The News Page 5
1st September to 31st December 2006
September 18th to 25th Gran Caneira 3
This is just a short version to see all the details and pictures Look at Boudoir Nights 18
Once again the tropical island of Gran Caneira and the resort of Playa De Ingles was chosen for the Boudoir summer holiday.
Monday 18th September
As usual the Essex and North London branches of the Boudettes decided to combine forces and headed to the airport together. I joined Tess, Jodie and Maureen in the taxi and we set off for the Airport.
Upon reaching the airport we got on a queue to check in, however upon getting to the front of the queue, we were told two of our bags were over the limit we would have to pay an excess baggage charge. After paying this we set off to security only to join the a massive queue. It was all to do with increased security checks that had recently come into place, but as our take off time grew nearer we were only very slowly moving forward, and eventually we got on the plane with no time for shopping.
On the flight I was left sitting with a couple who did nothing but moan about everything for the duration of the flight, lucky it was only a four hour flight and that I had my MP3 with me, we arrived in sunny Gran Caneira on time.
After unpacking it was time to go to the bar and get our first drinks before going back to our rooms to get ready for a late dinner. We then decided to reacquaint ourselves with a few of the local bars and a few of us wandered off to a local bar where we had a few good nights a few years back.
Tuesday 19th September
I woke up about 9 the next morning and the sun was shinning and I made my way down to breakfast, by 10.30 most of the group had surfaced. Those of us that had got up made our way to the pool, after a few hours of sitting in the shade Miss Campbell and I went off to indulge in a few games of table tennis. Once we had finished playing it was getting close to lunch time which, was followed by a walk to check out local restaurants. After finding them it was a slow walk back to the hotel, where we went for a swim prior to dinner, after which it was time to go back to the room and get ready for our first girly night out.
Once ready we collected Tess and went to the hotel bar, which at the time was empty eventually all of us arrived at the bar and it was then time to get a taxi and make our way down to the Yumbo Centre. We started off at Ricky’s Bar which is a Drag Bar that puts on a show, we were unable to get a seat., so had just one drink before moving on, our next stop was Bar Maurice, we had never been in here before and it was ok, we had a few drinks here and tottered off to the next bar. Unfortunately I cannot remember the name of this one, but we did much the same thing chilled out sat in our group chatted over a few drinks, downed the free shots given to us and then at about 2am decided to make our way back to the hotel.
Saturday 23rd September
Once again I managed to get up in time for breakfast and afterwards, I decided to make the use of the sun beds and soak up the early morning rays. This was the first day that I’d actually spent time lying in the sun and it was nice just to lay there read the paper and listen to some music and forget about everything.
In the afternoon we went for a walk to try and watch Europe win the Ryder Cup , but after looking in about 4 bars we could not see any of them showing the golf so we settled for a beer or two watched a football game instead.
As this was our last gurly night out it was an early dinner at the hotel, followed by a return to the room to get ready, once Ashley and I were ready we went next door to pick up Tess and then go down to the hotel bar, by this time a few people had gotten to know us and came over to speak to us. Eventually an hour after the proposed meet up time we were all down at the bar and after one more drink we were at last ready to go out.
We decided that we firstly were going back to the Merlin restaurant from the night before to see our two camp waiters again, inside the bar our two friends were momentary shocked into silence, but they soon came round, and we had a few drinks there. Our next stop was just across the road to the Detox Retox bar which was a bar we had visited the last time we were in Gran Caneira, the guys behind the bar recognised us and even showed us the picture they took last time. The bar was fairly busy and we struggled to find a place to sit down, eventually we found an area where we were able to sit drink, chat and take pictures and for some reason we sat here doing this for the rest of the night. At about 2am we decided to call it a night and made our way back to the hotel, where once again the hotel bar was empty so Tess threw an impromptu party on her balcony which on until 4.30 in the morning.
So ends another Boudoir holiday who knows where we will end up in 2007 !!!!
4th November 2006 My 40th birthday
Again this is and short version see Boudoir Nights 19 for full details
Well it had to come at last the realisation that I was not the youngest Boudette anymore and once that hit me I thought, it was time to start organising my 40th birthday celebrations. I started thinking about ideas about 6 months prior to my birthday and we agreed on a meal followed by a night at the Way Out club was the chosen option.
After sorting out the venue and the guests, the next most important thing was getting my outfit, as it was a big night for me and I wanted to impress the girls from work, I had my friend Gemma on the look out for a dress for me.
Eventually about three weeks before Gemma found me a dress, and I drove over to Gemma’s shop to pick it up, it was a long red number which was backless, with a purple sash across the middle. I also found a lovely bracelet, ring and necklace in black to go with it.
Having already picked up my dress my shopping trip with Nas was a bit less pressurised but we still had to get shoes, a bag, earrings, underwear and stockings. We opted for a trip to Bluewater in Kent on a Friday so it was not as busy as at a weekend. I was looking for round toed black shoes, we struggled at first but eventually we found a pair that we both agreed on were great and we found a bag soon after.
As I was wearing a red dress on Saturday night it was decided between my hair dresser and I that I should tone my hair colour back more to its original darker colour but still leave some of the highlights in it which I had done on the Friday . However on the Saturday I was back at the hairdressers and Jane set about creating the style we decided on which was straight at the top with curls at the back.
Once my hair was finished it was off to the Boudoir , it is unusual for me to be one of the last to arrive at the Boudoir, and by the time I got there most people were dressed or at least half dressed, so I just sat myself down with a glass of wine and waited for my make over.
After my make up was done it was time to leave and we set off in two cabs for the West End, unfortunately a combination of heavy traffic and our drivers not having a clue where they were going meant that we drove around in circles for a long time. Eventually he dropped us right outside Quaglino’s, we had arrived about 45 minutes late, but luckily Sarah and Stacey had arrived on time and we taking care of the girls from work at the bar introductions were quickly made and we had a drink whilst we awaited the last arrivals. Nas soon appeared and introduced herself to everyone in her own way.
It was then time to sit down to eat, I sat next to Meredith with Laura opposite me, and my red wine partner Tess not to far away. The menu was pretty extensive and I started off with Goats Cheese, for my main meal I went for steak which was done really well, between mouthfuls of steak I was indulging in a lovely red wine chosen by Tess. I was about to make up my mind as to whether I wanted a dessert when a waiter arrived with a birthday cake from the gurls, it had candles on it and everybody sang happy birthday to me, so instead of ordering dessert we just ordered coffee and arranged for the cake to be cut and given to everybody. The gurls then gave me some birthday presents which was really kind of them, these included some gift vouchers, cosmetics and Lingerie.
After settling up the Bill it was time to move on to the Way Out Club which was going to be a real eye opener for the girls from work, once we got into the club handed our coats in, and had drunk our first drink it was time to hit the dance floor After about an hour of dancing it was time to sit down and grab a few more drinks, it was also a good opportunity to chat to a few people and to take some more photos. Prior to the club closing at 4am it was time to hit the dance floor once again before everyone got into their cabs and went home.
Nas Xmas Party - Saturday 2nd December
With her hectic work schedule, the 2nd December was the nearest weekend that Nas had to organise her xmas event, and after a couple of frantic last minute telephone calls all the details were finally put into place.
As there were going to be a few of us getting ready Meredith and I drove round to Nas’s house early so that we had a bit of room to get made up, however when we got there nobody else had yet arrived so Nas offered to do my make up for me. As it was a big night out I decided to take her up on her offer, so with Meredith watching she transformed me.
I was wearing a new black top and a black pencil skirt that I had recently gotten from Gemma’s shop and this I teamed up with fishnets and black suede shoes, once I was ready I sat about nibbling at food whilst Nas helped everybody else get ready. Nas had booked a taxi for about 7.30 and as four of us we ready we set out for the restaurant and the others would catch us up, she had also arranged for a friend of hers to meet us at the restaurant. As usual we got a Taxi driver who did not have a clue where he was going and we were sitting in the car navigating him to Columbia Road, eventually he got there and we strolled into the restaurant. The restaurant was a small Spanish Tapas restaurant and whilst we waited for Nas we studied the menu and ordered a bottle of rioja , shortly afterwards Nas’s friend from the gym arrived and he was a very nice guy who fitted in really well with us. About 10minutes after this Nas arrived with the rest of the gurls and so then began the serious business of taking pictures and to a lesser extent ordering the food. I think the best way to order food in a Tapa's restaurant is for everyone to order a dish or two and put it in the middle and then just have a free for all and we adopted this approach. I’ve become really keen on Tapas restaurants over the last few years and although this was not the best it was still very good, but unfortunately I cant remember the name so cant give you a recommendation.
Once we had finished the meal we got Nas’s and her friend’s cars and drove across town to the Reindeer theatre, which is located near spitalfields market. It is a temporary theatre which has been put up for the last two years. We were originally going to try and get tickets for Pam Ann, but as it was sold out we got tickets for Kiki & Herb instead. Kiki & Herb are a guy on a piano and a Drag Queen singing, they do comedy numbers some of which are very clever. One song I remember started off as Rudolph the Rednose Reindeer and turned into Smells Like Teen Spirit by Nirvana which was really funny. They must have played for about an hour which does not sound long, but when you see most Drag Acts will just mime to one or two songs I thought it was pretty good and she was genuinely singing and finally it was funny.
After the show had finished it was time to move on again this time to the Way Out Club, and so we got back into the cars and drove the short journey to Aldgate to the Club. It was really windy by now and I remember standing outside the club waiting for Nas who had parked further away with my hair blowing everywhere and the wind blowing up my skirt. Once we got inside the club and dropped our coats off Nas allowed us one drink before we were grabbed and pulled on to the dance floor where we stayed for the next hour or so, we were allowed to sit down whilst the show was on , but as soon as that was over we were dancing again. Eventually I had to sit down and have a rest and it gave me the chance to speak to some of my other friends who were also out at the club. Around 3am it was time to go home so we got a cab back to Nas’s picked up our bags then got home about 4am.
Boudoir Xmas Party - Saturday 16th December
For the 2nd year running the Boudoir Xmas Party was the day after our work Office Party, a few weeks before the two had not clashed and I volunteered to be the first at the Boudoir. Unfortunately for me our work party was moved so that meant I was getting up at 8am to reach the Boudoir with a hangover from the night before. The reason I volunteered to be at the Boudoir so early was that I wanted my hair curly and Jodie said the only way it would work was if the curlers were left in for as long as possible.
So at 10.30am I was in the chair getting my make up done, which was finished by about 11.15 and I then had to have my hair put into curlers. They were ok going in and when the curling solution went on them, but gradually as the day wore on you can feel them slowly digging into your head your head and after six hours I was so relieved when they came out.
Going back slightly once my hair had been put in the curlers I was able to sit about and indulge in a few nibbles and glasses of wine, gradually everybody else came in and I was able to catch up with a few people that I had not seen for sometime. As it was close to xmas it was also a chance to hand out xmas cards and gifts. After sitting about for 5 hours I decided it was at last time to get dressed, for once I had not purchased a new dress for the occasion I chose to wear a gold dress which I had obtained from e bay during the year, I teamed this up with flesh coloured stockings and gold sandals.
Once I was dressed it was time to take the curlers out of the hair and see the results, which were great it was well worth the effort of the 6 hours of discomfort. It was then time to do my final touches to getting myself ready such as my jewellery, perfume and finding my hand bag and by this time the taxis were on the way ready to take us into town. As usual our taxi drivers had know idea where they were going and we spent the first 10 mins outside whilst they tried to programme the hotel details into their sat navs without success, eventually we had to tell them just to drive and that we would provide them with directions. They managed to find there way to central London but then we hit a lot of traffic especially along Shaftesbury Avenue, but gradually we inched forward and finally arrived at the Soho hotel.
As we were walking into the Soho hotel, there was a big group of people standing around having a picture taken , apparently it was the film star Jack Black who happened to be staying at the hotel. Unfortunately he left straight after and we were therefore unable to get any pictures with him. Whilst we waited for the final group to arrive we made our way to the bar where a few spirits were downed, the last group arrived about 30 minutes later and we were then able to make our way to our table. As there were about 20 of us we had a large table and I don’t think I could see the people at the other end they were so far away. I was sitting with Meredith, Tess and MMM, the food at the hotel was really good but on writing this now a month later I cannot remember what I actually ate. I believe I had steak as a main course and when you have steak red wine is essential and Tess and I ensured the European Red wine Lake was a few centimetres shallower.
Once the Bill was settled there was time to take some pictures either around the two red Christmas trees or next to the giant black cat, before we jumped into more taxi’s to take us across to the Way Out Club.
Inside the club it was pretty busy I suppose as it was the last week before xmas everybody wanted to get out, it must have been all the food that we had eaten at the restaurant as nobody really seemed in the mood for dancing and as we had arrived so late we had missed the weekly show. We just sat around the back in the seating area of the club talking and drinking, I think at one point somebody suggested that we should dance, but that suggestion turned out not to be popular.
Around 4am it was time to gather our coats wish everybody a happy xmas and head first back to the Boudoir and then home.
