London.
Im looking out onto primrose hill, my gold leopard print nails are making me smile, eating another bowl of pear porridge. Winter is here, and for the first time ever I feel prepared.
Ive been rocking a lot of cashmere, primarily my Christopher Kane duo, thanks to alice encouraging me to invest in some proper warmth and after last weeks round of snow I have even purchased some all white snow worthy shoes. Im racing the clock to get this out before the new year, ( as you can see i didnt quite make it..) so here it is:
The year of La Clique - that flu, and flew.
I spent january at Sydney Festival with La Clique, a month of sun and fresh fruit, beach trips and barbeques, ive decided sydney isnt so bad after all! Freshly sand scrubbed and vitamin D rich, I headed back to the queens island to do my 3rd Showzam! Festival in Blackpool.
This festival is fast becoming the highlight of my year, it coincides with the magic convention and is bigger by half every time I go. I hooped in the grande theatre for Amy’s night on a raked stage, always a bit weird hooping on an angle AND in heels.. did some work on marisa carnesky’s ghost train.. Performed at the carnival ball in the blackpool tower and yet again fell in love with this quality novelty sea side resort.
Straight after Blackpool I started performing at the beautiful and historic Hippodrome with La Clique. *favourite hippodrome fact: Michael Jackson did his first performance at the hippodrome when he was 8. wow. Sadly the hippodrome is currently being turned into an ugly casino – but it went out in style, after La Clique’s 9 month residency, which earned the show an Olivier award for best entertainment!!! Amazing!
I did 5 months of this season and lived in soho square all this time, taking walks in regents park! And every other fun place in town. By the end I was well acquainted with the local Italian deli (fresh ravioli) the Japanese supermarket (frozen steamed vegie dumplings – who would have thought) And the nut man in berwick market (choose your own adventure muesli) I also was a regular after work at maoz – makers of the best falafel I have found in this country and also the only makers of a proper hot chip in london – I think they call them European.. When the final glitter cannon had gone off a the hippodrome I flew to Melbourne for 6 weeks of respite, catch ups, mums cooking - and a new visa – my family is getting talllllll, koshin especially.. Then I had 5 days back in London to tape 60 new hoops for the Denmark/Dublin season with La Clique - eep! this was a real mission and a half.
Aarhus (its in Denmark – a short 35 minute flight from Copenhagen) was a whirl wind two weeks of cheese, salmon, smooth bike rides and shows. The Speigeltent was set up in the Tivoli which is a famous theme park – if you asked anyone where it was they could give you directions. This was such a pretty setting – it felt a little bit like living in a big childrens book, giant peddle swans, cartoon monkey’s hanging off the rides. Fairy floss and pretzels.. and for the Brave a 30 metre free fall into a big net. No thanks.. My favourite day I think was the day that we rode to the beach and then went swimming – so nice!!!
Dublin was less of a fairyland setting -but still super fun shows – we had a great Mexican party and I had a proper carvery lunch which was epic. I also went to a kite festival and watched lots of beautiful kites doing synchronised kite routines set to music. That was a great spectacle. We also met some lovely dancers from the pony step company and went out dancing lots with them. In between Denmark and Dublin, george and I found time to go and perform at the electric picnic festival for one night only I saw basement jaxx and they were TOPS!
I also went to Warsaw again to do a show for artur at club 55, Daniel haakman played and I hooped. These guys are legends and I hope I get to work with them again soon! So much fun and again – artur took me to the greatest places to eat! A lot of steak tartare and hands down the greatest donut I have ever eaten. I stayed an extra day so that I could have a good look around – I really like Poland.
When I came back to London Turkish hammam had opened just off kinglsand rd! this was great news and I have been taking all the local ladies there to get scrubbed.
then it was off to NYC with Jo Duck!
The weather mostly sucked – but we ticked off all our favourite places, lots of bennys’s and pancakes and iced coffee’s this was a great break and we ended up at tanya’s loft for the last two nights before heading back to London by which stage I was well and truly ill, according to my nice emergency ward doctor wearing a mask and gloves (no swine flu) I had a nose ear and throat infection – fun times, so then I worked on getting rid of that ( helped by two weekend retreats to paris to visit the La Clique team that are set up over there at the bobino, and also to dance with teki at baron and visit my dear duck, raphaelle) I took respite at marisa’s new house and also a visit to the insect circus house for serious calm time and a guy falkes night bonfire!!
Then I started La Clique at the roundhouse! The 8 week Christmas season ( 2 weeks to go!) and this season has had leopard print marawa plastered everywhere – there are marawa buses, marawa in the tube, marawa on billboards and my favourite marawa on a light strip in picadilly circus. Ridiculous! This was a new act too, so it was a lil nerve racking first few weeks. But its feeling pretty nice now.
Christmas was a real treat! We made a 2 day trip to paris where amy g impressed us all with her excellent hostess skills, making a real Christmas treat of the day!
look at that tree!! so cute! with popcorn and cranberry chains, oh amy, you are the stuff of dreams..xx
Highpoint of the year:
Lowpoint of the year
Things I forgot:
George chocolate teaching me how to shade my make up, urgh, the lessons continue, but im getting better.. (me and george)
I met mark ronson and he is the kind of man I would like to marry
MJMJMJMJMJ can you believe it.
I saw grace jones in Sydney, santigold everywhere, major lazer dancing in the streets, basement jaxx, Whitney Houston bringing it back, played drums for 5 minutes with zara and rena in a misfits cover band, got into UK funky house at WORK! heaven (migraine skank), CMJ in NYC, OXJAM, festivals, urgh, too many! so many great new sounds, steve shelley showed me a great app made by brian eno for your phone called bloom, and now I go to sleep at night with it. Download!
I Nice’d up the dance this year with these:
Switch! Jazmine Sullivan
Head, Shoulders, Kneez & K.I.G
Migraine Skank Gracious Napa man K
POP CHAMPAIGN ETHERBOY
Click mi fingers Erupt
Rice and Peas (feat. Mr Versatile) Skanky Skanky
Mary Jane Feat. Mr. evil & Mapei Major Lazer
Billion dollar bill Whitney Houston
The Man Who Sold the World Nirvana
Miss Fatty Million Stylez
Champion Buju Banton
Then I cooked and cleaned to:
Tom Traubert's Blues Tom Waits
(This one always makes me think of me ma)
marawaniac Gonzalez for marawa
Soul On Fire LaVern Baker
Never Can Say Goodbye Gloria Gaynor
World of Love Binky Griptite & the Dee-Kay's
Don't Think Twice, It's All Right Billy Paul
Empire State of Mind (feat. Alicia Keys) Jay-Z
Copacabana Daniel haakman Man recordings
Estrellita Esquivel
Jungla Yma Sumac
These Arms of Mine Otis Redding
I'm A Lady Santogold
ill send you a cd if you send me your address..
Big discoveries of this year:
going (almost) Dairy free
and the most difficult thing - giving up black tea ( my skin my skin!) so now i drink alot of peppermint and fennel tea..
Christopher Kane Cashmere
Ice skating disco with paulie
(Like a rollerdisco but on ice, complete with lights and smoke)
Photo booth in Poland
The Marawa Food Blog is finally up and running, see what im eating, its always good.
but also:
My favourite meals of the nice 9:
lunch at the tower ballroom in blackpool, the cut the sandwiches into little triangles and put crisps and salad on the side for about 2 pounds.
Birthday high tea with alice and paulie at the wallace collection
a halloween high tea curated by ( how cool is that) the broken hearts including cupcakes that oozed tasty blood when you cut into them, and other spooky treats!
Vegan Ginger molasses biscuits that = a meal in brooklyn, i weighed about half a kilo but the ginger made it feel like a healthy thing..
salmon in aarhus. they didnt stop serving it and i didnt stop eating it..
steak tartare in poland. its really the only place in the world it should be eaten. prepared at your table.. my my..
everything my mum made for me when i was home. seriously under appreciated by the other members of the family, she should be consulting for some posh branch of hotels..
apple strudel at the russian tea rooms, dont stop till you get enough.
looking forward to a super busy 2010, i would like to do more dancing, i would like to take more tap lessons, learn more french, cook more, visit my mum, swim at the beach and study more about koringa and other ladies like her. hang out with wamp, do shows with the broken hearts and learn to use my new sewing machine.
I hope this interactive essay of sorts has left you rested and happy wherever you are,
marawa in londontown, xx
