AofA's Hot To Trot Talking Points
AofA's Hot To Trot Talking Points
Every Friday
This week we’ve been mainly looking ahead to the brilliant gigs, talks, documentaries that are around for those cosy nights in or out.
Exciting news. Neneh Cherry (photographed with her best friend and ex Rip Rig and Panic band mate, Andrea Oliver) has a memoir which is about to come out called A Thousand Threads. They are both magnificent 60 year olds these days. I will be reviewing it anon. In the meantime, Neneh starts a book tour next week which includes Bristol and the South Bank Centre.
Unglamorous Music was created by the wonderful Ruth Miller from Leicester - she died last year at the age of 61 - so that women who wanted to play music could just get up there and do it. And there are many bands out there including Virginia Wolves and Velvet Crisis who did exactly that. Very punk concept which we approve of. And they’re going to put on some workshops soon. If you’re interested, contact them through Insta on @stayfreemusicuk
3. I asked this question because I’d been reflecting about it. People often think I’m an extrovert - I do wear flowers in my hair all the time, I like to be seen - but as I’ve got older, I’ve realised that I enjoy small bursts of outward facing activities, and lots of hermit time at home alone. There were lots of different responses including people who thought that this was an outmoded way of thinking and that in fact, we are all everything. And lots who thought they were the opposite of what they’d initially thought. I’d describe myself as an introvert with extrovert tendencies these days.
Zandra Rhodes at 87 is as wonderful as ever and has a new book out - Iconic: My Life in Fashion in 50 Objects by Zandra Rhodes is out now, published by Bantam at £25.
Not sure I agree with her methodology re getting older. In other words, she says she pretends to be younger! Oh dear. Although I agree with the spirit bit.
“I don’t think about age at all, actually. One of my best friends is 91, but then most of my other friends are probably late 70s, and very youthful. But my team’s young, most of them aren’t yet 30 – it doesn’t matter that I could be their grandmother. Age is about spirit.” How has she managed to hold on to herself, I ask, when there are so many external pressures and internal reminders of age? “I just pretend to be younger! And it works! They pretend, too, I think. Well, they let me stagger up the stairs slowly while they go ahead.”
5. The humble, twinkling, brilliant poet and former Makar of Scotland - the equivalent of their Poet Laureate - Jackie Kay is featured in the the BBC documentary series In My Words and it’s so good. What a voyage of a life. Adopted, Nigerian/Scottish, lesbian and how she found her way into all of those identities and ease with them. And her parents, what wonderful funny humanitarians they were. So brilliant when she was made Scotland's Makar in 2016 - the equivalent of poet laureate - and she reads her poem and includes the Queen and her parents. In front of the Queen. Her mother said apparently it was 'democracy in a couplet'! Lots of laughter. Lots of radicalism in such a warm way. She's 62 now.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/m0023998/in-my-own-words-series-1-jackie-kay
A new 3 part documentary series Elizabeth Taylor - Rebel Superstar starts on the BBC 2 tonight and on i-player. I can’t wait to watch it. Here her son, Christopher Wilding who is almost 70, is interviewed about his and her life. The extremes. He obviously misses her very much. https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2024/sep/23/the-hidden-life-of-elizabeth-taylor-as-seen-by-her-son-her-love-for-richard-burton-never-went-away
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I PVRed that Elizabeth Taylor series but have yet to watch it.
I’m also an introvert with extrovert tendencies!💕 It takes a ton of mental energy for me to be “on” and a lot of downtime to recover.