Films, Theatre and Drag

I went to 'Distant Voices, Still Lives' at the NFT. This was a brilliant film. It was interesting to see the progress from the Terence Davies Trilogy. I had already seen The Long Day Closes - Terence had given a friend a small role. I met him several times at her house and found him to be a delightful man, shy and retiring. He had been interested to hear about how my neighbours and I had clubbed together to supply food to a woman in the street who had several children and a temporary financial problem. He and I enjoyed Sunday lunch at a pub here with my friends some years ago.

I had a call from a gay friend of mine who is putting on an amateur dramatic production. He wants me to do his make-up. He is having a slinky white sequinned dress made and some special size 10 ladies shoes and is going as Shirley Bassey. He is certainly slim enough but is an elderly man with a large head and heavy five o'clock shadow with a beaky nose, so the make-up will be a challenge. He is going to be fake tanned on the body and I think I will use some Rimmel dark bronzer on his face with pale pink lipstick. I shall see whether or not my son and his wife can cat sit for the night so that I can do the make up and see the show.

My colleague and I had lunch in the Hop Exchange Cellars. They do a decent Welsh rarebit, quite substantial. We then went to Patisserie Lila for a rather overpriced cake and coffee, which was quite delicious nevertheless. I had bought some pretty plants for my windowbox at the front of the house as I had let the ivy die - not watering it enough in the unseasonably hot weather.

I am collecting my new Jackie O (though I shall look more like Deirdre Barlow) style sunglasses today. My gardening furniture delivery has been postponed but may come on Monday. Tomorrow I am going to Porgy and Bess at the Savoy. On Sunday I am seeing an afternoon performance of the last Terence Davies film I shall see for a while: The Neon Bible. Also, my son and his wife are returning from Barcelona. Hurray!