Thursday, July 31, 2008

Chomping at the Bit!

Poor Miss G spent a couple of hours in the dentist's chair today.  She got orthotics glued to her bottom teeth and a filling in a top tooth that was giving her trouble.  Dr. Randy is quick and painless,  and has this great little gadget for putting in the novacaine that doesn't hurt a bit!  Her mouth feels a but strange now that the bite is realigned,  but Dr. R say's that's the whole point and that it will become more comfortable than before once everything has settled in.  Then he can begin to restore the actual teeth to the new, corrected alignment.  Isn't modern dentistry amazing?! Of course, Miss G is literally "chomping at the bit" hoping it will all be done soon,  she she is a girl of very little patience!

Tuesday, July 29, 2008

She Made It!

Miss G is back in the states,  and she made it with nary a scratch!  Luckily,  the plane was a bit leaving Heathrow so she was able to board in ample time!

Now she's headed out to Tia Maria's to meet "Mom and Dad" and the gang for some tex-mex and cold Bud Lite!  She sure did miss that stuff!  The Brits are great but their food sucks!

Sunday, July 27, 2008

Headed for the Hot Stuff!

Faithful TFBOMGG reader str8upwithatwist commented to inform us that Miss G's makeup artists need to prepare her for 99 degree heat when she arrives back in Houston!  Geez!  Here in London it's been only about 74 degrees most of the time,  cooler at night,  with nice breezes, low humidity,  and no rain!  We're waiting for our room service breakfast, then it's off to Heathrow and back across the pond! Hope Miss G makes it in time! See you all soon!

London Has Been Officially Added to "My Map"!

 

How fun is a travel site where you can track your travels,  share reviews of your visits,  and learn more about the places you want to go in the future!  It's right up Miss G's alley- you should create one of your own!  Be sure and share the link with all of TFBOMGG readers so we can enjoy, too!

Still Haven't Found Miss Ginger!

We spent the day looking for Miss G but we still haven't found her!  She left a message at the hotel that she was going shopping,  so we headed off to Covent Garden and Bloomsbury to see if we could hunt her down.  Bloomsbury wasn't really on the agenda,  but we got pleasantly lost and found it to be a charming enclave with many pubs, sights, and features that made the diversion enjoyable.

On the way toward Covent Garden we passed a recruiting station for the Royal Armed Forces,  and knowing Miss G's penchant for men in uniform decided to inquire if she had been seen. 

No sign of Miss G there,  so off to Covent Garden where we strolled among the street musicians,  had a bite to eat and a warm Diet Pepsi,  and continued our search for the wayward drag queen. 

We thought we were on her trail when we saw a dress we knew she couldn't resist,  so we asked the shop girl if she had shown this dress today.

She said a large, hairy American woman had requested it in a 22W, but when she informed her that it only came up to a 10 the American called her "skinny bitch" and left in a huff.  We knew we were on the right trail!

After a shopping disaster we knew Miss G would find herself thirsty,  so we headed over to Profile to grab "our" little table on Frith Street.  After a few beers we decided we were hungry,  so we found a little pub around the corner that offered the traditional British Sunday roast.  It was quite tasty for British food,  and at least the Diet Coke had more than 3 cubes of ice in it!  After Profile we wandered back to the Admiral Duncan for the last few cocktails of our vacation,  before heading back to Hazlitt's to pack and prep for our journey back home.  Still no sign of Miss G,  so if she's not back by 8am tomorrow,  she's better be able to find her own way back to Heathrow Airport!  I'm sure it will be no trouble, since she's always depended on the kindness of strangers.  And they don't come any stranger than the crowd in Soho!

For those of you in Texas,  we can't wait to get back to you and a big plate of mexican food with a so-cold-it-hurts-your-teeth Bud Light!  For the rest of the world- put London on your list if you haven't seen it already!  And if you need a place to stay that's steps away from the bars and pubs on Old Compton Street,  check out Hazlitt's!

Saturday, July 26, 2008

Miss Ginger get p!ssed!

In the US when we are really angry about something,  we say we are pissed like: "I'm really pissed because my date didn't show up!" But in the UK it just means you were drunk.  So today,  Miss Ginger is pissed at herself for getting so pissed last night!  The rest of her staff isn't in very good shape,  either!

The day started innocently enough with a walk through Piccadilly Circus, to Trafalgar Square,  along the Houses of Parliament to the foot of Big Ben.  Then we returned along the Thames river and the the Strand, back to the hotel via Leicester Square. I would share photos with you but there aren't any because the battery died in the camera and I didn't have a spare. You can google any of them to see what they look like!

We had a nice lunch at Balans Cafe around the corner,  then went back to the rooms for a little nap.  After our naps is when the trouble started for Miss G.

We started at the Duke of Wellington pub,  known locally as "the Welly"

The place was cute and cozy,  and we bumped into our friend Rick from the other night,  who was leaving as we arrived.  He was headed over to the Admiral Duncan,  and invited us to meet him there after we left the Welly.  We had a couple of beers when suddenly Miss Ginger jumped up and ran out the door to the street, saying something about "curtain time" as she dissapeared into the crowd. We went to investigate and realized she must have seen this door and felt compelled to get herself ready for her adoring fans:

 

I started to go in after her then thought "what the hell,  let the old girl have her moment!"  We never saw her again for the rest of the night!

After that,  we did indeed go to the Admiral D to meet up with Rick,  and guess to whom in the world he was standing there talking?  Nick, from the night before!  SO we have 2 friends in thewhole of London and they already know each other!  How funny is that!

So we went up the street to the G-A-Y Bar (that's the name. G-A-Y Bar!), and met up with Alex and "Mary", shown here with Rick and Me.  "Mary's" name is not really "Mary", but he is from Poland and I couldn't pronounce his name, so we just called him "Mary".  He is much too handsome to go by "Mary" but it's the best we could do!

After a few drinks at G-A-Y we did a bit of dancing, and a very nice lady picked all the imaginary "lint" off of Sonna while she boogied with Nick.

After a few more beers Sonna, in a flash of good judgement,  decided she needed to get something to eat and call it a night.  In a flash of bad judgement,  I decided to stay out with the boiz, under the pretense of trying to hunt down Miss Ginger. "Mary" kept whining "I want to go to Compton's" but Nick didn't want to so we sent them packing and dropped back into the Admiral D.  After more cocktails and dancing (it's not really a dance bar), we decided our best chance for hunting down Miss G would be at a drag show,  so off we went in a cab to a cute little place called Central Station, north of Soho in Kings Cross. Now, my Momma taught me better than to get in a strange cab in a strange city with a strange man to go to strange places,  but Nick's not all that strange, and I have known him for 2 days.  In the cab he called his boyfriend to meet us, which he did,  and the BF was very handsome and they make a cute couple.  I don't think he was exactly enamoured of the drunk American, but we all watched the performer sing live. She had a very east end British accent,  and of course she screamed into a microphone coming out of  too-small speakers,  so I really couldn't understand a word she said!  By this point I was toast anyway,  so I stumbled into the street (alone. in strange neighborhood. drunk.) and hailed a cab that was driven by a nice, handsome Arab man. As I was getting into the cab I'm pretty sure I saw the hem of Miss G's purple glitter dot dress hanging out of the cab in front of me, but by this point we were rolling so she'll have to pay for her own damn cab! He got me home safely,  and I stopped by the Italian sandwich shopped that is staffed entirely be Croations to get a late night bite. I found one of Miss G's lavendar peau de soies kicked into the corner of the sandwich shop,  so I'm sure she stopped in for a midnight snack as well.

After passing out in the bed and snoring all night,  I woke up exhausted, but dear, sweet Sonna went to get me a Diet Coke and some water, and some breakfast for herself,  and promised to entertain herself while I slept it off.  I'm done now,  so let me see if she's back, so we can go out and make some more FABULOUS British adventures for us all to enjoy together!  And if we don't find Miss G pretty soon I may have to enlist the aid of Scotland Yard!

Thursday, July 24, 2008

Miss Ginger Gets SH!T on!!!

I can't wait to tell you what happened to Miss G today! But I will wait, because chronology is important to a good story!

We steated today with breakfast in our rooms,  and then headed off to see Miss G's friend Liz at Buckingham Palace.  Miss G instisted that I phone ahead to make sure Liz had "fresh" guards on duty, because Miss G can't bear the smell of a man who has been working!  Sheepishly I phoned in the request, and have to admit when we arrived it appeared that fresh guards were promptly dispatched!

Once in place,  we informed them that Miss G was here to see the Queen,  but apparently those big furry hats impair their hearing because they clearly didn't hear a word we said.  Miss G insisted that I speak to a supervisor, so I sent for one and waited for what seemd to be hours before he arrived.

There seemed to be a lot of confusion about Miss G's invitation,  but before I had a chance to clear it up she whispers to me in a fake British accent "just stall them and I'll sneak in 'round back!" and off she ran!  I wasn't exactly sure what to say,  so I asked one of the Royal Police what cup size he wears when he does drag, and this was his reponse:

After Miss G ran off,  Sonna and I decided to wander over to St. James to see if we could see more guards!  We did,

and I 'm sure I heard the 3rd one in rank says

 

"Leroy, I told you to quit giving your horse onions!"  Thank God Miss G missed that because we could smell it from the sidewalk!  Just about as the "smoke" cleared,  the cops cleared the driveway of tourists and Prince Phillip (the old one) was driven by in a Jaguar! So while Miss G was hobnobbing with Liz, Sonna and I saw royalty,  too!

After our Royal visits at the palace,  we took the tube over to the London Eye

to have a "look-see" and decide if it was tourist worthy.  It clearly was,  so Sonna got in the "Fast Track" line for immediate tickets because we knew Miss G would have no patience standing in line with all that humanity.  It was fast,  but we all know Miss G has no attention span,  so before we got into a capsule she saw a sex shop off in the distance

and ran off toward it shrieking something about a "new boyfriend".  I hollered back that the old one probably just needed new batteries,  and that I had some back in the room,  but she yelled something about "newer model" and kept running!

By this time Sonna and I were at the front of the line,  so we got into the football-shaped capsule and started our ascent! 

At the top of the ride we saw that it was high noon on Big Ben

and we knew we'd better find Miss G and get some lunch into her before she launched into a reign of terror across London's tourist district.  We hunted her down and took the tube to back to Soho,  where we took a gamble that the restaurant on the corner would be tolerant of Miss G and her entourage.

By the time we had lunch,  Miss Sonna's ankle was clearly giving her trouble,  so after a quick stop to buy some jewelry for Miss G

we headed over to a club that was across the street from our hotel.

As we sat and drank our beverages under the awning,  a pigeon settled on the edge and decided to relieve itself all over Miss G's frock and shoes!  She lept up and ran back across the street to the hotel,  and that was the rest we saw of her all night!

After a couple of beers we met a quite cute chap who had recently moved to London by the name of Rick.  He explained that he recently resigned from a job in the travel industry so they put him on "Gardner's Holilday", which basically means they paid him off not to come back because they were bitter that he left!  He's of to university anyway,  so he's enjoying his time off before he begins his studies this fall.

We also met Paul and Yves (Yves! Yves! Yves! That's all I hear! All about Yves!) and they are probably one of the cutest couples I have ever met!

Yves is a GM for Selfridge (the Bloomingdale's of London) and Paul does hair and makeup for the London film industry.  We talked for hours about retail, beauty, and politics,  but eventually the conversation headed south (below Yves' belt buckle) and after someone said something about 10" Sonna screamed "I don't do the pickle!" and we all decided it was time to leave! 

Sonna and I grabbed some dinner across the street (Miss G had long lost herself in the crowd by then!)

and then headed out to a couple more clubs around the block!  The first was totally S & M (Stand and Model!) so Ms. S and I quickly got bored.

So, we crossed the alley to an adorable little basement place called "Friendly Society". 

 The place is SO CUTE with kitchy wallpaper from the 60's, white plastic furniture,  and Barbie Dolls stapled all over the ceiling!  The music was awesome,  but our adult beverages were really beginning to wear on us so we decided to head back to the hotel! 

It's been quite a day, but tomorrow is Friday so we figure we need a good night's sleep so we can be prepared for the wild weekend!  Check back for more tomorrow!  Love to all!   ....g

 

 


Tags:

Tags:

Tags:

Wednesday, July 23, 2008

Fading Fast!

Miss G is fading fast but I'm going to try to get her dictation on the blog before she passes out!

The flight across the pond was FABULOUS on one of Continental's newest 777's and everyone slept well except Sonna.  Miss G even had a plug in her seat for the CPAP unit so she didn;t snore and slept like a rock for about 4 hours! Sonna watched 4 movies.

We landed on time and took the tube to Hazlitts Hotel.  Luckily the large flights of steps had escalators, but the smalle ones didn't. We took a cab from the tube to the hotel,  and after a little whining even got to check in early.

Miss G is in HOG HEAVEN in this hotel!  The building was built in 1718 as 3 "sister houses" but have since been combined into an esquisitely restored yet very authentic boutique hotel!  The bed is a  gourgeous antique:

the shower is a fabuloulsy retored walk up tub,

and even the historic throne is fit for a queen!

Speaking of queens,  we've already met a few and they were SOOOO sweet!

After checking in we ate lunch at a cute little sidewalk cafe

After lunch,, we wandered around the corner to our first pub, the Admiral Duncan

 

We never left!  It was kind of slow at first, but the bartender was nice and there was a good people-watching view of the street.  We knew we needed to stay up at least until a reasonable early bedtime, in order to get ourselves established on London time.  So for the cause we pushed on.Well,  as time progressed so did the crowd, and we met some truly lovely people including Nina and Mark from Easton,  Daryll (the bartender), Grbic (spelled wrong, and he's from Lithuania, not Poland!) and Charles,  seen here country dancing with Sonna

.

We also met one of London's most charming and adorable drag queens,  Miss Carriage,  on some of here rare downtime running around the city as Nick,  her alter ego!

Nick was precious and oh so sweet, and we spent hours chatiing with him and swapping stories.  But hen his boyfriend showed up to meet him,  so it was time for Miss G and Sonna to make like a Lee nail and "press on"!  We went to eat at a cute little Eyetalian sandwich place,  and now,  even though it's not yet dark,  we have retired to our "chambers:" to relax and get ourselves to sleep on a proper British schedule!  More tomorrow!

Love to all! ... G   (and S!)

 

Sunday, July 20, 2008

It Must be Over 'cause the Fat Lady Sang!

Well,  Miss Ginger's reign as Miss Mint Julep ended today as she turned over the crown to the very deserving Alicia Allure, shown with Miss G in this photo.

 

Aaron Patterson won Mr. Mint Julep,  and Brandi is the first crowned Ms. Mint Julep,  so Legacy Community Health Services will be well represented in the coming year!

It was a FABULOUS afternoon,  and Donnie and the staff at Rich's did a great job helping the event go off without a hitch.  Miss G had to return for her stepdown sashless,  as you can see by the photos. She turned the house upside down looking for it and never could find it.  After the event,  as she moved the seat in Veronique forward to put stuff in the back, there it was.  Oh, well,  the show went on, sash or not.

As always,  the Krewe of Olympus put on a production number beyond compare,  starring Queen Kaylynn and King Robert as Sandy and Danny from Grease.

 

 There were also great numbers from ERSICSS and ICOH, as well as the Gill Family and some employee groups from Legacy.  Kaye Sadilla was twirling so fast in her final performance that this was the best picture Dad could get of her!

 

ShyAnne, as always, was the hostess with the mostest, ably assisted by Holly Redwood and Robert Harwood.

If you remember the Mint Julep kickoff held on Derby Day, you will recognize Miss G's bonnet, which was auctioned off today to raise more money for Legacy.  MB was the highest bidder,  so it can now take up space in her garage!

 

It was a great day of fundraising and the group raised thousands of dollars to support Legacy's programs!

Now there's one day to rest, relax, and recoup before the big trip across the pond for Sonna and Miss G.  After such a big day they need the rest,  so they are bringing along Miss G's staff to take lots of photos and update the blog with the daily happenings!  Be sure to check it out daily!

Here's a shout out to all of Miss G's new readers,  who have recently discovered TFBOMGG! It was great getting to meet some of you today at Rich's!  Be sure you subscribe so you are notified of updates,  and leave a comment or 2 just to let Miss G know you still love her!  Love to all!!!

Saturday, July 19, 2008

Juleps and Jet Fuel

Miss Ginger's days as Miss Mint Julep are almost over! Tomorrow she bids her final farewell and crowns the new Miss Mint Julep.  Will is be Alica Alure or Natasha Nikole?  Come by Rich's tomorrow and find out!
 
After the show Miss G will be a tired and faded as this old sign she sees all the time in New Orleans.  Interestingly enough,  even though Miss G has walked (stumbled?) by this sign many a time in the Big Easy,  she actually didn't take this photograph.  She googled- okay, she had her people google- "Mint Julep" for images and this was the 3rd one that came up.  Freaky, huh?
 
Anyway,  after MMJ Ginger and Sonna are jetting off to jolly old England to visit their friend Liz for some R&R.  Liz lives in a huge house
 
 
with excellent security
right in the middle of London. 
 
Of all the queens that Ginger knows,  this one's her favorite, so she and Sonna decided to pop over unnanounced and surprise her.  Won't she be!? 
Other than a quick visit with Queen Liz,  the only agenda is "no agenda!"  Miss G will take lots of pics and post from there so you can keep up with the whole trip right here on the FABULOUS Blog of Miss Ginger Grant!
 

Saturday, July 12, 2008

Can You Believe the Year's Half Over?!

 

OMG this year is flying by fast!  It's already time for Christmas in July, and it seems like we just had Christmas!  BTW, the CIJ show is Sunday  the 13th, 3pm at South Beach.  It's invitation only, but if you need one, give Miss G a shout out and she'll see if she can hook you up!

Did you know there are 2 things call Christmas in July? Neither did Miss G, until the other day!  At 7pm at the BRB there is another show called "Miss Alabama's Christmas in July", and it is an open show and performers are welcome.  That's a lot of holiday spirit to pack into one weekend!

Speaking of the BRB, we started the weekend last night with our Krewe Happy Hour there,  then went to check out Anita Bump's new restaurant, Anita's Bar and Grill.  If you've ever been to a Hamburger Mary's then you've seen it before,  but the concept is new and novel for Houston.  Of course, Miss G couldn't resist ordering "Drag Queen Chicken", and Annie had the "GLBT", Anita's version of a BLT. Go there for the drinks and atmosphere.  The food serves one purpose:  to soak up the liquor so you can keep drinking!  And anyone with heart conditions should steer clear:  it's salty and greasy!  Just what you need after a long night of cocktails, but not so much if you're trying to steer clear of the grim reaper!  The place is a hoot, though,  with Anita herself mingling with the patrons and ensuring everyone is entertained while they wait  (and wait!) for their food.  Check it out and leave Miss G a blog comment with your thoughts on the place!

We' re just a week away from the Miss Mint Julep contest!  Make plans now to come see Miss G's step-down and Kaye Sedilla's "Last Salsa",  plus find out who will become Mr., Miss,  and the first Ms. Mint Julep!

TTFN, and stay FABULOUS!

 

Thursday, July 10, 2008

Miss Ginger's Reign is Coming to an End!


Miss Ginger's reign as Miss Mint Julep 2007 comes to an end on Sunday, July 2nd at Rich's.  She's had a great year, but it's time to let someone else step into the spotlight and take the "reigns" of Legacy's home-grown community fund-raising effort! Be sure to save the date for her step-down,  and if you want a table, contact Miss Ginger or Sonna to reserve one soon!  Love to all!