Claire Burlington

What a marvellous example of the power of the hyphen.

Anyway, at the Stockwell gig last Thursday I played with my (guitar) strap on in front of an audience for the first time and it definitely improved my (musical) performance, so this is great news indeed.

I had been to the venue, The Cavendish Arms, before. Many years ago, I went there with a colleague from EastEnders. We played darts and drank beer with a local off-duty copper and a lady who looked after rescued hamsters and had an exceptionally fun night. The pub’s had a major facelift since then and now has leather sofas, board games and a ballroom, which was where the burlesque gig was. The ballroom’s an absolutely lovely space, made lovelier by an audience who were up for a giggle. The bill was a mixture of burlesque dancers, comedians (I counted as one of these) and singers and, from where I was standing, everything went with the appropriate swing, bump or grind. So, The Cavendish Arms seems to be the place for exceptionally fun nights, whatever the decor.