Postcard from Summer, and redirected mail

Summer's on the run, even if it did visit in disguise this year. We grabbed a blast of oven door heat in the South of France chez Mark's mum and dad, up in the hills behind Cannes, to coincide with Nile playing Juan les Pins, the chi-chi seaside resort, with Chic. This was to be Ocean's first ever concert and I'm not sure how it will ever be topped. We dressed him in a "Le Freak" tee naturally - we hadn't made children's sizes so it was more of a dress on him - and as soon as Nile's tech spotted le petit fana he was hauled up on stage. Unfazed by the long lenses and exuberant crowd of thousands he busted his robot dance, in flip-flops to boot. As the sun set on the beautiful Riviera, twinkle twinkle, a little star / stage struck monster was born -

Nile clocks the pint sized stage invasion

Getting into the groove

It took some cajoling and then a stern "OI! COME HERE!" to get Ocean to leave the stage 
and go to proud daddy (Mark in the lower left corner) 

Finding the limelight an uncommonly agreeable sensation - his face was a study in stunned joy, his body swiftly galvanised into interpretive dance when they played the opening bars of his favourite song "We Are Family" - Ocean didn't immediately understand that he was a guest in someone else's show: "BUT I KNOW THIS ONE TOO!" he protested.
Well quite, that's the thing about Nile's catalogue - you DO know them all, and can't quite believe that one man is behind so much of the soundtrack of our lives. The carrot was dangled that he would most probably get to go back on for the finale. Sure enough, flanked by the beauty of Kimberly and Folami, the Chic ladies, swept up on their soaring voices and trapped in the vortex of funk spun by Mr Rodgers, Ocean took centre stage as the show reached its peak.

The mini-groover (Ocean to Chic as Bez to Happy Mondays? http://www.happymondaysonline.com/ ) then took his bow with the band, slapped hands along the crowd at the front of the stage, and sauntered off into the wings. Worried that he might be in the way, and that heavy flight cases would soon be flying about as Kool and the Gang prepared to go on next, I shoved Mr Wesley through the hordes of happy faces to get back stage as fast as we could. Progress was slow but eventually we arrived sweaty and dishevelled in the catering area for the artists. No sign of him there so up another staircase to the dressing rooms where I asked a humourless homme de sécurité (I know, they're not paid to be funny) if he had seen a little boy. "Oui Madame," he replied, "He is through there with Monsieur Rodgers and His Serene Highness Prince Albert of Monaco. You cannot pass. You must wait."
I'll leave you to visualise the vous-devez-rigoler look I gifted him in return for that terse instruction. At that very moment, Peter, Nile's road manager, walked out and said "Come in!"

Dragging Ocean away despite his insistence that he was needed on stage with Kool and his Gang, we discussed stage wear with Kimberly and Folami - that we hope to be making for them - before I got my own hit of  fabulous by singing a while with Liza Minnelli's piano player, the lovely Arnaud Fusté-Lambezat, but that's another story. Then we said our goodnights to wind our way along the unlit hairpin-twisty unbarriered narrow roads with precipitous drops back up into the dark hills. It was a long and scary drive in case you missed the subtext there and my tired eyes were wide with terror. In the back seat, however, one little boy, who was "not sleepy at ALL" with the adrenalin of the experience, had eyes as bright and wide as the moon.

Back at Bedlam's base camp, we were asked to provide the entertainment for a party thrown by our friend and client Matias at his house in Gloucestershire. We delivered a tip top trio - Shane Alessio on double bass, Andrea Marongiu on skins and Theo Jackson at the Bosendörfer (www.theojackson.com).  I sang a couple of numbers but Theo is not only the most accomplished pianist but has a voice to melt mountains too. Accordingly we are proud to announce another musical ambassador of Bedlam, this time one at the outset of his career. We are making him a waistcoat to wear on stage and hope our stars will rise together.

Theo Jackson and Shane Alessio

Andrea Marongiu on the drums

Don't leave your kit unguarded. The stage struck kid strikes again!

Another of our clients went for white on his mediterranean hols - Nick Etherington-Smith is pictured here at the Caserta Palace in southern Italy where he attended a party in his Bedlam evening jacket. The Baroque architectural masterpiece and a beautiful consort set off our work delightfully. Larger than Versailles, the name Caserta impinges rarely on the radar these days. Yet as well as its monumental scale and stunning execution it is not only where the Germans signed the unconditional surrender of their forces in Italy in 1945 but also did a turn as Queen Amidala's palace in Star Wars Episode 1: The Phantom Menace. They liked it so much they returned to use it again in Episode 2: Attack of the Clones as Queen Jamilla's palace. http://www.starwars.com/

And here is Natalie Portman on the same staircase as Nick, not wearing Bedlam but only cos we turned her down (but persevere Nat, we'll give in eventually):

So to sign-off our postcard of Summer, here were some more of our favourite snaps from late July and August. And here's some red hot news - as the season's moving on, so are we. We will shortly be announcing details of our relocation so as ever don't stray far from the trusty ticker-tape machine that feeds you your coded Bedlam bulletins.

The 1940s raffia satellite dish hat got an outing on Fréjus beach

Our lovely client and friend Megan heard me say I couldn't bear to think I'd lived in London during 2012 and not been to the Olympics. I'd've gone to Tiddliwinks by the penultimate day I was so desperate to interact. She duly offered me her spare ticket to the ladies' basketball final, USA vs. France. What a dame! And see kids, articulate your wishes, someone's always listening.

Thomas articulated his wish for a red pinstripe such as he had yearned for his whole life. It was our pleasure to create it!

Prepared for Autumn  - Peter and Jack coincided in the shop, here in their chosen suits looking magnificent I think we all agree?

Prepared for all life may offer him - new-born Nikolai already showing up his underdressed  pals. The froggy fella looks particularly mortified to be thus caught out,  the monkey's a bit on the blithe side. Bedlam's sincere congratulations to Matias and Natasha for this creation!

Head to toe in Baby Bedlam - likkle white wabbit, model's own.

As we're well on the slide to Christmas now, here's a preview of our card. Mary and Joseph dressed in towels not by Bedlam