The ensign has been raised over the shop! The Earl of Bedlam name is at last emblazoned:
Our visitors included the Birkett family of Dulwich, that leafy South London suburb not normally associated with harbouring agit-pop history-makers. Do not be fooled, however, by their placid demeanour. For Derek and Sue Birkett are the King and Queen of Musical Misrule. At a kitchen table in Sydenham they created One Little Indian Records. They brought you Björk, The Shamen, Chumbawamba, Alabama 3, Sigur Ros, Sneaker Pimps, Skunk Anansie, Emiliana Torrini and a riotous host more:
http://www.indian.co.uk/artists/
They created Partisan Records for me when we - Si, Sean, Rhodesy, Gav and myself - left Moving Shadow and if they asked me to walk over a cliff I would trust they had good reason to do so and oblige. Derek always said our records sounded like pots and pans being thrown around.
My long term spa Mr Andrew Roachford also paid a visit. He is currently rehearsing as new lead singer for Mike and the Mechanics. We hope to provide a few choice bits for him to wear on tour and we're playing with designs for his own merch tees too as his own album is out later this month: http://www.roachford.co.uk/
Here he is modelling a hat from Lock & Co. of St. James', the finest gentleman's hatter in the world, although he eventually plumped for a Homburg:
At this point the infernal decoupag-ing of the display units had reached something of an impasse. Progress was hindered by my needing to read every bit of paper to assess if it was suitable for adding (I don't like stories with bad energy man) and to help me catch up with world events. In this way I only found out that Pine Top Perkins had died! He was 97, oldest Grammy winner, blues pianist. I was in a bar in Austen Texas late one night a few years back, after a day riding as the red-headed stranger in the Bandera Hills, when Pine Top shuffled through the door and sat in with the band. So there was more PVA glue in my hair than on the shelves when Mr Tim Balmain-to-Bedlam Chapman took pity on me and went off to the hardware store to buy a packet of wallpaper paste which he said was a much easier medium - quite the most thoughtful and touching present I have ever received - and then came back day after day to help finish it. On Saturday he and Ian came in with the other Timothy, Mr Bailey, Artistic Director of L.K. Bennett, who taught us the Welsh word for trainers. Which I now forget. He signed our visitors' book while taking a hit of panda. Lou-Lou looks on:
Yet another handsome man passed through the door, and introduced himself as Paul Robinson, star of the West End (He didn't come in and say "Hello I am Paul Robinson, star of the West End", we discovered that subsequently). We apologised that decorating was still on going and mentioned we would like to display work by local artists. He promptly revealed another talent when he came back bearing a large canvas. As it complemented to a remarkable degree the black, white and red check pants in the window we hung it on the prime spot of wall without a second's hesitation:
Another playwright-thespian came to hang out - they have nothing to do during the day don't you know - and brought a fine bottle of champagne to boot (to drink, actually). I don't wish to state that Miss Tracy Whitwell has now set the precedent and bar (in every sense) for visitors to the shop but if you wish to take it that way, hey, don't be hindered. Tracy's hubbie is Don Gilet who recently played the evil pastor in "Eastenders". Previously he was in a series called "Babyfather" with one of my dearest class mates from (the) RADA, David Harewood.
While Tracy was with me our first ever real life customer came in! So he got a glass of champagne to celebrate. He had to wait while I sewed in a label anyway and what nicer way to pass the time? Claire Griffin had sent Chris along and I must thank her for that and also the extraordinarily successful experiments she has been conducting in burning, searing and stamping our logo onto various stuff (technical term) to try out for the Bedlam Centurians' Commemorative Medal such as I promised a few months ago - silence does not mean it has been forgot. My favourite is the green oak. Smaller wooden discs we may now use as our house buttons. I need to get images off her to show you but meanwhile here's the Commemorative Snap of Customer #1:
I was in a fluff of excitement and couldn't find a Bedlam Lifer Bag so Chris got a Fortnum and Mason one instead (IOU a bag Chris, come back for it!). A-HA! Get me, I figured it out, grabbed it from Facebook, here is the EoB logo branded on a disc of green oak, just how beyond beyond is that?
The next adventurer to stagger across the South London savannah to sit and sip a gin sling with us was Mr Andrew Clancey, our stockist in New York. He and Mark worked on some exclusive designs for the Any Old Iron store. He was keen to have plenty of Royal Wedding themed t-shirts for the upcoming celebrations.
Mr Nick Curtis, the Menswear Correspondent of London's Evening Standard, lives around the corner from our store and a few times already he has popped in to check up on progress. He, too, was taken with the Royal Wedding Commemorative Tee and we hope he enjoys wearing it. We are going to ask my old pal Goldie to present one to Prince Harry, seeing as they are quite close now and just did a TV show together. On May 7th Goldicus goes to the palace to meet HRH The Queen and we are hoping he may even be wearing Earl of Bedlam when he does. "Arise Sir Cliffy of Wolverhampton" - it's just a matter of time.
A selection of the super-luxe swatches of English woven cloth we hope will be fit to greet Her Majesty the Queen.
And here, to close this episode, our Royal Wedding offering, "One Day I will be Queen", presented in all loyalty to the crown and sovereign, displayed, somewhat incongruously I concede, with the Navajo arrow I bought from a trading post in Utah, a place now ceded from the Commonwealth:
 |
| Mark and Lesley of the Knit painstakingly cut out the letters, which were then glued to the shop front and varnished |
Our visitors included the Birkett family of Dulwich, that leafy South London suburb not normally associated with harbouring agit-pop history-makers. Do not be fooled, however, by their placid demeanour. For Derek and Sue Birkett are the King and Queen of Musical Misrule. At a kitchen table in Sydenham they created One Little Indian Records. They brought you Björk, The Shamen, Chumbawamba, Alabama 3, Sigur Ros, Sneaker Pimps, Skunk Anansie, Emiliana Torrini and a riotous host more:http://www.indian.co.uk/artists/
They created Partisan Records for me when we - Si, Sean, Rhodesy, Gav and myself - left Moving Shadow and if they asked me to walk over a cliff I would trust they had good reason to do so and oblige. Derek always said our records sounded like pots and pans being thrown around.
My long term spa Mr Andrew Roachford also paid a visit. He is currently rehearsing as new lead singer for Mike and the Mechanics. We hope to provide a few choice bits for him to wear on tour and we're playing with designs for his own merch tees too as his own album is out later this month: http://www.roachford.co.uk/
Here he is modelling a hat from Lock & Co. of St. James', the finest gentleman's hatter in the world, although he eventually plumped for a Homburg:
At this point the infernal decoupag-ing of the display units had reached something of an impasse. Progress was hindered by my needing to read every bit of paper to assess if it was suitable for adding (I don't like stories with bad energy man) and to help me catch up with world events. In this way I only found out that Pine Top Perkins had died! He was 97, oldest Grammy winner, blues pianist. I was in a bar in Austen Texas late one night a few years back, after a day riding as the red-headed stranger in the Bandera Hills, when Pine Top shuffled through the door and sat in with the band. So there was more PVA glue in my hair than on the shelves when Mr Tim Balmain-to-Bedlam Chapman took pity on me and went off to the hardware store to buy a packet of wallpaper paste which he said was a much easier medium - quite the most thoughtful and touching present I have ever received - and then came back day after day to help finish it. On Saturday he and Ian came in with the other Timothy, Mr Bailey, Artistic Director of L.K. Bennett, who taught us the Welsh word for trainers. Which I now forget. He signed our visitors' book while taking a hit of panda. Lou-Lou looks on:
Yet another handsome man passed through the door, and introduced himself as Paul Robinson, star of the West End (He didn't come in and say "Hello I am Paul Robinson, star of the West End", we discovered that subsequently). We apologised that decorating was still on going and mentioned we would like to display work by local artists. He promptly revealed another talent when he came back bearing a large canvas. As it complemented to a remarkable degree the black, white and red check pants in the window we hung it on the prime spot of wall without a second's hesitation:
 |
| We're waiting for Paul to bring his mate Joan Collins in |
While Tracy was with me our first ever real life customer came in! So he got a glass of champagne to celebrate. He had to wait while I sewed in a label anyway and what nicer way to pass the time? Claire Griffin had sent Chris along and I must thank her for that and also the extraordinarily successful experiments she has been conducting in burning, searing and stamping our logo onto various stuff (technical term) to try out for the Bedlam Centurians' Commemorative Medal such as I promised a few months ago - silence does not mean it has been forgot. My favourite is the green oak. Smaller wooden discs we may now use as our house buttons. I need to get images off her to show you but meanwhile here's the Commemorative Snap of Customer #1:
I was in a fluff of excitement and couldn't find a Bedlam Lifer Bag so Chris got a Fortnum and Mason one instead (IOU a bag Chris, come back for it!). A-HA! Get me, I figured it out, grabbed it from Facebook, here is the EoB logo branded on a disc of green oak, just how beyond beyond is that?
The next adventurer to stagger across the South London savannah to sit and sip a gin sling with us was Mr Andrew Clancey, our stockist in New York. He and Mark worked on some exclusive designs for the Any Old Iron store. He was keen to have plenty of Royal Wedding themed t-shirts for the upcoming celebrations.
 |
| Mr Andrew Clancey and one he shot earlier |
 |
| Mr Wesley and Mr Clancey propose to you the delights of "The Daily Terror", in house magazine of Child of the Jago, Barnzley and Joe's label that brought us together |
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| And a nice snap Mr Clancey took of us, a little blurry but then so was I |
Mr Nick Curtis, the Menswear Correspondent of London's Evening Standard, lives around the corner from our store and a few times already he has popped in to check up on progress. He, too, was taken with the Royal Wedding Commemorative Tee and we hope he enjoys wearing it. We are going to ask my old pal Goldie to present one to Prince Harry, seeing as they are quite close now and just did a TV show together. On May 7th Goldicus goes to the palace to meet HRH The Queen and we are hoping he may even be wearing Earl of Bedlam when he does. "Arise Sir Cliffy of Wolverhampton" - it's just a matter of time.
A selection of the super-luxe swatches of English woven cloth we hope will be fit to greet Her Majesty the Queen.
And here, to close this episode, our Royal Wedding offering, "One Day I will be Queen", presented in all loyalty to the crown and sovereign, displayed, somewhat incongruously I concede, with the Navajo arrow I bought from a trading post in Utah, a place now ceded from the Commonwealth:
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