Well, I was fully intending Troubled Diva to wind up for the holidays on a blaze of glory this week. Instead, the combination of endless time-consuming preparations for the trip ahead, and a pronounced dip in intellectual capacity following the rigours of The Big Gay London Weekend (don't do it, kids!) has meant that this here blog has rather spluttered to an unseemly halt. No matter. I shall be back on August 27th or thereabouts, to thrill and delight you with tales (and hopefully images) of Vietnam.

In the meantime, why not delve through my archives, or the selected highlights in the We Wrote section on my sidebar, or even the 40 In 40 Days Project?

Failing that, I can heartily recommend all the blogs on my sidebar. If I'm not currently reading them, then I get rid of them - it's as simple as that.

Right now, I would particuarly recommend the following:

The Oddverse Journal - this is the brand new home for Disconnected Zeitgeist, as put together by Alan (Cyberpumpkin) in Dublin. It only opened its doors today, so why not pop along and make him feel welcome?

She Speaks Good English - this hasn't been going long, and there's something mysteriously engrossing about it. Its author - one "Incognita" - was apparently a Blogging Somebody in a previous incarnation, but I have absolutely no idea who, and it doesn't really matter anyway.

They Didn't Teach Me About This In School, or Spellcnut for short. Yup, yet another gay male Londoner starts a blog! But this one is different. Firstly, he goes to the Royal Vauxhall Tavern on Saturday nights rather than Sunday afternoons. Secondly, it's fresh, unpredictable, and doesn't follow all the usual rules. And it's always interesting. So there.

Tommy Slim - a new text-only American blog, best read from the beginning and working upwards. This almost reads more like a fictional serial than a regular online journal - indeed, the author doesn't make it entirely clear where reality ends and fiction begins. This only serves to make the blog all the more fascinating.

My Life In The Bush Of Ghosts - most of my "regular reads" deal primarily with personally related content. This is one of the exceptions, which aligns itself much more to events in the outside world (though there's still a clear personal element). I've followed some great links through this site, which is most definitely worthy of wider attention.

And that's yer lot! I'm Nam-bound. See you at the end of the month.

Item 37. Della Reese - If It Feels Good, Do It (1971)

One of my greatest regrets as an erstwhile club DJ is that I never got round to turning this mighty, mighty record into the club anthem which it has always deserved to be. A stone-cold classic paean to the Pleasure Principle, this is especially for everyone I met in London last weekend (hey, spoken like a true DJ there!).

Item 38. Pete Shelley - Homosapien (Dance Version) (1981)

Hmm, and this is not without a certain resonance either, now I come to think about it. Burned from the original 12" single, this is one of the crowning glories of early 1980s electro-pop, from the former lead singer with the Buzzcocks. A very Queer record, years before the concept of Queer had ever been defined.

Update: Sorry - you weren't quick enough. These MP3s are no longer on my server. I generally make them available for a week or so (sometimes less) before substituting them for new ones. Better luck next time!

In last night's Would Like To Meet (BBC2), a team of "experts" were brought in to give advice and guidance to Richard, a single gay man who desperately lacked confidence in forming relationships. My particular enjoyment of the programme was greatly enhanced by the fact that Richard had K's Type! stamped all over him. As the show went on, and Richard was squeezed into ever tighter T-shirts and even given official cruising lessons in Soho, K's anguished cries of No! Don't change! Don't turn into a bloody Compton Street Attitude Queen! I like you the way you are! grew ever more frequent and heartfelt.

However, by the end of the show, as Richard navigated his way through The Final Big Date (in that most homosexual of haunts, a hotel restaurant in Hungerford), we were squirming and squealing with delighted pleasure at the man he had turned into. Cocky, self-assured, jokey, deliciously flirty - and yet, somehow, still recognisably himself. As he exhorted his date to push the "magic button" under the table, which would instantly cut off the TV cameras and give them privacy, we were actually applauding him. For a naff makeover lifestyle show, there was something about it which was really rather heartwarming.

I also picked up some rather useful cruising tips, as demonstrated by the show's Cruising Expert, a straight woman with an impressively razor-sharp Gaydar. So that's how you're supposed to do it! No wonder I've had so little success on the streets over the years. Watch me now, Soho!

The funniest TV programme of the year so far? No contest - it has to be Johnny Vegas on Room 101, especially the section on Internet Chat Rooms (She complimented me on me sandwiches!). Not just laugh-out-loud funny; this was so funny that it actually caused me physical pain.

Last time the programme aired, I posted a link to the Chat Room in question: Beauty's Castle. The result? Oodles and oodles of Googlers, looking for the link.

Last night, after the programme finished? Once again, oodles and oodles of Googlers.

Which leads me to wonder: shouldn't there be a collective noun for a bunch of Googlers? What do we think? A Gaggle of Googlers, perchance? Suggestions welcomed.

Update: Oh, hang on. Looks like someone has beaten me to it...

34 Albert Grove, Lenton Sands, Nottingham. 1982-1983.
Academic Centres, Students and Young Professionals

My memories of 34 Albert Grove are almost entirely happy ones. The six of us from the old house on Derby Grove simply "traded up", moving one street up the hill to a larger place in a (comparatively) better state of repair. There we joined JR, who was already living there, and became seven. This was in addition to the six good friends of mine who lived next door at Number 32, making the whole Albert Grove Experience like living in one big happy commune. (NB - at least two of our neighbours from back then are now regular readers of this blog).

After a year in a cramped box room in the attic of Derby Grove, I was now given the pick of the house, and chose a large room on the middle floor. Having just spent a month studying in Kiev, I covered the entire room in Soviet propaganda posters (we were now reaching the "Soviet chic" period of the 1980s). My favourite: Let Us Give Our Country Bigger Potatoes!

The parties at Albert Grove were much better - we had learnt our lesson from the previous year, and were now more cautious with our invitations. The first party took place on the last night of a play I had been acting in: Marat/Sade by Peter Weiss. The room next door to mine filled up with theatrical types. One of them was loudly discussing the cast members who he thought might be gay, and the ones who he fancied. Emboldened by the wine (and not yet fully out), I pitched in with my own opinions. His eyes lit up and locked into mine. He duly became my first boyfriend.

It was, as I say, a happy time. Student life was at its liveliest and best, and I now started dipping my toes into the waters of Nottingham's gay scene. Alone amongst my contemporaries, I started making friends with "townies". This stood me in good stead for the eventual, inevitable dissolution of my circle of student friends. And there were further, foreign adventures waiting just round the corner...

Jump to next station.

Labels: stations

Actually, with me it was always Touchy Tuesday and Witchy Wednesday. Which is one of the reasons why I stopped.

I do seem to be getting off terribly lightly this time round, I must say. Today's biggest trauma (so far) has been not being able to remember any hit singles by the band Smokie, other than Living Next Door To Alice. This is how I expressed myself to Chig via e-mail on the subject this morning:

living next door to alice
OH SHIT I CAN'T REMEMBER ANY MORE I MUST BE GOING SENILE AND I HATE IT! I HATE IT!

No, honestly, I'm absolutely fine. Really, I am. Tra-la-la.

OK, I'd quite like my language skills back now, please.

I posted earlier today about problems I was experiencing with Blogtree. I'm now happy to say that the problems seem to have fixed themselves, and that my Blogtree entry is now happily up and running. Hurrah! And if you're a blogger, and you haven't registered yet, then I strongly recommend that you do so.

Coincidentally, a long-running problem with Blog Hot Or Not has also been resolved today, so you can now rate me at last, should you so desire. Double hurrah!

A truly unforgettable, amazing, awesome, unique, fantastic weekend. A weekend of revisiting some old experiences, and of savouring some new ones. A weekend of social connections, long-lost friends and brand new friends. A weekend that was never anything less than an intense, full-throttle rollercoaster ride.

If you came here between 5pm on Monday and 9am on Tuesday, then you might already have some sort of idea as to just how fantastic it was. I do like to reward my regular readers from time to time.

For the rest of you, this more or less says it all. Yes, I know I'm being frustratingly cryptic.

Amongst a veritable throng of faces old and new at Crash, The Beehive and the Royal Vauxhall Tavern, it was particuarly good to see (in order of appearance, and don't forget to hover!) Dave, Kelvin, Luca, Ian, David, Marcus and Janne. (Clique? Who said clique?) Next time, it might be good to see the other Dave as well - we were talking about you.