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King Priam, ETO, Linbury Studio
Alix’s birthday treat – Tippett’s King Priam by English Touring Opera at the Linbury Studio, Royal Opera House. This is what happens when you get involved in community opera – you get friends with the professionals, and you go to see something because someone you know is in it, (four someones in this instance –…
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The Historical Birthday-Tea Party 15th February
Right, back to the history (and as an aside I’ve realised what I’ve been doing here – echoing Caryl Churchill’s Top Girls, a play in which various female icons from history and myth – Isabella Bird, Pope Joan, Lady Nijo, Dull Gret, Patient Griselda – gather together for a meal.) Today’s birthday belongs to Susan…
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The ACTUAL Birthday-Tea Party 14th February
Ok, a break from the history (nobody available anyway) and a big sloppy birthday kiss for my best girl for the last 30 plus years, Alix. Alix is 72 today, and sharing her birthday with Mr Valentine makes going out for a meal unbelievably tedious, so that’s tomorrow. The Actual Tea Party is Sunday, the…
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The Historical Birthday-Tea Party 13th February
Once more, no specific birthday, so skipping ahead to the 19th for which there are several, let’s make the acquaintance of Constance Maynard, 19/2/1849-1935 was a pioneer of women’s education and the first mistress of Westfield College. She worked at various times and ladies colleges with other education pioneers Frances Dove, Louisa Lumsden, Ann Dudin…
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The Historical Birthday-Tea Party 12th February
Once more I am short of a specific birthday to celebrate, so back to the seventeenth century and to Frances Apsley 1653–1727. Frances was the object of affection of a youthful Mary Stuart, who became that strange binomial monarch ‘William&Mary’, or more correctly Mary II of England. Mary was older sister to Queen Anne, and…
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The Woman Who Loved the Moon and other stories
For LGBT History Month, here’s an edited version of the review I wrote for Short Review of the fantasy/ scifi/ horror collection from 1981 by Elizabeth A. Lynn Lynn is one of the earliest fantasy writers to include same-sex relationships in her writing as a matter of course. Author of A Different Light, The Dancers…
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The Historical Birthday-Tea Party 11th February
Karoline von Günderode 11 February 1780 – 26 July 1806 romantic poet, her works often had strong heroic women in the central role, and was critical of traditional gender attitudes. I have to say she behaved a bit like an opera heroine, and this doesn’t strike me as entirely a good thing – Jane Austen…
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The Historical Birthday-Tea Party 10th February
No official birthday holder for today, so here’s someone who’s birthdate we do not know: Ebba Larsdotter Sparre (1629 – 19 March 1662) lover of Queen Christina of Sweden. Ebba was a celebrated beauty nicknamed La belle comtesse. Christina doted on Ebba, always drawing attention to her beauty. When she abdicated and left Sweden, she…
Cherry Potts, Writer, Editor, creative writing tutor; Lesbian, cat-mother, would-be singer. Any of these can crop up here.
Cherry Potts, Writer 