Just Duckie - Still

I can report that the Royal Vauxhall Tavern and Duckie were open for business as usual tonight - in fact slightly busier than usual, nothing like a good bit of intrigue to pack in the punters. At the start of the evening - and as if nothing was any different to how it had ever been - Amy was holding her second Fun With Vegetables evening around the middle table; basically get a load of veg plus several sharp implements for cutting the same into various unusual shapes and styles. Some people were managing to carve elaborate things such as palm trees from their selected veg and tools; for me it just reinforced the fact that a) I have no artistic ability or imagination whatsoever; b) my skills with kitchen implements are somewhat lacking, too. After much struggle I did however manage to produce the obligatory Courgette Spiral (everyone was doing them), plus make a sort of Evil Mushroom Face, out of a mushroom (unsurprisingly) and some serrated-edged carrot shavings. I guess you had to be there. And my effort were still better than those of the annoying bloke who splashed a cucumber with mayo to look like....well, use your imagination.

Silly though it sounds, this does sort of underline what an important club Duckie is. I mean, what other night out could you go on where dangerous implements are not only left out in public, but you the punter is actively enouraged to pick them up and use them as you will. Says a lot about the people who go to Duckie that they can be unqustioningly trusted to enjoy themselves with endangering others (usually). In between all the vegetable excitement, Amy told us that it was not actually Jason the current landlord who bought the place, but a couple of (probably v. rich) friends of his, and that they are fully committed to keeping the place gay and keeping Duckie on.

Special mention should go to tonight's act, The Puppini Sisters. 3 female singers, 2 men playing double bass & guitar; I'm going to sound very ignorant but I don't know the style of singing they do apart from the fact that it was popular in the US at some point roughly between the 1920s and 1950s. Do-wop ? Boogie-woogie ? Anyway, whatever style it is, they knew the audience well as they did covers of The Smiths' Panic & Kate Bush's Wuthering Heights and therefore went down a treat.