For the second day in succession I only switched on some media at five in the early evening and discovered there was a showing the under 21 year old European Cup game with the Republic of Ireland. James Milner, who has been out of form on the Newcastle wing, scored one and with query on another deflected in with the third by Theo Walcott. Milner is 23 qualifies for the cup competition by just 4 days according to FIFA rules and as a consequence has played more games than anyone else. The win does not result in England qualifying for the finals despite being well ahead as leaders of their group, because only eight terms take part in the second stage from the 50 or so participating in the preliminary stage. The manager of the side is the excellent Stuart Pearce who has an outstanding record since taking over and will be alongside the new England coach when they play a friendly against Switzerland later this evening. There is every indication that Michael Owen will only make the bench.
On Monday I watched the shortened replay of the Superbowl between the New England Patriots who had a record of winning every game in the regular season and the play-offs and the New York Giants who were outsiders in terms of their league form. The game was a tight one for the first three quarters and then was very exciting with the lead changing several times and the Giants winning with spectacular play with only a couple of seconds to go.
Yesterday evening as an antidote to the Road to Guantanamo film I stayed up to watch the DVD on Mrs Henderson presents, the story of her involvement in the Windmill Theatre which I enjoyed when experiencing in theatre. As a young man I never had the courage to visit the theatre which was still functioning as a variety theatre with comedians, dancers, singers and speciality acts plus fully nude tableaux when I visited the Cy Laurie Club between 1956/1957 and 1960 in Great Windmill Street. There is on moment in the film where the showgirls mingle with ladies of the night at a café across the road from the theatre bringing back memories of using the same place for its hot meat sandwiches or the nearby milk bar as I believed it was then still called.
The Cy Laurie Club shared its entrance with a strip club and a boxing gym and if the door man let you in you were went down a grim stairway into a fair size basement which I am told was a dance rehearsal room during the day. There were a few old sofas, the bandstand and the rest was dance floor and on most visits I would stand throughout the evening often holding up a side wall marvelling at the young dancers, many from the art colleges and university colleges who developed their own intricate steps intent on the music and each other and oblivious to the onlookers. There was a small separate area which sold soft drinks and crisps, and a gross smelly toilet. It was intensely hot so we sometimes got a pass out for the Red Lion and the sound was deafening although not as loud as the U2 tribute band heard last year. I bought a brown duffle coat to fit in although it proved useful when later worn on CND marches, under which I wore a suit when I knew I was to be arrested for the demonstration which let to the six months in prison. While some of those who attended lived in central London most of us rushed away at the close of the evening around 11. I had one change on the underground from nearby Piccadilly, at Green Park to Victoria and then the last train to Wallington, although if this was missed from time to time I would only get as far as Croydon which involved an hour's walk home. Cy Laurie played as authentic New Orleans jazz as possible along with Ken Collyer although the two had their disagreements, Cy never had chart success when Trad became box office in the later fifties especially when Louis Armstrong and other American greats were allowed to visit and play in the UK. He lived until 2002 and one of treasured possessions is a live recorded session at the club. I delighted to find that myspace profile listing of Ice Cream is included as an AOL listing, and that so is artmanjosephgrech under general heading.
The film closely follows the story of the theatre which was bought by the wealthy Mrs Henderson after she became a widow in 1931. It was then derelict and she further gutted to create a small single auditorium theatre which was then managed for her by Vivien Van Damn, who was recommended to her as she had no prior knowledge of the business. It was Vivian who suggested that they offer continuous performances which for the price of one entry ticket, as used be the situation in the cinema you could stay for the rest of the afternoon and evening. The venture did not make money, specially when other theatres followed suit. It was then the decision was taken to follow the success of Parisian theatres such as the Moulin Rouge and the Follies Bergeres but all the licensing Lord Chamberlain would allow was artistic tableaux. It was the decision of Mrs Henderson, her manager and the staff to continue operating throughout World War II as all the other theatres closed which led to the reputation of the Windmill becoming world wide as services men from around the globe made for the theatre when in London with the consequence of packed performance and the tradition of climbing over seats to get to the front when people left, not included in the film. When Mrs Henderson died in 1944 aged 82 the theatre was left to Vivian van Damn and he continued to operate with considerable success, widening the scope with the introduction of the fan dance in which the covered naked girl danced until the last few seconds when she stood naked. They were able to more than hold their own taking shows on tour despite the changing nature of Soho as strip clubs and clip joints proliferated. Among the comedians who performed at the Windmill were Peter Sellers, Harry Seacombe Tony Hancock, and Jimmy Edwards. While it was a male preserve the daughter and grand daughter of Queen Victoria once visited as guests of Mrs Henderson as did other members of London Society and the showgirls were reputedly well paid and well looked after. When Vivian died his daughter attempted to keep the theatre going but with the growth of full movement stripping and ending of variety entertainment with the development of television the last show took place in 1964. There were various attempts to revive its use with the building becoming a cinema and a casino as well as private club. It became the La Vie en Rose as a burlesque house in the 1980's in the heyday of Paul Raymond and is presently a lap dancing club when enormous profits can be made from the international business clients who will spend hundreds of pounds on expensive champagne and on rewarding the young women willing to expose their bodies in close up. No doubt many of the young women come from within the new Europe.
My day did not begin well trying to make a cup of tea with just water and then searching for a couple of forks after doing the washing up, one was located, although the previous evening I had found a volume of recent key papers regarding the enquiries about the premature and preventable death of my aunt, put safely to one side several months ago. I went out to the bank for a statement, to get some shaving foam and shampoo where I bought Boot's own make at half to a third of the price of name brands and then to Asda where on my list I included some cream crackers and nearly bought a small box for two pounds when I saw a special sale of giant 1 kilo boxes with an eight choice selection. I decided on two boxes, which will be close on a year's supply for just £3 in total. I needed milk, rolls and eggs, bought the chicken roasts for the next two Sundays and two packs of frozen ready to roast potatoes, some salami, cheese, prawns in shell and a contents ready chicken stir fry which I will make up in a moment. I nearly went for a small packet of salted peanuts but decided on a mixture of unsalted with other nuts and dried fruit. Although it was after lunchtime the sky was blue but a strong wind was icy so I did not linger.
I had planned to go earlier, before lunch but changed my mind and checked out what happened in the US primaries on Super Tuesday and then stay to watch Prime Ministers' Question time where Norman now Lord Tebbit was in great from supporting the left wing Republican mainly on the basis of anyone other than Hilary Clinton. I also supported his preference for the aging republican as a statement of defiance on behalf of us oldies especially against the Liberal Democrats who I will campaign against at every opportunity for turning their backs on their best two leaders because of their age. He also made the excellent point that the problem with Mr Obama as with his leaders Mr Cameron is that they are untested in a crisis. Mr Cameron is sounding more hysterical and being a one trick pony week by week. This time he made a point of attacking the Prime Minister for arranging some 50 policy and issue reviews. This was a defensive attack on the Prime Minister who had previously accused the opposition leader of having no substance and no policies, mainly because Mr Cameron has initiated only thirty policy reviews. Mr Cameron is being politically dishonest because he knows enough to know that there is great danger in declaring policies too quickly as events will change things and why commit yourself to something which may not work or where you may not have the funds and when you may what do something different and better by the time of General Election? For the second occasion in succession no one raised the issue of the politicians pay and expenses. The reason why both of the main political parties are hesitating over committing themselves because at long last they have understood the law of unintended consequences and that however good the debates and however much there is detailed consideration of legislation it never is implemented the way the legislators and policy makers intended and more often than otherwise it is not put into the practice especially if the funds required do not become available. When I first started in a senior position in local government there were endless meetings with endless reports being written and discussed. It was several years of this before anyone bothered to check if the decisions were being implemented and several more years before anyone check if what was done was intended and worked. Governments need to govern which means taking decisions only when needed and after as much thought and relevant information as the situation allows and the concentrate on implementation, monitoring effectiveness and reviews. You also need the right people in the right places at the right time .
On Monday I watched the shortened replay of the Superbowl between the New England Patriots who had a record of winning every game in the regular season and the play-offs and the New York Giants who were outsiders in terms of their league form. The game was a tight one for the first three quarters and then was very exciting with the lead changing several times and the Giants winning with spectacular play with only a couple of seconds to go.
Yesterday evening as an antidote to the Road to Guantanamo film I stayed up to watch the DVD on Mrs Henderson presents, the story of her involvement in the Windmill Theatre which I enjoyed when experiencing in theatre. As a young man I never had the courage to visit the theatre which was still functioning as a variety theatre with comedians, dancers, singers and speciality acts plus fully nude tableaux when I visited the Cy Laurie Club between 1956/1957 and 1960 in Great Windmill Street. There is on moment in the film where the showgirls mingle with ladies of the night at a café across the road from the theatre bringing back memories of using the same place for its hot meat sandwiches or the nearby milk bar as I believed it was then still called.
The Cy Laurie Club shared its entrance with a strip club and a boxing gym and if the door man let you in you were went down a grim stairway into a fair size basement which I am told was a dance rehearsal room during the day. There were a few old sofas, the bandstand and the rest was dance floor and on most visits I would stand throughout the evening often holding up a side wall marvelling at the young dancers, many from the art colleges and university colleges who developed their own intricate steps intent on the music and each other and oblivious to the onlookers. There was a small separate area which sold soft drinks and crisps, and a gross smelly toilet. It was intensely hot so we sometimes got a pass out for the Red Lion and the sound was deafening although not as loud as the U2 tribute band heard last year. I bought a brown duffle coat to fit in although it proved useful when later worn on CND marches, under which I wore a suit when I knew I was to be arrested for the demonstration which let to the six months in prison. While some of those who attended lived in central London most of us rushed away at the close of the evening around 11. I had one change on the underground from nearby Piccadilly, at Green Park to Victoria and then the last train to Wallington, although if this was missed from time to time I would only get as far as Croydon which involved an hour's walk home. Cy Laurie played as authentic New Orleans jazz as possible along with Ken Collyer although the two had their disagreements, Cy never had chart success when Trad became box office in the later fifties especially when Louis Armstrong and other American greats were allowed to visit and play in the UK. He lived until 2002 and one of treasured possessions is a live recorded session at the club. I delighted to find that myspace profile listing of Ice Cream is included as an AOL listing, and that so is artmanjosephgrech under general heading.
The film closely follows the story of the theatre which was bought by the wealthy Mrs Henderson after she became a widow in 1931. It was then derelict and she further gutted to create a small single auditorium theatre which was then managed for her by Vivien Van Damn, who was recommended to her as she had no prior knowledge of the business. It was Vivian who suggested that they offer continuous performances which for the price of one entry ticket, as used be the situation in the cinema you could stay for the rest of the afternoon and evening. The venture did not make money, specially when other theatres followed suit. It was then the decision was taken to follow the success of Parisian theatres such as the Moulin Rouge and the Follies Bergeres but all the licensing Lord Chamberlain would allow was artistic tableaux. It was the decision of Mrs Henderson, her manager and the staff to continue operating throughout World War II as all the other theatres closed which led to the reputation of the Windmill becoming world wide as services men from around the globe made for the theatre when in London with the consequence of packed performance and the tradition of climbing over seats to get to the front when people left, not included in the film. When Mrs Henderson died in 1944 aged 82 the theatre was left to Vivian van Damn and he continued to operate with considerable success, widening the scope with the introduction of the fan dance in which the covered naked girl danced until the last few seconds when she stood naked. They were able to more than hold their own taking shows on tour despite the changing nature of Soho as strip clubs and clip joints proliferated. Among the comedians who performed at the Windmill were Peter Sellers, Harry Seacombe Tony Hancock, and Jimmy Edwards. While it was a male preserve the daughter and grand daughter of Queen Victoria once visited as guests of Mrs Henderson as did other members of London Society and the showgirls were reputedly well paid and well looked after. When Vivian died his daughter attempted to keep the theatre going but with the growth of full movement stripping and ending of variety entertainment with the development of television the last show took place in 1964. There were various attempts to revive its use with the building becoming a cinema and a casino as well as private club. It became the La Vie en Rose as a burlesque house in the 1980's in the heyday of Paul Raymond and is presently a lap dancing club when enormous profits can be made from the international business clients who will spend hundreds of pounds on expensive champagne and on rewarding the young women willing to expose their bodies in close up. No doubt many of the young women come from within the new Europe.
My day did not begin well trying to make a cup of tea with just water and then searching for a couple of forks after doing the washing up, one was located, although the previous evening I had found a volume of recent key papers regarding the enquiries about the premature and preventable death of my aunt, put safely to one side several months ago. I went out to the bank for a statement, to get some shaving foam and shampoo where I bought Boot's own make at half to a third of the price of name brands and then to Asda where on my list I included some cream crackers and nearly bought a small box for two pounds when I saw a special sale of giant 1 kilo boxes with an eight choice selection. I decided on two boxes, which will be close on a year's supply for just £3 in total. I needed milk, rolls and eggs, bought the chicken roasts for the next two Sundays and two packs of frozen ready to roast potatoes, some salami, cheese, prawns in shell and a contents ready chicken stir fry which I will make up in a moment. I nearly went for a small packet of salted peanuts but decided on a mixture of unsalted with other nuts and dried fruit. Although it was after lunchtime the sky was blue but a strong wind was icy so I did not linger.
I had planned to go earlier, before lunch but changed my mind and checked out what happened in the US primaries on Super Tuesday and then stay to watch Prime Ministers' Question time where Norman now Lord Tebbit was in great from supporting the left wing Republican mainly on the basis of anyone other than Hilary Clinton. I also supported his preference for the aging republican as a statement of defiance on behalf of us oldies especially against the Liberal Democrats who I will campaign against at every opportunity for turning their backs on their best two leaders because of their age. He also made the excellent point that the problem with Mr Obama as with his leaders Mr Cameron is that they are untested in a crisis. Mr Cameron is sounding more hysterical and being a one trick pony week by week. This time he made a point of attacking the Prime Minister for arranging some 50 policy and issue reviews. This was a defensive attack on the Prime Minister who had previously accused the opposition leader of having no substance and no policies, mainly because Mr Cameron has initiated only thirty policy reviews. Mr Cameron is being politically dishonest because he knows enough to know that there is great danger in declaring policies too quickly as events will change things and why commit yourself to something which may not work or where you may not have the funds and when you may what do something different and better by the time of General Election? For the second occasion in succession no one raised the issue of the politicians pay and expenses. The reason why both of the main political parties are hesitating over committing themselves because at long last they have understood the law of unintended consequences and that however good the debates and however much there is detailed consideration of legislation it never is implemented the way the legislators and policy makers intended and more often than otherwise it is not put into the practice especially if the funds required do not become available. When I first started in a senior position in local government there were endless meetings with endless reports being written and discussed. It was several years of this before anyone bothered to check if the decisions were being implemented and several more years before anyone check if what was done was intended and worked. Governments need to govern which means taking decisions only when needed and after as much thought and relevant information as the situation allows and the concentrate on implementation, monitoring effectiveness and reviews. You also need the right people in the right places at the right time .
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