Does Your Mother Know That Your Out....?

Finally, three months into the year and the Guilty Pleasures Theatre Tour Bus spluttered into action, kicking out sequins, streamers and glitter like a low rent Priscilla; Destination - Mamma Mia!

http://www.mamma-mia.com/london.asp


Whilst the GP bus is purely a figment of our collective imagination (I don’t have the licence, correct footwear or the required alcohol free bloodstream - to be in charge of a real bus) but this doesn’t make the experience any less extravagant, the seats are always comfortable and the bubbles always chilled. (And just to ensure sure we are all on the same page, my bus is purple...)

Our first stop of the evening, like all good bus tours, was for refreshments and powdering of noses. Now since we were several miles from the Dartford Services Little Chef (and of course, we were not on an actual bus...) we opted for what is thankfully a gloriously un-touristy restaurant situated in the heart of Leicester Square. The aptly named Leicester Square Restaurant and Bar can be found in the elegant Radisson Edwardian Hotel tucked into the corner of the square. This sleek hideaway was perfect for relaxing pre show and après pungent tube ride, where we could sit back in our armchairs taking a few well-earned sips of Sancerre. And, for a change, it wasn’t all about the wine....the organically farmed Scottish salmon with creamed leeks and crushed potatoes was "to die for" as was the an fried sea bass with smoked salmon Risotto, herb oil and cream (not that I ate both before you start thinking I've doubled in size since my "Feeling the Burn" post)!

So revving the engines once more, after a small ticketing mishap, we rush to our seats in the nick of time (I'm told there is nothing like a Stressed Geoff at 19.26 on a Theatre Night). If John Barrowman had to describe the seats I procured he would simply say "Fantastic, Fantastic, Fantastic" as did we all - but this is just the kind of excellent standard you should expect from a GP Tour...

I was a little worried about seeing the show again after scowling my way through the 2008 movie starring the usually wonderful Meryl Streep. Not that I hated it but...(Ok I am well aware that I am in the minority and it’s certainly not as dreadful as the POTO movie). However; and I believe this about almost any live event/performance, when you are faced with an awesome cast putting their soul into their work mere inches from your seat I fail to see how you wouldn’t be transported, uplifted and taken on the emotional journey. The entire cast were fantastic but I feel a special mention should go to the actress who played Donna, Melissa Jacques.(The role is alternated with Linzi Hateley). What an amazing performance!! We were all completely thrilled with the humour, talent and zhuzh that she brought to the character.

Being quite a mixed group I was very glad to note that Mamma Mia has something for everyone, a lot of Abba for the queens (and ladies of a certain age). An extremely foxy (and not unlike a young Joan Collins) Lorraine Chappell as the man eating Tanya, for Mr B. and plenty of semi naked guys in neoprene (proving that it’s not just fries and Coke that can be "Supersized") – again, mainly for the queens and ladies of a certain age....

Oh and for the more energetic (we were) loads of dancing in the aisles for the finale. For those final ten minutes it didn’t matter who, what or why we were all simply "Dancing Queens".

The night was extravagantly rounded off in one of my favourite haunts, The Hampshire (see previous post....)
http://gpcakes.blogspot.com/2010/11/brown-paper-packages-tied-up-with.html
The mood in the H was, as always, relaxed warm and witty, even if the Pinot did have a rather perplexing aroma of foamy bananas.

And now it’s onto the next...........I’m afraid my dears there can be no rest for the decadently wicked theatrical ;o) x

So Long, Farewell...!

Ok Guys, put down the streamers, step away from the balloons and re-freeze the prawn vol-Au-vents....I'm not going anywhere! However as previously mentioned, our very good friend Rosario is gracefully retiring to her beautiful Miami Condo (I believe she will be 2 doors down from Dexter...) for some much needed R&R.
So Rosario's final hurrah? A 72 cupcake explosion in black and pink with lashings of glitter, sequins and marabou (yes Elton, I am available for your next wedding). The rather excitingly named RosarioPro made her fabulous debut (and fond farewell) at a recent 40th birthday and now bows out in style.






Speaking of elegant retirements I am put in mind of a my friend who recently retired from our office. This particular friend was "lucky" enough to be shown every creation that I struggled into the office with and we always had such fun chuckling at the prudish City Types who were "shocked and offended" at some of the more lets say revealing cakes.

I thought it may be a nice surprise to make something for her to remember me by and figuring that a life sized bust of me sculpted in finest marble may be prohibitively expensive (and rather heavy to bring on the bus), I opted for the cake option.
Its sometimes difficult to picture which direction I want to take a design, often I can end up with too much information about a client (which is stored for future blackmailing purposes, in case you were interested) and sometimes too little. In this case I had so much that I wanted to include its was difficult to know where to start - but one thing kept coming back to me. My friend is lucky enough to have a home in Turkey and although I have never visited I am quite sure that she has a pool and as we all know, it would be impossible if not a completely against every decadence, to have a pool without a pool boy (potentially in a thong...). In fact I'm pretty sure it would be against the law to have one without the other.



Anyway, with images of pool boys making the very small circuit around my brain I got to thinking (its a wonder I hadn't passed out by this point) how to bring this idea altogether. Now I know my geography can be fairly shaky but I am fully aware that Greece is not in Turkey, however I kept picturing the stage of Mamma Mia as a surround for the pool - its a very simple design but just so effective I was desperate to use it. Mamma Mia being set on a Greek Island and not at my friends house in Turkey did not phase me one bit!



So with the pool (+boy) and tiling sorted it was time to bring in our friend. Now as she had worked on our reception for so long I guessed she would miss it once she left. The solution? An icing replica of our front lobby! Since this is a retirement cake I decided to replace the uncomfortable chair with some luxurious Turkish cushions - if you cant have luxury when you leave work when can you?!!

Some of the more observant among you may notice the distinct lack of PoolBoy on the cake - however if you look closer you will see that it is not a slice of Dominoes Pepperoni Hot n Spicy floating in the crystal waters.....its the elusive pool boys thong (of course..). It would appear that whilst executing a triple spin dive (or some such sporting term) he has hit the water with such speed (aerodynamically waxed chest) that his uniform has flown clean off - whilst our friend keeps watch (for health and safety purposes, of course).



And now it’s onto the next.....I’m afraid my dears there can be no rest for the decadently wicked x