Xposed

I went to the Southwark Playhouse for the first time on Sunday to see a selection of plays on Gay life.

There were eight plays in total: The Gay Agenda, How We Love, Romeo and Jules, Family Tree, Oh! You Pretty Things, Virtue, Skin(ny), and She’s Fit, Just Kiss Her.

Romeo and Jules and She’s Fit, Just Kiss Her stood out for me, both funny pieces so perhaps I was just in the mind frame for comedy.

Romeo and Jules looked at Romeo if he had been gay and just looking for a cover story.

She’s Fit, Just Kiss Her dealt with the first time you go home with a girl when you thought you’d been straight.

All in all an enjoyable night, well worth the cover charge.

There will be more to come.

Gay sex legal in India

They have just legislated to make gay sex legal in India.

Bringing it into line with Britain and the United States.

Another victory for the rainbow flag.

Club swizzle

A night at the roundhouse like no other, club swizzle combines drag and cabaret to enthrall audiences.

There was a lot of innuendo mixed into the compère’s set and a distinct Australian twang, surreal and fun.

Cabaret wouldn’t be cabaret without blues numbers and semi clad girls and they had it in spades.

What these guys can’t do with a champagne bottle isn’t worth doing.

Once you’ve seen themselves jump around the bar you’ll want to be a gymnast too.

Adele and Psychosis

Heartening to see a big celebrity take up the less glamorous cause of mental health this week.

Adele’s friend has suffered psychosis as a result of child birth and released an account online.

Adele, who has suffered from depression herself, was quick to get behind her friend.

Psychosis is one of the most severe kinds of mental distress you can suffer and it’s good to see it have an airing in the media.

Sugarless Brexit

Those that require insulin could find their supply affected post Brexit.

If the cost of Brexit wasn’t enough now Diabetics are going to suffer.

Bye bye Boris

We can all breathe a sigh of relief that Boris Johnson has resigned from the cabinet.

It is heartening to see Theresa May’s government in disarray, long may it continue.

Hopefully this will sway the populace to a later Labour electoral victory.

Launching the Love

Simon Love and the Old Romantics launched their album at The Lexington on Friday night, it was a treat.

Buzzard Buzzard Buzzard kicked off the night with some mincing shouty classic rock.

Apparently John Lennon is their Jesus Christ.

The School followed with some unashamedly indie numbers.

Leading nicely to Simon Love and the Old Romantics with a collection of their well known hits to finish the night.

Gypsy spirit

Op Sa are a Serbian brass band and they play lively gypsy sounding numbers for everyone to enjoy.

By the end of their Queen Elizabeth Hall set the audience at the back were reeling around like mad things dancing to the upbeat numbers.

National kissing day

It’s national kissing day apparently.

It’s also refugee week so perhaps you could kiss a refugee today.

Alternatively you could kiss the most kissable woman Dua Lipa, or the most kissable man Idris Elba.

I can’t say I agree with the most kissable man, but who am I to dictate who you have on your lips.

That said Aidan Turner the male runner up is more my cup of tea.

Have to agree whole heartedly with Donald Trump as least kissable, followed closely by Piers Morgan (no relation to me I should make clear).

Pot for all

Medical marijuana gained a victory from government as a young epileptic was allowed dispensation to take the drug.

This is being treated as a one off.

However, with one allowance on the cards the campaign to legalise medical marijuana made a major stride in this decision.

It will add to evidence that the drug is of use to all in medical cases.

Rat bar

The rat bar has just entered the fray for London’s hippest night spot.

Sporting the Banksy rat as one of a collection of graffiti art the cavernous enclosure boasts pizza and drinks just off the graffiti laden Leake Street in Waterloo.

The drinks all range around the £5 mark apart from the odd cocktail and you can get merry on an espresso infused Black Death or a sambuca laced Rat Tat Tat.

If you haven’t had enough with the rat inspired cocktails there are the stylised rat masterpieces on the walls designed by Wu Tang Clan artwork designer Gary Alford.

The pizzas are reasonable and so you can have a full evening out with mates and drinks in a hideaway drinking den on Leake Street and pretend the real world doesn’t exist for a bit.

It’s a pop up, so get there while you can.

Equal abortions

Our human rights court has officially branded the Northern Ireland abortion law against a woman’s human rights yet Westminster still doesn’t interfere.

It amazes me in this day and age we’re still having a debate about abortion.

A woman’s body should be her choice and no one else’s.

Mainland Ireland is on board with legal abortion now its time Northern Ireland followed suit.

Heels!

Not been to a Drag Act in a while...

Fancy something low key and friendly?

Heels could be for you.

A friendly bunch of Queen’s get together at Henry’s every month to sing some surprisingly good covers and do a bit of over the top link syncing.

And there are prizes!

Sugar Tax

The fool hardy plan to institute the sugar tax is the wrong way round to tackle obesity.

Sugar is a cheap means to make up nutrition and taxing it only hurts poor families.

It would be better to work on making vegetables cheaper than a food stuff for emergencies more expensive.

Krav Maga

Krav Maga has proved to be a very controversial martial art. It has been practiced in this country since 1996, Simon has been teaching it in Lambeth since 2012/2013

I am greeted by Simon who is keen to see Krav Maga taught in schools, having taught it in a few in the London area already.

He believes learning a martial art, not specifically Krav Maga, is a good way of building the confidence not to engage in a fight in the first place. He does not believe learning a Martial Art of this nature would lead anyone to take matters into their own hands to any greater degree.

The class is challenging, but manageable. Though if you’re currently a little unfit I would advise you go on a few walks and do some press ups before going. The work out isn’t impossible, but it is a challenge, so best not rock up when you’re still ill or you haven’t done any physical exercise in ages.

The taster course takes you through a series of self-defence moves, a couple with dummy knives. Despite a small stature they are all moves I am capable of performing, although on one occasion one of the men is so tall as to make the ascribed moves a little difficult to perform effectively. However, largely the promise that these moves would work for any body type largely holds out.

Martial Arts attendance is not one of my hobbies so when given a quite frankly mirth enducing cod piece to protect my nether regions and asked to kick someone between the legs I take to it a little tentatively. There is something supremely unnatural about going up to someone you’ve never met and then kicking them in the cod piece for no reason. There may be a lesson in there somewhere.

The lesson ends with no punches thrown. The course will set you back £35 and they recommend a couple of months to really make a difference. The aim of the course is to make these self-defence moves so habitual that you can rely on them even when taken by surprise in a real world situation, where an adrenaline peak may be clouding your thinking.

Simon stresses these self-defence techniques are for a last resort only. However, I press him further on whether this class offers anything in terms of helping people stay safe without having to use these combative techniques, he has less to say on this subject.

He does not teach any of the jabs to the throat in this class, which have caused so much consternation and all the moves though they would leave an assailant hurt, would probably not cause lasting harm. He does however teach these moves to adults, with what he says are appropriate cautions.

Simon got into Krav Maga in response to a violent burglary at his home. Knife crime in London is currently going up, so looking into self-defence of some form, may not be such a bad idea.

Folk in the south

Follow The Lost Cavalry around venues and it seems you unearth musical delights.

A Valentine’s event last night brought a number of folk acts together to folk about.

Salt Moon

This three piece combine cello, double bass and electric guitar with a female singer.

The style is occasionally reminiscent of Fairport Convention.

The songs tend to the tongue in cheek and melancholy, even when ‘love songs’, the vocal itself unquestionably strong for the style.

The Lost Cavalry

Again they performed well.

The arrangement is creative without being sloppy and the vocal performance really is hard to match.

Some of the songs tone have hints of Kurt Cobain, unusual for a lead singer who often sings beyond the rafters.

Patch and the Giant


These guys were the last to perform and a real treat.

They will be playing in Brighton tonight at ‘The Folk Room’, afraid all the details I have.

You will be treated to layered folk styles, unexpected brass and a haunting melancholy.

I would urge you to check them out in Brighton if you are free.

Valentine’s for the world

Today is St Valentine’s Day, I won’t go into the story today, you can find it out in your own time.

On this day so often linked to love the news has exploded with more stories of sabre rattling in the U.S.A and North Korea.

Those at the Olympics are launching themselves into the sky from ski slopes and snowboarding half pipes in spectacular style.

Yet the powers that be in North Korea and the U.S.A feel it is far more important to threaten something horrendous.

Hydrogen bombs have been condemned across the world, we really need no more.

Destruction on that scale helps absolutely no one.

If you are good at Oragmi and you do not have anything else peaceful to do I suggest you take the Japanese example and start making collections of Oragmi shapes.

No one ever got more than a paper cut from Oragami.

Have the best day possible.

I really would recommend watching some of the Olympics.

How’s your New Year going?

All credit to Michael Franti and Spearhead.

Why arrest him?

Sadiq Khan, as you all remember was elected as London mayor.

Recent news is that Donald Trump has tried to arrest Sadiq.

The news can be wrong, it may be overblown, libellous any number of things.

Though as he is a Muslim mayor and Trump has heavily questioned the man largely based around his faith alone and not his ability to run London.

I am led to ask, why on earth is a foreign leader seeking to arrest a legally elected man with a mandate to govern the whole of London.

It was not a rigged election, he did win the majority and what is more he stood alongside the many Londoners who stood in silent vigil after terrorist attacks.

I do seem to remember Donald Trump saying he didn’t like terrorism at one point and Sadiq has shown clearly that he doesn’t like terrorism.

Prince Harry

Prince Harry is, well, a Prince.

He is not an MP, or a Queen, or a Civil Servant or well, anything other than a Prince.

He is a Prince who was foolish enough to don a Nazi uniform for a party.

We all remember that don’t we, him wearing that uniform.

We haven’t forgotten have we, what he wore...

How did we feel about it?

The outfit choice of his...

His brother didn’t wear it at any point did he...

There was a distinct absence of his elder brother wearing it.

Interestingly though there seems to be another Royal wedding on the cards.

Funny thing about Royal weddings, in a weird way everyone gets invited whether they want to go or not.

Also interestingly, it appears and is reported that Donald Trump is very much not invited.

I’m not sure if a Royal realises how a Royal wedding looks to all of us.

Only this time Prince Harry wedding, as I shall dub this one is not inviting Donald Trump.

Whatever is that about do you think?

Zeitgeist

Nicky Wire has a song on his solo album called I killed the Zeitgeist.

Very strange piece of music to write when you have been and probably still are the Zeitgeist.

He seems cleverer than that really, wondering if he’s taking the piss.

His rather strange Wikipedia implies he is an ageing outsider, utterly failing to mention he’s a huge rock star in one of the most iconic bands of the last decade or so.

The album’s old, but worth a listen.

I killed the Zeitgeist is definitely not the best track on it.

Women and love songs

Do you remember me mentioning Sonique?

I thought I’d remind you of this one.

Suzi Quatro!

Do you remember this one rock and rolling and talking about love in a husky voice?

In leather?

Remember?

She wouldn’t have let anyone get away with pushing her around.

Why has everyone got so sexist?

Happy New Year!

I hope you had all the greatest parties.

Richard Ashcroft!