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Belters and bohemians: Opera Locos @Sadlers_wells

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At the start of the Opera Locos performance, the announcement says that they really are singing. You could be forgiven for wondering that, given the amplification turns up the backing track and the voices so loud that you can't always tell what's real. But this is a mostly harmless and slightly eccentric blend of opera classics fused with the occasional pop classic. However, recognising the pop tunes would help if you were over a certain age. The most recent of them dates back twenty years. It's currently playing at the Peacock Theatre .  Five performers play out a variety of archetype opera characters. There's the worn-out tenor (Jesús Álvarez), the macho baritone (Enrique Sánchez-Ramos), the eccentric counter-tenor (Michaël Kone), the dreamy soprano (María Rey-Joly) and the wild mezzo-soprano (Mayca Teba). Since my singing days, I haven't recognised these types of performers. However, once, I recall a conductor saying he wanted no mezzo-sopranos singing with the s

Travel: News on Heathrow at 9.00 BST

Hand luggage is banned from flights today as the highest security in recent times is implemented following the discovery of a plot to blow up planes mid-flight . Liquids and electronic items are a particular focus of the ban… Heathrow is closed at present to all incoming flights.

Scenes from Harlequin Saturday 23:16

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This picture is really an excuse to show tits with tassels on my blog (as I don't think I have had the opportunity to do this before), but at the Harlequin bar on Saturday night in Brighton there was an excellent cabaret act from Dave Lynn and Lola Lasagne... They sang, they danced (sort of) and provided a lot of laughs... What the straight woman was doing wearing this in a bar full of gays, lesbians, bi and trans persons is anyone's guess. It did cause a bit of a stir when the lesbians in the audience wanted to get a bit closer... A doctor behind me wanted to inspect first hand if one breast was bigger than the other but she was held back... But it wasn't all drag acts for the evening. Later J and I moved on to Monkey where apart from it being warm enough that a sudden turn of your head would make beads of sweat fly across the room, a gentlemen latched onto me in what would have to be best described as a k-hole-induced-koala-hug and would not let go. I wasn't quite su

Scenes from Brighton Pride Saturday 19:02

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DSC02553 Originally uploaded by Pauly_ . After a long day in the park in those heels one would need a nap...

Scenes from Brighton Pride Saturday 17:47

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Matching black and white kilts were popular among the 150,000 plus punters in Brighton for Brighton Pride this weekend... As to be expected for a free pride event the place was heaving (including the bushes towards the back of the park) but full of people having picnics, buying overpriced fake sunglasses, having the odd drink or taking the odd vitamin...

Overheard on the tube Thursday evening...

Young luvvy #1 : They're going to have a competition to find the new Maria for the Sound of Music. Oh it's such a great show… Young luvvy #2 : I can sing Do-Re-Mi in Japanese… Young luvvy #1 : But Japanese is such an unmusical language… Although I'm sure your voice is lovely…

Scenes from Soho Sunday 20:13

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DSC02480 Originally uploaded by Pauly_ . After the party and the punters have moved on... From the streets to the bars mostly...

Scenes from Soho Pride Sunday 19:37

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DSC02473 Originally uploaded by Pauly_ . More gratuitous shots of the punters in Soho...

Scenes from Soho Pride Sunday 19:00

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DSC02465 Originally uploaded by Pauly_ . Two things you don't see at London events normally: 1) recycling bins 2) AFL football shorts I was impressed by the efforts to promote more responsible partying by providing bins labelled for cans, bottles, plastics and landfill. The landfill labels were popular with the punters taking them and sticking them on their behinds...

Scenes from Clapham Common Saturday 17:01

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Scenes from Clapham Common Saturday 17:01 Originally uploaded by Pauly_ . Walking on past those sprawled about on the grass...

Things to do in London this week...

Look in vain for signs of biodiversity in SW4. Only in central London could it be possible to have no sounds of insects or birds in summer.  Mind you I saw a man attacked on the tube tonight by Mothra (it must have been an attack given he leapt out his seat when the moth fluttered near him)… But I don't think that counts… Take part in a water pistol assassination … It would be small relief from the temperatures and smog… Check out Hampstead Heath for unemployed men from Brighton . I hear it’s a popular pastime in NW3… Drop by at Soho Pride on Sunday. The one day of the year when Westminster Council allows the streets of Soho to be what they should be all year round – pedestrianised… Then again this is the same council that earlier this year finally decided flying a flag from a building did not need planning permission .