casino (with some very hot male dancers in tight shorts I might add) performing perfectly synchronised routines; "Don't Leave Me This Way" sung slow-then-fast when Bernadette's partner dies; "I Say a Little Prayer" sung by Tick (Jason Donovan in rather good sensitive mode! Gasp!) when he's meditating on his faraway son...and my own personal favourite "Macarthur Park" - the Donna Summer classic with the fabulously weird-inane lyrics: "Someone left the cake out in the rain / I don't think that I can take it /Cos it took so long to bake it / And I'll never have that recipe again / Oh nooooooo!!!"

Which leads to the next brilliant thing - the costumes and dance routines - "Macarthur Park" for instance has the dancers dressed up as giant cup cakes and there are loads of other similarly inventive bits too numerous to mention here.

The leading drag queens sport many hilarious and outlandish outfits, kind of modelled on the ones from the movie, but going even more overboard than that, if atall possible.

One of the most striking bits in the entire show which I won't ever forget (again inspired by the movie) is the sight of Felicia, sitting high atop the "Priscilla" bus on a giant high heeled shoe, cloak billowing in the wind, whilst lip synching and gesturing theatrically to the sounds of Italian opera. Visually and orally stunning (the pic above kind of doesn't do it justice - you HAD to be there). The guy playing Felicia must have had real guts also, as the "high heel" actually moves out above the audience (we're talking pretty high up here) and wobbles alarmingly!

But he's not the only one suspended from a height as the show also features three very theatrical divas who provide a kind of greek chorus (and the real song to which the trannies lip synch) coming down from the ceiling on wires at regular intervals and looking amazing and sounding amazing throughout. Occasionally they do come down to earth - see above for proof.

Special mention must also go to the "Priscilla" bus, the interior of which we also get to see ...

And finally, the performances. As I mentioned before, Jason Donovan was actually rather good as Tick, giving a convincing performance (he plays the role performed by Hugo Weaving in the movie). Having once played Frankenfurter I guess he's getting a taste for women's clothing now...And he's still in pretty good shape too, stripping off and showing off his hot bod in the first few moments of the show! Mmm mmm. Tony Sheldon does a pretty good job as Bernadette, though perhaps lacking the sardonic, sour qualities that Terence Stamp exhibited so humorously in the film (though I was glad to see they kept in the line when he/she says to the overweight, narrow-minded, small town dyke: "Why don't you light your tampon and blow your box apart, cos it's the only bang you're ever gonna get, sweetheart!" Yehaaah!!) There's loads of other good lines too which I can't remember now ... And finally Oliver Thornton as Felicia is equally as venemous and bitchy as Guy Pearce's version, though personally I prefer Mr Pearce...

Anyways an excellent show that leaves you with a big smile on your face. I wanna see it again... and I don't go to the theatre often enough.

New assistant for a new doc...

Have you all heard about the casting of the new Dr Who companion?

She's Karen Gillan, a 21 year old Scottish actress who will be playing the new companion to new Dr, Matt Smith. I have to admit I'd never heard of her, until I read that she had also played the soothsayer in last season's "Fires of Pompei":

But then she does look slightly different. Who knew? (Or perhaps he did).

A few observations:
1. Karen Gillan is very young to be cast as a companion. But then, so was Billie Piper. And actresses like Janet Fielding and Sarah Sutton back in the day were young 'uns too, and all of the aforementioned did a decent enough job.

2. Although there's already been a lot of talk by Steven Moffatt and the BBC bigwigs about what a great energy and presence Karen G has, I do wish they'd decided to break the trend of "Earth girl companion" and go for an alien companion instead. So far we've had Rose, Martha, Donna and now ... Karen (or whatever her character will be called, obviously not yet revealed). Why can't they have an alien like Nyssa or Turlough? Okay, so Jack was alien, but very human-like in other respects...

3. As it appears that Ms G is going to play the character as a genuine Scot I take it this means she will have an, erm, proper Scottish accent? (As opposed to David Tennant who for three years managed to successfully imitate a Southern English accent, in spite of the fact that he is actually a bona fide Scot - although the geeks amongst you will of course remember that he did temporarily slip into Scottish speaking mode in "Tooth and Claw"... It might actually have been more appropriate in some respects if Karen G had been cast opposite him rather than Matt Smith!) And will there be lots of conscious nods to Scottish culture and society? Will Karen G regularly don tartan outfits, scoff haggis and do the highland fling inside the TARDIS control room? Okay, perhaps something slightly more subtle, before any Scots people reading this come and lynch me for perpetuating crude stereotyping...

4. I should really just withold opinion until Ms Gillan appears on our TV screens next Spring. After all I went on a massive rant about the return of Catherine Tate and what a big error of judgement that was, when in fact it turned out to be ... a rather good move, with Ms Tate proving many of her detractors wrong. So let's wait and see, eh?

And if you want to know more about Karen G, try here or here.

And just because...

...we're still on the subject of "Funky Town", this Ole Cheeser simply couldn't resist posting this suitably "interesting" interpretation of the song by none other than fab 1970s/80s dance troupe, Legs and Co!! Who remembers them?? Those of us that watched Top of the Pops back in the day, for starters...



Mmm. The High Speed train part was an undoubted highlight, yes?? I think I might have to start a series of "Legs and Co revisted" posts. Their performances were to be savoured... (and I'm sure a lot of you lusty hetero males out there agree with the "savoured" part, but perhaps for slightly different reasons to moi...)

Meanwhile - I'm still awaiting your responses to my survey, Peeps! Only Stevenage has responded thus far!! Get your votes in before our polling stations close (elections be damned, this is the real bloody thing!!)

The Cheeser Survey #1

Okay, a brand new regular(ish) post from moi...

Every so often I will be posing a question to which an answer from y'all is most definitely required. It won't take long for any of you lovelies to compose a response, I promise.

And to kick off, this time round, the burning question in my mind is:

Won't you take me to funky town?

Answer either:
A) Yes
B) No

AND provide a reason.

Answers on a comment please...

I just KNOW you're all going to come back with some fabulous responses, being the fabulous people you are...

ONE MORE TIME: Answers on a comment, purlease...

I know you can do it.

And here's a little audio / visual accompaniment to get those brain cells ticking over... being somewhat appropriate. What pretty ladies! (Especially the craaaaaazeeeee laydeeeee with the pink outfit and pudding bowl hairdo - what a GROOVY CHICK!!)