A Week Reminded of "Respect"

The last week or so has all revolved around the word "Respect". It has entered my life in a number of ways...

Firstly, RESPECT to my former employer, Dawn O'Donnell who passed away on the Queen's Birthday long weekend . She was the owner of the Newtown Hotel back when I started my first ever weekly production show gig back in January 2001. I only met her a few times while working there, but she was always so supportive of me - she said many times that I was doing a fabulous job for her Hotel.. The memorial service was held at St Canice's Church in Elizabeth Bay on Friday. It was an emotional experience, as such events inherently are, but with the various key speakers from different parts in her life, there was a lot of crying, not-to-mention much laughter in the air as well! She lived a dynamic life, and took many people along for the ride - including our community here in Sydney. As Mitzi MacIntosh said in her speech - "When we wanted to come out of the closet, Dawn gave us somewhere to go".. Well said.

Secondly, RESPECT to the Dalai Lama who gave a wonderful talk to a small and wet gathering of people in the domain on Friday. Heading straight there after Dawn's memorial service was a strange experience, but we had other things to worry about once we got there - the rain! We managed a spot on the lawn relatively close to the stage, but when the Dalai Lama arrived were surrounded by people standing up. Needless to say this little drag queen didn't see anything at all, but I did hear much of his talk. It was interesting to hear him speak about the environment and war/peace, and on the way home, I informed the boyfriend we should go hear him speak in his 3-4 day conference (usually in Melbourne?) next time he visits Australia to get an even broader understanding of his considerable learning.

Thirdly, RESPECT for the environment. Whether global warming, or whether just freak storms or 30 year floods, the damage, loss of life and pain suffered by the wild weather of the last week on the NSW coast is a reminder we should be RESPECTING Mother Nature just that little bit more..

Lastly, RESPECT to my friends (and the general community) on the Central Coast and Hunter Valley. My thoughts were with my friends up on the Central Coast, who continued to experience wild weather again this weekend. I was asked to perform at Krave Friday night and was nervous about how the community would feel. Everyone had a story to tell, but what came across the most was the strong spirit and determination of the individuals and the community as a whole. My admiration to them all..

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Just a reminder that anyone in Canberra this coming Friday 22nd June, CUBE has their own "Leather & Lace Night"! Make sure you come dressed up! Charisma Belle, Ru Bella and I will be there performing our show "Rough Trade - Hers" there, not to mention checking out the punters and their costumes! Make sure you pop in and say "Hi" and support the Premier Canberra G&L Nightclub. See you there!