The Rooster is my newsletter. Thank you so much for subscribing and supporting my writing. My recommendations sit behind a paywall. This week focusses on my favourite pieces of writing on dancing and clubbing. For one week only I am HALVING the paid subscription fee for Changes. This means you will be paying just two pounds fifty a month, or twenty five pounds for the year. You can click here to subscribe and thank you so much if you do.
Howrya. This weather is irresistible to me. Bitey cold. Cerulean blue skies. The last of the leaves clinging on for dear life. I bought myself a new scarf and gloves and coat from Uniqlo this week and have taken so much pleasure in them. The gloves especially, lilac knit mittens lined with a sumptuously named ‘souffle yarn’ whatever the hell that is, with holes for my fingers to exit when I need to use the phone. I have also been spending lots of time in a spiral about the state of my hair. T says all I do is talk about how much I hate my hair. But I also feel sort of protective of it, in a world where blonde and straight feels like the default style, thick brown curls feel necessary to nurture. I have taken to cutting it myself recently which is not working out great. I have been dreaming of cutting it all off, to a short pixie cut and bleaching it blonde but worry that this may infer some sort of breakdown!?!? Thinking of Robbie Williams circa Glastonbury ‘95. I should write a piece on it really.
This week has been busy. There have been lots of interviews and conversations around clubbing and dancing. Today the six residency shows I’m doing at Here at The Outernet next year are officially on sale. I wrote about it last week in case you missed it you can read here. There are eight London buses traversing the streets of the city adorned with the words CLUBBING BEFORE MIDNIGHT.. Here is one in a depot in Leyton yesterday morning..
This photo reminds me of the cover of one of my most loved twelve inch records Daft Punk Burnin’.
I did an interview with my partner T. I’ve done this twice before, both times for my Changes podcast, the first was about Tom’s adult diagnosis of ADHD and how his ADHD affects our relationship. It is still one of the most popular episodes ever of Changes and well worth a listen if you are ADHD or if you are in a relationship with someone who is ADHD. The second was with T and the brilliant comedian and writer Josie Long, and also about ADHD but skewing towards the female experience.
This chat was very different. This was more T interviewing me. We covered a lot of ground; my Irishness, my move to England and joining Radio 1, the creation of my first radio show The Mash Up, how T and I first met, our first holiday together, our journeys into DJing and in T’s case OUT of DJ-ing, the creation of Before Midnight and why I wanted to try and find a London Home for Before Midnight in the form of a residency… you can watch or listen to it on youtube here ..
I also did a Substack live with Eleanor Anstruther yesterday..in which we talked about writing and dancing and our mutual love for Kit DeWaal’s writing, which you can watch/listen to below… Jaysus it’s all going on.
A quick reminder that this Monday coming 24 November at 9pm I will be doing the postponed live stream with my sister Rachel on our respective attitudes to age-ing… I will be sure to include the 'mid life hair cliff’ ( i just made this up ) in which women seem to reach a sort of reckoning with their hair and cut it short . My sister has a shaved head so she is AMAZING to talk to about this. We will also be talking about botox and facial procedures and societal pressure and exercise and all sorts. I would love youse all to join us..
And because this week there has been so much focus around the healing powers of dancing and clubbing I wanted to recommend three of my favourite pieces of writing around these same themes..plus a great DJ mix.. You can find them behind the paywall and don’t forget this half price subscription fee offer is there for a week if you want to use it..
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