darlings, good morning.

are you having a lovely sunday?

we found ourselves lying on the sofa with the morning coffee and a stack of books, listening to Desert Island Discs….(on air since 1942!) more specifically, to a vintage program/programme featuring the delicious and delightful and Very Naughty Australian Barry Humphries who understands a Few Things about having an alter ego, too, of course.

Desert Island Discs is one of those British Institutions which has now released its Archive (we adore the word Archive) including the choices (alas Not the programme, as yet) from Nancy Spain…..isn’t she smart and clever to include Maud from the redoubtable Joyce Grenfell (“Thank you, children”). 

this is the sort of publicity shot we would like to have for our next chapter.

especially with a lovely BBC microphone*

(*did we tell you we’ve made a few aural appearances on BBC Radio? it was Before we became teamgloria, when we still lived in England – and we never kept a taped copy – it Was a While ago – maybe when we enter the next chapter, we’ll ask the BBC if they still have it…..wouldn’t that be delicious?)

back to Desert Island Discs.

so it got us thinking….

which would be Our 8 choices?

will you indulge us? (if you’ve read thus far, we think you Might – and we bless you for that…)

here goes – with a little colour/color/explanation….but not a great deal as we don’t want to spoil it for the actual moment when we Do get asked.

1. A Whiter Shade of Pale by Procul Harum – we were Very Small when we heard this first and remembering clearly turning over the vinyl and seeing the words:

to be listened to in the spirit in which it was made

ah yes. there were Early Indications of our seeking solace in the dark arts of the forbidden and the destructive, even then.

2. True by Spandau Ballet – this brings back Nervousness about Boarding School – walking to the dreaded dances on a saturday night, clad in taffeta and awkwardly brandishing an Iron Lady lipstick from Miss Selfridge, just in case one had to snog someone later and replenish. (we actually wrote a very meaningful, for us, scene about this era in our movie script – awaiting our next chapter – called Emerald or Running from the Rain, depending on whether movie executives need us to be super-clear or allow euphemism and allusion)

3. La Wally from the soundtrack of Diva – when we first saw the film we collapsed into a heap of longing for Gitanes, running-away-to-Paris, having lovers, a floating blue tank and a bath in the middle of a loft, and gangsters and Love.

4. Texas – I don’t want a lover. (we’d rather Not go into Huge detail here but let’s just say when we played this track on constant repeat we Did want a lover and we got several and it was a case of we didn’t know which gender of lover we wanted – until we did – Enough Said, for now, darlings – giggle)

5. Sister Golden Hair by America – by this point in the (pre) teamgloria story we’d moved to the USA and spent a Lot of Time listening to the radio while driving down Ventura Boulevard and Pacific Coast Highway and growing our hair long and getting slim and wearing denim and being a Tiny Bit glamorous and generally Very Californian. #goodMemories

6. Recuerdame – La Quinta Estacion – bringing us Almost up to date, darlings, this track reminds us of when we started doing Lots of International Travel and asked our colleagues in Foreign Lands (before we visited them) to do us a “soundtrack” and this one featured heavily on our Latin America journeys. Isn’t it just operatic and soulful and divine?

7. Super Junior – our first time in Korea blew our mind – we’d never been anywhere so confusing and exhilarating and so reminiscent of the mid-80s yet mixed with Bladerunner  moments and boy bands and girl bands that looked like boy (george) bands in skater skirts from Vivienne Westwood’s collections of puffballs.

8. the final choice (thank you for having us, Kirsty) would have to be one of the songs that inspired us to become teamgloria. We almost chose a Doris Day (as she’s the true inspiration) but nothing beats this one to sum up our happiness and Sheer giggly-ness and joy at becoming who(m) we are now (and becoming next).

So we also get to choose a book and a luxury (in the imaginary appearance on Desert Island Discs).

Book? It has to be a Noel.

and luxury?

an un-ending supply of moleskine and pens that-never-run-out-from-5-star-hotels please.

so we can write.

and we hope we have smuggled a pashmina in our hand luggage to this mystical mythical desert island so we can write on the beach as the waves lap our feet and the stars twinkle above.

not sure what colour/color/shade we’d bring – perhaps this vivid red one which we just bought for our trip to Madrid (as LaVieJetSet starts up again in a matter of weeks)?