I can't believe its been nearly a year since I last saw Steve. I can tell you the date, approximately as it was the Eurovision Song Contest night and we sat and watched the show while we partied. Well you can't miss Eurovision can you?
Steve sent out an invite late on Saturday evening, BBQ at mine tomorrow as the weather is supposed to be divine. Of course it was and so I messaged to say I would come.
His apartment is fabulous. Views of both the city & Canary Wharf and a roof terrace that is nearly the size of my apartment. It was great to see all the of Gaybours, Blake & Ian, Pete, Mike and of course Steve & Guy. How weird is that Steve is dating Guy, who I know through Mikey from years of old. Six degrees of seperation I guess.
We stood out in the sun, watching the cloudless skies and commenting on how quiet things were without the planes and wondering is that cloud, over there, the misty haze near Canary Wharf a cloud or volcanic ash?
More food, more drink more friends, and a beautiful sunny day. What more can one ask for on your birthday bonanza fortnight. Yes fortnight. Doesnt everyone celebrate for 2 weeks?
Monday, April 19, 2010
Lunch with Best Girl & Miss Mews
My dear friend Emily invited me for a birthday treat to a surprise Birthday lunch, in that the location was to be the surprise. I was simply told to be at Gloucester Road at 2PM Saturday, where I met up with Miss Mews & Best Girl (Gill) and walked about 10 minutes down the main road and then left into a Mews and there was our restaurant. A fabulous little boutique restaurant where we enjoyed some fabulous wine, fabulous food in fabulous company. Even JFC was nowhere to be seen. :-) (Emily will understand that one).
Having fine dinned we went to a Gastro Pub and enjoyed a nice New Zealand Savingnon blanc and by then we were all rather fluffy.
Having fine dinned we went to a Gastro Pub and enjoyed a nice New Zealand Savingnon blanc and by then we were all rather fluffy.
Dinner at Stuart's
Having not seen Stuart & Iannis for a good six months, it was a real treat when Stuart invited us to dinner to celebrate my birthday on Friday evening.
I arrived just before 8PM and the fabulous and my dear dear friends the Leather Queens, aka, Mark & Richard.
As soon as I arrived I was forced to drink Champagne, (Well if you must), then we went through to the dinning/kitchen are.
The table was laid to perfection. But what would you expect from a gay couple? I swear if one more gay person moves into Kennington a Waitrose will open. We enjoyed a gorgeous meal, absolutely divine, and learned that Stuart had taken a day off to make the food and prepare everything to help celebrate my birthday. How can you respond to that? His a dear friend, but to take time off to make a meal for us in my honour, how lovely is that? I've always believed the best gift you can give anyone is your time. He did us proud. The Lamb was to die for and I think I ate 10 Roast Potatoes. Oops/ Ever better I still weighed over half a kilo less Monday than I did Friday. (We do our team weigh in on Mondays).
Dessert arrived as a giant cup cake which Stuart pain stakingly made to the recipee. I have to confess it did look exactly like the picture. They really did us proud. It was a fabulous evening with fabulous friends. Thanks to Stuart & Iannis for their hospitality and treating me to a birthday dinner party in such style.
I arrived just before 8PM and the fabulous and my dear dear friends the Leather Queens, aka, Mark & Richard.
As soon as I arrived I was forced to drink Champagne, (Well if you must), then we went through to the dinning/kitchen are.
The table was laid to perfection. But what would you expect from a gay couple? I swear if one more gay person moves into Kennington a Waitrose will open. We enjoyed a gorgeous meal, absolutely divine, and learned that Stuart had taken a day off to make the food and prepare everything to help celebrate my birthday. How can you respond to that? His a dear friend, but to take time off to make a meal for us in my honour, how lovely is that? I've always believed the best gift you can give anyone is your time. He did us proud. The Lamb was to die for and I think I ate 10 Roast Potatoes. Oops/ Ever better I still weighed over half a kilo less Monday than I did Friday. (We do our team weigh in on Mondays).
Dessert arrived as a giant cup cake which Stuart pain stakingly made to the recipee. I have to confess it did look exactly like the picture. They really did us proud. It was a fabulous evening with fabulous friends. Thanks to Stuart & Iannis for their hospitality and treating me to a birthday dinner party in such style.
Happy Birthday to me
What age is it really that you start to not so much look forward to birthdays but see it as another year older? Next will be buying shoes and declaring, "Oh don't they look compfortable?"
Woke and opened the cards I had been saving that had arrived during the week. Checked all of my online messages and made my way to work at the slightly later time of 9AM. Well it was my birthday
Work decided to up my age everytime they talked to me. I think they got to mid forties before they gave up. What a flipping liberty ;-)
Meanwhile had a nice day at work, seemed to fly by. Once the working hours were done Adam and I made our way to a pub in Saint James, where we were joined by colleagues, Ian, Claire and Adam's girlfriend Avery. Dusan arrived at just after 7PM where we made our way to the restaurant, La Duca. Meaning the Duke. Funny as that's one of my nicknames.
Aside from everyone arriving at the same time and the service not being overly fabulous, the food was delicious and very well presented and was clearly a very nice establishment.
We ate, we drank nice wine and we celebrated in style, plus with Claires card we got a 25% discount over the whole bill. Bargain!
Arriving home at around 1215, I had the feeling waking tomorrow would be no easy task!
Woke and opened the cards I had been saving that had arrived during the week. Checked all of my online messages and made my way to work at the slightly later time of 9AM. Well it was my birthday
Work decided to up my age everytime they talked to me. I think they got to mid forties before they gave up. What a flipping liberty ;-)
Meanwhile had a nice day at work, seemed to fly by. Once the working hours were done Adam and I made our way to a pub in Saint James, where we were joined by colleagues, Ian, Claire and Adam's girlfriend Avery. Dusan arrived at just after 7PM where we made our way to the restaurant, La Duca. Meaning the Duke. Funny as that's one of my nicknames.
Aside from everyone arriving at the same time and the service not being overly fabulous, the food was delicious and very well presented and was clearly a very nice establishment.
We ate, we drank nice wine and we celebrated in style, plus with Claires card we got a 25% discount over the whole bill. Bargain!
Arriving home at around 1215, I had the feeling waking tomorrow would be no easy task!
Sunday, April 11, 2010
Remembering the magic
Hard to believe its been a week almost since we returned from Berlin. The time really flies. Its vitually mid April yet seems yesterday that it was Christmas and new year. Is that a sign that I am getting old?
As my birthday week approaches and in the anniversary week of my 15th anniversary since moving to Orlando and a once in a lifetime opportunity to go and represent Walt Disney World as a cultural representitive. 15 years ago I was a young man, insecure, lonely, not sure where I was going in life, but with a dream of going to work for Disney in the States. 15 years on, that dream is now in the past, but I did it. At 22 I proved to myself that no ambition in life is too great. Nothing you set your mind to you cant achieve. I guess that ambition has always been my great driver in life. Call it a chip on my shoulder, but its what keeps me strong. The want to always achieve ones goals. Maybe it was driven from the fact that I always wanted Mum & Dad to be proud. They never drove us to do anything we didnt want to, yet at the same time I wanted to prove that I was a success of my own. I will never forget the day Mum said to me, "You left home many years before you moved to America. You left home that first time you went on your own at 15. That was when I let you go. I would have never let your brother go at that age. But somehow Neil, with you it seemed right. I let you go cos I trusted you and it was what you wanted. Since that day, you have never had your head at home". Leaving home just the day after my 22nd Birthday to move to Orlando, Florida, is a huge step for anyone. No matter what age. But for a young, fresh 22 year old it was an adventure I would never forget. A journey that would take me from boyhood to manhood in a short 15 months. A journey where I would make friends like I had never known. Where I would have more fun than I could believe was possible in a lifetime let alone during a Disney Internship.
I never slept a wink the night before. I can remember clearly, I was too excited. I couldn't sleep. More than just excited, apprehensive. I wasn't just moving out, I was moving 8000 miles away. To a place where I knew nobody. Where I didnt have a clue what would happen, what would be, but something inside me knew it was what I was always born to do. It would end up being the deffinitive transition in my life that made me the man I am today.
I have to thank Sue Sharp, Annie Goldberg and the International Casting team for the opportunity they gave me that day. I remember seeing my interviewer, Steve, some 18 months after my interview. I wanted to thank him personally for the opportunity and tell him how much it had meant to me. During our conversation, I asked, inquisitivly, "At what point did you decide to offer me the job?". His reply will remain with me forever. "You don't know?". He asked. "I had decided you were a yes the minute you answered the first question. Why do you want to work for Walt Disney World? You said, "Because Disney are the best in the business and I want to be a part of the best and be able to create magic like you do everyday". He said, that was when I decided Neil, and I don't regret it. Glad to have you onboard.
Packed, excited and nervous, Mum & Dad kindly drove me to Londons Heathrow airport ready to catch my Delta Airlines flight to Orlando with a stopover in Atlanta. I could never work out why they wouldnt fly us direct but as they had provided everything from the visa to the airplane ticket down to my own shared appartment, who could argue? Checked in ready to go I made my way to the security point of the airport, Mum & Dad taking me all the way. As I kissed them goodbye, it would be the first time in 22 years I had ever seen Mum cry. My adventure began and the full details of which I will, I promise one day write in full. But that remains for yet another tale.
The moral of the story being, if you dream it and want it, you can achieve it. I would say to any younger person if you get a chance to move abroad so young, take it and embrace it, for you will grow far greater than any other experience. The friends I made and I all grew up together. Not just emotionally but all ways you can imagine. If I show you a picture of me in May 1995 and one in May 1996 with my Disney pals, you would argue we all aged 5 years. Not in a bad way, but you loose your inhibitions, you grow into who you will be for the rest of you life and you appreciate cultures and challenges and wonders and magic. I had the time of my life. I will never forget those days for the rest of my living days. The magic, the friends, the wonders we experienced and the greatest adventure for far of my life.
Meanwhile, back in Blighty, yesterday I had a lovely lunch with Steph at a French cafe at Bluewater and then a lovely night at Sweat - the foam party with Richard and Mark. Chilling today and relaxing it's been a great weekend as the spring weather finally arrives.
As my birthday week approaches and in the anniversary week of my 15th anniversary since moving to Orlando and a once in a lifetime opportunity to go and represent Walt Disney World as a cultural representitive. 15 years ago I was a young man, insecure, lonely, not sure where I was going in life, but with a dream of going to work for Disney in the States. 15 years on, that dream is now in the past, but I did it. At 22 I proved to myself that no ambition in life is too great. Nothing you set your mind to you cant achieve. I guess that ambition has always been my great driver in life. Call it a chip on my shoulder, but its what keeps me strong. The want to always achieve ones goals. Maybe it was driven from the fact that I always wanted Mum & Dad to be proud. They never drove us to do anything we didnt want to, yet at the same time I wanted to prove that I was a success of my own. I will never forget the day Mum said to me, "You left home many years before you moved to America. You left home that first time you went on your own at 15. That was when I let you go. I would have never let your brother go at that age. But somehow Neil, with you it seemed right. I let you go cos I trusted you and it was what you wanted. Since that day, you have never had your head at home". Leaving home just the day after my 22nd Birthday to move to Orlando, Florida, is a huge step for anyone. No matter what age. But for a young, fresh 22 year old it was an adventure I would never forget. A journey that would take me from boyhood to manhood in a short 15 months. A journey where I would make friends like I had never known. Where I would have more fun than I could believe was possible in a lifetime let alone during a Disney Internship.
I never slept a wink the night before. I can remember clearly, I was too excited. I couldn't sleep. More than just excited, apprehensive. I wasn't just moving out, I was moving 8000 miles away. To a place where I knew nobody. Where I didnt have a clue what would happen, what would be, but something inside me knew it was what I was always born to do. It would end up being the deffinitive transition in my life that made me the man I am today.
I have to thank Sue Sharp, Annie Goldberg and the International Casting team for the opportunity they gave me that day. I remember seeing my interviewer, Steve, some 18 months after my interview. I wanted to thank him personally for the opportunity and tell him how much it had meant to me. During our conversation, I asked, inquisitivly, "At what point did you decide to offer me the job?". His reply will remain with me forever. "You don't know?". He asked. "I had decided you were a yes the minute you answered the first question. Why do you want to work for Walt Disney World? You said, "Because Disney are the best in the business and I want to be a part of the best and be able to create magic like you do everyday". He said, that was when I decided Neil, and I don't regret it. Glad to have you onboard.
Packed, excited and nervous, Mum & Dad kindly drove me to Londons Heathrow airport ready to catch my Delta Airlines flight to Orlando with a stopover in Atlanta. I could never work out why they wouldnt fly us direct but as they had provided everything from the visa to the airplane ticket down to my own shared appartment, who could argue? Checked in ready to go I made my way to the security point of the airport, Mum & Dad taking me all the way. As I kissed them goodbye, it would be the first time in 22 years I had ever seen Mum cry. My adventure began and the full details of which I will, I promise one day write in full. But that remains for yet another tale.
The moral of the story being, if you dream it and want it, you can achieve it. I would say to any younger person if you get a chance to move abroad so young, take it and embrace it, for you will grow far greater than any other experience. The friends I made and I all grew up together. Not just emotionally but all ways you can imagine. If I show you a picture of me in May 1995 and one in May 1996 with my Disney pals, you would argue we all aged 5 years. Not in a bad way, but you loose your inhibitions, you grow into who you will be for the rest of you life and you appreciate cultures and challenges and wonders and magic. I had the time of my life. I will never forget those days for the rest of my living days. The magic, the friends, the wonders we experienced and the greatest adventure for far of my life.
Meanwhile, back in Blighty, yesterday I had a lovely lunch with Steph at a French cafe at Bluewater and then a lovely night at Sweat - the foam party with Richard and Mark. Chilling today and relaxing it's been a great weekend as the spring weather finally arrives.
Monday, April 05, 2010
Berlin Easter 2010 – Bear Leather Fest
For the first time in 9 months we finally had a holiday booked and flew on the 1st April to Berlin. Originally Richard & Mark were supposed to be going too, but sadly was just the two of us in the end. Getting away anywhere at Easter time can be chaotic and very expensive but we managed to get a good deal online. Of course I didn’t really look at the flight times very carefully. Even worse, a few days before we flew we received an e-mail telling us that the flight had been bought forward half an hour and was now departing at 0615AM. Not too bad if you happen to live near Luton Airport.
I called a local taxi service and ordered a car to take us there. Couldn’t be fussing around with a taxi to Kings Cross and then relying on the public train network. The taxi picked us up at 330AM and after checking in and an uneventful flight we were landing on German soil.
Taking the train was easy enough and took us into Berlin, where we should have connected to the underground and found our way to Zoologica Underground Station. But with a foreign tube map on the wall, some 300 stations and them all looking remarkably similar sounding. Something Strasse or Somethingplatz. We couldn’t even find Zoologica on the map. Tired, irritable from lack of sleep and standing in a foreign city with luggage not sure where to go I decided to grab a taxi. Which proved to be very wise. I don’t know that we would even have found the hotel with no map at that stage.
The lady at the desk of the hotel kindly let us check in albeit only 10AM, however, our room would not be ready till around 1400. We checked our luggage and made our way to a local cafe for a coffee and some brunch.
Having eaten, we found our way to the tube station and bought a daily travelcard (known as Tageskarte). We jumped on a couple of tubes trying to find one of the gay districts to no avail, until by noon we were both tired, exhausted from the journey and just wanted to shower and rest in the room. So we headed back to the Hotel where I fluttered my eyelashes and asked if there was any chance we could access our room earlier. We were in luck.
We were unpacked in a short while and then decided if we were to get the most out of our time in Berlin, best bet would be to have an afternoon nap before we hit the town. This proved a winner. By 1800 we were much refreshed, showered and headed into one of the gay districts, which now that we had a tube map & visitors guide, proved easy to find. Indeed it was only 2 stops from our own station.
Over the weekend we visited several of the gay bars around town and of course some of the obligatory things you do when in Berlin. Enjoy a beer (Usually I dislike beer but when in Rome, or Berlin for that matter), visit Check Point Charlie, The Brandenburg gate, go see the East Side Gallery at the remains of the Berlin Wall. It was almost hard to picture how things could have been back in the days of the wall and hard to believe it was only 1989 when the wall came down.
A few meals, a few bars, a few bits on the scene and before you know it our long weekend was coming to a close. Another early taxi drive in the morning had us at the airport by 730AM and by 0800 we were in the VIP lounge. Thank goodness I have a card for the lounges. Dusan says I am a snob, but I can’t bear the hustle of it all and feeling like you are in a sheep pen. At least with the card we can sit in a quiet lounge, enjoy free alcoholic beverages and snacks and relax in quiet.
When they called for our boarding we had to cram in with everyone else and despite the plane being completely full, they only offered two groups for boarding on sleazy jet. Priority Boarding and everybody else. Well you can imagine the stampede when they called general boarding. I have always said there are only really two things I don’t like about Easyjet. Their open boarding without a seat reservation and the ghastly orange colour. Nothing beats Virgins Upper Class Cabin, but sadly for short-haul, you have to make do with airlines that offer the flights.
All in all a ver gutten time.
I called a local taxi service and ordered a car to take us there. Couldn’t be fussing around with a taxi to Kings Cross and then relying on the public train network. The taxi picked us up at 330AM and after checking in and an uneventful flight we were landing on German soil.
Taking the train was easy enough and took us into Berlin, where we should have connected to the underground and found our way to Zoologica Underground Station. But with a foreign tube map on the wall, some 300 stations and them all looking remarkably similar sounding. Something Strasse or Somethingplatz. We couldn’t even find Zoologica on the map. Tired, irritable from lack of sleep and standing in a foreign city with luggage not sure where to go I decided to grab a taxi. Which proved to be very wise. I don’t know that we would even have found the hotel with no map at that stage.
The lady at the desk of the hotel kindly let us check in albeit only 10AM, however, our room would not be ready till around 1400. We checked our luggage and made our way to a local cafe for a coffee and some brunch.
Having eaten, we found our way to the tube station and bought a daily travelcard (known as Tageskarte). We jumped on a couple of tubes trying to find one of the gay districts to no avail, until by noon we were both tired, exhausted from the journey and just wanted to shower and rest in the room. So we headed back to the Hotel where I fluttered my eyelashes and asked if there was any chance we could access our room earlier. We were in luck.
We were unpacked in a short while and then decided if we were to get the most out of our time in Berlin, best bet would be to have an afternoon nap before we hit the town. This proved a winner. By 1800 we were much refreshed, showered and headed into one of the gay districts, which now that we had a tube map & visitors guide, proved easy to find. Indeed it was only 2 stops from our own station.
Over the weekend we visited several of the gay bars around town and of course some of the obligatory things you do when in Berlin. Enjoy a beer (Usually I dislike beer but when in Rome, or Berlin for that matter), visit Check Point Charlie, The Brandenburg gate, go see the East Side Gallery at the remains of the Berlin Wall. It was almost hard to picture how things could have been back in the days of the wall and hard to believe it was only 1989 when the wall came down.
A few meals, a few bars, a few bits on the scene and before you know it our long weekend was coming to a close. Another early taxi drive in the morning had us at the airport by 730AM and by 0800 we were in the VIP lounge. Thank goodness I have a card for the lounges. Dusan says I am a snob, but I can’t bear the hustle of it all and feeling like you are in a sheep pen. At least with the card we can sit in a quiet lounge, enjoy free alcoholic beverages and snacks and relax in quiet.
When they called for our boarding we had to cram in with everyone else and despite the plane being completely full, they only offered two groups for boarding on sleazy jet. Priority Boarding and everybody else. Well you can imagine the stampede when they called general boarding. I have always said there are only really two things I don’t like about Easyjet. Their open boarding without a seat reservation and the ghastly orange colour. Nothing beats Virgins Upper Class Cabin, but sadly for short-haul, you have to make do with airlines that offer the flights.
All in all a ver gutten time.
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