Travelling to see my Guitar Hero

30th June 2016 was the best night to be in Glasgow. That’s when my all time favourite artist Buddy Guy was in town, performing his first UK gig of his ‘Born to Play Guitar’ world tour. 

Buddy Guy live in Glasgow June 2016

Seventeen year old blues prodigy Quinn Sullivan played support, plus a few numbers alongside Buddy Guy, who has been his mentor since Quinn was discovered to have guitar skills akin to some of the best known bluesmen at the very young age of eight.

Buddy says. ‘I’m hoping Quinn can step into the shoes of B.B. King and myself and wake up the damn blues again . . .’

Well, he’s sure doin’ that. See them play together HERE

Buddy calmly arrived centre stage sporting his trademark polka-dots and armed with his Fender stratocaster, opening his act with a superb and powerful rendition of my all time favourite, ‘Damn Right, I’ve got the Blues’. Hearing those iconic opening bars was music to my ears, as I’d kinda given up hope of ever seeing him perform it live. And my – he might be an octogenarian but Buddy Guy can’t half belt ‘em out.

Way back in 2008 I saw him play in Liverpool. I couldn’t believe it when Buddy passed within two metres of me when he wandered off stage and mingled with his audience. After that, hugging Buddy became a prominent entry on my bucket list, and if ever there was a next time I wouldn’t be allowing him to get away without taking a moment to feel my touch. This time when he stepped down to mingle with his Glasgow fans, I quickly made my way to the end of the row, where I had the honour of stroking the hand of my guitar hero. That made me feel real good.

John had taken his camera and sought permission to take photos of the show, with some fabulous results.

The next day Buddy was off to delight a Birmingham audience with his wild showmanship, but we hung around for a few days to check out the highlights of downtown Glasgow.

The weather in Glasgow was wet enough to give anyone the blues, but I had packed my waterproofs and could enjoy stepping out in my shiny mackintosh in a city where the Mackintosh name is very famous. 

Me on a Charles Rennie Mackintosh chair

Just over a century ago Charles Rennie Mackintosh was doing almost as much for the Glasgow art nouveau movement as Buddy Guy does for Chicago blues today, becoming an influential architect and designer of the day. His interiors, fittings and furniture are evident all around Glasgow, which is where he completed his training and impressive commissions.

I quite fancied sitting myself down on an authentic Mackintosh chair, so we set off on a venture to seek out his famous furniture and interiors, beginning at ’The Lighthouse’, Mackintosh’s first commission building.

To our surprise, we found out that If you make your way to the very top of The Lighthouse tower you get panoramic views of Glasgow, along with entertaining musical accompaniment thrown in for good measure, as there is guy perched up there bashing out tunes on a honky tonk piano. Meanwhile, downstairs in the Rennie Mackintosh exhibition I managed to have my photograph taken seated on one of the striking exhibits.

As you can imagine, our search for all things Mackintosh took us to a lot of Glasgows museums and galleries, with a mix of delight and disappointment. The Mackintosh House was my favourite; an authentic reconstruction of the home that Mackintosh and his artistically talented wife, Margaret MacDonald had furnished in their distinctive art nouveau style. There was fine furniture to inspect that showed off the exaggerated forms and flowing lines that Mackintosh liked to use, many decorated with symbols from the natural world and the geometric shapes he’s renowned for, all with exquisite attention to detail. Sadly our Mackintosh trail was completed all too quickly, as more of the masterpieces that we’d hoped to see were tucked away inside buildings displaying the sign ‘Closed for Restoration’, which left us feeling a little blue.

I have to admit being surprised by Glasgow, I could happily live there amongst those stylish red sandstone buildings. The city centre had a quiet relaxed atmosphere and all the people we spoke with were really lovely, displaying a common air of contentment. The Glasgow patter I had been expecting was not evident, the only example of a strong Glaswegian accent I received was from a gentlemen who helped me with directions.

‘Excuse me. Can you tell me where the Gallery of Modern Art is please’.

‘Ah am nae sure. Och och aye, ah hink ah ken it. Hae ye seen a statue wi' a traffic cain oan his heed? Ah hink 'at is whaur it is. Ye cannae miss it’, he kindly replied.

Indeed, we had seen the statue he mentioned and were soon at our destination.

Lounging in my latex outfit at CitizenM

We’d booked a room at CitizenM, a boutique hotel in city centre. The hotel had some really interesting spaces for its guests to socialise in and we made the most of the luxury surroundings. There’s nothing like slipping into a sexy latex outfit for evening drinks and entertainment, whilst being able to take advantage of the alternative setting for a photo opportunity.

John managed to capture my latex outfit really well.  

I have created a Flickr album called ‘Glasgow Mackintosh City’, with a selection of my latex and shiny mac shots taken during our stay in Glasgow. You can view it HERE

For additional entertainment there was no shortage of music bars. Asking for a good place for a blues lover to hang out found us heading down Sauchiehall Street to a place named after one of Buddy Guys’ blues heroes; Howlin’ Wolf. We made some friends there and were not disappointed. I’m pretty sure that Buddy would approve of The Howlin’ Wolf basement bar, which, just like his own club back in Chicago serves food, drinks, live music and the sweet blues sound until the early hours of the morning.

I was able to sample some local craft beers and taste a delectable tipple from their cocktail menu. I'd never invisaged sipping on a glass of 'Pinetop Perkins', but it's either that or another bluesman when all the cocktails on the menu are named after blues legends. Our glasses were raised, we couldn’t possibly leave Glasgow without a toast to my guitar hero. Thank you for coming to Glasgow Mr Buddy Guy.

Dutch Adventures

 

Me wearing my plastic mac in Amsterdam

I thought I wouldn’t be having a holiday this year, but good fortune came my way and I managed to escape for a few days to the city of Amsterdam, where I enjoyed some overdue relaxation time and unrushed sightseeing.

Before you ask - No. I did not bring back any tulips. I can rely on my generous slaves to bring those for me. Instead I brought back a whip and some nice photos of me in my newest shiny raincoat.

The full set of photos showing me in my glossy mac are now available to view on Flickr in an album called 'Plastic Mac Fantastic'. If you'd like to see them just click here.

It’s the second time me and John have been to Amsterdam. In 1981 we went there for our honeymoon, a candlelight cruise seemed a most romantic thing for a newly wed couple to do, so we boarded a canalboat and took advantage of the guided documentary to discover the highlights as we floated round the city, finally alighting in Amsterdams’s famous Red Light District.

This time we just hopped into a cab and visited the Red Light District in daylight, our first port of call being the DeMasK latex boutique, where we were spoiled by the lovely smell of warm rubber as soon as we opened the door. They have a superb collection of fashionable and extravagant designs on two floors, we were made to feel very welcome and were invited to browse the rails at our leisure.

Several shops later and my credit card started twitching; a particular whip had caught my eye, a weighty and very beautiful one with lots of suede lashes. It was no good, I could not resist and had to make it mine. If only I’d bought my whip a day earlier I could have used it to give a cheeky tour guide a good thrashing, only I ran into a spot of trouble at the Gassan Diamond Factory. Perhaps I'd best explain -

My new suede whip

Before we could enter the factory we were organised into small groups and given a sticky badge to show that we’d paid. I stuck my sticky badge on my left breast, on seeing this the tour guide peeled another from his sheet and stuck it on my right breast.

‘B-a-d b-o-y’, I said. ‘Don’t you dare’.

His reply. ‘I’m so terribly sorry. It was my fantasy’.

‘You have fantasies, then ring this number’, I said, promptly handing him my business card.

His mistake had not gone un-noticed, the group gathered round, they wanted to see who the bad boy was and to see what I’d given him. My chastising words were reinforced as other ladies in the group sniggered at him whilst having their fun at calling him a bad boy as well, leaving him rather ridiculed.

We spent a full afternoon looking at modern art at the Stedelijk Museum, Rodin sculptures and Andy Warhol paintings amongst them. My absolute favourite was a piece called ‘Akwarel’ inspired by Dutch artist Henk Peeters, it was simple, symmetrical and big enough to cover a whole wall. I couldn’t really make it out from a distance, but when I got up close I discovered that it was made up of lots of plastic bags, 528 of them, all hung up in rows and each one half filled with water.

Close up of 'Akwarel' at the Stedelijk Museum

Well, normally it only takes one plastic bag to give me a thrill. I like a transparent one, preferably with a slaves face inside and pulled tight at the neck. It seems that me and Mr Peeters have discovered our own ways of creating pleasure with plastic, although Mr Peeters method is way more unique and less risqué than mine.

Thursday, despite being another wet one turned out to be a great day. Our Dutch adventures took us to The Hague, our sole intention to see the works of M.C. Escher, graphic artist extraordinaire. We took the train, just 40 minutes there and 40 minutes back, passing through Holland’s countryside, spotting the occasional colourful flower field, a native enjoying the oasis of their personal garden allotment, or a windmill through the windows of our double decker carriage.

John has wanted to see the Escher exhibition for as long as I can remember. He was not disappointed, all of Escher’s best and largest pieces were on display, including lithographic prints, drawings, sketches, and several of his intricately carved and chiseled printing blocks. The exhibition has its permanent home inside a former Royal Palace, where Queen mother Emma of the Netherlands used to spend the winter months. The exuberant and quirky 19th century decor is still in place, sporting large glass light-shades that really grab your attention as you move from one large room to the next examining the Masters’ remarkable work. I banged my head on a huge hanging vase, it swung a bit but thankfully didn’t break. Anyway, we both thought the Escher museum was fantastic, in fact both the Escher Museum and the Stedelijk Museum have earned my highest 5* Mistress Maggie pleasure rating.

All in all, the above activities combined with some good grub, night time bars and live music made for a happy holiday. I’m back in my chambers again, and already a few lucky bottoms have had a taste of my new swinging whip.

Six of the Best from Bruges

I have added a new album to my Flickr photos and called it ‘Bruges’.

There are six photos in all which show some of the highlights from my three day trip to the city. It was hard, but for once I managed not to give my slaves a moment's thought for a full three days.

Best to pack sensible clothes, I thought. Flimsy dresses and high heels would not have worked well on this trip as this picturesque medieval city is carpeted in cobbles and the temperature was bitterly cold, my photographer struggled to press the shutter button with his iced up finger.

Long boots and PVC for me at the Gruuthusemuseum

The canal-side hotel I’d chosen was spacious and warm with lots of classic Flemish character and charm. The fact that I had to strangle the night porter only added an extra thrill to my stay, but I hadn’t expected to be locked out of my hotel after my night on the town. Taking a pair of long red leather gloves to his neck and providing some verbal instruction to his wobbling head soon taught him a lesson in hospitality.

So it was three days of checking out what Bruges is famous for. Chocolate, canals and beer. I became more steadily adventurous with my choice of beer as the days progressed, discovering that chocolate beer and honey beer are both remarkably nice to drink. I followed the tourist trail soaking up the fantastic architecture, museums and exhibitions on the way. I took a canal boat, kissing my husband under every bridge, tradition says that lovers will be granted eternal love and bliss if they do, but it was also a memorable way to celebrate our wedding anniversary. I bought the famous Belgian chocolates as gifts for family and friends and enjoyed good food. Although I am not desperately into art, the early renaissance paintings at the Groeningemuseum kept me engaged for ages and were the highlight of my trip.

The hotel bathroom was the only thing that prevented me from escaping work completely, it’s black and white chequered floor being the same as my White Room back home. Eurostar got me there and back in good time and I returned to an explosion of interest in longer sessions and confinements.

For more photos of me in my shiny PVC and thigh boots visit my Flickr album here.