Rhoda Baxter, one of my lovely RNA friends, has a new release out today, Please Release Me.
Because all main three characters in Please Release Me are stuck in some way, the theme for the blog splash posts is being stuck.
I chose to go with the prompt – stickers. When I thought about stickers my mind immediately jumped to my diaries, some of which have stickers on their covers. So I've included a picture of the diary covers, and my thoughts on why I was stuck on those stickers back at the time, and if I'm still stuck on them.
Because all main three characters in Please Release Me are stuck in some way, the theme for the blog splash posts is being stuck.
I chose to go with the prompt – stickers. When I thought about stickers my mind immediately jumped to my diaries, some of which have stickers on their covers. So I've included a picture of the diary covers, and my thoughts on why I was stuck on those stickers back at the time, and if I'm still stuck on them.
The stickers on my 2000 diary. It was quite a year!
2000 diary stickers
Take That – I was a little bit obsessed with them at the time. Once a gay friend told me about the video with the jelly and the mops, I was sold. I also read an awful lot about them touring gay clubs to build up their name in the early days. I'm still into TT now to be honest, so maybe I'm still stuck on them!
Charlie's Angels – my friend Ford introduced me to this particular mine of seventies kitsch, the flicked hair, the guns, the swishing about. I was so there. Have I watched any of the TV series, no, not really, but I have seen the modern film with Cameron Diaz, if that's anything to go by.
Ewan McGregor – I think it was after seeing him in Trainspotting, or Shallow Grave that I was enchanted by his looks. He's aged well to be honest and I still would.
A Citroen DS Decapotable, SM, 2CV6 and GSA – I was into weird French classic cars then, and I still am now. There's something about their idiosyncrasies that appeal to me I think.
ABBA – it looks like a picture from their Arrival promo pix, judging by the silk kimonos. Also, this was just after Mamma Mia had opened in London, which I went to see with Mum and a uni friend who was particularly partial to a bit of camp cheese. I've seen the stage play a number of times, every time, loving it. The film, however, is ineffable.
Paul Nicholls – he was the floppy haired, troubled Jo, in EastEnders. And I had a massive crush on him. Even when he was in Secret Diary of a Call Girl being a terrible person and having sex with Bell De Jour, I still fancied every beardy, gruff hairy, scary inch of him. So I'm still stuck on him I guess!
Thought for the week from Boyz magazine – it was a free gay paper distributed through gay pubs and clubs. It used to be tabloid sized, and we would all jump onto the new edition to flick to the back picture of the Back Room Boy – a picture of a nekkid man. This was pre internet, pre smart phones. A picture of a naked man was a rare thing to be cherished and celebrated back in 2000. The thought asks how much a ticket costs to see a football match, and if you have no idea, that's the gay litmus test. Have I been to a football match since 2000? No. Do I know how much a football match ticket costs? No. I have got slightly into rugby since 2000, but only in a Dieux du Stade calendar way, so I think that's not strictly speaking very sporting either.
Terence Higgins Trust sticker – It's Prejudice that's queer. I was really into rainbows, ribbons and logos about all things gay, back in 2000. Am I still? Not in the same way. I wouldn't put something like that on my diary nowadays, but I still go to Pride marches, and tend to dress how I feel much of the time. I suppose it's a less flag waving, but still confident way to portray gayness.
I also checked the entry in the 2000 diary for today, 10 September. Wow! Talk about angst. The worry. But any more of that's not for now.
Please Release Me by Rhoda Baxter
What if you could only watch as your bright future slipped away from you?
Sally Cummings has had it tougher than most but, if nothing else, it’s taught her to grab opportunity with both hands. And, when she stands looking into the eyes of her new husband Peter on her perfect wedding day, it seems her life is finally on the up.
That is until the car crash that puts her in a coma and throws her entire future into question.
In the following months, a small part of Sally’s consciousness begins to return, allowing her to listen in on the world around her – although she has no way to communicate.
But Sally was never going to let a little thing like a coma get in the way of her happily ever after …
The buy link: myBook.to/PleaseReleaseMe
Take That – I was a little bit obsessed with them at the time. Once a gay friend told me about the video with the jelly and the mops, I was sold. I also read an awful lot about them touring gay clubs to build up their name in the early days. I'm still into TT now to be honest, so maybe I'm still stuck on them!
Charlie's Angels – my friend Ford introduced me to this particular mine of seventies kitsch, the flicked hair, the guns, the swishing about. I was so there. Have I watched any of the TV series, no, not really, but I have seen the modern film with Cameron Diaz, if that's anything to go by.
Ewan McGregor – I think it was after seeing him in Trainspotting, or Shallow Grave that I was enchanted by his looks. He's aged well to be honest and I still would.
A Citroen DS Decapotable, SM, 2CV6 and GSA – I was into weird French classic cars then, and I still am now. There's something about their idiosyncrasies that appeal to me I think.
ABBA – it looks like a picture from their Arrival promo pix, judging by the silk kimonos. Also, this was just after Mamma Mia had opened in London, which I went to see with Mum and a uni friend who was particularly partial to a bit of camp cheese. I've seen the stage play a number of times, every time, loving it. The film, however, is ineffable.
Paul Nicholls – he was the floppy haired, troubled Jo, in EastEnders. And I had a massive crush on him. Even when he was in Secret Diary of a Call Girl being a terrible person and having sex with Bell De Jour, I still fancied every beardy, gruff hairy, scary inch of him. So I'm still stuck on him I guess!
Thought for the week from Boyz magazine – it was a free gay paper distributed through gay pubs and clubs. It used to be tabloid sized, and we would all jump onto the new edition to flick to the back picture of the Back Room Boy – a picture of a nekkid man. This was pre internet, pre smart phones. A picture of a naked man was a rare thing to be cherished and celebrated back in 2000. The thought asks how much a ticket costs to see a football match, and if you have no idea, that's the gay litmus test. Have I been to a football match since 2000? No. Do I know how much a football match ticket costs? No. I have got slightly into rugby since 2000, but only in a Dieux du Stade calendar way, so I think that's not strictly speaking very sporting either.
Terence Higgins Trust sticker – It's Prejudice that's queer. I was really into rainbows, ribbons and logos about all things gay, back in 2000. Am I still? Not in the same way. I wouldn't put something like that on my diary nowadays, but I still go to Pride marches, and tend to dress how I feel much of the time. I suppose it's a less flag waving, but still confident way to portray gayness.
I also checked the entry in the 2000 diary for today, 10 September. Wow! Talk about angst. The worry. But any more of that's not for now.
Please Release Me by Rhoda Baxter
What if you could only watch as your bright future slipped away from you?
Sally Cummings has had it tougher than most but, if nothing else, it’s taught her to grab opportunity with both hands. And, when she stands looking into the eyes of her new husband Peter on her perfect wedding day, it seems her life is finally on the up.
That is until the car crash that puts her in a coma and throws her entire future into question.
In the following months, a small part of Sally’s consciousness begins to return, allowing her to listen in on the world around her – although she has no way to communicate.
But Sally was never going to let a little thing like a coma get in the way of her happily ever after …
The buy link: myBook.to/PleaseReleaseMe
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