Lili Swings

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Jive Aces, Lindy Exchange, Lindy Hop, Southend, Swing Dance

Last night, I had a rare night out sans baby, sans husband and sans shows. It was quite something to go out and be purely a spectator. I accompanied myself to the Saturday night of the Southend Lindy Exchange to see one of my favourite bands, The Jive Aces. I’ve known the boys for years and it is always a pleasure to see them play.They hadn’t met Rafferty, so in the afternoon we went down and had tea at the fabulous 50’s diner Bobby-Jo’s down in Southend before their evening show, who doesn’t love a catch up over milkshakes?
Then, after a quick dash home to pop Raff to bed, I slipped on one of my oldest vintage dresses, (it’s only 50’s but it was one of the first vintage dresses I ever bought almost a decade ago) slung my hair into an up-do, popped on a pair of pretty ballet flats, a slick of Illamasqua red lipstick and I skipped out the door (feeling guilty and vaguely panicked!)
When I arrived the party was in full swing, if you’ll pardon the pun!

I hadn’t seen any of the Southend swing dancers since before Rafferty was born, so it was nice to see everyone dolled up and looking their retro best. The ballroom at the Royal Hotel in Southend is gorgeous and slightly out-of-keeping given the less than salubrious pub below.

The Jive Aces came on and the crowd went wild with the lindy swinging hot and fast. It is always a joy to watch the boys play and I like nothing better than dancing the night away to their super happy tunes.
I used to swing dance nearly every night of the week, having been introduced to it by an old flame nearly 10 years ago. Since meeting my husband, (a staunch non-dancer!) my evenings dancing have dwindled, which is such a shame as I really miss it. I really should make the effort to go at least once a week, just to keep my foot in.
I’ve actually booked the boys to play at my variety show at the Edinburgh Fringe this year, a completely self-indulgent act but one that I know my audience will love.
So if you find yourself in the marvellous city of Edinburgh on say, August 12th, come along and enjoy the kings of the swingers!

Love Lili
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Lili la Salad

Tags

delicious salads, green bean salad, healthy eating, mixed bean salad, nectarines, pulses, puy lentils, salad, summer, tomato, tuna, vegetarian

Two days, two blogs. Aren’t you lucky? Come summer, come salad and last night I had a plateful of delicious salads. I look forward to the fresh, crisp food of summer so much after the wonderful richness of winter stews. So I thought I’d share some of my favourites with you today. This is by no means an exhaustive list, in fact, I might post more in the coming weeks.

Mixed Bean Salad
Half a cucumber, diced
One punnet of mini pomodoro tomatoes, quartered
Half a red onion, diced
One red pepper, diced
One yellow pepper, diced
One can of chickpeas
One can of red kidney beans
One can of sweetcorn
A large handful of freshly chopped parsley

Mix well and dress liberally with a good strong vinaigrette dressing.

Nectarine, Feta, Puy Lentil and Mint Salad
Punnet of nectarines, sliced thinly
Pack of feta, cut into chunks
A medium handful of fresh mint leaves, chopped
One packet of ready to eat Puy lentils
One lemon
Olive oil

Mix ingredients well and squeeze over the lemon and drizzle liberally with good olive oil.

Tuna, Tomato and Green Bean Salad
One tin of tuna
Five vine tomatoes
Fresh green beans, trimmed and cooked
Mix all ingredients well and dress with a good vinaigrette and extra olive oil.

Love Lili
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Lili and the Black Cat

Tags

Black Cat, burlesque, cabaret, Cafe de Paris, Dusty Limits, entertainment, glamour, London, Offenbach, Paris, Vicky Butterfly

Last Friday, I was lucky enough to be invited to perform at The Black Cat Cabaret at the Cafe de Paris in Leicester Square. The C de P is one of my favourite London venues and it is based on the design of the decadent first class dining room on the Titanic. Over the years, many of my idols have sung there including Cole Porter, Marlene Dietrich and Noel Coward and you can feel the history oozing from the velvet covered walls, at least I think it was history, it might have been something entirely different.With the stage now back in it’s original position underneath the grand double staircase, the atmosphere is better than ever.
The Black Cat Cabaret is the brainchild of the divine Vicky Butterfly, Dusty Limits and David Harris, formerly of the Boom Boom Club and their absinthe-soaked touch is apparent through every seam of this fabulous cabaret. I had the chance to chat with Mr Limits about the evolution of the The Black Cat and he told me “David came up with the name and in discussion, largely drawing on Vicky’s encyclopaedic knowledge, we came up with a rough idea of what kind of show we wanted it to be; something a bit timeless and magical and evocative of the past without being a museum piece. We want to take the audience into another world to a degree, so we avoid things that are too topical.”

It isn’t often that I get to dust off the operetta and sing it to a cabaret audience, but it is an experience I absolutely relish. On this occasion I sang my non-burlesque version Olympia’s Doll Song from the Tales of Hoffmann to a wonderfully warmed up audience. Their response was very favourable and I had such fun. It’s wonderful when a song which is less mainstream evokes such a positive response from a potentially uninitiated audience. If only I could sing Poulenc & Debussy all the time to such acclaim.
The other acts on the night were all glorious, from the living art work and the artistic stylist of the evening, Vicky Butterfly, the saucy Cabaret Rouge ladies to the marvellous Jess Love and Missy Macabre too but the night really belongs to it’s host, the marvellously louche and gin-soaked Dusty Limits. He really is the compere beyond compare. The men want him, and the women want to be him – he’s like a consumptive Dionysis, a demi-mondaine of the highest degree and being this, he is the very essence of Montmartre, reborn en Angleterre. In passing, I asked Dusty what the future holds for this inky feline and he told me that “the next big step is to make the show seasonal, so instead of one-month runs, we’ll have a 13-week run with a fairly stable cast, so we’ll have an Autumn season starting in September.” What a brave new step for London cabaret, to make a show that is more akin to the Vegas shows like Absinthe or the Australian La Clique, Dusty agreed, “we’re excited about this because it gives us a chance to shape something really theatrical, which is a lot more difficult when you’re changing the show every four weeks”. Bravo, for this bold move, I feel it is a perfect move for the London Cabaret Scene.

Anyway, back to me! I wore my newest costume, although it is actually made up of various bits and pieces that I have found here and there. The bodice used to be a Queen of the Night costume, but with a mini-tutu and a tricorn it has a certain Parisian circus feel. It has the most fabulous vintage jet beading on the front.

I had the most marvellous evening and I’m lucky enough to be appearing there throughout June. So if you find yourself near Piccadilly and at a loose end, come along to the Black Cat. I must warn you, it is sold out most evenings so do buy your tickets in advance and I have popped a link here.
Maybe see you there?

Bisous

Lili

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