Nouveau Showgirl: Small Town to Big City

What a wonderfully hectic weekend! On Saturday I took myself to the Manchester Alternative and Burlesque Fair to meet Havana Hurricane (and have a sneaky peek of Vivid Angel's performance! - I'd never seen her perform before, and spent most of the act watching through my fingers!) I also bought myself a gorgeous piece of art: I had seen this at the last fair in December, and promised myself that if it was still there, I'd get it for myself as I am using it as an inspiration piece for a new act I'm working on...

Absinthe Fairy by Aly Fell

Havana and I then drove to Mytholmroyd in West Yorkshire for a lovely little show in a town that had never hosted a Burlesque show before! After a quiet start, the audience certainly got the hang of what was required and raised the roof - we were asked for several encores and didn't think we'd be able to leave the venue without being mobbed! Backstage was typically wonderful (if very cold!) and I got to play with the gorgeous Em Brulee for the second weekend in a row!

The only downside to the evening was my last train home being cancelled so having to get a replacement bus service which added two hours onto my late night journey. I hate being reliant on public transport!

Backstage with Penny Sweets, Cecilia Rouge, Havana Hurricane and Trixie Passion

I have been looking forward to this weekend for ages as I spent a couple of fun-filled days in London with some of my favourite people: On Sunday evening I met the gorgeous Elle Amour in Covent Garden, who took me to a fabulous little Mexican restaurant and then onto cocktails in the super-glamorous Brown's in Leicester Square (where I got ID'd! Woop!)

Cocktails at Brown's

Elle Amour and I in Brown's

After the gorgeous food, and equally gorgeous cocktails, we took ourselves to Tooting to the Tram and Social Club for a free Burlesque show: 'Hot Sundae' - Coco DuBois was hosting, and I was excited to be able to watch several performers I'd never seen before, including Abi Collins (who I have heard so much about and definitely wasn't disappointed - she was incredible!) Moonfish Rhumba (even though I was slightly scared to start with, I couldn't help laughing - they are mental) and the gorgeous Lena Mae, Bettie Bottom Dollar and Hotcake Kitty. Dolly Rose was stage kitten, and it was lovely to catch up with her as we've not performed together for months!

My memories of the evening turn slightly hazy after the second bottle of wine - I managed to lose my hat (the worst part of this is that as we left, I was insisting on finding my it, yet no one else could remember me having had one, so not only have I lost my favourite hat, everyone now thinks I'm a crazy drunk who hallucinates hats after drinking wine.) and apparently I fell over in a kebab shop (I don't remember even being *in* a kebab shop and was adamant this hadn't happened... until I found a bag of chips in my handbag. Fail.) So here are a couple of pictures from the night instead.

Tooting Tram and Social Club

Dolly Rose and I

Coco DuBois and I - this is where it all starts going blurry...

After a much needed lie-in and generally lazy day, I was back in Covent Garden on Monday evening for the Big Burlesque Night Out: ingenious idea - why has this never been done before? And when is the next one?! We started in Dirty Martini's (the chocolate martini's are like heaven in a glass and are absolutely lethal, and I got ID'd AGAIN!! I love London) After drinking to absolute excess, those who could still stand moved onto a nightclub where more cocktails were drunk and the night ends in a haze of dancing and debauchery.

I don't remember much but highlights are: Meeting Delores Deluxe at last. Red Sarah, just being Red Sarah, and having my face on her business card! Sharing a platter of yummy food with Banbury Cross. The gorgeous Betsy Rose regaling the bar with her 'Serb' story. Liberty Sweet, Kitty Devine and I becoming the Leopard-Print Mafia in the ladies. Sarina del Fuego threatening to catnap Piglet. Sharing Edinburgh nightmare stories with Honey Wilde. Sharing the latest gossip with Tempest Rose. Being photographed with lipstick all over my face, stood next to the immaculate Jolie Papillon. Sexy dancing with Tigz Rice (who again, I've never met but heard so much about and was simply lovely!) I think I attempted to smother Vicky Butterfly with kisses at one point. Pose-offs with Coco DuBois. Elle Amour just generally being gorgeous as ever. Asking if I could ride the Harley behind the bar, and being flatly refused. Sitting in Trafalgar Square at 2am and just *loving* being in London.

And again - the night is somewhat of a blur, so here are some pictures...