I have just read the QX and with great interest, the article about the Gay Film Festival. There is a movie about a legendry SA trannie called Granny Lee, or if you are from my generation, Mother Lee as we called her.

I first met her on my first trip to a gay venue and thought I should share the story with you…

I was in the army and had come to terms with my sexuality, all the gay boys in my platoon had taken pass at the same time and we headed up to Johannesburg (the BIG city), and I was to go to Decadance, which was the height of Gay clubbing at the time.

I remember standing in the queue in our finest 80’s new romantic outfits(oh! The shame), shitting myself coz I had no ides what to expect, did big scary older boys throw you over tables and have their way with you as an initiation? (whoops, that’s every Saturday night in London)

There was a commotion behind me and when I looked up, I was face to face with the scariest thing I had ever seen, about 100 years old, grey hair and wearing a black bin liner with holes cut out for arms, a white spangled belt, a HUGE Ascot type hat and with an entourage of very nice looking lads was Mother Lee, who said, “come with me darlink, I want to wank you off with my bum” before sweeping past me and bitching the doorman and anyone else in authority, disappeared into the club. I almost ran a mile, found a nice wife and settled down.

A very sad image that stays with me is later that night seeing Mother Lee, collapsed and crumpled in a corner, basically an old drunk.

Still! She was glamorous and part of my early gay life and I love the fact that a movie has been made to commemorate hers.

Big SORRY to Scally, I was in mid “brain dead” stage at the Vauxhall on Sunday when you said Hi. I am booking myself into Betty Ford right now, I won’t draw a blank again.

The weekend in a nutshell:

We started off downstairs at the Freedom Bar on Friday night for Tony’s birthday. It was a mix of DTPM, Hoist and Vauxhall boys and Little Rob played a mean set that got everybody leaping around. Wayne and I decided that the party had just begun and headed off to Sub Station South for afters. I can never figure out why I bother at Sub Station South except to have a laugh with Ggreg at the bar. I can honestly say that, besides the Venue, People and Music, it would have been a good evening.

On Saturday the “prom kings” (called this as the first time we saw them at the Vauxhall and it has stuck) came over for a bit of boyish fun. It is always a pleasure to see them.

Sunday and we dragged ourselves up to the RVT and it was packed and quite frankly awful. The whole blogging world was in attendance as well as the two Rob’s, Mike & Damon (the prom kings) Mike and Nick, Darryl, fresh from his trip to visit our long lost “Hedgehog” Dave. He had a breath Freshener spray that he was spraying into everybody’s mouth, and it was most unpleasant, Karl (who informs me I need to buy a hat coz he is heading down the isle again it would seem) Michael Malta, Andy and the beautiful Claire, Fireman Craig (phoarr) and Pete, Martin and Chris (fresh from Cape Town) Adam and for a while Tony who was nursing a broken heart. I am afraid I got very messy quite early and was put in a corner so that I didn’t fall into people and spill their drinks. The damn bar staff, I order low alcohol cider and they always spike it. Still as Edna says, for £ 3.50 an hour, what do you expect.

I resigned this morning, before being able to focus on objects, I thought it was better that way. Everybody is really happy for me, but I don’t care today, I need my bed and a headache tablet. One positive thing about the new job “Mondays off when I need them”